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PurposeDescribes the basic premises of three metatheories that represent important or emerging perspectives on information seeking, retrieval and knowledge formation in information science: constructivism, collectivism, and constructionism.Design/methodology/approachPresents a literature‐based conceptual analysis. Pinpoints the differences between the positions in their conceptions of language and the nature and origin of knowledge.FindingsEach of the three metatheories addresses and solves specific types of research questions and design problems. The metatheories thus complement one another. Each of the three metatheories encourages and constitutes a distinctive type of research and learning.Originality/valueOutlines each metatheory's specific fields of application.

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The article highlights the importance of conceptual and theoretical work in the design of information retrieval systems. Two epistemological positions leading to different solutions in digital library (DL) design are examined: the information transfer perspective and the social contructionist knowledge production perspective. The first section of the paper explores how the information transfer perspective affects the principles by which documents are organized in DLs. The second section analyzes the basic assumptions of the knowledge production perspective. The third section discusses how social constructionist ideas affect the design principles and information architecture of DLs. The authors suggest that, in the electronic information environment, traditional noun-based approaches can be replaced by solutions that combine verbs and nouns to visualize the structure of conversations concerning a particular issue or topic. Finally, the potentials and problems of building constructionist digital libraries are discussed.

The article reports on a project whose objectives were to analyse the social supply of health information to citizens and to study what they receive and are able to make use of. The results reveal the power, the responsibility and the rulers in and behind today’s media culture in health questions, but also the importance of people’s own active response to transmitted health messages. People who are satisfied with their own health consider it their own responsibility to be interested in health issues and to find and use health information from a great number of sources. It has been shown that the most frequently used and useful channels vary according to health problems and to cognitive and social factors. However, the awareness of different possibilities to share knowledge and to take responsibility for one’s own empowerment in health matters is symbolic of a healthier li

Purpose Although resource sharing between scholars is evolving rapidly, This paper uses paper-based interlibrary lending (ILL) procedures in the service repertoire of academic libraries. However, the current business model of acquiring toll-access journals and e-books does not seem to fit very well with traditional ILL practices. In addition, the new models of peer-to-peer resource sharing between academics seem to be much more effective than ILL. Scholars arrange access to the needed publications by using legal (buying, exchanging) and illegal means (Sci-Hub, etc.). Furthermore, the demands for open access have increased, voiced not only by librarians and science funders but also by politicians. This development might change the scholarly publication ecosystem, even though older publications are still likely to remain closed. Design/methodology/approach This paper contrasts the ILL and usage statistics of Finnish university libraries with the use of ResearchGate, a popular academic social network, which we treat as an example of a peer-to-peer sharing service. Findings Based on the data, there seems to be a change of paradigm in the resource sharing: the traditional ILL seems to be decreasing and becoming more like a niche service and the digital use and use of social media peer-to-peer resource sharing applications seem to increase rapidly. Originality/value The paper examines current resource sharing trends. The analysis is based on the data of Finnish resource sharing, interlibrary lending and ResearchGate usage.

The article presents a short history of Finnish libraries and librarianship. The written culture in Finland started in the 15th century AD. The Reformation meant the eventual outbreak of the Finnish culture, both from the point of view of the religious and academic cultures. The Academy of Turku was established in 1640. The public library network started to evolve from the 17th century onward. From the beginning of the independence, i.e. 1917, libraries have played an important part in the development of an open and democratic society. At present there are public libraries in all the municipalities as defined by the Public Library Act, in addition to the Finnish higher education and special libraries that constitute a modern library network open to all citizens that utilizes modern library technologies.

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