Information Dynamics

Citation

Muirhead, G. (1998), "Information Dynamics", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 49-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.1.49.7

The choice of title is a key decision affecting the success or otherwise of any publication. On that basis Information Dynamics will surely attract a lot of attention. But does what is inside the covers live up to these expectations? Come to that, what exactly is “information dynamics”? There seem to be at least three interpretations of this term present in the book. On one level, Information Dynamics is about the psychodynamics of information, that is, it is about how the internal motives and emotions of managers, information workers and information users manifest themselves in the world of work at both the interpersonal and organisational levels. It is also about the internal dynamics of the information world, in other words, the management of information by information professionals and the interaction between information workers and their clients as information is processed and used. Finally, the book is about the underlying forces acting on the information world to produce change, particularly technological change. This breadth of meaning accommodates a very wide range of subjects.

In Chapter 1 Ray Prytherch reviews some of the recent trends in information management (IM) based on the literature since 1992. The editor, in her introduction to this chapter, states that the purpose of the chapter is to provide a broad overview as a preparation for the contributions that follow. However, the focus is too specifically on IM and the business environment for the chapter to provide a context for subsequent chapters which are about libraries and information services of all kinds. Chapter 2, “What information? What dynamics?” by Rosemary Raddon, considers psychoanalytic theories and processes in relation to information work, with reference to three related areas: the internal or psychic world, the external or personal and organisational world, and the “phenomenon to which we have given the label ‘information’”. In Chapter 3, “The development of career choice and the impact of organisational change”, Liz Gleed, drawing on the work of Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott, uses the concepts of career choice as a transitional space between the inner world of a young person and the external world, and work as a container for unconscious anxieties, to offer an explanation of why people choose to work in particular professions, why they may become dissatisfied or uncomfortable with their choice, and what happens when work no longer provides them with stability and security.

Chapter 4, “The meaning of buildings in library and information work”, by Rossana Kendall, again makes use of the theories of Klein about the importance of the mother and Winnicott’s notion of transitional space, to argue that the library as a physical place has an important role to play: “It is possible to have protected space outside of a building, perhaps space on a cable, or space in a mind but ... a building (containing relationships with real people), is a very important part of our work, even if, like a teddy bear, it looks a bit battered”. In Chapter 5 “Organization and dynamics within information services” Liz Roberts, writing from a public library perspective, looks at individual and collective responses to change, in particular anxiety, defence mechanisms, and inter‐group rivalry, and the implications of these responses for the organisations concerned and for management. Chapter 6, “The dynamics of marketing for information”, by Janet Shuter, begins by asserting that “practical modern information management can be summarised as indexing and marketing”. Shuter argues that it is not enough simply to add value to information by indexing it. For information to come alive, for a meaningful information exchange to take place, we also need to think of information in terms of customer/consumers, products, demand and price, packaging, delivery systems, and target markets. The final chapter, by Terry Beck, entitled “The dynamics of the future: technological experiences”, is a straightforward overview of recent developments in computing and telecommunications and their impact on society.

This is a thought‐provoking book but one in which the diversity of the topics addressed prevents it from gelling into a cohesive whole. Without the constant presence of the editor (in the form of certain characteristic giveaway phrases and terms, parenthetical references between chapters, and, most of all, in the interpretative framework created by the introductions which preface each chapter) it would be difficult to see any substantive connection between the individual contributions. I also felt that at times Klein’s ideas were being strained to breaking point ‐ for example, when, having likened the library building to the mother’s body, the analogy is extended to include library system software (“the maternal processes”) and the OPAC (the mother’s breast: “a source of nourishment, which is on tap, without regulation”). It would be easy to be cynical about such parallels, but the central thesis of the book ‐ that “an understanding of the dynamics of information in the workplace needs to be underpinned by an understanding of the internal or psychic worlds, the personal world of the manager, and a clear appreciation of the context in which she operates” ‐ is one which, if there is a willingness to apply it, has very practical and beneficial consequences. In this respect, the 13 case studies which conclude the book are crucial, because they illustrate the interrelationships between the internal and external worlds in real interpersonal and organisational settings. At the very least, anyone reading this book will be reminded that their own behaviour and the behaviour of colleagues and clients in the workplace has deep and complex roots. It may not always be possible to uncover these hidden forces but being aware of them can make us more tolerant and more understanding.