Information Science
Introduction to Library &
Information Studies
LIS-505
February 22, 2010
Objectives

To define information science

To explore the relationship between
information science and librarianship

To review the arguments for and against
information science as a discipline or
profession
2
Information Science: Problems in
Definition


A matter of meaning – What is “information”?
An ambiguous term
Buckland (1991):



information as process - act of informing;
communication of something
information as knowledge - the “something”
which has been communicated
information as thing - object such as data or
documents
3
Buckland (1991): Information-asThing – Representation

Information systems (e.g. IR and ‘expert’) can
only deal with information directly as
information-as-thing (i.e. physical
representations of knowledge)

Representations of knowledge and of events are
information-as-thing

Concept of evidence — passive — humans do
things with it or to it (e.g. interpret it, describe
it, etc.)
4
Representations: Buckland (1991)

“If an object is not representative of
something, then it is not clear how far it
can signify anything, i.e., be informative”
(p.355).
5
I.S. Representations: Characteristics
(Buckland, 1991)






Somewhat incomplete—something of original is
lost.
Made for convenience (e.g. easier to store,
search, understand)
Shift from event or object to text; text to text;
object and texts to data
Additional details may be added to the
representation to inform or misinform
Process of representation can continue
indefinitely
Usually briefer or smaller than whatever is being
represented.
6
And what do we mean by “science”?

At pure science level purpose is to find
out truth(s) of the matter studied.
7
Information Science: Bates (1999)

Information science studies the world of
recorded information produced by human
agency (‘fourth universe’).

How humans produce, seek, retrieve and
use this universe = intellectual domain of
information science.
8
The Content of Form: Bates (1999)

Applied IS focuses on form, organization and
structure of information not with content.

IS is a meta-discipline; Information is the “red
thread” that runs through it.

“The average person, whether Ph.D. scholar or
high school graduate, never notices the structure
that organizes their information, because they
are so caught up in absorbing and relating to the
content” (p. 1045).
9
The Content of Form: Bates (1999)

“…at first it feels alien to think about a resource
in terms of the features that matter to the
organization and retrieval of it, rather than in
terms of mastering its content” (p. 1046).

Underlines need for information expertise not
subject expertise.
10
Characteristics of Information Science:
Bates (1999)

Interdisciplinary.

Closely linked to IT.

Possessing a social and human
dimension.

Service and empowerment-oriented
value system.
11
Information Science: Griffiths (2000)
“Information science focuses on the relationship
between people and recorded knowledge and uses
a variety of tools to help understand and improve
the relationship.” (p. 25)

People. By developing deeper understandings of
people’s preferences and practices, helps in the
design and delivery of improved processes and
services for production, dissemination, receipt and
use of recorded information.
12
Information Science: Griffiths (2000)

Recorded Knowledge. Better understanding of
the structure of knowledge, format and medium
used to communicate information content helps in
the process of organization, dissemination and
communication.

Tools. Research into tools design, development
and evaluation can improve relationship between
people and recorded knowledge in its creation,
capture, storage, preservation, identification,
dissemination and use.
13
IS: Field of practice and scientific inquiry

Study of information to generate theoretical
models (More on this next week!)

Development and implementation of models to
enable the design of better information systems

Profession of providing an information service
(Saracevic)
14
Do definitions matter?
“Debates over the ‘proper’ definitions of information
science, as of any field, are fruitless, and in
expectations naïve. Information Science, as a
science and as a profession, is defined by the
problems it has addressed and the methods it
has used for their solutions over time”
(Saracevic, 1999 p. 1051).
15
Information Science : A More Recent
Definition

The systematic study and analysis of the
sources, development, collections,
organization, dissemination, evaluation, use,
and management of information in all its
forms, including the channels (formal and
informal) and technology used in its
communication.
Reitz, Joan. (2004). Dictionary for Library and Information
Science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. p. 358.
16
The 3 Big IS Questions

What are the features and laws of the recorded
information universe?

