Synopses & Reviews
Michael Buckland offers an examination of information systems that is comparative rather than narrowly technical in approach. With careful attention to different meanings of information, Buckland examines the nature of retrieval-based information systems such as archives, databases, libraries, and museums, and their relationships to their social context.
The introductory material examines difficulties of definition and terminology in relation to information systems. There is a systematic overview of the concepts and processes involved in the provision and use of information systems. Buckland's attention to unusual examples, to how different aspects interact with each other, and to how information systems are influenced by their contents and their context yields interesting insights and conclusions which force reconsideration of common assumptions in information science. This volume, with its subject index and bibliography, provides for students and professionals a valuable and readable introduction to this rapidly expanding field.
Review
. . . represents a significant leap forward in the effort to describe information systems of all sorts in common terms.LRTS
Review
In this wonderfully readable book, Michael Buckland draws from the reader an understanding of information and information systems by providing an historical perspective, presenting a concise and useful overview of a large literature, including his own lucid thinking, and challenging the reader with questions. . . . Buckland interweaves his solid knowledge of history, information science and systems with the threads of philosophy, the social context, and practical examples into a complex fabric that depicts the information field very skillfully. . . . I look forward to reading it again and again and to using it in my classes.Toni Carbo Bearman Dean and Professor School of Library and Information Science University of Pittsburgh
Review
". . . In Information and Information Systems Michael Buckland provides the first straightforward text that deals with defining the terms, the systems, and some of the fundamental issues in an intelligent, comprehensive, non-technical manner. Make no mistake, this is not light reading. This is not yetanother attempt to explain computers, technology, networks, or the other manifestations of information and information systems. It is a substantial and substantive attempt to discuss, in an organized fashion, the concepts of information, the processes involved in the creation and dissemination of information, and a variety of the relationships, including the social context, in which information and information systems are used. . . . Reading this text--and it should serve a valuable library school text--requires care and attention. It marks a significant step forward in assisting us to place the fundamental product with which we deal into a broader philosophical context."Wilson Library Journal
Synopsis
Buckland offers an examination of information systems that is comparative rather than narrowly technical in approach. Using explicitly defined terms, he interprets the nature of retrieval-based information systems such as archives, libraries, databases, and museums, and their relationships to their social context. Since the primary focus of the work is on unusual examples of information systems, the discussion yields interesting and thoughtful conclusions on the nature of information systems in general and constructive consideration of existing problems in this rapidly expanding field.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [207]-218) and index.
About the Author
MICHAEL BUCKLAND is Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of California, Berkeley.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Information
Concepts
Theory
Systems
Knowledge and Information
Information-as-Thing
Information in Information Systems
Information Technology
Access to Information
Processes
Inquiries
Perceiving, Receiving, and Retrieving
Becoming Informed: Information-as-Process
Information Processing and Representation
Demand
Providing Information
Relationships
Connections and Coherence
Expertise and Artificial Intelligence
Social Context
Conclusion
Summary and Retrospect
References
Index