It is a historical retrospective on humanity's interest in stocking knowledge, contextualized in the cultural aspects of each period. The supply ofthe information is discussed under the focus ofa continuous production of knowledge, emphasizing the specializations that result in different kinds ofstocks in the supply of different types of information. There is a reflection about the use of information in industry, highlighting several issues related to obstacles and to the otimization of this process in the productive area.
information; knowledge; industry; competitiveness