Every disciplinary paradigm, however, contains elements that are less conscious and explicit in the thinking of its practitioners. The mental activities of the professional practice of the field are seen to center around representation and organization of information rather than knowing information. It is argued that such representation engages fundamentally different talents and skills from those required in other professions and intellectual disciplines. Methodological approaches and values of information science are also considered. This essay is a personal analysis of information science as a field of scientific inquiry and professional practice that has evolved over the past half-century.
Conclusions explore some dominant trends affecting the field.
Government regulation, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, was a driving force in the establishment of industrial information centers. A turning point occurred in the 1970s when universities began offering degrees in information science. Graduates, especially those holding degrees in science, were then preferred for employment in information centers. Bennett directed his challenge to a group of information scientists who attended The User Interface for Interactive Search of Bibliographic Data Bases Workshop. During the workshop, participants exchanged their insights and experiences on various aspects of user interface requirements for interactive IR systems and discussed system design features that could result in the design of more effective user interfaces for information retrieval.