Introduction to the Topic - Evolving Global Information Infrastructure and Information Transfer - page 6

dresses the need for a holistic analysis of the role of library and information pro-
fessionals and organizations in a complex and rapidly changing information infra-
structure.
A review of pertinent and current literature indicates that little attention has been
directed to the role of information transfer within the information infrastructure as a
building block of a culture. The purpose of this topic is to accept this challenge. In
doing so, we focus on the diffusion of information and its utilization.
In this topic we examine the information infrastructure as it has evolved from
print to the current digital world. The successful evolution of a culture depends on
the role of information and its modes of information transfer among the constitu-
ents of that culture. Our thesis is that the quality of the information infrastructure
determines the impact of the information transfer processes; that is, the creation,
reproduction, dissemination, diffusion, and utilization of information. In the process
of examining this infrastructure, we also assess the effectiveness of the various
processes and suggest improvements.
Unless we have a vibrant information infrastructure, our society cannot pro-
gress economically, politically, or culturally. Currently, the concept of information
infrastructure is confined to the technology and digital components of storage, re-
trieval, dissemination, and preservation of information. This topic expands that
concept to include information transfer and all of its components—the creation, re-
cording, production, dissemination, organization, diffusion, utilization, preservation,
and deletion of information. As blood depends on a vascular system to support
life, information relies on an infrastructure to support the life of a culture; this topic
examines the information infrastructure and its significance as a cultural and eco-
nomic force in our rapidly changing technological society.
In other words, we are preparing the framework for studying and coming to
terms with a complex, confusing, and emergent digital world. In so doing, we are
providing an answer to the understanding of our information and knowledge soci-
ety, not the only answer. We are challenging the reader with a wide-angle lens for
studying in a comprehensive manner our information infrastructure. We are also
empowering the reader to understand how technology, through the Internet and
social media, has changed communication patterns and our 21st-century culture.
When we depart from the linearity of the pre-digital age (Information Transfer
1.0 or 2.0), technology encourages new ways of creating, disseminating, and util-
izing information. The traditional single author gives way to multiple voices, fast
change, and lack of control. The World Wide Web strips the world of control, as
evidenced by some governments attempting unsuccessfully to stop the exchange
of ideas through social media. In the past, the goal was to increase information
transfer (e.g., Gutenberg's printing press) so that more voices could be heard. Now