Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 42

Citation

Fourie, I. (2009), "Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 42", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 308-309. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910968245

Receiving the latest volume of Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) is always a pleasure. Even at US$124.95 it is excellent value for money and an invaluable resource to bring postgraduate students and academics up‐to‐date with such state‐of‐the‐art of topics as information seeking, scholarship in information science, etc. Over many years this annual publication, now in its 42nd volume, has become a reliable contribution to the library and information science, as well as related information technology subject literature.

For the 2008 volume such well‐known experts as Amanda Spink, Charles Cole, Tom Wilson, Nigel Ford and Michael Koening, among others, have contributed. The value of collaboration is also clear from the fact that seven of the 12 chapters are co‐authored. The impressive list of authors is supplemented by an equally impressive list of advisory board members as well as a list of chapter reviewers.

In 12 chapters a variety of themes is addressed which captures current developments very well. In the first section these themes include visual image retrieval, interactive information retrieval, multi‐tasking behaviour, and activity theory and information seeking. Although activity theory has been addressed in Information Research, the chapter as such can be considered a first for ARIST; it can contribute to shaping research in the field as well as to gaining new research interests. I especially found the references to the Russian literature on the topic very useful. The before‐mentioned topics complement each other very well under heading of “information seeking and retrieval”, stressing the increasing importance of the field, and the contributions that are needed in understanding the complexity of information seeking and the enormous task faced by information retrieval systems in making information accessible.

The second section of ARIST concerns the nature of academic disciplines and includes chapters on scholarship and disciplinary practices, mapping research specialities, scientific writing, and the concept of genre in information studies. The last topic seems to be a rather brief chapter compared with some of the other chapters – perhaps because it is still a developing field of interest, in which case a brief explanation by the author would have been useful, as well as a very clear demarcation of the literature searched and decisions for including publications for the review.

Section 3, Information Management and Systems, covers knowledge management, syndromic surveillance systems and educational informatics. The final section, Issues in Information Science, includes a chapter on information commons (on which a number of books have recently been published) and education in information science.

For me the purpose of ARIST is well captured in the following words of the editor:

[…] texts are not simple reflections or representations of the world‐as‐is. Rather, they are shaped by, and in turn shape the disciplines and discourse communities of which they are constitutive elements.

A major benefit of the review chapters is that they can orient the reader on the topic under discussion, highlight aspects requiring research, and suggest references that may shed more light on the topic. In this context it would be useful if the introduction by the editor could briefly capture the content of the chapters, links between them, how well the contributions reflect current developments, as well as additional interesting developments not being covered by the specific ARIST volume.

Something which I also miss with a number of chapters in this edition is a clear demarcation of the literature covered in the chapter, how and where the literature was searched, as well as criteria for including publications in the review. I consider this essential to enable especially expert readers to immediately spot potential gaps that they might fill themselves to ensure a comprehensive review of a particular topic. For me such demarcation was a trademark of many earlier review chapters. In line with this shortcoming, I think contributors should also be sensitive to the need to refer the reader to earlier volume chapters ARIST important to the topic, thus ensuring a “golden thread” of discussion. Conclusions might also be used more effectively to point to the need for further research in the field, and the need for future reviews. The chapter on multi‐tasking behaviour offers a very good example of a clear demarcation and explanation of its focus on multi‐tasking in the cognitive and information sciences. In terms of content each of the chapters succeeds in making a valuable contribution to the subject literature.

My perception is that ARIST is primarily aimed at the academic reader and researcher. Due to the wealth of information covered by review chapters, it might be useful for the editorial team to look at ways in which ARIST can be used to increase awareness of research findings and trends by practitioners and industry – perhaps in explicitly highlighting the value of research and development from a practitioner/industry point‐of‐view.

I highly recommend ARIST Volume 42 as a must‐have publication for all academics working in the field, and certainly an essential purchase or subscription for all academic libraries serving departments of library and information science and perhaps even computer science and informatics. It certainly is recommended reading for postgraduate students and researchers.