The Labor of Informational Democracy: A Library and Information Science Framework for Evaluating the Democratic Potential in Socially- Generated Information

This essay outlines a framework that LIS can use to analyze socially-generated information. The proposed evaluative framework involves three democratic horizons of analysis: the level of access, the level of production, and the level of communicative speech. This inquiry synthesizes the political economy of communication/librarianship, autonomist Marxist insights about the dematerialization of labor in late capitalism, and the concerns of contemporary democratic theory. The essay concludes with a set of proposals for LIS to pursue research and policies that use a critical theoretical framework linking the realm of production (i.e., labor) with communicative democracy

Libraries, Information, and the Right of the City 2013 LACUNY Institute Introduction

Introduction to the special issue from the 2013 LACUNY Institute LIBRARIES, INFORMATION, AND THE RIGHT TO THE CIT

Information Literacy and Social Power

An examination of information literacy literature using the perspective of social power research

Lost in Translation: How Non-library Faculty Members\u27 Perceptions of Information Literacy Shapes Information Literacy Collaboration & Practice

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The Reconquista Student: Critical Information Literacy, Civics, and Confronting Student Intolerance

Given the increasing power and prominence of political figures in the United States who openly espouse xenophobic, misogynistic, white nationalist positions it is only natural to anticipate encountering students who express these views in our libraries and classrooms. In this essay I use the methods of normative political theory to explore the following question: What are a set of consistent philosophical positions that Critical Information Literacy (CIL) could take that would allow it to respond to intolerance in a way that furthers its stated goals? CIL can draw upon the large body of literature on civic education in the United States that emphasizes using educational institutions to teach foundational knowledge about the American political system and in cultivating a civic disposition that tolerates a multiplicity of perspectives. This essay then explores the role that agonism—to use a concept developed by the political theorist Chantal Mouffe—plays in political life

Developments in Disclosure: Special Problems in Public Offerings - Forward-Looking Information, Including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This Article examines recent developments in disclosure with regard to public offerings and disclosures to trading markets. It analyzes current practices involving analysts, T + 3, the bespeaks caution doctrine, and the use of forward-looking information, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). The author concludes that securities litigation is likely to be reduced by the PSLRA

Precrop-treated soil influences wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) root system architecture and its response to drought

Aims Root system architecture (RSA) plays an important role in the plant's ability to sustain yield under abiotic stresses such as drought. Preceding crops (precrops) can affect the yield of the proceeding crop, partially by affecting the RSA. This experiment aims to explore the interactions between precrop identity, crop genotype and drought at early growth stages. Methods Rhizotrons, sized 60 x 80 x 3.5 cm, were used to assess the early root growth of two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, using precrop-treated soil around the seedlings and differing water regimes. The rhizotrons were automatically imaged 3 times a week to track root development. Results Precrop-treated soil affected the RSA and changes caused by the reduced water treatment (RWT) were different depending on the precrop. Largest of these was the 36% reduction in root depth after wheat, but 44% after OSR. This indicates that effects caused by the precrop can be simulated, at least partially, by transferring precrop-treated soils to controlled environments. The genotypes had differential RSA and reacted differently to the RWT, with Julius maintaining an 8.8-13.1% deeper root system compared to Brons in the RWT. In addition, the combined environmental treatment affected the genotypes differently. Conclusion Our results could help explain discrepancies found from using precrops to enhance yield as they indicate differences in the preceding crop effect when experiencing drought stress. Further, these differences are affected by genotypic interactions, which can be used to select and adapt crop genotypes for specific crop rotations, depending on the year. Additionally, we have shown a viable method of stimulating a partial precrop effect at the seedling stage in a controlled greenhouse setting using field soil around the germinated seed

The Challenge of Evaluating and Developing an Interdisciplinary Collection: The East Asian Collection at the Public College

When the faculty of the College of Staten Island, CUNY (CSI) introduced a new baccalaureate level program in East Asian Studies the library faced the challenge of evaluating the adequacy of its holdings to support the program and its future development. Multidisciplinary fields of study (e.g., East Asian Studies) that pertain to a specific geographical or cultural area present a unique set of evaluative issues because their subject content cannot be confined to set classification ranges, rendering the traditional methods of collection analysis inadequate. This poster will present the results of an evaluation of CSI’s East Asian Studies collection, discuss some of the challenges the authors encounter when analyzing this collection, and it will propose ways that the collection can be strengthened in the future. This analysis, as any analysis of a multidisciplinary field, must begin with clearly defining its span—in this case the scope of the East Asian Studies program at CSI. Then the authors will identify a few peer institutions with East Asian collections that can be used for purposes of comparison. Then the authors will examine how to best use the available tools (e.g., Aleph integrated library system, OCLC WorldShare Collection evaluation tool, and the CSI stacks). The poster will then explore strategies for specific (call number, subject, and keyword) catalog searches and the types of searches available by the WorldShare Collection Evaluation tool which could render results relevant for the purpose of multidisciplinary content evaluation. The authors will share related subject headings lists and call number ranges that could be successfully used to cover the area of interest and the keywords crucial to successful searches

Foreword: Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization

Foreword to the ACRL book Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization

Four Theses for Critical Library and Information Studies: A Manifesto

This essay proposes four theses for a Critical Library and Information Studies (CLIS) research agenda. The author argues that a normative commitment to libraries as social institutions should guide any future CLIS research agenda, that the natural sciences are a poor model for CLIS research, that value neutrality should be abandoned, and that any CLIS project should propose alternatives