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This paper is based on statistical and qualitative analysis of library and information science (LIS) literature. Our study asks the question of whether, and if so, how, and how often, the discourse generated by scholarly literature in LIS engages discussion about identity in LIS, what topics are covered, and whether the articles engage praxis, or the application of theory to practice. Through searches in LISTA database that cross-referenced identity terms (e.g., Gender, LGBT) with terms describing prominent areas in the LIS field, we collected quantitative data and analyzed the co-occurrence of keywords and created network visualizations. We used a qualitative coding scheme to rate abstracts in terms of their relevance and actionability. Both modes of analysis show that generalized conversations about identity are most common, and praxis is rarely achieved. Using critical approaches to LIS, we explore the ramifications of silences within LIS literature upon the pedagogical and professional discourse.

In this short paper, avowedly personal, partial and pointillist in nature, I (i) sketch the early days of (mainly Anglo-American) information studies and the field's gradual institutionalization, (ii) describe its maturation, as both an academic discipline and a domain of professional practice, and (iii) speculate on its future in the light of oft expressed predictions of its imminent demise as an autonomous enterprise within the academy. I invoke import-export data to demonstrate the newfound outer-directedness of the field and the growing attractiveness of its research to cognate disciplines. However, I also argue that the permeability of contemporary information studies' boundaries may in fact be the cause of its eventual undoing: in short, epistemic promiscuity comes at a price.

Information and communications technologies today are used in virtually any university course when students prepare their papers. ICT is also needed after people are graduated from university and enter the job market. This author is an instructor in the field of informatics related to health care and social sciences at the Riga Stradins University. In practice, he has found that after completing informatics courses (IC) at the university level, students and practicing specialists at various levels find it hard to decide on what data processing method to use in order to interpret extracted results in the relevant area of specialisation. There are various data processing methods in the literature, presented individually and without adequate linkages. The author has found in practice that when such assignments are handled, there is closer linkage among data processing methods than the literature would suggest. In this article, the authors deal with the following issues: (1) how assignments given during informatics courses at the university level can be integrated with the relevant area of specialisation by making use of professional standards, guidebooks to studies in other courses, descriptions and scholarly publications so as to help students and practicing specialists to take decisions on data processing methods, their use, and the interpretation of their results; (2) how to ensure that educational data related to the area of specialisation are obtained on the basis of statistics in scholarly publications; (3) what kind of content is to be used for students of health care and the social sciences; (4) how to choose methods to resolve data processing issues; and (5) what are the recommended principles for evaluating the knowledge, skills and talents of students? The views that are presented in this paper are those of the authors or of other authors.

This article analyzes a series of extralegal procedures implemented by Guatemalans to acquire Mexican personal identification documents. The research focuses on the experiences of descendants of families who took refuge in Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s and returned to Guatemala between 1994 and 1996. These young people, born in Guatemala after their parents returned to their country of origin, employed the practice of buying Mexican birth certificates which were later used to enter Mexico legally. The fieldwork was carried out in two Guatemalan villages, as well as two Mexican ones, located in Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The main argument is that for them Mexican identification documents become a singular force that confers recognition and offers them the possibility to be incorporated into governmental logic which grants material benefits. Such forms of political imagination are related to the experiences of multiple documentation accumulated by older generations during their refuge period and are now encouraged by the Mexican State's new border security strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The authors exploit the analogy between journal peer review and information retrieval in order to quantify some imperfections of journal peer review. Design/methodology/approach – The authors define fallout rate and missing rate in order to describe quantitatively the weak papers that were accepted and the strong papers that were missed, respectively. To assess the quality of manuscripts the authors use bibliometric measures. Findings – Fallout rate and missing rate are put in relation with the hitting rate and success rate. Conclusions are drawn on what fraction of weak papers will be accepted in order to have a certain fraction of strong accepted papers. Originality/value – The paper illustrates that these curves are new in peer review research when interpreted in the information retrieval terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gerard Salton is often credited with developing the vector space model (VSM)for information retrieval (IR). Citations to Salton give the impression that the VSM must have been articulated as an IR model sometime between 1970 and 1975. However, the VSM as it is understood today evolved over a longer time period than is usually acknowledged, and an articulation of the model and its assumptions did not appear in print until several years after those assumptions had been criticized and alternative models proposed. An often cited overview paper titled "A Vector Space Model for Information Retrieval" (alleged to have been published in 1975) does not exist, and citations to it represent a confusion of two 1975 articles, neither of which were overviews of the