World Brain and Mundaneum: the ideas of Wells and Otlet concerning universal access

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the characteristics of Wells' ideas and their differing from those of Otlet, starting from the premise that Otlet was a social scientist with a well‐defined ideological perspective and that Wells was a writer who was recognised first and foremost for his science fiction novels, but who worked in a scientific context that provided him with a greater knowledge of the scientific innovations and expectations of his time, as demonstrated in his books.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology that was used was the comparative and the hermeneutic methods. These ideas are compared in a context where the need to offer universal access to information is more and more frequently discussed. This paper is based on the idea that the works of Wells were independent and different from those of Otlet.

Findings

This analysis concludes that Wells's offers are different from those of Otlet.

Originality/value

This article highlights Wells's contributions for the conformation of a universal access to the digital information.

Citation

Araceli Torres‐Vargas, G. (2005), "World Brain and Mundaneum: the ideas of Wells and Otlet concerning universal access", VINE, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 156-165. https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720510634207