Practical Information Policies (2nd edition)

Citation

Rowley, J. (2000), "Practical Information Policies (2nd edition)", Library Review, Vol. 49 No. 1, pp. 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.2000.49.1.40.6

This is the second edition of an established text on a topic that addresses issues which are at the heart of information management and the role of the information professional within organisations. The central aim is to support readers in working out what their organisation needs to know to survive and prosper, what information it requires to “feed” its knowledge, and how people need to interact in using knowledge and information. Whilst well grounded in the professional and academic debates surrounding issues such as knowledge management and information policy and strategy, this book makes a significant contribution by demonstrating how some of the rhetoric can be translated into action which has the potential for significant organisational impact. On the other hand, as the author emphasises, this book “does not set out to be a cookbook; it doesn’t tell its readers ‘Do this, then this, and then that, and you will have an information policy’. It requires inputs of thought and knowledge” (p. 114).

The book is structured into ten chapters, followed by 14 case studies. The major part of the text is concerned with the processes involved in creating and implementing organisational information policies and strategies, and in making use of them to help the organisation develop, meet change, and learn from experience, so that it continues to survive and prosper in the terms it sets itself. The context is set in chapter 3, which demonstrates how organisational objectives can be used to generate knowledge requirements, and those knowledge requirements can, in turn, be used to specify the information required to maintain knowledge, both in terms of “contents” and “containers”. Subsequent chapters focus on information auditing, information policy and information strategy. Three new chapters are injected between those chapters that discuss audit and policy and the chapter that focuses on the development of an information strategy. These cover four critical areas for the successful development and application of information strategy: human resources; the IT and information systems infrastructure; appropriate methods for measuring the costs of information and the value that it contributes to organisation assets; and the role of information and knowledge in mastering change.

The final, and significant, section of the book consists of case studies of organisations which are at varying points in the development of information policies and strategies. This section is preceded by a topic finder which makes it easier to locate the treatment of specific topics (such as customer relations) within these case studies. The case studies are clearly written, effectively structured, and well illustrated with diagrams. Although the case studies describe differing situations, there is some commonality of structure, and a sense that these have been effectively edited so that they make a worthwhile contribution to the book. On the other hand, a final chapter which drew out common themes and made recommendations for the further development and sharing of good practice would have been a useful conclusion.

To return to the beginning of the book, readers would be well advised to review the definitions that are offered of key terms such as knowledge management, information management, and information strategies, and to reflect on the trends which are reviewed in the section headed “What has changed, and what has not”. In conclusion, this book should be essential reading for all practising information managers and students of information management. The author succeeds in addressing this very topical and important area with an accessible style and a practical approach.