Are we a profession? Doctors Cameron M. Pierson & Elizabeth Tait answer

The question of ‘are we a profession?’ is something of a fixture for LIS. As an ‘interstitial’ profession (yes, profession), we see why this is a reoccurring topic (e.g., Raju, 2020). When our disciplinary boundaries span multiple domain areas, whilst also including those specific to our jurisdiction, we naturally ask ourselves questions related to identity and societal function.

Something we find interesting is the notion that the defining feature of ‘profession’ is its research activity (Howard, 2022). As members of the research and education-oriented side of the profession, we certainly agree that research is important. As was pointed out, however, there are other aspects which contribute to the composition and designation of a profession, such as ethics and engaging with disciplinary knowledge, of which a body of knowledge develop through research is but one form (Bell, 2022). We would suggest also for LIS, and the larger GLAMR sector, another key aspect naturally includes our societal function: co-constructed service to community rooted in information and cultural heritage.

We certainly agree that a part of what constitutes a profession is its willingness to seize opportunities to engage with new knowledge. Being a profession characterized by information and curiosity, we are undoubtedly in no shortage of such opportunities in the modern world. As our societies and world grow increasingly socio-technical, we have the dual task of remaining socially focused while being technologically adept. This task will only grow in importance, as we can offer a unique contribution to technological innovation, development, and its social navigation.

For example, we recently identified several professional opportunities in relation to artificial intelligence – for research, practice, and the meeting of the two (Tait & Pierson, 2022). We found ample opportunity to include more professional education around AI, as a technology that will very likely impact societal information interaction and information services. We similarly argue professional contribution can take the form of strengthened voices in information ethics grounded in LIS expertise. Of course, along with increased research and educational space, we also suggest Communities of Practice, and inter-institutional collaborative networks, such as for the development of open educational resources on AI and information ethics in LIS and the GLAMR sector.

The topics we discuss draw on the various aspects used to define ‘profession’, highlighting their interlocking nature. If a profession is characterised, amongst other things, by its research activity, it is also characterised by the opportunities it takes – in both research and practice, benefiting from a symbiotic relationship. Moreover, LIS occupies both unique and other disciplinary grounds, suggesting further benefit in the production of our forms of knowledge, both theoretical and practical. Perhaps this prompts us to consider our interstitial nature as being our strength, a defining feature of our profession’s adaptability.

References Bell, E. (2022, September 1). Are we a profession? Emilia Bell answers. ALIA LARK. https://lark-kollektive.blogspot.com/2022/09/are-we-profession-emilia-bell-answers.html

Howard, K. (2022, August 28). Are we a profession? ALIA LARK. https://lark-kollektive.blogspot.com/2022/08/are-we-are-profession.html

Raju, J. (2020). Future LIS Education and Evolving Global Competency Requirements for the Digital Information Environment: An Epistemological Overview. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 61(3), 342+. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis.61.3.2019-0088

Tait, E. & Pierson, C. M. (2022) Artificial Intelligence and Robots in Libraries: Opportunities in LIS curriculum for preparing the librarians of tomorrow. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 71(3), 256-274. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2022.2081111

Dr Cameron M. Pierson is a Senior Researcher and Project Manager at L3S Research Center in Hannover, Germany and a Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Dr Elizabeth Tait is a Senior Lecturer in Information Studies at Charles Sturt University where she is a Course Director.

Revisiting Relevance 2020 – What Next for LIS Research in Australia?

By Professor Lisa M. Given

More than five years ago, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) published a report documenting outcomes of a series of research meetings held in 2016. Working in partnership with Charles Sturt University (where I was Professor at the time), ALIA’s Relevance 2020 series set out to explore the state of library and information science (LIS) research across the country. Many universities served as hosts for the events, which attracted 172 participants from across the sector.

The report found:

• Seven barriers to research and collaboration (between LIS researchers and practitioners): awareness and perception; connection and relationship; funding; passion and enthusiasm; research culture and support; research expertise; shared understanding and interest

• 37 enablers for research and collaboration, including: funding; time; mentoring; research training; institutional support

And the report included four recommendations:

• Libraries and librarians should change the perception of their roles to include research as part of their role specification. This would be a powerful catalyst for a more dynamic, evidence-based profession.

