Information History in the Modern World

Information has a rich but under explored history. The information age of the late twentieth century witnessed the emergence of a new history of information and, in this timely collection of essays, a team of international scholars from a variety of disciplines examines the changing understandings of information in the modern world. Situating the concept of information in varying historical contexts since the eighteenth century, Information History in the Modern World: Histories of the Information Age: . explores how this historical research can challenge our perceptions of the information age in the global twenty-first century . discusses ephemera, wars, imagery, empire, identification and the transience of history in the digital era . argues that the changing uses, perceptions and manifestations of information helped to shape the world we know today. Authoritative and approachable, this is an invaluable resource for anyone who is interested in how and why information has become a distinguishing feature of the modern world.

TONI WELLER is Senior Lecturer in History at De Montfort University, UK, and Editor of the international journal Library and Information History. She is one of the leading scholars in the burgeoning field of information history and her previous publications include Information History - An Introduction: Exploring an Emergent Field (2008).

List of Figures Acknowledgements Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Introduction; T.Weller Personal Identification as Information Flows in England, 1500-2000; E.Higgs Information for the Public: Information Infrastructure in the Republic of Letters; B.Rayward Designing and Gathering Information: Perspectives on Nineteenth Century Forms; P.Stiff, P.Dobraszczyk &M.Esbester Broadside Ballads, Almanacs and The Illustrated News:Genres and Rhetoric in the Communication of Information in Denmark, 1800-1925; L.Skouvig Information and Empire: The Information and IntelligenceBureaux of the Imperial Institute, London 1887-1949; D.Muddiman 'A Valuable Handbook of Information': TheStaff Magazine in the First Half of the Twentieth Century as a Means of Information Management; A.Black Modelling Recent Information History: The 'Banditry' of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda; P.Sturges Rewriting History: The Information Age and the Knowable Past; L.Tredinnick Conclusion: Information History in the Modern World; T.Weller Selected Bibliography Index.