RA: Information Science and Information Technology

Title of the Article: The ‘Information-Starved’ – is there any hope of reaching the ‘Information Super Highway’?
Author: Denise Nicholson
Publisher: IFLA

ABSTRACT

Information science is a study that deals with the behavior and processes involving information in whatever format. Information technology on the other hand is the study and application of applied sciences in the development and evaluation of processes involving information, from creation to dissemination and usage. These definitions do not only account for study. The focus is on how these affect one another as concepts, as much as in practice.

The article explored the plight of some marginalized sectors and communities in South Africa. Apart from the scarcity of resources to fulfill each citizen’s basic needs, especially the people living in rural areas, informal settlers in urban areas, illiterate persons and persons with disabilities, there is also an apparent lack of education and usable information sources. This lack has become a hindrance not only to the country’s progress as a nation but also to its cultural development, proper education, literacy, employment rates and health care. Moreover, in the future, if the said predicament keep on, the barrier between the “haves,” those who have access to various information sources and utility services, and the “have-nots,” those who do not have the enough resources to get access to information, shall persist; which may renew the legacy of apartheid. Although possible solutions and recommendations involving information science and technology are also explored opposite these issues in the South African context, these can also be applied in other locations.

What I learned

Information science is a multidisciplinary body of knowledge that deals with the study, practice, and evaluation of the properties, behavior and processes of information, from origination/creation, storage, preservation, retrieval, dissemination to usage and accessibility. The definition is overwhelming but it has been a concept handed down and practiced even in ancient civilization. Now there is information technology: the study and application of applied sciences in the development, assembly, operation and evaluation of information and the behaviors, properties and process it is involved in, from creation creation, storage, preservation, retrieval, dissemination to usage. These concepts ideally go hand in hand towards the goal of providing information and knowledge to the community. Information systems such as libraries, information centers and the Internet, make use of these concepts as a guide towards understanding the needs of users and as a tool to gear informational professionals to be responsive to these needs. 

History and culture plays a role in a community’s way of life, and may consist a large percentage of the knowledge that a community has to keep living and to recognize and establish their needs. Whatever practices in the past that a particular community has lived with, the said community may keep on with such practices despite its inconvenience; perhaps due to its customary appeal, or in some communities’ case in South Africa, the lack of relevant information.

The plight of the said communities in South Africa, with no electricity, water services, scarcity of food (food is often considered a privilege in some areas), lack of proper health services, ignorance of the law and the preservation of the country’s heritage is a tough cross to bear. It was a predicament which the villagers of South Africa themselves can resolve, if they had the right information: information about their rights as a community, not only to basic needs but the right to information. However, due to absence of sufficient funding, relevant information, regarding the laws of their land, regarding their rights as citizens, is at a lack The issue presents itself as an intertwined rope of dilemmas, stemming from the cultural apartheid. Perhaps, support was not sustained after the resolution of the cultural crisis. Given that half of the said nation is trekking unto the information super highway with quite a considerable speed, it is still largely possible to respond to this plight.

Nicholson (2002) mentioned in her article,  “governments, private and public sectors, as well as librarians and individuals in the sub-Saharan region need to commit themselves to eradicating illiteracy in every possible way, so that everyone is given the opportunity to advance along the Information Super Highway.” (p.265). If provision of information is a key to developing a community, and it it is the community that will be uplifted, then all members of the community should work toward that goal.

The role of the information professional does not just stop in the library. Being part and even one of the prime movers in the library as a social institution, the information professional has a social responsibility to take part in the education of the masses and to guide them towards literacy and the “information super highway.” If the problem can be solved hand in hand with other social institutions like schools or the government, then librarians should serve as the bridge towards the solution. As Nicholson said, librarians should realize their role in the society and face the challenges of their profession with a whole new different approach, keeping with the ever-changing needs and speed of these changing needs of a community.

Reflections

This would not greatly impact my career personally but getting to know that these situations take place in real life and not just the movies, is an eye-opener. It has rendered me aware of situations much worse than what I have encountered in my earlier studies in the field of Library and Information Science. It has shed some light to my hope for the profession of librarianship in my country. It got me thinking that the problems most librarians have here are far easier than the circumstances presented to librarians in some countries; perhaps, if they (communities in South Africa) are able to provide some solutions to their deeply seated problems of illiteracy and the like, Filipino librarians can and will be able to resolve information access and other issues involving the field and the country.

Sources

Journal article

Nicholson, D. (2002). The ‘Information-Starved’ – is there any hope of reaching the ‘Information Super Highway’. The IFLA Journal: Official Journal of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 28, 259-265.

Book

Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of Library and Information Science. Neal-Schuman Publishers .