Dagobert Soergel
An Information Science Manifesto
University of Maryland, College Park
good evening gratified jury peers found thinking important enough honor award thank society professional home 35 years committee others involved process honor brings task explaining essence information science 10 minutes less want acknowledge intellectual debt paying homage one great thinkers visionaries field calv mooers met calvin first time ifips meeting munich 1962 paper nature descriptors structure classification small group us hourlong discussion energized intellectual spark nd subsequent study work starting points long journey brought come end yet next 20 years information retrieval could still published today title used calvin moo ers pioneered useroriented indexing 40 years term usercentered became fashionable also thank students questions discussions contributed much sharpening thinking begin remarks definition information science information science concerned research design conducts research nature information creation organization use impact studies information ne eds interaction people information combines conceptual structures appropriate technology design systems information sharing retrieval access well information assimilation processing learning inf ormation science concerned conceptual foundations structure knowledge structure problems problem solving decision making synergy external information information processing learning reaso ning people machines role information social groups organizations information pervasive much human activity information science knows boundaries overlaps many fields draws ideas method results mathematics statistics computer science artificial intelligence humancomputer interaction cognitive science constituents cognitive psychology linguistics epistemology philosophy knowledge communication jo urnalism education economics anthropology sociology political science finally administration management incorporates principles results disciplines information science analyzes commonalities derives gene ralizations advances thinking thus creates new synthesis heart information science twin concerns understanding users quest meaning problem solutions representing knowledge structures support construction meaning solution problems user models knowledge representation like binary star revolve around depend know important knowledge representation need know user requirements user thought patterns understand user backgrounds need represent knowledge information needs tension two poles information need stored information representations defines relevance perhaps central concept field understand relevance must understand user model representation knowledge complexities interrelationships background let outline important tasks ahead speak two ingredients success knowledgeable systems knowledgeable users working together speak next revolution tight integration informati seeking use learning work everything must ultimately revolve around serving users well term usercentered come vogue prefer useroriented interactions information system information provided must take user beyond present state system centered user term usercentered might also read imply systems conceptual structures mirror users conceptual structures may serve use rs best based knowledge conceptual structure principles analysis users problems users thinking come structures take users step true useroriented service requires substantial knowledge knowledge problemsolving strategies information organization information systems search strategies skilled human intermediaries knowledge important contribu tion helping users clarify problems information needs half battle searching mediated access useful persist revolutionary expansion access internet world wide web digi tal libraries increasing number users searching systems must possess knowledge take intermediary function interface behindthescenes intelligence enable users find easily informat ion need presently web far cry truly useroriented system must empower user take full advantage information resources search capabilities end system must present information structure conceptual schema hierarchy concepts way user understand must enable user tightly focused searches often stated best boolean query use alleged inability users understand boolean queries excuse inability design interface make boolean queries clear obvious immediately intuitive systems must assist users making sense sense meaning come structure structure assists framing problem posing query interpreting information found must provide wellstructured conceptual frameworks nd classifications represent well ease assimilation incorporation users mental structure beyond internet web second less glamorous ultimately important revolution creation tightly integrated systems support facets individual collaborative work business world two sid es revolution known business process reengineering knowledge management course revolution make full use internet intranets information central peoples work must assist users harnessing information work better increase productivity therefore provision information integrated seamlessly users work users work problem solving information seeking form one integrated process integrated process must supported equally integrated system users tasks optimal division labor user system system proactive gets information needed user asks consider processing insurance claims laborious informationintensive process newgeneration system knows types claims processing steps decision rules sends queries info rmation needed appropriate inhouse external databases assembles information neat package suggests resolution claims adjusters follow process intervene special circumstances require searches must initiated users users able within applications working consider chemist ran program generate tentative structure computercaptured mass spectrography data simple click structur e diagram scientist starts chemical abstracts search substances similar structure integrated system include common tools multiple functions thesaurus dictionary search support support writing fo r spell checking system provide tools processing information retrieval efficient searching perusal texts statistical analysis modeling simulation system must relieve user much work possible deliver predigested information means cope sheer mass search return pointers data sources documents actual substantive data either found directly extracted compiled texts even system provide data conclusions data problem solutions derived data system prepare reports based predefined templ ates rather delivering bits pieces information report requires increasingly sophisticated methods data extraction compilation presentation deriving problemoriented answers vast amounts data statistical analysis machine learning automated reasoning system functions require use knowledge knowledgebased retrieval knowledgebased data analysis knowledgebased document design optimal display information get huge reservoirs knowledge needed break knowledge acquisition bottleneck four strategies knowledge acquisition make largescale use knowledgebased systems possible make better use already providing unified access multiple heterogeneous knowledge bases production handbooks encyclopedias dictionaries like items require lots intellectual work assemble content structured format would available preparing one multiple printed formats cu stomized retrieval presentation online machine knowledge processing use knowledgebased extraction data text use machine learning especially systems learn incrementally parser learns lexical ontological information words analyzes text retrieval system learns semantic relations user queries strategies turn require knowledge bootstrap process knowledge available structured form knowledge acquired automatically far talked systems user usersystem interaction oneway street users must know exploit system possibilities perhaps importantly people play essential role communicating information people people need information competency competency finding evaluating analyzing synthesizing information competency expressing information writing images must insert educational process make sure students levels acquire information competency students graduating 21st century must able move ease world information information competency developed symbiotic interaction thinking skills intrinsically critically linked students intellectual endeavors example learning frame structures semantic networks helps students think structure problems also structure compositions learning information seeking become one integrated process particul arly students access learnerdirected inquiry systems students carry integration forward lifelong learning work today undergraduate education woefully incomplete unless provides conceptual foundati practical skills make information competency needed expansion customary onesemester introduction writing twosemester integrated course thinking communicating world information always remember focus must information technology technology wonderful information essential computer literacy important information competency essential technology means information problem solving end making technology requires information concepts requires conceptual structures responsibility field society represents keep simple principle forefront decisions education funding information policy made thank attention