25. TECHNOLOGIES FOR INFORMATION ACCESS IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CENTERS

University of Colorado at Denver

25.1 INTRODUCTION

Information access is a physical, psychological, social, cultural, and political issue. It involves more than calling up an item record on an on-line system or pointing to a book on a shelf and saying, "Ali, the small green book has everything I need" (Moholt, 1988). It is all the relationships that exist when users access information. Library and information science (LIS) researchers study users and information and how users access information. The relationships involve cognitive, affective, and physical components. They are moderated by cultural, sociological, and economic factors. They are subject to the constraints of technology, science, and education. This review focuses on LIS literature and research. It examines the theoretical and philosophical foundations for research in information access and discusses changes in focus and methodology.