Documentation science

Documentation Science or Documentation motion deals with the documentation as a " collection, organization and utilization of all types of documents ." This definition is derived as well as the term " documentation " of Paul Otlet. The documentation science is closely related to library science from which they emerged, and information science, which is considered among others by the information scientist Rainer Kuhlen as her successor. A recognized definition of documentation science that goes beyond Otlet's general definition, does not exist.

The emergence of the documentation has to do with the end of the 19th century escalating demand for information science and technology, which could be less and less covered by conventional libraries. It is therefore formed special libraries and other facilities such as the Central Office for technical and literary information in Prussia, whose goal was the targeted acquisition of information in the first place. The theoretical superstructure of documentation science emerged in the early 20th century by Henri La Fontaine and Paul Otlet - but met its far-reaching ideas of a universal library will soon be rejected. Between Librarianship and Documentation movement, it soon came to tensions that persisted, especially in Germany until the end of the 20th century. With advent of commercial databases and methods of information management documentation science is losing importance and is largely based on in other subjects.

One consequence of the so-called Sputnik shock, which was released in the U.S. through the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957, was that the need for documentation was first placed into the wider consciousness. The experience that has been recorded with great effort decryption of satellite signal could have been avoided, since these templates already been published, led to an expansion of the information system and the development of modern documentation. In the Vineyard Report ( by Alvin M. Weinberg, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and others) an analysis of the documentation and information in the U.S. and recommendations for a better exchange of knowledge was presented in 1963. These were reacted inter alia, in the development of digital information systems ( databases). In the Federal Republic of Germany there was a little later the I & D program (1974-1977) to promote information and documentation.

The development of the Internet has opened up new possibilities for the area of documentation. Whereas traditional databases " on-line" were accessible via remote access only, information may be today, " online" directly accessed and processed automatically.