Information, gender and the miscellaneous.

Information as Thing
by: Michael K. Buckland

According to this article in the Journal of the Amercian Society for Information Science from 1991, there are three uses of the word "information." The first use is active, it is information as a process and this information is in the process of changing someone's knowledge and is in itself also in the process of being changed by that person as they process it. What a person gains from the process of taking in this information is known as knowledge. Finally, information as thing refers to the physical object which contains the information which then leads to knowledge. Buckland refers to the fact that sometimes, when given information which becomes knowledge, a person may become more confused because what they thought they knew has been changed in a process of information. Buckland writes about the differences between the first two definitions, information as process and information as knowlege, which are intangible, untouchable notions and the tangible and increasingly real information as thing. Just as the JSC (joint steering committee) for AACR2 was charged with updating the meanings of work, expression, manifestation and item; work and expression being closer to what Buckland calls information as process or knowledge and manifestation and item being closer to information as thing. Here, manifestation and item are tangible items, whereas work and expression are more ideas and intangible. This is an incredibly complicated way of saying something that I believe to be very clear, concise and simply understandable.

Everything Is Miscellaneous
by David Weinberger

Well, I personally think the ideas represented in this book are marvelous. I am a huge fan of Google Earth and bits have saved us both time and space. No system is perfect and I certainly let my digital photographs get out of control like most people but the idea of the "third order of order" where bits replace atoms and there is now enough room for all, subjects can be searched indefinately and automated according leaves me both swooning. I am just so amazed at how fast all of this has taken over and how much it has made our lives richer and more complicated. Although we now have less time to devote to these bits, they don't take as much time out of our days so I figure the pros and cons sort of even out eventually.


The Power to Name: Representations in Library Catalogs
by Hope Olson