- B -
BAKER, NICOLSON, 1994:
Traditional librarianship as illustrated
by the card catalog, is now being replaced by online system. The
card catalog with all its formal and informal annotations is,
like an old manuscript, an irreplaceable record of bibliographic
scholarship. The computerized catalogs, although effective retrieval
systems, are harder to browse, have fewer cross-references, subject
headings and annotations (p.69).
- "When we redefine libraries
as means rather than as physical places - as conduits of knowledge
rather than as physical buildings filled with physical books --
we may think that the new, more 'visionary,' more megatrendy
definition embraces the old, but in fact it doesn't: the removal
of the concrete word 'books' from the library's statement of purpose
is exactly the act that allows misguided administrators to work
out their hostility toward printed history while the rest of us
sleep." (p.78)
BALLARD, LLOYD VERNOR, 1936:
The American library as an essential
part of education system, is an educational filtration plant.
It should develop social homogeneity based on the inculcation
of a set of common ideas. It discharges its social responsibilities
by exploring the wisdom and experience of the race. State should
protect the library from negative influences.
BALLARD, T., 1988:
There is a significant change in the
library service orientation by shifting emphasis in public libraries
from book collection to provision of information. The technological
changes will follow only when they are easy to use by people.
BAR-HILLEL, YEKOSHUA, 1955:
The term 'Theory of Information' is
used in the USA since 1948 as a subscience of Communication Theory.
In England it is applied to general scientific methodology, a
more comprehensive science related to fields such as semantics,
sociology, anthropology, or physics.
The concept of information applies
not to the individual messages (as the concept of meaning would)
but rather to the situation as a whole. Communication starts as
events that are extra-linguistic, and is verbalized, reverbalized,
encoded, send, distorted, received, decoded, expanded, understood
and acted upon.
Communication engineers task is to
devise a mechanism by which a significant sequence of words, produced
by somebody, is reproduced at some other place, with shortest
possible lag time.
Economics in time and cost can sometimes
be achieved by permitting a certain deterioration in the replication
of the original message, based on the redundancy of natural language.
The concept of semantic information
has intrinsically nothing to do with communication. Semantics
lies outside the scope of mathematical information theory. However,
there is a logical relationship between the amount of semantic
information (meaning of the message) and the frequency of its
use.
Statistical theory of communication,
introduced in 1948 had a significant impact on information theory
processes such as estimation of relative frequency of words use.
BARZUN, JACQUES, 1969:
The modern public library is not a
storehouse but an intelligence agency. The librarian is often
a technician trained in acquisition, cataloging, reference and
management. Mechanical work is performed by computer, but the
computer is useless as a source for intelligence. The book is
not the same as its abstract, its content cannot be understood
in advance.
There is no knowledge explosion; new
knowledge is often old knowledge rehashed, or transferred from
one container to another. The information explosion refers to
an increase in the quantity of records.
A librarian is a reader-teacher, and
should leave the role of technician to a computer specialist;
he is not a specialist providing knowledge in the abstract, but
a practicalist performing an important, next to life-saving service,
of expert communication of intelligence."(p.3965).
BATTIN, PATRICIA, 1984a:
Librarians know more about computing
than computer specialists about libraries. Academic librarians
always distinguished between information and knowledge, subscribing
to a philosophy based on the organization of knowledge and support
of continuing scholarship.
Information managers treat all information
as data, and are more concerned about the technology, hardware
and systems than with the content of these data.
The challenge is to integrate information
technology into the existing information system, with a centralized,
coordinated linkages and compatibility to serve the diversity,
and to permit the autonomy in productive scholarship.
"We need to keep in mind that
information is not a property of documents, nor of bibliographic
records, but the relationship between the data and the recipient."
(Nina Matheson, quoted by Battin 1984, p.13)
---- 1984b:
Traditionally a library was defined
as a storehouse where librarians 'mark and park' records, by maintaining
bibliographically controlled archival collections of documents,
with a catalog used as an inventory of the collection. Today the
focus is on scholarly information with emphases on access and
preservation of documents. Most important is the coordination
of all branches of scholarship.
---- 1985:
Librarians should consider information
as a function, concentrating on the user demands for knowledge,
not a format. Development of the structure for the linkage between
variety of formats and institutions holding them, will be a joint
responsibility of computer and library science.
Most of the traditional task-oriented
activities will be delegated to paraprofessionals. Teaching, consulting,
planning, designing, developing and coordinating activities related
to information function, will be assigned to the professional
librarians.
BATTY, C.D., 1966:
Librarianship is not about knowledge,
but about its organization. Librarians are concerned about the
form and structure rather than the substance or content. The focus
is on 'how' rather than 'what'. This approach requires a faculty
of judgment defined by Kant as relating general principles to
particular cases in the selection of appropriate rules. "The
librarian must direct his practical experience by his theoretical
knowledge and increase his theoretical understanding through practical
experience."
BATTY DAVID and C. Bearman, 1983:
In librarianship as in general information
activities, organization of knowledge consists of list-making.
Library traditions, until 1876, were
pragmatic, concerned with bibliographic scholarly description
of individual books. This approach started in late Renaissance,
was cultivated in the 18th century and flourished in the 19th
century.
Earliest writings were inventories,
kept by monasteries, and used as catalogs. Library catalogs were
the product of book trade: Aldus Manutius (15th century) provided
descriptive bibliography, Andrew Maunsell (17th century) offered
subject catalogs, and Marchand and Brunet (18th century) introduced
general idea of bibliographic classification. Booksellers were
interest in commercial catalogs grouping similar books in one
place. Classical bibliographers recorded minute differences between
them in order to identify individual copies. Scientists in the
19th century were protodocumentalists, compiling their own indexes.
In 1840 Jewett distinguished three
factors important in universal bibliography: access to materials,
reproduction technology and consistent description. Panizzi, Jewett,
and Cutter attempted to standardize such descriptions.
Classical bibliographers are concerned
with differences between published copies, librarians stress similarities
in order to collect them in separate subject groups, documentalists
and bibliographers are interested in detailed bibliography, using
library techniques.
Library and information science differ
from research in two respects: (1) the discipline is structural
rather than substantive, (2) it never provided solid quantitative
base
for empirical observations.
BAUGHAM, JAMES C., 1977:
In order to minimize the indefinite
growth of library collection, the author suggests structural method
in collection development based on the notion of 'bigger the collection
the better.' It is a qualitative approach replacing 19th century
principle of comprehensiveness by the ideal of 'completeness'.
It involves relationships between three clusters: use (demand),
knowledge (subject) and librarianship (subject literature), and
three action concepts: planning (based on library's priorities),
implementation (accessibility of the documents) and evaluation
(evaluation in terms of library goals).
The structure of subject literature
is a way of seeking relations. It provides understanding of the
literary behavior and properties. The behavior is interpreted
with reference to 'literary statics' (a point in time) and its
'dynamics (a period of time). The 'statics' is analyzed by bibliometrics
(e.g., Bradford's law); the 'properties' refer to knowledge organization
(class) and its sequence (order). Literature is further divided
into parameters of associated subjects, form (object) and publishers.
The structuralist in the subject literature
focuses on understanding its forms, processes, patterns and relationships
rather than intellectual and scholarly content of the literary
contents (p.248).
BAWA, N.S., 1965:
The accomplishments in designing ways
and means to provide users access cannot continue until a philosophy
of librarianship is developed that would stress self-education,
freedom and democracy. Systematic philosophy would reveal central
theme in an educative process that are sound philosophically,
educationally and pragmatically.
BAWDEN, DAVID, 1986:
Creativity is defined as the ability
to relate the things or ideas in new relationships by finding
appropriate connections and analogies in the context of the already
established patterns. Creativity although a very individual quality,
is developed within social and organizational framework. It can
be assisted by the kind and ways information is provided and handled.
Fundamental in creative processes are
the provision and processing of information, with information
systems adapted to "the improved representation of data,
information and knowledge, so as to aid the recognition, retrieval,
and display of analogies, patterns and anomalies in existing knowledge."
(p.214).
Also important are the flexibility
of the access to the collection, by providing browsing facility,
the interdisciplinarity, organization and management of information
services and the utilization of information technology.
BAY, J. CHRISTIAN, 1941:
"The idea of knowledge precedes
knowledge itself. Any science or art, detached from its philosophy
is dilettantism." (p. 150)
Philosophy of librarianship reflects
the development of ideal models of library. Scientific idea is
an idea expressed philosophically. Library science is the knowledge
and skill needed to recognize, collect, organize and utilize printed
records in terms of the patron need; collecting rather than accumulating,
organizing rather than arranging library material.
Semantics connect linguistics with
history of civilization. Knowledge of the meaning of words prevents
false analogies, it allows for measuring associations in thoughts
and phrases, contributing to the precision in communication.
BEAGLE, DONALD, 1988:
Research ought to be generalizable
in the context of one or more theories central to the discipline,
providing epistemological definition of information, and metaphysical
principle of interrelationships between elements of the total
knowledge, applicable to the theory of librarianship.
Library and information science developed
in the context of a mechanistic world-view of behavioral sciences.
It included Newtonian physics, behaviorist psychology and the
computer. This approach may not be applicable today because of
the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, relativity of
space, time and subjectivity of empirical observations.
