The concept of "student engagement" is widely discussed in academic libraries, but has not been thoroughly examined from a conceptual and theoretical perspective by scholars in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project on student engagement in academic libraries.…

Visual literacy discussions and guidelines in LIS practice tend to be principle-driven concepts but are limited to an LIS discourse. In a casual tone, this paper reviews other expressions of what it means to be "informed" through visual means by using examples from literature, philosophy, and how end-users may think about visual…

This research uses the h-index to rank the quality of library and information science journals between 2004 and 2008. Selected open access (OA) journals are included in the ranking to assess current OA development in support of scholarly communication. It is found that OA journals have gained momentum supporting high-quality research and…

Research design is a product of the scientific method in Western Civilization whose major purposes are to eliminate the biased judgements of individual researchers and to ensure replication of the study. In general, the formal protocol of the research design includes several elements: theoretical position out of which the hypotheses to be tested…

The existence of problems in libraries has two significant dimensions: the theoretical and the practical even though to a large extent problems occur mainly in the minds of people. The orientation of this manual is therefore entirely practical and introductory to the point of being useful with any library staff regardless of size. Even librarians…

An international survey of education programs in library and information science showed that most countries are facing the same sorts of problems. (PF)

As theorists and practitioners in the fields of communications, computers, bibliography, and photography work more closely to provide services and products to users, the need to assure precision of communications among them and to the public they serve becomes imperative. This compilation gleaned from various sources, is an effort to improve these…

A general theory and taxonomy of human communication is discussed within which the information handling propensities of the special librarian can be evaluated for relevance to the axioms of library and information science. (Author)

Some reasons why society is evolving from formal communication based on print or paper to communication channels which are largely paperless (electronic) are discussed. A scenario for a paperless communication system is presented, and some technological achievements that lend credibility to it are described. (Author/JAB)

To meet the need for quick access to the literature, and to obtain more effective communication among librarians, information scientists, mass communication specialists, operations analysts, and behavioral scientists, the authors propose a KWOC (Key-Word Out-of-Context) Index using existing machine-readable bibliographical data, such as supplied…

Explores the application of hermeneutics to the analysis of discourse. A set of examples of discursive practice in library and information science (LIS) is examined for ideological intent. The aim is to demonstrate that some discourse is ideological in nature and purpose, and to point out implications of such discursive practice for knowledge…

Argues that librarianship, which is intimately involved with the communication of knowledge, is thereby deeply involved with the mind-body problem of philosophy, and that this relationship constitutes the major philosophical issue of the library profession in this century. Psychophysical interactionism is discussed in the context of philosophy of…

A reflection of what was happening in the field of information science, writing in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science (JASIS) has become specialized to the point of excluding readers outside a narrow circle. A plea is made for JASIS to address a wider audience, because other subject disciplines, as well as industry, could…

Three papers are presented which delineate the foundation of theory and principles which underlie the research and instructional approach to communications at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh. Cybernetic principles provide the integration, and validation is based in part on a situation-producing…

This preliminary work in human communication for librarians is designed to help the library profession address itself to significant communication problems. As they relate to the library and information sciences, the three major areas of communication science covered are: (1) History and theory of communication and culture, organization and…