The long history of librarianship is defined by three major revolutions: the invention of the alphabet, the development of printing, and the current information explosion. Throughout the ages librarians were responsible for preserving and providing access to the records of civilization, only recently reflecting on the intellectual meaning and cultural impact of their services on society.
This study is a sequel to Metalibrarianship, (Nitecki, J. Z., 1993), and is the second volume in The Nitecki Trilogy. The previous work formulated a specific model for the philosophical interpretation of librarianship, and the present essay provides a wide-ranging reference to different views on the philosophy of librarianship.
The book was completed in the fall of 1994. It coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of the subject heading "Librarianship-Philosophical Aspects" in Library Literature. Although throughout that period the number of essays on library philosophy was relatively small, interest in the subject is enduring.
A brief ALA survey made in 1994 (M.J.Lynch, M. J., and G. Hodges, 1994) indicated a sustained interest in the philosophy of librarianship among the ALA's members who ranked philosophy fifteenth among the areas of interest to them.
The review of philosophical viewpoints about library information science (LIS) is provided in two parts: Samples of contributions to the intellectual foundations of library and information science are analyzed in Part I and abstracted in Part II. The selection of entries is based on their relevance to the theme of this study. They include all authors listed by major reviewers of library philosophy, supplemented by most works listed in Library Literature under "Librarianship--Philosophical Aspects." Some of the summaries in this compilation may be out of context, since they are intended to illustrate the concepts applicable to this study, not to summarize the quoted essays themselves. Each entry is a sample of ideas to be studied in depth by consulting the original work.
Certain entries are longer than the average because their authors (a) are not well known to the general readership in philosophy of librarianship (e.g., works by D. Bergen), (b) developed their own philosophical viewpoints (e.g., Butler, Shera, Wright), or (c) participated in a long dialogue about the philosophical subject (e.g., J. Berry).
Only few of the essays analyzed offer more or less developed philosophical models of librarianship. Most provide insights to only some aspects of LIS, or they restate this insight in a non- philosophical mode. This is not surprising, since at present, the philosophy of librarianship resembles a big jigsaw puzzle, with some large pieces of the puzzle still missing.
The compilation itself is far from complete.
It is offered as a preliminary draft to the students of librarianship
to build on it, by expanding past and present contributions, by
adding syntheses of new insights into the nature of recorded data,
information, or knowledge, and by elucidating new roles of the
profession, responsible for transferring recorded knowledge in
any form and from any sources to their receivers.
Fall, 1994
/s/J.Z.Nitecki