Neuerer grundlegender Aufsatz zur Geschichtsschreibung des Informationswesens der Britin Toni Weller mit dem Titel Information history: its importance, relevance and future, in: Aslib Proceedings, 59 (2007) 437 – 448.

Information history is a field that has been attracting increasing attention in recent years from historians and information scientists alike. Although still a relatively young area, this paper argues that IH has the potential to develop into a highly relevant and dynamic field of research. The paper concludes with a look at the future for this area of research, with some suggestions as to how IH needs to develop in order to gain the credence and recognition it deserves.

Information history is a distinct form of historical study in its own right, which looks at the role of information within past societies. It is grounded in historical evidence and it operates within the structures of historical research. It is history. But it also adopts ideologies from information science. The fundamental questions of the LIS discipline have always been related to information in society, politics, economics, the media, and business, how people understand information, and how it is transformed by changes in society. When these conceptual questions are allied to a rigorous historical methodology, something quite distinct and powerful emerges. This is information history: the historical study of information for its own sake.

Interessant ist für mich an diesem Artikel, dass die Entwicklung des Themas in den Vereinigten Staaten (USA) überhaupt nicht erwähnt wird. Von der Autorin erscheint demnächst sogar ein Lehrbuch zur Informationsgeschichte: Information History – An Introduction: Exploring an Emergent Field. Oxford: Chandos, 2008