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Information intensive Britain: A critical analysis of the policy issues
664
Book Reviews
The author has been quite prescient in his selection of topic, since IBM and its strategy have been the subject of media reports all through 1991. In an article in the Washington Post (August 2, 1991), a couple of columns were devoted to the company’s elimination of a layer of management at the top. In the same issue of the newspaper, an article appeared on an IBM agreement with Japan’s NEC Corporation to sell NEC’s largest supercomputer in a package with IBM’s own mainframes. All year there have been stories on collaborations with many companies, some of them such direct competitors as Apple. By the beginning of 1992 it has become clear that IBM is intending a major change in the way it does business. It is breaking Big Blue into many Little Blues: by giving its various businesses (e.g., personal computers, software development, storage devices, etc.) the freedom to succeed as highly autonomous units, coupled with the dire consequences of not achieving commercial success. Accompanying this restructuring is the inevitable “downsizing,” the letting go of thousands of employees considered expendable, reflecting CEO John Akers’ statement reported by Ray Brady (CBS News, July 19, 1991) that the employees have become “too [expletive] comfortable.” If nothing else, this book might have prepared the reader for the events that transpired in late 1991, because the author, whether he intended it or not, has sounded a jeremiad. Lister Hii/ National Center for Biomedical Co~~~njcatjons ~atjonal Library of medicine Bethesda, MD
GEORGE R. THOMA
Information Intensive Britain: A Critical Analysis of the Policy Issues. N. MOORE, J. STEELE.Policy Studies Institute, London (1991). 249 pp., f24.95, ISBN O-85374-484-X. This book deals with social science concerns in the information services sector. It is worthwhile reading for those who want an introduction to the area. There is fairly comprehensive identification of the issues, some historical background for each, a description of current developments, and suggestions for future direction. The coverage is brief, 24 short chapters, which enables a quick grasp of the nature of the issues. For those who want more depth, each chapter has a good bibliography. In fact, a major strength of this work is the extensive list of references, over 700. Many of the authors will be familiar to those in the field of library and information science. The authors have also compiled a substantial list of government reports from the United Kingdom. Although this study is funded by the British Library, the audience is likely to extend beyond the library community to a broad cross-section of individuals interested in the relationships among information, society, and the economy. This group may include economists, political scientists, psychologists, journalists, and those in the media and communications arts. There are many examples of problems which may heighten the awareness of information managers and others involved in the dissemination of information and encourage them to analyze their processes to determine if objectives are being met. A case in point involves an eye clinic where, “A survey showed that 70% of patients could not read the existing booklet because of their eye conditions!” (p. 148). Academics will find this book helpful, too. By assessing the state of knowledge on most topics, the authors point out areas where research may be most fruitful. Furthermore, academics, among others, will likely be interested in examining the authors’ evaluation of the state of information services which, in places, may be controversial. Statements such as, “Debate has led to a consensus that the library service should concentrate on the provision of factual information and not try to provide an advice service,” (pp. 163-164) will likely not go unchallenged. The book is well written in nontechnical language so that the arguments are accessible to the nonspecialist as well as the expert. The authors say that, “The purpose of this book is to explore the policy issues which are associated with the way information is used in Britain today” (p. 1). Consequently, the emphasis is on how to use it. Topics are organized into four major areas. The first chapter of each major area provides an introduction followed by short chapters dealing with subtopics. Part one, “Information and the British Economy,” deals with topics in the economics of information as defined by library and information science rather than economics. Part two, “Information and Organizations,” examines the way information is and might be used in government, health services, manufacturing, commerce and services, and the management process. The topics in part three include “Information and Citizenship, ” with focus on consumer information needs and how they are or may be met in the areas of social services, health, social security, and information access. The last part is about legislation and regulation of informationdiscussing copyright, privacy, and freedom of information. There is a final chapter on policies which points out the need for policy more than anything else.
