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The Heart of the Information Professions: What Motivates our Field?

Information science is continually transforming through astounding changes in information technology and the social world.  I have been studying, thinking, and writing about information science for nearly fifty years.  What is the core?  What motivates the activities of the field, both in research and in practice?  What part of our core professional concerns will continue and what part will fall away?  How will we look in fifty years?

 

About the Author

Marcia J. Bates

Marcia J. Bates is Professor Emerita in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Information Studies. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she is a leading authority on information search, human-centered design of information systems, and information practices. She was Editor-in-Chief of the 7-volume Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, 3rd Ed., and is the recipient of many awards for her research and leadership. In addition to her teaching and scholarship, she has been a technical consultant to numerous organizations in government, foundations, and businesses, including technology startups. A graduate of Pomona College (B.A.) and the University California at Berkeley (M.L.S., Ph.D.), Bates also served in Thailand in the Peace Corps.