Analysis on the research progress of library and information science since the new century
ISSN: 0737-8831
Article publication date: 15 December 2020
Issue publication date: 25 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Library science and information science, two subdisciplines of library and information science (LIS), are developed independently but interconnectedly. In this information age, LIS is in a special period of transformation and development, which has caused some changes in both library science and information science. By accurately capturing these changes and analyzing them, the authors can effectively map the development of LIS in the new century, thus providing a reference for the evolution and development of the field. The purposes of this paper are to explore the mainstream research fields and frontiers of library science and information science, respectively, since the new century, and to make a comparative analysis of the two subdisciplines.
Design/methodology/approach
By using CiteSpace to visualize LIS journals, this study draws knowledge maps of the two subdisciplines of LIS through the co-occurrence descriptors network. Using burst detection algorithm, this study detects words of high frequency variation by investigating the time frequency distribution.
Findings
The results show that the research focus of library science has experienced a change from traditional to digital library while information science has moved from information to data focus. This study also finds the similarities and differences between mainstream areas of library science and information science.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the evolution of library science and information science, and explores their mainstream research fields and frontiers in the 21st century. These findings will promote the transformation and development of LIS as well as provide research directions for scholars in the field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was funded in part by major project of National Social Science Foundation of China (19ZDA348), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY20G030011) and supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Provincial Universities of Zhejiang (GK209907299001-201) and National Social Science Foundation of China (61702009).
Citation
Song, Y., Wei, K., Yang, S., Shu, F. and Qiu, J. (2023), "Analysis on the research progress of library and information science since the new century", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 1145-1157. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-06-2020-0126
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited