Informacijske znanosti temeljni koncepti i problemi

Sažetak

Information Sciences are a young scientific field whose scientific and cognitive
institutionalization is undoubtedly still going on and there are several possible scenarios
for the future. Information Sciences are a “very complex field”. In the eighties information
Sciences were an interdisciplinary field which attempted to position itself toward related
fields, while trying to “embrace” certain relevant disciplines which were ready to enter
into this new family. In this period discussions about information Science, in a narrow
sense, were intensified, most oftenly as a contribution for scientific arguments about the
need for establishing an all-encompassing discipline which would analyze the phenomena
of information and communication. The mentioned integration within the field is
still questionable and has not been argued for to a satisfactory degree.
In the already completed development of information Sciences a convergence within
the discipline was basically followed with events on two levels: on one level it was important that leading experts in the cited disciplines attempted to seek out the best
solution for similar, general problems, despite the fact that in their work they started with
different goals and developed different terminological apparatus; on another level the
importance of computers and telecommunications in informational activities was
demonstrated. Their introduction marked not only the possibility of modemizing work in
libraries, archives, museums, documentation and Information centres, but also influenced
the effectiveness of the co-ordination of various operations and strengthened the
bibliographical control and accessibility of library collections world-wide. When we
speak about the influence of computers and telecommunication on Information
professions, it is necessary to underline that several new organizational, political, legal,
ethical and economic problems, which were caused by computerized network systems,
have been raised. On the other hand, this points to the unjustified side-stepping of
philosophical, epistemological, linguistic and other problems which are characteristic for
the field of humanities and social Sciences.
The paper specially points to the basic concepts and problems in the field of
Information Sciences as well as to possible integrative principles, primarily the principle
of securing access to diverse materials and Information and the principle of a social
demand for information and knowledge.