Abstract:

[Purpose/Significance] Following the renaming of the Information Resource Management (IRM) discipline from "Library, Information and Archives Management," there is an urgent need to construct an independent knowledge system that breaks free from Western theoretical pathways and develops an indigenous academic discourse system. Although the concept of "field", developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, provides an important analytical tool for understanding the structural space of knowledge production and information exchange, its roots in the logic of capital and the framework of power analysis of Western capitalist societies mean that it is inadequate for fully revealing the inherent logic of Chinese-style knowledge production and social cognition. Therefore, the indigenization of IRM's theoretical field through the intellectual resources of Chinese philosophy has become a critical proposition for the discipline's autonomous development. The core categories within traditional Chinese academic discourse provide a profound intellectual foundation for the indigenization of the IRM theory. [Method/Process] Grounded in traditional Chinese academic discourse and adopting the fundamental stance of "taking Chinese learning as the essence," this paper employed a systematic approach to reinterpret the theoretical field of IRM from an indigenous perspective across five dimensions: spatial configuration, hierarchical structure, core dimensions, professional shaping, and disciplinary reconstruction. First, the paper examined the intellectual resources within traditional Chinese academic discourse that resonate with the concept of "field," reinterpreted Bourdieu's field theory from an indigenous standpoint, and proposed a Chinese interpretive framework for the "theoretical field" of the IRM. Second, based on the "V-Shape Model" (comprising the MTUI, DIKW, TASC, and EPGK sub-models) and the "Dual-Chain Interconstruction" theory developed by Dr. Wenjie Jie, the paper revealed the four-level spatial configuration of the IRM's theoretical field and its inherent logic, elucidating its implications for disciplinary development. Third, from the perspective of the "Dual-Chain Interconstruction" framework, the paper analyzed the characteristics of the theoretical field across four stages－pre-information stage, information stage, post-information stage, and "generalization" stage－revealing the evolutionary pattern of knowledge from disorder to order, from order to structure, from structure to semantics, and from semantics to intelligence. Fourth, the paper constructed a multi-dimensional analytical framework for the theoretical field from four core dimensions: user cognition, resource form, practical activity, and social mission. On this basis, taking libraries and archives management as typical professional scenarios, the paper elucidated the reverse shaping mechanism of professional practice in theoretical scenarios. It further demonstrated the systematic transformation pathway from theoretical field to educational practice through the case study of the curriculum reform for the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) program at Renmin University of China. [Results/Conclusions] The research demonstrates that reinterpreting the theoretical field of the IRM through the lens of Chinese philosophical discourse can effectively transcend the "structure-agency" dichotomy inherent in Western sociological theory, providing a philosophical foundation for the construction of an independent disciplinary knowledge system grounded in the principles of "the inseparability of Dao and its manifestations," "the unity of heaven and humanity," "the unity of knowledge and action," and "the world belongs to all." The theoretical field system of the IRM with Chinese characteristics constructed in this paper reveals the intrinsic relationships among the spatial configuration, hierarchical structure, and core dimensions of the theoretical field, elucidates the practical pathways of professional shaping and disciplinary reconstruction, and provides a theoretical reference based on Chinese discourse for theoretical innovation and paradigm shift in the IRM discipline in the digital intelligence era. This research supports the discipline's transition from theoretical self-awareness to cultural confidence and contributes to the establishment of a national independent knowledge system.

Key words: information resource management, theoretical field, autonomous knowledge system, Chinese discourse system