Introduction to Information Science

by David Bawden, Lyn Robinson

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. Among the critical topics covered:

Foundations, including the information society, historical perspectives and concepts
Organizing and retrieving information
Information behavior and digital literacies
Technologies and digital libraries
Information research and methods
Changing contexts including publishing, e-science and digital humanities
The future of the profession

This is the definitive textbook for students of information science, information and knowledge management, librarianship, archives, and records management worldwide. It’s also an invaluable guide for students of other information-related disciplines such as museum studies, publishing, and information systems. It’s a useful sourcebook for practitioners in all of these disciplines.

Genres: Information Science, Nonfiction, School, Textbooks, Education, Professional Development, Library Science

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Professor of Information Science in the Department of Library and Information Science (CityLIS)

Reviews

[Vojtěch]

Moje nová bible! Jestliže chcete zjistit, co vše je informační věda a jak profesionálové pracují s informacemi, tato kniha vám dá ucelené poznatky z různých úhlů pohledu. Navíc obsahuje spoustu praktických příkladů, vizuálních grafů a odkazů na přidruženou literaturu. Toto je zkrátka kniha nabitá informacemi o informacích od A až do Z.

[Kassie]

I don't love being the person who puts their school books on their lists.. but I have been feeling bad about not doing as much reading, and today I finished the last chapter of this and thought 'fuck it'. Get the book count up.

[Rowan]

This was painful to get through. It serves well as a bibliography of bibibliographies, but not as a text book. Every chapter can be boiled down to: we have nothing to say about this, but here's a list of sources that do have something to say.

The editing was terrible and I suggest the author do a little studying on learning and development to make the information more palatable to the human brain. Or get an editor who actually specializes in content creation.

I realize this industy has a big gap in literature and the author was attempting to fill that gap. This book is not the solution.
It came off as intellectual back patting for concepts that are incredibly simple.

It would be useful in an ebook format if the sources they mentioned were hyperlinked.

I would be interested in looking at the author's other books to see if this one was a fluke, but I'm not a masochist either.

[Sarah]

Good Information Science primer text to have on the shelf for quick reference.

[Lauren]

2.5 stars - I was frustrated by how much of this book basically boiled down to "idk but here's 8 different people with different opinions on the matter." Like, yes, there's different takes, but this felt more like a reference primer than a reliable text at some points and not incredibly helpful. Given how much waffling there is in the information science community at large, I give the authors credit for putting together what they did, hence the half star increase on my rating. The writing was fine, the content was the issue

[David]

A good introduction to the theory, history, and application of information science with particular attention to digital spaces and libraries. Aside from an overreliance on the information philosophy of Floridi and glazing Popper, it has laid a good foundation for further exploration of the academic as well as practical work in an academic library setting.

[Tintin Johansson]

Väldigt intressant med flera olika kapitel som berör olika delar av informationsvetenskap. Minus en stjärna för att den var för vetenskaplig med svårt språk så det var mycket jag inte förstod.

[Crystal]

Engaging overviews accompanied by extensive bibliographies

[Jaňa]

ani v červnu teď asi nemám energii vysvětlovat čtyři hvězdičky
jakože byla to docela náročná četba ngl
různorodý pohledy, někdy bych chtěla víc detailů (a současně by pak knížka asi měla insane rozměry)
taky to má
hodně odkazů na další četbu (až demotivační někdy)

[Sam]

A very accessible and well-written overview of the field. I will definitely be revisiting this book in the future for the recommended key readings and references.

[Kristi Hovington]

Good theory based intro to IS.

[Kristen Barenthaler]

Good textbook for an introduction to the study of information sciences. A little confusing at times due to over-referencing instead of just giving the information necessary to understand the topics.

[zack]

Not exactly a light read by any means but very interesting and educational.

[Mira]

This is boring, I think I need to find a lighter introductory book before digging into this theory-heavy one.

[Zachary Frazier]

Decent introductory textbook. Very appropriate for undergrads studying Information Science, but still slightly library-centric. Unfortunately now out of print.

[Erica]

Great book for future librarians

[nika_illiad]

také 3,45 actually

[Madelyn Rose]

I don't think information science knows what it is

[Ahmadmmm]

bagus bukunya banyak ngutip buku dan artikel lain, jadi gak berdiri sendiri. patut jadi buku rujukan utama. ngelingkup konteks perpustakaan (jd lib sci gak merasa ditinggal)

[Adrian Heok]

One of the most balanced and inspiring introduction to the field of study. Many self respecting teacher would never recommend a text book, believing that journal papers and proceedings of conferences provide the most up to date sources for use in the classroom. But this particular textbook provides not just the latest in the discipline's evolution but points to the many critical issues that are being discussed by the community. Highly recommended as a veritable vade mecum for all who wants to plough in the frontier of this dynamic meta-discipline.

[Aaron]

We didn't finish the book before my class was done but I did find it interesting especially the last half of the book we studied. The theory was a bit much for me but I finally (I Think) got the gist of it but Once laid out in practical senses I think it made more since. Over all a decent read. Definitely not night time before bed reading but decent.

[Elysa]

I read this textbook in an introductory graduate course in information sciences. The book was easy to read, informative, broad in coverage, and well organized. I even cited in my other courses, and I plan to keep it to use for future reference as it is easy to find information in it, has a great bibliography, and provides quick overviews of important topics for the field.