Democratic Theory in LIS: Toward an Emendation

Despite quantities of popular rhetoric, democratic theory holds an aposiopetic place within library and information science (LIS) in both senses of that word: It is both in a stasis holding to basic ideas outlined 200 years ago and also a silence largely maintained. A review of a number of state-of-the-literature reviews make the case that it has not been systematically explored or applied, and most LIS work elides the questions democratic theory raises. It is time to emend this and account for a relevant intellectual source which can more firmly ground LIS practice and research in normative terms. Toward that end, three productive wellsprings of democratic theory are reviewed: Jürgen Habermas, Sheldon Wolin, and those working on democratic education (Amy Gutmann, Richard Brosio, Maxine Greene). The article concludes with an outline of some possible LIS questions and approaches drawn from these democratic theorists

The rhizome and the tree: changing metaphors for information organisation

Purpose – The paper aims to review Deleuze and Guttari's concept of the rhizome as a model for information organisation. Design/methodology/approach – This is a critical review of selected literature. Findings – The rhizome concept is a promising model for understanding hyperlinked information services. It may be of practical value, particularly if it can be integrated with more traditional forms of information organisation. More research, conceptual and practical, is needed before this can be achieved. Research limitations/implications – The literature review is not comprehensive, and the conclusions are open-ended. Originality/value – This is the only paper to review the rhizome concept in this way

Super-science, fundamental dimension, way of being: Library and information science in an age of messages. With critique from Rafael Capurro

This is a blog post containing the somewhat revised text of a chapter published in a Festschrift for Rafael Capurr, with comments from Capurro on our chapter

Data, ideology, and the developing critical program of social informatics

The rapidly shifting ideological terrain of computing has a profound impact on Social Informatics's critical and empirical analysis of computerization movements. As these movements incorporate many of the past critiques concerning social fit and situational context leveled against them by Social Informatics research, more subtle and more deeply ingrained modes of ideological practice have risen to support movements of computerization. Among these, the current emphasis on the promises of data and data analytics presents the most obvious ideological challenge. In order to reorient Social Informatics in relation to these new ideological challenges, Louis Althusser's theory of ideology is discussed, with its implications for Social Informatics considered. Among these implications, a changed relationship between Social Informatics's critical stance and its reliance on empirical methods is advanced. Addressed at a fundamental level, the practice of Social Informatics comes to be reoriented in a more distinctly reflective and ethical direction

Development and the documentation of indigenous knowledge: Good intentions in bad company?

There appears to be an increasing interest within library and information studies (LIS) in so-called indigenous or traditional knowledge. Discussions on usefulness and applicability of indigenous knowledge in development seem to be motivating electronic documentation and the creation of databases. Often, definitions provided by international organisations are drawn on unquestioningly, while power structures embedded in descriptions provided by such organisations are ignored. This article aims at drawing attention to the ways in which international organisations define and talk about indigenous knowledge in relation to development. This is achieved by critical, close reading of six publications issued between 1998 and 2008 by the following organisations: WIPO, UNESCO, ICSU, UNDP, the World Bank, and IFLA. The critical reflections are also intended to shed light on how documentation practises can be understood as extensions of power. For this the authors draw on Foucauldian notions of power and discourse as well as on post-development and postcolonial perspectives. Relationships and discursive procedures for statements on science, development discourse and intellectual property rights, are shown to be influential in the creation of the concept indigenous knowledge. Relating indigenous knowledge to post-colonial and post-development studies reveals how indigenous knowledge is created and kept marginalized within the discursive structure of development. The analysis concludes by showing how knowledge named indigenous knowledge is trapped and created in a circular flow which legitimises international aid organizations, development discourse and the intellectual property rights system. The article concludes by demanding greater awareness among LIS researchers and practitioners regarding the culturally embedded character of knowledge practices and of the power of classifying and defining

