Nitecki, Joseph Z. 1995. Philosophical Aspects of Library Information Science in Retrospect. Volume 2 of The Nitecki Trilogy . Also Available as ERIC 381 162.
1.1 Focus of the study.
The focus of this study is on the philosophical aspects of library and information science as expressed in library literature. The study attempts to identify the basic elements of the discipline, their meaning, nature, and values.
The compendium in the second part of this essay contains references to a variety of philosophical aspects of librarianship, discussed from a number of different viewpoints. To provide some structure for the analyses of the whole spectrum of views expressed in it, a metalibrary approach is used as a model.
For a lack of a better name, the term "meta-librarianship" is used to describe the approach that synthesizes the essence of recorded messages communication, extended beyond the traditional paradigms of LIS. 'Meta' stands for an all-inclusive approach, and the word 'librarianship' is retained to indicate the historical origin of the emerging discipline.
Metalibrarianship can be briefly described as a study of metaphysical (ME), epistemological (EP), and valuational (VA) relationships between primary concepts in library and information science: the receiver of the communication, the carrier of the message, its content, and the relationships between them in the process of information transfer, analyzed at the conceptual (Co), contextual (Cx) and procedural levels (Pd).
Information transfer takes place between data, modified into information, which, when integrated into previously known relations, becomes knowledge. (For a full description of the metalibrary model see: J. Z. Nitecki, 1993.)
1.2 Methodology.
In this study the terms 'metaphysics' and 'epistemology' are used in a nontechnical, descriptive sense: metaphysical interpretations as the way people think about library and information science, epistemology as presuppositions about the basic attributes characterizing these concepts. The metaphysical approach focuses on the meaning of LIS, its definition. The epistemological approach addresses nature of the phenomena discussed. While both approaches are closely interrelated, here the focus is on the metaphorical essence, the necessary and essential innate ideas about LIS, and epistemological knowledge of actual existence of LIS. The former includes principles, ideas, and meaning; the latter refers to the origin, nature, and role of these concepts. The valuational approach relates to the judgment of relevant axiological, deontological and teleological values. (It includes but is not limited to ethics.)
The conceptual level focuses on the reality status (ideal, material, etc.) of the phenomena. The contextual level concentrates on the environment in which phenomena and relations are analyzed. The procedural level addresses the processes that change the status quo of phenomena or relations; it includes procedures (formal statements of the process).
The classification of individual topics
varies; concepts that are not fully discussed are not completely
subdivided, suggesting gaps in the debates on the philosophy of
librarianship.
The table below summarizes some criteria used in this study.
|
Recorded Knowledge (Levels) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
(Meaning) (ME) |
(Nature) (EP) |
(Judgment) (VA) | |
|
Concept: essense "WHAT?" (Co) |
Rationale; meaning |
Organization; Nature of library related issues; Philosophical parameters |
Service; axiological judgment; (good/bad) |
|
Context: communication behavior "WHY?" (Cx) |
Individual; Society principles culturally defined, e.g.: purpose |
Social Environment; Its parameters; directions for change |
Descriptive social values |
| Process: Pragmatic method: "HOW?" (Pd) |
Priorities; Laws & Roles experimentally defined |
Change; Validity Functional differentiation |
Acceptability; deontological judgment (right/wrong) |
The approach in this study is subjective in the selection of the authors and their views for inclusion in the compendium, and in the ways individual statements are classified. However, since the scope of the selection is very large (it includes most of the essays classified in Library Literature relevant to philosophical aspects of librarianship), and the classification itself is very broad, formulated in a framework of the previously defined metalibrary model, it is possible to draw conclusions, which, although statistically unverified, suggest the emergence of patterns in the application of the philosophical approach to the interpretation of the discipline.
The remaining sections of this part of the book provide an overview of the emerging philosophy of library information science by summarizing the citations listed in Part II of the book. The summaries are arranged in six groups illustrating: