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Classification

327.12 22

DDC

327.12 22

Footnote

Rez. in: JASIST 58(2007) no.2, S.303-305 (L. Hayden): "Part history and part call to action, Covert and Overt examines the relationship between the disciplines of intelligence service and information science. The book is significant in that it captures both the rich history of partnership between the fields, and because it demonstrates clearly the incomplete nature of our understanding of that partnership. In the post-9/11 world, such understanding is increasingly important, as we struggle with the problem of transforming information into intelligence and intelligence into effective policy. Information science has an important role to play in meeting these challenges, but the sometimesambiguous nature of the field combined with similar uncertainties over what constitutes intelligence, makes any attempt at definitive answers problematic. The book is a collection of works from different contributors, in the words of one editor "not so much a created work as an aggregation" (p. 1). More than just an edited collection of papers, the book draws from the personal experiences of several prominent information scientists who also served as intelligence professionals from World War II onward. The result is a book that feels very personal and at times impassioned. The contributors attempt to shed light on an often-closed community of practice, a discipline that depends simultaneously on access to information and on secrecy. Intelligence, like information science, is also a discipline that finds itself increasingly attracted to and dependent upon technology, and an underlying question of the book is where and how technology benefits intelligence (as opposed to only masking more fundamental problems of process and analysis and providing little or no actual value).
This book is a successful and realistic examination of the current state of inquiry into the relationship between intelligence and information science, and does not flinch from the limits of this inquiry to date. The book can be viewed as a deliberate attempt to stimulate further interest in these studies, and serves as an excellent roadmap for future researchers (like this reviewer) who also have moved from intelligence service into information science. Many of the stories and studies in the book could easily provide fresh and vital avenues of research to new and veteran scholars. If there are limitations to the impact of the book, most must be viewed in the context of the lack of literature from which to draw. Contributions come from a variety of sources and although some new studies are included, for the most part, the chapters are not original to this publication. This results at times in a sense of the editors taking what they could get on the topic. The reader must determine whether this is viewed as a flaw or as reinforcement of the editors' conclusion that more research into the subject matter is important and necessary. It becomes a question of whether or not one wishes to answer the call. One interesting limitation, however, is the lack of a critical stance on the part of most of the contributors. The chapters tend to describe the relationship between intelligence and information science, but few question the nature of that relationship, the social construction of the two disciplines, or moral and ethical concerns associated with spying and information operations. In general, a reader is left with the impression that intelligence service is a good thing, and that information science as a discipline can both improve it as well as learn from it. Little insight is offered into the value and direction of intelligence in the 21 st century, or the impact that our technologies may have. One exception comes from Colin Burke who, in his chapter, "Intelligence Agencies, Librarians, and Information Scientists," touches on some of these issues with his claim that library and information science practitioners must "help bring the information advances from the intelligence communities to an industry that can be committed to distributing information at the lowest cost to the most people" (p. 112). Nevertheless, no serious questions regarding issues of control, power, or resistance are raised. Given recent debates over surveillance, privacy, and the erosion of civil liberties in the wake of 9-11, it would seem that this is an area of intelligence and information studies that also deserves attention. Covert and Overt is an excellent historical overview of the close relationship between intelligence and information science. The book is also intriguing and timely in its argument for further research and study into these areas. Despite the limitations of subject matter and the challenges that come with the disciplines that it explores, it is required reading for practitioners in either world who wish to gain a greater understanding of the operations of the other."