Week 2: Introduction
Christine Pawley "Libraries"
This article gives a good overview of the recent history of the modern library, which now includes specializations such as the National, Public, Academic, School, and Special library. It also provides a history of the changes to the values and ethics within the field of librarianship. It was most surprising to me that such significant alterations have really only come to pass quite recently. For example, I have grown up in an era when public libraries have been strongholds against censorship and invasion of personal privacy by protecting library records, and yet the public opinion has only been supportive of this stance since the extreme censorship agenda of the Nazis during the 1920s/30s. Or, more locally, I have assumed public libraries to be a staple in almost every American town or community, but the widespread growth of public libraries as sustainable institutions only began making progress with the philanthropic backing of Andrew Carnegie during the early twentieth century. With the accelerated rate of change I'm used to growing up in the wake of the information explosion, I was glad to be able to see the positive changes of the last century still affecting my life today.
Tefko Saracevic “Information Science”
I found this article to be very helpful in defining the fields of library and information science more clearly, though there seems to be some professional indecision about any rigid boundaries. In fact, Saracevic claims that the interdisciplinary nature of information science remains at the very heart of the field’s development, especially over the last century when information has swamped our existence in unprecedented amounts and formats. Technological innovations in related disciplines like computer science intimately mold the whole scope of our modern information society, which correspondingly affects all related information domains. Staple ideas and approaches to information management will change accordingly through further research into technology and the continued education of information users, but these two components mark a significant rift in theories on information retrieval. Saracevic points out a systems-centered method represented by the Gerard Salton model of education in contrast to the human-centered approach of Jesse H. Shera’s model. It seems to me that one’s own professional bias lends a lot to which angle seems more logical, as Salton was a computer scientist and Shera a library school dean, and yet this split would actively detract from successfully developing and integrating the best tools for the betterment of everyone due to a lack of cooperation between very similarly interested parties. I would like to see technology become user-friendlier by the day, not only to relieve the frustration of learning and managing new systems, but also to grant access to a wider range of people who would benefit from the resources currently available. In an ocean of information threatening to drown out those who cannot keep afloat with new developments, it is necessary to manipulate the technology to produce the most benefits for its human information users.
D.D. Rusch-Feja “Libraries: Digital, electronic, and hybrid”
One of the cautions the author presents in this article is that “external services and virtual information centers or portals are fulfilling various information demands, though still without adequate quality control and validity checks” (p.8811). As someone who has had the good fortune of being able to attend a higher institution of learning, I have become a skeptic when it comes to evaluating new information or ideas, and I try to always question the source’s credibility or at least origin. Many people accept what they hear at face value with little questioning or concern about the legitimacy or truth behind it, and I think that behavior combined with the vast amount of free information available from the Internet alone has serious potential for disaster. Is it socially irresponsible to allow anyone to post anything without any system of said ‘quality control or validity checks’ when the information could, and does, end up being seen by children or other impressionable, uncritical minds? Though I am not a supporter of unilateral censorship, I think there must be some way to devise a system where materials like self-produced online videos or roaming Internet rumors cannot be misinterpreted for fact. Where does one draw a line between the freedom of speech, the freedom of intellectual thought, and the impressionability of the masses?
Wayne A. Wiegand “Tunnel Vision and Blind Spots…”
In one of the initial paragraphs Wiegand states that “without a deeper understanding of the American library’s past we cannot adequately assess its present and are thus unable to plan its future prudently” (p. 2) referring to the lack of research done on the strengths and weaknesses of the interactions between libraries and their users. I think this is especially true in considering the progression from a traditional library to a digital library that integrates and optimizes the best technological tools available, which often comes with a hefty price tag. I can’t believe there is not more research currently underway; it seems foolhardy at best to allocate resources into a field and then to overlook analyzing the effects of those resources, especially since funding availability and budget constraints are such major concerns. I cannot imagine a private company, for example, investing in a new software program or technology and then not following up on the effects of its implementation and in particular, the overall benefits to the company. On the contrary, the fallout would be scrutinized to be sure the investment was not wasted or made in poor judgment, providing valuable statistics for any future decisions. In a field as far-reaching as Information Science, where the effects of professional labors can be seen infusing into a wide range of communities, there needs to be methods of evaluating progress by comparison to previous years with room for any necessary adjustments to ensure a sustainable quality of services. Awareness is a major part of recognizing a problem, and I think Wiegand does a service to all information users by bringing this analytical void to our attention.
