Managing information to serve the information user

Abstract

The late Jason Farradane pioneered the creation of the Institute of Information Scientists, developing the professional scope, objectives and governance structure of the Institute and coining the term ‘information scientist.’ He first made an impact on the library and information science community with a paper on the ‘scientific approach to documentation’ presented at a Royal Society Scientific Information Conference in 1948. He was instrumental in establishing the first academic information science courses in 1963 at the precursor to City University, London, where he became Director of the Centre for Information Science in 1966. UKeiG’s award in his honour still exists today and is given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the library and information profession.

The 2020 winner was Thomas D. Wilson (Professor Emeritus, University of Sheffield, UK), primarily for his pioneering work in open access through the foundation and editing of the international electronic journal Information Research.

Professor Wilson was ‘honoured and delighted,’ to receive the award. ‘I occasionally met Jason Farradane at conferences. I was teaching indexing at the time, so we had common interests to discuss. Having known the man makes receiving the award even more special.'

He opened UKeiG’s seventh annual Strix Memorial lecture in December 2021 with a celebratory presentation - ‘Managing information to serve the information user.’ It explores the essential link and convergence between information management and information behaviour, asking the fundamental question: how can we manage information effectively if we don't know how people seek and use information?