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Library and Information Science

History and Theory of Library and Information Science

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies

Welcome To Library And Information Science, Jenna K. Hartel Jan 2012

Welcome To Library And Information Science, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

This paper enacts the following scenario: At an orientation session for a library and information science (LIS) program an educator gives incoming students a brief address entitled “Welcome to Library and Information Science.” Three versions of that talk are offered here, drawn from seminal works by Shera (1973a), White (1992), and Bates (1999). In turn, each author is introduced, the historical and literary context of the article is noted, and then its unique characterization of LIS is presented in a spoken rhetorical style. The three disquisitions are followed by discussion questions designed to engage newcomers and observations on the pedagogical …


The Interdisciplinary Study Of Information, Jenna Hartel, Steve Fuller, Susan Bonnici, Rick Szostak Jan 2012

The Interdisciplinary Study Of Information, Jenna Hartel, Steve Fuller, Susan Bonnici, Rick Szostak

Jenna Hartel

To mark the 75th anniversary of ASIS&T this panel addresses the nature and recent history of the field of information science. It uses as a springboard The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Messages, a collection of writings edited by economist Fritz Machlup and Una Mansfield (1983). More than a quarter of a century ago, The Study of Information (for short) presented the mandates of nine research specialties centered on information, namely: cognitive science, informatics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, library and information science, cybernetics, information theory, and systems theory. By illuminating the concerns, similarities, and differences of these related domains the book established …


The Future Of Information History, Jenna K. Hartel, Thomas Haigh, Ronald Day Jan 2011

The Future Of Information History, Jenna K. Hartel, Thomas Haigh, Ronald Day

Jenna Hartel

This panel discusses developments in the scholarship of information history and speculates on its future. Previously, history was a distinct mode of research and a specialty community within information science; it operated largely outside of the mainstream scholarship that was underway within the dominant empirical and rational paradigms. Today, more social and culturally-oriented approaches have gained momentum across the discipline and these frameworks include an historical perspective as one dimension of their conceptual apparatus. As a result, an historical sensibility is now embedded more broadly across a larger swath of scholarship. This is an exciting and welcome development for champions …


Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna Hartel, Jonathan Furner, Steve Fuller, Birger Hjorland, Ross Todd, Siobhan Stevenson, Jens-Erik Mai Jan 2010

Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna Hartel, Jonathan Furner, Steve Fuller, Birger Hjorland, Ross Todd, Siobhan Stevenson, Jens-Erik Mai

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information science and create a dynamic climate, yet also some confusion. This panel aims to demystify methatheory by addressing the matter in a playful, comparative, competitive spirit. Articulate champions of five major metatheories will be given an opportunity to cast their metatheory onto the life and information experience of an ordinary and affable persona: a snowman. The vivid renderings of the snowman and its information world will bring the features of …


Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna K. Hartel Jan 2009

Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information science and create a dynamic climate, yet also some confusion. This panel aims to demystify methatheory by addressing the matter in a playful, comparative, competitive spirit. Articulate champions of five major metatheories will be given an opportunity to cast their metatheory onto the life and information experience of an ordinary and affable persona: a snowman. The vivid renderings of the snowman and its information world will bring the features of …


Information And Higher Things In Life: Addressing The Pleasurable And The Profound In Information Science, Jarkko Kari, Jenna K. Hartel Jan 2007

Information And Higher Things In Life: Addressing The Pleasurable And The Profound In Information Science, Jarkko Kari, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

The article discusses lower and higher contexts for information phenomena, and argues that there is clearly a need for a more concerted research effort in the latter sphere. The discipline of information science has traditionally favored lower contexts—like everyday life and problem solving—that are neutral or even negative by nature. In contrast, the neglected higher things in life are pleasurable or profound phenomena, experiences, or activities that transcend the daily grind. A literature sample of the scarce information research related to higher things indicates that beyond the spotlight of mainstream research, information processes often seem different and there may be …