Book
Reviews
665
The book deals with Britain, its policies, and legislation with some references to the United States and other countries as well. This focus on the institutional set-up in Britain may be considered a drawback by some. Nonetheless, the information issues are common to all countries, and useful insights about information management may be gained from the British situation. Department of Business and Economics Lake Superior State University Sault Ste. Marie, MI
JOHN ERKKILA
Library Trends: Toward Information Literacy- Innovative Perspectives for the 1990s. M. HUSTON (Issue Ed.) (Winter, 1991,39(3)). University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Champaign, IL (1991). $6O/yr., $18.50/issue, ISSN 0024-2594. Literacy is a social phenomenon. Its definition and its distribution shift constantly, adjusting expectations and access parameters over time. As recently as the end of the last century, educators were urged to deliver “recitation literacy” to the immigrant children who filled straight rows of desks. Their literacy was the ability to hold and treasure a book and to reel off memorized portions of basic literature. With the coming of World War I and the prospect of large numbers of men handling new equipment in foreign countries, army testers redefined literacy as being able to cope, on the spot, with novel texts [l]. Yet currently, that “extraction literacy,” so revolutionary in 1914, is limiting, almost backward, as we consider the demands for the “higher literacy” expected today. Trends in library user education now define information literacy beyond the parameters of simply locating and identifying who, what, where, and when. The ability to analyze information, to answer the “why” questions and to convey knowledge to others, has become the standard within our academic ranks. In a nation that demands such skills, opportunities for teaching such skills widens to include people whose jobs are on the frontlines in the area of information organization and use. Mary M. Huston, Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University, has gathered an interesting set of papers from academic librarians who, for the most part, are making a serious effort to move bibliographic instruction to a higher level. Although none of the articles offers original research to support these efforts, the concepts and ideas introduced have a great deal of merit and deserve wide consideration at all education levels. These essays are founded on the assumption that an acceptable working definition of an “information-literate person” is one who has learned how to learn. The American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy has defined the information-literate person as one who knows how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from that person [2]. Huston states that information literacy is the ability to effectively locate. evaluate, and employ the needed information. Evaluation implies the ability to compare and contrast, determine degree of accuracy or authority, and pursue data until, at the very least, comparisons can be made. Opportunities to utilize the information may not be as clear, but it seems the literate person must be able to repackage the information in such a way that others can then learn, or use the information to solve a problem. Has “information literacy” been moved too close to “information discovery or inquiry?” The two begin to blend throughout this Library Trends issue. Do librarians have a role in teaching information literacy? Certainly this group of pundits believes so. At what point are such skills, leading to possible intellectual insights, taught? Have many of those who might find themselves in the position to teach such skills, experienced such “information literacy” themselves? There is certainly room to move into the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy and certainly there should be efforts to teach judgment of information selection and use. Emphasis on such efforts should be a centerpiece of the discussion concerning library user education as well as librarian education. With that in mind, Huston and her colleagues have provided several challenging resolutions for debate. Information excess can be either dumped on us without any control or we can limit the amount of information we confront by controlling the search. While traditional library use instruction should continue to teach people how to select the best paths to relevant information, the user should be aware and armed with skills to handle the unlimited choices of information and search possibilities. The real world oozes excessive information in its most unmanageable form, except in those cases where some power structure wants to manipulate or limit information choices. Does library instruction include
Book Reviews
The author has been quite prescient in his selection of topic, since IBM and its strategy have been the subject of media reports all through 1991. In an article in the Washington Post (August 2, 1991), a couple of columns were devoted to the company’s elimination of a layer of management at the top. In the same issue of the newspaper, an article appeared on an IBM agreement with Japan’s NEC Corporation to sell NEC’s largest supercomputer in a package with IBM’s own mainframes. All year there have been stories on collaborations with many companies, some of them such direct competitors as Apple. By the beginning of 1992 it has become clear that IBM is intending a major change in the way it does business. It is breaking Big Blue into many Little Blues: by giving its various businesses (e.g., personal computers, software development, storage devices, etc.) the freedom to succeed as highly autonomous units, coupled with the dire consequences of not achieving commercial success. Accompanying this restructuring is the inevitable “downsizing,” the letting go of thousands of employees considered expendable, reflecting CEO John Akers’ statement reported by Ray Brady (CBS News, July 19, 1991) that the employees have become “too [expletive] comfortable.” If nothing else, this book might have prepared the reader for the events that transpired in late 1991, because the author, whether he intended it or not, has sounded a jeremiad. Lister Hii/ National Center for Biomedical Co~~~njcatjons ~atjonal Library of medicine Bethesda, MD
GEORGE R. THOMA
