Turns in Information Science (7 Theoretical Turns, Explained!)

This video is an intellectual history of Information Science. It describes seven "turns" that have occurred across the field over the past 40 years. Each turn is profiled concerning its origins, champions, signal concepts, key publications, and enduring impacts. The turns appear in loose chronological order, and are assigned colorful logos, to facilitate understanding. You may follow along with my paper Turn, Turn, Turn [https://informationr.net/ir/24-4/coli...] or this more graphical timeline [http://www.jennahartel.info/uploads/8...].

The turns featured in this video are my best effort at explaining the recent intellectual history of Information Science. Yet there have been other historical narratives; and, other turns than those named here. To learn more, see David Bawden and Lyn Robinson's excellent book, Introduction to Information Science, which surveys the field's foundations [https://www.routledge.com/Introductio...].

Notable Sources: The voice occasionally in the background of the video is Steve Fuller: "We are saying that big tech threatens the survival of humanity...Okay, but what is humanity, anyways?" Professor Fuller is not a "turner," but he sounds like one and his voice is used for atmosphere. Snippets from Francois Levy's documentary on Paul Otlet appear in the section on The Neo-Documentary Turn.

00:00 — Welcome to Information Science
00:43 — What Is a Turn?
01:35 — A Starting Point: The Physical Paradigm
02:05 — The Cognitive Turn
03:28 — The Affective Turn
04:21 — The Neo-Documentary Turn
06:07 — The Socio-Cognitive Turn
07:32 — The Everyday Life Turn
08:33 — The Critical Turn
09:34 — The Embodied Turn
10:35 — Review, and Relations Between Turns
11:43 — Are Turns "Good" or "Bad" for Information Science?
12:28 — A Personal Note
12:39 — P. S. What Turns are Next?
12:44 — Thanks for Watching and Conclusion


Selected Bibliography

Belkin, N.J. (1980). Anomalous states of knowledge as a basis for information retrieval. The Canadian Journal of Information Science, 5, 133-143.

Briet, S. (2006/1951). What is documentation? In R.E. Day, L. Martinet & H.G.B. Anghelescu (Trans.), Langham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Brookes, B. C. (1980). The foundations of information science. Part 1. Philosophical aspects. Journal of Information Science, 2, 125-133.

Buckland, M. (1991). Information as thing. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42(5), 351–360.

Butler, P. (1933). An Introduction to library science. University of Chicago Press.

Chatman, E. A. (1992). The information world of retired women. Greenwood Press.

Dervin, B. (1983). An overview of sense-making research: concepts, methods, and results to date . Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Dallas, TX.

Hartel, J. (2018). The Case against Information and the body in Library and Information Science. Library Trends, 66(4), 585–588.

Hartel, J. (2019). Turn, turn, turn. Information Research, 24(4), paper colis1901.

Hedemark, Å. & Lindberg, J. (2018). Babies, bodies, and books—Librarians' work for early literacy. Library Trends, 66. 422-441.

Hektor, A. (2001). What’s the use: internet and information behavior in everyday life . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden.

Hjørland, B. (2002). Domain analysis in information science. Eleven approaches - traditional as well as innovative. Journal of Documentation, 58(4), 422-462.

Kuhlthau. C.C. (1988). Developing a model of the library search process: cognitive and affective aspects. RQ, 28, 232-42.

Leckie, G. J., Given, L. M., & Buschman, John. (2010). Critical theory for library and information science. Libraries Unlimited.

Levie, F. (2004). The man who wanted to classify the world. Filmakers Library.

Lloyd, A. (2007). Learning to put out the red stuff: becoming information literate through discursive practice, Library Quarterly, 77(2), 181–98.

Lueg, C. P. (2015). The missing link: Information behavior research and its estranged relationship with embodiment. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(12), 2704–2707.

Lund, N.W. (2009). Document theory. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 43, 399–432.

Mehra, B. (Ed.). (2022). Social justice design and implementation in library and information science. Routledge.

Mellon, C. (1986). Library anxiety: A grounded theory and its development. College & Research Libraries, 47(2), 160-165.

Ndumu, A. (2021). Borders and belonging: Critical examinations of library approaches toward immigrants. Litwin Books.

Otlet, P., & Rayward, W. B. (1990). International organisation and dissemination of knowledge : selected essays of Paul Otlet. Elsevier.

Savolainen, R. (1995). Everyday life information seeking: approaching information seeking in the context of way of life. LISR, 17(3), 259-294.