VSM as a model of information retrieval. Until the late 1970s, Salton did not present vector spaces as models of IR generally but rather as models of specific computations. Citations to the phantom paper reflect an apparently widely held misconception that the operational features and explanatory devices now associated with the VSM must have been introduced at the same time it was first proposed as an IR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyse the document support using an information perspective. The author applied the elements of the document theory put forward by Niels Windfeld Lund, with regard to the document support and concluded that the support is also a document. She ends with a discussion of the possible benefits when considering massive scanning of documents. Her idea is supported by two examples of 17th century paper documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies factors that contribute to the successful initiation of international collaborative projects intended to support the development of education for librarianship and information sciences. It discusses the widespread failure to analyse the Critical Success Factors in international collaborative projects and proposes a case study methodology to identify these factors through an analysis of the decision by the European Commission's ALFA Programme to support REVISTAS, a study of the feasibility of digitising all Spanish and Portuguese journals in librarianship and information sciences, particularly those published in Latin America. To contextualise the proposal, it discusses the development of the "Information Society" in Latin America, and the key role attributed to libraries and librarians. It then examines problems in the development of education and practice in librarianship and information sciences in the region, and in journal publishing for the profession, the availability of indexing and abstracting services, and the utility of document delivery services. It presents an outline of the author's initial research into the underlying challenges, and outlines the development of the international partnership that will deliver the planned outcomes of the REVISTAS project. Finally, it analyses the issues that have contributed to the establishment of this cooperative effort, and the limitations of this study. (Contains 3 footnotes.)

Purpose: The main purpose of the paper is to offer a personal view on the development of documentation/information and documentation (IuD) in Germany, while pointing out the need to further investigate the specific features of its development paths. The methodology is based on critical review of the available literature sources in the German language. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the method of critical review of published documents in journals (especially in Nachrichten für Dokumentation), books and reports of state and provincial administrations that are directly related to monitoring and/or encouraging the development of the young field of documentation. Findings: The paper offers a review and interpretation of the most significant development phases, the contributions of individuals and the influence of the official state and information policy based on the consulted sources. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to the literature written in German language. Practical implications: The paper could be of interest to researchers and professionals who are interested in the development of documentation. Social implications: The paper covers the period after the World War II until the end of 1980s that is especially interesting from the social point of view in divided Germany. Originality/value: To the author's knowledge, there is no comprehensive history of documentation in German-speaking countries written in English. This paper is the result of a research project started three years ago with colleagues from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, that aims to cover all phases of the appearance and development of information science in German-speaking countries and could be understood as a kind of introduction to papers planned to follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to analyze how the Neo-documentalist movement, initiated in 1996 by Michael Buckland, Boyd Rayward and Niels Lund, has evolved in its 27 years history, how the choice of documentation as name of the new program in Tromsø has made a difference in the LIS field and how different documentation scholars around the world has participated and approached the movement until now. Design/methodology/approach: The paper has approached the "Neo-documentalist movement" in a historical perspective from 1996 to 2023 discussing what difference does the choice of a concept make, when the concept of documentation is chosen instead of information in the name of a program and for the general discussion of the object of an academic field like Library and Information Science. Findings: The analysis shows that it did make a difference to choose the concept of documentation as name of the program in Tromsø and the Neo-documentalist movement contributed to a new focus and discussion of the informative objects, the documents and their creation, not only in Tromsø, but in different parts of the world across linguistic borders. Originality/value: The paper is original by the fact that it is the first time that the neo documentalist movement has been reviewed on a global scale across linguistic barriers. It has value by a discussion of the ways in which a choice of concept matter in relation to defining a field and the research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines how users interact with text to devise a more effective information retrieval interface. Research in cognitive psychology and information science that relates to the use of metaphors and document categorization is reviewed, and an example of text organization and retrieval by historians is presented. (60 references) (LRW)

Discusses the relationship and value of semiotics to the established domains of information science. Highlights include documentation; computer operations; the language of computing; automata theory; linguistics; speech and writing; and the written language as a unifying principle for the document and the computer. (93 references) (LRW)

