Research on linkage of science and technology in the library and information science field

Abstract

Scientific research serves as both the root and the driving force behind technological innovation. While the transformation of science to technology is more commonly observed in hard science disciplines, the application of knowledge from soft science disciplines to technological innovation has received less attention, so is the Library and Information Science (abbreviated as LIS). This study seeks to examine the role of LIS knowledge in bridging the link between science and technology, how the LIS knowledge contributes to patented inventions, and and discover the future trend of scientific and technological innovation in LIS. The study collected LIS papers cited by patents and the citing patents’ data to explore the relationship between LIS papers and their citing patents based on time, impact, and topic. Six hypotheses were developed to analyze the flow of knowledge between science and technology in LIS, providing insight into the characteristics of knowledge flow and transformation of this field into technology. The study found that the amount of LIS scientific knowledge transformed into technology applications has been increasing, and the average “paper-patent” transformation time lag per year has been getting longer, etc.. Additionally, the topics “Knowledge organization and strategic planning”, “Network service and reference consultation,” and “Library and public services” in the LIS have the potential to further contribute to the technology field.