Running head: LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 1

Informatics, Libraries, and Librarians

Christina Magnifico

Emporia State University

Author Note

LI800XI, Introduction to Informatics, Professor Christopher Hinson.

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 2

Abstract

Libraries and librarians have always been on the forefront of knowledge management and the

dissemination of information. As technology advances, however, both libraries and librarians

will be forced to adapt their skill-sets to satisfy the increasing need for informationists. This

paper seeks to define how libraries utilize informatics, how librarians can embrace informatics

and to illustrate examples of how informatics will be utilized in the field of information science

in the future.

Keywords: informatics, information science, libraries, librarians

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 3

Informatics, Libraries, and Librarians

Informatics is a relatively new field and one that is still developing its own identity. The

use of informatics in libraries has become an increasingly hot topic of conversation at library and

information science conferences over the past several years. Though the need and use of

informatics in information organizations is not new, the skill sets required to utilize informatics

within these organizations is a new area of librarianship that is just beginning to be explored.

Librarians have always been able to adapt to the changing information science landscape by

reinventing themselves as the delivery of information has been transformed; now they will need

to create new roles in order to continue to be leaders of information dissemination and

knowledge management.

Defining informatics

The International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science (2003), defines informatics

as “the science of information [that] studies the representation, processing, and communication

of information in natural and artificial systems.” A more modern definition comes from the

University of Edinburgh Informatics Department (n.d.), “Informatics studies the representation,

processing, and communication of information in natural and engineered systems.”

The field of informatics is a complement to information science. Whereas informatics

studies the undercurrent of information, information science studies the broad strokes of

information, such as theory, pedagogy, and the dissemination of information. Informatics is

continually being redefined as the way information is stored, processed, and delivered changes to

fit the needs of society. With this in mind, information organizations must continue to integrate

informatics into the information environments they have created.

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 4

Informatics in libraries

Frisse et al. (1995), discussed informatics in libraries—specifically medical libraries—from the

perspective of an information organization:

The birth of new forms of institutional and corporate knowledge created from aggregate

data raises the potential for a new form of librarianship that will require a synergistic

reformulation of the roles of the [informatician and the librarian].

As librarianship and informatics continue to evolve, different approaches will be needed to

further develop the relationship between libraries, librarianship, and informatics. Moving

forward, libraries must look to their relationship with informatics as collaborative,

interprofessional and, in some cases, interdisciplinary. The diverse nature of libraries makes the

relationship with informatics unique, and each type of library can use informatics in order to

improve their management of information.

Medical libraries. Medical libraries have been one of the most avid adopters of

informatics (Blumenthal, 2014), specifically medical informatics, bioinformatics, and the

management of clinical information. Medical libraries have also utilized informatics to analyze

the literature services that they offer within their institutions in order to create a database and

web interface (Hinton, et al., 2013; Perry et al., 2005). According to Hinson (2005), part of the

reason that medical informatics have become so pervasive in medical libraries is due to the fact

that there are now more programs of study found in the United States. These programs teach

medical informatics in order to help librarians and informationists “assist healthcare personnel in

their work of synthesizing information from the patient at hand and science in general to make

appropriate decisions” (Hinson, 2005).

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Public libraries. Unlike medical and health sciences libraries, public libraries have a

different relationship with informatics. The branch of informatics that public informatics are

concerned with is community/social informatics. Social informatics focuses on “the relationship

between communities and information technology and how information technology can be

designed or redesigned and used to the benefit of the community” (Le Roux, 2009). Public

libraries seek to help their patrons connect with digital technology. When patrons come to the

public library for help, they are seeking assistance with one of four literacy types: basic literacy,

computer literacy, library literacy or domain literacy (Williams, 2012). These four literacies help

patrons navigate the world of information, especially as we move into an increasingly digital age.

Librarians and informatics

Librarians help patrons develop social capital (Williams, 2012), or the “collective value of all

social networks and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other”

(Briggs, 1997). Through the use of informatics, librarians assist patrons with the difficult task of

information collection, analyzation, and dissemination. Libraries have always been user-centered

and the introduction of informatics into libraries, some of it through the LIS curriculum in library

science programs, pulls the focus of librarians directly to their interactions with patrons.

LIS education. Many library and information science students are now being given the

opportunity to take informatics courses. These courses offer students a glimpse into the field of

informatics and they instruct them on how to apply it to the information professions. LIS

programs are empowering graduates to help their patrons overcome the digital divide. The

inclusion of informatics into the LIS curriculum allows library science students to “transcend

traditional boundaries between libraries, archives, and museums” (Marty & Twidale, 2011). One

of the common challenges between all of these information organizations is the need to classify

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 6

and categorize information. The systematic approach to the management of information is the

perfect area for informatics to thrive, and provides an opportunity for information science

students to utilize the skills they acquire in their library and information science education.

The future of informatics

Social informatics, medical informatics, bioinformatics, community informatics, and museum

informatics; these are just a handful of the types of informatics that exist today. Information

organizations have become interested in exploring the opportunities that the study of informatics

can provide. Areas of informatics, such as museum informatics—the study of the sociotechnical

interactions that take place at the intersection of people, information, and technology in museums

(Marty & Twidale, 2011), offer up promising research opportunities and help librarians

overcome some of the challenges facing the library landscape. The connection between the

digital world and library and information science has been identified in a variety of arenas.

Academic libraries, medical/health science libraries, and even public libraries are now bridging

the gap between the diverse universe of information and the user, often the librarian (Sula, 2013).

Conclusion

As information organizations continue to adapt to the ever-changing landscape, they will begin

to rely more heavily on informatics in order to function in today’s advanced society. Informatics

is a powerful tool that will help librarians tackle complex problems using research, knowledge

management, and database construction. As an extraordinary complement to information

science, informatics helps to build the systems and define the processes by which librarians

organize information. A traditional library and information science education use to not include

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 7

informatics, but the LIS education has adapted to the progression of technology and now

integrates informatics into the curriculum. With time, informatics will become more prevalent in

all information organizations, as well as the use of informatics to disseminate information. To

quote Perry et al. (2005):

Boundaries are disappearing between the sources and types of uses for [information]

managed by informaticians and librarians. Definitions of the professional domains of

each have been impacted by these changes in information…[and] professionals in these

disciplines are increasingly functioning collaboratively as “boundary spanners.”

Thinking of librarians as spanning boundaries is the first step in destroying the traditional

stereotype of libraries and librarians. It is also the perfect opportunity for librarians to work on

developing interprofessional relationships, which will go a long way in the collaborative

environment that information has created today.

LIBRARIES & INFORMATICS 8

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