Accessing and Browsing Information and Communication

This book contends that accessing and browsing information and
communication are multidimensional and consequential aspects of the information
user's entire experience and of general human behavior. Problems in information
creation, processing, transmittal, and use often arise from an incomplete
conceptualization of the "information seeking" process, where information seeking is
viewed as the intentional finding of specific information. The process has
traditionally been considered to begin with some kind of search query and end with
some kind of obtained information. That, however, may be only the last, most easily
observable -- and perhaps not even primary -- stage of a complex sequence of
activities.

This book reviews related theory, research, practice,
and implications from a wide range of disciplines. It also analyzes converging forms
of information, including mass media, online information services, the Internet and
World Wide Web, libraries, public spaces, advertisements, and organizational
communication. Extensive case studies illustrate the theoretical material.