University extension in Information Science: a critical participatory approach

Abstract

Introduction: The current society has been identified as the Information Society. Questions related to information and its flow are instigated to its understanding and social influence, taking into account documents, varied contents and subjects, diversified behaviors and people who use, receive and reproduce information. The university has the role of contributing to the transformation, training and social awareness from the inseparability between teaching, research and extension by impacting on the personal and professional formation of society, however, the small amount of publication in information science, on the extension university in the community in a situation of social vulnerability, provokes us to question the social relevance of the Extension Program of the Department of Information Science of the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Objective: Thus, through an analysis of the extension in information science, this research article in progress, has the following objective: to reflect on the importance and social relevance of the extension carried out in the community in a situation of social vulnerability. Methodology: The methodology used is qualitative with an interpretive critical approach, in two distinct and connected moments: the bibliographical research, in this study, and the field research in the data collection. Results: As a result, the practice of participatory extension is evident where, in an interdisciplinary and democratic way, the distance between the academic world and the periphery community, between scientific and popular knowledge, can be reduced through university extension in Information Science. Conclusion: These will be confirmed or not at the conclusion of the ongoing field research through interviews and document analysis.