Why didn’t Harry Potter just use Google?

Lisa Jardine explains that the fear of “information overload” was even present before the printing press : 
“..Even before the invention of the printing press – when the distribution of information depended upon teams of scribes working with pen and ink in monastery libraries -the fear of too much to know, too much material too widely and swiftly disseminated, was already threatening to overwhelm our orderly sense of understanding.”
Curation is defined as the “topic of 2012″. But it’s actually very interesting to remember that this activity is as instinctive ( and old) as the transmission of knowledge in itself. And crucial to keep access to it years after years :
“there has never been a time when mastering the sum of human knowledge has not been felt to be an impossible task.And historically there was the additional fear that the precious store of knowledge accumulating as the world grew in wisdom might be lost by natural or man-made disaster.”
The internet seems to be less vulnerable than paper and printed sources to face natural damage and keep information accessible, always available, as you cannot “loose” it. Just google it.But the question isn’t anymore to be scared to loose the information. But how to find the right one and help people to understand it as much as possible :
“The danger today is rather that we are reluctant to let go of any information garnered from however recondite a source. Every historian knows that no narrative will be intelligible to a reader if it includes all the detail the author amassed in the course of their research. A clear thread has to be teased from the mass of available evidence, to focus, direct and ultimately give meaning to what has been assembled for analysis”
Curation will not be a hot topic of 2012. It’s a necessity to build a bright future : The curators who will help to contextualize and facilitate access to this huge amount of information will be the ones transmitting knowledge.

Via www.bbc.co.uk