John M. Budd

An Epistemological Foundation for Library and Information Science

For most of its modern history library and information science has been governed by the mode of thinking best characterized as positivism. This epistemology, shared with most of the social sciences for some time, features the quest for universal laws and the reduction of all phenomena, including behavioral, cognitive, and so on, to the physical, among other elements. This means to knowledge is unworkable for this field; a proposed replacement for it is hermeneutical phenomenology. This article outlines the elements of a revised epistemological approach that seeks an understanding of the essences of things (such as the library) and that takes into account, among other things, the intentional stances of the human actors within the realm of library and information science. Such a re-formed epistemology allows for a different set of questions asked and a different approach to answering them.

Discourse analysis: method and application in the study of information

Abstract Library and information science (LIS) is a discipline based on communication. Research questions in LIS include those focusing on the retrieval use of information, information services, and information technology. Moreover, the questions asked and the thought relevant to the study of information are communicated formally within the profession, primarily through the literature. This sensitivity to communication suggests that discourse analysis is a valuable method for inquiry in LIS. Discourse analysis has the advantage of being able to address questions regarding both spoken and written communications and so can be applied to matters of articulations of purpose and practice of information study that appear in books and journals in the field. Two key elements of language form the heart of discourse analysis: form (the structure of the language as code, including grammar and semantics) and function (language as a social phenomenon). Applications of discourse analysis to information include investigation of the social, political, and technical uses of the word “information” as they have implications for theory and practice.

Phenomenology and information studies

Purpose – To examine work on phenomenology and determine what information studies can learn and use from that work.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a literature‐based conceptual analysis of pioneering work in phenomenology (including that of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Paul Ricoeur, and others), application of such ideas as intentionality and being in information studies work, and the potential for greater application of the information seeker as other.Findings – The literature on phenomenology contains thought that is directly relevant to information studies and information work. Close examination of perception, intentionality, and interpretation is integral to individuals’ activities related to searching for and retrieving information, determining relevance, and using technology. Essential to the realization of phenomenologys potential is adoption of communication by dialogue so that an information seeker is able both to conceptualize need and to articulate that need. Some promisi...

Scholarly Productivity of U.S. LIS Faculty: An Update

This study is the third in a series that examines some measures of productivity applied to faculty in Library and Information Science (LIS) programs in the United States accredited by the American Library Association. The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is used to generate publication and citation data. The time period covered is 1993-98. The data are analyzed according to both individual productivity and program productivity. Tables are presented to list the individuals ranked by the measures. Additional tables present ranked lists of programs according to total and per capita publications and total and per capita citations. Programs are then ranked by the criteria just mentioned along with the perceptions of programs as reported in the most recent U.S. News and World Report survey.

The Persistence of Fraud in the Literature: The Darsee Case.

The incidence of fraud, or scientific misconduct, has been much publicized of late. While not new, the case of John Darsee has played an important part in the literature of biomedical research for a number of years. Darsee was discovered to have fabricated the data which formed the bases for many articles and abstracts he published through 1981. The present study shows that, although a considerable amount of time has passed and some of his papers have been retracted, Darsees work continues to be cited, and cited positively, in the literature on cardiology through 1990. The implications of this phenomenon are discussed.

The Library, Praxis, and Symbolic Power

If, as Wayne Wiegand claims, librarianship is afflicted by tunnel vision and blind spots, the task facing the profession is broadening perspective to encompass potentially fruitful work done in other disciplinary fields. One point of view that can be explored is that of Pierre Bourdieu. In particular, Bourdieu speaks of social institutions that are engaged in the act of cultural production and the symbolic power that is part of their being. Power, in Bourdieus sense of the word, is not necessarily aimed toward domination; rather, it represents effort at persuasion, influence, and success. Libraries employ symbolic power through their operations but tend not to recognize the source or the use of that power. As a result, they may be insufficiently reflective and may not realize the critical goals of praxis, including interpretive, ethical social action.

Meaning, truth, and information: prolegomena to a theory

– This paper aims to examine the relationships between meaning and truth as they may contribute to a constitutive definition of information. The thesis is primarily that “information” cannot be defined unless within the context of meaning and truth, and that any theory based on, or related to, information is not possible without the foundational definition., – A review of related literatures and an arrangement of frameworks forms the design of this conceptual proposal., – While other definitions of information have been presented, the present one integrates meaning and truth in ways that others do not. The thoroughgoing semantic examination provides a starting‐point for a much deeper analysis of the integral role that language plays in the formation of any theory related to information. Truth tends not to be spoken of a great deal in information science; the definitional positioning of truth adds to a more complete definition and basis for theory., – This paper proposes a new definitional and theoretical construct for information.

Discourse Analysis and the Study of Communication in LIS

A considerable portion of the work that is done in library and information science (LIS) can benefit from discourse analysis as a research method. The two major families of discourse analysis are linguistic-based analysis (such as conversation, which could be applied in any setting where information professionals mediate between the universe of information and information seekers), and culturally or socially based discursive practices (along the lines of the analyses that Michel Foucault has conducted). The potential of both families for LIS inquiry, along with examples of both, are discussed.

Collection Development and Scholarly Communication in the Era of Electronic Access.

Abstract In a networked environment, it is possible for academic libraries to move beyond the rhetoric of “access versus ownership.” This article explores the new “more dynamic” relationship between collection development and the system of scholarly communication, and suggests certain collection strategies for the era of electronic access.

Information as sign: semiotics and information science

From the perspective of semiotics, “information” is an ambiguous theoretical concept because the word is used to represent both signifier and signified, both text and content. Using the work of Fernand de Saussure, this paper explores theoretical possibilities that open by virtue of understanding information as sign. Of particular interest is the way semiotics suggests ways to bridge the theoretical gap between information as thing and information as cognitive phenomenon by positing information as a cultural phenomenon.