Introduction to Information Science, Second Edition

Customers outside of North America (USA and Canada) should contact Facet Publishing for purchasing information.

ALA Member
$71.99
Price
$79.99
Item Number
978-0-8389-3729-7
Published
2022
Publisher
ALA Neal-Schuman
Pages
384
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the authors
  • Reviews

Foreword by Luciano Floridi 

The second edition of this definitive text gives a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the subject, bringing it up-to-date with analysis of the changes in the information environment, now largely digital, and their implication for the discipline and professions. Its approach is rooted in the philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual foundations of the subject and in particular in Floridi's ideas of the fourth revolution, hyperhistory, and onlife. The theory-practice relationship is strongly emphasized throughout, and the extensive literature coverage makes this a valuable sourcebook. This second edition is extensively revised, with largely new text, illustrations, and resources, and offers a global perspective. The main topics covered include

  • foundations: philosophies, theories, concepts, ethics, and historical perspectives;
  • organizing, retrieving, and analyzing information and data;
  • information behavior, domain analysis, and digital literacies;
  • digital technologies, information systems, and information management;
  • information research methods and informetrics;
  • changing modes of information communication, and information society; and
  • the nature and future of the information disciplines and professions.

This book will be a standard text for students of library and information disciplines, including information science, librarianship, information and knowledge management, archives and records management, and digital humanities. It will also serve as an introduction for those beginning research in these areas, and as a resource for thoughtful and reflective practitioners.

Examination copies are available for instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use.

Preface
List of acronyms
Foreword by Luciano Floridi

1 The information science discipline
2 History of information: the story of documents
3 Philosophies of information
4 Paradigms, turns, and theories in the information sciences
5 Information
6 Documents and documentation
7 Domain analysis
8 Information organization
9 Digital technologies and data systems
10 Information systems
11 Informetrics
12 Information behaviour
13 Communicating information: changing contexts
14 Information management and policy
15 Information law and ethics
16 Information society
17 Digital (onlife) literacies
18 Research in the information sciences
19 The future of the information sciences

Additional resources

David Bawden

David Bawden is Professor of Information Science at City University London, editor of Journal of Documentation, and has published extensively in information science.

Lyn Robinson

Lyn Robinson is Program Director for Library and Information Science at City University London, and a well-known writer and presenter in the subject. She is also the author of Understanding Healthcare Information.

Praise for Introduction to Information Science, Second Edition

"The publication of this second edition of David Bawden and Lyn Robinson’s textbook is a major event in information science. The first edition of 2012 established the highest standards; ten years later, the second edition comfortably exceeds all expectations. Quite simply, it is the clearest, most comprehensive and most useful introduction to the field yet produced, and should receive the strongest possible recommendation – equally for those just starting on their studies and for older hands. The vitality and precision with which the authors organize their vast and complex material make the work highly readable, and of course it is bang up-to-date, with chapters analyzing the latest ideas, practices and technologies. Introduction to Information Science has no competition: it is in a class of one. Read it!"
— Jonathan Furner, Professor, School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

"Bawden and Robinson’s invaluable Introduction to Information Science has quickly established itself as the leading textbook in LIS education at all levels and is an essential resource for researchers and lecturers alike. The breadth of literature the authors bring together is astonishing, and yet they never once lose focus. Introduction to Information Science will be a key reference in the field for years, if not decades to come."
— Jutta Haider, Professor of Information Studies, Swedish

"Just as information technologies have come to pervade every aspect of social life, information science has become a required component of all disciplines and research endeavours, with the opportunity and the responsibility to operate in dialogue with other forms of knowledge. This wonderful textbook takes such pervasiveness and cross-contamination as its starting point. It provides essential tools to understand not just what information science is, but how it can best operate within a world transformed by digitalization and novel forms of information governance. Clear, engaging and replete with useful examples, this is a definitive reference for what an information scientist should know in order to act effectively, reliably and responsibly."
— Sabina Leonelli, Professor of Philosophy and History of Science, University of Exeter

"This is a welcome update to the excellent first edition, and the breadth of coverage is admirable. This new edition will satisfy those looking for the practical as well as the theoretical concepts necessary to truly understand information science. As a textbook it is an invaluable source that will enhance degree courses across the information science domain, from both soft and hard approaches. As a student text it would support every facet of an information science curriculum, giving excellent overviews of key areas, supported by up-to-date references to explore concepts further. From two of the world’s leading information science academics, this is an absolutely essential purchase for any student or practitioner in the information sciences."
— Dr. David McMenemy, Senior Lecturer in Information Studies, University of Glasgow

Praise for the first edition

"The book is well written and easy to read. A very useful index concludes the volume. Scholars and academics who are serious about information science as a discipline should not be without this book."
— Online Information Review

"An excellent resource for those wishing to look at the challenges and issues in library science from a technical viewpoint. It is a wide-ranging look at multiple topics in information science, packed with references to important texts in these areas. Both technically complex and more abstract, theoretical discussions are delivered with concision and clarity."
— Technicalities