Information Technology: A Survey from the Perspective of Higher Education
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047662 |
| Date | 01 April 1986 |
| Pages | 23-31 |
| Published date | 01 April 1986 |
| Author | Douglas E. Van Houweling |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Information Technology:
A Survey from the Perspective
of Higher Education
Douglas E. Van Houweling
Information technology that cost
a million dollars in 1950
will be available in the year 2000
for ten dollars. Developments
in software, while not as much noticed,
have been at least as remarkable as
developments in computer hardware.
The current and near-term realities
related to computing hardware,
communication technology, storage
technology, software, and the
human-computer interface are described
and placed in context.
Preface
This article is the first in a series of three
based on a background paper prepared for a 1986
Wingspread conference on Information Resources
for the Campus of the Future organized by the
Online Computer Library Center. (See the report
on this conference located elsewhere in this issue.)
Over the span of the three articles, I will examine
the underlying technological forces that are mo-
tivating the future environment for knowledge work,
discuss the way in which information systems' archi-
tecture is changing to facilitate that environment,
and, finally, explore implications for the future
of scholarship and library services.
I have attempted to choose an appropriate
path between speculation that might be characterized
as science fiction and clearly observable trends.
If anything, I have probably erred on the conservative
side,
as do most prognosticators of information
technology. The articles will have been successful
if they stimulate further examination of the im-
plications of present and future interactions between
information and technology.
TECHNOLOGY
Introduction
Technology or its absence has determined
patterns of human use of information over the
centuries. From the dyes used to create the first
cave paintings, to Egyptian papyrus, Gutenberg's
printing press, the photocopying machine, and the
Van Houweling is Vice Provost for Informa-
tion Technology at The University of Michigan.
ISSUE 16 23
To continue reading
Request your trial