From Marginal to Excellence: The Development of the Research in Information Studies in Finland

Abstract

The article analyzes the development of the Finnish research in library and information science into its present position of high qualitative and quantitative level (in relation to the size of the research community). A number of aspects that may explain the success of the Finnish research are presented: 1) the early academic context, i.e., the establishment of the chair in LIS at the University of Tampere in 1971, 2) the new conception of LIS that emerged in Finland in the early 1980s shifting the attention from institutions into users and actions, 3) internationalization of research including publishing in peer reviewed journals, participating in international conferences, inviting foreign top-researchers into Finland, and organizing international conferences that have become institutionalized (CoLIS and ISIC), and 4) the selection of priority areas for the research effort combined with the concentration of research and doctoral education in research groups.

Citation

Mäkinen, I. (2007), "From Marginal to Excellence: The Development of the Research in Information Studies in Finland", Garten, E.D., Williams, D.E., Nyce, J.M. and Talja, S. (Ed.) Advances in Library Administration and Organization (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 25), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 155-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-0671(07)25008-4