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УДК 01
T. Berestova
INFORMATION RESOURCE STUDIES: NOTIONS AND COMPONENTS
В статье «Информационное ресурсоведение: понятия и компоненты» предлагается новое научное направление. Дана оценка состояния научного изучения информационных ресурсов, представлен анализ подходов, используемых при определении феномена «информационные ресурсы», выявлены недостатки существующих классификаций информационных ресурсов. В качестве перспективы развития информационного ресурсоведения и как результат использования теоретических подходов к изучению информационных ресурсов заявлена неизбежность перехода от классической рациональности к неклассической и пост-неклассической, обращено внимание на интегративный характер нового научного направления и на обязательность привлечения к его разработке ученых всех наук документально-коммуникационного цикла. Подведены итоги развития современных организационно-методических и технологических научных изысканий, рассмотрены теоретические аспекты изучения новых феноменов: создание научных дефиниций, выявление сущности, свойств и функций информационных ресурсов, определение метасистемы их функционирования, установление форм взаимоотношения информационных ресурсов с основными концептами смежных наук.
Дайджест содержит основные положения статей Т. Ф. Берестовой, опубликованных на русском языке в ежемесячном научно-техническом сборнике ВИНИТИ РАН «Научно-техническая информация» и в англоязычной версии этого журнала: Берестова Т. Ф. Информационное ресурсоведение как новое научное направление: постановка проблемы // НТИ. Сер. 1. Организация и методика информационной работы. 2015. № 7. С. 1-9; Берестова Т. Ф. Понятие «Информационные ресурсы» и другие компоненты теории информационного ресурсоведения //НТИ. Сер. 1. Организация и методика информационной работы. 2016. № 4. С. 1-6; Berestova T. 2015. Information resource studies as a new direction of scientific research: Formulation of the problem. Scientific and technical information processing. Vol. 42. Issue 3: 127-134; Berestova T. 2016. The Concept of Information Resources and Other Components of the Theory of Information-Resource Science. Scientific and technical information processing. Vol. 43. No 2: 83-87.
Ключевые слова: информационное ресурсоведение, информационные ресурсы, информационные продукты, информационные услуги, документ, документный ресурс, документально-коммуникационные науки, дефиниция, классификация, классическая, неклассическая, постнекласическая рациональности, научные законы, эмпирическое познание, теоретическое познание
Abstract. The author introduces a new scientific direction of Information resource studies. Along with the analysis of the approaches used in defining the information resources phenomenon the author reveals the shortcomings of information resources existing classifications and evaluates the state of information resource studies scientific research. The author considers transition from classical rationality to non-classical and post-classical rationalities to be inevitable and also pays much attention to the integrative character of a new scientific direction and to the necessity of drawing the attention of the researchers of documentary-communicational cycle to work it out. The author sums up the development of organizational and technological scientific surveys and considers theoretical aspects of new phenomena studies such as creation of scientific definitions, revelation of essence, features and functions of information resources and their functioning metasystem determination and establishment offorms of interrelations with basic concepts of related sciences.
Digest contains general regulations of the articles written by T. Berestova published in Russian in the "Scientific-technical information " monthly of all-Russian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of the Russian Academy of Sciences (VINITI RAN) and in the English version of the scientific journal: Berestova T. 2015. Information resource studies as a new direction of scientific research: Formulation of the problem. NTI. Ser. 1 Organization and methods of information activity. No 7: 1-9. (In Russ.); Berestova T. 2016. The Concept of Information Resources and Other Components of the Theory of Information-Resource Science. NTI. Ser. 1 Organization and methods
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of information activity. No 4: 1-6. (In Russ.); Berestova T. 2015. Information resource studies as a new direction of scientific research: Formulation of the problem. Scientific and technical information processing. Vol. 42. Issue 3: 127-134. (In Eng.); Berestova T. 2016. The Concept of Information Resources and Other Components of the Theory of Information-Resource Science. Scientific and technical information processing. Vol. 43. No 2: 83-87. (In Eng.).
Keywords: information resource studies, information resources, information service, document, document resource, documentary-communicative sciences, definition, classification, classical, non-classical, post-classical rationalities, scientific laws, empiric learning, theoretical learning
We have started working out a new scientific direction entitled "Information-Resource Science" that must be developed as a part of computer science, theory of social communications and documentary-communicational cycle sciences. At present Information-Resource Science has been going through the period of its own awareness as a special scientific direction. The attention of the information-resources scientists has been concentrated on working out the definition of information resource notion, on creating information resources classification. This new science is closely inter-related with new developments and materials of organizational-technological content but it is not enough to succeed in promoting of such phenomenon as Information Resources and thus the necessity to further development of theoretical part of Information Resource Science is quite obvious. Up to now the study of Information Resources has been carried out on the approaches characteristic for empiric cognition. But it is known that genesis of any science (or scientific direction) includes several starting points. Firstly, the formation of special practical activity sphere when a new special science (or a scientific direction) is born. Then comes the stage of classical science aimed at the description, general conclusions and existing practical experience learning. In most cases this direction forms such sections as organization, methods and technologies and in some descriptive sciences such as biology these and some other divisions are not formed at all or are formed very slowly. The developed practice has created terms of forming truly-shaped or sectoral historic knowledge. Development of historic and organizational-methodological (technological) aspects of scientific learning creates in its turn necessary conditions to form theoretical and methodological
knowledge. All this often corresponds to the status of non-classical science which explains different phenomena and only after this appear conditions for post-classical sectoral science aimed at prognostication. Definitions of classical, non-classical and post-classical science have been given in the works by V. Stepin [15; 16] and those of documentary-communicational sciences were corrected by A. Sokolov later [13]. Taking into account these methodological grounds modern information resource science can be classified as a scientific knowledge created at the expense of general conclusions (descriptions) of practical experience. Non-classical information resource science must settle the problems that cannot be solved at the expense of organizational-methodological or technological knowledge development. Modern classical scientific knowledge limited by definite scientific procedures and approaches such as explication, classification (sys-tematization, subject analysis) cannot turn into a developed theory and thus doesn't possess the characteristics of integral knowledge. It also can hardly disclose regularity of origin and formation of the phenomena under study and forecast their development. Classical descriptive concepts have been replaced by deterministic and evolutionary-prognostic theories and new disputes of this phenomenon essence, its structure and functions, its objective laws development etc. have arisen. So far Information Resource Science is characterized by vagueness of its own theory, empiric formulation of the knowledge obtained. Many items characteristic of the developed science haven't been asked at all, others are settled on the intuitive, unreasonable level. Theory as a part of Information Resource Science must determine the place of this scientific direction in the scientific knowledge system, to formulate the subject of its
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investigation, to determine distinct meta-system within the frame of which information resources fully function and to find out on scientific but not on intuitive level the connections of information resources with such concepts as information, book, document and to define information resources, their essence, functions, structure, typical characteristics and to disclose the laws and patterns of development and functioning of information resources.
Dual system of "Information - consumer" is the meta-system of information resources; book, document, information resources are particular notions, reflecting particular cases of this system functioning, common and different features between the above mentioned phenomena and notions should be cleared up by researchers working in information resources and documentary-communicational sciences. Discussion on inclusion (or non-inclusion) of information resources into the number of documentary phenomena, i.e. recognition of information resources as a non-documentary phenomenon must be allowed to be held. It is necessary to point out essential and applied functions of information resources [4-6; 14; 17] together with genetic ties with all information phenomena taking into consideration the ascertained information behavior (communicativeness, value, character/language representation etc.) [7; 8] and properties of the document (inexhaustibility, growth, circulation, non-alternative character, reflectivity, communitarism) [17]. Another hypothesis of the information resource science (as a scientific direction) possibilities is connected with the adoption of laws and regularities of appearance and functioning of information resources. Most probably their origin and development can be partly explained by inter-field laws and regulations functioning in the system of documentary communications [11; 12]. Among them is the law of overcoming information barriers at the expense of correspondence between information resources and consumers, the law of secondary information origin and hierarchy and structure of Internet [4] and the law of documentation [17]. At present according to the surveys attitude to electronic information resources is revealed to a greater extent
than to traditional documents; actions of assortment, navigation-searching and de-unified barriers are available as well [1; 3]. The reason of these barriers overcoming difficulties is based on the fact that their preparation hasn't been unified so far, that the regulations of their secondary revelation and presentation at information market have been badly worked out and when looking for the role of such an information-searching language as the language of key words it has been absolutized.
Functioning of information resources in electronic environment is surely subordinated to particular peculiarities. The established stability or mobility (dynamism) of certain Websites of authorities, educational institutions and other structures may be classified as a particular regularity of information resources functioning. But to learn the laws and regularities that explain the peculiarities of sites functioning, their sections and Web-pages as well as other information resources further theoretical conclusions are undoubtedly necessary.
