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1 – 10 of 112
Article
Publication date: 5 December 2018

Shohana Nowrin, Lyn Robinson and David Bawden

This paper aims to review current approaches to, and good practice in, information literacy (IL) development in multi-lingual and multi-cultural settings, with particular emphasis…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review current approaches to, and good practice in, information literacy (IL) development in multi-lingual and multi-cultural settings, with particular emphasis on provision for international students.

Design/methodology/approach

A selective and critical review of published literature is extended by evaluation of examples of multi-lingual IL tutorials and massive open online courses.

Findings

Multi-lingual literacy and multi-cultural IL are umbrella terms covering a variety of situations and issues. This provision is of increasing importance in an increasingly mobile and multi-cultural world. This paper evaluates current approaches and good practice, focussing on issues of culture vis-à-vis language; the balance between individual and group needs; specific and generic IL instruction; and models for IL, pedagogy and culture. Recommendations for good practice and for further research are given.

Originality/value

This is one of very few papers critically reviewing how IL development is affected by linguistic and cultural factors.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 68 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 January 2020

Tim Gorichanaz, Jonathan Furner, Lai Ma, David Bawden, Lyn Robinson, Dominic Dixon, Ken Herold, Sille Obelitz Søe, Betsy Van der Veer Martens and Luciano Floridi

The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his…

4190

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS).

Design/methodology/approach

Nine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions.

Findings

Floridi’s PI, including this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects.

Research limitations/implications

Floridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS.

Originality/value

The book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 76 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

David Bawden and Lyn Robinson

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the proposal that Luciano Floridi’s philosphy of information (PI) may be an appropriate conceptual foundation for the discipline of…

2157

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the proposal that Luciano Floridi’s philosphy of information (PI) may be an appropriate conceptual foundation for the discipline of library and information science (LIS).

Design/methodology/approach

A selective literature review and analysis are carried out.

Findings

It is concluded that LIS is in need of a new conceptual framework, and that PI is appropriate for this purpose.

Originality/value

Floridi proposed a close relationship between PI and LIS more than a decade ago. Although various authors have addressed the aspects of this relationship since then, this is the first proposal from an LIS perspective that PI be adopted as a basis for LIS.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 74 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2024

Emily Baggs, Kaitlyn O'Neal, Andrew Robson and Lyn Robinson

The paper reports on developments in the Information Seeking and Communication Model (ISCM) since it was first presented in 2013, focussing on how the model, derived by explicitly…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper reports on developments in the Information Seeking and Communication Model (ISCM) since it was first presented in 2013, focussing on how the model, derived by explicitly drawing on previous models, frameworks, and concepts, has been applied, adapted and extended. This paper summarises the reception of the ISCM, and describes two new applications in different contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review details applications of, comments on and critiques of, the ISCM since its introduction. Two exploratory studies of health information seeking behaviour show the application of the ISCM in novel contexts.

Findings

The literature cited here, and the two studies outlined show the applicability and extendibility of the ISCM, as well as its value in helping to capture the holistic context of information seeking, the interplay between providers and seekers of information, including fluidity of provider/seeker roles, and emotional dimensions of information seeking and use.

Originality/value

The paper responds to the call by Case and Given (2016) for further empirical testing of the ISCM and similar conceptual models. It shows the range of applicability of this model, and models drawn from it, and makes recommendations for further development.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 80 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 August 2017

Lyn Robinson and David Bawden

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new approach to education for library/information students in data literacy – the principles and practice of data collection…

1488

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new approach to education for library/information students in data literacy – the principles and practice of data collection, manipulation and management – as a part of the Masters programmes in library and information science (CityLIS) at City, University of London.

Design/methodology/approach

The course takes a socio-technical approach, integrating, and giving equal importance to, technical and social/ethical aspects. Topics covered include: the relation between data, information and documents; representation of digital data; network technologies; information architecture; metadata; data structuring; search engines, databases and specialised retrieval tools; text and data mining, web scraping; data cleaning, manipulation, analysis and visualisation; coding; data metrics and analytics; artificial intelligence; data management and data curation; data literacy and data ethics; and constructing data narratives.

Findings

The course, which was well received by students in its first iteration, gives a basic grounding in data literacy, to be extended by further study, professional practice and lifelong learning.

Originality/value

This is one of the first accounts of an introductory course to equip all new entrants to the library/information professions with the understanding and skills to take on roles in data librarianship and data management.

Details

Library Management, vol. 38 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2021

Ludi Price and Lyn Robinson

This article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the…

1609

Abstract

Purpose

This article describes the third part of a three-stage study investigating the information behaviour of fans and fan communities, the first stage of which is described in the study by Price and Robinson (2017).

Design/methodology/approach

Using tag analysis as a method, a comparative case study was undertaken to explore three aspects of fan information behaviour: information gatekeeping; classifying and tagging and entrepreneurship and economic activity. The case studies took place on three sites used by fans–Tumblr, Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Etsy. Supplementary semi-structured interviews with site users were used to augment the findings with qualitative data.

