The significance of professionals’ information behavior has attracted increased attention
during the last few decades in library and information science (LIS). Great effort has been put
into exploring information needs, seeking and use by various occupational groups (e.g.
Leckie, Pettigrew & Sylvain, 1996). This text aims to complement previous research by
means of theory of professions.
Throughout the 20th century a tradition of theory of professions has been developed and used
within the social sciences, primarily in sociology, but also in LIS. This development should be
understood in the context of the increasing specialisation in working life combined with the
acceleration of institutionalised expertise in society. Theory of professions focuses on the
relations between occupational groups, theoretical knowledge and the possibilities for
practitioners to exclusively apply such knowledge within their occupational practice.
Applying such a perspective to the field of information behavior, demonstrates that the
traditional focus at the two levels of individual and workplace is not always sufficient for a
study of information behavior in occupational practices. Instead, workplaces and their
concomitant occupational groups should also be related at a societal level. The workplace is a