Librarianship and information science studies

Citation

(2007), "Librarianship and information science studies", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 63 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd.2007.27863eae.001

Librarianship and information science studies

Edited by J.H. BowmanAshgate Publishing LimitedAldershot2006554 pp.978-0-7546-4779-9

Bibliothekswissenschaft - Quo vadis? Eine Disziplin zwischen Traditionen und Visionen: Programme - Modelle - Forschungsaufgaben. (Library Science - quo vadis? A Discipline Between Challenges and Opportunities: Programs - Models - Research Issues)

Edited by Petra HaukeK.G. SaurMünchen20054088 pp.3-598-11734-5

Keywords: Librarianship,Information science,Information studies

This comparative review covers two anthologies with a common theme from two different European countries. The emphasis is different in the two books but they also possess similar features and content. Both books are beautiful in binding and printing. They are very attractive publications, well edited with indexes and useful author introductions.

The review starts with the book edited by J. H. Bowman directed towards an expose of the British Library and Information Work scene in the period 1990-2000.

This anthology has a very long past starting in 1928 with "The year's work in librarianship". The format has changed a couple of times and the publisher is no longer the library association or CILIP.

The anthology gives a comprehensive and varied picture of the last in decade in the last millennium. The volume contains 31 papers each around approximately 7,500 words and it covers the whole range of issues in library and information work including papers on research, education, the book trade, archives just to mention a few of the topics outside the traditional realm of library work.

The objective of the single paper is to give an overview and an evaluation of the dominant trends in the decade. Each of the papers has a very comprehensive system of references and the anthology has a very fine and carefully laid out index. The book is very attractive, printed on good quality paper with an easily readable font.

The chapters address a period with tremendous changes and challenges for the library profession. The book gives pleasurable reminder of the many various and often conflicting changes the profession has been challenged to just a few years ago. Unfortunately, it is not possible to mention every paper in the book.

Education and research are activities that are important for the profession and in both areas tremendous changes have taken place. The changes in the educational scene is analysed by M. Huckle and M. Watson. In a condensed form, the reader is updated on the consequences of the growing number of students at the universities, the university reform from 1992, teaching assessment and the challenges of a growth in the number of especially mature students and students from abroad. The chapter also focuses on lifelong learning and continuing professional development. D. Nicholas describes the most important features of the research landscape and highlights some of the important events, research programmes and researches from UK in the period. He emphasises both the continuity and the innovation in research stating that many research areas like retrieval and seeking including IT matured in the period and brought new insights to field. The continuity is seen by an examination of the most prominent researcher. There appear to be a high stability here. Many of the most cited researches were active in the 1980s and they are still major players in the field. Nicholas gives a precise overview of the changing funding situation for LIS - research and also summarises the research assessment initiatives.

Both these chapters are important as they bring new graduates and hopefully ideas into the field of professional library and information work. It is obvious, that the changes in the educational and research infrastructure have been tremendous. It is just as obvious, that the changes in the institutional settings for libraries and memory institutions also have been very profound. The paper by I. D. McGowan on national libraries gives a very clear account of the national obligations, changes in location and the development of legal deposits and cooperation in the library system. The relationship between libraries and the government system is analysed in a paper by J. D. Hendry. The paper takes of from the rather bleak situation in the late 1980s and analyses the initiatives to promote the libraries in Great Britain. It is a very interesting analysis of the often strained relationship between the profession and the conservative government. This relationship changed with the labour government in 1997 and many positive initiatives were put in the sea in the last part of the decade.

Some of the important new tasks for the public library system due to societal changes are analysed in the paper by J. Vincent and J. Pateman. This interesting paper focuses on the role of libraries as means of social inclusion. The paper analyses some of the major important reports and initiatives concerning this issue. A. Khan and S. Thebridge analyses the situation of the public libraries. The focus is on the changes in user behaviour and on the changes in the information provision with a special emphasis on the consequences of IT-related issues and media. The paper is a fine reminder of the fundamental changes that took place in the decade. The paper is very comprehensive in scope and gives a precise account of the new and demanding relationship between the public library system and the social and political environment, including the need to prove the value for money. B. Taylor delivers an equal interesting analysis of the university libraries. If one wants to read about the rise of electronic services and performance measurement, this could be a good start.

Another thematic chapter is by P. Bradley titled the impact of the internet on libraries. Recently, it is really a historical paper describing the first protocols, the emergence of the web and some of the first search engines like Alta Vista and Lycos. This chapter illustrates how fast libraries adopted information technology and also hints at the consequences of the adoption. P. Dolphin focuses on user education and user studies, which are two subjects we from outside UK often turn to UK if we want to follow the newest development and investigate projects and new initiatives. The paper gives a very good and instructive overview of the development of user education highlighting some of the major reports and projects. The part concerned with user studies are also clear and witness both a growth in the number of studies and a diversity in methods and groups under investigation.

The papers mentioned above are all more or less general or thematic in nature. It is also important to emphasise that the book contains articles on nearly every aspect of librarianship. There are papers on rare book librarianship, art libraries, music libraries, map libraries archives, cataloguing and much more. Generally, all the papers are of a very high quality and even if the topics are limited to UK, the profession is so international in character, that most professionals' world wide can gain something. In some cases it will be a feeling of deja-vue. In others it would be a reminder of a struggle between professional ideals and navigating in a stern and unforgiving economy.

The book is rather costly by it also contains so much quality and quantity in a beautiful form so the price is justified. It is highly recommended to everyone wanting a good look into the near past of the profession.

The second book in this review is different. First of all, most of it is in German. Second, it approaches the library scene from a discussion about library and information science. This means probably that the audience for the book is lesser than for the previous one. It is a pity because the book is also very well edited by Petra Hauke and it offers a totally different perspective on research, education and the profession. The book contains more than 30 papers. Most of the papers are written in German, but a few are in English. The English papers are by well-known researchers and professionals like Michael Buckland and Carolyn Tenopir among others. Most of the German papers are written by prominent German professionals and academics.

The book is divided into six themes each containing 4-6 papers. The themes are:

1. 1.

   Library science between tradition, identity and societal requirements.

2. 2.

   Library science in the age of digital media.

3. 3.

   Library science as a service to society.

4. 4.

   Library science as a service to scientific information and communication.

5. 5.

   Library science as a service for the library profession.

6. 6.

   Curricular problems in relation to library science teaching.

The German term Bibliotekswissenschaft is not totally equivalent with library science. It is a bit broader in scope also encompassing at least part of information science. Until recently, the programmes of library and information science studies have taken place at institutions similar to the old polytechnics called Fachhochschule and the more advanced studies leading to master degrees or more have taken place at universities. This educational pattern is now due to the Bologna declaration in a process of change. The content of the library science programmes have probably had more emphasis on cultural studies and problems than normally seen in, for example, the UK tradition diversified as it is. It is important for a UK-based reader to bear in mind that the educational tradition is different.

It is not possible to cover all the papers in a short review, but the reviewer would like to emphasise that the anthology is very well-edited and it offers a reflection of considerations, debates and theoretical positions on the European scene of library and information science. The recurrent themes in the book concerns the legitimacy of library and information science and this discussion from many different perspectives also casts light on the German professional practice and profession.

The book is highly recommended as it is rather unusual to see a German book on these topics. The quality of the papers is high and overall, the papers demonstrate a convergence towards a more international orientation in research, educational and professional matters and topics.