Boundary objects in information science research: An approach for explicating connections between collections, cultures and communities

Boundary objects (BO) are abstract or physical artefacts that reside in the interfaces between organisations or groups of people. The concept of BO, introduced by Star and Griesemer in an article in 1989, has been used in a broad variety of studies in different research communities from management to computer science and different fields of information science. The aim of this panel, composed of experienced BO researchers, is to provide an overview of and introduction to the state of the art of information science research informed by the theory for the researchers and practitioners participating in the conference; to illustrate the variety of studies and contexts in which the notion of BOs can be found useful in explicating connections between collections, cultures and commu- nities; and to push forward the state of the art of BO-oriented information science research by discussing new empirical and practical areas of interest and the theory itself.