Knowledge Commons | David Bawden | Activity https://hcommons.org/members/davidbawden/activity/ Activity feed for David Bawden. Sat, 04 Apr 2026 08:42:45 -0400 https://buddypress.org/?v=10.6.0 en-US 30 hourly 2 efc06d9631dcf59355dd534aa4235e3a David Bawden's profile was updated https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1882789/ Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:45:13 -0400 0 327b61dc95ae4e88e306ac3aa94adfda David Bawden deposited Foreword to Introduction to Documentation Studies in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1878049/ Thu, 29 Feb 2024 03:00:03 -0500 Foreword to Introduction to Documentation Studies, N.W. Lund, Facet, 2024, pp xvii-xix

]]> 0 fa884d66f59cf094ab5fd9aff3944bdd David Bawden deposited Foreword to Introduction to Documentation Studies https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1877996/ Wed, 28 Feb 2024 12:13:30 -0500 Foreword to Introduction to Documentation Studies, N.W. Lund, Facet, 2024, pp xvii-xix

]]> 0 0bfd1717eafd26114456fc380656f172 David Bawden's profile was updated https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1863601/ Sat, 04 Nov 2023 10:40:10 -0400 0 650b5f9e05c1c68a443e031185cabc69 David Bawden deposited "Transmitted as never before": the communication revolution and the green infrastructure, 1830 - 1880 in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1835537/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 02:26:46 -0500 A presentation given at an international symposium on 'The Genesis of the Green Infrastructure', celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted.

This presentation reviews developments in information and communications technologies, and associated legislation and infrastructure, during the period 1830-1880, in the…[Read more]

]]> 0 0d305952b76c419cdb56e839faab913c David Bawden deposited "Transmitted as never before": the communication revolution and the green infrastructure, 1830 - 1880 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1835510/ Sun, 26 Feb 2023 16:51:27 -0500 A presentation given at an international symposium on 'The Genesis of the Green Infrastructure', celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted.

This presentation reviews developments in information and communications technologies, and associated legislation and infrastructure, during the period 1830-1880, in the…[Read more]

]]> 0 712287b402eabd4a9dd3d53f9f383492 David Bawden deposited Health information equity: rebalancing healthcare collections for racial diversity in UK public service contexts in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1832288/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 02:24:22 -0500 COVID-19 illustrated health disparities experienced by racially minoritised people, with heightened risks faced by Black and South Asian communities lending the issue transparency and urgency. Despite efforts to decolonise medical education, deficits in racial representation in research and resources remain. This study investigates the potential…[Read more]

]]> 0 81eea60b01f0118aa928c78d55c331af David Bawden deposited Health information equity: rebalancing healthcare collections for racial diversity in UK public service contexts https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1832193/ Wed, 01 Feb 2023 08:08:35 -0500 COVID-19 illustrated health disparities experienced by racially minoritised people, with heightened risks faced by Black and South Asian communities lending the issue transparency and urgency. Despite efforts to decolonise medical education, deficits in racial representation in research and resources remain. This study investigates the potential…[Read more]

]]> 0 2083ffc9484230379da9e1688bcf0225 David Bawden deposited Information Overload: An Overview in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1753919/ Wed, 06 Oct 2021 02:23:39 -0400 For almost as long as there has been recorded information, there has been a perception that humanity has been overloaded by it. Concerns about “too much to read” have been expressed for many centuries, and made more urgent since the arrival of ubiquitous digital information in the late 20th century. As society fully experiences Floridi’s Fourt…[Read more]

]]> 0 3cf2bbc0e4a0c71a057fa06b62cbef83 David Bawden deposited Information Overload: An Overview https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1753854/ Tue, 05 Oct 2021 15:03:16 -0400 For almost as long as there has been recorded information, there has been a perception that humanity has been overloaded by it. Concerns about “too much to read” have been expressed for many centuries, and made more urgent since the arrival of ubiquitous digital information in the late 20th century. As society fully experiences Floridi’s Fourt…[Read more]

