Fundamentals of Information Studies: Understanding Information and Its Environment

Lester and Koehler explore the history of information technology, its effect on communication, and the current status of societal institutions that create, distribute, and manage information. Individual chapters cover the impact of information in society, fundamental concepts of information, information technology, information institutions and professions, the impact of information on cultures and societies, the economics of information, information policy, information ethics, and information futures. This is the first book geared towards undergraduate information studies programs to approach the field from a multidisciplinary perspective. The authors emphasize technological development, people’s access to and use of information, and the effect the interplay between those two components has on society’s structure and operation.

June Lester is a professor in the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies. She has served as Associate Dean for the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas, and Director, Office for Accreditation, of the American Library Association. She is also a past President of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) and a former member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science.

Wallace C. Koehler, Jr. is Director and Associate Professor in the Department of Information Studies at Valdosta State University. He was Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies and has taught in the areas of government, politics, foreign policy, and international law at the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, Maryville College, and Temple University. Koehler is active in committee service in IFLA, ALA, and ALISE and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Internet Cataloging, CyberMetrics, and Journal of the Uganda Library Association.