Public libraries are heavily affected by political and policy-making processes that shape the funding, activities, and roles of libraries in society, with the explosion of information policy decisions in the past two decades significantly increasing the responsibilities of libraries while also increasing limitations on their activities. Research…

The "use" of library resources and services is frequently presented in library and information science (LIS) literature as a primitive concept: an idea that need not be defined when it is being measured as an operational variable in empirical research. This project considered representations of library "use" through the…

The area of archival studies today transcends the professional field of archival science. It encompasses an ever-broadening array of disciplinary discussions and methodological approaches that are identifying, critiquing, and addressing the shifting social, cultural, philosophical, and political, as well as the technological, imperatives of record…

The field of library and information science (LIS) continues to struggle with the issue of diversity and inclusion. As we are perpetually working to increase racial and gender diversity in the profession, the definition of diversity continues to broaden to include socioeconomic status, education, language, literacy, age, sexual orientation,…

The relation between information science and library science has been debated for decades, and even attempts at utilizing methods generally acknowledged as robust for the purpose of mapping research fields have yielded results with large variations. Therefore, a set of citation analyses was performed, comparing the results of analyses on…

This article examines the topicality of Library and Information Science (LIS) dissertations written between 1930 and 2009 at schools with American Library Association (ALA)--accredited university programs in North America. Dissertation titles and abstracts were examined for the presence of library-related keywords drawn from the core curricula of…

Focuses on utilizing organizational theory in understanding the progress of constructing a new departmental identity in a former library and information science school that was merged with an education school. Findings indicate that members of the former library and information science school faced pressure both to become more like education and…

A single listing of 1970 and 1971 master's theses and doctoral dissertations, arranged under the various library schools to which they were submitted is presented. Several tables showing the distribution of theses and dissertations among the schools over the period 1966-1971 are also included. (311 references) (Author/KE)

Among the issues discussed are: the need for, and extent of, a central professional core; the need for additional relevant, but nonprofessional, subjects that could be part of a core; the depth of penetration suitable for various aspects of librarianship; the use of laboratory instruction and internships; and the optimum length of study. (30…

Two main traditions now operate in philosophy, influencing the choice about which theories are appropriate in library and information science (LIS). A third tradition, known as process philosophy, gives prominence to human knowledge as an organically integrated, self-sustaining whole, thereby opening another avenue for the effort to revitalize…

For over seven decades, library history in Russia has been considered a Soviet branch of science known as the "history of librarianship" and it has been isolated from the world science community. This article examines the degree to which Russian library historians have been isolated from this community and their initial results in…

Argues that librarians and information scientists do not need a philosophy. Instead of a single philosophy of library and information science, they need a way to manage the many contradictory ideas in order to be more effective and more helpful to patrons. (AEF)

Presents a model of four factors differentiating significant from routine research--behavioral patterns of problem formulation, economic analyses of information seeking, psychological schemes of optimal effort, and basic dilemmas of the theory-practice gap. Within this context, four myths dominating the research process in library and information…

A metatheoretical framework is reviewed, and the qualitative/quantitative dichotomy, prevalent in library and information science (LIS), is critiqued. Standpoint epistemology, as a critique of existing power-knowledge relationships, is discussed as a research strategy that can provide a starting point for re-conceptualizing LIS research. (AEF)

This column assesses the state of library and information studies (LIS) research. Researchers and practitioners in various LIS fields address questions related to the research front and agenda for collection development; what the field needs to advance further; whether it needs a more sophisticated conceptual or theoretical framework; operational…