British library and information schools

The collection of papers gathered in this e-book reflects the scope, interests and potential which the tradition at Thames Valley University, London, maintains today. Until the mid 1990s TVU offered courses in library and information services, information management, publishing and business information technology substantially under the same roof of what in the 1980s had become the School of Library and Information Studies. This focus partially survived the transition to university status from 1992. But thereafter, within strong currents of institutional change and innovation various redeployments, mergers and links with other groups started to develop. In short, it followed the path of many of the old polytechnic schools, as 'old' professional and vocational subjects were re-bundled, re-branded, and re-located in new organizational, curricular and pedagogical structures. It is fortunate that the School of Computing which provides the base and cover for the information professional (IP) education is establishing itself as a significant fund earner. For IP education this is a significant location as the area is increasingly imbricated with all the new ICT developments. But, equally significant is the context of the Faculty of Business, and this 'business' (and organizational) theme is hopefully reflected in these papers. Information Professional activity is as diverse as the themes chosen by the writers of these papers gathered up here, and it should rightly encompass its core values of library and information management as much as those of history, education, teaching and learning (of information and more generally), business, computing and information systems.