Scientific progress or organizational innovation? A comparison of two turns in Library and Information Science

Abstract

This paper discusses the transformation of library and information science (LIS) from adiscipline narrowly concerned with classification and preservation in libraries and archives toone that includes a wide range of fields and professional training programs. Two alternative butnot mutually exclusive explanations may account for these developments. These changes couldreflect normal scientific progress as the discipline matures. The changes could also be the resultof isomorphic organizational changes in response to shifts in the environment and a need torealign the institutional logics of educational and professional organizations with those of theacademy. These explanations are explored through a comparison of two periods during whichLIS experienced rapid disciplinary and organizational changes: the decades during and afterWorld War II and the final decade of the 20th century. These abbreviated case studies suggestthat both explanations of disciplinary change provide some analytical leverage for explainingdifferent aspects of the development of LIS.