ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on examples drawn from the European and Canadian contexts. This selective emphasis makes sense for two reasons. First, these are the models most accessible by virtue of the involvement and visibility of these countries in various international research networks, as well as by virtue of their relationship with multinational agencies. Second, these models tend to be those that are the most highly evolved, suggesting that they are particularly good examples to consider when one is interested in the track record of various forms of the cultural policy information infrastructure. While various attempts have been made to map the extent of the existing cultural policy information infrastructure in the United States no structured attempt has been made to conduct a cross-national analysis intended to draw on the more highly developed models already in operation elsewhere.
