Information Science Community Research Articles

The Socialization of Information Behavior: A Case Study of Cognitive Categories for Library Information

This article describes several sessions of a larger case study that examined cognitive categories for library information in a group of children in kindergarten through grade 4. While the initial motivation for the project was pragmatic in nature, theoretical issues relating to people’s cognitive categories for information are examined as well. Literature indicates that the manner in which people categorize information reflects their understanding of that information. People categorize information based on their own unique experiences, all of which contribute to their overall understanding of the world. The shared knowledge of a culture that is contained in a library, however, needs to be classified in a manner understandable by the entire community. It is of interest, therefore, to the library and information science community to examine the manner in which a library user moves from his or her personally typified categories for information toward the library’s categories for information in order to successfully interact with the library. This case study focuses on a time when many people first experience formal instruction relating the library’s method of organization—it examines the cognitive categories for library information of participants in kindergarten through grade 4 for differences that might indicate a move from a more personal understanding toward a more sociocultural understanding of information in the library. In addition to examination of an important theoretical issue, this research may lend insight into the development of systems more supportive of interactions with information in a culturally organized corpus.

Some thoughts on inference in the analysis of spatial data

Statistical inference is important for all those who engage in the analysis of spatial data. The issue is becoming increasingly important given the explosion in the availability of spatial data and the proliferation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across different academic disciplines and application areas. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of some of the concepts and controversies inherent in statistical inference in the hope of raising the level of awareness within the geographic information science community that different points of view exist when it comes to inference. We argue that the concept of statistical inference in spatial data analysis and spatial modelling is perhaps broader than many GIS users imagine. In particular, we argue that different types of inference exist and that process inference is just as valid as sample inference, even though the latter appears to dominate the GIS literature.

OCLC’s Office of Research: the value of research to an organization and to a profession

Presents a survey of the OCLC Office of Research (OR) with emphasis on two projects (Web Characterization Project and Economics of Digital Preservation), and their impact on the library and information science community. The OR is characterized as a model of an informatics organization that recognizes the needs of its library constituents and delivers new technological products as a result of ongoing research projects.

3rd Global Information Village Plaza—The power of ‘what ifs’ (SIG USE)

The Global Information Village Plaza is now in its third year of existence. This new edition differs substantially from the previous ones. The new format will feature a request for questions rather than answers. Questions will be purposefully formulated in a “What If?” format intended to elicit provocative debates and open dialogue among participants. The Global Plaza will however maintain its successful interactive format, aimed at giving ASIS&T members an opportunity to express their personal views about the challenges and opportunities that they encounter in the so called “information society” both at a personal and professional level. As in the past, the overall theme will revolve around the recurring themes of the information society (whose information society?); areas where more research is needed; links to existing resources, initiatives, policy statements, etc. To keep up with the spirit of the Global Information Village Plaza, personal submission of “What If” questions will be sought from the information professionals' community around the globe. The process is due to run from May through October 2004. It will include posting and discussion on ASIS&T and other professional listservs. The questions will be clustered in a series of posters during a special session. During the session, participants in the Annual Meeting will be invited to first browse through the posters comment and vote on what they deem the five most provocative/relevant questions. Five ‘surprise’ guests (a scholar, a practitioner, a government representative, a student and a colleague from a developing nation) will be selected by the moderators from among the conference participants and asked to discuss briefly the selected questions. A general discussion will ensue. SIG/IIIplans to publish a summary of the process and its outcome. Asking the right questions is often half of the answer. “What if?”-type of questions are often deemed irrelevant -or even useless- because they steer us away from agreed upon conventions and set frameworks. There are instances, however, when “what if questions help us think in new and creative ways about our assumptions and goals. For the past two years, the moderators have been on a quest to engage the information science community -both specialists and lay professional public- in a dialogue about the major features of the so-called “information society” and its increasingly global nature. In particular, we were interested in the lay professional public's views: what does this “new” society mean to them in a real and concrete sense? This project aims at providing an opportunity for all ASIS&T members and information professional at large to express and share their personal views using the new format of “what if questions. What if we made it a requirement for admission to information studies programs that students spent at least one year in a remote/rural area; low-income community or in a developing nation? What if people from various parts of the world did not want software and products in their local languages? What if we left the private sector ‘take over’ the globalization of information products and services? What if broadening access to ICTs was simply not enough? What if the information science community was the leading voice at the World Summit of Information Society? As far as possible, questions will be selected and grouped into clusters. They may also possibly be amended and/or merged, and reposted for discussion on the SIG/III list. In preparation for the session, the questions and discussions about each main topic will be summarized in a poster by the moderators. The posters will be placed on the walls around the room. Participants will be invited to move around the room and add their comments on stickers. They will also be able to vote for the most provocative questions. After 30 minutes, individual discussions will stop. The moderators will tally the votes for the five most provocative questions, and invite the audience to gather around a panel of five surprise ‘guests’ selected from among the conference participants. The guests will stand on a platform in the middle of the room, surrounded by the audience. The surprise guests will consist of: one scholar, one practitioner, one government representative, one student and one colleague from a developing nation, Each special guest will be asked to select one question, and will have five minutes for presenting their position about the issues raised by the question. A general discussion with the audience will follow and will be recorded. The idea is to engage a dialogue between the guest speakers; between the speakers and the audience; and between audience members. After the Annual Meeting the final version of the most significant contributions and outcomes will be edited and assembled into a paper for publication in a professional journal (such as the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology).

Professional Values and Ethics as Defined by "The LIS Discipline"

The library and information science literature suggests a growing theoretical congruence in professional values and ethics. These values and ethics may be interpreted and applied in a variety of ways and through a variety of institutions. The library and information science (LIS) community has perhaps not been as responsive as it might be to these issues. LIS educators should first seek to identify the scope of the issues and then help students engage in what may become one of the more controversial domains of our time.

Information Science and Technology Developments Within the National Biological Information Infrastructure

Whether your vantage point is that of an office window or a national park, your view undoubtedly encompasses a rich diversity of life forms, all carefully studied or managed by some scientist, resource manager, or planner. A few simple calculations-the number of species, their interrelationships, and the many researchers studying them-and you can easily see the tremendous challenges that the resulting biological data presents to the information and computer science communities. Biological information varies in format and content: it may pertain to a particular species or an entire ecosystem; it can contain land use characteristics, and geospatially referenced information. The complexity and uniqueness of each individual species or ecosystem do not easily lend themselves to today's computer science tools and applications. To address the challenges that the biological enterprise presents, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) (http://www.nbii.gov) was established in 1993 on the recommendation of the National Research Council (National Research Council 1993). The NBII is designed to address these issues on a national scale, and through international partnerships. This paper discusses current information and computer science efforts within the National Biological Information Infrastructure Program, and future computer science research endeavors that are needed to address the ever-growing issues related to our nation's biological concerns.

GILS metadata initiatives at the state level

Metadata has emerged as a tool for providing access and managing information resources in Government Information Locator Services (GILS) in several states. Various metadata schemes have developed, building on efforts in the federal government, library, and information science communities. Methods of metadata application include incorporation into the resources, metadata wrappers, and development of repositories to store metadata separate from the resources it describe. Metadata use is also developing as a strategy for preservation of resources. Developments in RDF, XML and Z39.50 may provide means for integrating diverse metadata-based resources. At the same time, developments outside the GILS community offer alternatives that have potential to inform or replace GILS as a method of citizen access to government information.

