This document discusses information ecology, which focuses on how people create, distribute, understand and use information with technology being just one component. It provides definitions from business, technology and library perspectives, all emphasizing strong interrelationships between parts of an information system and the central role of human activities. An exercise illustrates how facts can be misleading without context, and that data must be organized and studied to have value. Characteristics of the current information ecosystem include being fact-driven, decontextualized, and dominated by powerful private entities, leading to a downward trend away from wisdom and knowledge.

1. Information Ecology

2. Business Definition
“Rather than a narrow focus on technology, information
ecology puts how people create, distribute, understand, and
use information at its center. Managers who take an
ecological approach believe that
• Information is not easily stored on computers and is not
“data”;
• The more complex an information model, the useful it will
be;
• Information can take on many meanings in an
organization;
• Technology is only one component of the information
environment and often not the right way to create change.
Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1997).Information ecology: Mastering the information

3. Tech Definition
Four Main Components of an Ecology
1. Life Forms: Devices
2. The Currency: Information Itself
3. The Architecture: both device and information
aspects
4. The environment: Human Culture
Lucas, P., Ballay, J., & McManus, M. (2012). Trillions: Thriving in the emerging
information ecology. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley.
Taken from ch 8. Available through King Library Digital Editions.

4. Librarian Definition
“a system of people, practices, values, and
technologies in a particular local environment. In
information ecologies, the spotlight is not on
technology, but on human activities that are served
by technology[…] Information ecosystems have
“strong interrelationships and dependencies among
its different parts” (49, 51)
Nardi, B. A., & O'Day, V. (1999). Information ecologies: Using technology with
heart. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

5. Bigger Picture
Information has always existed in a particular
context with various “species” in that context playing
discreet roles. Consider medieval Europe where
priests and royalty were accepted as “dominant
species” in that ecosystem.
Our current ecosystem is in chaos as various
species vie for control of the emerging ecosystem.
Librarians’ place and role in that ecosystem is in no
way established or guaranteed.

6. Exercise
I developed the following exercise as a way to
understand just how chaotic our current ecosystem
is. The point is simple, but the current chaotic and
tribalistic tendencies emerging represent significant
challenges for librarians, academics, and other
gatekeepers of information.
In the exercise I will give you a series of facts, and
allow you to deduce the context. I start with one
fact, and add one new fact at a time. Proceed to the
next slide to begin.

7. First term United States president begins war

8. First term United States president begins war
War drags on and seems endless

9. First term United States president begins war
War drags on and seems endless
Charges of incompetence and failure build up

10. First term United States president begins war
War drags on and seems endless
Charges of incompetence and failure build up
President barely wins hard fought re-election

11. First term United States president begins war
War drags on and seems endless
Charges of incompetence and failure build up
President barely wins hard fought re-election
Then- John Wilkes Booth assassinates him

12. Obviously, most people are thinking George W.
Bush, but the “facts” also fit Abraham Lincoln- to a
point.

13. I am not making a political point, but rather
one about the ecological constraints of
Information. Consider the following
hierarchy I have developed to illustrate the
dangers illustrated in the previous exercise.

14. Information Hierarchy
Wisdom
knowledge
Facts
data

15. Data: the rawest and least valuable form of
information. Data must be
compiled, organized, studied, assessed, compared,
etc for it to have any value. It is the lowest on the
hierarchy.

16. Facts: Facts are useful, but extremely dangerous,
because as we saw in my exercise they can be very
misleading. This is what Twain meant in his famous
axiom, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Statistics are facts, but not very useful without
enough context and qualifying, related facts. It is
very easy to deceive using facts.

17. Knowledge: when facts become useful for human
judgment and decision making. You gained
knowledge in my exercise after I gave you the
qualifying fact that John Wilkes Booth assassinated
the president I was referring to. This is a valuable
currency in any information environment.

18. Wisdom: the historic goal of western, classical
liberalism. For our purposes, it is applying
knowledge to difficult decisions. “Is war justifiable in
x scenario?” I like my exercise because most
Americans have very different opinions about the
Civil War than the Iraq war- even though the Civil
War was significantly bloodier.

19. Characteristics of Current Info
Ecosystem
Fact and data driven
Decontextualized
Information is commodified and devalued
Dominant species are private entities, powerful
special interests, or ideologically sealed off
(tribalistic)
Chaos and competition for dominance/control

20. Devolution
Wisdom
knowledge
Facts
data
A downward trend
exists in our current
ecosystem away from
wisdom/knowledge
towards facts/data.
Traditional species
(including librarians)
have always sought to
operate in this section
of the ecosystem, but
current trends place
them at odds with
patron behavior and
preferences.
Realm of the “sound bite”
(byte?)
and “news bite.”
Consumable, commodified
information.

21. Conclusion
From the perspective of Information Ecology social
media has some very detrimental components.
Many gatekeepers see it as a sort of collaborative
ignorance where experts and professionals are less
important the Facebook friends.
But social media is merely a tool and a response to
Information Overload. It is not necessarily ethically
bound; rather humans do what they will with it- for
better or for worse.