]]> 0 cc3cd133995c53be6b2144d1cc89cac4 David Bawden deposited 'In this book-making age': Edward Kemp (1817-19) as writer and communicator of horticultural knowledge [extended version] in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1666468/ Mon, 14 Oct 2019 16:27:00 -0400 Edward Kemp, although best known as a park superintendent and as a designer of parks and gardens, was also an influential and best-selling author. His How to Lay out a Garden, running into several editions, is the best known and most influential of his written works, but there were others, notably editions of the Hand-Book of Gardening, and Parks,…[Read more]

]]> 0 94b749a6bad74d2b26aa9a2b1465d10d David Bawden deposited 'In this book-making age': Edward Kemp (1817-19) as writer and communicator of horticultural knowledge [extended version] https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1666399/ Mon, 14 Oct 2019 06:57:57 -0400 Edward Kemp, although best known as a park superintendent and as a designer of parks and gardens, was also an influential and best-selling author. His How to Lay out a Garden, running into several editions, is the best known and most influential of his written works, but there were others, notably editions of the Hand-Book of Gardening, and Parks,…[Read more]

]]> 0 154db5037ffc47d752368af1d4201658 David Bawden deposited "Never again the in the history of humanity": information education for onlife in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1618709/ Wed, 19 Sep 2018 16:41:07 -0400 Keynote presentation, discussing developments in LIS education in light of Luciano Floridi's Philosophy of Information

]]> 0 b216eb8d8eb234957811b3f8aa1c8401 David Bawden deposited "Never again the in the history of humanity": information education for onlife https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1618684/ Wed, 19 Sep 2018 08:36:19 -0400 Keynote presentation, discussing developments in LIS education in light of Luciano Floridi's Philosophy of Information

]]> 0 d40ae9f4ae4ecc0dfb1de44e2bc6f92b David Bawden deposited Information and digital literacies; a review of concepts in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1616332/ Thu, 23 Aug 2018 16:25:21 -0400 A detailed literature reviewing, analysing the multiple and confusing concepts around the ideas of information literacy and digital literacy at the start of the millennium. The article was well-received, and is my most highly-cited work, with over 1100 citations.

]]> 0 28473900a23045e8a4b0ebe2a93eb727 David Bawden deposited Information and digital literacies; a review of concepts https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1616087/ Wed, 22 Aug 2018 08:12:28 -0400 A detailed literature reviewing, analysing the multiple and confusing concepts around the ideas of information literacy and digital literacy at the start of the millennium. The article was well-received, and is my most highly-cited work, with over 1100 citations.

]]> 0 70cd87cbf66d9e7444021fc7fdbc7be7 David Bawden deposited Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615995/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:26:50 -0400 Reviews developments in the information science discipline over thirty years, by selecting topics covered in early issues of the Journal of Information Science, and tracing their influence on subsequent developments. Major themes are: the information science discipline itself; foundations of the discipline; nature of information; relations between…[Read more]

]]> 0 36e47a14daf109a7dba0ebd03f4f7046 David Bawden deposited The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies, in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615994/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:26:50 -0400 A literature review of problems of the digital information environment. It has been quite widely cited in a variety of disciplines in the decade since its publication.

]]> 0 ae21e057e61aefd0327108bde82e4d34 David Bawden deposited Individual differences in information-related behaviour: what do we know about information styles in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615993/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 16:26:50 -0400 A literature review of individual differences in information behaviour; those due to personality, and to thinking and learning styles.

]]> 0 7193e14d44f04eb3f98c1312627fd415 David Bawden deposited Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615953/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 08:49:54 -0400 Reviews developments in the information science discipline over thirty years, by selecting topics covered in early issues of the Journal of Information Science, and tracing their influence on subsequent developments. Major themes are: the information science discipline itself; foundations of the discipline; nature of information; relations between…[Read more]

]]> 0 4f007a0025fb89a57b2e4e50f21b74a2 David Bawden deposited The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies, https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615952/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 08:44:41 -0400 A literature review of problems of the digital information environment. It has been quite widely cited in a variety of disciplines in the decade since its publication.

