(Big) Data in Library and Information Science: A Brief Overview of Some Important Problem Areas

Koraljka Golub (Linnaeus University, Sweden)

Joacim Hansson (Linnaeus University, Sweden)

Abstract: Libraries hold a long history of a multidimensional focus on collecting, storing, organizing, preserving and providing access to information resources for various types of users. Data is nothing new to Library and Information Science (LIS) and Big Data presents a quantitative expansion of an already well-known object of study. Scholarly communication, data sharing and data curation are three areas related to data in LIS and are discussed in this paper in the light of current developments as well as from the perspective of attaining the research area relevance in the discipline over time. Big Data, new technologies and networked research environments will continue to increase both in numbers and size. LIS is rapidly developing tools to meet the opportunities arising - through educational initiatives and the development of new research areas such as data curation and altmetrics. Since social and political demands for open data grow, these issues are pressing.

Keywords: bibliometrics, big data, data curation, data sharing, library and information science, scholarly communication

Categories: E.0.