Purpose: As a pioneering and influential journal in the field of library and information science (LIS), the Journal of Documentation (JDoc) needs to be evaluated from a bibliometric perspective. This study aimed at conducting a bibliometric overview and visualization of the scientific output of JDoc from its inception in 1945–2018. Design/methodology/approach: In this bibliometric study, 2056 papers published in JDoc were analyzed. All needed data were extracted from Scopus in 9 July 2019 in CSV format. Bibliometric analyses were done in Microsoft Excel. Visualization was done by Vosviewer software and applying techniques such as co-citation, co-authorship and co-occurrence. As a limited altmetric study, JDoc highly mentioned papers and the rate of their presence in social media were extracted from Altmetric LLP, too. Findings: There was an increasing trend in published papers and received citations. Highly cited and most influential authors in JDoc are well-known in the field. However, the contributions of developing countries and their affiliated institutions to the journal were relatively low. This is true in case of author, country and institute co-authorship patterns. Highly frequent keywords and keyword co-occurrence patterns showed that the journal considered most topics related to LIS, including newly emerged ones. The authors and sources (generally journals) cited by JDoc are all prolific and influential ones. Originality/value: The results of this study can be beneficial to JDoc editorial team for decision making on its further development as well as helpful for researchers and practitioners interesting in LIS field to have better contact with and contributions to the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientometrics cannot offer a simple consistent method for measuring the scientific eminence of individuals. The h-index method introduced by Hirsch was found applicable for evaluating publications of senior scientists with similar publishing features, only. Some simple methods — using the number of citations and journal papers, and the number of citations obtained by the most frequently cited papers — are suggested and tested to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of such indexes. The results indicate that calculating scientometric indexes for individuals, self-citations should be excluded and the effect of the different bibliometric features of the field should be taken into account. The correctness of the indexes used for evaluating journal papers of individuals should be investigated also on the individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raises fundamental questions about the scope of information science and information retrieval, and illustrates how it has evolved over the last 60 years. The work of European documentalists is described, the terminology of multimedia is examined, and image handling is discussed as a method of focusing on representations other than text. (12 references) (LRW)

Information work is considered from point of view of knowledge production, knowledge needs, and communication media. Developments in diffusion and transmission of knowledge, transitional stage between "documentalization" and "informatization," changing role of the information professional, new orientations in information field, and impact on information science education are discussed. (22 references) (EJS)

This paper sets forth chronology of disciplinary names that have been used in scholarly literature over past 80 years to characterize information science and its antecedents--bibliography, documentation, scientific information, information retrieval, information science, informatics, bibliometrics. Future research needs are discussed. Related conferences (1948-1978) and 57 references are appended. (EJS)

This discussion of experimental information retrieval focuses on the mathematical and statistical skills needed by students in librarianship and information studies. Theoretical approaches to document representation, query representation, database searching, and evaluation are reviewed, and changes in library schools' curriculum are suggested. (Author/LRW)

Presents a theoretical model of documentation which strives to include all potential users and their varying information needs, including nonreaders, through an analysis of the system of documentation. (JVP)

In this study scientists were asked about their own publication history and their citation counts. The study shows that the citation counts of the publications correspond reasonably well with the authors' own assessments of scientific contribution. Generally, citations proved to have the highest accuracy in identifying either major or minor contributions. Nevertheless, according to these judgments, citations are not a reliable indicator of scientific contribution at the level of the individual article. In the construction of relative citation indicators, the average citation rate of the subfield appears to be slightly more appropriate as a reference standard than the journal citation rate. The study confirms that review articles are cited more frequently than other publication types. Compared to the significance authors attach to these articles they appear to be considerably “overcited.” However, there were only marginal differences in the citation rates between empirical, methods, and theoretical contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to explore the journal bibliometric characteristics of the Journal of Documentation(JOD) and the subject relationship with other disciplines by citation analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The citation data were drawn from references of each article of JOD during 1998 and 2008. