Home Journal List Pakistan Journal of Information Management and Libraries Vol 17 Article Details

To Information Management and Beyond

Abstract

The use of ‘Library Science', as the name of the discipline is almost 100 years old. The original term was used in Germany in 1934 and a translation of it in an American government publication in 1876. However, its use in the name of a professional degree is found around 1910. Why was ‘library science' used as a term is not known. But one wonders on its structure: Was there a ‘science' of the ‘library' which could form the basis of a discipline? It could have been simply a matter of convenience due to the lack of a proper term. Nevertheless, it has remained in use, with some variations, for almost a century. Lately, there has been a slow shift to ‘Information Management' which began in the 1980s. There are a lot of people who object to it. Traditions once established become part of our psyche and extremely difficult and painful to disown. There is a need to understand ‘Information Management' as a term focusing on ‘Information' which has always been, still is and will continue to be its legitimate and primary concern. It does not focus on a ‘space housing information artifacts'. Its augmented professional expanse will create professional job market that is hard to identify and measure at this time. Its graduates will serve more and more diverse populations. There will be a more prestigious consequence of this shift. A study of its close and meaningful interdisciplinary relations will enable it to rub its shoulders and receive recognition from some well-respected disciplines, such as education, psychology, medicine, management sciences, etc. Some of these links, which are crucial, have not yet been adequately identified and recognized. This paper will present a model of interdisciplinarity using Information Management as a core area. It will then use Bibliotherapy, which deals with multifaceted issues, as a case to point out its crucial links with some important disciplines which are of common interest to them.

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