How do people seek and use information?

How can access to recorded information be made
most rapid and effective?
(Bates)
17
Information Science: Content



Information use and users
Information organization
Information systems






Human-computer interaction (HCI)
Information retrieval (IR)
Evaluation
Information services
Information dissemination
Bibliometrics
18
Information Science: Content

Saracevic: Two clusters of study in Information
Science (as shown by a bibliometric analysis,
1998)

One cluster: Information analysis
 This includes: Content analysis of texts,
communication, information uses, information
behavior

Second cluster: Retrieval
 This includes: User studies of IT, library
systems, OPACS, IR theory, retrieval
algorithms, HCI
19
Information Science: Supporters of I.S.
distinct from Library Science

IS cannot be equated
with documentation,
information retrieval,
librarianship or with
anything else.
Information science is
not souped up IR or
librarianship any more
than physics is
supercharged
engineering. (Rees &
Saracevic)

Librarianship and
documentation are
applied aspects of
information science;
techniques and
procedures used by
librarians and
documentalists are, or
should be, based upon the
theoretical findings of
information science.
(Borko).
20
Information Science: Opponents

It is quite evident that
information science is
rooted in attempts to
extend the boundaries of
library technology and
give it revived
respectability by
endowing it with a
unique name (Shera).

Efforts to tease apart the
disciplinary domains of
library science and
information science have
been unsuccessful; they
have arisen more from
discontent with the status
quo than from adequate
cognitive claims, usually by
non-librarians discontented
with librarianship
(Schrader).
21
Information Science: Compromisers

Library and information
science represent “a
disciplinary continuum
…with no easily
identifiable boundary
separating them, though
the difference between
the extreme ends of the
continuum are clear and
even dramatic”
(Rayward)

Librarianship and
practical information
science both have in
common an information
perspective, even
though they have very
different histories
(Bates)
22
What’s in a Name?
Names
 Names
 Names
 Names

of
of
of
of
Programs
Departments
Journals
Associations
Convergence or Divergence?
23
New names for old ideas?
Information studies
 Information systems
 Information management
 Knowledge management

The debate continues……………….
24
15 MINUTES
25
Knowledge Management
Introduction to Library &
Information Studies
LIS-505
Adapted from a presentation
by Dr. K. Dalkir, School of Information Studies
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
General Introduction to KM

KM is a relatively new discipline that has
emerged from business practitioners to form a
new discipline of study

KM is extremely multidisciplinary in nature

KM is full of people from highly diverse
backgrounds

KM is a “work in progress” – it has not yet
matured into a well defined profession such as
engineering, medicine and law
27
A brief history of KM
YEAR
ENTITY
EVENT
1986
Dr. K Wiig
Coined KM concept at UN
1989
Consulting Firms
Start internal KM projects
1991
HBR article
Nonaka & Takeuchi
1993
Dr. K Wiig
First KM book published
1994
KM Network
First KM Conference
1997
Consulting Firms
First KM services for clients
28
Why do we need KM?



It was easy to do in the past - - “coffee
cliques”, smoker’s gathering, water
coolers….
Traditionally, we have shared knowledge
through ‘word of mouth’ (e.g. master to
apprentice)
socializing comes ‘naturally’ to us, there
are fewer opportunities in today’s much
larger, much more global companies
29
Today’s Working Environment
Multi-lingual
Multi-site
Multi-cultural
More &
Faster
More
Global
KM
More
Mobile
More
Connected
30
Increasing Complexity

Today’s work environment is more complex due
to an increase in the number of subjective
knowledge items we need to attend to everyday

Filtering over 200 emails, faxes, voicemail
messages on a daily basis – how to prioritize?