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, Library of Congress Subject Heading, retrieved from the WorldCat and LISA database were used to identify the main class, subclass and subject of cited journals and books. Findings – The results of this study revealed that journal articles are the most cited document, followed by books and book chapters, electronic resources, and conference proceedings, respectively. The three main classes of cited journals in JOD papers are library science, science, and social sciences. The three subclasses of non-LIS journals that were highly cited in JOD papers are Science, "Mathematics. Computer science", and "Industries. Land use. Labor". The three highly cited subjects of library and information science journals encompass searching, information work, and online information retrieval. The most cited main class of books in JOD papers is library and information science, followed by social sciences, science, "Philosophy. Psychology. Religion." The three highly cited subclasses of books in JOD papers are "Books (General). Writing. Paleography. Book industries and trade. Libraries. Bibliography," "Philology and linguistics," and Science, and the most cited subject of books is information storage and retrieval systems. Originality/value – Results for the present research found that information science, as represented by JOD, is a developing discipline with an expanding literature relating to multiple subject areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The likelihood that the development of theoretical foundations for information science is a distant goal suggests that the near-term objectives of the information research community should be formulated more realistically. Since the task of science is increasingly being determined by urgent, and changing, social concerns, these objectives should be formulated within a socially utilitarian framework and within a problem domain different from that which has sustained information research in the past 15 years. The imminent societal imperative, management of knowledge as a social resource, appears to be a viable new framework for defining major roles and tasks for theory-oriented work in information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that researchers in the information disciplines should embrace ethnomethodology as a way of forming deeper insights into the relationship between people and recorded knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces the core concepts of ethnomethodology as a means of articulating what this perspective brings to the understanding of the way that society is accomplished. A selection of key studies are then examined to highlight important ethnomethodological findings about the particular relationship of documents to human actions and interactions. Findings – Ethnomethodology highlights the fact that people transform their experiences, and the experiences of others, into documents whose status as an objective object help to justify people’s actions and inferences. Documents, as written accounts, also serve to make peoples’ actions meaningful to themselves and to others. At the same time, ethnomethodology draws attention to the fact that any correct reading of these documents relies partly on an understanding of the tacit ideologies that undergird people’s sense-making and that are used in order to make decisions and get work done. Originality/value – This conceptual framework contributes to the information disciplines by bringing to the fore certain understandings about the social organization of document work, and the attendant social arrangements they reveal. The paper also outlines, from a methodological perspective, how information science researchers can use ethnomethodology as an investigative stance to further their knowledge of the role of documents in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the conceptualization of information creation in the field of information behavior. To do so, it synthesizes discussions and conceptual models on information creation and related topics, such as communication, design and documentation, which to date have been disconnected. A number of models are discussed, as well as some of the strengths, weaknesses and unique contributions of each with respect to information creation. This discussion leads to a number of paths for further research, both conceptual and empirical, on information creation. In particular, one fruitful site for further research in information creation is art. Drawing on the ground-breaking work of Tidline, it is clear that art is informative, and that the activities involved in and surrounding the creation of art showcase the aspects of information creation that have been highlighted in theoretical models of information behavior. Further research should consider the information behavior involved in an artistic task from start to finish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide context and raise interest for the term hyperdocumentation in the context of document theory. Design/methodology/approach: The origin of the term is established through etymology and bibliographical research. The term is contextualized with conceptual research on the nature of documents and the construction of social reality through documentation. Prominent uses of the term outside of traditional research on documents is investigated. Findings: The authors describe what hyperdocumentation translates to in terms of experience as of today (the different types of hyperdocumentation). Comparison to the initial definition underlines a key issue: the absence of a social contract that would define hyperdocumentality. Originality/value: This paper presents novel research on the term hyperdocumentation, including its origin before hypertext, its use outside of traditional document science and its implications for document theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citation analysis can go beyond its present preoccupations and explore new areas if it follows several rules of research design-some of them known and generally accepted, others specific to this discipline: (a) a rigorous definition of the research objectives is essential in deciding on its design, including the selection and definition of variables and the measurement of their effects; (b) the ascertainment of content-related variables enhances the theoretical interest and practical usefulness of citation analysis, although it may entail the use of smaller samples; (c) the set of papers to be compared with respect to citation frequency should be stratified in order to make them as similar as possible to each other; (d) the dependent variable, citation frequency, may comprise more than one kind of citation; (e) the elementary methods of analysis based on stratification (or matching) and adjustment should be complemented by model-based methods which could accomodate larger numbers of variables and would take into account the skewness of citation count distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western Pacific Archives in their New Home [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The citation characteristics of papers in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (especially for the years 1963-1965) have been examined as a means of studying the usage of astronomical literature in the UK The decrease of usage with age has been investigated and the decay half-life determined Particular attention has been paid to the immediacy effect, and to its possible variation in different sub-fields of astronomy. The citations have also been separated according to journal of origin. As a result of this study, a quantitative estimate has been made of the titles and backruns that are required to satisfy a given percentage of the demand for astronomical research literature in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how archaeological document collections are layered entities and, thus, consist of documents that may be in discordance with one another. Implications of this scenario for scientific study are discussed. Tensions arise between archaeological and Information and Library Science practices. Curators become primary agents in reconstructing the appropriate representational continuity of these documents. