Introductory Concepts in Information Science (Asis Monograph Series)

Rating:
Summary: Information= The Force
Review: An excellent guide that provides basic introductions to web operations and organization, Melanie J. Norton's Introductory Concepts In Information Science uses recent research as well as scholarly and trade publications to provide a history of information science and the key concepts which have helped it advance. The depth of survey is startling for a slim-appearing title: it packs in a lot of basics and concepts.

Rating:
Summary: A truly excellent guide and reference.
Review: An excellent guide that provides basic introductions to web operations and organization, Melanie J. Norton's Introductory Concepts In Information Science uses recent research as well as scholarly and trade publications to provide a history of information science and the key concepts which have helped it advance. The depth of survey is startling for a slim-appearing title: it packs in a lot of basics and concepts.

Rating:
Summary: Information= The Force
Review: This book is scarcely 120 pages long. Of the eight chapters, one chapter is reprinted material from two other authors, and another is co-authored. Yet this book costs forty dollars, and Norton makes her students buy it for her class. Nice way to sell copies; really nice. The editorial review is utterly right. This could be interesting material, and it is complex; but Norton's style is so dry and her writing so stodgy, dull, and even awkward, it virtually kills any interest one might have brought to the subject matter. Norton seems to believe in the mystical powers of information, and claims the study of information as the science to end all sciences. Ridiculous or not, she can't deliver her presentation in any kind of dynamic way. It's a pity. I would have hoped for a more interesting introduction to information science. Instead, I feel suspicious, disgusted, and cheated by having to have read this book. I believe my views probably represent an extreme. However, you're probably only reading this if you are being required to buy the book for a class, so my views are ultimately irrelevant, since they aren't really informing your purchasing decision. :-)

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction
Review: Very good at introducing basic concepts of info science. Particularly useful to librarians interested in thinking abstractly about their field. A good chapter on bibliometric research and content analysis. All around, a good primer in the area of information science... A solid and succinct addition to any library/info science collection.