The Development of Information Science in Ibero-America

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to problematize the existence of a possible Ibero-American informational thinking. It was initially observed that a relative absence of Ibero-America in the international presentations and mappings of information science exists. Below, the reality of the 22 countries that compose Ibero-America is discussed, a region that can be understood from a sociocultural and geopolitical perspective. Then, a mapping of the information science research in these countries is made. The main research topics found are: epistemological studies, relationships with library science, information literacy, representation and organization, bibliometric studies, information management, user studies, technological dimensions, and relationships with archival science and museum studies. Finally, a general epistemological configuration of information science is presented at a global level, highlighting the great trends of study of information that marked the decades of the 1960s and 1970s (physical model), 1980s and 1990s (cognitive model), and the 21st century (sociocultural model), and which manifested themselves in the different subareas that make up the field. The most recent research in information science, in addition to addressing information transfer (physical dimension) and its relationship with data and knowledge (cognitive dimension), has also incorporated aspects related to the social effects of information, its role in the constitution of identities and culture, and the importance of its material conformations. Such expansion reflects attempts to address the complexity of informational phenomena. Therefore, it is concluded that it is important to place the specific contributions of Ibero-America in this context.