Information and Information Systems: 25 (New Directions in Information Management) - Tapa dura

"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

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.