sept 29, 2008norslis, uppsala1 public libraries and the nordic welfare states opening discussion...

Sept 29, 2008 NORSLIS, Uppsala 1

Public Libraries and the Nordic Welfare States

Opening Discussion

Theme: If you do not know what to do, go back to basic principles.

Michael Buckland

and we can celebrate a birthday!


The Platform Paper . . . Many questions and “challenges”: -- Market liberalism -- Multiculturalism -- Info literacy education -- Digitization

-- Is it a good platform?

-- How complete is it?

-- Are these past issues or future priorities?

-- Are the questions productively formulated?

-- Which challenges need research? Why? How?

-- Can research priorities be selected?

Important: These are perceived to be problems.

What are libraries for? – in principle.


Martin Schrettinger. 1772-1851. Forget metaphysics. Design systematic arrangements to make documents available simply, quickly, effectively, economically.

Library Science 200 years old: 1808-2008. Happy Birthday!


Documents in society -- Lawyers and law courts use documents as evidence, as proof. -- Educators use documents (textbooks, instructional materials) to

teach, and to empower and limit teachers. -- Scientists use documents (articles, offprints) as the archive of

achievement and for personal status. -- Media specialists and publicists use documents to persuade. -- Governments use documents to exercise social control. -- Religions use documents for authority and adherence. -- Patriots use documents to commemorate and for loyalty. -- Artists create documents to inspire and to challenge. -- Commerce is based on documented transactions. The transition to

reliable digital documents is a major challenge in commerce -- etc., etc. More and more…!

Society is very full of documents! In this context what should libraries do?


Six aspects of providing access to documents:

1. Identification: Is there a suitable document for my purpose: Bibliography, documentation, classification, indexing and retrieval. Where to search? How to select?

2. Availability: Physical access, document delivery.

3. Price to the user: User’s effort, time and money;

4. Cost to the provider: Effort, money, other resources used by the library. Policy constraints: Security, safety, social values, . . .

5. Understanding: Does the reader understand it: language, specialized expertise, context, . . .

6. Acceptability: Does the reader trust it, believe it. Should he/she?

1 – 4: Document-supplying systems.

1 – 6: Systems that inform.


1. Phenomenological aspect: Documents are objects perceived as signifying something. The status of being a “document” is not inherent but attributed (given to) an object. Meanings always constructed by observers.

2. Cultural codes: All forms of expression depend on some some shared understandings, language in a broad sense.

3. Media Types: Different type of expression have evolved: Texts, images, numbers, diagrams, art …

4. Physical Media: Paper; film; analog magnetic tape; bits;….

Anything perceived as a DOCUMENT (=1) has cultural (2), type (3), and physical (4) aspects. Genres are situated combinations.

Being digital affects directly only aspect 4.

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Limited benefit in studying only digital documents.


Exploratory Search Interfaces: Medical specialties


Nordic Welfare StatesAn outside view: Likely developments include: -- Continued relative inflation in costs of library

services (and other human services) because technological costs tend to decrease but human costs do not, unless services adapt, e.g. delegate more work to users (self-service) and/or to technology.

-- Public funding policy change, e,g, fromGood for government to fund toGood and also necessary for government to fund – a more complementary role.

It is important to study bad and dangerous ideas!


Categories of library purposesFinnish public library legislation:

1. Promote equal access to information

2. Stimulate cultural activities

3. Lifelong learning

4. Citizenship

Platform paper:

1. Social roles

2. Learning (Opportunities, Information literacy)

3. Digitization


An alternative set of categories1. Cultural activities:1.1. Culture is active: Performance of reading, writing,

singing, dancing, filming, listening, acting,…1.2. Cultural memory: Recording, collecting, preserving,

documenting, providing access2. Learning, education, esp. access to explanations3. Learning skills: How to find out; Information literacy;…4. Citizenship4.1. Political information: Laws, regulations, officials,…4.2. Community development: Resources,

communication,… What is good library service for each?


Library goodness

We want good libraries. What does that mean?

Whose values?

