Information Science in the Curriculum of Library and Information Studies in Comenius University BratislavaJela SteinerováDepartment of LIS, Comenius University in Bratislavasteinerova@fphil.uniba.sk

Agenda• LIS curriculum in DLIS Comenius University Bratislava• Information landscape and core pillars

▫ Examples of core and elective courses• Analysis of theses – topic maps• Examples of projects –

▫ academic information environment – information ecology• Links – research methodology and practice• Information science concept – challenges and trends

Current LIS curriculum

• PhD. Studies• Master studies• Bachelor studies

• Major curricular revisions / brief history:▫ 1990s, several updates (2000, 2009, 2012)▫ Accreditation process (2014)▫ 8 staff (6 doctoral students)

Information landscape of LIS

The core – pillars of information science (tradition)

Challenges of information science

Creativity – new pedagogies

Transdisciplinarity• New media• Digital libraries• Social informatics• Cognitive studies• Social studies• Psychology – user studies• Linguistics

Turns and paradigms

The core - courses• Bachelor level

• Information seeking• Information Resources• Social Communication• Knowledge organization in digital

environment• Knowledge organization

(cataloguinng, categoraization• Introduction to informaition studies• Copyright, Database systems• History of book and libraries• Data analysis and data visualization• Information services• Information system• Introduction ot media and

information literacy• Introduction to Information Science

• Master level• Information behavior• Information architecture• Knowledge organization• Bibliometrics and

scientometrics• Development of information

products (technical writing)• Theory of Information

systems• Theory of Information

Science• Information and Knowledge

Society• Information Policy

Elective courses – examples: new media, new technologies• Knowledge management• Electronic communication• History of book cultures• Information architecture• Webdesign• Reading• Evaluation of webpages• Project management• Data management• Digitization of cultural

heritage• Publishing /Desktop

publishing• Typography

• Optimization of website design• Information ethics• Information and media

literacy• Social and psychological

aspects of users• Development of multimedia• Introduction to sociology,

introduction to economy• Literary communication• Text analysis• Marketing of libraries• Methodology• Social network media

Analysis of theses – 2001-2010 – SWOT analysis• 179 theses – master studies

▫ Keywords, frequency analysis• Part of a research project:

▫ VEGA – Academic information environment – information ecology (2011-012)

• SWOT analysis (2006-2010) Research-oriented Curricula – evolution of topics, general, many

options

Topic maps – analysis of final theses

Topic map - theses in the years 2003-2004

Information sources in digital environ.

Cataloguing

Library services

Information society

Public libraries: marketing Web searching, nabigation

Topic maps 2009-2010 - changes

Topic map – theses- 2009-2010

Information literacy

Information behavior, overload

Websites, webdesign

Digital libraries, new media

Book culture

Example – concept maps (theses)

PhD. programme - subjects• Research methodology• Information and knowledge society• Information systems• Semiotics• Information architecture• Bibliometrics, webometrics: Systems for quantitative

analyses• Literary communication• Multimedia• Book culture

Curricular evolution• From tradition to modernity– Information architecture– Web design– Information products –

analytical methods• Methodologies• From quantitative to

qualitative (phenomenography etc.)

• From libraries to digital libraries / new media▫ Integration with technologies

Big data / data visualization Bibliometrics, webometrics Information architecture,

webdesign Theories, knowledge

management

The core• Users– Information behaviour– Information literacy– Information ethics

• Knowledge– Knowledge organization in

digital environment– terminology

• Theories and methodologies– Links with research

• Systems, sources• Tradition: information

systems, management of information resources

• Modernity:– Web design, web services,

information architecture, knowledge management

– Digital libraries– Information ecology– Data management and

visualization

Linking research, methodology and practice• Research – oriented:

Since 2002:

• Information behavior• 3 projects: VEGA

▫ Strategic and analytic types of users

▫ Relevance (2.0)▫ Information ecology

Concept maps, topic maps Surveys, models

• Academic information environment

Final models – information ecology• Integration into courses:

▫ Information behaviour

Project-based learning

• E-learning▫ Support of courses (online,

presentations, evaluation)

Information science - content

Methodology and theory

• Part of the courses• Information behavior of doctoral students –

qualitative research (project APVV 2011-2014)▫ Methodological literacy▫ Knowledge of methodological paradigms,

traditions, methods, tools▫ Integrating traditional paradigms – new models

(digital scholarship, cultural heritage)

Barriers of doctoral students• Lack of time• Lack of sources• Disintegration of systems• Information overload• Lack of personal

communication• Outdated documents

Methodological literacy

Proposals for information support of doctoral students• Support of concept

mapping, terminology• Writing theses, citing• Navigation, personalization• Interaction,

communication, collaboration, sharing

• Syntheses, presentations, publishing

• Building expert networks• Cultivation of information

styles

Challenges of information science• Trends in research and

practices:▫ Contexts▫ Digital libraries, digital

scholarship, big data, linked data

▫ Data management and data visualization

▫ Information literacy – information fluency

▫ Cultural heritage▫ Data protection and privacy

▫ Massive open online courses

• Trends in information behavior studies▫ Ethnomethodology▫ Affective information

management▫ Information sharing, use▫ Communities, seniors▫ Holistic approaches

(information ecology)▫ Social media▫ Creativity

Emerging topics for modern courses• Links with arts studies (visualization methods)• Information ecology• Information ethics• Qualitative methodologies• Cultural studies (cultural heritage, archival

studies, museology, etc.)• Semiotics, new media• Visualization of data, knowlege mapping

