Information Science and 21st Century Information Practices: creatively engaging with information

Abstract

This book invites us to imagine the future of information science, which the authors frame as a field of study (Chapter 1). Moving a\vay from the pursuit of all-encompassing meanings helps us to navigate the compiexity associated \vith various views in information science and, as the authors explain, '. . be relaxed about the varied approaches and methods 'Nhich may be applied to information problems.' Information sciences (in the plural), they go on to explain, are dispersed. As an information researcher positioned in a centre of creative practice and cultural economy (areas unlikely to be considered traditional domains of information science), I welcome this pragmatism. It is nonetheless helpful to discuss (as the authors go on to do) whether or not we can identify a 'core' of information science and to consider the 'big questions' of information science in all their multifaceted complexity.