Research Activities & Culture of Research in LIS Profession

This editorial critically examines the contemporary state of research within the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession in India, highlighting a systemic shift from genuine intellectual inquiry to credential-driven compliance. Historically, as evidenced by a 2001 ICSSR/NASSDOC directory showing that 93% of institutional librarians lacked a Ph.D., doctoral degrees were not mandatory for career progression. Today, however, rigid institutional mandates—such as those from the University Grants Commission (UGC)—have turned the Ph.D. into a compulsory tool for promotion, leading to an influx of repetitive, unoriginal, and low-quality theses. The author argues that this focus on degree attainment has eroded the true culture of research, stifling the potential of a highly IT-skilled younger generation who often lack original research agendas or able mentorship. To rectify this, the paper proposes that "good research" must be distinguished by its wider real-world applicability and its capacity to yield at least two high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles, ultimately urging regulatory bodies like the UGC to urgently implement stricter, more meaningful guidelines to restore academic rigor to the profession.