Map of topics in information science: example

Zhao, Strotmann 2008

More emphasis on projects of doctoral students• Examples of topics:

▫ Electronic journals and open access

▫ Information creativity in digital environment

▫ Philosophy of information▫ HCI▫ Digital (institutional)

repositories▫ Information behavior of

researchers (digital humanities and social sciences)

• Examples of topics:▫ Information overload▫ Digital spaces▫ Publishing behavior▫ Information ethics▫ Discussion groups▫ Perceptions of texts▫ Children´s information

literacy▫ Information ethics▫ Information behavior of

young people

Conclusion• Information Science:

▫ Multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary science Information process, social science –

sociotechnical complexity Psychology, cognitive sciences, social informatics,

sociology, computer sicences▫ Open boundaries – new partnerships▫ Applications in practice:

media, libraries, museums, galleries, private comopanies, information management offices...

▫ Extension of curricula – integrative aproach

Conclusions• Integrative approach:

▫ Practice – methodology – theory▫ Transdisciplinarity, integrative science:

• Advantages / benefits Opportunities for new jobs New topics, creative systems, services

• Threats▫ Disintegration into different disciplines

• Challenges Tradition and modernity: complexity of information

interactions

Conclusions: challenges of information science• content

• Integration with similar subjects

• New partnerships• New media, computer

sciences, social informatics

• Successive evolution scenario – new information professionals – e.g. data curators

• form

• Research projects• Doctoral studies• E-learning• Creativity in teaching methods• Publishing activities – home,

foreign, regular annual reviews

• International cooperation▫ Erasmus plus, Euclid▫ conferences

References• STEINEROVÁ, J., Hrčková, A. (2014). Information support of research information interactions of PhD. students

in Slovakia. In Fifteenth International Conference on Grey Literature: The Grey Audit, 2-3 December 2013. Ed. D. Farace, J. Frantzen. Amsterdam: TextRelease, February 2014. (GL conference series, ISSN 1386 2316, No.15).

• STEINEROVÁ, Jela a kol. 2012. Informačná ekológia akademického informačného prostredia. Záverečná správa z výskumu VEGA 1/0429/10. Editor Jela Steinerová. Autori: Jela Steinerová, Jana Ilavská, Lucia Lichnerová, Miriam Ondrišová, Helena Ondriašová, Linda Prágerová, Martina Haršányiová. Bratislava: Vydavateľstvo UK, 2012. 96 s. ISBN 978-80-223-3178-4.

• Steinerová, J. et al. (2010). Informačné stratégie v elektronickom prostredí: pojmové mapy a slovník [CD-ROM]. Bratislava: Stimul, 2010. ISBN 978-80-89236-99-2.

• Saracevic, T. (2010). Information Science. In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. Taylor and Francis 2010, 2570-2585.

• Bawden, D. Robinson, L. (2012). Introduction to Information Science. London: Facet Publ. ISBN 978-1-85604-810-1.

• Case, D.O. (2012). Looking for information. A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior. 3. ed. Emerald.

• FIDEL, R. (2012). Human Information Interaction: An Ecological Approach to Information Behavior. Cambridge, MIT Press.

• Ingwersen, P., Järvelin, K. (2005). The Turn. Integration of Information Seeking and Retrieval in Context. Dordrecht: Springer.

References• Bawden, David - Bates, Jessica - Steinerová, Jela - Vakkari, Pertti - Vilar, Polona: Information

retrieval curricula : contexts and perspectives In: The first international workshop on Teaching and learning in information retrieval. - London : BCS, 2007. - S. 55-66

• Steinerová, Jela, Grešková, Mirka, Ilavská, Jana. Informačné stratégie v elektronickom prostredí. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave 2010. 192 s.

• Prieskum relevancie informácií : výsledky analýz rozhovorov s doktorandmi FiFUK / Jela Steinerová, Mirka Grešková, Jaroslav Šušol. – Bratislava : CVTI SR, 2007. – 150 s. – ISBN 978-80-85165-93-7

• Steinerová, J. (2010). Ecological dimensions of information literacy. In: Information Research, 15(4) paper colis719. Ret. from: http://InformationR.net/ir/15-4/colis719.html

• Steinerová, J. (2013). Methodological Literacy of Doctoral Students – an Emerging Model. In: Worldwide Commonalities and Challenges in Information Literacy Research and Practice. ECIL 2013. Conference Proc. Ed. S. Kurbanoglu et al. Cham: Springer International Publ. 2013, 148-154.

• ZHAO, D., STROTMANN, A. 2008 Information science during the first decade of the web: An enriched author cocitation analysis. In Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology[online]. 2008, vol. 59, iss. 6 [cit. 2011-9-15], p. 916–937. Dostupné na internete: <http://www.ualberta.ca/~dzhao/Zhao_Dangzhi_JASIST08_preprint.pdf>.