Information and Information Systems - (New Directions in Information Management) by Michael K Buckland & Michael Buckland (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

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 Quotes

"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

"It is always a pleasure to read something by Michael Buckland. There is no individual in our profession who writes with both greater force and greater elegance, but for all his ideas he manages to convey them in words that are direct and straightforward. In devoting his considerable talents to this much needed introduction to information and information systems in writing free of needless technical jargon, Buckland has done all of us an immense service."- Herbert S. White Distinguished Professor School of Library and Information Science Indiana University, Bloomington

,"" . . 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 yet another 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

?. . . represents a significant leap forward in the effort to describe information systems of all sorts in common terms.?-LRTS

?." . . 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 yet another 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

." . . represents a significant leap forward in the effort to describe information systems of all sorts in common terms."-LRTS

."" . . 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 yet another 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

About the Author

MICHAEL BUCKLAND is Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of California, Berkeley. He is also author of Library Services in Theory and Context.