The evolution of iSchool movement (1988-2013): A bibliometric view

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Shu, Fei^* | Mongeon, Phillippe

Affiliations: [a] School of Information Studies, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada | [b] École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal, QC, Canada

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Fei Shu, School of Information Studies, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract: The iSchool movement is a controversial topic within the library and information science (LIS) community. While some argue that the movement isolates small size schools and splits the LIS community others insist it will broaden the field of LIS and form an open and boundaryless iField. This study investigates the evolution of the iSchool movement by analyzing the trends of subject terms in LIS doctoral dissertations since 1970s. The results indicate that the iSchool movement reflects the trend of LIS in terms of the change of the dominant research topics and the degree of interdisciplinarity.

Keywords: iSchools, dissertations, interdisciplinary, LIS, ALA

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-160982

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 359-373, 2016