The Brazilian Neodocumentalist Movement: an Historical Perspective

This article presents early studies on the repercussion of the neo-documentation movement in Brazilian Information Science, through a literary review on the history and evolution of Documentation in Brazil. Some currently approached questions by Brazilian researchers are presented here, with regard to the document and documentation under the neo-documentation perspective. Based on the work of these Brazilian researchers, by means of reconstituting the theoretical steps in the construction of these researches, it is traced to the pathways that indicate an original Brazilian Information Science neo-documentation movement. It is recommended that the subject be widely explored in the future, for being a rich source of Information Science historiography

Sejarah Pelestarian dan Penyebaran Informasi: Menuju Masyarakat Informasi

The article aims to describe the information from a historical perspective. Knowledge of the history of information becomes important, considering that society is dynamic, transforms and shifts from an agricultural based-society to an industrial based, and recent becomes the information society today. Documentation technique used to collect data related to information preservation and information dissemination historically. This article uses historical analysis to explain the development of information, especially in its preservation and dissemination. This article found that the preservation of information has taken a long time, i.e. ever since humans as "being of thought" began to recognize how to write and read. The information is preserved in script form in the earliest form and then developed into print form. The information is disseminated through various media and types, ranging from manual to digital. Based on these findings, multiple forms of preservation and dissemination of information are constantly developing to create a society that puts information as wisdom in life

Elfreda Annmary Chatman in the 21st Century: At the Intersection of Critical Theory and Social Justice Imperatives

Elfreda Annmary Chatman (1942-2002) is considered a pioneer library and information science (LIS) scholar for her theory development and ethnographic approach to understand information behaviors of understudied populations (e.g., female inmates, janitors, the elderly, poor people, female retirees, etc.). This article discusses the limited contemporary relevance of her contributions to information science research in the 21st century when subjected to an epistemological assessment from critical theory and social justice imperatives. Progressive scholars operationalize this intersection in terms of action-oriented and socially relevant outcomes achieved via information-related work to extend the LIS professions beyond its historical shackles. They also encourage community-engaged scholarship and community-wide changes via partnering with and providing programs to people on society’s margins. Scrutinizing Chatman’s legacy in terms of these attributes helps extend the discourse and identify its trajectory, especially relevant in the context of today’s political and cultural climate. Some factors that influenced Chatman’s work are traced within an emerging, yet narrow, trajectory and scope of information science research of those times. Select evidence and examples discussed in this narrative illustrate some of these perceived limitations while critiquing Chatman’s contributions and still valuing their significance. Pre-print first published online 3/28/202

Knowledge management : the fullfilment of Brookes proposal for information science?

Identifica os principais atributos do conceito de Ciência da Informação, por meio da análise de definições de diversos autores, e do conceito de Gestão do Conhecimento, mediante a análise de definições e de processos. Além disso, relaciona os atributos da Ciência da Informação e da Gestão do Conhecimento com o Mundo 3 e com a interação dos Mundos 2 e 3 de Popper. Apresenta o argumento de que o campo de atuação proposto por Brookes para a Ciência da Informação em 1980 (Mundo 3 e interação entre os Mundos 2 e 3 de Popper) é, hoje, ocupado pela Gestão do conhecimento. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis paper identifies the key attributes of information science and of knowledge management concepts through the analysis of several authors’ definitions as well as the assessment of KM processes. Moreover, there is an attempt to link these attributes with World 3 and with the interaction of Worlds 2 and 3 proposed by Karl Popper. The authors argue that the field of study proposed by Brookes for information science in 1980 (World 3 and the interaction of Worlds 2 and 3) is today the field of knowledge management

Whither Information Science in France?

International audienceInformation science (IS) in France forms part of an inter-discipline named 'Information & Communication Sciences' (ICS), officially recognized as an academic discipline in the French higher education system in 1972. There is a diffuse belief among its academic community that the Anglophone conception of IS is very different from theirs because it is supposedly rooted in Shannon's mathematical theory of communication while the French conception is more rooted in the social sciences and humanities, owing to the literary origins of its founding figures (Robert Escarpit, Roland Barthes, Jean Meyriat). However, a review of the international literature shows that there are no profound distinctions in theories and paradigms underlying research in IS whether undertaken by French or by Anglophone researchers. The differences that do exist are surface level, due mainly to political and institutional factors. These factors also account for the poor state of IS in France today. Indeed, the institutional recognition and development of the field was not grounded upon the foundational works of the pioneers of documentation and IS in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Paul Otlet, Henri Lafontaine, Suzanne Briet). Another factor which has had a lasting impact on the French IS landscape were the inconsistent government policies implemented from the early 1970s till the late 1990s which led to a narrowing down of focus of IS to Scientific and technical information (STI) only, thus orienting the field towards a technological agenda. This in turn affected the direction higher education training and research took in the first three decades. Finally, but not the least adverse factor, the cohabitation of IS with communication science in the same inter-discipline has made it more difficult for the former to affirm its identity and exist as a recognized academic field in France

