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The most surprising thing about newspapers in the year 2000 may be that they will still exist, and will probably look very much the same as they do today. The computerised production systems will, of course, be more advanced; the mechanisms for distribution will be more sophisticated; and the methods used for gathering, analysing and managing the incoming news information will have been transformed. But the printed newspaper will still be there. The ink will no doubt be vegetable‐based and biodegradable, and more of the paper will be recycled — but ink on newsprint there will be.

The paper discusses the teaching of elements of law within the Library and Information Studies (LIS) curriculum, using the programmes at the University of Brighton as an exemplar. The inclusion of legal topics in LIS teaching has been endorsed by professional associations, but has not been extensively discussed in the literature. A small‐scale pilot research project is described, which sought to characterise senior library and information service managers’ views about legal knowledge and expertise. A series of legal topics is reviewed, and discussed in the light of the pilot project results. The topics covered are: Computer Misuse; Contracts; Copyright; Court Procedures; Data Protection; Freedom of Information; Libel and Defamation; Official Secrets; Patents; and Human Rights. The project results appear to validate the assumptions underlying the University of Brighton’s provision, and suggest that teaching elements of law is worthwhile. However, further work is required and is in progress.

Suggests that we are in the early stages of an information revolution which will have an effect similar to that of the industrial revolution of the last century. Looks at the development of electronic news production, the technology required and in particular at the services to shipping offered by IMC Ltd. Warns that information should remain public property and care should be taken to ensure that the elderly, the technophobic, the under‐educated and the poor for whom modems and gateways are as alien as Close Encounters, should not be denied their right to information. Concludes that electronic news could replace ink on paper, but only when something better than a PC screen comes into widespread use.

Discusses the need to re‐examine the education and training systems for adaptability to issues of institutional change and economic advancement and development, with special reference to Africa. Reports the outcomes of a consultative study involving persons associated with ILS education and training around the globe. The paper was presented at SCECSAL 13 on the 27 July to 1 August 1998 held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The quotation from Henry Longfellow's The Arrow and the Song: first appeared in the Target 2000 column in the first issue of the relaunched Online & CDROM Review in 1993. Since then a number of arrows have been aimed at developments that could be expected by the turn of the century. As this column was envisaged as a “floating Delphi”, this seems an appropriate point in the run‐up to the millennium to review the projections made to date. Below they have been reviewed and grouped, and it is hoped that in the coming months the authors may wish to expand or revise their original thoughts. The year, volume, issue and page numbers for the journal reference are given after the author’s name.