This article examines the impact of end-users on the information profession and looks ahead to what the future holds. It examines three waves of end-users that emerged with new search technologies: (1) full-text, natural language online systems; (2) CD-ROMs; and (3) the Internet. In the 1980s, when full-text online systems such as Textline, NEXIS, and FT Profile came into use, many thought that the empowerment of the end-user meant the demise of the intermediary--the information professional. However, the information profession embraced end-use, and saw that the prime impact of end-use was to increase the demand on mediated searching. The CD-ROM was thought to be a much more appropriate end-user tool because of its user-friendliness. CD-ROM use is still growing rapidly, with increases in the number of published titles from 817 titles in 1990 to 27.8 million titles in 1994. The Internet is the most recent online end-user tool. The Internet has dramatically increased the number of online end-users, from thousands to millions. Information professionals will have to become more specialist, more trainer, more proactive, and more reference specialist, moving between the various information channels, balancing one against another and choosing the most cost-effective option. Public libraries face the greatest threat from the digital revolution, since they got a late start, and are struggling with their role--lender, trainer, searcher, or shopkeeper--and serving the diverse needs of all their patrons. End-users as now re-defined as: academic end-users; practitioner end-users, and general public end-users. (SWC)