ABSTRACT The roles and values of theory, theoretical frameworks, and theory building in library and information science (LIS) research have been the focus of attention of many scholars for decades. However, current practices in scholarly publishing have undermined these roles and values, creating a paradox in scholarly publishing and raising questions regarding a. whether research should be theoretically grounded, b. the impact of these practices on theory use and theory building; c. the roles of scholarly journals in encouraging the use of theory, d. the adequate preparation of LIS doctoral graduates to use and develop theory, and e. the roles theory play in the master's level of LIS curricula. This panel of researchers and experts will share their work and map out their perspectives on the roles of theory, theorizing, theory building, and theoretical frameworks in scholarly publications. Attendees will share insights with the panelists about their experiences in using theory in research.

ABSTRACT Information horizons is a theory and method that embraces behavioral, cognitive and social aspects of information seeking, sharing, and use. As the first method originating in information science that uses a graphical data collection technique (Hartel, 2016), it has served as the underpinning methodology for numerous investigations for over 20 years. The method is often applied in studies of diverse communities not traditionally included in research, such as lower socio‐economic populations. Information horizons is also valuable in teaching master's and doctoral students about information behavior and importance of theoretical constructs. For example, over 700 master's students at the University of Toronto have completed exploratory, empirical studies using the method. A strength of the method is its extensibility; researchers have extended and adapted the method for use with different populations and to investigate different types of information behavior. This panel will explore the varied applications of the information horizon method, engage the audience in open discussion about the information horizons method for research and teaching, and explore how theoretical and methodological approaches can be more effectively shared across the information science and related communities.

Information science is increasingly focused on giving voice to marginalized communities, improving their daily lives, and contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). However, challenges facing marginalized communities in the Global South are less frequently investigated, yet of great importance. Millions of people depend on information for essential everyday life activities such as transportation. Successful, timely daily commuting between home and work influences financial stability, family time, and safety. Everyday life information behavior as a research lens can reveal information activities, influencing factors, information sources, and contexts applying to informal transportation use by poorer socio‐economic groups. Theories of information behavior such as information poverty and information horizons can shed light. Understanding information behavior contexts, and how to bridge the digital divide and promotion of networking, sharing, and learning for marginalized populations through community‐led digital literacy training can help tailor interventions.

Professional development is one of the pillars of personal and professional success because it is the catalyst for professional fulfillment and a way to improve one's skills and excel professionally. However, this subject is not addressed enough in academic courses, therefore students and new recruits start learning while being challenged without strong enough prerequisites to support them. The objective of the panel is to gather ideas from different scholars and professionals; to exchange ideas and experiences around the different themes of this subject to empower students and professionals in their early career stages and make them more resilient in a hyper‐competitive society and uncertain world.

North–South scholarly collaboration and academic exchange programs help to address the challenges experienced by developing countries in Africa and elsewhere, and provide unique benefits to scholars in developed countries. Many academics in the global north, however, have limited, or no, information about opportunities to visit academics and institutions in developing countries and those in such countries in the global south do not have contacts to whom they can reach out. The intention of the panel is to stimulate future north–south collaborations by increasing awareness of both funded opportunities and low budget initiatives for scholarly exchanges and collaborations, benefits for scholars and their institutions in developed and developing countries, and best practices with respect to north–south collaborations and scholarly exchanges. This panel is sponsored by the Africa Chapter and SIG‐III.

Diane H. Sonnenwald has had a distinguished career as an LIS educator and scholar. As the milestone of the centennial anniversary of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) in 2015 moves into history, Sonnenwald’s editorial for the centenary edition is reprinted here, in slightly modified form, to coincide with our first edition with the University of Toronto Press. Sonnenwald asks the following questions: Have our understanding and practices regarding teaching and learning changed, and if so, in what ways? Have we solved specific challenges or do they remain? What lessons of the past can still inform our understanding today?

This paper reports on research conducted to improve understanding of human-rare historic book interaction as a necessary first step in order to design and develop physical-virtual renderings of rare books that provide integrated haptic, audio, olfactory, visual and cognitive human-rare book interaction for the public. Our synthesis of relevant literature proposes that current research and technology can be categorized according to five characteristics: expected users, content and content management, navigation, presentation, and interaction control. Our research investigates how young adults (novices) in northern Europe interact with a rare historic book and their reflections about their interaction. Results indicate that interaction engendered appreciation and curiosity regarding individual human behaviour and social practices, and regarding design and technology for novices. Interaction also had an affective impact, eliciting personal memories and emotions. Participants reported that interacting only visually with books or their representations would not have afforded the same results. The results suggest several design recommendations for future physical-virtual renderings of rare historic books.

ABSTRACTThis presentation showcases research that is investigating human‐rare historic book interaction in order to develop a theoretical framework that takes into account the materiality of rare books and will form a foundation for technology requirements that will allow individuals to more fully experience rare historic books through the use of virtual or augmented reality technology.

