Transborder Information Flow through Human Movement: Implications for Professional Interactions

Human flow across national boundaries is a significant landmark in global communications. Without taking human flow into account, the theory of international flow of information is incomplete. This study indicates that human flow may contribute to the transborder information flow by increasing awareness and receptiveness of non-indigenous information. People who have been educated abroad tend to function not only as gatekeepers in filtering information flow across national boundaries, but also as mediators between their home and host countries. The “magnetic effect” of these people in the transborder information flow is ubiquitous where the direction of information flow is influenced by the physical location of these people.

In this article, we attempt to study the relationship between human movement and transborder information flow, by examining professional contacts in library and information science between China and the United States as well as by analyzing content and translation in Chinese library and information science literature over an 100-year period (1890–1989). Another purpose is to examine the gatekeeping function of those foreign-educated Chinese librarians by analyzing their publications.