The Information Society: A Study of Continuity and Change (3rd ed.)

Citation

Llwyd, R. (2003), "The Information Society: A Study of Continuity and Change (3rd ed.)", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 126-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/prog.2003.37.2.126.1

This is a joint review with The Wired World: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of the Information Society.

It is entirely appropriate that these two books should be jointly reviewed, not only because Professor John Feather is the sole author of the first and joint author of the second, but also because they are volumes which supplement and complement each other in a very special way. I will, however, deal with the significance of each in turn before showing what their special relationship is.

The first edition of The Information Society appeared in 1994 with a slightly revised edition appearing in 1998 and this third version two years after that. Thus three editions within the space of six years, which says a great deal about the individual book and its subject matter. This in itself raises an important and serious issue. Anyone who is involved in researching and teaching information society studies (in whatever disciplinary context) will know too well that it is a rapidly developing subject and that barely a week goes by without some new initiative or development being announced which impacts on the so called “information society”. Keeping up to date with all relevant developments and becoming familiar with everything that is produced (in a multiplicity of formats by now) is no mean feat .

Therefore, producing even an introductory printed text that is entirely current in terms of its content is nigh impossible. Indeed, some people would no doubt question whether publishing traditionally printed books on a subject such as this and bringing out “revised” versions every couple of years is the right approach now that we are in the age of electronic publishing and the electronic library, since there are obvious implications for individual book buyers and institutional buyers such as libraries.

Ever since the first edition of The Information Society appeared in 1994 it has proved to be a popular and useful general introductory text, not just to the “information society” phenomenon of the latter part of the twentieth century, but also to the significance of information for societies throughout the course of history. It was for that reason that the book has the significant sub‐title “a study of continuity and change”. For the starting point of The Information Society, as its author rightly reminds us, is the past and he further maintains that “it is only in the longer historical perspective that we can begin to understand both the enormity and the limitations of what is happening now and what we are trying to do”. The aim of this third edition has not changed and, as the author rightly maintains “the fundamental argument and structure remain intact”. For those that are unfamiliar with earlier editions let me outline that structure.

Following a brief introduction the book is divided, very logically, into seven major chapters – two are devoted to “the historical dimension”, two to “the economic dimension” and two to “the political dimension”. The last main chapter is entitled “the information profession ” and this is followed by a brief “afterword” which returns to the very basic question whether ours is indeed “an information society” and so markedly different from previous societies. Incidentally, one welcome improvement in this third edition is the way that sub‐headings which occur in each chapter have been incorporated into the contents page thus making the task of locating specific topics that much easier and quicker.

The two chapters devoted to the historical dimension are “essentially an attempt to sketch the history of the storage, communication and retrieval of information, in terms of media and technology” and these range from Palaeolithic cave paintings to present day computers. The chapters devoted to the economic dimension consider, in a broad sense, the cost and value of information and provide a useful introduction to the economics of both traditional and electronic publishing, broadcasting and the “interdependent” media that have developed as a result of advances in computing and information technology. Linked inevitably to the subject of the information marketplace is the issue of access to information and in the sections which deal with the Internet and the World Wide Web the author has had to considerably revise some of his previous comments (in the 1998 edition) to reflect some phenomenal advances in these areas. The two chapters that consider the political dimension of information deal specifically with information richness and poverty (to which one entire chapter is devoted) and issues relating to the protection of intellectual property, data protection and personal privacy, freedom of information and censorship – issues that are relevant to all of us, not only as private citizens, but also as information professionals. The final main chapter deals specifically with the impact which the changing nature of our society is having on librarians and libraries, archivists and record managers and the growing band of information managers in both the public and private sectors. There are a number of perceptive comments about the crucial issues facing the information profession and information professionals of the immediate future. There are no references in this text nor is there a bibliography, although there is a brief “note on further reading” which “is intended to give guidance to the novice rather than the specialist”. This phrase sums up very accurately the value of the book itself. It is a concise and succinctly written introduction to our rapidly changing society and of value not only to those who are entering the information professions at the beginning of this third millennium, but to others who are genuinely interested in the manner in which information is being generated and disseminated in our “global village”.

Whereas The Information Society provides us with the necessary historical and sociological background, the focus of The Wired World is more specific as its sub‐title indicates – An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of the Information Society. It is primarily concerned with the present and immediate past. The authors claim in the preface that they have three basic aims in their “modest” book and it is worth listing them to:

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  explore the underlying theories of the information society as they have been developed by sociologists, scientists and economists;

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  consider the concept of information and how it is stored and communicated through various media and technologies; and

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  to examine some of the ways in which an information society is developed and what shape that development might take in the future.

Furthermore, they claim that the book “is intended to be introductory to most of the topics on which it touches”. That they have managed to introduce us to so many topics in such a comparatively short space was no mean feat and to accomplish that task the book has been divided into six chapters. The first, “Theorizing the information society” attempts to provide a workable definition of information and recounts the works of leading sociologists, information scientists, philosophers and economists who have made major contributions to information society theories over the last 30 years. Chapter two “A new technology for information” discusses the impact of computers, networks, the World Wide Web, mobile telephony and the convergence of ICT technologies and the prospect that “we stand on the threshold of an ICT development that will continue the process of fundamental change in how we live and work”. The third chapter, “The flow of information”, provides further analysis of the impact of the Internet and the World Wide Web and raises serious issues in relation to accessibility and quality control, or the lack of it as is often the case. Chapter four considers “Information policy” and a number of issues which were also considered in The Information Society such as censorship, copyright, data protection and freedom of information are revisited in the specific context of the “wired world”.

The fifth chapter, which is considerably longer than any of the others, is a case study of “The information society in practice: the European experience”. Although the authors claim that it is just a “brief and much simplified survey”, it should be added that it is an exceptionally clear and logical one providing a chronological account of attempts by the European Union (“the world’s largest single economy”) to formulate and implement a European information society policy. Along the way we are introduced to myriad reports and initiatives and some of the major ones such as the Delores Report of 1993, the Bangemann Report of 1994 and the more recent eEurope Action Plan are discussed in considerable detail. The final chapter, “The future”, considers the consequences of change as it already manifests itself in the way most of us now live and work in the proclaimed information society and hints at other likely changes in the future as a result of the ICT revolution which is still ongoing. Each of the six chapters in The Wired World include extensive “Notes and references”, to both print and electronic sources, and there is also “A note on further reading” in all apart from the last chapter. The book has a section entitled “Some suggestions for further reading” which lists sources that are regarded as essential reading for all serious students of information society studies. Finally, there is a conventional bibliography of works cited and also a very helpful list of Web sites cited in the text or references. These various suggestions for further reading are particularly valuable and add considerably to the text.

I began this review by claiming that these two volumes supplement and complement each other. They were both envisaged as introductory texts to a vast and complex subject. Any student, or general reader for that matter, who conscientiously reads them and attentively assimilates their content will become highly knowledgeable about that ever present and crucially important subject – the information society.