Centre for Information Science
Established with the School of Informatics at City University London, the Centre for Information Science (CIS) is the focus for teaching, research and scholarship in the core areas of information science.
The Centre continues the tradition of information science as an academic discipline, which has been present at City University since the teaching of this subject was established in 1961. Our emphasis is on the central concerns of information science: the study of the information communication chain, in the context of different domains, and influenced by developing technologies. Specific interests are in: human information behaviour; information organisation; information history; foundations of the information sciences; and the idea of the information sciences as liberal arts.
The Centre is led by David Bawden, Professor of Information Science, and Lyn Robinson , Programme Director for Library and Information Science.
Teaching
CIS hosts the Library and Information Sciences Scheme, an integrated set of Masters courses. Currently, the Scheme includes courses in Information Science and Library Science, and a joint course with City University's School of Arts, Information Management in the Cultural Sector.
The Centre runs several modules for these courses: Library and Information Science Foundation; Information Resources and Organisation; Information Management and Policy; Information Domains; Libraries and Publishing in the Information Society, Research Evaluation and Communications Skills and Independent Study.
We are actively involved in LIS curriculum development with UK colleagues and international partners, and in developing new teaching methods.
Research
Research within CIS is carried out by individual scholarship and publication, and through the research of an exceptionally capable group of doctoral students. We focus on five main areas:
- conceptual foundations and philosophy of the information sciences
- information seeking and information behaviour generally
- information history
- knowledge organisation
- information domains and subject-specific information, particularly science and healthcare
Our current doctoral students, with their topics, are:
- Charlie Mayor - Ontology and information practices in the biology
- Liz Poirier - A theoretical framework for slow information behaviour
- Andrew Robson - Communication of pharmaceutical information
- Sandra Tury - Information seeking behaviour of distance learning students
- Debbie Lee - Knowledge organisation in musicology
- David Haynes - Risk management and personal data
Successfully completed CIS doctoral students are:
- Tony Weller - Social and cultural understandings and manifestations of information in nineteenth century England
- Jutta Haider - Open access and notions of 'development'
- Ahmad Khudair - A model for the development of healthcare information services in Saudi Arabia
Professional and international activities
David edits Journal of Documentation, the leading European journal for information science, and is on the editorial board of Portal: Libraries and the Academy. He serves on the board of EUCLID, the European Association for Library and Information Teaching and Research.
Lyn's book, Understanding Healthcare Information, was published by Facet in 2010. Lyn and David are currently writing a sourcebook on the foundations of information science, to be published by Facet.
CIS has active links (research collaboration, staff and student exchange, curriculum development and joint publication) with library and information science departments at the universities of Ljubljana, Prague (Charles University) and Vilnius.
We were the programme organisers for the CoLIS (Conceptions of Library and Information Science) conference, held in London in 2010, and are involved in the planning for CoLIS 2013, to be held in Copenhagen.
Some recent publications from CIS
L Robinson and D Bawden, Information domains: subject specialism is Masters courses, CILIP Update, 2011, February issue, 28
D. Bawden, Brookes equation: the basis for a qualitative characterisation of information behaviours, Journal of Information Science, 2011, 37(1), 101-108
D Bawden, Encountering on the road to Serendip? Browsing in new information environments, in A Foster and P Rafferty (eds.), Innovations in IR: Perspectives for theory and practice, London: Facet Publishing, forthcoming 2011
D Bawden and L Robinson, Individual differences in information-related behaviour: what do we know about information styles, in A Spink and J Heinström (eds), New Directions in Information behaviour, Bingley: Emerald, forthcoming 2011
L Robinson and D Bawden, Information (and library) science at City Universty London: fifty years of educational development, Journal of Information Science, 2010, 36(5), 618-630
D Bawden and L Robinson, CoLIS in London, 2010: Reflections on the 7th Conceptions of Library and Information Science Conference, Information Research, 2010, 15(3), available at http://informationr.net/ir/15-3/colis7/edcolis7.html
L Robinson and M Karamuftouglu, The nature of Information Science: changing models. Information Research, 2010, 15(4), paper colis717, available from http://informationr.net/ir/15-4/colis717.html
L Robinson,Teaching reference and information services at City University London. REFER, 2010, 26 (2), 10-12
Robinson L and Vozga R (2010). Renewing Albania's Libraries. Journal of Documentation, 2010, 66(5), 775-779
M Mason and L Robinson, The information-related behaviour of emerging artists and designers: inspiration and guidance for new practitioners. Journal of Documentation, 2010, 67(1), 159-180
J Cummins and D Bawden, Accounting for information: information and knowledge in the annual reports of FTSE 100 companies, Journal of Information Science, 2010, 36(3), 283-305
D Bawden, A Calvert, L Robinson, C Urquhart, C Bray and J Amosford, Understanding our value: assessing the nature of the impact of library services, Library and Information Research, 2010, 33(issue 105), 62-89, available from www.lirg.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir
D Bawden and L Robinson, Pharmaceutical information; a 30-year perspective on the literature, Annual Reviews of Information Science and Technology, 2010, 45, 63-119
L Robinson and M Maguire, The rhizome and the tree; changing metaphors for information organisation. Journal of Documentation, 2010, 66(4), 604-613
L Robinson, Information Science: the information chain and domain analysis. Journal of Documentation, 2009. 65(4), 578-591
D Bawden and L Robinson, The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies, Journal of Information Science, 2009, 35(2), 180-191
D Bawden, Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science, Journal of Information Science, 2008, 34(4), 415-426
D Bawden, Origins and concepts of digital literacy, in Digital literacies: concepts, policies and paradoxes, C Lankshear and M Knobel (eds.), New York: Peter Lang, 2008, pages 17-32
Further information
web:
blog:
www.theccasionalinformationist.com
twitter:
@david_bawden @lynrobinson
#citylis #colis2013
email: