THIS IS AN introductory book about information policy. It takes the form of a discussion of the issues that affect the determination of what policy should be, and a discussion of which mechanisms give effect to the intended policy. The aim of the book is to take readers to the point where they can develop the arguments that will lead them to determination of what information policy should be, and where they can develop appropriate policies for the environment they are operating in. This is not a description or explanation of what policies or regulations currently are, or should be, in any jurisdiction. Nor is it a legal or political science or sociological text book, or a review of existing literature. Readers wanting accounts of current law or practice should turn to any of the wide range of excellent studies available. References in the text have been kept to an absolute minimum, and the bibliography is very small. If you want to immerse yourself in reading about any of the issues raised in this book just open a newspaper, or watch the television, where on almost any day you will find matters that involve the generation, transfer, use, storage or retrieval of information and the policy issues that govern them.

This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with information policy. It is relevant to librarians because it deals with issues of censorship and intellectual property. Other readers will find it useful because, although the book does not take the place of dedicated works on any aspect of information policy, it will guide all readers through the process of identifying exactly what they want policy to be and also through the stages of analysis and strategy formation.

The book will also appeal to another type of reader, those whose interest lies in understanding the larger processes at work in an information society. The way information policy interacts with broad conceptualizations of the modern world is discussed to aid campaigners and social theorists. This work is thus also of interest to policy makers and analysts and other parts of the academic community. The easy stance to take, and the default position in this book, is that of the outraged liberal. This is just a rhetorical device to help drive the discussion and to provoke response.