Studies about information production and use cover an extensive field, using different approaches, and their results are far from consensual. This diversity reflects the marked interdisciplinary nature of the information science. Information and research needs could be roughly grouped into those related to the supply side - the information systems - and those focusing the user. The statistical system should be viewed as a third group, where the distinguishing mark is the technical skill shared by producers and users. This characteristic was the basis for the relative balance between supply and demand. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the increasing demand for information in a knowledge-based economy bring new challenges for the producers of statistical information.
Information; Statistical information; Statistical system; Users of statistical information; Information society