Robert M. Mason is president of Metrics Research Corporation. He is conducting research and serving as consultant on the economics of information and strategic planning in the information industry. He has a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

• Preface -- Introduction: The Challenge of Information Service Management -- Economics and Government Policy -- Information as a Commodity: Public Policy Issues and Recent Research -- A Theory of the Market Demand for Information Analysis Center Services -- Regulation of the STI Industry: A Historical Basis and Some Possibilities -- The Government's Role in Providing Information: A British Academic's View -- Management and Marketing -- Marketing Research in the Design of STI Systems: A Case Study -- The Case for New-Product Planning in the Information Industry -- Organizational Buying Behavior and STI Marketing Decisions -- Implications of User Behavior for the Design of STI Products and Services -- Economic Pricing Models and Their Application to Library Services -- Innovation and Impacts of Technology -- Potential STI Innovation: A Behavioral Perspective -- The Behavioral Impact of Organizational Innovations for STI -- Information Management: An Organizational Innovation -- The Prospect for Technological Innovation in Scientific and Technical Communication -- Networking and Information Services: Prospects and Pitfalls