It is essential to stress that information science is not solely concerned with science information, nor indeed only with the provision of informatio… - Brian Campbell Vickery

The structure if a fully developed classification can be technically described in the following way:

My first encounter with the concept of "information service" came with the reading of The Social Function of Science by Desmond Bernal, first published in 1939-a work that stimulated a whole generation of young scientists to think about the role of science in society, its organisation, its future. In it, he wrote that in every laboratory "there should be someone deputed to watch the whole of current literature for items which might be relevant to the work of the laboratory, and to be able to indicate without loss of time where such items are likely to be found." Such a person "would have to be chosen partly for his comprehensive scientific interests, which need to be much greater than those of the other laboratory workers, and partly for his inclination to systematic thinking." Already I felt that I might be suited to such a role.

Information science is concerned with every aspect of the chain of information transfer activities, but the heart of its interest is information search.