Information Intensive Britain: A Critical Analysis of the Policy Issues. N. MOORE, J. STEELE.Policy Studies Institute, London (1991). 249 pp., f24.95, ISBN O-85374-484-X. This book deals with social science concerns in the information services sector. It is worthwhile reading for those who want an introduction to the area. There is fairly comprehensive identification of the issues, some historical background for each, a description of current developments, and suggestions for future direction. The coverage is brief, 24 short chapters, which enables a quick grasp of the nature of the issues. For those who want more depth, each chapter has a good bibliography. In fact, a major strength of this work is the extensive list of references, over 700. Many of the authors will be familiar to those in the field of library and information science. The authors have also compiled a substantial list of government reports from the United Kingdom. Although this study is funded by the British Library, the audience is likely to extend beyond the library community to a broad cross-section of individuals interested in the relationships among information, society, and the economy. This group may include economists, political scientists, psychologists, journalists, and those in the media and communications arts. There are many examples of problems which may heighten the awareness of information managers and others involved in the dissemination of information and encourage them to analyze their processes to determine if objectives are being met. A case in point involves an eye clinic where, “A survey showed that 70% of patients could not read the existing booklet because of their eye conditions!” (p. 148). Academics will find this book helpful, too. By assessing the state of knowledge on most topics, the authors point out areas where research may be most fruitful. Furthermore, academics, among others, will likely be interested in examining the authors’ evaluation of the state of information services which, in places, may be controversial. Statements such as, “Debate has led to a consensus that the library service should concentrate on the provision of factual information and not try to provide an advice service,” (pp. 163-164) will likely not go unchallenged. The book is well written in nontechnical language so that the arguments are accessible to the nonspecialist as well as the expert. The authors say that, “The purpose of this book is to explore the policy issues which are associated with the way information is used in Britain today” (p. 1). Consequently, the emphasis is on how to use it. Topics are organized into four major areas. The first chapter of each major area provides an introduction followed by short chapters dealing with subtopics. Part one, “Information and the British Economy,” deals with topics in the economics of information as defined by library and information science rather than economics. Part two, “Information and Organizations,” examines the way information is and might be used in government, health services, manufacturing, commerce and services, and the management process. The topics in part three include “Information and Citizenship, ” with focus on consumer information needs and how they are or may be met in the areas of social services, health, social security, and information access. The last part is about legislation and regulation of informationdiscussing copyright, privacy, and freedom of information. There is a final chapter on policies which points out the need for policy more than anything else.
Book
Reviews
665
The book deals with Britain, its policies, and legislation with some references to the United States and other countries as well. This focus on the institutional set-up in Britain may be considered a drawback by some. Nonetheless, the information issues are common to all countries, and useful insights about information management may be gained from the British situation. Department of Business and Economics Lake Superior State University Sault Ste. Marie, MI
JOHN ERKKILA
Library Trends: Toward Information Literacy- Innovative Perspectives for the 1990s. M. HUSTON (Issue Ed.) (Winter, 1991,39(3)). University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Champaign, IL (1991). $6O/yr., $18.50/issue, ISSN 0024-2594. Literacy is a social phenomenon. Its definition and its distribution shift constantly, adjusting expectations and access parameters over time. As recently as the end of the last century, educators were urged to deliver “recitation literacy” to the immigrant children who filled straight rows of desks. Their literacy was the ability to hold and treasure a book and to reel off memorized portions of basic literature. With the coming of World War I and the prospect of large numbers of men handling new equipment in foreign countries, army testers redefined literacy as being able to cope, on the spot, with novel texts [l]. Yet currently, that “extraction literacy,” so revolutionary in 1914, is limiting, almost backward, as we consider the demands for the “higher literacy” expected today. Trends in library user education now define information literacy beyond the parameters of simply locating and identifying who, what, where, and when. The ability to analyze information, to answer the “why” questions and to convey knowledge to others, has become the standard within our academic ranks. In a nation that demands such skills, opportunities for teaching such skills widens to include people whose jobs are on the frontlines in the area of information organization and use. Mary M. Huston, Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University, has gathered an interesting set of papers from academic librarians who, for the most part, are making a serious effort to move bibliographic instruction to a higher level. Although none of the articles offers original research to support these efforts, the concepts and ideas introduced have a great deal of merit and deserve wide consideration at all education levels. These essays are founded on the assumption that an acceptable working definition of an “information-literate person” is one who has learned how to learn. The American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy has defined the information-literate person as one who knows how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from that person [2]. Huston states that information literacy is the ability to effectively locate. evaluate, and employ the needed information. Evaluation implies the ability to compare and contrast, determine degree of accuracy or authority, and pursue data until, at the very least, comparisons can be made. Opportunities to utilize the information may not be as clear, but it seems the literate person must be able to repackage the information in such a way that others can then learn, or use the information to solve a problem. Has “information literacy” been moved too close to “information discovery or inquiry?” The two begin to blend throughout this Library Trends issue. Do librarians have a role in teaching information literacy? Certainly this group of pundits believes so. At what point are such skills, leading to possible intellectual insights, taught? Have many of those who might find themselves in the position to teach such skills, experienced such “information literacy” themselves? There is certainly room to move into the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy and certainly there should be efforts to teach judgment of information selection and use. Emphasis on such efforts should be a centerpiece of the discussion concerning library user education as well as librarian education. With that in mind, Huston and her colleagues have provided several challenging resolutions for debate. Information excess can be either dumped on us without any control or we can limit the amount of information we confront by controlling the search. While traditional library use instruction should continue to teach people how to select the best paths to relevant information, the user should be aware and armed with skills to handle the unlimited choices of information and search possibilities. The real world oozes excessive information in its most unmanageable form, except in those cases where some power structure wants to manipulate or limit information choices. Does library instruction include