Purpose This paper uses Deleuze and Guattari's theory of deterritorialization to examine how immersive library experience spaces transform the forms, organization and circulation of knowledge and to propose strategies for balancing knowledge fluidity with systematic order. Design/methodology/approach A theory-driven multiple-case study compares the National Library of China and the British Library, drawing on public project documents, reports, media coverage and scholarly commentary. The analysis traces changes in carriers, organization, communication, production and access. Findings The findings show that immersive library spaces do not simply make knowledge more accessible; they alter the conditions under which knowledge is stabilized, connected, authorized and experienced. Research limitations/implications The study relies on public secondary materials and two national-library cases, so its transferability to smaller libraries requires adaptation. Originality/value The paper introduces the deterritorialization theory into the analysis of immersive library knowledge services and offers a five-dimensional framework for understanding knowledge transformation in digital library settings.
Purpose The study investigates how participants in the Swedish climate grassroot activist group Rebellmammorna engage in information sharing practices related to climate change. Design/methodology/approach The study uses 10 semi-structured interviews with participants in the Swedish grassroot climate activist group Rebellmammorna. It is informed by New Feminist Materialist Science and Technology studies and draws on Puig de la Bellacasa’s concept of care. Maternal identity, rituals and storytelling are used as analytical concepts. Findings This study of Rebellmammorna shows climate activists’ engagement with information as a form of care work rooted in the desire to protect their children and securing livable futures for them. Motherhood functions as a collective and strategic identity granting public authority, though creating vulnerabilities highlighting this legitimacy’s fragility. Care relations foster trust and sustain activism. Self-care enables continued engagement, while mutual care maintains group cohesion with fellow participants as trusted information sources. Shared stories and rituals enacting maternal identity mediate information exchange, strengthening community bonds and supporting broader public mobilization. Originality/value This study highlights how emotional, relational and embodied experiences shape the interpretation, evaluation, circulation and collective production of information within the grassroots climate activism of Rebellmammorna. By conceptualizing motherhood and care as relational standpoints, the study advances understanding of how information practices are enacted, trusted and sustained in activist communities. It further reveals the vulnerabilities and tensions that may accompany information sharing, demonstrating how informational authority and legitimacy are both enabled and constrained by maternal identities.
Purpose Public libraries in China are actively transforming into cultural institutions. By exploring approaches to preserve and promote intangible cultural heritage, rural libraries can protect community traditions and rituals, increasingly neglected in a world powered by the internet and AI. This research describes the protection of indigenous cultural heritage in rural libraries in Central China, with the objective of identifying barriers to that process. Design/methodology/approach An inductive multiple case study research design was used by the research team, who visited 25 rural libraries in the Wuling Mountain Area in Central China. In these case libraries, researchers conducted formal interviews and held frequent conversations with librarians, library users and residents. Findings Fifteen barriers to preserving indigenous cultural heritage in rural libraries were identified. These barriers emerged in three themes: environmental, library managerial and cultural heritage service barriers. Mismatches were found between the traditional role of rural libraries (providing information and social services) and the new roles and responsibilities of cultural heritage preservation. Thus, we propose that rural libraries prioritize the role of fulfilling library users' information needs, and exercise caution in undertaking cultural preservation projects without appropriate support. Rural libraries have the potential to participate in cultural preservation projects but will require adequate funding, staff and technological resources, along with strong support from the local government and larger libraries in the region. Originality/value This study provides an overview of the role of rural libraries in China in supporting local communities, and offers insights into how to support them to overcome barriers faced. The insights and revelations may be useful for library professionals facing similar challenges in other countries.
Purpose While there have been review studies empirically examining theory use in library and information science (LIS), no attempt has been made, to the best of our knowledge, to systematically analyze them. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to identify and provide an integrative synthesis of these review studies in the field. Design/methodology/approach Using two rounds of citation chaining, supplemented by a round of database searching, literature searches were conducted to identify articles reviewing theory use within LIS. A total of 30 articles were examined and categorized across multiple variables. Findings This study shows that theory use has become an established area of inquiry within LIS. However, despite the breadth of the literature reviewed and the diversity of sources examined, research on theory use remains unevenly distributed, as reflected in the predominance of information behavior (IB) studies in subfield analyses and the disproportionate focus of geographical analyses on African contexts. The findings further reveal the development of original categorization schemes for assessing the extent of theory use and limited research attention to theory development trends. Originality/value As one of the earliest attempts, if not the first, this study systematically reviews and synthesizes review research on theory use in LIS, moving beyond the findings of individual reviews to provide a more holistic understanding of what these studies collectively reveal about theory use in the field.
Purpose This conceptual article examines wicked problems as information problems that have the potential to (1) contribute to information avoidance and (2) produce uncomfortable knowledge. It aims to bridge a gap in information science by integrating these three constructs to explain polarized individual and institutional responses, using the example of generative AI (GenAI). Design/methodology/approach Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from planning, social science and human information behavior, the study develops a unifying macro–meso–micro framework. GenAI is used as an illustrative case to demonstrate how wicked problem characteristics generate uncertainty, which in turn has the potential to trigger avoidance behaviors across levels and produce uncomfortable knowledge. Findings At the micro level, individuals avoid information as an adaptive response to affective discomfort and uncertainty. At the meso level, institutions respond through strategies such as denial, dismissal, diversion and displacement. Using the example of GenAI, these dynamics reinforce polarized, all-or-nothing responses, despite its inherent complexity. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual study, the framework requires empirical testing across contexts to validate relationships among levels. Originality/value This article offers a novel conceptual integration of wicked problems, information avoidance and uncomfortable knowledge within a single framework. It advances understanding of information avoidance as a strategic, multi-level response to complex information environments.
