A previous study of creative writers' self-reports revealed important differences between research as it is carried out in the context of creative writing and the more scholarly types of research academic librarians often focus on. However, that study left many questions open. For this follow-up study, the author interviewed published creative…

Political Information Literacy (PIL) is a vital and essential set of skills pre-dominantly discussed in Library and Information Studies disciplines. PIL is necessary to navigate the convoluted political information landscape, including the threats to democracy and the spreading of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. Having PIL is…

The last decade has seen decline in the fortunes of the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector in the United Kingdom (UK), both in professional practice and in higher education. This paper sets out to assess the health and wellbeing of LIS teaching and research and to identify key strategies for its future survival. Over the past decade many…

Information literacy (IL) research tends to fall into one of two spaces. In the conceptual space the research concern rests with understanding the experience and core elements of the practice and how it emerges. In the practical space the execution and outcome of the practice as markers of successful teaching and learning are the focus. The…

This paper is based on statistical and qualitative analysis of library and information science (LIS) literature. Our study asks the question of whether, and if so, how, and how often, the discourse generated by scholarly literature in LIS engages discussion about identity in LIS, what topics are covered, and whether the articles engage praxis, or…

In this short paper, avowedly personal, partial and pointillist in nature, I (i) sketch the early days of (mainly Anglo-American) information studies and the field's gradual institutionalization, (ii) describe its maturation, as both an academic discipline and a domain of professional practice, and (iii) speculate on its future in the light of oft…

Proposes scientific theory of the subject matter of library and information science and how it can be organized in terms of the function of documents and their basic use. A hierarchy of classes of documents is described including one, several, or all of the following: information, creativity, understanding, and explanation. (Author/EM)

Argues that the phrase "library science" is an oxymoron and that the term "librarianship" is correct. Suggests that library science and information science are now completely different fields. An information access model is proposed that can be used as a vehicle for unification and integration. (JMV)

Traces the major developments in libraries from ancient times and concludes that another major development is overdue--the establishment of an organized body of scientific principles as a foundation for the study of librarianship as an intellectual discipline at first-degree level, for the development of pure and applied research, and for the…

Examines the literature on the myth of "hard science-soft science" as a means of defining scientific specialties and classifying science literature, and discusses some shortcomings of scholarship in library and information science. Use of Toulmin's categorization of sciences to organize the literature and provide access for scientists is…