EDITOR'S SUMMARY The Theory Development within the Information Sciences workshop was held on October 15, 2016, at the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two main goals of the theory development workshop were to understand stages of theory development and discuss solutions to common challenges in the field, and to gauge the interests of the participants on theory development strategies. Diane Sonnenwald gave an overview on theory development based on her own experiences, Sam Chu talked about theory development applied to inquiry project‐based learning, Mei‐Mei Wu discussed multi methodologies in information retrieval and ShanJu Lin Chang touched on theory development processes in research on browsing phenomena. The workshop's second half was a roundtable discussion that involved participants discussing challenges in the field and receiving feedback from the presenters.

The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) was founded as the American Documentation Institute in 1937. In tandem with the evolution of the field, the Association has continued to grow and change its structure and focus. This entry describes the Association's history, purpose, structure (regional chapters plus topical special interest groups), governance, meetings, and publications.

EDITOR'S SUMMARYASIS&T has continuously worked to enhance diversity and inclusion over its long history, including the formation of the Special Interest Group/International Information Issues and the name change from the American Society for Information Science and Technology to the Association for Information Science and Technology. During the 2016 ASIS&T Annual Meeting (AM), a Diversity and Inclusion Luncheon was held to promote discussion and ideas of new ways for ASIS&T to promote diversity. Attendees of the luncheon were asked to share positive personal experiences with diversity, as well as share ideas for how to bolster diversity and inclusion in future AMs and for ASIS&T as an organization. Suggestions include the meeting being held outside of North America more frequently, inclusion of mentor programs for papers and new attendees of AMs, removing North American‐centric language from communications and more ASIS&T board members from other continents. The suggestions were recommended to the ASIS&T Board for further discussion.

EDITOR'S SUMMARYTo increase international membership, Special Interest Group/International Information Issues (SIG/III) successfully proposed in 2012 to lower membership fees for ASIS&T members working in developing nations. The ASIS&T Board later lowered fees for students and early and transitional professionals from these countries. Though these moves boosted member numbers, other disparities became evident, including fees that remain prohibitive for institutions in developing nations and even for many potential individual and institutional members in countries rated “high” or “very high” in the United Nations Human Development Index. The Board approved the International Relations Committee's proposal to base membership rates on countries’ gross national income (GNI) per capita, sorting countries into three tiers. Membership fees for countries in the middle tier would be 30% of the usual fee and 20% for the lower tier and exclude print publications, the fee strategy used by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

A Darker Side of Human Information Behavior in the Workplace: a Call for Research on Workplace Bullying Information Behavior (Long Abstract)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore graduate students’ behaviour and perspectives regarding personal digital document management, as well as insights into the connections between memory and document re-finding. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 graduate students studying information and library science. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were analysed using open and axial coding. Findings – Participants were overall positive about the importance of managing their digital documents but they had little knowledge about currently available personal information management (PIM) tools. Characteristics of digital documents frequently used by participants to re-find documents include name, subject, storage location, creation time, keyword, document title, document file type, user’s location and recency. For participants the act of organizing documents is itself a memory aid. Participants’ recommendations for PIM tools include support for information organization and simplistic visualizations that can be customized, e.g., using colour to highlight folders or documents. Research limitations/implications – The number of study participants was relatively small, and further studies should examine a more diverse participant sample, e.g., to investigate whether tasks influence re-finding. Further studies should also examine PIM with respect to other types of devices and services, including tablets and cloud services. Practical implications – The results include recommendations for future PIM tool design. Originality/value – This research identifies documents’ characteristics that participants use to re-find documents and the importance of these characteristics. It also examines the usage and expectations of PIM tools in everyday PIM.

EDITOR'S SUMMARY ASIS&T has long been open to members and collaborations beyond North American borders but is intensifying efforts to strengthen and expand its global influence. Special Interest Group/International Information Issues (SIG/III) serves as a foundation for awareness and outreach, and the Association name change is a meaningful reflection and reinforcement of a broader perspective. It is hoped that the European and the newly established Asia Pacific chapters will be the first of many more groups outside the United States and Canada to support international networking. ASIS&T has committed to link membership fees to national ranking on the United Nations Human Development Index, locate the 2016 Annual Meeting in Europe and delete language in websites, honors and policies that implies any national limitations. With ongoing diligence and support, an active international membership and global collaborations will be the norm.

Introduction. This paper focuses on paramedics' perspectives regarding paramedic-physician collaboration today, and their perspectives regarding the potential of 3D telepresence technology in the future.Method. Interviews were conducted with forty practicing paramedics.Analysis. The interview data were analysed using open and axial coding. An agreement of 0.82 using Cohen's kappa inter-coder reliability measure was reached. After coding was completed themes and relationships among codes were synthesised using topic memos.Results. Paramedics expressed concern about the lack of respect and trust exhibited towards them by other medical professionals. They discussed how they paint the picture for physicians and the importance of the physician trusting the paramedic. They further reported 3D telepresence technology would make their work visible in ways not previously possible. They also reported the technology would require additional training, changes to existing financial models used in emergency health care, and increased access to physicians.Conclusions. Teaching collaboration skills and strategies to physicians and paramedics could benefit their collaboration today, and increase their readiness to effectively use collaboration technologies in the future.