Library and information science and sustainable development: a structured literature review

Date26 September 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JD-02-2019-0021
Published date26 September 2019
Pages1356-1369
AuthorChristine Meschede,Maria Henkel
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet
Library and information science
and sustainable development:
a structured literature review
Christine Meschede and Maria Henkel
Department of Information Science,
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
Abstract
Purpose Awareness on and importance of sustainability in all aspects of our lives is becoming more and
more important. The question arises, how not if scientists can contribute to a sustainable development. As
information plays an important role for development, information scientists should be included in this debate.
However, is there a sustainable information science or an information science of sustainability? The purpose
of this paper is to perform a mapping of publications in library and information science (LIS) directly dealing
with sustainability and sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach A structured literature review was conducted, enhanced by bibliometric
analyses. For this purpose, 102 LIS journals and conferences were considered. The authors identified 81
publications dealing with sustainability and sustainable development and analyzed the concrete contents and
methodological approaches of these.
Findings A large proportion of articles could be found dealing with sustainable development and libraries.
Other publications focus on information and communication technology or information systems. Only few
articles deal with further topics like government, urban development or scientific output.
Research limitations/implications Sustainability and sustainable development are complex topics.
This work only considers literature whose title or keywords contain the string sustainab*.
Originality/value The presented work helps to get an overview on sustainability research and activities in
the LIS field and additionally, potential research gaps may be identified. The authors call for more research in
this area and concrete ideas to help develop a sustainable future.
Keywords Sustainability, Sustainable development, Library and information science, Publications,
Bibliometrics
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
On January 1, 2016, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations went into
effect. These 17 goals are intended to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for
all(United Nations, 2015, para. 1). A sustainable development can be described as a
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs(WCED, 1987, p. 37). Inspired by the triple bottom line
(Elkington, 1997), three main dimensions of sustainable development can be identified: social,
economic and environmental sustainability. Similarly, the SDGs include targets regarding
different aspects of sustainability, from ending poverty to protecting the planet and improving
education. Whereas prior formulations of similar goals like the Millennium Development
Goals focused on advancements in developing countries, the SDGs demand involvement of
all countries (United Nations, 2016). Hence, this is a matter for all of us. Today, we can already
observeseveral initiativessupporting a sustainable development, like a growing interestin the
sharing economy (Hamari et al., 2016). The question arises, how scientists can contribute to a
sustainable development. Igbinovia (2017) emphasizes the importance of cross-disciplinary
research in order to achieve the SDGs. Thereby, library and information science (LIS) as a
highly interdisciplinary field should not be exc luded. And sinceinformation formsan integral
part of every development and innovation, sustainability should become a mainstream
research topic within information studies(Chowdhury, 2013, p. 617).
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 75 No. 6, 2019
pp. 1356-1369
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-02-2019-0021
Received 5 February 2019
Revised 29 April 2019
Accepted 30 April 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
1356
JD
75,6

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