The term information scientist developed in the latter part of the twentieth century to describe an individual, usually with a relevant subject degree (such as one in
Information and Computer Science - CIS) or high level of subject knowledge, providing focused information to scientific and technical research staff in industry. It is a role quite distinct from and complementary to that of a
librarian. Developments in end-user searching, together with some convergence between the roles of librarian and information scientist, have led to a diminution in its use in this context, and the term information officer or ''
information professional'' (''information specialist'') are also now used.
The term was, and is, also used for an individual carrying out research in
information science.
Brian C. Vickery mentions that the ''
Institute of Information Scientists'' (IIS) was established in London during 1958 and lists the criteria put forward by this institute "Criteria for Information Science" (appendix 1) as well as his own "Areas of study in information science" (appendix 2). The IIS merged with the Library Association in 2002 to form the
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).
Examples
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Marcia Bates
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David Blair (information technologist)
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Samuel C. Bradford
Samuel Clement Bradford (10 January 1878 in London – 13 November 1948) was a British mathematician, librarian and documentalist at the Science Museum in London. He developed " Bradford's law" (or the "law of scattering") regarding differences ...
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Michael Buckland
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John M. Carroll
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Blaise Cronin
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Emilia Currás
Emilia Teresa Julia Currás Puente (8 October 1927 – 29 March 2020) was a Spanish information scientist and academic. She was also a philosopher and historian of science, as well as a pioneer in the study of the philosophical-scientific bases ...
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Eugene Garfield
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Paul B. Kantor Paul B. Kantor is an American information scientist. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Information Science at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and an Honorary Research Associate in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wis ...
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Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster
Frederick Wilfrid ("Wilf") Lancaster (September 4, 1933 – August 25, 2013) was a British-American information scientist. He immigrated to the USA in 1959 and worked as information specialist for the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryl ...
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Calvin Mooers
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Robert Saxton Taylor
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Brian Campbell Vickery
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Thomas D. Wilson
Dr. Thomas D. Wilson has been an active contributor to the world of information science since 1961, when he received his Fellowship from the British Library Association. His research has focused on information management and information seeking be ...
See also
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Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
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Documentalist
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Information history
Information history may refer to the history of each of the categories listed below (or to combinations of them). It should be recognized that the understanding of, for example, libraries as information systems only goes back to about 1950. The a ...
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Information science
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Library and information scientist
A library and information scientist, also known as a library scholar, is a researcher or academic who specializes in the field of library and information science and often participates in scholarly writing about and related to library and informat ...
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Library scholar
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References
* Vickery, B. & Vickery, A. (1987) ''Information Science in theory and practice'' (London: Bowker-Saur, pp. 361–369)
*Ellis, David and Merete Haugan. (1997) "Modelling the information seeking patterns of engineers and research scientists in an industrial environment" (''Journal of Documentation'', Volume 53(4): pp. 384–403)
*Vickery, Brian Campbell (1988) "Essays presented to B. C. Vickery" (''Journal of Documentation'', Volume 44, pp. 199–283)
External links
"Pioneers" of Information Science scrapbook: https://web.archive.org/web/20140201230801/http://faculty.libsci.sc.edu/bob/ISP/scrapbook.htm
scientists information
{{Authority control
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Information science
da:Informationsforsker