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is an in-depth examination of documentation in the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology. It assesses how representations between documents are maintained as part of the collection management process. A document archaeological analysis of the Angel Mounds Collection shows how discordant data between documents is reconciled. Findings: The study shows how documentary institutions are central to maintaining the chain of reference necessary to maintain the veracity of scientific data. Documents are embedded within a professional network of classification control that has implications for the conceptualization of documents. The study can help scholars gain a more nuanced view of the role of documents in scientific knowledge creation. Social implications: Curatorial intervention plays a central role in maintaining the veracity of scientific data. In this way, the narrative shows how social and professional scientific discourses are impacted by curatorial intervention and that this process is inextricable from how we understand "knowledge" broadly construed. Originality/value: This study examines how documents are embedded within a broader collection context and further studies should acknowledge this. It shows how documents within the domain of archaeology pose specific issues of concern for document curators and scholars, especially in relation to the documentation of spatial data, which is central to this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In the context of organisation studies, Shotter and colleagues have used the notion of practical authorship of social situations and identities to explain the work of managers and leaders. This notion and contemporary theories of authorship in literary scholarship can be linked to the authoring of documents in the context of document studies to explain the impact and use of documents as instruments of management and communication. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach The conceptual discussion is supported by an empirical interview study of the information work of N=16 archaeologists.Findings First, the making of documents and other artefacts, their use as instruments (e.g. boundary objects (BOs)) of management, and the practical authorship of social situations, collective and individual identities form a continuum of authorship. Second, that because practical authorship seems to bear a closer affinity to the liabilities/responsibilities and privileges of attached to documents rather than to a mere attribution of their makership or ownership, practical authorship literature might benefit of an increased focus on them.Research limitations/implications This paper shows how practical authorship can be used as a framework to link making and use of documents to how they change social reality. Further, it shows how the notion of practical authorship can benefit of being complemented with insights from the literature on documentary and literary authorship, specifically that authorship is not only a question of making but also, even more so, of social attribution of responsibilities and privileges.Originality/value This paper shows how the concepts of documentary and practical authorship can be used to complement each other in elaborating our understanding of the making of artefacts (documentary) BOs and the social landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the creation of structural model for the system of development of methodological competence of IT-discipline teachers based on continuing education with the description of the structure of microservices subsystems. To implement the proposed conceptual model the paper proposes a software architecture based on the use of classical service-oriented design pattern "Model-View Separation" (separation of model objects from the graphical interface objects with the user) and provides for interaction with the database, the composition of its main packages is detailed. Logical and physical service-oriented models of basic classes of objects of subject area and auxiliary objects (services) have been developed. The article also proposes a relational database structure based on the use of metadata tables, directories, and operational data in a relational database management system environment. Methods and mechanisms for data protection and replication are proposed and justified, considering the specifics of system operation in higher education institutions. The article aims to develop insurgents and mechanisms of creation of information technology improvement of the system of higher education and creation and operation of integrated flexible software tools to support the mixed system of organization of educational process, as well as increasing the effectiveness of the introduction of a mixed system for the organization of the educational process on the basis of the use of the latest technical means of training and documentation, ensuring free access of students to teaching and methodological resources, content and criteria for the assessment of knowledge in disciplines and modules, data recording, and partial compensation for the increased workload of teachers and staff through the automation of assessment, registration and assessment processes. A task-oriented model for managing technical problems in the implementation of the information system for the development of teachers' methodological competence is also proposed, and a conceptual framework for managing these problems has been developed from the perspective of considering projects as a set of objects and subjects. Technical problems in projects are shown to be obstacles to moving in the right direction, created by random events, uncertainties, and changes. A mathematical model of the change in resistance value caused by technical problems has been developed and methods to counteract these problems have been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Publishers of some scientific journals and the ISO standard require or recommend specific information to be present in abstracts. However, little is known whether this is what scientists give when they write abstracts. The aim of this paper is to test the structure of abstracts in Czech, Slovenian and international scientific journals in the English language in the areas of library and information science (IS) and materials science (MS). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 100 research paper abstracts were selected from each journal, and content analysis was performed both manually and using Weft QDA qualitative analysis software. Findings – The results show that neither the ISO nor the Emerald structure is entirely appropriate. Abstracts in IS usually have the following structure: Ikaros (CZ): background, purpose of the research project; Knjižnica (SI): background, results only indicated; Journal of Documentation: results, methods, and purpose. In MS, the abstracts usually report on the following. Czech MS journals: background, methods, results; Materiali in Tehnologije (SI): methods, background; Materials Science and Technology (international): methods, results. The differences can in part be attributed to the varying disciplines and to the different roles of journals in professional societies and to cultural differences in perception regarding the role of abstracts. Social implications – It seems that purpose and results are usual for information science, while methods and results are more frequent for materials science. Originality/value – This relatively small sample gives the first insight into the culture of writing abstracts in smaller research communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an appropriate symbolic representation, as well as its metaphorical interpretation, to illustrate the special role of information in the knowledge acquisition process.Design/methodology/approach Besides the literature review, this is a speculative study based on a symbolic and metaphorical point of view.Findings The proposed symbolic representation was derived from the conceptual designation of information “as a flow” and, accordingly, by the corresponding redrawing of the data-information-knowledge-wisdom (DIKW) pyramid. The knowledge acquisition process is symbolically represented by the growth of a “tree of knowledge” which is planted on a “data earth,” filled with “information sap” and lit by the rays of the “sun of the mind,” a new symbol of the concept of wisdom in the DIKW model. As indicated, a key concept of this metaphorical interpretation is the role of “information sap” which rises from the roots of the “tree of knowledge” to the top of the tree and it is recognized as an invisible link between “world of data” and “world of knowledge.” This concept is also proposed as a new symbolic representation of the DIKW model.Originality/value On the basis of specific symbolic-metaphorical representation, this paper provides a relatively new concept of information which may help bridge observed gaps in the understanding of information in various scientific fields, as well as in its understanding as an objective or subjective phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to review Wilson's (1981) seminal article, "On user studies and information needs" (Journal of Documentation, 1981, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 3-15) as part of a series celebrating the Journal's 60th anniversary. Design/methodology/approach — This paper adopts a literature-based conceptual analysis, taking Wilson's paper as the starting point, and evaluating the significance of, and later developments in, the issues dealt with in that article. Findings — Wilson's article has had a significant effect on the development of information science. It dealt with several fundamental issues, including the nature of information itself and of information need, models of information seeking and information behaviour, particularly those based on phenomenological or "whole life" concepts, appropriate research methods for these areas, and the nature of information science as an academic discipline. Originality/value — The paper provides a perspective on the development of information science over 30 years, with particular emphasis on the study of human information behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to respond to Bawden's review of Wilson's 1981 paper, "On user studies and information needs". Design/methodology/approach — The paper reflects on the context of the original paper, and on subsequent developments. Findings — The paper comments on a variety of issues relating to information science as a discipline, and its research programme and methods, with specific emphasis on the understanding of human information behaviour. Originality/value — The paper provides a unique perspective on the development of this aspect of the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented Design/methodology/approach: Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive—rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate. Findings: COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. With wildfires, drought, flooding and other extreme or slow-onset weather events presenting dangers, it is imperative that libraries take joint action toward facilitating sustainable and open access to relevant information. Practical implications: An initiative could create an easily-accessible, open, linked, curated, secure and stakeholder-respectful database for global biocultural heritage—documenting traditional knowledge, local knowledge and climate adaptation traditions. Social implications: Ongoing stakeholder involvement from the outset should acknowledge preferences regarding whether or how much to share information. Ethical elements must be embedded from concept to granular access and metadata elements. Originality/value: Rooted in the best practices and service orientation of library science, the proposal envisions a sustained response to a common global challenge. Stewardship would also broadly assist the global community by preserving and providing streamlined