Information science research is inspired by, and designed to, address the needs of various practice communities. Whether researchers investigate the implications of new information technologies in hospitals, or explore best practices for managing collections in academic libraries, the impact of information science research in communities is significant. Information science research shapes policy decisions, informs organizational practices, and changes the lives of individuals. Research designed to contribute to society, culture, the economy, the environment, or other practice contexts outside academe is at the heart of information science research. Research findings, for example, can alter the records management practices of small, local community groups or they can change the ways that large, multi-national companies share information across digital networks. The potential for impact in a discipline that is linked to diverse information settings, populations, technological contexts, and service orientations is a defining feature of information science research.

This year’s conference theme provides an opportunity for information science researchers – including academics and practitioner researchers – to discuss the impact of their research on industry, on government, on local/national/global community groups, on individuals, on information systems, on libraries/museums/galleries, and on other practice contexts. The theme highlights the introduction of a new conference focus on Applied Research, which recognizes that basic research in information science is also inspired by, and/or connected to, information practice contexts. Submissions are encouraged that present theoretical or applied research with results that demonstrate one or more of the following themes:

Impact on Individuals: information behavior; information retrieval; human-computer interaction; social media use; information literacy; etc.

Impact on Society: digital citizenship; cultural engagement; archival preservation; policy development; copyright; intellectual property; infometrics; information access; etc.

Impact on Organizations: information architecture; knowledge management; competitive intelligence; digital curation; records and archives management; etc.

Impact on Systems & Technology: cloud computing; digital libraries; automatic indexing; social tagging; classification; semantic web; database design; web usability; etc.

Impact on Information Contexts: health; education; law; environment; agriculture; business; etc.