• LIS schools and academics should be active players in fostering collaboration between academia and practice. Applied research should not be regarded as less important than research of a more theoretical nature.

• More consideration might be given by LIS academics to some of the priority areas for their practitioner counterparts, such as information services and the promotion of these services.

• ALIA should continue to play a role that bridges the gap between academic and practitioner needs. Consideration should be given to a central database of research ideas and experts, and to strategically providing further funding opportunities to members.

At the time, Professor Helen Partridge and I had just embarked on our “LISRA” Project – an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (Assessing Library and Information Studies Research Networks), in partnership with ALIA and National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA). The project was designed to encourage and enable research culture and practice within the LIS profession in Australia. As part of LISRA, we launched the Research Assistance and Development for Australian Researchers (RADAR) program. RADAR provided small-scale funding to support collaborative teams of LIS researchers and practitioners to come together for a 12-month period to design and implement a study to provide an evidence-base for potential change within the sector. 

Little did Helen and I know when we first designed, applied for, and received the ARC Linkage funding that so many of our proposed activities would echo and resonate with the issues discussed at Relevance 2020. We have learned so much about the library and information research landscape in Australia, including the supports and enablers that can help collaborative teams to succeed.

Do you want to learn more about the RADAR project and what we learned through this important work? I will be sharing some of the lessons learned at the LARK Symposium 2022 in Sydney later this month. Details on the event and the link to register can be found at https://lark-kollektive.blogspot.com/p/lark-symposium-2022.html. I hope to see you there!

References:

Nguyen, L. 2017. Relevance 2020: LIS Research in Australia. ALIA: Canberra. Available at: https://read.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/documents/alia-relevance-2020-lis-research-in-australia-online.pdf 

Professor Lisa M. Given
Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform & Professor of Information Sciences
RMIT University
lisa.given2@rmit.edu.au
Twitter: @lisagiven
http://lisagiven.com/ 

Are we a profession? Emilia Bell answers

Are we a profession? 

The first answer comes from Emilia Bell, Coordinator (Evidence Based Practice) at the University of Southern Queensland

Is it fitting that we currently call Library and Information Science (LIS) in Australia a profession? Yes, but doing so means engaging with new knowledge which does require sustaining research in future practice.

In understanding ‘professions’ to be grounded in ethical standards and specialised knowledge, research remains a valuable and necessary contribution to the LIS professions' knowledge base and practice. Our professional expertise and judgments should build on professional ethics and knowledge, with knowledge being acquired, created, and applied through various processes, research being one.

perhaps engagement with new knowledge should guide our understanding of whether we have a profession

Juznic and Urbanija (2003) recognise that “research is needed to create new knowledge”. Undertaking research is vital in contributing to our professional knowledge base, and should be “published, shared, questioned, and debated” (Howard, 2022). For this, perhaps engagement with new knowledge should guide our understanding of whether we have a profession. This still presents an imperative to engage with research processes for knowledge creation, but also captures coinciding methods of inquiry and knowing (McGregor, 2021) that may inspire future research directions as a profession and a discipline.

Many overlapping processes (including research, evidence-based practice, and reflection) allow us to engage with our professional ethics and values, taking them beyond aspirational to being realised in practice (Young, 2020). Positioning ‘knowledge’ as a basis for the profession highlights other processes of inquiry, such as critical reflection, that help support the application of knowledge and ethics to practice. This requires we are deriving new knowledge from research while acknowledging those other processes that I hope will facilitate curiosity and interest in 'doing research' and going beyond routine as a profession.

References
Howard, K. (2022, August 28). Are we a profession? ALIA LARK. https://lark-kollektive.blogspot.com/2022/08/are-we-are-profession.html

Juznic, P., & Urbanija, J. (2003). Developing research skills in library and information science studies. Library Management, 24(6/7), 324-331. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120310486048

McGregor, R. (2021, November 6). Reflective practice. Is this the library?. https://rowenamcgregor.com/2021/11/06/reflective-practice/

Young, S. W. H. (2020). On ethical assessment: Locating and applying the core values of Library and Information Science. Library Assessment Conference. https://www.libraryassessment.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/87-Young-On-Ethical-Assessment.pdf