O papel da pesquisa científica na formação dos profissionais da informação e na harmonização das relações entre Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação

Not only to current students but also to those who have graduated in Library Studies longer ago, it is increasingly difficult to understand the connections between the profession they have chosen and the academic system of disciplines and fields. This difficulty becomes worse when they realise that the continuing education opportunities they look for to strengthen their chances in a labour market that is progressively competitive have to be found within this academic system. The goal of the article is to offer some insights to understand this complex issue. To start with, it poses three questions: (1) Who are the information professionals? (2) What do the information professionals do? (3) How should information professionals be educated and trained? Discussing these three points the author concludes that in order to offer a professional education that stays fine-tuned with the market and at the same time stimulates an enriching relationship between Library and Information Studies we should first encourage the students to become managers of their own learning process and to assume active roles in building their own knowledge. Secondly, we should influence them to exercise the scientific research process more frequently. If they apply the research method as a natural way of thinking they will quickly grow as individuals and professionals, developing and improving their skills and judgement. As these two initiatives grow stronger a solid bridge between the professional and the academic worlds of the field will be built