]]> 0 996a4fb08df4b3e9b88d7a9020696b7e David Bawden deposited Individual differences in information-related behaviour: what do we know about information styles https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615951/ Tue, 21 Aug 2018 08:38:16 -0400 A literature review of individual differences in information behaviour; those due to personality, and to thinking and learning styles.

]]> 0 3a44819b6bed93df0afca04470914ee9 David Bawden deposited Information's magic numbers: the numerology of information science in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615924/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 16:25:23 -0400 A chapter in a Festschrift for the occasion of Blaise Cronin's retirement, this chapter reflects Cronin's concerns that undue focus on informetrics may lead the information science discipline to descend into a “new age of numerology.
So It reflects on the ways in which a few numbers may helpfully encapsulate important aspects of the subject.

]]> 0 1a14267b855767997f03eb77d6535b83 David Bawden deposited London and Ljubljana in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615923/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 16:25:23 -0400 Discusses the collaborations over the past decade between in which the Department of Library and Information Science at City University London and the Department of Librarianship, Information Science and Book Studies at the University of Ljubljana.

]]> 0 1fb0760eb8241d86d9f6b95bd9f1d7f2 David Bawden deposited Information's magic numbers: the numerology of information science https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615907/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 07:36:20 -0400 A chapter in a Festschrift for the occasion of Blaise Cronin's retirement, this chapter reflects Cronin's concerns that undue focus on informetrics may lead the information science discipline to descend into a “new age of numerology.
So It reflects on the ways in which a few numbers may helpfully encapsulate important aspects of the subject.

]]> 0 7cbe87b035cd214320697c23edcffd0e David Bawden deposited London and Ljubljana https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615906/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 07:30:20 -0400 Discusses the collaborations over the past decade between in which the Department of Library and Information Science at City University London and the Department of Librarianship, Information Science and Book Studies at the University of Ljubljana.

]]> 0 99001bf60ff8795e2668637e0664b5b8 David Bawden deposited Aslib: a de facto national library/information organization in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615875/ Sun, 19 Aug 2018 16:25:22 -0400 The history of Aslib, an independent library/information membership organisation in the United Kingdom between 1924 and 2014, is outlined, with emphasis in the ways in Aslib acted as a de facto national centre for special librarianship and information work, for documentation, and for technical and commercial information. Its activities in this…[Read more]

]]> 0 b298f1b7fc0f55cead94c138d956563f David Bawden deposited Aslib in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615874/ Sun, 19 Aug 2018 16:25:22 -0400 Gives a short history of Aslib, which was from 1924 to 2010 an independent membership organisation for special librarianship, technical and commercial information work, and latterly for information management, It was highly influential in the development of documentation and information science, in the UK and worldwide. Its activities included…[Read more]

]]> 0 618ffecec98226ea990716d18c048770 David Bawden deposited Aslib: a de facto national library/information organization https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615850/ Sat, 18 Aug 2018 20:07:35 -0400 The history of Aslib, an independent library/information membership organisation in the United Kingdom between 1924 and 2014, is outlined, with emphasis in the ways in Aslib acted as a de facto national centre for special librarianship and information work, for documentation, and for technical and commercial information. Its activities in this…[Read more]

]]> 0 99b088c31f9fd20f03488c8d32368dde David Bawden deposited Aslib https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615847/ Sat, 18 Aug 2018 19:18:56 -0400 Gives a short history of Aslib, which was from 1924 to 2010 an independent membership organisation for special librarianship, technical and commercial information work, and latterly for information management, It was highly influential in the development of documentation and information science, in the UK and worldwide. Its activities included…[Read more]

]]> 0 053916b4846249bfebf11dbb7f282fe6 David Bawden deposited Brian Vickery and the nature of information science in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615830/ Sat, 18 Aug 2018 16:25:23 -0400 This paper examines B.C.Vickery's contributions to the development of information science, as an academic discipline and a field of professional practice.

