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1 – 4 of 4In this article, the author discusses works from the French Documentation Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with regard to how it formulates bibliographic classification systems as…
Abstract
Purpose
In this article, the author discusses works from the French Documentation Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with regard to how it formulates bibliographic classification systems as documents. Significant writings by Suzanne Briet, Éric de Grolier and Robert Pagès are analyzed in the light of current document-theoretical concepts and discussions.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual analysis.
Findings
The French Documentation Movement provided a rich intellectual environment in the late 1940s and early 1950s, resulting in original works on documents and the ways these may be represented bibliographically. These works display a variety of approaches from object-oriented description to notational concept-synthesis, and definitions of classification systems as isomorph documents at the center of politically informed critique of modern society.
Originality/value
The article brings together historical and conceptual elements in the analysis which have not previously been combined in Library and Information Science literature. In the analysis, the article discusses significant contributions to classification and document theory that hitherto have eluded attention from the wider international Library and Information Science research community. Through this, the article contributes to the currently ongoing conceptual discussion on documents and documentality.
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This article explores how Norwegian public libraries negotiate neutrality and activism in response to national policy implementing the United Nations (UN) goals for sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores how Norwegian public libraries negotiate neutrality and activism in response to national policy implementing the United Nations (UN) goals for sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by the ongoing academic debate on library neutrality and activism, this article presents an analysis of 30 qualitative interviews with librarians and directors in four public libraries. Through comparative case study design, the analysis explores the negotiations of neutrality and activism in the organisational response to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), in public events connected with environmental sustainability and in the engagement of librarians with various higher education backgrounds and competencies.
Findings
The neutrality of Norwegian public libraries is tied to the libraries’ function as a social meeting place and arena for public debate. While the agenda for sustainable development is perceived as neutral by many of the interview participants, there are ongoing negotiations on how politically charged initiatives should be and whether public conversations on environmental and climate issues need to represent a balance of opinions. The case libraries have developed different strategies, and while non-traditional collections and events centred on sustainability may provide a middle ground, the negotiations of neutrality and activism are influenced both by competencies and personal engagement.
Originality/value
This article shows how neutrality is negotiated in public libraries, with the strategies to build a sustainable society through both conventional means and activism.
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Michael Buckland's works have spanned theoretical, historical and practice-oriented foci and genre. This article focuses on some of his theoretical-historical works that span over…
Abstract
Purpose
Michael Buckland's works have spanned theoretical, historical and practice-oriented foci and genre. This article focuses on some of his theoretical-historical works that span over 20 years, which demonstrate a reading and critique of European Documentation in terms of what has been called “Documentality.” This turn to a philosophy of information called “Documentality” marks the moment of “neo-documentation.” This article surveys this moment in Buckland's works by reading his articles “Information as Thing,” “What is a ‘Document’?”, and “Documentality Beyond Documents.” It shows the transition from Documentation as a philosophy of information as representation to Documentality as a philosophy of information as function and performance. Some concepts and works of Bruno Latour are used to illuminate this transition from Documentation to Documentality. Implications and further research directions are discussed at the end.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual and historical analyses.
Findings
The article follows a neo-documentalist transition in Buckland's works in the thinking of documents from an Otletian representationalist epistemology (“Documentation”) to a functionalist and performative epistemology (“Documentality”) for documents.
Research limitations/implications
This is a conceptual work on a limited corpus in Buckland's oeuvre. It has a limited discussion of Documentality in the works of other writers, namely the works of Bernd Frohmann and Maurizio Ferraris.
Practical implications
The article points to historical shifts in the study of documents in Library and Information Science.
Social implications
Documentality critically and materially studies documents in sociotechnical information management systems and elsewhere.
Originality/value
This work highlights the importance of the above works and the importance of the neo-documentalist perspective of Documentality.
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