The mechanistic theory asserts that
the world is composed of building blocks (indivisible atomic or
sub-atomic particles). New approach views the world in terms of
universal flux of its events and processes. The concept of unity
or interconnectedness is one of the basic principles of a holistic
philosophy. One cannot comprehend any single entity without considering
its context or environment taken as a whole.
David Bohm developed a model of the
holomovement dealing directly with the fragmentation of research.
He proposes a new paradigm of underlying wholeness which he calls
'the implicate order of the holomovement.' In this theory, order
is a potential context for theory building in library science.
Knowledge is viewed as an organic whole, an ordered growth process
comparable to life itself and contradicting entropy. Knowledge
growth is a self-ordering process. Entropy, a concept in mechanistic
world-view, in its prediction of eventual disintegration of order
contradicts library's developmental model, in which order balances
entropy. All that entropy says is that everything is placed between
the initial maximum and the terminal minimum of energy. Humanity
gains leverage over the entropic physics by performing increasingly
valuable work with the decreasing amounts of energy; entropic
physical universe is balanced by negentropic metaphysical universe
of human knowledge.
The distinction between mechanistic
and implicate order is illustrated by the concepts of 'volumes'
and 'titles'. In mechanistic order, books are considered as individual
physical units, but their titles exists in the context of the
abstract aggregate, one title citing another, together representing
totality of knowledge; while volumes may duplicate the same context
only. "Like the organism where each cell contains encoded
information about the structure of the whole, each constituent
library contains a terminal with access to an encoded representation
of the totality of which it forms a part." (p.35)
The wholeness of the flowing movement,
according to Bohm cannot be defined explicitly; it can be known
only implicitly, from the stable or unstable forms and shapes
which can be abstracted from its movement. Knowledge is a process
subsumed in a larger flux from which relatively stable shapes
and representations can form. It manifests order in which each
part grows in the context of the whole, it does not exists independently
or 'interact' without itself being affected in such relations.
Holomovement represents a multidimensional
reality whose totality is immeasurable and undefinable, because
we are part of it. Representation and organization of knowledge
in libraries embodies implicate order. "Under the contextual
world-view presented here, libraries are not some negentropic
aberration from a fundamental law of cosmic disintegration, but
rather are an expression of an integrative law of underlying order.
That law, that flux, may never be ultimately definable by us (because
we ourselves function within it), but certain characteristics
like the implicate order may be abstracted from it and seen in
a variety of phenomena, including libraries." (p.43).
BEASLEY, K.E., 1974:
The author discusses "political
and social forces altering the planning, decision-making and accountability
functions; while cooperative movements are admirable, inherent
difficulties are formidable." (p.180)
BECKER, B.W., and P.E. CONNOR, 1982:
This study focuses on root causes
of reading behavior. It demonstrates the dependence of reading
behavior on fundamental determinants of individuals personal values,
their attitudes and behavior.
Value is defined as an abstract ideal,
positive or negative, not tied to any specific object or situation.
The attitudes are personal values reflecting person's belief about
ideal conduct. Values are global beliefs, the attitudes are cognitive
and affective orientations, personal beliefs manifest one's fundamental
values and consequent attitudes. Their impact on reading varies.
1. Heavy book readers focus on achievement-oriented values, less
on traditional religious, social or family relations; they are
more inner-directed, delaying gratification for accomplishment
of distant goals. 2. Male heavy readers possess values that stress
competence and concern for accomplishment, women heavy readers
are inner-directed and tend toward delayed gratification. 3. Value
systems of the sexes are far from identical: heavy readers are
more likely female, more educated, within the 30-39 age group.
There is no obvious relationship between reading and TV watching,
they are not mutually exclusive. 4. Libraries satisfy the needs
of readers and encourage greater levels of reading, and should
reflect different strategies. (a) Potential heavy readerships
depends on 'values clarification' or 'value sensitization'. (b)
Light or non-readership suggest changing people's values which
may be difficult or morally undesirable. (c) Naive promotional
efforts, short-run in duration are highly unlikely to success
(e.g., Library Week).
BECKER, HOWARD S., 1965:
Although large public libraries may
be equipped to deal with many social problems, they have no role
in some of them such as solving social welfare, without transferring
library into a different institution.
BECKER, J., 1978:
We are living in a period of stressful
times brought on by shifting values, and acceleration of changes.
This situation applies to libraries which are affected by eroding
tax support and inflationary increases, media competition, information
expansion, and commercial involvement in information.
Libraries automate to reduce labor
cost, and abandon the self-sufficiency concept by entering into
networks interdependence. Continuing advances in computer and
communication technology create a quiet revolution by merging
and converging with related technologies (e.g., printing, photography).
Together they dramatically change information transfer by personalizing
the services to the public, improving communication with other
libraries and users, and increasing internal productivity.
Libraries are seen as one of the principle
nodes in national information system and become links in the
network of diversified information and its formats. Stake-holders
include authors, researchers, publishers, librarians, documentalists
microphotographers, archivists, information brokers, computer
specialists, communicators, network specialists, systems and
information scientists.
US National Policy has not yet been
formulated; it will involve social engineers to introduce the
changes in the pluralistic society and to unite all decentralized
units.
BEHRENS, SHIRLEY J., 1994:
As an abstract concept information
literacy is a metaphor representing "the ability to use information,
or possibly the possession of a knowledge of information."
(p.309) The term 'information literacy' was introduced by Paul
Zurkowski in 1974, who focused on the use and application of located
information.
The meaning of the concept changed, reflecting
adjustments to the increased need for information. In the 1980s
the emphases was on integrating the teaching of information skills
with general curriculum. In early 1990s a major educational issue
was information literacy involving librarians working in a partnership
with teachers.
BEKKER, JOHAN, 1976:
In this dissertation, philosophy is
considered in its relations to: (a) professional ethics, and (b)
philosophy of librarianship. Library phenomenon must be considered
in the context of knowledge. "Knowing something means knowing
its relations to something else" (Nitecki, quoted by J. Bekker,
1976, p.168).
Bekker considers philosophy in terms
of its (a) comprehensiveness in approaching totality of the ultimate
reality in librarianship, (b) by providing conceptual clarification
of the terms used, and (c) by developing system of principles
guiding library practice.
Philosophy of librarianship is defined
as a frame of reference delineating the discipline's scope and
unity, by (a) explaining library purpose (the 'why' of Irwin and
Broadfield); (b) identifying its functions (as means by Nitecki
and Christ), and (c) describing occupational ideals (as guiding
principles by Foskett and Benge). The above definitions are considered
as three dimensions of one basic approach.
The philosophy of librarianship differs
from its policy (it is more fundamental), and from ideology (it
is an essence independent of ideology). It is not a theory of
librarianship but a part of it (it is all inclusive). Its essential
function is to explain and justify the discipline (Caldwell),
to clarify its roles (Dalton, Foskett), to search as a base for
creativity (Reddy), and as a way to adjust to changes (Shera),
by providing relevance (Thompson), and certainty (Wheeler),
Bekker defines 'purpose' as a synonym
with an ideal, objective, end, aim, and goal. It denotes the direction
and concentration of efforts. And he identifies four basic purposes
of the library as educational, informational, research, aesthetic
and recreational.
Major library functions (i.e., means
toward ends identified by library purposes to collect, organize,
preserve, and the physical arrangements, retrieval and dissemination
of recorded information) describe library activities but are not
its philosophy. Shera defined library function as the maximization
of the social utility of graphic records. Bekker's own definition
of library basic function is "to optimize the value of recorded
information for mankind." (p.147)
Bekker summarized his review of library
philosophy by quoting Eastlick: "Every profession should
have its philosophers - individuals who can observe the vast panorama
of world events and synthesize the stresses and strains, the new
and the obsolete, the wise and the foolish, into recognizable
patterns." (p. 107).
BELKIN, NICHOLAS, J., 1975:
The author identifies three Soviet
approaches to information science. (1) The philosophical approach
stresses variety and reflection. Knowing is based on reflection
of a given object's variety. Information is a basic property
of matter and consciousness ('What information is necessary for
the description of some object X?'). (2) The pragmatic methodology
defines parameters of informatics by concentrating on specific
aspects of information and observing their behavior.('What information
is contained in object Y about object X?'). (3) In the semantic
approach each information relates to different kind of knowledge.
('What information can object X extract from object Y?')
All three approaches agree that information
science (informatics) is a special science aiming at maximizing
communication for specific social objectives or purposes. Each
approach focuses on different aspect of organization: philosophical
on the variety, pragmatic on the system of documentary communication
and semantic on the text. Text can be considered as a sign or
a message. Informatics addresses not information but metainformation
(the distribution and organization of scientific information).
----- 1978:
In the search for a suitable definition
of information, the author reviewed a number of printed definitions
and identified variety of frameworks used. They included communication
systems, philosophical assumptions and pragmatic analysis of information
phenomena. Each framework suggests different aspects of information:
as a fundamental category of matter, its property, structure or
organization; as the probability of occurrence of an event or
reduction of related uncertainty; as an event in reading the text,
as data in decision-making or communicated information; and as
the message itself.
The context of information science
can be either methodological (utility of the concept), behavioral
(information related phenomena) or definitional (context of the
concept).
The author provided three major generalizations.
(1) Concepts developed within the context specific for information
science were most successful. (2) The concepts that failed did
not met the relevance or operational requirements, they did not
reconcile the need for prediction with individual-specific effects
of information. (3) No definition so far proposed were fully successful;
their inefficiencies may be corrected by applying them to specific
situations.
