Abstract

Information science is the study of information phenomena, including the acquisition, storage, and manipulation of data, information, and knowledge. It is by nature an interdisciplinary field. Researchers, managers, system users, and students need access to tools, terms, and techniques that are spread out over a large literature in a number of different disciplines: information retrieval, database management, office information systems, information technology, communication and networking, relevant computer hardware, and artificial intelligence.
This work facilitates the cross-use terms from the various contributing sub-areas of information science. With definitions of one-thousand terms, in alphabetical order, the volume provides a unified, integrated, and concise guide to the field. Each term is annotated by one or more references to the literature. Where possible, the first reference directs the user to a basic or seminal discussion of the term and subsequent references show its usage in an information science-related application. This work will be an indispensable reference for students, researchers, and professionals.

• Contains one-thousand entries and more than 100 illustrations and tables
• Many entries include enough information (examples, diagrams, and formulas) to allow the reader to make use of the term, model, or algorithm in his or her own application
• An extensive bibliography (more than 300 references) guides the reader to the details of concepts described in the guide--nearly every entry is annotated by one or more references, both to seminal or basic discussions of the concept and to works that demonstrate its usage in an information science-related application
• Each term is followed by a number "key" into the detailed subject outlines at the back of the book, so that each item is given a context within a subject area
• Entries focus on fundamental concepts, rather that specific technologies

"This slim volume represents a state-of-the-art shapshot of the field of information science and deserves a place in every reference collection. Its coverage is commendably comprehensive...Two special features add significantly to the value of this work: Most of the definitions are referenced to one or more entries in a three-hundred-item bibliography...Also of special note is the eighteen-page subject outline to which every entry is indexed. This outline allows the user to identify broader, narrower, or related terms and to place specific ideas in a broader context...A significant contribution to the field." —LIBRARY QUARTERLY

"This dictionary brings together many of those terms and concepts that are essential for librarians to meet todays technological demands." —AMERICAN REFERENCE BOOKS ANNUAL, ARBA 93

"Clearly a market among libraries....Now that I've seen the finished product, I think that the coverage is good enough that I'll want my own personal copy for daily use. Just about everything you always wanted to know and didn't know how to find out about information science is in there." —ROBERT B. KORFHAGE, President, Data Organization and Management, Inc.