The Problem of Information: An Introduction to Information Science

Rating:
Summary: A scholarly but highly accessible text
Review: Authoritatively written by Douglas Raber (Associate Professor at the School of Information Science, University of Tennessee - Knoxville), The Problem Of Information: An Introduction To The Information Science is a scholarly but highly accessible text deftly discussing a range of research issues such as paradigms, physical metaphors, cognitive metaphors, information as social phenomena, and more. The Problem Of Information is particularly recommended for inclusion with Library Science and Information Science reference collections because of its expertly detailed presentation of critical meta-issues concerning texts and references of all subjects.

Rating:
Summary: The problem of The Problem of Information
Review: This book is boring, tedious, at times illogical, and almost always pretentious and tiresome. It's taking me on average 5 minutes per page to get through it, only to find that his points fall into four camps: 1) something I knew already, 2) something I didn't know and don't believe because I think it's illogical, 3) something I didn't know but don't think is relevant, and 4) something I didn't know, do think is relevant, and do believe. All in all, I think that Raber wrote this book in such a way that his language masks his sloppiness; I feel I'm wasting my time reading his work--Castells is much better--and I wouldn't recommend this book except as a literary cure for insomnia.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Contribution to Understanding Information
Review: This text offers a broad yet precise overview of theoretical developments in Library and Information Science. It describes the predominant and competing paradigms that organize research within LIS and argues that they actually represent a "unity of opposites" between the perspective of information as a physical object and information as a cognitive phenomenon. Once the primary paradigms are presented, the author then introduces a critical perspective and offers an alternative framework using semiotics to examine the phenomena of information as a theoretical object. Overall, this text integrates a wide range of seminal literature and serves as an excellent introduction to the discipline of Information Science. This book is a must-read for all Master's level students in Library and Information Science programs and those who teach in LIS. The book is also helpful in understanding the role of information in the global economy and information economics.