‘So wide and varied’: The origins and character of British information science

Robinson, Lyn; Bawden, David

doi:10.1177/0165551513492257

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The cataloguing rules, subject headings and classification schemes that had been developed for public and college libraries were not so suited to the organization of the documents needed by scientists and engineers: journal and conference papers, and research reports, typically on very specific topics. Some of these librarians ended up joining and contributing to the movement, developing their own indexes and bibliographic tools [107,108]. The explosion of scientific documents across the first half of the twentieth century, and the need for their swift retrieval, led to the documentalists' particular interest in mechanical and automated approaches, and to the "subject approach".…”

Section: Proto-io and The Merging Of Library And Information Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

The terminological and disciplinary origins of information and knowledge organization

Hider¹

2018

EFI

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The intellectual origins of information organization (IO) as a field of study are examined by tracing the use of the terms, "information organization", "knowledge organization", "bibliographic control", and their variants, and by surveying the educational texts dealing with the various component activities of IO, along with reports and discussions of corresponding curricula, across the twentieth century. Analysis reveals that the notion of a single, composite field covering cataloguing, classification, indexing and the other IO activities, only became established in the late twentieth century, mirroring the broadening of the Library and Information Science curriculum toward that advocated by the "iSchool" movement. Prior to this, three phases of curriculum development are identified: the teaching of cataloguing and classification as distinct fields in the initial decades of Library Science education; these two activities then being taught as the combined field of "cat and class"; and, a growing coverage of other activities of "bibliographic control" from the 1960s onwards, such as those emphasizing the "subject approach" to IO. This last phase can be seen as a precursor to the establishment of IO as a generic field of study. The validity and prospects of the field are discussed in light of the historical account. composite field through the period can thus be gauged; the way the field is conceived will affect the design of the curriculum in which it is taught. As well as "information organization" and its variants, the terms, "knowledge organization", "bibliographic control" and "bibliographic organization", and their respective variants (both in word form and spelling), are considered. Second, the coverage, as well as the terminology, of key educational texts pertaining to the main component activities of IO, published across the last century, is examined. These works provide an indication of how different elements of IO featured in the curriculum: as textbooks and other teaching resources, they likely represent popular ways of thinking about these elements, and tend to cover what are considered, at least by the authors, as discrete "fields". Third, reports of surveys, and contemporary discussions, of curricula and syllabi of relevant programs offered since the late nineteenth century, are compared to the findings from the survey of educational texts. A summary of the etymological analysis is first presented to confirm the relative newness of the concept of the broad field as covered by Taylor's book. The story of how this conceptualization was arrived at is then related, chronologically, through the survey of educational texts and curricular commentaries. 2.1 Etymological Analysis A systematic search was conducted on the bibliographic databases, Library and Information Science Abstracts and Library (LISA) and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), the author's University Library's discovery tool, Primo, and OCLC WorldCat. All available content was searched, which, in the case of LISA, LIST...

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Section: Proto-io and The Merging Of Library And Information Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

The terminological and disciplinary origins of information and knowledge organization

Hider¹

2018

EFI

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“…LIS has always been a research field embedded in phronetic practice (Robinson and Bawden, 2013) and therefore less reliant on a fixed epistemological knowledge, using democratic professionalism, doxa and techne of professionals to drive forward its knowledge-base. Such is the nature of change within the knowledge-base of LIS that there are arguments as to where the knowledge-base lies.…”

Section: Knowledge Within Lismentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of professionalism within LIS

Cannon

2017

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of professionalism within Library and Information Science and in doing so draw comparisons with the education and medicine professions. Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a review of the extant literature from the three professions and gives a brief review of the theoretical constructs of professional knowledge using the work of Eisner and Eraut to explore knowledge types. It then relates these definitions to knowledge use within LIS, education and medicine, before examining the roles that professional associations have on the knowledge development of a profession.It concludes with a reflection on the future of professionalism within LIS. FindingsThe literature suggests a fragmented epistemological knowledge-base and threats to its practices from outside professions. It does, however, find opportunities to redefine its knowledge boundaries within the phronetic practices of LIS and in socio-cultural uses of knowledge. It finds strengths and weaknesses in professionalism within LIS and its practitioners. Originality/valueThis review provides a contemporary update to several earlier, related, works and provides useful context to current efforts to professionalise LIS by CILIP.

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“…The development of the British school of information science, however, was less tied to the postwar effort. Robinson and Bawden (2013) have identified the European documentation movement as one of the driving forces, including the establishment of the Universal Bibliographic Repertory by Paul Otlet and Henry La Fontaine in the late nineteenth century (Rayward, 1991). The terms "information science" and "information scientists" were first used by Jason Farradane, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Institute of Information Scientists in the mid-1950s, although it has been argued that information science as a discipline should be traced back to the launch of the Journal of Documentation and Aslib Proceedings in the mid-1940s (Robinson and Bawden, 2013).…”

Section: Introduction (Tim Gorichanaz)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Information and design: book symposium on Luciano Floridi’s The Logic of Information

Gorichanaz

Furner

et al. 2020

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS). Design/methodology/approach Nine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions. Findings Floridi’s PI, including this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects. Research limitations/implications Floridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS. Originality/value The book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas.

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‘So wide and varied’: The origins and character of British information science

Cited by 14 publications

References 52 publications

The terminological and disciplinary origins of information and knowledge organization

The terminological and disciplinary origins of information and knowledge organization

A review of professionalism within LIS

Information and design: book symposium on Luciano Floridi’s The Logic of Information

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