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According to the OECD, governments have a key responsibility to
disseminate important information to companies and individuals in order
to enable them to make sound decisions (Jia, 2008). The sharing of
information between banks and the improved transparency of

information relating to national economies and financial systems more
generally would have enabled lenders, investors, and consumers alike to
decide on acceptable levels of risk (ComputerWeekly, 2009). However,

a lack of information and information transparency produced an
environment of distrust and wariness, in which credit was no longer
being made available or being used effectively to help drive economic
activity.

The role of information professionals in the crisis
Information professionals work in many different organizational
environments, including financial institutions, corporations, public

libraries, and the media. Their work informs the activities of
governments, inter-governmental organizations, business executives,
analysts, investors and the general public, to name but a few groups. As

an integrated profession they are well placed to share information across
the different environments in which they work, ensuring that is made
available to those who need it. The role of information failure in the

economic crisis raises important questions about whether the
information profession is effectively fulfilling this role, and whether it
was at least partly to blame for the information failure which resulted in
economic crisis.

Winston and Quinn (2005) reviewed literature in the area of library
and information science to examine how major economic, political,
technological, and social changes had been addressed in library and

information science journals over a six-year period. They found
evidence of an increased focus in the LIS literature on major social and
economic changes and their relationship to information services.
However, little attention had been paid to the issue of information access

as it pertains to economic and other types of change. There was also a
reported lack of focus in the LIS literature on the potential leadership
role of information professionals in addressing aspects of crisis and

change. The authors noted that the literature does not represent efforts to
influence policy-making and legislation, afford access to information,
and provide information resources and services as roles of leadership.

The Winston and Quinn (2005) study indicates that the information
profession as a profession may not have played an active role in