Foreword by William O. Baker

Contributors: Daniel Bell, Anne Wells Branscomb, Benjamin M. Compaine, Derrick C. Huang, Martin C. Libicki, Patricia Hirl Longstaff, Robert Lucky, John F. McLaughlin, Lee McKnight, Vincent Mosco, W. Russell Neuman, Eli Noam, Anthony G. Oettinger, Ithiel deSola Pool, William H. Read, Jerome S. Rubin, Richard J. Solomon, Debra Spar, Ronald Alan Weiner, Janet Wikler.

Table of Contents

Preface

To understand the Information Age one must understand the concept of information as a resource. Like other basic resources such as energy and materials, information resources are building blocks of society. But unlike energy and materials, they are far more abundant and versatile. Information resources includes computers, telecommunications, the mass media, and financial services, all created or changed by the movement from analog to digital. This collection looks at the factors underlying digital technologies as well as the resulting public and strategic policy issues.

In a rapidly evolving discipline, certain judgments are likely to change. To strike a balance between the more abstract concepts of enduring value and writings focused on current examples, each part of the book opens with a timeless "evergreen" chapter, followed by
one or more "contemporary" chapters.

Published by MIT Press, June 1999.


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