What is Information?
Is There Anything That Isn't Information?

There have been many descriptions and characterizations of information through the years, some very broad, some narrow and some humorous. Information may be hard to define but it can be categorized. There are several characteristics of information: Factual, analytical. subjective or objective. Information can be found in primary, secondary or tertiary sources depending on how original the materials are or how much they have been interpreted or condensed by others.
The type, quality and amount of information has changed greatly through the ages, but a human's ability to process the information has remained the same, creating what some call information overload. Which brings us to the purpose of this course - to help you become "information literate."

What is it?
For definitions we usually turn to a dictionary or encyclopedia. It's a good place or start.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary)
in·for·ma·tion
Date: 14th century
1 : the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence  2 a (1) : knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction (2) : INTELLIGENCE, NEWS (3) : FACTS, DATA b : the attribute inherent in and communicated by one of two or more alternative sequences or arrangements of something (as nucleotides in DNA or binary digits in a computer program) that produce specific effects c (1) : a signal or character (as in a communication system or computer) representing data (2) : something (as a message, experimental data, or a picture) which justifies change in a construct (as a plan or theory) that represents physical or mental experience or another construct d : a quantitative measure of the content of information; specifically : a numerical quantity that measures the uncertainty in the outcome of an experiment to be performed 3 : the act of informing against a person  4 : a formal accusation of a crime made by a prosecuting officer as distinguished from an indictment presented by a grand jury.

According to the International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science, information is "best seen as holding the place in the spectrum between raw data and knowledge. Seen in this way, information is an assemblage of data in a comprehensible form capable of communication and use: facts to which meaning has been attached."

In this sense, almost everything could be information - facts (events, concepts, objects, etc.) that carry meaning and can be communicated.

The following quotations show how broad this definition can be.

"Information is all ideas, facts and imaginative works of the mind which have been communicated, recorded, published and/or distributed formally or informally in any format."
-American Library Association

"In the beginning there was information. The word came later. The transition was achieved by the development of organisms with the capacity for selectively exploiting this information in order to survive and perpetuate their kind."
-Dreske, Fred. Knowledge and the Flow of Information. 1st MIT Press edition, 1981 Bredford Books.

"Data becomes information only when it's put into a context."
-John McChesney, National Public Radio reporter

Information is:
"The time of day-as is tomorrow's weather, a ship's course, and a baby's weight. The contents of a typed memo - as are the contents of every book written and of the Louvre and every other museum. Birds sounds and Presidential speeches, radio shows and all the music aver played and to be played. All 20,000 commercial videos and movies. The process of designing a house or a car - most of the office work carried out by hundreds of millions of people. Military orders, medical test results, and assembly instructions - business procedures and all computer software."
-Dertousous, Michael L. What will be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives. 1997. NY: HarperCollins.

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."
-Samuel Johnson, 1775

"Information is any difference that makes a difference"
-Gregory Bateson, 1984

"Information, free from interest or prejudice, free from the vanity of the writer or the influence of a Government, is as necessary to the human mind as pure air and water to the human body."
-William Rees-Mogg, 1970

 Information should be placed in context. It should help answer “why’s and wherefores.” It should reveal patterns and relationships. It should help us understand the world in greater depth, as opposed to just skimming the surface.

Data & facts > information > knowledge & meaning

Readings

NASA's definition of information:
http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/nost/isoas/presentations/USDA_19990219/sld013.htm

Characteristics of Information

Knowing the character or type of information can help you to identify its origin and use. There are several kinds of information that can be useful for different reasons. (Top of page)

Factual Information

• Is a statement of a thing that is done or that exists
•  Consists of facts, and a fact is “the statement of a thing done or existing.”
• Short
• Non-explanatory
• Often found in reference materials (e.g. encyclopedias) and in statistical information published by the federal government
• Example: "LIB 120 has been taught for 4 semesters at URI."

Analytical Information

• Is the interpretation of factual information
• Interpretations and analyses of facts: interrelations among, implications of, reasons for
• Usually produced by experts
• Often found in books and periodical articles
• Example: "Looking at grades, SETS and surveys, most students learn to do quality research in this course."

Subjective Information

• Is understood from only one point of view
• Consists of opinions or personal viewpoints
• Often found in books, periodical articles, editorials, reviews
• Example: "I hate spinach!"

Objective Information

• Is understood by reviewing many different points of view
•  Consists of non-judgmental and balanced reporting
• Presents all sides of a topic
• Found in encyclopedias, news articles
• 
  Example: "I understand that many people do not like spinach."

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Information Chain

Information can come from many sources. The farther away from the original source the information is found, the more likely it is to be filtered, interpreted, condensed or otherwise changed. There are primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information (Top of page)
 

Primary Information
Information in its original form, when it first appears

• Has not been published anywhere else or put into a context, interpreted, filtered, condensed, or evaluated by anyone else
• 
   

   

  Examples are a professor's lecture, newspaper articles written by people at the scene of an event, the first publication of a scientific study, an original artwork, a handwritten manuscript, letters between two people, someone's diary, historical documents such as the U.S. Constitution

Secondary Information
Information ABOUT a primary or original source

• Has been removed from its original source and repackaged
• Restates, rearranges, examines or interprets information from one or more primary sources
• 
   

   

  Examples are your classmate's notes on a professor's lecture, a newspaper article reporting on a scientific study published elsewhere, an article critiquing a new CD, an encyclopedia article on a topic, a biography of a famous person

ALSO, secondary information:

• Leads you to primary information
• 
   

   

  Examples are an index to newspaper articles or an index to articles from scientific research journals, a bibliography of an author's works

Tertiary Information (2x removed)
Information that is a distillation or a collection of primary and secondary sources.

• Even further removed from the original information than a secondary source.
•  Leads you to secondary information
• 
   

   

  Examples are a bibliography of critical works on an author, an index to general periodical articles, a library catalog

An Example:
Your favorite musician

Primary sources

The musician's recordings

The musician's writings

An interview with the musician

The video for the musician's latest single

A first-hand account of a performance by the musician posted on a fan's web site

The musician's own web site

A news story about an incident the musician was involved in

Secondary sources

A biography of the musician

A review of the musician's latest CD

A magazine article about the musician

A documentary about the musician, e.g. VH-1’s “Behind the Music”

 

Tertiary sources

A bibliography of articles and books about the musician

An index or database that includes articles about the musician

A library catalog in which you can search for books on the musician

 

 

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Information Overload

With the advent of the Information age it seems that there is way too much information for us to absorb. The increase in publishing, the growth of news and other media, the advances in worldwide communications and now the explosion of information on the Internet all contribute to the sense that finding the information we need is just about impossible. This is where Information Literacy comes in - knowing when you need the information, knowing how to find it, evaluate it and knowing how to use it. (And that's the reason for this course.)

Information overload is not a new concept. In fact, it's been around for quite a while, beginning long before the Information Age.

A few quotes...

• "Of making many books, there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."
• 
  -Ecclesiastes 12:12
• "The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no measure of limit to this fever for writing; every one must be an author; some out of vanity, to acquire celebrity and raise up a name; others for the sake of mere gain."
• 
  -Martin Luther, 1569 (Leader of the Protestant Reformation a little more than a hundred years following the invention of moveable type by Johannes Gutenberg.)
• "The enormous multiplication of books in every branch of knowledge is one of the greatest evils of this age; since it presents one of the most serious obstacles to the acquisition of correct information by throwing in the reader's way piles of lumber in which he must painfully grope for the scraps of useful lumber."
• 
  -Edgar Allan Poe, 1845

Of course, in the information age information overload is easily recognized:

• In expanding the field of knowledge we but increase the horizon of ignorance."
• 
  -Henry Miller, 1941
• "Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense."
• 
  -Gertrude Stein, 1959
• "We're drowning in information and starving for knowledge."
• 
  -Rutherford D Rogers, 1985

How much information is there today? Please look over the University of California, Berkeley site, "How much information?"  http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/

Keep in mind that:

• 1 Terabyte equals one thousand gigabytes or one million megabytes or one trillion bytes or...
• An automated tape robot
• All the X-ray films in a large technological hospital
• 2 Terabytes equals
• All the information in an academic research library
• How about Exabytes? One exabyte equals one billion gigabytes or...
• 2 Exabytes equal the total volume of information generated worldwide annually
• 5 Exabytes equal all the words ever spoken by human beings

Obviously, we're dealing with far more information than Martin Luther or Edgar Allan Poe, but our brains really aren't working any faster than in times past. That's the Challenge of Information.