The notion of Information Resources is the basic initial notion of this new scientific direction. The presented publications reflect the essence of Information resources and contain its definition by means of their generic and species characteristics. Information Resources is the widely spread in different sciences notion due to all-round information technologies spreading and Internet functioning. Number of information resources is enormous and dynamics of their increase is growing. Inventory, control and registration of information resources is the task of state importance but unfortunately it is being settled partly one reason of which is connected with the insufficient conceptual instrument of information resource science and unsatisfactory state of these notions classifications.
The problem of deep studying of information resources comprises a great number of different information resources that can hardly be learned via spontaneous perception. Scholars and researchers should possess reliable instruments for their studies. Description and classification are among special time-tested procedures. At present
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description practice of some information resources is based on State Standards database, traditional and electronic documents [9; 10] and for some information resources and for other information resources practice of their secondary revelation has not been regulated. Creation of information resources classification is the most complicated task of a new scientific direction and its solution determines to a great extent the possibilities of information resources practical use including the solution of this task necessary for searching and working out methods of information resources secondary revelation. The solution of information resources classification task is very important for information resources creators and for those who look for them to use. Without deeper penetrating into the information resources classification problem we can name the grounds used at present aiming at systematization and subject analysis according to the kind of information, ways and abilities to access, kind of bearer, way of forming and spreading, storage and usage, ownership form, belonging to certain subjects, peculiarities of appearance, fields of usage. One of the drawbacks of the existing classifications is weak usage classification categories as well as violations of basic classification principles: division grounds unity, division disjointness and uninterruptibility. But the main information resources classification problems are connected with the lack of their essential definition and with the lack of criteria distinguishing information resources from other information and noninformation phenomena.
The most complicated issue of information resources essence can be settled with their genesis restoration. Earlier it was revealed that information resources are the product resulted from any information process moreover information resource creation is the aim of any information process [2]. Information as the aim and the result of information activity always existed and was always used in different spheres but the term information resource has appeared comparatively recently though it was born at the time of information technologies appearance with the formation of information market. Thus
it is correct to determine information resource through the notion of information process result and product but it is not enough because full definition should include other notional (semantic, supporting) characteristics and should have the grounds for generic and species qualities of the subject under study.
Among great of number of the revealed information resources definitions there is no essential definition revealing generic-species characteristics of information resources. When defining this notion we must first and foremost take into account the provision of some qualities inherent to every information phenomenon. Without this it is impossible to explain the causes of its origin thus to give its essential definition.
Earlier works contained the nature or generic functions and properties of information as such, as well as explanation of inheritance of these indicators by other phenomena which appeared much later and were based on the information [7; 8] interpreted by A. Sokolov as "the means of transferring significance through communicative signs" [13]. The same publications contain the explanations of information functions and properties as well as characteristics appeared as the function's consequence together with a new phenomenon explaining the cause of its appearance and predestination. A very important methodological thesis of essential definition has been formulated according to which the definition of the phenomena under study appears with the determination of generic and species characteristics (properties) of the subject under consideration. These characteristic features remain during the whole period of existence of the phenomenon. When the properties of the phenomena under study are ruined it stops functioning or even simply disappears. Information resources have a number of generic properties such as communicativeness, value, signs/language etc. but instruments and resources reveal species characteristics. It is known that man being the subject of different fields of activity also uses information as the means or instrument along with mechanisms and raw materials. Instruments and resources allow information to be revealed as "a tool" in the
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system of relationships between spiritual, material-productive or any other activities [7].
Thus judging by the reasoning and conclusions we can define "Information resource as purposefully created information with consuming values, instrumental function to be used as a means of a certain kind of activity". To the above mentioned we can add that Information resource can be a trade article at information market.
Giving essential definition of the information resource phenomenon the attribute information reflects generic ties of the phenomenon under study, and the term resource, i.e. means points its place in the systems of different activities fields. That's why in future the notion means can be used not only as a species characteristic but as the principle of the phenomenon information resource distinguishing from other related information phenomena.
Both Information and Information Resource phenomena have common grounds and it means that they have common original properties (partly they were mentioned above) but to give the essential definition it is important to point out their different features rather than common ones. This difference in the given definition is clear from such species characteristics of information resources as consumer value and instrumentality. The notion and term of instrumentality explains the cause of information resources origin and is their main functions along with the consumer value make them to be used in future.
