Information English Information Management Environment

Author: Li Jifang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-12-01
Features: Information management is a newly developed field of study. It is based on library science and information science. Library management has traditionally focused on the study of book organization, catalogs, and information retrieval. It has a respected history, with the scope of human knowledge as its research area. In the mid-1940s, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver, two scientists, proposed "information theory," offering a new scientific approach to viewing information. After that, other scholars developed information theory from their practical work, transforming it into a discipline of information science. Clearly, information science has a direct relationship with library science and is also connected to other disciplines such as electronic engineering, logic, automatic control, and linguistics. Leaders in information research are adept at advanced computer technologies and have long applied computers to their work. Some have also recognized that through information science and the use of computers, managers can make informed decisions. Overall, senior information officers and managers need to make decisions related to their organizations, and they require diverse information sources to make wise decisions. In this context, their information resources include both textual (literature) and non-textual types. These resources originate from two situations: 1) documents and materials generated by the staff of an organization; 2) documents and materials collected by an organization or unit for research and inquiry. Examples of producers in these two categories are: in the first case, a government department engaged in research, creating materials, publishing research findings, and disseminating various publications; in the second case, a technology university providing degrees and conducting important basic research. In both situations, people collect, evaluate, organize, and index information resources to prepare them for retrieval and dissemination. The fundamental skills required for information resource management are largely developed by library management professionals, especially in information classification and indexing. Information management professionals heavily rely on computers for activities such as converting data into machine-readable formats, information transmission, information control, information storage, and information retrieval. However, these activities are computer-based and limited to the computer itself. It is the application of management principles and other human efforts (such as the study of information society, research on information demand and application) that have helped information management develop into the important field of study it is today. Professor Li Jifang has written a comprehensive and accessible supplementary textbook for students learning information management. In this book, students will read excellent texts written by scholars and practitioners from around the world. The content is extensive, well-structured, and interconnected. Each chapter includes supplementary discussion questions that greatly aid in understanding the material. Additionally, information management beginners will find this supplementary textbook encouraging and inspiring as they embark on their exciting and challenging career.