Findings

These showed that fans used tags in a variety of ways quite apart from classification purposes. These included tags being used on Tumblr as meta-commentary and a means of dialogue between users, as well as expressors of emotion and affect towards posts. On AO3 in particular, fans had developed a practice called “tag wrangling” to mitigate the inherent “messiness” of tagging. Evidence was also found of a “hybrid market economy” on Etsy fan stores. From the study findings, a taxonomy of fan-related tags was developed.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are limited to the tagging practices on only three sites used by fans during Spring 2016, and further research on other similar sites are recommended. Longitudinal studies of these sites would be beneficial in understanding how or whether tagging practices change over time. Testing of the fan-tag taxonomy developed in this paper is also recommended.

Originality/value

This research develops a method for using tag analysis to describe information behaviour. It also develops a fan-tag taxonomy, which may be used in future research on the tagging practices of fans, which heretofore have been a little-studied section of serious leisure information users.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 77 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2017

Caitlin Moore and Lyn Robinson

The purpose of this paper is to report a new resource for the study of the history of the development of information science and information services in the late twentieth…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report a new resource for the study of the history of the development of information science and information services in the late twentieth century. The Monty Hyams archives include documents relating to the career of Montagu Hyams (1918-2013), the Founder of Derwent Publications, and an innovator in patents information, chemical and pharmaceutical information, and online information access. The Archive is housed in the Department of Library and Information Science at City, University of London.

Design/methodology/approach

The origins and development of the Monty Hyams Archive are described, and its value examined by an initial analysis of the light it sheds on the development of Derwent’s World Patents Index.

Findings

The newly established Hyams Archive allows analysis of previously private and unseen documents, which reveal the fascinating and complex personalities, issues and negotiations which led to the establishment of some of the most significant information sources and access methods of the pre-internet information environment.

Originality/value

The Monty Hyams Archive is a new and unique resource for the study of the development of the scientific information environment in the last decades of the twentieth century.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 73 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 7 January 2014

Lyn Robinson

320

Abstract

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 70 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Article
Publication date: 24 January 2018

Deborah Lee and Lyn Robinson

The purpose of this paper is to understand the classification of musical medium, which is a critical part of music classification. It considers how musical medium is currently…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the classification of musical medium, which is a critical part of music classification. It considers how musical medium is currently classified, provides a theoretical understanding of what is currently problematic, and proposes a model which rethinks the classification of medium and resolves these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is drawn from existing classification schemes, additionally using musicological and knowledge organization literature where relevant. The paper culminates in the design of a model of musical medium.

Findings

The analysis elicits sub-facets, orders and categorizations of medium: there is a strict categorization between vocal and instrumental music, a categorization based on broad size, and important sub-facets for multiples, accompaniment and arrangement. Problematically, there is a mismatch between the definitiveness of library and information science vocal/instrumental categorization and the blurred nature of real musical works; arrangements and accompaniments are limited by other categorizations; multiple voices and groups are not accommodated. So, a model with a radical new structure is proposed which resolves these classification issues.

Research limitations/implications

The results could be used to further understanding of music classification generally, for Western art music and other types of music.

Practical implications

The resulting model could be used to improve and design new classification schemes and to improve understanding of music retrieval.

Originality/value

Deep theoretical analysis of music classification is rare, so this paper’s approach is original. Furthermore, the paper’s value lies in studying a vital area of music classification which is not currently understood, and providing explanations and solutions. The proposed model is novel in structure and concept, and its original structure could be adapted for other knotty subjects.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 74 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 December 2020

Stefan Dreisiebner, Anna Katharina Polzer, Lyn Robinson, Paul Libbrecht, Juan-José Boté-Vericad, Cristóbal Urbano, Thomas Mandl, Polona Vilar, Maja Žumer, Mate Juric, Franjo Pehar and Ivanka Stričević

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the rationale, technical framework, content creation workflow and evaluation for a multilingual massive open online course (MOOC) to…

2266

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the rationale, technical framework, content creation workflow and evaluation for a multilingual massive open online course (MOOC) to facilitate information literacy (IL) considering cultural aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

A good practice analysis built the basis for the technical and content framework. The evaluation approach consisted of three phases: first, the students were asked to fill out a short self-assessment questionnaire and a shortened adapted version of a standardized IL test. Second, they completed the full version of the IL MOOC. Third, they were asked to fill out the full version of a standardized IL test and a user experience questionnaire.

Findings

The results show that first the designed workflow was suitable in practice and led to the implementation of a full-grown MOOC. Second, the implementation itself provides implications for future projects developing multilingual educational resources. Third, the evaluation results show that participants achieved significantly higher results in a standardized IL test after attending the MOOC as mandatory coursework. Variations between the different student groups in the participating countries were observed. Fourth, self-motivation to complete the MOOC showed to be a challenge for students asked to attend the MOOC as nonmandatory out-of-classroom task. It seems that multilingual facilitation alone is not sufficient to increase active MOOC participation.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative approach of developing multilingual IL teaching resources and is one of the first works to evaluate the impact of an IL MOOC on learners' experience and learning outcomes in an international evaluation study.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 77 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

1 – 10 of 112