Information resources essential definition lays grounds for further development of information resource science and gives opportunities to synthesize the new scientific direction with bibliography science, the science studying information communications on the secondary information level. Formation of the bibliography science resource-centrist paradigm has become the subject of the article published in Bibliography and Bibliology journal, the topic of the report at International Bibliography Congress in Moscow in 2015 and the title of one of the chapters of book of Bibliography Paradigm: book, document, resource (Essays of the Bibliography science past and future).
Origin of resource-centrist bibliography paradigm is connected with the strengthening of integration tendencies in bibliography and information activities. To prove the formation of a new paradigm we have studied values, aims and mythological images directing the activity of modern subjects working with informational resources at a rather professional level and pointed out that they considerably differ from professional credo of previous generations of bibliographers. Beside this there appears a new concept of "Information resources" as a basic object and subject of resource-centrist bibliography science.
Key points of a society development both in global scale and in all-Russian state level are considered today the ideals of Information society. Value credo of the resource-centrist paradigm is connected with the development of information market, considering information as a trade article. The first position is occupied not by the ideas of enlightenment or the notion of public good and benefit characteristic for book-centrist and document-centrist paradigms but by the notions characteristic for business, i. e. for information production cost indices, marketing technologies, possible and received profit margin etc. The myths formed in the minds of modern bibliographers are based on real stories of people connected with information industry and their quick enrichment. Theoretical nucleus of resource-centrist paradigm includes such components as the definition of the meta-system of information as well as bibliography resources, and explanation of the principles distinguishing them from other information phenomena, revelation of object, subject and methodological approaches studies, used for its formation and development. Methods of resource-centrist paradigm are characterized by using cognitive potential of informational, action and system approaches with the last one being based on the concept of general structural levels and is represented by system-structural and system-functional analyses.
Tendencies of the resource-centrist paradigm development are based on changes taking place in the basis and are expressed in involving wide arsenal of computing equipment into bibliography
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field. Bibliography practice is entering a new period of its development which can be called computing bibliography and bibliography science should become computing bibliography science. Computing bibliography science is directed toward "...learning processes of generation and processing of machine-readable electronic resources (digital data arrays)" [14, p. 404]. But computing bibliography is characterized by creation and implementation of global informational projects such as digitization of cultural heritage, formation of national electronic archive and national library-informational stock, national electronic library and scientific "E-library" as well as "Libnet" and others. All these projects include processing of extensive information arrays and flows which cannot be processed by traditional archaic ways. It is done only on the basis of computing equipment usage and computing means and methods of data processing. All these projects become viable only with the existence of search systems included into their infrastructure within them.
As examples of using computing bibliography methods we can mention several global projects and programs which have been implemented by international societies of bibliographers and computer scientists such as "Europeana", "World's digital library" as well as functioning of international and national bibliometric database such as "Scopus", 'Web of Science", "Russian Index of Scientific Citing". Methods of computing bibliography can be easily used in recommendatory bibliography where pedagogical purposes prevail and
philological approaches are used. Computing bibliography technologies usage gives many bibliographers the opportunity of fulfilling their long existing dream to have the methods of creating ultimately individualized recommendations thanks mainly to the projects of "Book gene", "Book game" and others. Projects specializing on creating readers recommendations technologies are worked out by Apple, BookLamp and Amazon companies.
Formation of resource-centrist paradigms in computing and bibliography sciences can be considered the results of theoretical part of information resource science development. Resource-centrist concepts have been originated by development of digitalization sources of searching of information and formation of computing bibliography. Basic conceptual elements have been included in new paradigms such as meta-system description, determination of related scientific disciplines partly coinciding objects of investigation, definition of original notion or basic concept of "Information resources". They also contain informal characteristics of this notion and partial definition of its volume along with essential defining objects under study through its properties, indications of generic and species functions and have formulated the principle of distinguishing information resources from other informational phenomena and expressed estimates the influence of some objective intersectoral regulations on the processes of information resources creation and functioning. All above mentioned conceptual elements have been mainly revealed as a result of using system and action methods.
References
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2. Berestova T. 2005. Obshchedostupnaya munitsipal'naya biblioteka v edinom informatsionnom prostranstve [Public municipal library in a common information space]. Moscow: Libereya-Bibinform. 285 p. (In Russ.).
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Received 07.02.2017
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