Introduction to the Topic - Evolving Global Information Infrastructure and Information Transfer - page 5

world to the digital world, from a mechanistic perspective to a systems perspective,
in explaining the evolution of the information transfer systems.
An Emerging Participatory Culture
The Internet provides an ideal space for a participatory culture by simply provid-
ing information freely, in an open and widely distributed way. Online stories and
video games have moved people into a culture of participation. Readers who unite
through the Internet participate in solving a riddle and then gain access to the next
chapter in the topic; they are involved in a new and collaborative way of using in-
formation.
A participatory culture can be explained as an informal community that gathers
together to support an activity. Elements of the participatory culture can be found in
a variety of activities that may involve learning, creation, community life, or demo-
cratic citizenship. Storytelling is one such activity. Readers interested in fictional
stories can go to RinkWorks, where a different type of eBook, known as a “Story
Hunt,” can be found. The first chapter of each Story Hunt is made openly available
on the Internet. The reader gains access to each subsequent chapter by relying on
clues from the chapter to answer a riddle.
Some riddles have been so challenging that readers have turned to social me-
dia to work with other people who are also reading the same story and working to
find a solution. These readers may range from your neighbor next door to those
from across town or across distant geographic borders. The social media that read-
ers turn to as they work together on a Story Hunt includes forum visits or hint
boards that unite those specifically interested in working collaboratively to solve
the riddle. This participatory culture is an example of the many changes we face
as we study our information infrastructure and the social forces that interact with it.
Purpose of This Topic
The purpose of this topic is to provide clarity to our rapidly changing, complex
society as it is bombarded with new information and technologies. By applying ex-
isting models of information transfer, we will help the reader understand how in-
formation is created, disseminated, and used, explaining how components of the
information infrastructure influence culture and our understanding of the world. We
examine the information infrastructure so that readers will be able to understand
their roles in the information transfer process; librarians and information profes-
sionals will see their professional roles, especially related to the diffusion and util-
ization of information and knowledge through policy development. This topic ad-