Presents arguments for the importance of a historical approach in the library and information science curriculum. Highlights include learning from past mistakes; understanding the reason for successful ventures; censorship and intellectual freedom; professional identity; and integrating historical background into each course. (Contains five…

Provides an overview to this issue which focuses on information resources and democracy. Topics discussed include theories of democracy and the shifting information environment from an informing environment to one that is involving; the nature of information systems; censorship and economics; the content of information resources; and political…

Describes Portugal's role in the development of a European information market. Highlights include the role of the European Economic Community, particularly the Commission of the European Communities; information management education at the University of Sheffield in Portugal; and future possibilities. (eight references) (LRW)

Discusses a bibliometric analysis of the first 12 volumes of the International Journal of Behavioral Development (IJBD) that used data from PSYCINFO and Social Scisearch. The IJBD is compared to other journals in the field. Changes in IJBD's focus, and the internationality of its authorship and reception, are discussed. (GH)

Describes how an interactive text retrieval system with natural language queries is used in information studies education. The benefits of programing methods involving encapsulation and inheritance are explained in terms of reusability and extendibility, and future plans to produce a library of reusable objects for information retrieval are…

Discussion of the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services focuses on scientific productivity and access to scientific information. The role of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) is described, the 1979 conference is discussed, and the need for a national information policy is emphasized. (15…

Argues that vitae of library and information science (LIS) faculty reveal interest in themes pertinent to information policy and skills essential to participation in political arenas, but that research activity supporting expert advisory roles is currently weak. It is suggested that LIS faculty should participate in policy formation when their…

Reports results of a qualitative study of Australian library educators regarding the broadening of library education to include other information professions. Respondents are categorized as conservers (showing little enthusiasm for expanding the boundaries of library education) and expansionists (seeing expansion as desirable). Major themes…

Presents a statistical survey of international students' enrollment in American library and information science schools from the late 1880s to 1988. Data are presented regarding home countries of foreign students, and trends are identified, including the increase in the number of Asian students and a decrease in the number of European students.…

Combines ideas from mythology, folklore, and library and information science to conclude that information overload is a myth of modern culture. Reports results of a pilot project intended to describe information overload experienced by a particular folk group composed of future library and information professionals. (Author/LRW)

Symbols for bibliometric concepts like "half life,""impact factor,""normalized impact factor," and "immediacy index" are proposed and formulas for the determination of their values are provided. The features of the bibliometric concepts are also highlighted. (Author/AEF)

Explicates the statement, "Results of most non-traditional authorship studies are not universally accepted as definitive." Lists and discusses six problems associated with these studies, and suggests a similar number of solutions. Argues that future nontraditional attribution studies must be held to a higher standard of competency and…

Presents an extensive domain analysis of information science in terms of its authors. Names of those most frequently cited in 12 key journals from 1972 through 1995 were retrieved from Social Scisearch via DIALOG. The top 120 were submitted to author co-citation analyses, yielding automatic classifications relevant to histories of the field.…

Duality is an important topic in informetrics, often less studied in information retrieval where it relates to the unification or symmetry of queries and documents, search formulation versus indexing, and relevant versus retrieved documents. This article examines duality in information retrieval and highlights its connection with hypergeometric…

Describes how "intertextuality" shapes a course in children's literature: the professor begins with the notion of children's book history as a story told by image and myth; the course progresses with a series of significant children's texts; the writing component which follows is directed toward reader response; class time is devoted to…