Linda C. Smith

Linda C. Smith is professor emerita at the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences. She has served as President of the Association for Information Science and Technology and the Association for Library and Information Science Education.[1] Her scholarship has been wide-ranging and she is particularly known for her research on the potential of information systems to support discovery and consideration of convergence curation.[2] The first librarian to investigate Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Information Retrieval (IR), Smith also specified the role of AI as a human intermediary and identified the AI techniques of pattern recognition, representation, problem-solving, and learning as suitable for IR, claiming AI is just like a human librarian who helps users navigate information systems.[3]

  1. ^ Coleman, Anita S., and Martha Kyrillidou. 2022. “The Renaissance Scholar of Library and Information Science: Professor Linda C. Smith.” Library Trends 71 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1353/lib.2023.0000.
  2. ^ Palmer, Carole L., and Melissa H. Cragin. 2022. “Curating for Convergence: Data Stewardship for Interdisciplinary Inquiry.” Library Trends 71 (1): 113–31. doi:10.1353/lib.2023.0007.
  3. ^ Smith, Linda C. 1976a. “Artificial Intelligence in Retrieval Systems as an Alternative to Human Intermediaries.” American Society for Information Science Midyear Meeting Proceedings 5 (May): 51-57,  (In American Society For Information Science (ASIS). Information Interaction Panel. Compendium Of Presentations Of The 5th ASIS Mid-Year Meeting. Vanderbilt Univ.)