Trends in analyzing access to information. Part I: cross-disciplinary conceptualizations of access

Part I of two articles reviews six research literatures that consider acces s from different vantage points to identify common aspects of the concept ' access to information'. The resulting multi-dimensional framework includes (1) conceptualizations of information itself (resource/commodity, data in t he environment, representation of knowledge and part of the communication p rocess), (2) conceptualizations of the notion of access (knowledge, technol ogy, communication, control, goods/ commodities and rights), (3) a set of g eneral information seeking facets (context, situation, strategies and outco mes) and (4) a variety of influences and constraints (physical, cognitive, affective, economic, social and political). Only a comprehensive considerat ion of these factors will allow us to understand the concept of access to i nformation, as well as develop and study systems, institutions and policies that foster improved access. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.