Preliminary Conference Agenda

Information Science: History, Ideas, Applications

People often ask, "What is Information Science?", and the question deserves a clear answer. Information Science is primarily a way of thinking, but explaining the nature of a field typically involves discussing its boundaries. Andrew Abbott explains in the Chaos of Disciplines (2001) why disciplinary boundaries are important. Disciplinary boundaries provide a basis for identity. This is particularly important in academic organisations where that identity determines where a field belongs for administrative purposes. Information Science involves more than the selection or organisation of a particular kind of information. It involves choices about how to process and use the information, and choices about how to store and gather the information. Information Science is a way of thinking that cuts across the boundaries that constrain choices, much like classical fields such as history or philosophy. Language matters as the primary vehicle for information sharing. The word "science" in most western European languages means knowledge in the broadest sense. Information Science encompasses the whole intellectual content of a library, and integrates all available forms of information within the relevant context. Its breadth is sometimes seen as a weakness but it is in fact its strength.

Bio

Prof. Dr. Michael Seadle has written on a wide range of subjects including research integrity, long term digital archiving, research methodology, copyright, digitization, computing management, and German history. He has been principal investigator on grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). His current research areas are research integrity and long term digital archiving.
Michael Seadle is previous Director of the Berlin School of Library and Information Science and previous Dean and previous Deputy Dean of the Humanities Faculty, previous chair of the Commission on Research Ethics and previous chair of the University Council at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He was Editor and Editorial board member for several journals.
Currently he is a founding co-director of the HEADT Centre (Humboldt Elsevier Advanced Data and Text Centre) and Executive Director of the iSchools Organization.