Castles and Inverted Castles: The Work of Marcia J. Bates

Introduction: Theorist Howard D. White has made a call to action for "scientist-poets" to synthesize concepts and oeuvres in the centrifugal literature of information science. In response, this paper interprets the work of canonical information scientist Marcia J. Bates through the original metaphor of "castles and inverted castles". Methods: An intellectual biography and close reading is performed on a sample of eight major papers by Bates. Analysis. Bates's career is sketched and the eight landmark papers are summarized; then, the papers are analysed in terms of the architectural metaphor and located at different conceptual levels in the discipline. Results: Castles (elaborately built seats of power that bridge borderlands) express many of the unique qualities of Bates's work. Inverted castles (an invention of the author) reflect an additional utilitarian and pedagogical aspect of her thinking. Conclusion: A conclusion offers critical remarks on Bates's contribution. The outcome is a vivid interpretation of the work of one notable information scientist. [Paper was published as part of Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, 19-22 August, 2013.]