Belkin reviewed various contributions
to the definition of information science in terms of their specific
contexts.
(a) The significance of an information
concept: Goffman focused on information related phenomena rather
than information itself. Yovits and Otten proposed models of physics,
Artandi preferred potential utility, Brooks developed mathematical
'fundamental equation of information science', while Russian theoreticians
and Kuhn emphasized the discipline's paradigms,
(b) The requirements of the definition
included Gindin's focus on semantics, Wersig's concept of uncertainty
and Marzocco's context for information.
(c) Information concepts: Salton,
Robertson and Hillman provided analyzes of conditions needed
for information retrieval,
(d) Classification of information
concepts were proposed in terms of social consideration of information
as a commodity (predominantly a Marxists interpretation), or were
related to domains of information phenomena (Belkin & Robertson,
Rathswohl)
(e) The theory of selective information
is represented by Shannon's information as a measure, variously
interpreted (such as Artandi's or Belzer semantical interpretation).
(f) General information phenomenon
is represented by Otten's notion that information science ought
to be a general science of information.
(g) Information as category and as
property of matter is evident in Ursul's notion of information
as a property of matter and consciousness.
(h) Formal semantic information is
provided by Shreider's concept of metainformation as an organizer
of semantic information in the text read.
(i) Information was viewed by Pratt
as an event in communication; by Wersing as a reducer of uncertainty,
by Yovit as a data in decision-making, by Farradane as a surrogate
for knowledge, by Thompson as a structure emerging from the event,
rather than the event itself, and by Belkin and Robertson as that
which transforms structure.
---- 1984:
Information transfer is defined as
an interaction between the user (initiator of the transfer),
the knowledge resource (text) and the intermediary mechanism (mediator).
The essay concentrates on the intermediary
function: "why it is necessary, why it is problematic, what
its important features are; how it might be improved." (p.
111)
The main focus of the paper is on
understanding the user's needs, expressed in the problems to be
solved, goals aimed at, or intentions of the user. The results
is a development of cognitive models or images for each component
of the information system, their counterparts and themselves.
BELKIN, N.J., and S.E. Robertson, 1976:
Information science is defined as
a facilitator of communication between human beings. It is based
on two premises: (a) it is a problem-oriented discipline concerned
with transfer of information from the initiator to the receiver
of communication; (b) all types of information are characterized
by change and structure.
Text is defined as "a collection
of signs purposefully structured by a sender with the intention
of changing the image-structure of a recipient." (p.201)
The proposed concept of information
is free from the impact of ethical intentions of the sender and
receiver of information, by making an ethical assumption that
the receiver always seeks the information that satisfies his needs.
BELKIN, N.J., and A. VICKERY, 1985:
The interaction between the user and
intermediary in the information retrieval model is defined as
a cooperative human to human goal-oriented dialogue, based on
external resources, performed on linguistic and non-linguistic
levels.
Philosophy of language stresses the
cooperative aspects of conversation and was significantly influenced
by J.L. Austin's 'performatives', John Searlye's 'speech act'
and Paul Grice's 'conversational implicature' theories. Grice
developed the 'cooperative principle' explaining the logic of
conversation: "Make your conversation such as is required,
at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction
of the talk exchange in which you are engaged." (p.52) The
cooperative principle together with the quantity (informative),
quality (true contribution), relation (relevant), and manner (perspicuous)
categories, clarify the nature of cooperative conservation. (pp.
50-53)
Other approaches in understanding
conversation include (a) linguistics (Chomsky's syntax and language
competence), (b) linguistic and logic (Lakoff's study of meaning),
(c) Sociolinguistics interaction (Hymes's communication behavior
in social setting), (d) cognitive psychology (Hollnagel's communication
environment), and (e) computational, natural language systems
of Grosz, Cohen and Sidner and interactional interpretations of
Grice, Gordon, Lakoff, Brooks, and Belkin.
BELL, BERNARD IDDINGS, 1952:
Butler was a scholar in the history
of the communication of thoughts and the role of print in it.
In his theological approach he went beyond process by focusing
on function and value, thus adding meaning to the process itself.
The library is a subject of "directional movement under a
categorical imperative which cannot be explained away by any argument,
naturalistic or idealistic." (p.175). It can be understood
only in terms of its services, processes and functions considered
together.
BELTH, MARC, 1977:
The author considers a model as an
instrument of thinking and as a process of testing, analyzing
analogies and reconstructing models for more effective interpretation.
The concept of a model involves: (1)
perceived or perceivable objects or events that are (2) considered
in terms of a theory or hypotheses; and (3) provide meaning and
relationships for those events or objects by observation and logical
inference.
-"Nothing in the world is, of
itself, a model of anything, or for anything, until it has been
deliberately established as such by somebody." (p.57) Models
are mental concepts developed for close examination of events
they model, aiming at the resolution of empirical and conceptual
problems. By themselves, they are not relevant, similar or corresponded
to each other, but are a part of an invented perception of completeness.
They establish a psychological distance between the perceiver
and the object or event perceived, thus avoiding subjective perception
or passive reaction to stimulus. A model is not "a logical
or mathematical formula devoid of any experiential content. It
is deliberately constructed whole of some experienced event that
of itself does not show such wholeness or unity." (p.58)
BENGE, R.C., 1957:
Carnegie felt that the responsibility
for addressing social distress is the function of the government;
libraries should be responsible for the diffusion of knowledge,
through which society's cultural welfare could be established.
The 19th century focus on individual's
self-development is less relevant because of the availability
of general education system. Yet, the contemporary stress on information,
disregarding cultural and educational functions of public
library, is equally limited. Any new
theory will recognize the library educational, conservational,
informational and recreational functions to satisfy individual
patrons needs; the distinction lies not "in the type of material
collected, nor in the type of libraries which supplies it, but
in the purpose for which an item is required at any given time."
(p.52)
---- 1970:
The theme of this book is a review
of relationship between culture, communication and libraries.
In the chapter on philosophy of librarianship, Benge states that
as a total systematic structure or system it does not exist by
itself. However in a more limited sense, philosophy of librarianship
stands for the pursuit of truth, for principles guiding the action,
and for theories explaining reality. It is related partly to science
(e.g., information retrieval), partly to art (e.g., book selection)
and partly to social processes (e.g., ethical, value judgments).
Ranganathan's 'five laws' are considered
not as scientific but moral laws or ideas expressing professional
principles of conduct or service. They are limited by a lack of
social context.
Irwin represents a traditional view
of library performing custodial function. L.R.McColvin, Broadfield
and Lawrence Clark Powell represent the 19th century's liberal,
progressive philosophy of library as a secular missionary in its
contribution to popular education and enlightenment. This approach
is inadequate, because it does not relate to mass culture.
D.J. Foskett and Ronald Staveley represent
the philosophy focusing on the information process itself, overlooking
wider social and cultural issues . D.J. Foskett defines library
philosophy as professional sets of ideas, Staveley relates it
to the fundamental beliefs, defined differently by philosophies
of Platonism, pragmatism, logical positivism or Marxism.
Raymond Williams advocates communication
as the base of the philosophy, and Shera's social epistemology
concentrates on the nature of knowledge and its impact on society,
excluding however social values and their impact on knowledge.
Benge concludes that philosophy of
librarianship searches for answers to three basic questions: (1)
what is knowledge, (2) how it is put to work, and (3) for what
purpose? (p.253)
---- 1972:
This book expresses a personal view
on communication, discussed in the context of the Third World
search for self-identity. The book expresses an attitude rather
than a philosophy by attempting to understand what kind of spiritual
and material knowledge is available to an individual, and how
it impacts on his personal identity.
A gap between appearance and reality
is created by a break in cross-cultural communication. The gap
is illustrated in library linear classification that cannot be
easily adjusted to the changing cultural environment. Similarly,
library technical specialization formulates a reductionistic concept
of a part as the whole of the profession (e.g., in information
retrieval).
The overall focus of the book is on
personal human encounter: "the struggle for our own meaning
is both necessary and rewarding, and there is always a consolation...
that we are alone together." (p.203)
L.Estabrook (1973) in his review of
the book points out to the similarity between Shera's epistemology
and Benge's focus on the importance of interaction between knowledge
and society, and by asking 'what' and 'how' we know about ourselves
and others.
---- 1984:
Author questions the purpose in various
formulations of library theory. He maintains that new approaches
to librarianship did not produced new theories, but mere assertions.
The humanistic attitude of the 19th c. librarianship dedicated
to the dissemination of knowledge is substituted by new technology's
concern about process and function thus obscuring the ends.
Neither technology nor information
exists by itself. Both are parts of systems of values, the culturally
defined 'ideal' values of life. Informatics should reflect the
correspondence with the societal cultural, not merely material,
values.
Shera manifested similar misperception
by considering his social epistemology as an impact of knowledge
on society, overlooking the society's impact on knowledge.
Obstacles to information are not technical
but political, social and psychological. Positivism in its doctrine
of 'value free' society, concentrates on rational perceptions
only.
"The world does not contain information.
It is as it is. Information about it is created in the organism
through its interaction with the world. To speak about storage
of information outside the human body is to fall into a semantic
trap." (Illich, 1975, quoted by R.Benge, 1984)
Properly defined information should
shift the focus from data to the social interaction as a whole.
