Library and information science
Part of a series on |
Library and information science |
---|
Library and information science(s) or studies (LIS)[1][2] is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals generally with organization, access, collection, and regulation of information, whether in physical or digital forms.
Some consider the two original disciplines, library science and
Definition
Library science (often termed library studies and library economy)
Historically, library science has also included
There is no generally agreed-upon distinction between the terms library science and librarianship. To a certain extent, they are interchangeable perhaps differing most significantly in connotation. The term
Education and training
Academic courses in library science include
With the mounting acceptance of Wikipedia as a valued and reliable reference source, many libraries, museums, and archives have introduced the role of Wikipedian in residence. As a result, some universities are including coursework relating to Wikipedia and Knowledge Management in their MLIS programs.
Becoming a library assistant does not always need a degree, and in some contexts the difference between being a library staff member and a librarian is the level of education.[14][15] Most professional library jobs require a professional degree in library science or equivalent. In the United States and Canada the certification usually comes from a master's degree granted by an ALA-accredited institution.[16] In Australia, a number of institutions offer degrees accepted by the ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association).[17] Global standards of accreditation or certification in librarianship have yet to be developed.[18]
United States and Canada
The Master of Library Science (MLIS) is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States and Canada. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library Science (MLS), or Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "The master's degree in library and information studies is frequently referred to as the MLS; however, ALA-accredited degrees have various names such as Master of Arts, Master of Librarianship, Master of Library and Information Studies, or Master of Science. The degree name is determined by the program. The [ALA] Committee for Accreditation evaluates programs based on their adherence to the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, not based on the name of the degree.
Types of librarianship
Public
The study of librarianship for
In the United States there are four different types of public libraries: association libraries, municipal public libraries, school district libraries, and special district public libraries. Each receives funding through different sources, each is established by a different set of voters, and not all are subject to municipal civil service governance.[20]
School
The study of school librarianship covers library services for children in Nursery, primary through secondary school. In some regions, the local government may have stricter standards for the education and certification of school librarians (who are sometimes considered a special case of teacher), than for other librarians, and the educational program will include those local criteria. School librarianship may also include issues of intellectual freedom, pedagogy, information literacy, and how to build a cooperative curriculum with the teaching staff.
Academic
The study of
Some academic librarians are considered faculty, and hold similar academic ranks to those of professors, while others are not. In either case, the minimal qualification is a Master of Arts in Library Studies or a Master of Arts in Library Science. Some academic libraries may only require a master's degree in a specific academic field or a related field, such as educational technology.
Archival
The study of archives includes the training of archivists, librarians specially trained to maintain and build archives of records intended for historical preservation. Special issues include physical preservation, conservation, and restoration of materials and mass deacidification; specialist catalogs; solo work; access; and appraisal. Many archivists are also trained historians specializing in the period covered by the archive.
The archival mission includes three major goals: To identify papers and records with enduring value, preserve the identified papers, and make the papers available to others.[21] While libraries receive items individually, archival items will usually become part of the archive's collection as a cohesive group.[21] Major difference in collections is that library collections typically comprise published items (books, magazines, etc.), while archival collections are usually unpublished works (letters, diaries, etc.). Library collections are created by many individuals, as each author and illustrator create their own publication; in contrast, an archive usually collects the records of one person, family, institution, or organization, so the archival items will have fewer sources of authors.[21]
Behavior in an archive differs from behavior in other libraries. In most libraries, items are openly available to the public. Archival items almost never circulate, and someone interested in viewing documents must request them of the archivist and may only be able view them in a closed reading room.[21]
Special
The issues at these libraries are specific to their industries but may include solo work, corporate financing, specialized collection development, and extensive self-promotion to potential patrons. Special librarians have their own professional organization, the Special Libraries Association (SLA).
Some special libraries, such as the
Preservation
Preservation librarians most often work in academic libraries. Their focus is on the management of preservation activities that seek to maintain access to content within books, manuscripts, archival materials, and other library resources. Examples of activities managed by preservation librarians include binding, conservation, digital and analog reformatting, digital preservation, and environmental monitoring.
History
Libraries have existed for many centuries but library science is a more recent phenomenon, as early libraries were managed primarily by academics.[24]
17th and 18th century
The earliest text on "library operations", Advice on Establishing a Library was published in 1627 by French librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé. Naudé wrote on many subjects including politics, religion, history, and the supernatural. He put into practice all the ideas put forth in Advice when given the opportunity to build and maintain the library of Cardinal Jules Mazarin.[25]
In 1726 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz wrote Idea of Arranging a Narrower Library.[26]
19th century
Martin Schrettinger wrote the second textbook (the first in Germany) on the subject from 1808 to 1829.
