Graduate education of library science in China:Current status and recommendations for improvement

More than twenty years ago,Wuhan University and Nanjing University offered library science(LS)graduate programs.Since then,LS graduate education has been growing quickly in many aspects.At the same time,however,LS graduate education was also facing enormous challenges stemming from the dynamic development and wide applications of information technologies into the pedagogical arena of teaching and learning at all levels.Social evolution also made it necessary for LS educators to re-examine once again their graduate education model,curricular composition,educational philosophy and educational missions.In analyzing the present situation of LS graduate education in China,this paper focuses on the following issues:1)Growing size of LS graduate education(quantity and quality);2)educational objectives,including research direction and placement for graduates;3)structure of knowledge and curricular construction;4)conditions of administering a library school of high quality and 5)the management of teaching resources.The keystone of this paper is to pinpoint where current library science curricular deficiencies are lying.It is hoped that more serious scholarly discussions and perhaps also even concerted efforts among LS scholars and library practioners may be evoked in having the graduate education system of library and information science thoroughly realigned for the informational needs of the 21st century.

Library science education and the competitiveness of its graduates:A survey and an analysis of Chinese library directors' perceptions

These authors have made a sampling survey of professional qualifications of library directors of various types of libraries in China.The subject coverage of this survey includes but not limited to the pattern of library position distribution and work conditions of those library science degree holders.It also studies such matters as the occupational roles of library science graduates in the library,the influencing factors of their professional competency(as it is perceived by library directors),library directors' opinion about the core curriculum of library science educational programs,etc.On the basis of this survey result and analysis,these authors attempt to show how Chinese librarians' professional competency can be identified and nurtured to a higher level of attainment.

A review of the theory of Library Science in China: 1956-2016

Contemporary Library Science in China has gone through 60 years’ tough development since 1956. This paper tries to disclose the journey and achievements of Chinese Library Science in the past 60 years based on the analysis of published journal articles. This paper analyzes contemporary Chinese Library Science in the context of Chinese Library Science history and the international Library Science environment. Examining the historical progress of the Library Science in China, this paper divides the history into 5 phases: late start, wandering phase, tough starting phase, rebuilding phase, breaking phase and shining phase.

The interaction between Library Science Education and the society in China over the past century

Library Science Education(LSE) in China has undergone almost one hundred years. This paper discusses and explores the development of the LSE and its interaction with the society in mainly three historical periods. On one hand, this paper analyzes the influences of the social, economic, political, educational, cultural, and scientific and technological environments on LSE’s system, scale, thought, mode, and content from a theoretical perspective;on the other hand, it points out that the LSE promoted and supported the development of the society through cultivating talents and disseminating knowledge. LSE had cultivated a number of outstanding professionals during the period of Republic of China(1911-1949). However, due to the lack of a good interaction with the society, the development of LSE was constrained by the social environment in this period. From 1950 to 1977, the development of the LSE was still relatively slow in spite of the improved social environment in China. From 1978 to present, the LSE has made remarkable contributions to the Chinese society as a result of fundamental social changes in China. This paper proposes that, in order to establish a good interaction between the LSE and the society in China, it is necessary to ensure the unity of self-independence and social dependence, instrument rationality and value rationality, dynamism and stability of the LSE.

An overview on the development of Chinese library and information science journals

This paper gives an overview of the history and the present status of Chinese library and information science journals, and introduces the operation and management of Chinese library and information science journals by taking Journal of Library Science In China, Library and Information Service, Journal of Academic Libraries, and Journal of Information Science as examples. Besides, six suggestions are given for the future development of Chinese library and information science journals.

The development of library science in China in an international perspective

This article describes the development of the internationalization of Chinese library science and the Chinization of international library science from an international perspective based on the historical research methodology.The development of Chinese library science in the past one hundred years is mainly embodied in the Chinization of international standards,technologies and ideology.This article suggests that the Chinese library science research should make the world hear its voice,spread Chinese ideas,promote innovations in Chinese library community and help to bolster the development of global librarianship.

An Informetric analysis of web citation in Chinese journals of Library and Information Science in recent years

This paper selects 998 articles as its data sources from four Chinese core journals in the field of Library and Information Science from 2003 to 2007.Some pertinent aspects of reference citations particularly from web resources are selected for a focused analysis and discussion.This includes primarily such items as the number of web citations,web citations per each article,the distribution of domain names of web citations and also certain aspects about the institutional and/or geographical affiliations of the author.The evolving situation of utilizing online networked academic information resources in China is the central thematic discussion of this study.The writing of this paper is augmented by the explicatory presentation of 3 graphic figures,6 tables and 18 references.

Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science

(CJLIS,Chinese Title:《中国文献情报》)ISSN 1674-3393,CN 11570/G2;Price:$US 199/Volume Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(CJLIS)is the first and only Englishlanguage academic journal in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS)that has been published in China’s mainland so far.It aims to establish a platform for students,researchers and professionals in LIS and archive science to engage in intellectual dialogs and to share best professional practices of their experience.

Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(CJLIS) 正式更名为Journal of Data and Information Science(JDIS)

经国内外专家深入探讨和反复论证,经主管、主办单位同意,经国家新闻出版广电总局正式批准(新广出审[2015]1187号文),由中国科学院文献情报中心主办的Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(《中国文献情报(英)》,CJLIS)将于2016年起正式更名为Journal of Data and Information Science(《数据与情报科学学报(英)》,JDIS)。作为国内唯一的图书馆学情报学领域英文学术期刊,CJLIS自2008年创刊以来,以刊发符合国际规范的高水平学术研究论文、推动中国图书馆学情报学学科发展为己任,组织优秀稿源、坚守学术规范、推动开放获取、严控评议流程,赢得了业界的充分肯定和广

Enriching online access to health information for the public: Efforts from a medical library in China

Purpose: Disseminating medical and health information is a mission of a public medical library. This paper describes a practice of a medical library in providing online access to health information for the general public.Design/methodology/approach: A four-step workflow is developed to integrate and disseminate heterogeneous health information from medical associations. First, a raw data repository is developed to manage the original submissions from information providers.Second, each document in the raw data repository is represented in a standardized XML schema. Third, the medical terms are identified and manually annotated, enriching the semantics of health information. Lastly, all the semantically enriched XML documents are converted to HTMLs for online dissemination.Findings: A health information website, CHealth, was developed for Chinese speakers. It provides free online access for all without any login or IP constrains. CHealth is available at www.chealth.org.cn.Research limitations: The current workflow is time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the lack of information submission/exchange standard and commonly agreed-on consumer health terminology in Chinese.Originality/value: In this work, the target audience of the medical library has been extended from traditional academic/professional to the general public. Methodologies in library sciences have been combined with those in consumer health informatics in CHealth development.

What Does Information Science Offer for Data Science Research?:A Review of Data and Information Ethics Literature

This paper reviews literature pertaining to the development of data science as a discipline,current issues with data bias and ethics,and the role that the discipline of information science may play in addressing these concerns.Information science research and researchers have much to offer for data science,owing to their background as transdisciplinary scholars who apply human-centered and social-behavioral perspectives to issues within natural science disciplines.Information science researchers have already contributed to a humanistic approach to data ethics within the literature and an emphasis on data science within information schools all but ensures that this literature will continue to grow in coming decades.This review article serves as a reference for the history,current progress,and potential future directions of data ethics research within the corpus of information science literature.

Analysis of Research Directions in the Field of Library Intelligence from the Perspective of Altmetrics

With the continuous development of science and technology, the academic communication of many scholars slowly shifts to the web, and people’s academic communication in social media gradually increases. Traditional metrics have a certain one-sidedness in the evaluation of disciplinary literature and cannot evaluate the impact of literature on the web;while Altmetrics can count how literature is followed and utilized on the web, which is a complement to the traditional measurement methods. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of academic literature based on Altmetrics, and combining it with traditional citation indicators can strengthen the credibility and objectivity of academic evaluation and promote better dissemination and communication of academic results. Against this research background, this paper combed through the most influential articles in the field of library and information science in recent years, analysed the literature on library intelligence in the WOS database, identified current research hotspots in the field of library and information science, and predicted potential research hotspots in the future. This study may provide a reference for the research and development of the discipline.

图书馆学研究的迷途与正道

The research on library science should not lose its way.The article points out the mistaken viewpoints in the research on library science and emphatically discusses the correct attitude we should take in the research process.

Topic Detection Based on Weak Tie Analysis： A Case Study of LIS Research

Purpose: Based on the weak tie theory, this paper proposes a series of connection indicators Acof weak tie subnets and weak tie nodes to detect research topics, recognize their connections, and understand their evolution.Design/methodology/approach: First, keywords are extracted from article titles and preprocessed. Second, high-frequency keywords are selected to generate weak tie co-occurrence networks. By removing the internal lines of clustered sub-topic networks, we focus on the analysis of weak tie subnets’ composition and functions and the weak tie nodes’ roles.Findings: The research topics’ clusters and themes changed yearly; the subnets clustered with technique-related and methodology-related topics have been the core, important subnets for years; while close subnets are highly independent, research topics are generally concentrated and most topics are application-related; the roles and functions of nodes and weak ties are diversified.Research limitations: The parameter values are somewhat inconsistent; the weak tie subnets and nodes are classified based on empirical observations, and the conclusions are not verified or compared to other methods.Practical implications: The research is valuable for detecting important research topics as well as their roles, interrelations, and evolution trends. Originality/value: To contribute to the strength of weak tie theory, the research translates weak and strong ties concepts to co-occurrence strength, and analyzes weak ties’ functions. Also, the research proposes a quantitative method to classify and measure the topics’ clusters and nodes.