" The 'retrieval' is social as well as technical and depends
on a complex network of forces which need to be more carefully
analyzed." (p.219)
BENIGER, JAMES R., 1986:
Control Revolution relates to "a
complex of rapid changes in the technological and economic arrangements,
by which information is collected, stored, processed, and communicated
and through which formal or programmed decisions can effect societal
control." (p.427)
It started in 1900 in order to restore
lost purposes in political and economic controls in information
technology and communication. All activities should be purposeful
thus requiring individual and social controls, which in turn depend
on the kind of information processing, programming, decision and
communication.
In the emerging Information Society
increase in the speed of material processing was not caused by
computer, but merely augmented by it. (Charles Babbage anticipated
computer as a way of increasing the speed of operations).
"The rise of the Information
Society itself . . . has exposed the centrality of information
processing, communication, and control to all aspects of human
society and social behavior." (p.436)
BENJAMIN, PHILIP M., 1962:
Philosophy of book selection is personal,
based on the librarian's evaluation of the value of selected material
to the reader, and to the philosophy of education sustained by
parental institution.
BENNETT, GEORGE E., 1988:
The similarities and differences between
the concepts of library and information science are based on hermeneutic
theory of interpretation of the content of essays (a 'discourse
analysis'). The approach examines motivations of their authors
in terms of changing metaphors reflecting changing social environment
of librarianship.
Bennett makes a distinction between
library theory (approximating scientific research) and philosophy
(such as a non-empirical theory of classification). But since
the information explosion made the earlier classificatory schemes
obsolete, "the conventions of 'science,' 'research,' and
'theory' actually represent the inadequacy of librarianship in
academia." (p.114)
BERELSON, BERNARD, 1938:
Impartiality should not be confused
with freedom, objectivity and fairness, or with negation of the
library responsibility to serve useful social purposes.
There is no virtue in impartiality
or partiality themselves. "The question is not whether we
should be partial or impartial
. . . but rather what we should be partial
to or impartial between." (p.88)
Democracy requires understanding of
social changes by apprehending differences between political systems,
intelligence and stupidity or prejudice, public welfare and special
interest, between reason and force. "Knowledge has social
as well as individual utility . . . the library exists not for
the sake of the library, but for the sake of society; its activities
must therefore be judged in a social frame of reference."
(p. 88)
---- 1939:
In response to Fry (1939) criticism
of his stand on partiality, Berelson points out that "it
is a gross non-sequitor to say that because social science is
not an exact science, therefore we cannot 'educate' and 'encourage'
and 'teach' and 'act' on the basis of what we do know." (p.
55)
BERGEN, DANIEL P.
Bergen is critical of conceptual approach
in library philosophy, preferring instead a contextual focus on
environment and on the procedural empirical methodology. He proposes
a theoretical bibliographical system, that would redirect library
philosophy from metaphorical to empirical approach, bridging formal
and informal communication in information transfer. He is critical
of idealism of Popper, Kaplan, Shera, Wright and Nitecki and opposes
the separation between structure, substance and form (which are
timeless) and matter (which is timefull).
His argument is based on the following
assumptions. (a) The philosophical function of librarianship is
to assist in refutation (falsification) of theoretical propositions
by providing material that would refute rather than support the
hypothesis. Refutation provides more empirical ground, fewer variables
and greater ingenuity to invalidate unproven assumptions. (b)
Library provides access to 'claims of knowledge' not to knowledge
itself. Knowledge is not an independent entity. (c) Structure
should not be divorced from substance, but it should be considered
in relation to content.
---- 1962:
College library is often not considered
an essential element in the education of students because of an
almost total lack of congruence of expectation and performance
between the library, faculty, students and administration.
The most important implication for
college librarians in understanding their library's ecology is
its possible effect upon the decision making process in the governance
of the college.
---- 1963a:
Assessment of ecological forces
on the library includes cultural and behavioral approaches to
social understanding of environment by examining subcultural uniqueness
of the library patrons.
The essence of ecological approach
is its nonuniversality and its low validity for other than a specific
institution in a given time and space. Hence the tendency to imitate
the organization of other institutions should be avoided. Being
in society but not for society creates an untenable dichotomy.
The organizational success of the library should be measured in
terms of its function rather than in fulfilling its prior goals.
---- 1963b:
Librarians and teachers belong to
different and often mutually exclusive subcultures. The integration
between the two groups can be accomplished when teachers and librarians
share part of each other responsibility, as proposed by L. Shore
in his library-college model.
Librarianship should shift its historical-bibliographic
emphasis to social epistemology, which provides not only a systematic
study of knowledge and its forms, but also substantial insight
into the interaction between knowledge and its users.
Library technical services are dominated
by a procedural perspectives focusing on efficiency of output
emphasizing goal-attainment functions. Subject specialists are
overly conceptual (i.e., ideological). Acquisition and reference
librarians are contextual (neutral mediators in acquisition and
reference) and are more realistic by emphasizing non-goal-attainment.
[Bergen acknowledges Nitecki in this taxonomy.]
Shera maintains that librarianship
can benefit from the insight of general systems into the structure,
organization, and availability of human knowledge. It can bring
order and stability to recorded knowledge. The relationship between
the two disciplines is closely related and converges on many points:
both are interdisciplinary and concerned about utilization of
information by the nervous system, both provide links in communication
chain, and both are involved in language, symbolism, abstraction,
conceptualization and evaluation. Both are epistemological.
---- 1964:
Bergen rejects the dichotomy between
structure and substance. Key in the development of a viable system
of access to knowledge is the resolution of a difficult problem
of relations between concepts, reality and concepts to concepts.
He maintains that librarianship ought
to focus on: (1) concepts, (2) the substance or empirical phenomena
explaining the interrelations between concepts, and (3) the nature
of the relationships between theory and facts, the abstract and
the concrete, the model and what is modeled.
----- 1965:
Historically, the growth of knowledge
alternates between (a) empirical investigations of connections
between events overlooking special concern for the significance
of these events and (b) rational investigation of connections
between concepts, without concern for their relations to experience
in speculative philosophy and logical-mathematical hypothetico-deductive
theories.
Any imbalance between the two approaches
is corrected by internal logical equilibrium focusing on holistic
approach of general system.
Holistic approach, in contrast to
reductionism, implies that the whole is greater than its parts,
and that systems, elements and behavior are controlled by processes
which are homologous or at least isomorphic.
Major implication of general systems
in the theory of librarianship is its organization of knowledge
for transmission from one generation to another. Library system
in support of general systems is both information and document
oriented. It should be (a) an open system flexible to accommodate
shifting relations between metatheory and empirically based models,
and (b) inductive and deductive, providing information on different
systems.
It is important (a) to distinguish
between abstracted, empirically determined and conceptual systems,
and (b) to identify isomorphic principles of randomness, uncertainty
and organized complexity that are evident in social as well as
in physical and biological systems. In this sense systems theory
creates new information (negative entropy).
Intellectual disciplines always reflect
efforts to organize nature, not the nature's structure, thus leading
to a distinction between (a) the two structures of knowledge and
nature, (b) conceptual and concrete systems, and (c) the concepts
of macroscopic (knowledge as a whole) and microscopic (knowledge
of particular disciplines) views of the world.
In philosophy and religion the most
important archetypes are 'saving of wisdom' and 'spiritual rebirth'.
Corresponding notions in science are the concepts of 'themata',
the nonverbalized yet continuous aspects of scientific theory;
which are unverifiable and unfalsifiable. (e.g., conservation
of energy).
There is a functional parallelism
between themata and archetypes, and general systems theory can
provide isomorphism between the two concepts by organizing reality
as perceived by both the humanist and the scientist.
A procognitive system of Licklider
in human cognition relates recorded information to the cognitive
structure (a map) of an individual allowing for a computer linkage
between a large random access storage capacity, teaching machine
and the sources of knowledge generation.
Here conceptual and factual knowledge
would replace the physical artifacts (documents). A library system
is document-oriented for humanists and social scientists, and
an information subsystem of evaluating, storing and retrieving
information for other scientists.
General system principles could serve
as organizers in the procognitive system by linking human cognition
with computer structure and as specifiers of various knowledge
relationships.
The major difficulty in the system
theory is the 'fallacy of misplaced concreteness', the confusion
of invisible, theoretical entities with concrete, observable ones.
Hence, the systems may be looked as a set of physical or conceptual
entities that are mutually interrelated.
---- 1967:
The theoretical debate within librarianship
is between the Baconian approach of inductive empiricism and the
deductive theorizing. The range of bibliographic sources extends
from broad literature coverage and low information (e.g., comprehensive
indexes focusing on location) to limited literature coverage and
high density information (e.g., specific information focusing
on its consumption). The amount of information an inquirer brings
into the search determines which of the two ends of the continuum
will be more useful.
Each discipline should have: (1)
deductive philosophers, not preoccupied with empirical correlates
of their thoughts; (2) empirical generalizers searching for laws
of empirical inquiries; and (3) raw empiricists to gather raw
facts and not overly concerned with the conceptual contexts.
---- 1971:
The fundamental purpose of the library
is to enhance communication between authors and readers. The problem
is the audience's heterogeneous approach to information, ranging
from extreme abstractionism to factual concreteness. Hence there
is a need for better understanding of the collective psychology
of the patrons, the impact of technology of communication, and
the cultural unconsciousness of the unexamined assumptions.
