Introduction

In today's society, information artefacts are omnipresent. In this chapter, we introduce them as part of a conceptual framework for workplace information, and, accordingly, within the scope of information science. We analyse them from three theoretical underpinnings: materiality, plasticity and context. Information artefacts are outlined as information sources and information channels from the perspective of workers. Information sources are commonly understood as carriers of information and knowledge, and information channels as means of connecting to those sources. In addition, we present three categories of information tools: tools for storage, for collaboration and for retrieval and searching, and make a closer examin - ation of the concepts of information systems, social media and enterprise information search. The artefacts’ agency in the context of work is illustrated through three central information-related activities: information seeking, information searching and information needs. We conclude by addressing two new areas of future research and development concerning information artefacts at workplaces: collegial inclusion and forms of expertise.

In our case, the objects of interest are those that deal with information or knowledge, either by encompassing information and knowledge, providing access to them, or facilitating the production of them. It is tempting to provide a seemingly simple example, such as a book or a search engine, but as the chapter will illustrate, information artefacts are complex phenomena that do not neatly organize themselves into straightforward categories or hierarchies. The conceptualisation of information artefacts acknowledges their agency in information interactions as well as their contextual transformations. This makes them different from the other, but related, concept of information objects that are viewed as more static, storable and findable items (cf. Chapter 6, ‘Information attributes’). We perform this conceptual analysis of information artefacts in the area of workplace information: that is, with a focus on information and knowledge in instances of work, and as part of the interdisciplinary field of information science.

During nearly all of our waking time we interact with some kind of information artefacts. Let us take as an example Ann, who is a cardiologist in a large city hospital. In the mornings when Ann wakes up early, she listens to the morning news on the radio, if she has more time she prefers to read the newspaper whilst having breakfast.