Distinctive Challenges of Library-based Interdisciplinary Research and Writing: A Guide

Abstract

This article examines the current challenges of library-based interdisciplinary research and writing within the larger context of the theory and practice of interdisciplinarity. Based upon experience with college seniors researching and writing year-long interdisciplinary projects and informed by the literatures on library science and interdisciplinary studies, the essay identifies the underlying sources of those challenges, the implications for the teaching of interdisciplinary subjects, and the consequences for interdisciplinary scholarship at a critical time in the maturation of the field. The paper employs a pragmatic approach informed by the foundational literature of the field.