Metalibrarianship and Human Reality

A Dialogue between Nitecki and Zubiri for a Foundation of Information Science through the Path of a Philosophical Anthropology

Abstract

This article addresses the identity crisis in Information Science (ISL), a discipline with strong pragmatism but a fragile philosophical foundation. It analyzes Joseph Z. Nitecki's "Metalibrarianship," a metatheory that offers a robust conceptual architecture for the field. However, it is argued that this formal model requires an anthropological substance, which is found in the philosophy of Xavier Zubiri. The paper proposes an integrative synthesis in which Zubiri's theory of "sentient intelligence" and his definition of man as an "animal of realities" fulfill Nitecki's framework. In this new perspective, the informational process is radically reinterpreted not as a mere transaction of data, but as a fundamental mode of actualizing human reality. The data-information-knowledge continuum is mapped onto the acts of Zubirian intelligence. The resulting synthesis offers a paradigm of radical humanism for ISL, redefining it as the science that studies the constitution of the person through their interaction with registered reality, with implications for ethics and professional practice.