Approaches to the measurement of the impact of knowledge management programmes

There is currently widespread interest in knowledge management, with organisations of all kinds investing in technologies, systems and people to this end. Concurrently, within business and the economy as a whole, intellectual capital or intangible assets are growing in significance in relation to traditional tangible assets such as buildings and equipment. Many organisations are finding that traditional measures of organisational performance are insufficient for the task of managing intangibles. In trying to measure the value of knowledge inputs and outputs, such metrics as return on investment or the practice of consigning intangibles to the accounting category of goodwill need to be supplemented by alternative approaches. This paper looks at the problem of knowledge measurement and, in reviewing some of the current alternatives, argues for the importance of metrics to the overall process of knowledge management. The significance of knowledge measurement to the information science community is emphasised.

Information retrieval and the perpetual innovation economy

The main objective of this article is to show the increasing relevance of the knowledge production capability of information storage and retrieval systems in the context of ‘perpetual innovation’, otherwise known as the ‘information’ economy. The knowledge production potential of information retrieval systems is only barely recognised in the information science community. Traditionally, information professionals and retrieval systems devised by them are conceived merely as guardians and facilitators of knowledge. This prevents information professionals playing a key role in an innovation based economy. In a perpetual innovation economy, information/knowledge embedded in commodities becomes the main source of profit. However, the peculiar character of information/knowledge means that privately owned knowledge tends to flow back into the public domain. This peculiarity necessitates continuous production of new knowledge applied to products and production techniques. Creative acts are not individualistic but collective/collaborative processes. Emerging collaborative systems on computer networks, such as the Internet, make it possible to devise work environments that are conducive to the development and cultivation of collective practices. Informational retrieval systems designers and practitioners may find it useful to study such systems to develop retrieval mechanisms that enhance creativity and facilitate knowledge production as well as knowledge transfer. It is hoped that by putting information retrieval in the context of the perpetual innovation economy, the knowledge production potential of information retrieval systems becomes more widely acknowledged and accepted among information practitioners.

Intermediation and Quality Uncertainty in the Internet Environment: New Opportunities for LIS

Direct access to information and expertise has changed the character of information seeking. It is possible for the customers ofinformation services to deal directly with the information vendors, without the middlemen. However, the users' quality uncertainty and the lack of efficiency in their online research activities continue to offer strong incentives for the emergence and success of knowledge intermediaries. In the Internet environment, intermediaries remain necessary to build and support trusted relationships with customers, carry out quality and price control, work on increasing the efficiency of the users' information-related activities, and build user-focused systems based on ideas of empathic design. The Internet is an information market driven by consumers, although in many cases they are not paying directly for the information they use. This paper emphasizes the need for new types of intermediaries, focusing on the systems' design and understanding the rules of the information markets. This need should be reflected in LIS curricula in order to ensure that the expertise in the system design and service acquired by the library and information science community can be adapted to the more dynamic business needs of the new electronic information markets.

The enacted fate of undiscovered public knowledge

In a series of articles, Don Swanson explores the problem of associating two or more literatures that are logically, or substantively, related, but bibliographically noninteractive. He has called these implicit links among published literatures undiscovered public knowledge. This article explores the fate of Swanson's ideas, using citation context analysis both to determine which authors have utilized Swanson's ideas and to examine the uses to which they have been put. The results suggest that while Swanson has received significant attention from the library and information science community, his ideas have not been widely cited in biomedical disciplines, and, when cited, only with rhetorically dismissive qualifications that detract from their facticity. These results are interpreted as a failed instance of interdisciplinary communication, and several explanations of this failure are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The enacted fate of undiscovered public knowledge

In a series of articles, Don Swanson explores the problem of associating two or more literatures that are logically, or substantively, related, but bibliographically noninteractive. He has called these implicit links among published literatures undiscovered public knowledge. This article explores the fate of Swanson's ideas, using citation context analysis both to determine which authors have utilized Swanson's ideas and to examine the uses to which they have been put. The results suggest that while Swanson has received significant attention from the library and information science community, his ideas have not been widely cited in biomedical disciplines, and, when cited, only with rhetorically dismissive qualifications that detract from their facticity. These results are interpreted as a failed instance of interdisciplinary communication, and several explanations of this failure are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The history and value of lis‐link

lis‐link is the primary electronic discussion forum for the Library and Information Science (LIS) community in the UK. The list has been active since May 1991, and now has a membership of over 2500 individuals, generating over 3000 messages annually. This article examines the historical origins of the list, the purpose and community it serves, and illustrates the development of lis‐link over time.