]]> 0 c5cd3f696b32e8039ff491992cfcde00 David Bawden deposited “So wide and varied”: the origins and character of British information science in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615829/ Sat, 18 Aug 2018 16:25:22 -0400 This paper examines some characteristics of the 'British School' of information science, tracing its origins in the documentation movement, special librarianship, and the handling of scientific and technical information.

]]> 0 b0678f1a15268dc364777cd96203d84d David Bawden deposited Brian Vickery and the nature of information science https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615769/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 21:02:59 -0400 This paper examines B.C.Vickery's contributions to the development of information science, as an academic discipline and a field of professional practice.

]]> 0 2f4774750035fdd6c2aa358d6e43cc86 David Bawden deposited “So wide and varied”: the origins and character of British information science https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615768/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 20:53:43 -0400 This paper examines some characteristics of the 'British School' of information science, tracing its origins in the documentation movement, special librarianship, and the handling of scientific and technical information.

]]> 0 5d462208e841d717ce5f718e0ce79a98 David Bawden deposited Brookes equation: the basis for a qualitative characterisation of information behaviours in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615755/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:26:03 -0400 Brookes' equation, hitherto regarded as a kind of non-mathematical shorthand description of information use in the cognitive paradigm of information science, is extended to show a qualitative pattern of information behaviour.

]]> 0 2f59d6c39a40b2f7725feaf6c6851255 David Bawden deposited Information (and library) science at City University London: 50 years of educational development in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615754/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:26:02 -0400 Describes the development of education for library and information science at City University London over a 50-year period, focusing on seven themes: the nature of the discipline; the library/information science spectrum; the student group; the academic/professional balance; curriculum design; local and global issues; and educational methods.

]]> 0 abf3718c666baef6ce2962d1f0785daf David Bawden deposited Brookes equation: the basis for a qualitative characterisation of information behaviours https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615727/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 09:43:53 -0400 Brookes' equation, hitherto regarded as a kind of non-mathematical shorthand description of information use in the cognitive paradigm of information science, is extended to show a qualitative pattern of information behaviour.

]]> 0 0731fc55cecc11dd1eb98c35479a8de6 David Bawden deposited Information (and library) science at City University London: 50 years of educational development https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615723/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 07:49:08 -0400 Describes the development of education for library and information science at City University London over a 50-year period, focusing on seven themes: the nature of the discipline; the library/information science spectrum; the student group; the academic/professional balance; curriculum design; local and global issues; and educational methods.

]]> 0 1bcabce8a140d62d9f2ed3155e2195e4 David Bawden deposited "An intensity around information": the changing face of chemical information literacy in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615668/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:46:16 -0400 The changing nature of chemical information literacy over 50 years is examined by a comparison of a number of guides to chemical literature and information. It is concluded that: an understanding of the world of information is the sole aspect to have remained important and essentially unchanged over time; that knowledge of sources, ability to…[Read more]

]]> 0 a0489a14f15c82c0bd4913cf012a1228 David Bawden deposited “Deep down things”: in what ways is information physical, and why does it matter for LIS?, in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615667/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:46:16 -0400 Based on a paper given at the 2013 CoLIS conference in Copenhagen.

Rolf Landauer famously declared in 1991 that ‘information is physical’. Since then, information has come to be seen by many physicists as a fundamental component of the physical world; indeed by some as the physical component. This idea is now gaining currency in popular sci…[Read more]

]]> 0 b5d2e478d385501b98b53af6132c4a22 David Bawden deposited "An intensity around information": the changing face of chemical information literacy https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615636/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 08:02:38 -0400 The changing nature of chemical information literacy over 50 years is examined by a comparison of a number of guides to chemical literature and information. It is concluded that: an understanding of the world of information is the sole aspect to have remained important and essentially unchanged over time; that knowledge of sources, ability to…[Read more]

]]> 0 347df7c394c18f73d2aada6ddcafe530 David Bawden deposited “Deep down things”: in what ways is information physical, and why does it matter for LIS?, https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615635/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 07:47:19 -0400 Based on a paper given at the 2013 CoLIS conference in Copenhagen.

