This is the fourth edition of Professor John Feather's The Information Society, which has been updated to include current issues such as copyright, censorship, access to and freedom of information. The book is divided into four inter‐related parts: the historical context of information, the economic impact of information, the political dimension, and lastly the role of the information professional.
Part one takes the reader through the historical factors relating to the development of the information age, from the origins of text and the numerical symbols of antiquity, to the development of the print and mass media communications technologies that we are so familiar with today. In this section Feather also sets the context for the proceeding sections by introducing some of the wider issues associated with the digital revolution. While acknowledging the transformation in our working and leisure practices, Feather also presents the wider global impact of the information age. The continued division between the information rich and information poor, the new skills required by information professionals and the costs involved in acquiring these skills, the competition between information and communications companies for the consumer's time and money; all of these themes are discussed in greater detail in the subsequent sections.
Divided into two sections, part two, The Information Market‐place and Access to Information, takes the reader through the economic impact of information and technology. The publishing industry is the starting point for this section. There is good reason for this. As Feather states, print is still the most common medium of stored information and the publishing industry that has arisen from printing is at the forefront of the information revolution and developments. In addition, publishing, especially the advent of electronic publishing, has changed the information market‐place. Feather takes the reader on a journey through the traditional printed medium to electronic publishing and the advent of the CD‐ROM, online information and the mass media. Key to this section are the developments in technology and pricing strategy that have led to information having value and becoming regarded as a commodity, with information provision becoming a service. Unfortunately new competitors do not share the public library ethos of information being a traditionally free good. This shift in the information market place has wider implications for access, which Feather addresses whilst highlighting the changes in the information chain between producer and consumer, and the role of the state to facilitate information transfer via legislation and regulation. This section closes with the key political issues of the information society, in particular examining the disempowerment of those with limited economic resources, unable to gain access to information networks, and the control of information by individuals and states in positions of power and wealth.
Part three takes the themes from the previous section and explores the economic value of information in greater detail in the relationship between the information rich and information poor. Feather concludes that this is the central political issue of the information society. The role of the state as information regulator in the areas of intellectual property, data protection and personal privacy, freedom of information and censorship concludes this section. The main point of the chapter being the problem of defining the limits of state control, and the right of the public to have access to information and to retain their right to privacy.
The book concludes with discussion of the role of information professionals as intermediaries between governments and citizens in the provision of information sources and systems. Crucial to the role of the information professional are the three different but interconnecting types of information, public, personal and private. Feather defines the role and work of the information professional as the bringing together of these strands of information and their sources and systems. The changing role of the various types of information professional, from librarian and archivist to information manager and records manager, highlights the ways in which the profession has adapted to new media, technology and the management of public and private information.
Feather finishes the book with a question – how new is the idea of an information society? Is it new or part of historical continuity? Information has always been part of society, the difference is the role technology has played in the pace of change over the last fifty years.
This is a very accessible book which, although directed toward information, library and communications professionals, will also be an invaluable text for social scientists and anyone wishing to learn more about the nature of information and its continued impact on our society.