This article gives a good overview of the recent history of the modern library, which now includes specializations such as the National, Public, Academic, School, and Special library. It also provides a history of the changes to the values and ethics within the field of librarianship. It was most surprising to me that such significant alterations have really only come to pass quite recently. For example, I have grown up in an era when public libraries have been strongholds against censorship and invasion of personal privacy by protecting library records, and yet the public opinion has only been supportive of this stance since the extreme censorship agenda of the Nazis during the 1920s/30s. Or, more locally, I have assumed public libraries to be a staple in almost every American town or community, but the widespread growth of public libraries as sustainable institutions only began making progress with the philanthropic backing of Andrew Carnegie during the early twentieth century. With the accelerated rate of change I'm used to growing up in the wake of the information explosion, I was glad to be able to see the positive changes of the last century still affecting my life today.
Tefko Saracevic “Information Science”
I found this article to be very helpful in defining the fields of library and information science more clearly, though there seems to be some professional indecision about any rigid boundaries. In fact, Saracevic claims that the interdisciplinary nature of information science remains at the very heart of the field’s development, especially over the last century when information has swamped our existence in unprecedented amounts and formats. Technological innovations in related disciplines like computer science intimately mold the whole scope of our modern information society, which correspondingly affects all related information domains. Staple ideas and approaches to information management will change accordingly through further research into technology and the continued education of information users, but these two components mark a significant rift in theories on information retrieval. Saracevic points out a systems-centered method represented by the Gerard Salton model of education in contrast to the human-centered approach of Jesse H. Shera’s model. It seems to me that one’s own professional bias lends a lot to which angle seems more logical, as Salton was a computer scientist and Shera a library school dean, and yet this split would actively detract from successfully developing and integrating the best tools for the betterment of everyone due to a lack of cooperation between very similarly interested parties. I would like to see technology become user-friendlier by the day, not only to relieve the frustration of learning and managing new systems, but also to grant access to a wider range of people who would benefit from the resources currently available. In an ocean of information threatening to drown out those who cannot keep afloat with new developments, it is necessary to manipulate the technology to produce the most benefits for its human information users.
D.D. Rusch-Feja “Libraries: Digital, electronic, and hybrid”
One of the cautions the author presents in this article is that “external services and virtual information centers or portals are fulfilling various information demands, though still without adequate quality control and validity checks” (p.8811). As someone who has had the good fortune of being able to attend a higher institution of learning, I have become a skeptic when it comes to evaluating new information or ideas, and I try to always question the source’s credibility or at least origin. Many people accept what they hear at face value with little questioning or concern about the legitimacy or truth behind it, and I think that behavior combined with the vast amount of free information available from the Internet alone has serious potential for disaster. Is it socially irresponsible to allow anyone to post anything without any system of said ‘quality control or validity checks’ when the information could, and does, end up being seen by children or other impressionable, uncritical minds? Though I am not a supporter of unilateral censorship, I think there must be some way to devise a system where materials like self-produced online videos or roaming Internet rumors cannot be misinterpreted for fact. Where does one draw a line between the freedom of speech, the freedom of intellectual thought, and the impressionability of the masses?
Wayne A. Wiegand “Tunnel Vision and Blind Spots…”
In one of the initial paragraphs Wiegand states that “without a deeper understanding of the American library’s past we cannot adequately assess its present and are thus unable to plan its future prudently” (p. 2) referring to the lack of research done on the strengths and weaknesses of the interactions between libraries and their users. I think this is especially true in considering the progression from a traditional library to a digital library that integrates and optimizes the best technological tools available, which often comes with a hefty price tag. I can’t believe there is not more research currently underway; it seems foolhardy at best to allocate resources into a field and then to overlook analyzing the effects of those resources, especially since funding availability and budget constraints are such major concerns. I cannot imagine a private company, for example, investing in a new software program or technology and then not following up on the effects of its implementation and in particular, the overall benefits to the company. On the contrary, the fallout would be scrutinized to be sure the investment was not wasted or made in poor judgment, providing valuable statistics for any future decisions. In a field as far-reaching as Information Science, where the effects of professional labors can be seen infusing into a wide range of communities, there needs to be methods of evaluating progress by comparison to previous years with room for any necessary adjustments to ensure a sustainable quality of services. Awareness is a major part of recognizing a problem, and I think Wiegand does a service to all information users by bringing this analytical void to our attention.
posted by lwinkle at 1:48 PM
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