A comparative study of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs based on social network analysis

Purpose: This paper intends to explore a quantitative method for investigating the characteristics of information diffusion through social media like weblogs and microblogs.By using the social network analysis methods,we attempt to analyze the different characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs as well as the possible reasons of these differences.Design/methodology/approach: Using the social network analysis methods,this paper carries out an empirical study by taking the Chinese weblogs and microblogs in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS) as the research sample and employing measures such as network density,core/peripheral structure and centrality.Findings: Firstly,both bloggers and microbloggers maintain weak ties,and both of their social networks display a small-world effect. Secondly,compared with weblog users,microblog users are more interconnected,more equal and more capable of developing relationships with people outside their own social networks. Thirdly,the microblogging social network is more conducive to information diffusion than the blogging network,because of their differences in functions and the information flow mechanism. Finally,the communication mode emerged with microblogging,with the characteristics of micro-content,multi-channel information dissemination,dense and decentralized social network and content aggregation,will be one of the trends in the development of the information exchange platform in the future.Research limitations: The sample size needs to be increased so that samples are more representative. Errors may exist during the data collection. Moreover,the individual-level characteristics of the samples as well as the types of information exchanged need to be further studied.Practical implications: This preliminary study explores the characteristics of information diffusion in the network environment and verifies the feasibility of conducting a quantitative analysis of information diffusion through social media. In addition,it provides insight into the characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs and the possible reasons of these differences.Originality/value: We have analyzed the characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs by using the social network analysis methods. This research will be useful for a quantitative analysis of the underlying mechanisms of information flow through social media in the network environment.

Detecting the research diversity of researchers in library and information science:An exploratory study

Metrics have emerged as an important tool for quantitatively evaluating researchers from a variety of perspectives,including research impact,research quality,interdisciplinarity,and cross-disciplinarity.Especially in the field of library and information science,many previous studies have highlighted the characteristics of researchers in this field.However,only a minority of the studies address the aspect of diversity in research topics.The purpose of this study is to(1)evaluate the topic diversity of researchers in library and information science and(2)examine the relationships between the researcher topic diversity and research impact.We propose an indicator to quantify author topic diversity,which we refer to as author topic diversity(ATD).Latent Dirichlet Allocation(LDA)is used to detect topics in the field,while cosine similarity is used to calculate the diversity of research topics in a given researcher’s publications.The results show that topic diversity in the field of library and information science varies greatly from author to author.In addition,weak positive correlations are found between the ATD and citation indicators,suggesting that engaging in diversified topics may lead to higher research impact.

Information literacy course design based on student survey: The practice of subject librarians at NSL, CAS

Purpose: This paper aims to explore best practices in academic and research libraries in providing information literacy(IL) instruction to science and engineering graduate students.Design/methodology/approach: Using the questionnaire survey method, we conducted an IL assessment study on 114 graduate students enrolling in graduate courses offered by College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(GUCAS).Findings: The current situation of graduate students' IL competencies and the need to develop them are revealed. An IL course was designed by subject librarians of National Science Library(NSL), Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), with three patterns addressing the development of graduate students' IL competencies.Research limitations: It is only about the practice of subject librarians at NSL, CAS, in designing IL courses for graduate students enrolling in graduate courses offered by College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, GUCAS.Practical implications: The results can provide a lot of useful information for the improvement of IL competencies of graduate students in science and technology disciplines.Originality/value: It is significant for assisting future subject librarians in incorporating IL skills into their course, especially for academic and research librarians to prepare and develop IL courses for science and engineering graduate students.

Introduction to information seeking behavior—A review of literature and field practice directions

The article tries to discover the major authors in the field of information seeking behavior via social network analysis. It is to be accomplished through a literature review and also by focusing on a graphic map showing the seven most productive coauthors in this field. Based on these seven authors' work, five probable research directions about information seeking behavior are discerned and presented.

A comparative study on institutional collaboration characteristics in EM and LIS in China

Purpose： This study analyzes the current status of institutional cooperation in economics and management （EM） and library and information science （LIS） in China.Design/methodology/approach： Based on the Chinese Social Science Citation Index （CSSCI） database, we constructed institutional collaboration networks in EM and LIS, and analyzed the collaboration characteristics through social network analysis.Findings： In the development and evolution of the collaboration network of institutions in humanities and social sciences, EM is always at the center. It has extensive cooperation relationships with other fields. The position of LIS has also become centralized, and its interdisciplinary cooperation has increased. For both EM and LIS, we observed ＂small-world＂ and ＂scale-free＂ networks, indicating full communication and mature development in both disciplines. Based on a comparison of two institutions in the two fields, we confirmed the comprehensive development in EM and the extensive information exchange in LIS.Research limitations： We collected data only from humanities and social sciences, but did not consider the connection between EM and natural sciences, or between LIS and natural sciences. In addition, the paper lacks analysis of institutional collaboration at the micro level.Practical implications： The paper provides insights into the institutional cooperation characteristics in EM and LIS in China.Originality/value： The paper offers a new perspective on the characteristics of institutional collaboration in China.