Legal issues for information professionals, Part IV: Attitudes to data protection amongst UK media librarians

This paper describes the results of a survey carried out amongst a large number of UK media librarians and information scientists, and a smaller number of UK journal ists. Their knowledge of, and attitudes towards, the UK Data Protection Act and the EC Draft Directive on data protection were measured. The results demonstrated a reasonable level of knowledge about both pieces of legislation. It also showed that there is considerable concern within the UK media regarding the proposed EC Directive. The paper concludes that journalists are likely to ignore the Draft Directive, and that the Draft will impose intolerable burdens on the informa tion science community in the media. The paper also recom mends that the Association of UK Media Librarians under takes a data protection awareness campaign for its members.

Changing times for scholarly communication: The case of the electronic journal

In 1945, Vannevar Bush described his concept of the future of information storage and retrieval for scientists. His vision has been modified significantly as new developments in computer and telecommunications technology add capabilities beyond what he perceived as possible. The pursuit of a modern, multi-purpose workstation which would enable scholars to create powerful, flexible, and personalized databases remains active. Today, a part of that vision has been translated into the concept of the “electronic journal,’ a somewhat ambiguous, elusive, and appealing goal to many within the publishing and library and information science communities, and among the many other scholars who would use such a tool. This paper provides a history of efforts to develop and institutionalize computer-based systems for scholarly communication, focusing primarily on peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Although it would be an exaggeration to claim that these emerging systems are the cause of proliferating inter- and intra-disciplinary research activity within “invisible colleges,” it is noted below how such activity is enhanced by these developments. It suggests that the changes now taking place make it possible to broaden the scope of scholarly communication and perhaps reduce the impact of mainstream journals. However, it also suggests that disciplinary structures have an interest in suppressing or channeling the development of such technology to reduce its potential to subvert disciplinary control.

Education for information science as a profession

AbstractThis paper relates factors pertaining to the development of professional education programs to the current status of education for information science. Information science education has not yet matured to the level of being articulated in a program plan representing the consensus of members of the profession. Components of curriculum plans are discussed. A topic inventory for information science is presented with indications of its utility in curriculum design and assessment. The author advocates that collective action be undertaken by the information science community to formulate a curriculum plan to orient educators, prospective students, and present and prospective clienteles.

Annual Review of Information Science and Technology

Information Science (IS) is the study of principles underlying communication processes and information systems. It is not new as an activity; it has ancient precedents in other sciences, in philosophy, in the arts. It is, however, new as a separate discipline and a profession, one that draws from diverse sources and seeks solutions to problems of equally diverse fields. Its interdisciplinary character heightens its interest while making for great confusion. A few years ago the American Society for Information Science sought to bring together the relevant current literature of IS wherever published, in order to improve communication and standards. With support from National Science Foundation and System Development Corporation, the Society created the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. From the beginning the venture has had a great deal going for it: an excellent program of document identification which has produced the Bibliography of Information Science and Technolopv (published separately), the services of outstanding reviewers in many fields, and a superior calibre of editorship. The result has been the production of the most useful single source of information on recent IS literature. Volume 31 of the Annual Review, published .in October 1968, covers the literature of calendar year 1967. It reflects the growing sophistication of the IS community as well as its increasing concern for the development of a sound theoretical base and rigorous discipline. Appropriately, the editor has varied from year to year the choice of subjects covered, as a reflection of changing emphases in the field. This year the coverage of automation of libraries and information centers, a single chapter in Volume 2, has been expanded into two, one covering automation of