access to information of instrumental value to addressing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advocate for a clearer and less fragmentary use of qualitative research in the increasingly interdisciplinary research setting of information science. Design/methodology/approach – The paper performs a textual analysis of more than 500 peer-reviewed articles to assess information science's involvement with qualitative research. The paper undertakes historical criticism to trace qualitative research in the reviews of information science for the last three decades. Findings – Authors are unclear and lax in their uses of basic research terms. Authors do not account for qualitative research's characteristics, methods, and contributions to information science's bodies of knowledge. Only 4.3 percent of published articles mention their contributions to information science's literature whereas 5.6 percent mention qualitative method(s) in their abstracts. Publications do not show (intra-)collaboration between areas of information science. Information science's contributions to the theoretical discussions of the wider scientific community are lacking. Originality/value – The paper discusses afresh information science's qualitative research. The paper suggests a tighter and long-term investment of information science in qualitative research and the formation of the author's own theorists and theory-illumined practitioners. The paper puts forth some practical recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New e-information formats and e-services have been developed to support academics in their scholarly communication and access to information. With ever-increasing prices of electronic journals, scholars and librarians have made an aggressive move toward the creation of a new model of information exchange-open access to scholarly communication and information. This paper discusses the participation of librarians in the new model and seeks an answer to the question of why many librarians have been reluctant to contribute to scholarly communication through an involvement in digital publishing. The paper describes the production process of the Electronic Green Journal, a tool for the communication of current environmental research, bibliographies, book reviews, and news about international information resources that are beneficial for building environmental literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to introduce the special issue of Journal of Documentation about library and information science (LIS) and the philosophy of science. Design/methodology/approach - The most important earlier collected works about metatheories and philosophies of science within LIS are listed. Findings - It is claimed that Sweden probably is the country in which philosophy of science has the highest priority in LIS education. The plan of the guest editor was that each epistemological position should be both introduced and interpreted in a US context together with a review of its influence within the field and an evaluation of the pros and cons of that position. This was only an ideal plan. It is argued that it is important that such knowledge and debate are available within the LIS-literature itself and that the answers to such questions as "What is positivism?" are not trivial ones. Originality/value - The introduction is written to assist readers overviewing the issue and share the thoughts of the editor in planning the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing documentation has been one of the most important functions of nurses since the time of Florence Nightingale. It is a true representation of fact or act, expressing all actions undertaken in the care provided to the patient. Despite the importance of nursing documentation, often the nurses' notes do not contain necessary information to support the institution and nursing in judicial case. Handwritten documents often omit patient's data, including care plans, interventions, outcomes, because of inconsistent documentary methods. Incomplete medical records can hinder the clinician's ability to access and analyze patient data. The need for quality nursing documentation cannot be brushed aside because failure to maintain records means failure of duty toward the patient. The fragmented nature of health care, the large number of transactions, and the need to integrate new scientific evidence into practice supports the advantage of electronic medical records over paper based documents in achieving improved quality and efficiency. The use of information technology in health care is a prominent feature of most recommendations. When the right technology is successfully implemented, it can increase efficiency and alleviate some of the burdens on nurses, freeing them to concentrate on direct care. Although electronic nursing documentation has multiple benefits, its implementation raises issues as any change in work system can have important consequences for providers as well as patients. Despite the challenges and factors that hinder adoption of computerized documentation, however, it is the best way ahead to meet the new challenges and changing needs of the health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to respond to an earlier article in the Journal of Documentation: The Cult of the “I”.Design/methodology/approach The method is a form of critical response.Findings Numerous problems regarding the The Cult of the “I” article are discussed.Originality/value This paper puts forward views about the iSchools Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the topics of papers presented in the November 2003 issue of the "Journal of Library Administration." The first paper, by James Michalco, outlines the library community's understanding of user needs, how researchers' use of electronic information is evolving, and how libraries are responding to their changing roles. The second paper, by Lizabeth A. Wilson, explores how libraries are using what is known about user preferences and search behaviors to create access points. Meanwhile, Joseph J. Branin, defines knowledge management in his paper and provides some examples of how the Ohio State University Libraries has changed in response to the shift to knowledge management. The other remaining papers are likewise briefly described in this article. Together, the papers provide an overview of the thoughts of the nation's leading librarians and information service executives on improving access to information.

