Why study up? The elite appropriation of science, institution, and tourism as a development agenda in Maramureş, Romania

Abstract

This chapter argues that including “studying up” (Nader, 1969), a close attention to elites and hierarchy, into the Library and Information Science (LIS) research agenda will strengthen the research the LIS community carries out on information behavior and use. Looking at issues that interest Nader, (i.e., the role class and inequity play in social life), this chapter reviews and critiques LIS user studies. The chapter then illustrates the value this approach can have for LIS researchers.

Fieldwork recently carried out in Maramureş, Romania, suggests that the cooption of science (both its authority and institutions) at local levels has helped the elite legitimatize and profit from cultural tourism as a development strategy. This research also suggests that the differential (elite) access to and use of information and knowledge especially when tied to local institutions and practices of science have been neglected in the analysis of change in post socialist states.

Citation

Closet-Crane, C., Dopp, S., Solis, J. and Nyce, J.M. (2009), "Why study up? The elite appropriation of science, institution, and tourism as a development agenda in Maramureş, Romania", Graves, W., Nyce, J.M., Golden, J. and Williams, D.E. (Ed.) Advances in Library Administration and Organization (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 27), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 221-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0732-0671(2009)0000027016