ABSTRACT

Information could be seen as a dynamic concept which results into knowledge in action. Consequently, the quest for a better standard and proper handling of information, which is an operational action/relevant knowledge, gave birth to the concept ofinformation. Here, information science is no more considered as a concept, but as a discipline that is being taught at various levels, especially in the higher institution oflearning. Earlier authors in different write-ups argued the stand-alone of information science. For some of these authors, information science could be merged with library science to give “library and information science”, it could also be merged with communication science to give “information and communication sciences/studies among other merging. Information science, has over the years suffered the issue of nomenclature. To some, it could be referred to as information technology, information studies, information engineering and what we have today as information science. According to Borko (1968), information science is an interdisciplinary science that investigates the properties and behavior of information, the forces that govern the flow and use of information, and the techniques, both manual and mechanical, of processing information for optimal storage, retrieval, and dissemination” (Borko, 1968, p. 5). This definition is workable and enlightening because (1) it emphasizes the vast influence that accessed data can have on people, (2) the shift from the 1960s of the “scientific” investigation into the processes associated with accessing data, (3) the expectations of linguistic behaviors used to express data (documents), (4) the language used to request data (queries) and their meeting (retrieval algorithms, reference interview) which can be expressed from the perspective of symbol manipulation (that is, something a machine can determine), along with, perhaps, the social, political, and technical issues “governing the flow and use ofinformation