Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science

David Bawden
2008 Journal of information science  
Citation: Bawden, D. (2008). Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science. This is the unspecified version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/3154/ Link to published version: http://dx. Abstract Some developments in the information science discipline over a period of thirty years are discussed, by selecting topics covered in the early
more » ... issues of Journal of Information Science, and tracing their influence on subsequent developments, largely though by no means exclusively through JIS papers. Five main themes are covered: the information discipline per se; the foundations of that discipline; the nature of information; relations between discipline and profession; and education for information science. The continuing resonance of the writings of Farradane and Brookes are noted. that in turn to the central question of the nature of information. There follows a consideration of the relation between discipline and profession, and in particular the role of research, and the closely associated question of the most appropriate form of education for information science. As we shall see, all of these themes are represented in the first issues of JIS, and all have remained 'live' topics 2 to the present day.
doi:10.1177/0165551508089717 fatcat:qr5v2zcypngermsygtumjdgoie