Information Science in Europe: Current Perspectives

ABSTRACT This panel aims to discuss and critique the position of Information Science (IS) in European countries. This will be achieved through panel presentations and through critical discussion of key questions amongst the participants in the session. The introduction to the panel will identify issues that emerge from studies of IS in European countries, and in particular points that emerged from two previous ASIS&T annual meeting panel sessions. Presentations on the current situation of IS in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and countries from the former Yugoslavia will be given and briefly compared. The focus will then move to session participants, whose views on the state of IS in their own country will be solicited in a structured manner. The academic value will be in providing insight into current IS development and challenges in countries with varying histories of IS engagement. The practical value will be in the exchange of views through participation and the ideas that can be generated for future activities of the ASIS&T European Chapter.