---- 1978:
Conversion of information into knowledge
is a condition of system effectiveness in which each document
is studied within the universe of all other documents on the same
subjects, weighed, assigned status and provided with a position
within the existing cannons of scientific knowledge.
The adequately revealing statement
assigned to a given document includes ideology governing a document
(e.g., Marxist), its perspectives (e.g., conflict or consensus),
its school of thought (e.g., Hayekian economics), and its methodology
(e.g., synthetic or analytical).
Abstracting services are of value
for providing information, not for their referential potential.
Encyclopedia articles, state of art reviews, catalogs, indexing,
abstracting and bibliographies are not by themselves sufficient
for providing adequately revealing statements, they do however
provide specific items of information.
---- 1980:
Bergen discusses three objections
to J.Z. Nitecki's model of metalibrarianship: two dealing with
infrastructure and one with superstructure.
(1) Infrastructure of formal relations:
knowledge cannot exist independent of minds and records; (Knowledge
is of a different genus than book and/or user.)
(2) Metaphors are self-confirming
(they codify observation so decisively that they become self-confirming).
(3) Superstructure: Bergen reservations
are four-fold:
(a) The three metaphors do not embrace
the totality of librarianship. According to Bergen, procedural
(Pd) and contextual level (Cx) refer to the present, while conceptual
(Co) to the future. As metaphor and counter-metaphors Pd and Cx
cannot be separated, and considered independently of psychological
impact on the relationships between the patron, information carrier
and its content.
(b) The model is too complex: it appears
to be more a product of accretion than design. He would prefer
to reduce the relationships to the book and the user, and "would
recognize proceduralism, contextualism and conceptualism into
a more unified metaphoric tool in which proceduralism and contextualism
interact closely as metaphor and counter-metaphor and in which
the effectiveness of conceptualism, as it looks to the future,
is directly contingent upon the sophistication of that interaction."
(p.13)
(c) The model manifest some 'jerkiness'
and 'disconnectedness' begging for 'tightening an synthesis' .
. . "somehow the center does not hold." (p.14)
(d)) Bergen compares Nitecki's epistemology
(introduced in 1964) to that of Popper's model (1964, 1972). Popper's
material, physical world is similar to Nitecki's generic book;
mental, psychological world (observations, thoughts and feelings)
is similar to user; and abstract product of mind, the world of
theories, is similar to knowledge. [N.b. Nitecki disagrees. This
is a wrong comparison; Popper's physical world is similar to Nitecki's
proceduralism (Pd), mental world to contextualism (Cx) and abstract
world to conceptualism (Co)]
Popper's world of mental products
and Nitecki's concept of knowledge are the main issue of disagreement.
Bergen feels that the modern trend is toward dualism (e.g., Chomsky's
dyadic linguistic model), and that knowledge can not endure independently
of our minds and records and that other mental products, however
abstract are contingent rather than autonomous. His criticism
is addressed in full in Nitecki's more recent essay. (1993)
---- 1981:
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate
that in a successful theory ideas and matter are interrelated,
they are less monolithically idealistic and more pluralistic.
Bergen criticized various contributors
to philosophy of librarianship for their platonic approach.
Abraham Kaplan notion that both philosophy
and librarianship focus on structure rather than substance, and
on form rather than content is seen by Bergen as a metaphysical
approach opposing the pragmatism of library practitioners.
C.H. Rawski shares the same focus
on form at the expense of substance. J.Z. Nitecki's pluralism
of three metaphors of proceduralism, contextualism and conceptualism
is criticized for idealizing the concept of 'knowledge'. C.H.
Wright's metaphysical approach, detaches theory from library practice.
And A.Fairthorn's concept of library philosophy, similarly to
mathematical symbols, is free from the substance.
Shera in his social epistemology interrelates
idealism with empiricism. In his idealism, knowledge conditions
matter, his empiricism stresses the importance of social effects
of knowledge, but both are subject to the ideological interpretation.
Bergen agrees with Butler's call for
'objective realism' that includes empirical investigations of
sociological, psychological and historical aspects of librarianship.
In effect, he does not oppose idealism,
but argues against its dominance in the philosophy of librarianship.
Bergen concludes that the future theory
of librarianship will not be confirmable but refutable. It will
include material as well as conceptual approaches, Aristotelean
as well as Platonic viewpoints, including both theories of facts
and of values.
---- 1984:
Bergen maintains that librarians
and information scientists provide access to claims to knowledge
rather than to knowledge itself. Claim to knowledge is a claim
to truth (P.Wilson), thus involving reference to reason, to the
evidence of the senses, to rational and empirical reasoning, to
a definition, or to an individual's report on his inner state.
Dissociated from the term "claim,"
knowledge refers to subjective and personal knowledge which may
be true or false. He recommends Wilson's concept of skepticism,
of neither accepting or rejecting the possibility of knowledge.
Bergen discusses four interpretations
of claims to knowledge: (1) inductive, (2) hypothetical, (3) definitional,
and (4) introspective.
(1) Induction is an assertion that
the future will resemble the past, its base is psychological,
not logical. It appears incapable of vindication, although statistically
it may be partly justified.
(2) Hypothetical approach is based
on its falsifiability; more verifiable hypotheses will replace
the less defendable. Bergen does not reject the idea of falsification
in principle, but questions its practical application, since we
don't know when the process itself is completed. Scientists hold
on to a theory not because it is falsifiable, but because it offers
plausible explanation.
(3) Definitional search for truth
is unsatisfactory because there are no objective facts or truths,
only assertions. Facts are ethnocentric products of time and cultural
outgrowth of definitions.
(4) Introspective approach relates
to consciousness. It is linguistically structured and possibly
unconsciously motivated. Such motivation can not be inferred from
outward behavior.
Since last century, American librarians
accepted representational realism maintaining that the world is
independent of mind. Here 'informing' means 'a process of in-forming,'
i.e., 'forming' a passive mind, by changing or reinforcing mental
images. Pratt calls it 'emmorphosis'.
Bergen ends his essay with an inconclusive
suggestion that librarians "should devote less time to designing
and refining system of access . . . and more time to other projects."
But he does not specify what kinds of projects. (p.22)
---- 1987:
Bergen criticizes Harris dogmatic
approach to philosophy of librarianship and calls for a non-partisan
approach to ideologies. Harris's major defect, according to Bergen,
is his arrogance of thinking that he knows the best.
Harris' critique of librarianship,
according to Bergen, is rooted in Marxism's attempts to demythologize
librarianship. His main problem is his Gnosticism: Harris is convinced
that he is privy to the Truth about library services denied to
those who do not accept his Hegelian, idealistic Marxism philosophy.
Harris maintains that American librarians
are addicted to the idea that society is pluralistic and captive
of positivist epistemology, based on empirical testing of formal
hypotheses rather than the pragmatics of trial and error.
The pluralism explains librarians
neutrality toward different group interests, and its positivist
epistemology accounts for apolitical and value neutral approach
justified by the notion of intellectual freedom.
Positivism results in a trivial research
in librarianship, and with pluralism it allows for development
of many small ideas (I.Berlin's' foxes') while Hegelian Marxists
concentrates on big concepts and large ideas ('hedgehogs'). Harris
maintains that Hegelian Marxism must replace pluralism-positivism.
BERNATOWICZ, K., 1987:
The essay reviews terminological confusion
about information use and its impact on research. Information
activities are defined as sets of information processing, collecting,
storing and retrieving, aiming at accumulation of cultural accomplishments
for social and economic purposes. Information needs are perceived
as natural, socially motivated, functions. The need may be created
by desire to learn, or to accomplish certain goals.
Empirical, sociological and psychological
studies of information needs can be divided into two major categories:
(a) where does the information come from, where it is needed and
for what purposes, and (b) in what way and to what extend can
the demand of users be satisfied.
Psychologist divide 'need' into: physiological,
emotional and cognitive. They are characterized as follow: (1)
The demand for information is determined by social roles and needs.
Information is of instrumental value in accomplishing one's goals.
(2) The value of information depends on its applicability, accessibility
and social factors that create needs. (3) The essence of information
is 'seeking information to satisfy needs' (Wilson, 1981). (4)
Sociological approach stresses the importance of cultural-social-personal
system which affect users behavior more than their needs for information
itself. (5) Ethical values and norms must be socially acceptable.
(6) Social needs include: affiliation, communication, organization,
emotional ties, conformity, socialization, social applicability,
appraisal, acceptance, participation, protection and autonomy
of individuals. (7) The types of users are potential, expected,
present and beneficial. (8) Demands for information can be shaped
by information supply for specific information to satisfy a demand.
Research methodology should address
the following issues: (1) not why one uses information but what
is the need for it; (2) the need should be studied as a willingness
to learn about world and about social advantages of having information;
(3) where information come from; (4) how a demand for information
can be satisfied and (5) the shift from studying information sources
to information role in the life of a user.
BERNIER, CHARLES L., 1985:
Ethics is defined as a science of survival.
It is determined by experience, experiments and measurements.
It is a Unitarian definition stressing usefulness of desirable
behavior by distinguishing between facts and fiction. Ignorance
is dangerous for an individual as well as for a society, since
it puts one at the mercy of an unethical individual or of the
organizations who know, what that individual does not know.
Because of increased specialization
there is an ethical need for cooperation, as an option for survival.
"Information science and scientists are seen to be ethical
by promoting survival through the use of knowledge." (p.