The article focuses on information science, bibliographic citations, and peer review. It states that information science has evolved since the 1950s and includes such concepts as knowledge representation, information retrieval, user needs and behavior, information theory, bibliometrics, and scholarly communication. It comments on article submissions and on the metrics concerning the quality of an article. It mentions that while the number of citations a paper receives after its publication can be a useful metric of the value of a paper, quality is not synonymous with a high number of citations. It comments on various forms of peer review, including web-based open peer review and single-blind peer review.

Background. During the last fifty years, improved information retrieval techniques have become necessary because of the huge amount of information people have available, which continues to increase rapidly due to the use of new technologies and the Internet. Stemming is one of the processes that can improve information retrieval in terms of accuracy and performance. Aim. This paper provides a detailed assessment of the current status of the stemming process framed in an information retrieval application field by tracing its historical evolution. Method. Papers presenting the first approaches for stemming were reviewed to extract their main features, benefits and drawbacks. Additionally, papers dealing with stemmers for non-English languages or with some more recent proposals were also consulted and compiled. Finally, experimental papers defining the most well-known methods and metrics aimed at evaluating and classifying stemmers were also taken into account to expose their contributions and results. Results. Even if not all researchers agree on the benefits and drawbacks of using stemming in an information retrieval process in general terms, many of them agree on its benefits in specific contexts, such as when the language is highly inflective, when documents are short or when there is limited space for storing data. Some researchers also state that the nature of the documents can influence the performance and the accuracy of the stemmer. Conclusions. Despite many researchers having investigated this field over many years, there are still some open questions, such as how to evaluate a stemmer independently of the information retrieval process, or how much a stemmer improves an information retrieval application in terms of speed. As a summary, some guidelines are also provided to help readers to determine which is the best stemmer for their needs and the tasks they have to carry out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we presented a non-uniform 1D ruler model and applied it in various image classification and image recognition scenarios, and some are for military technology usage. Our model is very simple, elegant and original, which is solved by convex quadratic programming. It has wide applications in pattern recognition and intelligent multimedia data analysis. We believe that a new research topic, namely, numeric calibration, has started, which is parallel to dimensionality reduction, feature selection, or metric learning etc. Our methods can be used as a pre-processing step for metric learning methods, in which, our learned calibrated feature space is used as input for them. The various combinations of our methods and metric learning methods, may lead to new interesting research problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a citation analysis of serials in postgraduate Theses and dissertations of library and information science of public universities in Southeast Nigeria submitted from 2013 to 2021. The study was guide by five research questions in line with the objectives of the study. The study employed a descriptive survey design with a sampled population of 296 derived through census method from four public universities offering library and information science. The principle instruments used in collecting data for this study were self-designed checklists. With the checklists, 12455 serials citations were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mode, mean and range and data presented in tables, charts and graphs using frequencies and percentile. The study found that the most cited serials types were journals with 76.5% citations followed by conference proceedings/reports with 20% and the least cited being government publication with only .5 citations. This affirms other citation analysis, which found that journals are the most frequently used type. It was further discovered that serials used were either in print or electronic form. The study also revealed that multi authorship is the most frequently cited author pattern in library graduates theses and dissertations, while annual serials citations range from 1034 to 2205. The study indicated that the average age of serials used was 0 - 20. The study recommended among other things that there should be documentation librarian in each university library whose duty should be tracking down research reports, ensuring proper documentations and upward delivery to the university library circulation unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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