Group members: Niloofar Solhjoo is leading the project in collaboration with international colleagues from the University of Toronto, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Drexel University, University of Technology Sydney, University of Warwick, Northumbria University, Uppsala University, and the University of Borås.
This two-year project is supported by a publishing contract with Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) and will be published as part of the Global Perspectives on Library and Information Science series. It has also received internal funding from the Tri-Faculty Research Support Scheme at Charles Sturt University.
Project Overview:
Information Science is about understanding life through the lens of information. For the past century, it has focused mostly on documents, systems, and humans. However, humans are just one part of life on Earth. They live alongside animals, plants, fungi, microbes, landscapes, and technologies—forming what is known as the more-than-human world.
This project expands the scope of Library and Information Science (LIS) to include animals and other beings. It calls for more attention to those who share the world with humans, living and learning together. Inspired by Suzanne Briet’s question, “Is an antelope a document?” and Marcia Bates’ evolutionary view on “fundamental forms of information,” the project develops the multi-species movement in Information Science—where the thread of information connects all living things.
Key Contributions:
- Historical: Tracing how human-animal relationships have shaped information and expanded the scope of LIS.
- Foundational: Promoting interdisciplinary dialogue and fostering more inclusive and multi-species pedagogies in LIS.
- Methodological: Introducing case studies that explore ways to meaningfully include nonhuman entities in LIS theory and practice.
- Ethical: Challenging anthropocentric assumptions and advocating for care ethics in information practices.
- Technological: Rethinking information systems to support inter-species communication, collaboration, and design.
This research-driven project combines both conceptual and empirical work. It draws on primary and secondary research, employing methods such as ethnography, phenomenology, content analysis, archival research, and large-scale analytics.
For more information, please contact: nsolhjoo@csu.edu.au