212)
BERNINGHOUSE, DAVID K., 1972a
The proposed philosophy of librarianship
requires involvement of librarians in social issues, providing
access to all viewpoints. Intellectual freedom demands full access
to all facts and theories in order to find best solutions to problems.
It should take a precedent over any other principles. The resolution
of a dilemma between the role of advocacy and neutrality on social
issues will determine future philosophy of librarianship.
---- 1972b:
The social responsibilities and authoritarian
roles of mass media in the Twentieth century emerged from: (1)
Authoritarian approach of 16th-17th century of absolute power;
(2) Libertarian view of 18th-19th century rationalism and natural
rights. Social responsibility view aims at provoking discussion
on conflicting issues, as a part of the self-righting process
of truth and free exchange of ideas. The authoritarian view supports
totalitarian system by surveillance and obedience.
In totalitarian states librarianship
is a part of communications systems to 'educate' people. In Western
democracies libertarian theory of press based on philosophies
of Milton, Locke and Mill calls for dedication to truth through
objective reporting. Individual cannot survive without some understanding
of reality.
The author points to the antithesis
between social responsibility of librarianship and the Library
Bill of Rights, with library press taking side of social responsibility
view.
BERRY, JOHN, J.,1973:
We often rewrite library history to
justify contemporary goals. 19th century goals of liberal education
to assimilate new emigrants, were changed into new library social
services such as outreach program, prevention of illiteracy or
racism, by provision of information. Changing goals are justified
by historical precedents, although most of them are the results
of contemporary social pressures for change.
---- 1977a:
Library profession defined as teaching
patrons the use of library tools in solving their own problems
contradicts the insistence of having exclusive professional knowledge
to assist patrons in that use.
Berry suggests that librarians should
abandon the status-seeking drive for professionalism, and instead
focus on acquiring, organizing and providing the material, teaching
others how to use the library (i.e., be their own librarians),
and allow paraprofessionals to assist the patrons in the use of
library resources.
---- 1979:
Objectives of public library are
directly related to the objectives of the society. Quoting Shera,
Berry states that the institution such as family or state determine
the pattern of society; and the agencies such as school, library
or museum are determined by that pattern. Public library always
provided one-to-one service, organizing all knowledge for single
individuals. This is a unique role, all other agencies serve the
public, not an individual.
---- 1981:
This is a discussion of two conflicting
models in librarianship: (a) marketing ideology focusing on information
as a commodity, and on the techniques for providing information
products; (Wasserman, Pauline Wilson) and (b) self-reliance of
individuals, reducing their dependence on market system (Toffler,
Illich).
---- 1982:
Shera's basic message was to bring
man and book together for the benefit of individuals and through
them of society. Noted also were Shera's positions on research
(often reinventing the wheels), on profession (call for patience),
on specialization (based on synthesis of librarianship), and on
the future (anticipating unified theory of librarianship).
New technology, economics and resulting
social changes jeopardize fundamental American rights to information.
The conflict between information producer and consumer over copyright,
the control of the information's 'distribution chains' by publishing
and media industry call for philosophical and organizational tools
to fight for societal control of databases and communication channels.
Professional information is interwoven with politics. There is
a need for new philosophical base in librarianship to defend intellectual
freedom.
---- 1987a:
Attempts to replace the terms 'library'
or 'librarian' by terms such as 'manager' or 'specialist', weaken
librarian's self-identity, and overlooks library role in society.
It is unfortunate that this trend takes place at the time when
the need for providing information to individual is greatly increased.
---- 1987b:
Ethics was a predominant topic of the
5Oth annual conference of ASIS. Its major conclusions included:
(1) technology is not ethically neutral; (2) information as science
calls for its quantification with dollar value; (3) value of information
itself is subjective, depending on situation; (4) emergence of
a conflict between commodity and property right of information;
(5) new technology doesn't replace libraries but add to their
dependence on networks.
---- (1987c):
Berry asks the question, "why
does dr. Boorstin bash librarians to support literacy?" The
probable answer may include Boorstin's reaction to the librarians
demand that the Library of Congress should be lead by professional
librarian and partly because of his view on new technology impact
on illiteracy in USA. According to Boorstin, librarians embraced
new technology because it adds to their professional status, freeing
library science from its stereotype of 'the gentle Samaritan.'
Berry objects to this condescending view.
BERTHOLD, ARTHUR, 1933:
Berthold stresses the importance of
professional philosophy of librarianship which would include definition
of aims, formulation of relationships with other disciplines and
creation of scientific basis for library theory.
BESTERMAN, T., 1946:
Library technique must be based on
understanding library purpose. The aim of book selection theory
based on the effect of reading is a dangerous didactic philosophy
of librarianship, since it will limits itself to the wants of
readers, deliberately encouraged by libraries.
BEVIS, DOROTHY, 1963:
Demands for library services change
with times and result in changing the content of library collection
and methods of its processing, mirroring the needs of the society
served. However, the principles of the library remain the same
throughout the history of librarianship: to make ideas accessible,
to provide "'windows' that set free our 'horizons.'"
(p.47)
BIERBAUM, E. A., 1990.
The author suggests the 'Least Effort'
concept as a unifying principle in library research and practice.
This principle is based on the assumption that librarianship is
the only profession that conjoins persons and their information
seeking behavior.
The Principle of Least Effort was defined
by George Zipf (1949) as "meaning that each individual will
adopt a course of action that will involve the expenditure of
the probably least average of his work." (p. 18)
This principle was applied in the
field by others: (a) e.g., Mooers' Law that "'an information
retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more
painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than
for him not to have it"; (b) Cutter's notion of the convenience
of the reader; or (c) Ranganathan's law 'save the time of the
reader'.
The adoption of the principle of
Least Effort requires a shift in library paradigm. (a) Matheson
anticipated total restructuring of the field based on its processes.
(b) Cochrane found that majority of searches are limited to topical
subject search. (c) Newtonian deterministic description of human
behavior follows the principle of Least Effort by introducing
concepts such as quantum mechanics in science, or a holistic view
of a person in psychology.
BIERI, JAMES 1971:
Cognitive structures, the relatively
fixed patterns for experiencing the world, provide a sense of
order, meaning, and structure in understanding the events around
us. Stimulus for information transformation mediates any antecedent-consequent
relation in behavior. This is a major difference between cognitive
theories, emphasizing information processing and learning theories
based on concept of habit in behavioral learning. Cognitive theorist
defines the objective stimulus in terms of its subjective experience.
The structure of transformation itself is the content of learning,
and not just a series of responses determined by habits and drives.
The cognitive processes include selection, organization, moderation,
control of motives, and adaptation to constraints.
Among various theories:
(a) Psychoanalytical theories in learning
propose that the ego structures, both primary and secondary, are
inherited or given in a personality and represent the functions
of sensation, perception and memory.
(b) The field theory emphasizes organism's
cognitive representation of the psychological environment as a
key mediational variable in behavior.(e.g., gestalt stresses the
organized nature of perceptions).
(c) The schema theories are concerned
with learning of 'schemata', organized models of ourselves which
modify the impression produced by incoming sensory impulses. Schemata
are constructive by elaborating on past experiences, and they
contribute toward development of attitudes. Schemata are learned,
constantly changing through progressive differentiation.
(d) Cognitive Personality theories
are based on the concept of organized neural structures, reflecting
different states of consciousness. 'Self' theories based on self
concept of individual as an organizing factor have both cognitive
and motivational properties, while personal construct theories
maintain that behavior is channeled by cognitive structures organized
within person's overall system.
Cognitive controls are the cognitive
structures that modulate drives, by steering goal-oriented behavior
into appropriate channel determined by a given situation. Individuals
differentiate their environment by separating themselves from
it.
Central is the ability of an individual
to identify the behavior of others in the processing of information
about the social world. Information theory may be used either
as a method of analysis or as a structure itself.
BINWAL, C., 1992:
Social knowledge and information are
synonymous concepts in Ranganathan's definition of subjects. Since
the subjects constantly change, there is a need for continuous
modification of their structure, affecting their relevance and
functions in information retrieval.
BIRDSALL, WILLIAM F., 1982:
The desire for professional status
resulted in failing to define the purposes of the profession itself.
This lead to the present deprofessionalization of librarianship:
"clients are more self-reliant, depending less on professionals
whose occupational structure is based on the monopolization of
a specific social service and the knowledge upon which it is based
... (suggesting) an emergence of a self-service society requiring
a new kind of professional, professional that helps the client
become more self-sufficient." (p.225) This requirement
differs from that of a physician who uses his knowledge to help
the client without however sharing that knowledge with him and
requiring the client to return to the doctor for future assistance.
Birdsall suggests that librarians
(1) must be sensitive to needs of a variety of clients; (2) assure
full free access to knowledge, resisting censorship and monopolization
of information by private sector; (3) advocate patron's self-sufficiency;
(4) reject professional models that limits their role in society,
and cooperate with other information agencies in providing services
to clients.
---- 1985:
Public library services to both the
community and individuals without reconciling the differences
between them resulted in ambiguity and confusion. The problem
is in assuming that the needs of these two constituencies are
the same. The abstract notion that society's values transcend
those of local community led to the concept of individual freedom,
and library encouraging "an individualism fostered by national
social and cultural norms at the expense of local values and relations."
(p.23) Library's function is to bridge the two approaches by understanding
the value system of both.
