Overview

Whether termed the 'network society', the 'knowledge society' or the 'information society', it is widely accepted that a new age has dawned, unveiled by powerful computer and communication technologies. Yet for millennia humans have been recording knowledge and culture, engaging in the dissemination and preservation of information. In `The Early Information Society', the authors argue for an earlier incarnation of the information age, focusing upon the period 1900-1960. In support of this they examine the history and traditions in Britain of two separate but related information-rich occupations - information management and information science - repositioning their origins before the age of the computer and identifying the forces driving their early development. `The Early Information Society' offers an historical account which questions the novelty of the current information society. It will be essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners in the library and information science field, and for sociologists and historians interested in the information society.

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9780754642794

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Reviews

'Like all good historians, Black, Muddiman and Plant bring to vivid life what has passed out of current memory, in this case a number of startling developments in information management in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century, long before computers emerged on the scene. The stories they tell are fascinating. Their analyses are subtle, crisp and provocative. Their scholarship is impeccable. This highly original work raises profoundly important questions about the relationship between society, industry, the economy and regimes of information management that take us far beyond the slick formulas of today's pundits of the information age . A must read!' W. Boyd Rayward, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US 'The enormous imperative of now leads us to ignore history. Inhabiting the new Information Society, the pressing need is to adapt so that we may prosper. The past scarcely seems relevant. If you think that, then you need this book. Things aren't so novel when scholars look carefully at where we've come from. The Early Information Society traces the origins of the Information Age in Britain, the real history in which a national information infrastructure was established between the late 19th and the 1930s, when information professions came into being, and when deep gender divisions held sway. What is this novelty, the Information Society? Reading this history book will surely provoke questions about the here and now'. Frank Webster, City University London, UK 'I am sure that this book should find its way to every library serving librarianship and information science or similar departments.' Information Research, Review no R297, 2008 '...this book is a useful and valuable resource for both the study of the history of information professions and the history of the emergence of the information society.' Libraries & the Cultural Record, Issue 43:3, 2008 'The authors of The Early Information Society combine both the skills of the historian and the broader conceptual frameworks of the information sciences in which their backgrounds lie.' Economic History Review 'This study does succeed in showing how a rapidly advancing scientific, industrial and technological society developed information management techniques and institutions to suit its needs - just because the period is pre-computer does not mean that it was an information dark age. The depth of scholarship is impressive and reveals a good grasp of both the finer detail and broad historical sweep of the times. This work is highly recommended.' Library Hi-Tech

'Like all good historians, Black, Muddiman and Plant bring to vivid life what has passed out of current memory, in this case a number of startling developments in information management in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century, long before computers emerged on the scene. The stories they tell are fascinating. Their analyses are subtle, crisp and provocative. Their scholarship is impeccable. This highly original work raises profoundly important questions about the relationship between society, industry, the economy and regimes of information management that take us far beyond the slick formulas of today's pundits of the information age. A must read!' W. Boyd Rayward, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US 'The enormous imperative of now leads us to ignore history. Inhabiting the new Information Society, the pressing need is to adapt so that we may prosper. The past scarcely seems relevant. If you think that, then you need this book. Things aren't so novel when scholars look carefully at where we've come from. The Early Information Society traces the origins of the Information Age in Britain, the real history in which a national information infrastructure was established between the late 19th and the 1930s, when information professions came into being, and when deep gender divisions held sway. What is this novelty, the Information Society? Reading this history book will surely provoke questions about the here and now'. Frank Webster, City University London, UK 'I am sure that this book should find its way to every library serving librarianship and information science or similar departments.' Information Research, Review no R297, 2008 '...this book is a useful and valuable resource for both the study of the history of information professions and the history of the emergence of the information society.' Libraries & the Cultural Record, Issue 43:3, 2008 'The authors of The Early Information Society combine both the skills of the hi

'Like all good historians, Black, Muddiman and Plant bring to vivid life what has passed out of current memory, in this case a number of startling developments in information management in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century, long before computers emerged on the scene. The stories they tell are fascinating. Their analyses are subtle, crisp and provocative. Their scholarship is impeccable. This highly original work raises profoundly important questions about the relationship between society, industry, the economy and regimes of information management that take us far beyond the slick formulas of today’s pundits of the information age. A must read!' W. Boyd Rayward, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US 'The enormous imperative of now leads us to ignore history. Inhabiting the new Information Society, the pressing need is to adapt so that we may prosper. The past scarcely seems relevant. If you think that, then you need this book. Things aren’t so novel when scholars look carefully at where we’ve come from. The Early Information Society traces the origins of the Information Age in Britain, the real history in which a national information infrastructure was established between the late 19th and the 1930s, when information professions came into being, and when deep gender divisions held sway. What is this novelty, the Information Society? Reading this history book will surely provoke questions about the here and now'. Frank Webster, City University London, UK 'I am sure that this book should find its way to every library serving librarianship and information science or similar departments.' Information Research, Review no R297, 2008 '...this book is a useful and valuable resource for both the study of the history of information professions and the history of the emergence of the information society.' Libraries & the Cultural Record, Issue 43:3, 2008 'The authors of The Early Information Society combine both the skills of the hi

Author Information

Alistair Black is Professor of Library and Information History and Dave Muddiman is Associate Principle Lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. Helen Plant is a Project Officer at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), Leicester, UK.

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