Having to “think on our feet” as expected
response time has greatly decreased as well

KM is a response to the challenge of trying to
manage this complexity amidst information
overload
 A “science of complexity”
31
Thanks to Felicity Tayler for the figure
What is KM? A definition:

Knowledge management (KM):

The systematic capture, organization,
leveraging and dissemination of an
organization’s knowledge (tacit and
explicit) to improve the efficiency and
adaptivity of teams and to promote
innovation
33
More definitions…
•
KM is the systematic, explicit and deliberate
building, renewal and application of knowledge to
maximize an enterprise’s knowledge-related
effectiveness and returns from knowledge assets
(K. Wiig)
•
KM is the process of capturing a company’s collective
expertise wherever it resides: in databases, on
paper, in people’s heads – and distributing it to
wherever it can help produce the biggest payoff.
(Hibbard)
•
KM is getting the right knowledge to the right people
at the right time so they can make the best
decision (Petrash)
34
Even more KM Definitions…

It is the attempt to recognize what is essentially a human
asset buried in the minds of individuals, and leverage it
into an organizational asset that can be accessed and used
by a broader set of individuals on whose decisions the firm
depends (Prusak)

KM applies systematic approaches to find, understand and
use knowledge to create value (O’Dell)

KM is the explicit control and management of knowledge
within an organization aimed at achieving the company’s
objectives (van der Spek)

KM is the formalization of and access to experience,
knowledge, and expertise that create new capabilities,
enable superior performance, encourage innovation and
enhance customer value (Beckman)
35
KM addresses two different forms
of knowledge:
Tacit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge
files
80-85%
active
15-20%
passive
36
37
Tacit Knowledge

Difficult to articulate – to put into words, text,
drawings

“We have a habit of writing articles published in
scientific journals to make the work as finished as
possible, to cover up all the tracks, to not worry
about the blind alleys or how you had the wrong
idea at first, and so on. So there isn’t any place
to publish, in a dignified manner, what you
actually did in order to do the work.” (Richard
Feynman)
“We know more than we can tell”
(Michael Polanyi)
38
The Nonaka-Takeuchi Model of
Knowledge Management
“In an economy where the only
certainty is uncertainty, the one
sure source of lasting competitive
advantage is knowledge.”
I. Nonaka
The authors studied successful Japanese companies to
understand how they achieved creativity and
innovation
Metaphors, slogans, symbols and serendipity
39
KM occurs at 3 levels:
Individual
 Group/team



“community of practice”
Organization
40
Four Knowledge Transformations
Tacit
Explicit
Tacit
Explicit
LIS-505
February 21, 2009
41
Knowledge sharing
Tacit
Tacit
Explicit
Socialisation
Brainstorming
Team work
Mentorship
Internalisation:
Comprehension
Learning
Explicit
Externalisation
Capture
Make tangible
Combination:
Organisation
Classification
42
The KM Cycle
Tacit
Tacit
Explicit
Explicit
Create and
Share
Capture and
Codify
Acquire and
Apply
Classify and
Organize
43
KM has already gone through 3
generations:

1st Generation:


IT
2nd Generation:


“if we only knew what we know”
“if we only knew who knows about….”
PEOPLE
3rd Generation:

“if we could only organize our knowledge….” CONTENT
44
ICM vs Knowledge
Management*
Knowledge
Management
Intellectual Capital
Management
•Lots of content – archiving
•Documents - warehousing
•Search engines needed
•$$$ needed
•Frustrating to find anything
•Minimum content – only that of value
•People’s real thinking - stories
•Sharing and reuse of best practices
•Actionable knowledge & know-how
•Less $$$ needed
*1st and 2nd generation KM
45
Intellectual Capital Management
MANAGE
CONTENT
MANAGE
TALENT
MANAGE
CONNECTIONS
46
KM Link to Information
Professionals


Knowledge Organization

Traditionally, Library and Information Science has
focused on the organization of explicit knowledge
 Books, documents

This scope needs to be enlarged to include tacit
knowledge – all intellectual assets at 3 levels:
 Individual
 Group (“community of practice”)
 Organization (corporate/organizational memory)
Analogy: statisticians and data mining
…………librarians and knowledge management
47