Library & Information Science: What Is It? An Embodied Answer in 5 Minutes!

Here's my best effort to answer the question "What is Library and Information Science?" in a short (5-minute) video. Naturally, it also touches upon the profession of Librarianship and the institution of the Library, which are related matters. In limited time, I was able to describe a handful of key concepts in LIS (e.g. the reference interview, reader's advisory, information retrieval), but there are many other ideas which can be surveyed through textbooks ( https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/...) or learned in a master's program of Library and Information Science.

00:00—Welcome
00:06—What is Library and Information Science (LIS)?
00:26—On the One Hand: PUBLICATIONS
00:48—On the Other Hand: PEOPLE
01:15—MEDIATING ENTITIES: The Library, Librarianship, and Library and Information Science
01:29—Academic Concerns and Professional Practices of LIS
02:56—Three Kinds of Libraries
03:32—Is LIS the Career for You? (Shared Qualities of People in LIS)
04:10—The Question--What is LIS?--Answered and Restated
04:34—An Embodied Approach to LIS
04:45—Thank you! Subscribe to INFIDEOS! Please Like this Video!

Of course, what's presented here is my opinion only, and other perspectives on LIS (in videos) are available. This one is excellent,    • What is Library & Information Science?  , and this one is accessible and personal,    • should you study information science?...  .

I am looking forward to comments from the LIS community, as to whether my basic conception of Library and Information Science (as a mediating entity between people and publications) is accurate and timely. There are other scholars, such as Dr. David Lankes, (https://davidlankes.org/) who cast the institution, profession, and discipline differently. Specifically, Professor Lankes sees the Library as a place to enable community conversations moreso than a portal to publications. For sure, I appreciate and admire Dr. Lankes' vision. There are also impressive scholars who champion the activist and social justice imperatives of Library and Information Science, namely Dr. Bharat Mehra (https://cis.ua.edu/cis-theme-staff/dr..., Dr. Nicole A. Cooke (http://www.nicolecooke.info/), and Dr. Keren Dali (https://morgridgeonline.du.edu/online.... I encourage viewers of my video to also consider these contrasting perspectives, among others, on Library and Information Science.

I am still refining the Worksheet that supports this video; please check back soon for a copy. Educators in Library and Information Science programs could use this video and its Worksheet to introduce LIS to newcomers, especially at the start of any course or semester. I believe this video may also prove useful for students and devotees to share with their family and friends who have difficulty understanding the nature of our domain, and who reduce Library and Information Science to checking out (stamping) books or "shushing" loud patrons (!). (In fact, I will be sending this video to my own great parents, who still struggle to grasp my work.)

For the past 13 years, at the Faculty of Information (University of Toronto), I have "pitched" Library and Information Science to curious, potential students who attend information sessions about our program. Hence, again and again and again, I have considered, consolidated, crafted, and tested the narrative of Library and Information Science. This video draws from that ongoing and unfinished project to capture the essence, nature, purpose, and spirit of Library and Information Science.

P. S. Upon completing most of the videos on my channel, I have a sense of mastery, that is, the outcomes felt nearly perfect and complete (e.g. Giving Thanks to..., Information Science Road Trip, and Pictorial Metaphors for Information are examples). This video, differently, has NOT left me satisfied. Library and Information Science has too many tensions: between print and digital materials, various stakeholders, history and future, Library versus Information sides of the field, and other bifurcations or tensions. It ultimately felt impossible to visually represent and balance the dimensions. Faced with these conceptual and design challenges, the video at hand was put aside for weeks, hoping for clarity and resolution, that was never achieved. It seemed possible that I might never complete and publish a What Is Library and Information Science? video! It was only a sense of wanting to move onto the next project, that helped me press the "PUBLISH" button, despite a feeling of lingering shortcomings, both aesthetic and conceptual. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy and share this video.