Introduction to Information Science

This landmark textbook takes a whole subject approach to Information Science as a discipline. Introduced by leading international scholars and offering a global perspective on the discipline, this is designed to be the standard text for students worldwide. The authors’ expert narrative guides you through each of the essential building blocks of information science offering a concise introduction and expertly chosen further reading and resources. Critical topics covered include: • foundations: concepts, theories and historical perspectives • organising and retrieving Information • information behaviour, domain analysis and digital literacies • technologies, digital libraries and information management • information research methods and informetrics • changing contexts: information society, publishing, e-science and digital humanities • the future of the discipline. Readership: Students of information science, information and knowledge management, librarianship, archives and records management worldwide. Students of other information-related disciplines such as museum studies, publishing, and information systems and practitioners in all of these disciplines.

Table of Contents:
Forewords Information science and 21st century information practices: creatively engaging with information - Theresa Dirndorfer Anderson The emerging discipline of information - Andrew Dillon The scope of information science - Jonathan Furner A fascinating field and a pragmatic enterprise - Birger Hjørland A slippery and ubiquitous concept - Fidelia Ibekwe-SanJuan The future of information science - Maja Žumer 1. What is information science? Disciplines and professions Introduction The nature of information science What kind of discipline is information science? Constituents and core Other information disciplines The uniqueness of information science History of information science Summary Key readings References 2. History of information: the story of documents Introduction Information ages? Prehistory and the ancient world The classical and medieval worlds The age of print The 19th century The 20th century Summary Key readings References 3. Philosophies and paradigms of information science Introduction Philosophy and the information sciences Philosophical positions Paradigms and turns Philosophers and information science Karl Popper and objective epistemology Jesse Shera and social epistemology Luciano floridi and the philosophy of information Summary Key readings Philosophy resources References 4. Basic concepts of information science Introduction Information and knowledge Information: physical, biological, social A mathematical theory of information, with a little semiotics Information for information science Knowledge for information science Documents Collections Relevance and aboutness Information use and users Summary Key readings References 5. Domain analysis Introduction Domain analysis as a theory for information science What is a domain? Aspects of domain analysis Practical value of domain analysis Examples of domain analysis Domain analysis and the subject specialist Summary Key readings References 6. Information organization Introduction Controlled vocabulary and facet analysis Terminologies Metadata Resource description and cataloguing Ontologies Systematic vocabularies: classification and taxonomy Alphabetic vocabularies: subject headings and thesauri Abstracting Indexing and tagging Summary Key readings References 7. Information technologies: creation, dissemination and retrieval Introduction What are information technologies? Digital technologies Networks Mobile and pervasive Software Interacting with computers Information systems, analysis, architecture and design Applications Summary Key readings References 8. Informetrics Introduction Historical development of informetrics How much information is there? The main informetric laws Network theory Applying informetrics Summary Key readings References 9. Information behaviour Introduction What is information behaviour? Origins and development of information behaviour studies Theories and models Methods for studying information behaviour Information behaviour of groups Individual information behaviour styles Summary: so what do we know? Key readings References 10. Communicating information: changing contexts Introduction Communication frameworks Changing information landscapes Digitizing the world of print Changing economic models Open access and repositories New forms of communication New forms of research and scholarship Information places and spaces Summary Key readings References 11. Information society Introduction What is the information society? Frameworks for information society Information society infrastructures Problems and divides within the information society Summary Key readings References 12. Information management and policy Introduction Information management basics Contexts of information management Information governance and information risk Information policies and strategies Information auditing and mapping Valuing information Information for creativity and innovation Summary Key readings References 13. Digital literacy Introduction Information and computer literacies The information-literate person The concept of digital literacy A model for digital literacy Importance of digital literacy Promoting digital literacy Summary Key readings References 14. Information science research: what and how? Introduction Styles of information research General aspects of research methods Research and the practitioner Research methods for information science Research methods – surveys Research methods – experimenting, evaluating and observing Research methods – desk research Sampling Information research ethics Finding and evaluating research Summary Key readings References 15. The future of the information sciences Introduction Predicting and prophesying Drivers for change What lies ahead for information professions and disciplines Information research agendas The future of information science Summary Key readings References Additional resources Other textbooks Journals Abstracting and indexing services Reference sources