Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Why don't We Have Any Schools of Library and Reading Studies?

This article argues that current library and information science (LIS) thinking has drawn definitional boundaries around the word "information" so tightly as to exclude research on reading, a major means by which Americans obtain information, whether it comes off the printed page or the computer screen. This paper is intended to: (1) bring the dimensions of contemporary research on reading to the attention of the LIS community; (2) encourage LIS educators to consider the relevance of this research to a future they are preparing for the LIS professions; (3) ask provocative questions exploring race, age, gender, and especially socioeconomic class issues that, at this point, reside largely on the margins of our current professional discourse; and (4) suggest a "price" the LIS profession will pay if it continues to ignore reading research.