– How well is it done? Cost-effectiveness

– What good does it do? Value; beneficial effects

– How good is it? Quality; Capability

The books on shelves paradox


Libraries, Community and Government

-- Libraries serve (complex) communities

-- Libraries are government agencies, “bourgeois paternalism”

-- Libraries are purposive cultural enterprises using evolving techniques and technologies


COMMUNITY

GOVERNMENT

Situation Impact?

Problem seen Action

Uncertainties Decision


The Platform Paper has many uncertainties: We don’t know what to do…. -- Not all uncertainty needs academic research -- Three kinds of uncertainty: -- Uncertainties about values (priorities): Ask funders. -- Uncertainties about actions of others in related

areas: Consultation, collaboration, coordination -- Uncertainties about the environment: of impact of

changes: Descriptive, analytical, and predictive research.

-- Uncertainty is a reason for adaptive systems.

J. K. Friend & W. N. Jessop 1969. Local government and strategic choice. London: Tavistock.


Platform theme: DigitizationTechnology and technological change -- Technological stability encourages failure to distinguish between process and purpose (means and ends) because more of the same process is more of the same purpose. New technology (process) seen as criticism of purpose (values). Go back to purpose as the basis for choice of process (technology).

-- Technological usually in two stages:

1. Do the same thing better with different technology

2. Do better different things with the new technology

-- Design is the essence of being professional and of professional education (Herb Simon): Developing better designs of existing tasks; designs for new or changed situations.


Research in General

-- Research and development make the choices possible. -- Innovation is managerial: choosing, implementing different programs. -- Scholarly: Search for contrary evidence (in all domains). -- Scientific: Develop / test theories, models (formal, quantitative domains) -- Critical: Examine assumptions and methods (all domains). -- Study things of in themselves: “academic” research (Neglected in LIS). -- Solve practical problems: Applied, professional, design. -- Tension between methods and purpose. -- Choice of method defined by problem. Whatever method works! -- But when purpose weak or unclear, method dominates. -- Real-world problems usually require multiple methods. -- Economics of scope: Study / teach similar problems in different areas. -- Look for exceptions, anomalies, opposites, . . .


Dissertations -- a personal U.S. perspective

– Is there a question? No question, no answer! Avoid vague curiosity. – Can the question be answered? Is it a realistic question? – Interesting enough to want to work for years on it? Worth your

valuable time? Change the world! Simple curiosity not enough. – Do your advisors understand what you are doing? If not, dangerous. – A coherent, approved proposal is very useful. – Use the minimal necessary cubic meters of effort. Extra ideas and

material can be used outside and after the dissertation. – Ideally, improve theory and description and methodology and have

practical consequences – Design! However it is done, there is probably a better way. – Methodology depends on the purpose. (Often the other way round).


Four examples1. Book availability: How often can readers find the books

they want? What are the causes of failure to find a copy? What changes in libraries service would improve service? (Length of loan period; extra copies) How much impact?

2. Stability of public library funding in a local government financial crisis: What factors are associated with larger or smaller impact on public library budgets? (Snunith Shoham. Organizational adaptation by public libraries. Greenwood, 1984)

3. Biography: Emanuel Goldberg, search engine 1927.4. Design: Self-service reference. <ecai.org/neh2007>


Initial sketch for “Context Finding / Building” interface.

Save search path

Save link & notes as “stand-off” markup.

Save link & notes as embedded mark-up.

Insert / block text

Define facet

Ranked lists of suggested resources for each facet chosen

Display of search result


Reading a text online… Names found


Hovering over a named entity highlights the areas where it appears in the text.


Name links to search of relevant resources. http://metadata.berkeley.edu/demos


SummaryNot all questions are serious problems.Not all problems need academic research.Significant problems need multiple methods. We want good research: What does that mean? – How good is it? Quality – What good does it do? Value; beneficial effects – How well is it done? Cost-effectivenessPlatform paper is a discourse of “challenges” --

which are really opportunities.There are many good problems needing research

as we (re)design library services.

sept 29, 2008norslis, uppsala1 public libraries and the nordic welfare states opening discussion...

Documents

documents available

documents textbooks

documents articles

uppsala4 documents

reliable digital documents

physical media

suitable document

document delivery