Transgression or Stasis? Challenging Foucault in LIS Theory

Michel Foucault (1926–84) is a primary thinker informing the construction of a critical theory of library and information science (LIS), or librarianship. He is widely cited and is adapted in various ways that focus on LIS forms of power, discourse, and so on. Others have addressed Foucault’s topics, but he remains central. Li- brarianship has taken up a prior challenge to more fully explore his work, and it is now time to carefully review the implications of Foucault’s thinking as a foun- dation for a critical-theoretical LIS. Foucault has undergone extensive analysis and critique, and this article is a similar step within LIS. While not comprehensive, a review of Foucauldian ideas within LIS literature from a core group of authors is undertaken. Critiques and problems in Foucault’s thinking are reviewed since, by relying on Foucault’s insights for a line of analysis and research, this LIS theoretical work will reflect some of those same problems

Conceptions of “information poverty” in LIS: a discourse analysis

Purpose – To provide an analysis of the notion of “information poverty” in library and information science (LIS) by investigating concepts, interests and strategies leading to its construction and thus to examine its role as a constitutive element of the professional discourse. Design/methodology/approach – Starting from a Foucauldian notion of discourse, “information poverty” is examined as a statement in its relation to other statements in order to highlight assumptions and factors contributing to its construction. The analysis is based on repeated and close reading of 35 English language articles published in LIS journals between 1995 and 2005. Findings – Four especially productive discursive procedures are identified: economic determinism, technological determinism and the “information society”, historicising the “information poor”, and the library profession’s moral obligation and responsibility. Research limitations/implications – The material selection is linguistically and geographically biased. Most of the included articles originate in English-speaking countries. Therefore, results and findings are fully applicable only in an English language context. Originality/value – The focus on overlapping and at times conflicting discursive procedures, i.e. the results of alliances and connections between statements, highlights how the “information poor” emerge as a category in LIS as the product of institutionally contingent, professional discourse. By challenging often unquestioned underlying assumptions, this article is intended to contribute to a critical examination of LIS discourse, as well as to the analysis of the discourses of information, which dominate contemporary society. It is furthermore seen to add to the development of discourse analytical approaches in LIS research

Cóncavo y convexo: Documentación y Humanidades Digitales, punto de inflexión

Se presenta un recorrido por lo conceptos de Foucault y Chomsky sobre la naturaleza humana en los años 70 como antecedente para los desarrollos en humanidades digitales a inicios del siglo XXI.Se cuenta la experiencia pionera argentina de El Derecho en Disco Laser como primera experiencia de tratamiento masivo de lengua natural. Se analiza luego el campo de la Documentación y los aporte de Otlet y Briet.Se concluye presentando un campo común entre humanidades digitales y documentaciónFil: Bosch, Maria Angelina Elsa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Argentino de Información Científica y Tecnológica; Argentin

Interactive acquisition and sharing: Understanding the dynamics of HIV/AIDS information networks

HIV/AIDS information is an important resource for people affected by the disease, particularly information that they obtain from other people. Although existing studies reveal that people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) rely extensively on personal relationships for HIV/AIDS information, they explain little about how this happens as a social process. To investigate how PHAs and their friends/family members acquire and share network-mediated HIV/AIDS information, semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted in three rural regions of Canada. Interviews were carried out with 114 PHAs, their friends/family members, and health care and service providers. A network solicitation and chain-referral recruitment procedure was used to delineate HIV/AIDS information networks for participants. Interview data were analyzed qualitatively and compared to Haythornthwaite's ( 1996 ) concepts of network-mediated information processes and Talja and Hansen's ( 2006 ) collaborative information behavior framework. Findings revealed that participants obtained HIV/AIDS information from their networks through five interactive processes: joint seeking, tag-team seeking, exposure, opportunity, and legitimation. The results of this study advance information behavior theory by pointing to the interactive character of information behavior and introducing new concepts to describe everyday life collaborative information behavior. This research also demonstrates the extensive interplay between health information exchange and the sharing of emotional support. The insights emanating from this study suggest that health information practice might benefit from a focus on program strategies such as building information network capacity, developing collaborative information retrieval systems and relationship-building, in addition to the more traditional library-related concerns of reference encounters, collections, and institutional Web sites.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64304/1/21151_ftp.pd