Designing disciplinary identity: An analysis of the term “design” in library and information science vocabulary

Abstract

This poster explores the role of design in the disciplinary identity and positioning of librarianship and information science through examination of the term “design” in two prominent contemporary library and information science vocabularies: the thesaurus for H.W. Wilson's Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database and the American Society for Information Science & Technology's Thesaurus of Information Science, Technology and Librarianship. Findings include conflicting and fractured identities, power struggles and paradigm entrenchment. Further research into disciplinary identity is necessary not only to improve controlled vocabularies but also to solidify and unify professional identity.