CFP: Library Trends: Compelling Tensions in Library and Information Science
Thomas Kuhn described the essential tension in scientific discovery as the conflict between tradition and innovation, which led to the development of his theory of scientific revolutions. According to Kuhn, a scientific paradigm is dominated by a particular way of thinking until a sufficient number of anomalies to that way of thinking emerges and the paradigm can no longer be supported. At that point, innovation is demanded to account for the anomalies and a new paradigm is constructed; the result is a scientific revolution.
The field of library and information science (LIS) has compelling tensions similar to those explored by Kuhn in the fields of science. Many of these tensions have been a part of the discipline and profession for a long time, and others have emerged in the digital age with the explosion of information and the ways to access, manipulate, and share that information.
This issue of Library Trends seeks to reveal and explore compelling tensions within LIS. The volume welcomes both analyses of theories that contribute to or dispel those tensions and explorations of how those tensions inform practice in libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions. Articles can address tensions such as:
- Access versus privacy
- The Right to Remember versus the Right to be Forgotten
- Evidence versus spectacle
- Connotative meanings and denotative meanings
- Linked data and data management
- Cultural sensitivity and cultural control
- Epistemicide and cultural preservation
- Intellectual freedom and social good/responsibility
- Neutrality versus activism
- AI & algorithms versus human-mediated services
Article Length: 4,000 – 10,000 words (target 7,000 words)
Prospective authors are invited to submit an abstract outlining their proposed article by January 3, 2025. Decisions about the abstracts will be communicated by February 7, 2025. Authors of successful submissions will be invited write their full articles, which will be due June 1, 2025. Final articles should be 4,000 – 10,000 words (not including bibliographic references). All articles will be peer reviewed by two reviewers – one internal to the issue and one external to the issue. As part of the submission process, authors will be asked to commit to participation in this process as both an author and a reviewer of one manuscript.
Important dates:
- January 3, 2025 – Article proposals due
- February 7, 2025 – Author notifications
- June 1, 2025 – Article manuscripts due
- July 15, 2025 – Peer reviews due
- September 15, 2025 – Revised manuscripts due
Inquiries about the planned issue and ideas for articles should be directed to Katherine Wisser, Guest Editor of Library Trends (wisser@simmons.edu). Proposals for articles should be submitted via an online proposal form. Proposals are due January 3, 2025.
Citation style: For proposals, authors may use any citation style. For manuscripts, authors should use the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition, author-date format.