Research Methods in Library and Information Science

Library and information science (LIS) is a very broad discipline, which uses a wide rangeof constantly evolving research strategies and techniques. The aim of this chapter is to provide an updated view of research issues in library and information science. A stratified random sample of 440 articles published in five prominent journals was analyzed and classified to identify (i) research approach, (ii) research methodology, and (iii) method of data analysis. For each variable, a coding scheme was developed, and the articles were coded accordingly. A total of 78% of the articles reported empirical research. The rest 22% were classified as non‐empirical research papers. The five most popular topics were “information retrieval,” “information behaviour,” “information literacy,” “library services,” and “organization and management.” An overwhelming majority of the empirical research articles employed a quantitative approach. Although the survey emerged as the most frequently used research strategy, there is evidence that the number and variety of research methodologies have been increased. There is also evidence that qualitative approaches are gaining increasing importance and have a role to play in LIS, while mixed methods have not yet gained enough recognition in LIS research

Informational balance: slow principles in the theory and practice of information behaviour

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the principles of the Slow Movement may be applied to information behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses three methods: a literature analysis and synthesis; a Delphi study; and a focus group. All are carried out in accordance with Slow principles, to assess the value of Slow in the conduct of the research itself. Findings: Slow principles are applicable to both the theory and practice of information behaviour. They allow theory to be more realistic by encompassing a broader range of behaviours than those included in most established models of information behaviour and information literacy, particularly behaviours relating to temporal and experiential factors. The use of Slow principles in information practice may help to overcome problems relating to personal information management. The notion of “informational balance” stems from Slow ideas and is a useful concept for theory and practice. Research limitations/implications: The empirical parts of the study use small groups of participants, and the emphasis of the focus group in particular was on everyday information, rather than on professional or academic information. The results of the study show that research and theory in information behaviour would benefit form more explicit attention to time factors. Practical implications: The findings may be used in the design of information literacy instruction, and in encouraging a more reflective approach to personal information management. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the applicability of Slow principles in an information context. It is also original in explicitly applying Slow principles to the research design

Information revolutions, the information society, and the future of the history of information science

This paper aims to discuss the future of information history by interrogating its past. It presents in outline an account of the conditions and the trajectory of events that have culminated in today’s “information revolution” and “information society.” It suggests that we have already passed through at least two information orders or revolutions as we transition, first, from the long era of print that began over five hundred years ago with Gutenberg and the printing press. We have then moved through a predigital era after World War II, finally to a new era characterized by the advent of the ubiquitous technologies that are considered to herald a new “digital revolution” and the creation of new kind of “information society.” It argues that it is possible to see that the past is now opening itself to new kinds of scrutiny as a result of the apparently transformative changes that are currently taking place. It suggests that the future of the history of information science is best thought of as part of a still unrealized convergence of diverse historical approaches to understanding how societies are constituted, sustained, reproduced, and changed in part by information and the infrastructures that emerge to manage information access and use. In conclusion it suggests that different bodies of historical knowledge and historical research methodologies have emerged as we move into the digital world that might be usefully brought together in the future to broaden and deepen explorations of important historical information phenomena from Gutenberg to Google.published or submitted for publicationOpe

Systems of information: The long view

In response to the perceived (by some) onset of an information society, historians have begun to study its roots and antecedents. The past is replete with the rise, fall, and transformation of systems of information, which are not to be confused with the narrower computer- mediated world of information systems. The history of systems of information—which for digestibility can be labeled information history—lacks neither scale nor scope. Systems of information have played a critical role in the transition to, and subsequent development of, capitalism; the growth of the state, especially the modern, nation-state; the rise of modernity, science, and the public sphere; imperialism; and geopolitics. In the context of these epochal shifts and episodes in human thinking and social organization, this essay presents a critical bibliographic survey of histories—outside the well-trodden paths of library and information-science history—that have foregrounded, or made reference to, a wide variety of systems of information.published or submitted for publicationOpe