Some of the main tools used by LIS to provide access to the resources originated in 19th century to make information accessible by recording, identifying, and providing bibliographic control of printed knowledge.[7] The origin for some of these tools were even earlier. In the 17th century, during the 'golden age of libraries', publishers and sellers seeking to take advantage of the burgeoning book trade developed descriptive catalogs of their wares for distribution – a practice was adopted and further extrapolated by many libraries of the time to cover areas like philosophy, sciences, linguistics, and medicine[27]
Thomas Jefferson, whose library at Monticello consisted of thousands of books, devised a classification system inspired by the Baconian method, which grouped books more or less by subject rather than alphabetically, as it was previously done.[28] The Jefferson collection provided the start of what became the Library of Congress.
The first American school of librarianship opened at Columbia University under the leadership of Melvil Dewey, noted for his 1876 decimal classification, on January 5, 1887, as the School of Library Economy. The term library economy was common in the U.S. until 1942, with the term, library science, predominant through much of the 20th century.[29]
20th century
Later, the term was used in the title of S. R. Ranganathan's The Five Laws of Library Science, published in 1931, and in the title of Lee Pierce Butler's 1933 book, An Introduction to Library Science (University of Chicago Press).
S. R. Ranganathan conceived the five laws of library science and the development of the first major analytical-synthetic classification system, the colon classification.[30]
In the United States,Lee Pierce Butler advocated research using
William Stetson Merrill's A Code for Classifiers, released in several editions from 1914 to 1939,[31] is an example of a more pragmatic approach, where arguments stemming from in-depth knowledge about each field of study are employed to recommend a system of classification. While Ranganathan's approach was philosophical, it was also tied more to the day-to-day business of running a library. A reworking of Ranganathan's laws was published in 1995 which removes the constant references to books. Michael Gorman's Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century features the eight principles necessary by library professionals and incorporates knowledge and information in all their forms, allowing for digital information to be considered.
In the English-speaking world the term "library science" seems to have been used for the first time in India
From Library Science to LIS
By the late 1960s, mainly due to the
21st century
The digital age has transformed how information is accessed and retrieved. "The library is now a part of a complex and dynamic educational, recreational, and informational infrastructure."[34] Mobile devices and applications with wireless networking, high-speed computers and networks, and the computing cloud have deeply impacted and developed information science and information services. The evolution of the library sciences maintains its mission of access equity and community space, as well as the new means for information retrieval called information literacy skills. All catalogs, databases, and a growing number of books are available on the Internet. In addition, the expanding free access to open-source journals and sources such as Wikipedia has fundamentally impacted how information is accessed. Information literacy is the ability to "determine the extent of information needed, access the needed information effectively and efficiently, evaluate information and its sources critically, incorporate selected information into one's knowledge base, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, and understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally."[36]
Journals
See also
- List of Library and Information Science Journals
- Category:Library science journals
- Journal Citation Reports for listing according to Impact factor)
Some core journals in LIS are:
- Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) (1966–2011)
- El Profesional de la Información (es) (EPI) (1992–) (Formerly Information World en Español)
- Information Processing and Management
- Information Research: An International Electronic Journal(IR) (1995–)
- Italian Journal of Library and Information Studies(JLIS.it)
- Journal of Documentation (JDoc) (1945–)
- Journal of Information Science (JIS) (1979–)
- Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology) (JASIST) (1950–)
- Knowledge Organization (journal)
- Library Literature and Information Science Retrospective[37]
- Library Trends (1952–)
- Scientometrics (journal) (1978–)
- The Library Quarterly (LQ) (1931–)
- Grandhalaya Sarvaswam (1915–)
Important bibliographical databases in LIS are, among others, Social Sciences Citation Index and Library and Information Science Abstracts[38]
Conferences
This is a list of some of the major conferences in the field.
- Annual meetings of the American Library Association.
- Annual meeting of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
- Conceptions of Library and Information Science
- i-Schools' iConferences
- The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA): World Library and Information Congress[39]
- African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA) Conference[40]
Subfields
Information science |
---|
General aspects |
Related fields and subfields |
Information science grew out of documentation science[41] and therefore has a tradition for considering scientific and scholarly communication, bibliographic databases, subject knowledge and terminology etc.
An advertisement for a full Professor in information science at the Royal School of Library and Information Science, spring 2011, provides one view of which subdisciplines are well-established:
A curriculum study by Kajberg & Lørring in 2005[43]reported a "degree of overlap of the ten curricular themes with subject areas in the current curricula of responding LIS schools".
- Information seeking and Information retrieval 100%
- Library management and promotion 96%
- Knowledge management 86%
- Knowledge organization 82%
- Information literacy and learning 76%
- Library and society in a historical perspective (Library history) 66%
- The free access to information64%
- Cultural heritage and digitisation of the cultural heritage (Digital preservation) 62%
- The library in the multi-cultural information society: International and intercultural communication 42%
- Mediation of culture in a special European context 26% "
There is often an overlap between these subfields of LIS and other fields of study. Most information retrieval research, for example, belongs to computer science. Knowledge management is considered a subfield of management or organizational studies.[44]
Metadata
Pre-Internet classification systems and
- To provide rich bibliographic descriptions and relations between information objects and
- To facilitate sharing of this bibliographic information across library boundaries.[45]
The development of the Internet and the information explosion that followed found many communities needing mechanisms for the description, authentication and management of their information.[45] These communities developed taxonomies and controlled vocabularies to describe their knowledge, as well as unique information architectures to communicate these classifications and libraries found themselves as liaison or translator between these metadata systems.[45] The concerns of cataloging in the Internet era have gone beyond simple bibliographic descriptions and the need for descriptive information about the ownership and copyright of a digital product – a publishing concern – and description for the different formats and accessibility features of a resource – a sociological concern – show the continued development and cross discipline necessity of resource description.[45]
In the 21st century, the usage of
Knowledge organization
Library science is very closely related to issues of knowledge organization; however, the latter is a broader term that covers how knowledge is represented and stored (computer science/linguistics), how it might be automatically processed (artificial intelligence), and how it is organized outside the library in global systems such as the internet. In addition, library science typically refers to a specific community engaged in managing holdings as they are found in university and government libraries, while knowledge organization, in general, refers to this and also to other communities (such as publishers) and other systems (such as the Internet). The library system is thus one socio-technical structure for knowledge organization.[citation needed]
The terms information organization and knowledge organization are often used synonymously.[7]: 106 The fundamentals of their study (particularly theory relating to indexing and classification) and many of the main tools used by the disciplines in modern times to provide access to digital resources (abstracting,[metadata], resource description, systematic and alphabetic subject description, and terminology) originated in the 19th century and were developed, in part, to assist in making humanity's intellectual output accessible by recording, identifying, and providing bibliographic control of printed knowledge.[7]: 105
Information has been published that analyses the relations between the philosophy of information (PI), library and information science (LIS), and social epistemology (SE).[47]
Ethics
Practicing library professionals and members of the American Library Association recognize and abide by the ALA Code of Ethics. According to the American Library Association, "In a political system grounded in an informed citizenry, we are members of a profession explicitly committed to intellectual freedom and freedom of access to information. We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations."[48] The ALA Code of Ethics was adopted in the winter of 1939, and updated on June 29, 2021.[48]
See also
- Authority control
- Bibliography
- Digital Asset Management(DAM)
- Diversity in librarianship
- Glossary of library and information science
- Information history
- Internet search engines and libraries
- List of library and information science journals
- Libraries and the LGBTQ community
- Library portal
- List of library associations
- Museology
- Museum informatics
- Outline of library science
- Subject indexing
- Timeline of women in library science
Notes
- ^ Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) used the term "library economy" for class 19 in its first edition from 1876. In the second edition (and all subsequent editions) it was moved to class 20. The term "library economy" was used until (and including) the 14th edition (1942). From the 15th edition (1951) class 20 was termed library science, which was used until (and including) 17th edition (1965) when it was replaced by "library and information sciences" (LIS) from the 18th edition (1971) and forward.
References
- ^ a b Bates, M.J.; Maack, M.N. (2010). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. Vol. 1–7. Boca Raton, US: CRC Press.
- ^ a b Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003)
- ^ Saracevic, Tefko (1992). Information science: origin, evolution and relations. In: Conceptions of library and information science. Historical, empirical and theoretical perspectives. Edited by Pertti Vakkari & Blaise Cronin. London: Taylor Graham (pp. 5–27).
- ^ Miksa, Francis L. (1992). Library and information science: two paradigms. In: Conceptions of library and information science. Historical, empirical and theoretical perspectives. Edited by Pertti Vakkari & Blaise Cronin. London: Taylor Graham (pp. 229–252).
- ^ Matusiak, Krystyna; Stansbury, Mary; Barczyk, Ewa (January 1, 2014). "Educating a New Generation of Library and Information Science Professionals: A United States Perspective". Library and Information Science: Faculty Publications.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-4954-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85604-810-1.
