Library and information science and the philosophy of science

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to introduce the special issue of Journal of Documentation about library and information science (LIS) and the philosophy of science. Design/methodology/approach – The most important earlier collected works about metatheories and philosophies of science within LIS are listed. Findings – It is claimed that Sweden probably is the country in which philosophy of science has the highest priority in LIS education. The plan of the guest editor was that each epistemological position should be both introduced and interpreted in a LIS context together with a review of its influence within the field and an evaluation of the pros and cons of that position. This was only an ideal plan. It is argued that it is important that such knowledge and debate are available within the LIS‐literature itself and that the answers to such questions as “What is positivism?” are not trivial ones. Originality/value – The introduction is written to assist readers overviewing the issue and share the thoughts of the editor in planning the issue.