The Nature of the Information Professions
What are the information professions? Do they share enough in common to be considered as a group? Is there actually any “there” there? How do they fit in with the rest of the academic disciplines and professions in universities? Are they interdisciplinary? (Hint: No.) Has the advent of digitization so commoditized information service that any sense of professions will, necessarily, fade away?
Marcia J. Bates is professor emerita in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Information Studies. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she is a leading authority on information search, human-centered design of information systems, and information practices. She was editor-in-chief of the seven-volume Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, 3rd ed., and is the recipient of many awards for her research and leadership. In addition to her teaching and scholarship, she has been a technical consultant to numerous organizations in government, foundations, and businesses, including technology startups. A graduate of Pomona College (B.A.) and the University California at Berkeley (M.L.S., Ph.D.), Bates also served in Thailand in the Peace Corps.
