Where do we go from here? An opinion on the future of LIS as an academic discipline in the UK Toni Weller and Jutta Haider Department of Information Science, City University London, London, UK Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current situation of academic LIS research, specifically in the UK and to provide some thoughts considering the future of the discipline. According to the opinion of the authors, this situation is characterised by a lack of cohesion, the need for justification of academic research in terms of its immediate applicability to the professional education of practitioners, and a disjuncture between the information profession and information research. The paper attempts to offer introductory thoughts regarding these circumstances. Design/methodology/approach – The current situation is briefly reviewed and commented on from the authors’ viewpoint. Aspects of Pierre Bourdieu’s study of the university as a hierarchically structured field of forces are considered. Some reference is made to previous literature. Findings – The paper advances the view that the role of academic LIS research, debate and theory formation needs to be strengthened and that this needs to be reflected in the curriculum more strongly. Originality/value – The paper attempts to highlight consistently overlooked contributing factors, and thus aims to shift the perspective towards role and position of LIS research within academia, rather than vis-a ` -vis the professional education it is connected to. It aims to stimulate discussion of the current situation, of how it can be perceived, and of ways to address it. Keywords Education, Information science, Curricula, Research Paper type Viewpoint Introduction In choosing to study the social world in which we are involved, we are obliged to confront [...] a certain number of epistemological problems, all related to the question of the difference between practical knowledge and scholarly knowledge (Bourdieu, 1988, p. 1). In the 1970s and 1980s there was a flurry of interest in the future of library and information science (LIS) as an academic discipline (e.g. Foskett, 1973; Bayless, 1977; Berry, 1987), a debate which has continued to be of importance up to the present day. In the 30 years or so that have since passed the field of LIS – specifically in the UK – has appeared to move closer to professional and business degrees, with less of an emphasis on academic research and academic (as opposed to vocational) teaching (e.g. Eaton and Bawden, 1991; Bud-Frierman, 1994; Rowley, 1998; Holtham, 2001; Layzell Ward, 2003; Oppenheim et al., 2004). As two doctoral students in this field, the authors feel that this shift of emphasis has helped to create and exacerbate some of the problems, or at least difficulties, inherent in the LIS field today: a certain lack of cohesion, the need for The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0001-253X.htm Toni Weller and Jutta Haider are pursuing doctoral research funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. They would like to thank David Bawden for his insightful comments. Where do we go from here? 475 Received 11 December 2006 Accepted 25 May 2007 Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives Vol. 59 No. 4/5, 2007 pp. 475-482 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0001-253X DOI 10.1108/00012530710817654