Editor’s Message In his book Information Anxiety (1989), Ric

hard Wurman claims that the weekday edition of The New York Times contains mor e information than the average person in 17th-century England was likely to come across in a lifetime. This personalizes the oft-cited estimate that more informat ion has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 5,000. Statisti cs like these highlight the phenome-non of an information explosion and its con sequence: information overload or in-formation anxiety. Vannevar Bush raised a similar alarm more than 50 years ago in his Atlantic Monthly article: ”Thus far we seem to be w orse off than ever before—for we can enormously extend the record, yet even in its present bulk we can hardly con-sult it.” How real is the phenomenon of information overload; how should we meas-ure it; what are its causes; can anything b e done about it; and if so, what? This month Bernhard Jungwirth takes on a set of complex issues that call for careful analysis of technology and new literacy prac tices. He shows how the questions are not just abstract problems for technology theorists, but are also practical issues for anyone who wants to become literate i n today’s world. In keeping with the international charact er of this journal and with that of the Internet, this month’s column has already traveled the world. Bernhard lives in Vienna, Austria; the journal edito rs are in Brisbane, Australia; and the International Reading Association headqu arters are in the United States. The work cited comes from France, Germany, a nd the United States. In the process of creating this column, at least 50 e-mail messages were sent around the world. Issu