From Information Science to Informatics: a terminological investigation

Abstract

The evolution of the name Information Science (IS) is traced from the beginnings of "Library economy" up to the emergence of "Informatics". The terminology of 39 definitions of IS is compared in order to find the common concepts of this science and its central topic of investiga tion. The comparison shows that no consensus exists among the practitioners of IS about what it is or should do. The concept "information" has also been variously defined for the purposes of IS, but no generally acceptable definition has been formulated so far. The discipline called IS has not yet attained the status of a true science, lacking an agreed-upon central topic of investigation and an unambiguous terminology (as well as other attributes of a science). The name Informatics, which is already in wide use in other countries, should possibly be adopted for the discipline that might yet evolve into a true science.