R. David Lankes
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262529082
- eISBN:
- 9780262334600
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262529082.001.0001
- Subject:
- Information Science, Library Science
The field guide seeks to outline an approach to librarianship, librarians, and libraries based on knowledge, learning, and community engagement. The first part of the book covers the mission, skills, ...
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The field guide seeks to outline an approach to librarianship, librarians, and libraries based on knowledge, learning, and community engagement. The first part of the book covers the mission, skills, and values of librarians. Librarians are defined as builders of participatory systems to aid communities in making smarter decisions. The second portion of the book outlines libraries as institutions and as platforms for community engagement. The final part of the book outlines methods for teaching New Librarianship concepts including frequently debated points.Less
The field guide seeks to outline an approach to librarianship, librarians, and libraries based on knowledge, learning, and community engagement. The first part of the book covers the mission, skills, and values of librarians. Librarians are defined as builders of participatory systems to aid communities in making smarter decisions. The second portion of the book outlines libraries as institutions and as platforms for community engagement. The final part of the book outlines methods for teaching New Librarianship concepts including frequently debated points.
Julian Warner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262013444
- eISBN:
- 9780262259262
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262013444.001.0001
- Subject:
- Information Science, Information Science
Information retrieval in the age of Internet search engines has become part of ordinary discourse and everyday practice: “Google” is a verb in common usage. Thus far, more attention has been given to ...
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Information retrieval in the age of Internet search engines has become part of ordinary discourse and everyday practice: “Google” is a verb in common usage. Thus far, more attention has been given to practical understanding of information retrieval than to a full theoretical account. This book offers a comprehensive overview of information retrieval, synthesizing theories from different disciplines (information and computer science, librarianship and indexing, and information society discourse) and incorporating such disparate systems as WorldCat and Google into a single theoretical framework. There is a need for such a theoretical treatment, it argues, one that reveals the structure and underlying patterns of this complex field while remaining congruent with everyday practice. The book presents a labor theoretic approach to information retrieval, building on previously formulated distinction between semantic and syntactic mental labor, arguing that the description and search labor of information retrieval can be understood as both semantic and syntactic in character. This information science approach is rooted in the humanities and the social sciences but informed by an understanding of information technology and information theory. The chapters offer a progressive exposition of the topic, with illustrative examples to explain the concepts presented.Less
Information retrieval in the age of Internet search engines has become part of ordinary discourse and everyday practice: “Google” is a verb in common usage. Thus far, more attention has been given to practical understanding of information retrieval than to a full theoretical account. This book offers a comprehensive overview of information retrieval, synthesizing theories from different disciplines (information and computer science, librarianship and indexing, and information society discourse) and incorporating such disparate systems as WorldCat and Google into a single theoretical framework. There is a need for such a theoretical treatment, it argues, one that reveals the structure and underlying patterns of this complex field while remaining congruent with everyday practice. The book presents a labor theoretic approach to information retrieval, building on previously formulated distinction between semantic and syntactic mental labor, arguing that the description and search labor of information retrieval can be understood as both semantic and syntactic in character. This information science approach is rooted in the humanities and the social sciences but informed by an understanding of information technology and information theory. The chapters offer a progressive exposition of the topic, with illustrative examples to explain the concepts presented.
David McKitterick
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263266
- eISBN:
- 9780191734854
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263266.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter discusses the identification of libraries as a national and public issue and the establishment of librarianship as an identifiable profession. The public identity of libraries lay in ...
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This chapter discusses the identification of libraries as a national and public issue and the establishment of librarianship as an identifiable profession. The public identity of libraries lay in their collections and how such collections were shared and interpreted. As repositories of history and current knowledge, their principles of selection and presentation denoted national and local aspirations, linked by a scale of values broadly defined as social, to a sense of the past. The chapter also highlights the Public Libraries Act of 1850, also known as the Ewart Act, which gave power to local authorities to levy rates for the development and support of local libraries. This authority given to local authorities meant that all decisions respecting local libraries were subject to notions of public identity.Less
This chapter discusses the identification of libraries as a national and public issue and the establishment of librarianship as an identifiable profession. The public identity of libraries lay in their collections and how such collections were shared and interpreted. As repositories of history and current knowledge, their principles of selection and presentation denoted national and local aspirations, linked by a scale of values broadly defined as social, to a sense of the past. The chapter also highlights the Public Libraries Act of 1850, also known as the Ewart Act, which gave power to local authorities to levy rates for the development and support of local libraries. This authority given to local authorities meant that all decisions respecting local libraries were subject to notions of public identity.
Julian Warner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262013444
- eISBN:
- 9780262259262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262013444.003.0002
- Subject:
- Information Science, Information Science
Selection power, which refers to one’s ability to make informed choices between objects or representations of objects, is a primary value or goal for information retrieval systems. This chapter ...
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Selection power, which refers to one’s ability to make informed choices between objects or representations of objects, is a primary value or goal for information retrieval systems. This chapter describes selection power and selection labor, not only as concepts and activities in themselves but also for the relation between them. It examines the mental labor of memory, recall, and response, as well as the technological forms that absorb the cognitive burden of memory and recall, along with the mental labor involved in their construction and searching. It also looks at analogous concepts in partly separate scholarly discourses that support the value of selection power, such as librarianship, indexing, and cybernetics.Less
Selection power, which refers to one’s ability to make informed choices between objects or representations of objects, is a primary value or goal for information retrieval systems. This chapter describes selection power and selection labor, not only as concepts and activities in themselves but also for the relation between them. It examines the mental labor of memory, recall, and response, as well as the technological forms that absorb the cognitive burden of memory and recall, along with the mental labor involved in their construction and searching. It also looks at analogous concepts in partly separate scholarly discourses that support the value of selection power, such as librarianship, indexing, and cybernetics.
Renee Hobbs, Liz Deslauriers, and Pam Steager
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190854317
- eISBN:
- 9780190057534
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190854317.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
Media programs in libraries can help promote lifelong learning with film and video resources. Libraries are central to empowering their patrons to use media in meaningful ways. Film and media ...
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Media programs in libraries can help promote lifelong learning with film and video resources. Libraries are central to empowering their patrons to use media in meaningful ways. Film and media education must grow and evolve in order to become a more important part of the future of librarianship. We see libraries as venues for the process of civic agency and social change, which can be supported by the practice of critical analysis and creation of media in the library space. Libraries that cultivate community film viewing and media making embody the practice of community building, and community spaces for gatherings and discussions are increasingly recognized as key features for libraries. Resources and programs that support patrons as media makers, not just as media consumers, are a vital part of the future of libraries. Film and media education activities provide many opportunities for partnering with the community.Less
Media programs in libraries can help promote lifelong learning with film and video resources. Libraries are central to empowering their patrons to use media in meaningful ways. Film and media education must grow and evolve in order to become a more important part of the future of librarianship. We see libraries as venues for the process of civic agency and social change, which can be supported by the practice of critical analysis and creation of media in the library space. Libraries that cultivate community film viewing and media making embody the practice of community building, and community spaces for gatherings and discussions are increasingly recognized as key features for libraries. Resources and programs that support patrons as media makers, not just as media consumers, are a vital part of the future of libraries. Film and media education activities provide many opportunities for partnering with the community.
