DrWebIntroduction and summary: Library Studies, the Informational Disciplines, and the iSchool: Some Remarks Prompted by LIS Forward
Introduction and summary: Library Studies, the Informational Disciplines, and the iSchool: Some Remarks Prompted by LIS Forward
A discussion of libraries and library studies in the context of library education. It is the introduction to, and summary of, my response to the LIS Forward position paper.
By Lorcan Dempsey, Sep 4, 2025, 16 min read
Walking up to the Information School at the University of Washington…This is an excerpt from a longer contribution I made to Responses to the LIS Forward Position Paper: Ensuring a Vibrant Future for LIS in iSchools. [pdf] It is a sketch only, and somewhat informal, but I thought I would put it here in case of interest. I have not revised it.
This is the introduction and summary, and it extensively references the full response and the Position Paper itself. I link to the position paper, my response, and sections excerpted here below.
As I note also below, it is very much influenced by the context in which it was prepared which was a discussion of the informational disciplines and the iSchool in R1 institutions.
If you wish to reference it, I would be grateful if you cite the full original: Dempsey, L. (2025). Library Studies, the Informational Disciplines, and the iSchool: Some Remarks Prompted by LIS Forward. In LIS Forward (2025) Responses to the LIS Forward Position Paper: Ensuring a Vibrant Future for LIS in iSchools, The Friday Harbor Papers, Volume 2. [pdf]
Introductory
iSchools have created a space where many disciplinary backgrounds come together in potentially exciting ways. My focus here is on the position of Library Studies within this mix. I don’t mean to ignore the bigger questions about iSchools and their future, or about Library Studies in other disciplinary configurations; they are just not within my scope. A strong Library Studies component has much to gain from this mixed disciplinary hinterland.
This response reflects its origins as a personal commentary on the LIS Forward document, and as such manifests some informality, in both presentation and preparation. It covers several areas that could be treated much more extensively or completely in a different kind of consideration.
Given the original emphases of the report, I focus on libraries and library studies, LIS, and IS, and assume an R1 setting. I am very aware of my partial and particular perspectives. I make a note of my experience in a coda. It should be clear that my aim most of the time is to be suggestive rather than comprehensive. I use IS (information science), LIS (library and information science/studies) and LS (library studies) throughout.
The LIS Forward report is motivated by “a sense of urgency concerning the future of LIS in information schools.” It is a welcome and interesting contribution.
The Report looks at the current position of LIS (Library and Information Science/Studies)[1] in the iSchool. It echoes recurrent discussions about the prestige or position of LIS/Library Studies within the academy, the unsettled relationship between various informational disciplines, circular debates about the nature of those informational disciplines, and the challenges to a practice-based discipline in a research environment.
I share the authors’ sense of urgency. However, this sense of urgency is not driven primarily by questions of disciplinary definition or boundary. It is driven by a sense that this is an important moment for libraries and for librarianship.
It is an exciting time, as the library has been transforming from a transactional, collection-centered one to a relational, community-centered one. It is also a challenging time as both library value and library values are being questioned.
It is very much a field in motion, and occasional commotion.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Introduction and summary: Library Studies, the Informational Disciplines, and the iSchool: Some Remarks Prompted by LIS Forward
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