Introductory Concepts in Information Science, 2nd ed.

Citation

Fourie, I. (2011), "Introductory Concepts in Information Science, 2nd ed.", Online Information Review, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 509-510. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521111151559

The second edition of Introductory Concepts in Information Science succeeds very well in its intention implied in the title – to offer an introduction to the concepts marking discourse in the field of information science. Those concepts that have been debated over decades and which we will continue to debate are briefly and aptly introduced to the novice. I suspect that experienced researchers may be disappointed in the scope and depth of coverage, but when considering the target group, then this book certainly meets its aim.

To repeat the words of the author: “This volume is intended to be a portal for novices, a passage through which to find and consider information using a different perspective”. In no way does it intend to compete with the comprehensive 751‐page volume edited by Tefko Saracevic in 1970, Introduction to Information Science. That work remains a seminal resource for references and broadening our understanding of the field. What is also required is a brief, representative, authoritative guide to what a novice needs to know, and written in a style that appeals to this type of reader. This is what Norton succeeds in providing.

In the introductory chapter the author explores information and information science. This is followed by a chapter offering reprints of two perspectives on information science: Harold Boko's “Information Science: What Is It?” and Klaus Otten and Anthony Debon's “Towards a Metascience of Information: Informatology”. Norton follows these with two chapters on communication and on information retrieval. In Chapters 6 and 7 Teresa Welsh addresses two aspects on information repositories: their background and an historical review, and new technologies and trends. This is followed by Eun Kyung Chung's chapter on digital libraries, in turn followed with three chapters by Norton. These deal with bibliometrics, information economics and interpretations of value. The final chapter (12) is a joint effort by Melanie Norton and June Lester in which they discuss digital accessibility and information value in changing hierarchies.

This book is highly recommended for academics teaching information science and for students new to the field, as well as postgraduate students working in cognate areas but with little knowledge of information science. With some years of experience as academic and researcher in information science, I found that this book raised my awareness that there is always room to challenge one's own interpretations of concepts and trends.