Marcia Bates

Marcia J. Bates is Professor Emerita in the Department of Information Studies within the University of California, Los Angeles School of Education and Information Studies. She earned a B.A. from Pomona College in Claremont, California, followed by an M.L.S. in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of California, Berkeley School of Library and Information Studies. Prior to her academic career, Bates served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, teaching English as a foreign language for two years. She subsequently taught at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Washington in Seattle, where she received tenure. In 1981, she joined UCLA, advancing to Professor VI—a special rank beyond full professor—serving as Associate Dean and Department Chair before retiring as Professor Emerita. Bates has published extensively on information system search strategy, user-centered design of information retrieval systems, organization of knowledge, information seeking behavior, and the nature of the information professions. She taught courses in reference services, information seeking behavior, subject access, and user-centered design of information systems. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversaw the seven-volume Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition (2010, with Mary Niles Maack as Associate Editor). She also authored the three-volume Marcia J. Bates: Selected Works (2016, Ketchikan Press), compiling key papers on information concepts, searching theory, and system design. Notable publications include 'Fundamental Forms of Information' (Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2006), 'Information and Knowledge: An Evolutionary Framework for Information Science' (Information Research, 2005), 'What is Browsing—Really? A Model Drawing from Behavioural Science Research' (Information Research, 2007), and encyclopedia entries on 'Information' and 'Information Behavior' (2010). Bates received the Award of Merit, the highest honor from the American Society for Information Science and Technology (2005), the ASIST Research Award (1998), Best Journal of ASIS&T Paper of the Year Awards (1980, 2000), and the Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology (2001). She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has delivered keynotes and webinars, including 'Neolithic Information Seeking' (Information Architecture Summit, 2018) and 'The Heart of the Information Professions' (ASIST webinar, 2017).

Professional Email: mjbates@ucla.edu