---- 1988:
In late 19th century library political
affiliation was discouraged. The concept of neutrality was extended
to early 20th century, although a Progressive Librarian Council
and a Liberal Library League were formed during highly politicized
1930s. The controversy between the two approaches had little direct
effect on the profession; library services remained least ideological.
In 1960 liberal librarians identified
themselves as social, not political, activist. Others, focused
on rational techniques based on knowledge sustained by scientific
mode of inquiry, and continued to reinforce library apolitical
stand.
Both American liberals and conservatives
related to Mill's liberal philosophy. However different writers
identified different kinds of liberalism. Idealists stressed liberty,
privacy, and property, rights; realists focused on power, and
law; while minimalists advocated tolerance, mediation and pluralism.
Both conservatists and liberals criticized
the focus on individualism as weakening the sense of community.
Conservatists argued for hierarchy, family and tradition, while
liberals focused on collective action.
In librarianship most important philosophical
premises are: (a) individualism, personal liberty, intellectual
freedom; (b) self-fulfillment and intellectual growth, promotion
of reading as means of self-improvement, and (c) free flow of
ideas and the opposition to censorship with library embracing
the concept of utility of information. -
Library is criticized by conservatists
for liberal promotion of intellectual freedom, and for maintaining
conservative middle class values by liberals. New ideologies such
as Neo-Liberalism, Welfare Conservatism, feminism or environmentalists
further impacted on library ideology.
The ethical options for librarians
are either (a) to join 'high-tech liberals' of the information
society, accepting the tenets of information as commodity, with
librarians becoming a professional elite of information brokers
marketing library services, or (b) continue to be conservators
of community cultural heritage, maintaining 19th century's social
goals formulated by elite segments of the society, to maintain
a status quo, thus failing to define their professional purposes.
The alignment of ideals with pragmatic
issues lead, to a confusion of objectives, creating a paradoxical
tenets of political involvement in social activities and neutrality
on political issues.
BISHOP, DAVID, 1976:
Tendency to uniformity by following
cost-effective practices or by sharing similar core collections,
create conceptual problems since each library attends to the needs
of different clientele. In the past, libraries served only an
elite, in Jeffersonian America services were extended to workingmen,
today the gap between technical and general humanistic libraries
continues to grow. The diversity is needed to serve particular
clients more effectively, the unity is necessary by the
interdependence of all agencies in advancing
all learning. The provision of information should satisfy both
the diversity of needs and unity of interrelated knowledge, by
developing collections and services relevant to the library patrons
at large and by individualized packaging of information for specific
patrons.
BISHOP, WILLIAM WARNER, 1919:
In 1919 librarianship experienced
a crises created by a conflict between quality and quantity of
collections based on librarians knowledge of what is good service
and what are the increased demands for services beyond librarians
capacities. This created a danger of mediocre service by duplicating
collections in branches, and collecting 'trash' books. "The
book-using art is bound to grow, and our failure or success in
leading and directing its growth is going to be the measure of
our ability to rise to our opportunities." (p.9)
_BLACK, ALISTAIR 1991:
The modern concept of the 'public
library' emerged from (a) the utilitarian attempt to replace the
elitism of the 19th century by focusing on the welfare of many,
and from (b) the idealistic believe in the values held by the
whole society in supporting the free library.
Utilitarianism originated with Jereme
Bentham and David Hume who focused on utility. John Stuart Mill
expanded the notion of pleasure from the egoistic pleasure-seeking
to the notion of 'higher' pleasure for the whole society, requiring
altruism and society's support of public library services.
Utilitarian empiricism stresses a
posteriori acquisition of knowledge through experience, and idealists
emphasizes an innate, a priori qualities, reflecting ethical distinctions
between utilitarian teleological, beneficial end-results of library
services and idealistic deontological moral absolutes in satisfying
information needs through free access to books. The self-realization
concept of idealism is based on a metaphysical meaning of perfection.
Both philosophies advocate good citizenship, social harmony and
equality of opportunities.
BLACK, WILLIAM K. and JOAN M. LEYSEN,
1994:
Librarians are considered academicians
that participate in the educational goals of their institutions,
by advancing learning and research through the provision of information
services. The library scholarship consists of original and secondary
research, evaluation of the scholarly works of others, development
of creative activities (computer software and bibliographic instructions),
and complementary research (exhibits, position papers, etc.).
BLACKBURN, ROBERT, 1968:
College libraries are failure because
of competing objectives of the teaching faculty and librarians:
(a) teachers want to posses books, librarians own them, (b) teachers
are jealous of librarians' knowledge of the publishing market
and for selecting and ordering books; (c) Librarians access to
the students is limited by teachers control of what they should
read; (d) teachers are disorderly, librarians stress order, efficiency,
economy and preciseness; (e) books in the library are threatening
if they do not agree with the teachers' viewpoint; (f) different
status of librarians and teachers is reflected in different working
environment, salaries and status.
The solution is to bring the bookstore
to the library, allowing teachers and students to order books
for themselves (in addition to books in the library) from the
copies displayed in the library. This approach would bring teachers,
librarians and students together with the books and their content,
allowing librarians to buy, lend, reproduce and facilitate personal
purchases of books, avoiding personality conflicts and encouraging
'love of books.'
BLAKE, FAY M., 1971:
Major social responsibilities of academic
librarianship include an understanding the process of scholarship,
how and what people want to learn, and how to discriminate between
different scholarly works. Librarians must become politicians
by utilizing campus power, and by having direct contact with the
library constituency. Most important however, is the understanding
that library exists to facilitate communication between people
through books.
BLAKE, FAY M., and E.L. PERLMUTTER, 1977:
The function of librarians as information
handlers is based on one to one relationship between librarians
and library users. This function does not lend itself to mechanization
or improved productivity.
Business cost-recovery philosophy
contradicts libraries' free service philosophy. The online service
may reduce the disparity between 'have-and-have not" access
to information, but the fee-for all services will increase that
disparity in terms of economic ability to pay for the access to
information.
"If we do not guard against imbalance
. . . [between the two approaches], we shall be faced with the
paradox: the wealthier our nation becomes, the more impoverished
will be our free public service." (p. 2008)
BLAKE, M.L., 1985:
There is a need for a policy on information
that reflects the new information age. We are witnessing a converse
of Darvinian evolution: a "cultural evolution in space through
competition for time." (p.125) In it, fitness depends on
information technology. It is reflected in the brain evolution
into two spheres: space processing right sphere and time processing,
left sphere.
Librarianship is space-focused (e.g.,
classification is based on holistic pattern recognition in time-fixed
knowledge), while information science is time-dominated (e.g.,
time shared on-line access to time changing information).
Taxation as the social control of
the use of space has a long history, but the taxation of the use
of time, available to the information-reach only, is less taxed.
BLANKE, H.T., 1989:
Contemporary social scientists view
themselves as 'value-free' professionals; librarians embraced
this political neutrality to enhance their professional status,
at the risk of being dominated by other political and economic
powers.
The profession must define its values
in political terms, by cultivating the sense of social responsibility
to provide free and equal access to information.
Today, corporate capitalism, responding
to the erosion of its global power, endorses libraries' preoccupation
with technology; the patron becomes the client and the librarian
information broker. Innovation and efficiency in processing information
become a marketable commodity, overriding the importance of equity
of public service. Overall strategy is to encourage private enterprises
to 'add value' to government information, i.e., to repackage it
for profit. Concept of value-neutrality creates a vacuum that
can be filled by prevailing political and economic ethos, endangering
the fundamental ideals of free and equal access to information.
"Without a clear and vital set
of philosophical and political ideals acting as a guiding beacon,
the library profession will not remain neutral, but will drift
aimlessly with the currents of power and privilege." (p.
42)
BLASINGAME, RALPH and MARY JO LYNCH,
1976:
Traditional librarians' responsibility
is to acquire, organize and provide access to collections of documents
relevant to patron needs. The responsibility for providing other
resources is considered secondary and has low managerial priority.
If that responsibility is limited to the provision of access to
the total available store of information only, the distinctions
between the 'own' and 'other' resources disappear, implying an
important change in the philosophy and values of librarianship.
BLISS HENRY EVELYN:
Bliss called for special social and
educational philosophy of librarianship, studied by scientific
method and consistent with ethical motives (P. Peirce, 1951).
He is criticized by A. Broadfield for not believing in an individual,
for endorsing sociological theories of group personality, and
social righteousness and for confusing natural order of science
with order of natural science. (A. Broadfield. 1949)
---- 1935:
The author interpreted Danton's call
for philosophy of librarianship as relating to special philosophies
such as philosophy of education, of sociology, of science or
psychology.
Librarianship lacks satisfactory definitions
of valid principles of belief, purpose, method, and conduct concerning
knowledge, science, philosophy and ethics;
but -it provides generalized "verified conclusions, validified
by a consensus, not mere conjectures, nor bald traditions."
(p.234)
BOARDMAN, EDNA M., 1988:
The author stresses the importance
of knowing how and to whom librarians promote themselves. The
school library is integral to the school if it provides material
necessary for teaching; but if it makes available just a leisure
reading or occasional facts, its services are supplementary to
school's curriculum. The author advocates a strategy of positioning,
'thinking in reverse', by focusing not on what librarians think
they are, but how their role is perceived by others. "If
we can address the real concerns of our public; if we can establish
our services as integral parts of secondary education; if we can
improve our position in the public eye; then the resulting improvement
in public support will ensure that we flourish." (p.17)
BOAZ, MARTHA, 1972:
Librarians are not only catalogers,
reference librarians or bibliographers, but primarily humanists
and people-oriented communicators knowing the contents of their
book. Library education should be more concerned about ideas and
communication than about facts and contents.
