Management information and the organization: Homily from the experience of the data rich but information poor

Shank, Russell

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/1167 Copy

Description

Title

Management information and the organization: Homily from the experience of the data rich but information poor

Author(s)

Shank, Russell

Issue Date

1982

Keyword(s)

• Library administration --Data processing
• Libraries --Automation
• Library science --Data processing

Abstract

"Calvin Mooers's Law has long been one of my favorites. I often use it as an excuse for irrational behavior in library management. Over twenty years ago, Calvin Mooers commented: ""An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it."" Mooers was involved with information storage and retrieval systems in science, but his words are just as appropriate for management information systems (MIS). The problem with having information in Mooer's view is that you can't just let it sit there if it indicates that something must be done. If that something is hard to do or involves difficult social consequences (such as disrupting the faculty's habits of library use, or the student's timing of meeting his date), it will only cause ulcers, sleepless nights or unemployment if you don't make the adjustment. Of course there is one way to avoid all of the trouble, and that is not to have the information in the first place."

Publisher

Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing (19th : 1982)

ISSN

0069-4789

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/1167

Copyright and License Information

Copyright owned by Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1982.

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