Themes

The overall theme for CoLIS 2010 is:

Integration in the information sciences: unity in diversity

This conference will explore the integration and underlying unity of the information sciences, as both academic disciplines and as work practices.

Dramatic changes in the information disciplines and professions form the basis for examining their fundamental unity. Phenomena which have been the traditional foci of information science, such as information use, information management, information organisation, information literacy, and the design of information services and access, are now the concerns of a wide variety of disciplines. Many disciplines now have their own ‘informatics’ specialisation, dealing with the management of data and information, and with the sharing of information and knowledge.

How are the traditional frameworks of information science related to the frameworks used in information-related research in other disciplines ? Are the joint information concerns affecting the boundaries between disciplines, or does each discipline have its own set of topics, problems and frameworks ? To what extent are the ‘outside’ influences affecting information science itself ?

We invite presentations on any topics relevant to this general theme, showing how varied approaches to the study of information issues, problems and practices in any context, and of their inter-relations, can lead to a strong and professionally-relevant discipline. We invite both lecture format presentations and posters.

The conference will also include:

• a research seminar on information literacy
• a doctoral students’ forum.

We particularly welcome contributions within the following sub-themes:

• theoretical and conceptual approaches to the study of the communication of information, including fundamental theory, methodological approaches, and new research agendas
• convergence of theory and practice in the information disciplines, including the future of these disciplines, and their relation to practice in areas other than librarianship and information management
• memory practices in physical and digital environments, including information collecting and organising practices, relation to information and document management
• studies on participatory information and communication environments, including social media, participatory archives and digital libraries, and new information design practices
• education and training for information disciplines, including education and training in informatics aspects of other disciplines

Contributions on other topics will be considered, provided they relate to the overall conference theme. Contributions on information literacy or digital literacy may be submitted to the main conference programme, providing they address one of the sub-themes, or to the information literacy seminar.

Full papers (but not posters or doctoral forum contributions] may be published, if the presenters wish, in Information Research, with publication around September 2010. Papers for publication will be peer-reviewed by the CoLIS proceedings team.