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Information Ages

The need for information has changed over the course of human history, which can be roughly divided into the following ages:

Stone Age- Agricultural Age - Industrial Age - Information Age

Compare the following considerations in information transfer from one age to the next:

• What were the means of communication during this time?
• What was the speed of the communication? What were the means of spreading the word?
• What was the size of the audience?
• How much information was transmitted in any one communication? (How big was the file?)
• 
  What was the purpose of transmitting the information?

Stone Age
Basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and protection took most of a person's time. Hunters and gathers loved in roaming groups of 20-30 people and only the most immediate or important information was recorded.
 

Means of Communications

• Oral Histories
• Storytelling
• Pictoral inscriptions in animal bones, clay and stone

Speed, SIze and Purpose of Communication

• Information was communicated slowly between groups of hunters and gatherers
• Information was for survival - Where is the food growing? Water location? Protected environment? Animals to hunt or hide from?
• 
   

Agricultural Age
By 9,000 B.C. people were more settled and lived in small communities and growing crops. The wheel provides locomotion to begin more travel and shipping of goods, Animal domestication changes life dramatically.

 
Means of Communications

• Oral histories continue to be shared and passed down
• Record keeping is a must with more permanent life styles - crops and animals must be accounted for.

Later Advancements in Communication

• Tokens (3,400 B.C.)
• Scribes (2,600 B.C.)
• Seals (2,400 B.C.)
• Writing (1,400 B.C.)
• 
   

Industrial Age
During the Industrial Revolution (beginning around 1780) commerce, trade and politics sparked the change from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age. Farming loses ground to manufacturing and industry in Europe and America.

 
New Technology Tools for the Industrial Age

• Typewriters
• Photo-chemistry
• Telegraph
• Telephone
• Mimeograph
• Paper made from vegetable fiber
• Lithography
• Personal cameras
• Phonographic disks
• Radio Signal


New Communication Methods of the Industrial Age

• Circulating libraries
• Postal services
• Phonographs
• Motion Pictures
• Television
• Transcontinental Telephone calls
• Wireless radio
• Book of the month Club
• Air Mail
• Photocopiers
• Harvard's MARK I and Pennsylvania's ENIAC - the first computers

The Information Age
Beginning roughly around 1950, the Information Age brought more tools, technology and information. More white collar workers deal with information needs and decisions than blue collar workers deal with goods-producing jobs. Industrial Vs. Information Age Worker Needs

 

Industrial Age Worker

• low-discretion
• little decision-making
• simple tasks
• little use of judgment

Information Age Worker

• high-discretion
• lots of decision-making
• complex tasks
• considerable thinking skills

Some Tools and Technology of the Information Age

• Microwaves
• Color TV
• Color motion pictures
• Microchips
• Cell phones/pagers
• photocopiers
• Fax machines
• Camcorders
• Videodisks
• Point & shoot cameras
• Holograms
• Fiber optics
• CD ROMs
• Internet
• World Wide Web

 

The Challenge of Information

Despite the massive change in information storage and retrieval technology over time, our capacity to understand and synthesize information has remained constant. Beth Clough, a student of library science and the University of Maryland, offers this very instructive historical overview of information storage and retrieval:

Information Storage
 

Computation
 

Transmission of Information
 

Human Information Processing
 

Information Literacy

In light of the sheer amount of information available as well as the varying quality, formats, and types of information, the ultimate goal of this course is to increase your information literacy.

Information Literacy has been defined as being able to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information."

This definition is closely related to the goals of LIB120. Specifically, after completing this course you will be able to:

• Understand the organization of information systems
• Recognize and articulate a research problem
• Develop appropriate and effective search strategies
• Select and use information retrieval tools
• Locate and retrieve information sources
• Analyze and critically evaluate information
• Organize and synthesize information
• Use and apply information effectively

This course was developed by Joanna Burkhardt, Mary MacDonald  and Andrée Rathemacher and was adapted for online use by Jim Kinnie as part of the URI Libraries Plan for Information Literacy - http://www.uri.edu/library/instruction_services/infolitplan.html

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