Rolf Landauer famously declared in 1991 that ‘information is physical’. Since then, information has come to be seen by many physicists as a fundamental component of the physical world; indeed by some as the physical component. This idea is now gaining currency in popular sci…[Read more]

]]> 0 f612800a57aee359602e2f5e2a9e77eb David Bawden deposited “Waiting for Carnot”: information and complexity in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615589/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:25:31 -0400 The relationship between information and complexity is analysed, by way of a detailed literature analysis. Complexity is a multi-faceted concept, with no single agreed definition. There are numerous approaches to defining and measuring complexity and organisation, all involving the idea of information. Conceptions of complexity, order,…[Read more]

]]> 0 bee537640d8c7417837cd446781ab458 David Bawden deposited “A few exciting words”: information and entropy revisited in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615588/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:25:31 -0400 A review is presented of the relation between information and entropy, focusing on two main issues: the similarity of the formal definitions of physical entropy, according to statistical mechanics, and of information, according to information theory; and the possible subjectivity of entropy considered as missing information. The paper updates the…[Read more]

]]> 0 d1e0e6be0883d78468582cec18992427 David Bawden deposited “Waiting for Carnot”: information and complexity https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615560/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 08:26:06 -0400 The relationship between information and complexity is analysed, by way of a detailed literature analysis. Complexity is a multi-faceted concept, with no single agreed definition. There are numerous approaches to defining and measuring complexity and organisation, all involving the idea of information. Conceptions of complexity, order,…[Read more]

]]> 0 6b31b8123d82c24f8f84f817548f81bb David Bawden deposited “A few exciting words”: information and entropy revisited https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615559/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 07:42:26 -0400 A review is presented of the relation between information and entropy, focusing on two main issues: the similarity of the formal definitions of physical entropy, according to statistical mechanics, and of information, according to information theory; and the possible subjectivity of entropy considered as missing information. The paper updates the…[Read more]

]]> 0 f33289906ca05e99be9a7db755d3342e David Bawden deposited No such thing as society? On the individuality of information behaviour in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615445/ Tue, 14 Aug 2018 15:15:42 -0400 This opinion piece considers the relative importance of individual and social factors in determining information behaviour. It concludes that individual factors are more central and fundamental, though they may certainly be qualified by social and cultural factors, and though there are good reasons for studying and analyzing information behaviour…[Read more]

]]> 0 bc278ad2cdbd2b95014ce6ae9855124c David Bawden deposited No such thing as society? On the individuality of information behaviour https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615328/ Sun, 12 Aug 2018 11:46:20 -0400 This opinion piece considers the relative importance of individual and social factors in determining information behaviour. It concludes that individual factors are more central and fundamental, though they may certainly be qualified by social and cultural factors, and though there are good reasons for studying and analyzing information behaviour…[Read more]

]]> 0 f8c1aaaaceea75d55a5cc340051c06bf David Bawden deposited Storing the wisdom: chemical concepts and chemoinformatics in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615219/ Fri, 10 Aug 2018 16:48:15 -0400 The purpose of the paper is to examine the nature of chemical concepts, and the ways in which they are applied in chemoinformatics systems. An account of concepts in philosophy and in the information sciences leads to an analysis of chemical concepts, and their representation. The way in which concepts are applied in systems for information…[Read more]

]]> 0 77faae2789575549246dba8094701b10 David Bawden deposited Mind the gap: transitions between concepts of information in varied domains in the group CityLIS https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1615207/ Fri, 10 Aug 2018 16:37:28 -0400 The concept of 'information' in five different realms – technological, physical, biological, social and philosophical – is briefly examined. The 'gaps' between these conceptions are discussed, and unifying frameworks of diverse nature, including those of Shannon/Wiener, Landauer, Stonier, Bates and Floridi, are examined. The value of att…[Read more]

]]> 0