Library Ideas (Sep 2010)
Zum verborgenen Ursprung des Informationswesens in der Chemie
Abstract
On the hidden origin of information and library science in chemistryThe activities of the chemist and Nobel laureate Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) suggest that subject-specific principles of chemistry influence the characteristics of modern information systems. The highly visible presence of chemists in the development of information and library science gives further evidence for the proximity of chemistry to information and library science. Subject-specific information problems affiliated with the coping of information overload at the beginning of the 20th century made necessary a comprehensive organization of scholarly communication through technical media and international associations. Historical research on the hidden origin of information and library science in chemistry together with reference to the positivistic attitude of information pioneers like Ostwald and Paul Otlet can make aware unilateral tendencies in information science and information practice which are observable today, e.g. within the field of information literacy. Modern information and library science needs sophisticated and manifold approaches for its theoretical and methodical foundations.
