Do We Need a New Approach to Library and Information Science?

Abstract

This article analyses the pressure against librarianship and library and information science stemming from digitization and the increased importance attached to libraries’ role as meeting places and arenas for the public sphere. Both these developmental tendencies make many question the need of librarians as intermediaries between users and the sources of information. The navigating and searching for information in a digital world when the world itself has become a library, is far from trivial and the traditional competencies of librarians relating to searching for and finding information is as relevant as ever. LIS schools should also provide their students with theoretical tools helping them reflect upon the role and potential of libraries in relation to the challenges to upholding a sustainable public sphere in a digital and multicultural age. LIS schools should also convey to their students the historical continuity and legacy of libraries as a public sphere institution.