The Wired World: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of the Information Society

Citation

Line, M.B. (2002), "The Wired World: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of the Information Society", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 155-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.2.155.1

The authors’ “aim in this book is modest”, they tell us in the Preface; “we are addressing those who are probably addressing these issues [of the information society] systematically for the first time”. Their three basic aims are “to explore the underlying theories of the information society … , to consider the concept of information and how it is stored and communicated … [and] to examine some of the ways in which an information society is being developed and what shape that development might take in the future.”

In these aims they succeed triumphantly, in the space of fewer than 150 pages of text. The first chapter takes us from a brief account of the historical background to the concept of the information society, through information science and information theory, to modern views. On the way mention is made of Locke, Bradford, Shannon, Machlup, Porat, Bell, Habermas, Giddins, and Castells (what, no Drucker?). The 19 pages this discussion occupies are inevitably rather breathless, but they are clear and informative, and draw on a wide range of sources, economic, social and historical as well as information science. They are characteristic of the whole book.

Chapter 2 covers the story of the early computers, the Internet and the Web. A chapter follows this on “information flow”, which deals inter alia with the searching process and quality control. Chapter 4, on information policy, discusses such matters as globalisation, press freedom, censorship, copyright, data protection, freedom of information, regulatory regimes and access to information. This bare list is daunting, but the topics are covered in 27 pages of text, with no obvious over‐simplification – a remarkable achievement. A chapter is then devoted to practice: it discusses how Europe is progressing towards an information society, covering the Delors and Bangemann reports and the eEurope Action Plan. Finally, Dearnley and Feather look toward the future.

Dependent on the work of others though the book unashamedly is, it is more than a mere summary of their writings. The authors are unafraid to present their own attitudes and views and to pose their own questions. Some of these are of wide concern: for example, is the “information society” different in kind or intensity, a paradigm shift or accelerated evolution? How far are changes in society driven by technology, how far is society demanding changes in technology?

There is no work on the subject that I would more strongly recommend to the beginners at whom this book is aimed, whether they are LIS students or not. I hope a much wider press than LIS journals will review it. (I should add that it is UK‐oriented, which may limit its market.) But it may also be useful for experienced readers to look through, since it offers a concise overview of the whole historical and conceptual picture.