Informatio
28(1), 2023, pp. 390-391
ISSN: 2301-1378
Dossier temático: Comportamiento humano informativo
1 Facultad de Información y Comunicación. Universidad de la República. Correo electrónico: mario.barite@fic.edu.uy
Professor Martha Sabelli has insisted that, in my capacity as editor-in-chief of Informatio, I close with a few words this magnificent dossier on Information Behavior, published under her responsibility, which constitutes the very heart of the first issue of the year 2023.
First of all, I want to record some references about her person. The Prof. Sabelli has been a pioneer in many ways in the development of Information Science in Uruguay. She was the first recognized researcher, with research projects approved and financed in very rigorous calls from our university and other funding entities. She has also been our first PhD, having obtained a PhD at the University of Alcalá de Henares, in Spain. On the other hand, her magnificent career as a researcher of hers has not known of interruptions, and with her she has also illuminated her teaching and her projects of extension and relationship with the community. It is worth mentioning her remarkable ability to prepare students for research, to boost their careers, and organize and lead research teams
For several years now, she has been dedicated to research in the broad spectrum of what is known today as Information Behavior, and in this field, she has generated an important scientific production, as well as solid links with researchers and research groups around the world. For all these reasons, but also because 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of her outstanding research path, we felt it was urgent to extend her invitation to coordinate this dossier.
I must confess that when Dr. Sabelli first showed me the design of the dossier according to a geographical distribution of the content of the contributions, I had some doubts. This implied obtaining the collaboration of renowned authors from practically all continents, as well as trying a common pattern to communicate the state of the field in various regions, two goals that at first seemed difficult to reconcile and meet. If at this point the decision to support this design was made, it was because of the blind trust that we have always had in Prof. Sabelli. The result of this dossier has once again shown the correctness of her initial idea.
The participation of high-profile and recognized authors everywhere in this area of research can only be understood -in the sense in which we have been speaking- as another ratification of confidence in the worth of our colleague. We would like to especially thank all of them, both for the quality of their work and for their remarkable spirit of collaboration. We give the same recognition to the evaluators of these works, and to Dr. Judith Sutz, for having her reflections, always full of wisdom.
Finally, it is an honor for our journal that the dossier is dedicated to Professor Emeritus Thomas D. Wilson, who coined the expression Information Behavior from a profound reformulation of the field of study related to information users. His teachings breathe and fly over each of the pages of this dossier.
For editors-in-chief of scientific journals, the choice of the topic for a new dossier always represents a crucial moment. And once you believe you have made the right decision to give impetus to an area in full evolution and in need of plural views, comes the second crossroads: placing material of such a delicate nature in the best hands. The satisfaction in this case is twofold: both for accompanying an original approach in the production of knowledge in an area of great relevance and projection, and for having counted on the right person to direct this proposal. For this and much more, thank you very much Dr. Martha Sabelli.