Information in Wonderland: March Hare or Queen of Hearts?

Abstract

The consistent performance of the information industry in adopting innovations too late and suffering severe cuts at the slightest sign of economic recession suggests the analogy with „Alice in Wonderland". Some specific examples will attempt to support this view and will concentrate on: 1) Information policies (or lack of them) after Nora and Minc; 2) The role of videotex in selling information systems to management; 3) The future of electronic publishing and document delivery; 4) The effect of transborder information flow and data privacy regulations. The expertise of present information handlers should be exploited by management, when setting up office automation and management information systems, where structured information systems and retrieval have so far not had their due recognition.