A provocative and disruptive collection of keyword essays that rethink key terms in library and information studies from critical orientations. Contested Terms offers a timely and critical examination of the core vocabulary shaping the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS). Edited by nicholae cline and Jorge López-McKnight, this collection arises from a crucial moment marked by ongoing global crises, persistent social domination, and questionable scholarly critiques. Contributors explore the evolving meanings and political implications of foundational and emerging LIS terms, tracing their historical lineage and situating them within the broader context of the field's principles, frameworks, and practices. The forty essays delve into the tensions, conflicts, and complexities embedded within these concepts, fostering critical reflection, new understandings and action, and future possibilities for LIS.
This book distinguishes itself by its collective approach, bringing together voices from across the LIS profession, including early career scholars, practitioners (archivists, librarians, administrators), and established academics. This breadth of perspectives offers a rich, insightful, and nuanced exploration of the field's intellectual terrain while also challenging readers (students and scholars alike) to think beyond given or preconceived definitions of each term and our notions of the field. The collection's authorship, with a majority of contributors identifying as Black, Indigenous, Latinx/e; Asian and Pacific Islander; queer, trans, and/or disabled, further amplifies voices, methodologies, politics, and theoretical interventions that significantly attend to difference. While other keyword-style texts exist in related disciplines, such as the NYU Keywords series and MIT's
Uncertain Archives, this volume is the first to specifically address the LIS field.
一部具有挑釁性與顛覆性的關鍵詞論文集，從批判取向重新思考圖書館與資訊研究中的重要術語。
《Contested Terms》對塑造圖書館與資訊研究（Library and Information Studies，LIS）領域的核心詞彙，進行及時且具批判性的檢視。本書由 nicholae cline 與 Jorge López-McKnight 編輯，成書於一個關鍵時刻：全球危機持續延燒，社會支配依然存在，而學術批判也受到質疑。各篇文章探討 LIS 基礎性與新興術語不斷變化的意義及其政治意涵，追溯這些術語的歷史脈絡，並將其置於該領域原則、框架與實務的更廣泛背景中。全書收錄四十篇文章，深入探討這些概念中蘊含的張力、衝突與複雜性，促進對 LIS 的批判性反思、新的理解與行動，以及對未來可能性的想像。
本書的特色在於其集體性的取向，匯集 LIS 專業領域各方的聲音，包括職涯早期的學者、實務工作者（檔案管理人員、圖書館員與行政人員），以及資深學術研究者。多元的觀點為該領域的思想地景帶來豐富、深刻且細膩的探索，同時也促使讀者——無論是學生或學者——超越對每個術語以及對該領域本身既定或先入為主的定義。作者群中，多數貢獻者認同自己屬於 Black、Indigenous、Latinx/e、Asian and Pacific Islander，以及 queer、trans 和／或身心障礙者群體；這進一步放大了那些高度關注差異的聲音、方法論、政治立場與理論介入。
雖然相關學科中已有其他關鍵詞式著作，例如 NYU Keywords 系列與 MIT 出版的《Uncertain Archives》，但本書是第一部專門探討 LIS 領域的此類作品。
nicholae cline is a knowledge worker at Indiana University.
Jorge R. López-McKnight is a community college library worker in Austin, Texas.
