Turn, turn, turn

Introduction. Turns are recognizable intellectual projects in which a band of scholars enthusiastically embrace a new set of theoretical, methodological, or substantive commitments. These alternative visions typically critique the status quo and focus attention on a different research agenda or frontier. This article identifies and illustrates a series of turns that have occurred within library and information science. Method. The study is based upon the author's reflection on the intellectual history of library and information science and a selective literature review. Starting in 1986, and in loose chronological order, seven turns are described: the cognitive turn, the affective turn, the neo-documentary turn, the socio-cognitive turn, the everyday life turn, the social constructionist turn, and the embodied turn. Analysis. Each turn is profiled with attention to its origins, tenets, key players, signal concepts, influential publications, concomitant methods, and enduring contributions. For quick identification in the future, every turn is assigned a visual logo. Results. Turns have positive and negative effects. They can cause uplift and excitement and re-cast conventional research topics and designs; yet turns may be disruptive to the systematic production of knowledge in library and information science. Another result of this study is an educational video, entitled Turn, Turn, Turn (Hartel, 2019). Conclusions. Students and scholars should be aware of the trends that sweep across a discipline. That way, in the future, new approaches can be employed in an enlightened manner and with a modicum of levity.