BOHNERT, LEA M., 1974:
Fairthorne's theory of notification
clarifies the foundations of information science. He defined 'notification'
as 'mention and delivery of recorded messages to users', listing
as the main elements of library operations: (1) Source (e.g.,
authors), (2) Code (e.g., language of a book), (3) Message (the
signal), (4) Channel (e.g., microfilms), (5) Destination (e.g.,
reader) and (6) Designation (subject description).
The first five concepts describe Shannon's
theory of communication, the sixth, 'Designation', adds meaning
to the communication in library theory. The elements grouped in
triads describe twenty major library activities. Triadic arrangement
describes relationships between the two elements and their impact
on the third element.
Shannon's Code-message-channel triad
is a 'black box' of signaling (e.g., printing), while source-designation-destination
is the librarian 'black box' of discourse, that is, librarians
are not concerned with the subject of discourse as such but with
the reasons for which it is requested by patrons.
---- 1989:
The author maintains that both library
and information science are the same disciplines. Library science
and its classification and subject headings are the foundations
of information science, and the name 'information retrieval' is
a better description of the nature of information science.
BOLGIANO, CHRISTINA, 1982:
Major function of the didactic art
is to relate people to their environment within a context of a
systems hierarchy of values; it is a shift from the object-oriented
to systems oriented culture. "Here change emanates not from
things, but from the way things are done." (p.289) Systems
science is becoming an interdisciplinary field of knowledge in
a unified theory of universal processes. "It is fundamental
to the philosophy of systems that the never-ending spirals of
systems interactions be recognized." (Ibid).
Among the characteristics of the systems
are: (a) synergy (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)
coordinates different functions in libraries, (b) systems have
a life of their own, adjusting to the changing environment, such
as the development of internal procedures within each library
operation (c) systems analysis, define activities in terms of
all influencing factors, often changing traditional patterns of
library management, (d) integration of functions that reduce duplication
of library processes, and (e) networking, organizing individual
systems into a supersystem, such as OCLC.
As a system, library is a complex
of relations between people and information processes, within
a larger social, economic and political systems.
Systems are not synonyms for computers;
in librarianship they are communication system of ideas interrelated
with an operational system using computers in its physical processes.
In the systems approach information
is essential; it is communicated by libraries, which "as
the medium for organization and transfer of information are society's
work of art." (p.291)
BOLL, JOHN J., 1972:
Library education reflected five major
approaches to the core courses, based on the following theories:
(1) 'The one profession in one year': the focus is on the unity
of the profession at the expense of specialization within it.
(2) 'Maximum flexibility in one year': the approach minimizes
the importance of core course. (3) The 'changed emphasis': replaces
some core courses by specialization. (4) The 'growing single profession':
expands the length of study. (5) The 'structured or several subprofessions':
focuses on specialization with core courses developed for each
subdiscipline.
The present core contains only few
philosophical concepts. "Curriculum revision must begin with
a statement that forms the philosophy and rationale for change."
(p.197)
The author notes that the similarities
between different library subdivisions are philosophical and conceptual,
while the differences between them are practical. Librarianship
might be considered for practical and philosophical reasons
"a cluster of four or five interlocking subprofessions."
(p.209)
BONK, W.J., 1956:
The public library as a social institution
has its purposes determined by the society. However society itself
is not a static institution, hence the statements of library purposes
formulated in the past may not be relevant today.
In democracy individual thoughts and
minority opinions must be protected; in the equalitarian society
the stress is on uniformity at the expense of individual freedom.
Since the book has a great impact
on the mind of an individual, the librarian must choose between
preservation and obliteration of independent thinking, thus considering
the library as an active or passive institution.
BONN, GEORGE S., and SYLVIA FAIBISOFF,
1976:
Papers in this collection discuss major
causes of change: the government, economic conditions, science
and technology; and possible impact of change on three vital areas:
humanities, education and social institutions.
Shera called for librarians to be not
only the memory of the society, but also the communicators of
knowledge by providing information to all its users (library elite).
R.L. Carroll noted the growing interest in intuitive knowledge,
in the manipulation of words, symbols, and in the problems of
value. J. McDonald predicted "a major shift in the needs
of universities, a deemphasis of doctoral programs, and a shift
toward in-service training . . . [with] information viewed as
a national resource."
H. Lopata examined social change for
social institutions "noting the evolution from a relatively
stable, urban and industrial world to a postindustrial middle-class
society exhibiting growing duress and the breakup of the family
unit." Shields indicated a need for librarianship to be reduced
to humanism; "to say that libraries are solely institutions
of education or recreation is to misapply what society asks of
librarians." D. Ely maintained that both individuals and
institutions should participate in change "in helping to
create the future rather than to be shaped by it." (pp.vii-x)
BOON, J.A., 1991:
The General Systems of Bertalanffy
is a scientific approach that varies from the atomistic and mechanistic
views of science by examining reality as a whole, not each of
its aspects separately. The approach influenced library management
and organization of knowledge.
BOORSTIN, DANIEL J., 1980:
Equating library services with information
services may imply that knowledge is equated with information.
However, knowledge is orderly and cumulative, while information
is random and miscellaneous. In terms of Gresham's law, information
drives knowledge out of circulation, displacing the established,
cumulative knowledge by recent, most problematic. "The latest
information on anything and everything is collected, diffused,
received, stored, and retrieved before anyone can discover whether
the facts have meaning." (p.3) Libraries have two paradoxical
and conflicting roles, as repositories of information, and as
a refuge from information and misinformation. Information is provided
to us as a service, but we must also be able to acquire knowledge
for ourselves. "We expect to be entertained, and also to
be informed. But we cannot be knowledged!." (p. 6)
---- 1982a:
The book endures, information becomes
obsolete; books are cumulative, adding new knowledge to old, while
new information displaces old; the book has the focus, information
is about everything; books build tradition, information makes
us "well-informed, but woefully ignorant." (p. 56)
---- 1982b:
Reading is not a skill but an experience,
a part of the whole American experience. Three knowledge related
biases are: (1) 'The bias of presentism', the learning is based
on immediacy; by the time something is printed it is already obsolete
or false. (2) 'The bias of publicity', private communications
are often publicized. (3) 'The bias of statistics', we know the
quantity but not the quality of reading. The library is 'a symbol
of the privacy essential to a free people." (p. 11) Reading
provides a refuge from all these biases by allowing readers to
be at home with themselves.
BORDEN, ARNOLD K., 1931:
Usually philosophy follows discovery
of facts, evaluating their meaning, significance and value. It
interprets various relations within the whole experience.
Librarianship as a science must examine
experimentally discovered facts, and as an educational institution,
it must address philosophical reasons for performing that function.
The main role of the library is to
conserve and interpret knowledge. The relationship between these
two roles is often confused because of a lack of philosophical
understanding of bibliographic resources. The development of research
in librarianship makes a philosophy indispensable in asking pertinent
questions. "The mere doing of the research may yield something
in the way of training and technique, but the conclusions will
sound hollow without a philosophy to back them up." (p.176)
BORKO, HAROLD, 1968:
Information science "investigates
the properties and behavior of information, the forces governing
the flow of information, and the means of processing information
for optimum accessibility and usability." (p.3) It is concerned
with the "organization, storage, retrieval, interpretation,
transmission, transformation, and utilization of information
. . . (and its) representations in both natural and artificial
systems, the use of codes for efficient message transmission,
and the study of information processing devices and techniques
such as computers and their programming systems." (Ibid.)
Librarianship is responsible for storing
and disseminating knowledge, and documentation is concerned with
storing and retrieving recorded documentary information; both
are considered applied branches of information science.
---- 1984:
Library information sciences is defined
as "a single unified discipline dealing with the management
of information resources for the purpose of maximizing the utility
of recorded records for the benefit of individuals, organizations,
and for society at large." (p.185)
The education for librarianship should
focus on philosophy, theory and principles relevant to the field
as a whole and be responsive to the cultural, social and educational
changes.
The unified library information science
can be advanced by integrating in the curriculum the concepts
of information science, use of computers and telecommunication
systems.
BOSTWICK, A.E., 1907:
Bostwick considers books as a basis
for librarianship. They are transmitters of knowledge, the librarian
is their agent encouraging reading. The purposeful reading in
an esthetic and ethical environment enriches inner life of the
reader.
This idealistic view considers the
book as an object of affection because it contains both facts
and ideas. Its content (the soul) expresses a universal mind of
humanity, while its material aspects (paper, ink, etc.) express
the body of the book. The true lover loves the soul with proper
attention given to its body. However, this love is not synonymous
with the love of knowledge (knowledge may not be recorded, or
recorded in other media); it is a love of ideas, and of the way
they are recorded.
BOTHA, WILLEN M., 1989:
The author discusses Shera's social
epistemology and P.C. Coetzee's culturology of readership. Both
demonstrate the existence of some basic concepts in library and
information science that survived recent changes by emphasizing
the value of information in librarianship.
BOWKER, RICHARD R., 1989:
The functions of the 19th century
l