All the definitions of the 1,000 terms in this dictionary are supported by references to the published literature. The definitions are correct and the long list of references makes a nice bibliography, but the reasons for the unique and unusual choice of terms and the variable depth of coverage are not clear. Almost no basic computing terms, such as bit, byte, program, word, or computer, are defined, while advanced and currently fashionable terms such as icon, vigilance test, High Sierra format, and Chinese test are included. Most of the terms relate to advanced technical library procedures and data manipulation for storage and retrieval. I was also struck by the fact that the only entries of personal names are for Vannevar Bush and Hans Peter Luhn, both of whom are discussed because of their conceptions of textual information storage, dissemination, and automatic abstracting. From these selections, I conclude that “information science” has been taken to mean not “the study of information phenomenon,” as the preface claims, but rather the handling of recorded, textual, scientific information. It seems to be a technical librarian’s list of terms and concepts that she found interesting, that were important to her and her most knowledgeable clients, and that she thought others in her field might need to understand.

I cannot recommend the book to anyone, however. A computing dictionary of this size and cost should have at least five time as many terms and, as must be required of all dictionaries, should define the computer terms included in its own definitions. This book does not do this and consequently could only be used by a person less knowledgeable than the author in conjunction with another, better, and more inclusive computing dictionary. I am afraid this work is of interest and importance only to its author.