Contested Terms: Critical Keywords in Library and Information Studies

A provocative and disruptive collection of keyword essays that rethink key terms in library and information studies from critical orientations.

Contested Terms offers a timely and critical examination of the core vocabulary shaping the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS). Edited by nicholae cline and Jorge López-McKnight, this collection arises from a crucial moment marked by ongoing global crises, persistent social domination, and questionable scholarly critiques. Contributors explore the evolving meanings and political implications of foundational and emerging LIS terms, tracing their historical lineage and situating them within the broader context of the field’s principles, frameworks, and practices. The forty essays delve into the tensions, conflicts, and complexities embedded within these concepts, fostering critical reflection, new understandings and action, and future possibilities for LIS.

This book distinguishes itself by its collective approach, bringing together voices from across the LIS profession, including early career scholars, practitioners (archivists, librarians, administrators), and established academics. This breadth of perspectives offers a rich, insightful, and nuanced exploration of the field’s intellectual terrain while also challenging readers (students and scholars alike) to think beyond given or preconceived definitions of each term and our notions of the field. The collection’s authorship, with a majority of contributors identifying as Black, Indigenous, Latinx/e; Asian and Pacific Islander; queer, trans, and/or disabled, further amplifies voices, methodologies, politics, and theoretical interventions that significantly attend to difference. While other keyword-style texts exist in related disciplines, such as the NYU Keywords series and MIT’s Uncertain Archives, this volume is the first to specifically address the LIS field.