Buckland offers an examination of information systems that is comparative rather than narrowly technical in approach. Using explicitly defined terms, he interprets the nature of retrieval-based information systems such as archives, libraries, databases, and museums, and their relationships to their social context. Since the primary focus of the work is on unusual examples of information systems, the discussion yields interesting and thoughtful conclusions on the nature of information systems in general and constructive consideration of existing problems in this rapidly expanding field.