Editorial
| Pages | 610-612 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-11-2018-136 |
| Published date | 12 November 2018 |
| Date | 12 November 2018 |
| Author | David Baker |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Editorial
This is my final issue as Editor-in-Chief of Information and Learning Science (ILS;previously
New Library World, NLW). Over five years in that role, I have had the pleasure of reviewing
and helping to prepare for publication well over 200 papers. I would like to thank everyone –
editorial board members, reviewers, authors (successful and unsuccessful) and the team at
Emerald –for their interest, time and commitment to the publication process. A special thanks
must go to Bruce Massis, my regular columnist during the whole of my time in charge.
While the regular editorial section was discontinued some time ago, the publisher and I
agreed that this farewell issue gave me an opportunity to reflect on the past five years and
what might be in store for authors, editors, reviewers and readers in the future. This has been
an interesting task, and I hope that journal readers will find my summative reflection of value.
The period 2014-2018 has seen significant changesacross the globe –politically, socially
and economically –changes that have inevitably impacted on the world of library,
information and learning sciences. These transitions have been reflected in the content
submitted to the journal, which has resulted in a major refocusing of the title, even to a
change of name from NLW to ILS (to be changed to Sciences from 2019) and to a gradual
move from the journal issue as the main unit of publicationto the journal article itself.
Notwithstanding these changes, scholarly publishing, underpinned by a robust peer review
process and high standards of quality assurance, remains –and will remain –an essential
element of the global research endeavour and the pursuit of both knowledge and truth. Library,
learning and information sciences have much to contribute to these fundamental aims. As one
author puts it, it is so much not about replacing the old paradigms as transforming them: “from
Gutenberg to Zuckerberg”;“from the Library to the Information Commons”.
Reviewing the content pages of the issues produced during my editorship, it is obvious
that there remains much to be said about libraries,as evinced not only by the early special
issue on Strategic Library Futuresthat I edited but also the first double issue of volume 118,
overseen by Graham Walton and Jeremy Atkinson. Both special issues have already been
heavily downloaded and well cited. Thereis still, it would seem, much to be said for “books
on shelves”, so despite(and perhaps because of) the many digital developments describedin
NLW/ILS, the strategic development and usage of library space –both physical and
virtual –is likelyto be an important topic for a good while to come.
Despite the digital revolution and the dawn of the information age, then, there remains
much interest in physicalspace –the library (and more recently the information commons) –
as a location: bricksand mortar where people can go to socialise as much as study,teach and
learn. Some of the most popular papers in NLW/ILS (as evinced by downloads) have been
about space, much of it to do with thatthird place between home and work where the library
(in the broadest sense of the word) has so much to offer, whether for the general public,
academic communitiesor subject specialists.
Even now, as we move to new editors, there continue to be many good quality
submissions to ILS on all aspects of library and information provision, including special
reference to libraries –and librarians –as helpers and facilitators on the “information
journey”. In addition, the burgeoning development of digital libraries and services still
requires information professionals to select, collect and provide high-quality access to
content, facilities and applications. But it is more than just information management;
librarians of the future must be knowledge managers. They need to be able to detect and
respond to changing information behaviours in flexible and user-friendly ways. They will
ILS
119,11
610
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 11, 2018
pp. 610-612
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-11-2018-136
To continue reading
Request your trial