Information and Learning Science

The re-launched Emerald Publishing Journal – Information and Learning Science – will be co-edited by two leading scholars, Dr Samuel Kai Wah Chu and Dr Rebecca B. Reynolds.

Chu, an associate professor in the Division of Information and Technology Studies, Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, is currently ranked globally as the top 66th author in relation to his publications in library and information science.

He has received two PhDs in Education, one focusing on e-learning, and the other on information science; been involved in over 60 research/project grants (of which he was the principal investigator for more than $4 million of grants); and is a member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.

Reynolds, an associate professor of library and information science in the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) at Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey USA – received her PhD in mass communication, with inter-disciplinary studies and a post-doctoral experience in information science. 

Her research has resulted in numerous top-tier journal articles and conference presentations, and her work has elicited over $450,000 (USD) in grant funding, including an early career development grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program, whose support has contributed in part to the launch of this new journal.

Discussing the promise of this venture, Cindy Hmelo-Silver, professor of learning science at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, commented: 'As a place for cross disciplinary conversation between information sciences and the learning sciences, this journal is unique. Currently, there is much overlap in constructs, but the fields are using differing languages for their complementary perspectives. There is no venue for this exploration at present.'