Ever since Information technology was introduced into the work of some special libraries in the 1960s, there have been predictions that the end‐user searching of online databases would make librarians unnecessary. The enormous developments in automated information retrieval since then, and the...

Information and communication in times of war is an area that has been much written about, but one which has not often been treated as a topic in its own right from an information science perspective. The national liberation struggles of the second half of the 20th century offer possibilities...

Purpose – Aims to explore an alternative approach to library and information service in multicultural communities, based on the principles of IFLA's Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Committee. Design/methodology/approach – Literature‐based analysis of...

Purpose – As part of a series to mark the 60th anniversary of the Journal of Documentation , the aim is to review a 1956 article by Barbara Kyle. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review and analysis. Findings – The theme of Barbara Kyle's 1956 Journal of Documentation article...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Namibian liberation struggle, 1966‐1990, as an information war rather than a military conflict, so as to explore the dimensions of information activity under conditions of conflict. This builds on the idea, expressed by participants in...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the practice of comedians in relation to freedom of expression, so as to throw light on the issue of giving or avoiding offence. Design/methodology/approach – The literature of comedy, newspaper coverage of comedy in the UK in 2008,...

There are increasing numbers of experiments (in countries as diverse as Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Benin, Senegal, Botswana and Zimbabwe) with informal community information services dealing with health, hygiene, child care, cultivation, stock‐rearing, trades, crafts and repair work, in the way...