- ^ "Schrettinger, Martin". Deutsche Biographie (in German). Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ISBN 978-3-598-11734-3.
- ^ "Dewey Services - Resources". OCLC. April 18, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-0949-9.
- ^ admin (August 3, 2006). "Accreditation Frequently Asked Questions". Education & Careers. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-936117-31-4.
- ^ "Librarian". Collins Dictionary.
- ^ "Librarian". Cambridge dictionary.
- ^ admin (July 26, 2006). "ALA Accredited Programs". Education & Careers. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ "ALIA Accredited Courses". alia.org.au. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Evans, Kenneth D. "Woody". "Librarians Need Global Credentials | Backtalk". Library Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-55570-475-9.
- ^ "Types of Public Libraries; a Comparison: Library Development: New York State Library". www.nysl.nysed.gov. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55570-467-4.
- ^ "CIA Library". CIA. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Information Outlook. Special Libraries Association. February 1997. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021 – via SJSU ScholarWorks.
- ISBN 978-1-134-51320-8.
- from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- JSTOR 25540286.
- ISBN 978-1-61608-453-0.
- ISSN 1447-9516.
- ^ Richardson, John (2010). "History of American Library Science: Its Origins and Early Development.". In Maack, Mary Niles; Bates, Marcia (eds.). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (3rd ed.). New York: CRC Press. pp. 3440–3448.
- ^ Ranganathan, S. R. (1987). Colon Classification. Revised and expanded by M.A. Gopinath (7th ed.).
- ISBN 978-0-8389-0027-7.
- ^ "World Libraries: The Pioneers: Asa Don Dickinson". January 18, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Dickinson, Asa Don (1916). The Punjab library primer. Robarts - University of Toronto. Lahore : University of the Panjab.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8389-4757-9.
- ISBN 978-1-315-11614-3.
- ^ "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education". American Library Association. January 1, 2000.
- ^ "Library Literature & Information Science Retrospective: 1905–1983 | EBSCO". Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Journal of Librarianship and Information Science". SAGE Journals. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "World Library and Information Congress – IFLA General Conference and Assembly". July 6, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015.
- ^ "Conferences". African Library & Information Associations & Institutions. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ISSN 0020-0271.
- ^ "Jobnet forside". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ^ Leif, Kajberg; Leif, Lørring (January 1, 2005). "European Curriculum Reflections on Library and Information Science Education" (PDF). The Royal School of Library and Information Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1412953900.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-78330-052-5.
- from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- S2CID 12243183.
- ^ a b American Library Association (May 19, 2017). "Professional Ethics". Tools, Publications & Resources. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
Further reading
Library cataloging and classification | |
---|---|
Dewey Decimal | 020 |
- Åström, Fredrik (September 5, 2008). "Formalizing a discipline: The institutionalization of library and information science research in the Nordic countries". Journal of Documentation. 64 (5): 721–737. .
- Bawden, David; Robinson, Lyn (August 20, 2012). Introduction to Information Science. American Library Association. ISBN 978-1555708610.
- Järvelin, Kalervo; Vakkari, Pertti (January 1993). "The evolution of library and information science 1965–1985: A content analysis of journal articles". Information Processing & Management. 29 (1): 129–144. .
- McNicol, Sarah (March 2003). "LIS: the interdisciplinary research landscape". Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. 35 (1): 23–30. S2CID 220912521.
- Dick, Archie L. (1995). "Library and Information Science as a Social Science: Neutral and Normative Conceptions". The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy. 65 (2): 216–235. S2CID 142825177.
- International Journal of Library Science (ISSN 0975-7546)
- Lafontaine, Gerard S. (1958). Dictionary of Terms Used in the Paper, Printing, and Allied Industries. Toronto: H. Smith Paper Mills. 110 p.
- The Oxford Guide to Library Research (2005) – ISBN 0195189981
- Thompson, Elizabeth H. (1943). A.L.A. Glossary of Library Terms, with a Selection of Terms in Related Fields, prepared under the direction of the Committee on Library Terminology of the American Library Association. Chicago, Ill.: American Library Association. viii, 189 p. ISBN 978-0838900000
- V-LIB 1.2 (2008 Vartavan Library Classification, over 700 fields of sciences & arts classified according to a relational philosophy, currently sold under license in the UK by Rosecastle Ltd. (see Vartavan-Frame)
External links
- Media related to Library and information science at Wikimedia Commons
- LISNews.org – librarian and information science news
- LISWire.com – librarian and information science wire
- Library and Information Science at Curlie