The Art and Science of Libraries, Librarianship, Information, and Knowledge: Future Directions in Uncertain Times

This entry reviews the Encyclopaedia of Libraries, Librarianship and Information Science (ELLIS) as a whole and considers its themes in the context of paradigms and paradigm shifts in scientific thinking across time. Library and Information Science has been considered a field of studies, an interconnection between two fields of study and a discipline in its own right. If the latter perspective is taken and LIS is taken to be a scientific discipline then it can undergo paradigm shifts. In defining a paradigm, the entry describes the traditional approach of libraries and information science (‘previous certainties’) as a singular paradigm and considers if the current global issues in this field as articulated in ELLIS contribute to a paradigm shift already underway. The entry concludes by discussing the mission of libraries to improve society by facilitating and advocating for knowledge creation in communities.