Emerald | Journal of Documentation

Obsolescence in Subject Description

Michael K. Buckland — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The paper explains the character and causes of obsolescence in assigned subject descriptors.Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual analysis with examples and reference to existing literature.Findings - Subject description comes in two forms: Assigning the name or code of a subject to a document and assigning a document to a named subject category. Each method associates a document with the name of a subject. This naming activity is the site of tensions between the procedural need of information systems for stable records and the inherent multiplicity and instability of linguistic expressions. As languages change, previously assigned subject descriptions become obsolescent. The issues, tensions, and compromises involved are introduced.Originality/value - Drawing on the work of Robert Fairthorne and others, an explanation of the unavoidable obsolescence of assigned subject headings is presented. The discussion relates to libraries, but the same issues arise in any context in which subject description is expected to remain useful for an extended period of time.

Using Classification to Convict the Khmer Rouge

Michelle Caswell — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of classification structures to efforts at holding perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable using one archival repository in Cambodia as a case study. Design/methodology/approach - The primary methodology of this paper is a textual analysis of the Documentation Center of Cambodia’s classification scheme, as well as a conceptual analysis using the theoretical framework originally posited by Bowker and Star and further developed by Harris and Duff. These analyses were supplemented by interviews with key participants.Findings - The Documentation Center of Cambodia’s classification of Khmer Rouge records by ethnic identity has had a major impact on charging former officials of the regime with genocide in the ongoing human rights tribunal.Originality/value - This paper expands and revises Harris and Duff’s definition of liberatory description to include Spivak’s concept of strategic essentialism, arguing that archivists’ classification choices have important ethical and legal consequences.

Legitimising bibliotherapy: evidence-based discourses in healthcare

Liz Brewster, Barbara Sen, Andrew Cox — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - To explore how the use of self-help bibliotherapy developed from a local pilot scheme to become national policy in Wales. Analysis focuses on the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a justification in the process of policy creation.Design/methodology/approach - A mixed methodological approach was used to gather data, incorporating semi-structured interviews, documents, and descriptive statistics. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was used as a critical lens to frame analysis. Findings - The study finds that the translation from local pilot to national initiative was achieved using legitimising discourses including EBP. These discourses were used selectively, and in response to the needs of the focal actors in the network. The complex relationship between EBP and self-help bibliotherapy is explored in connection with healthcare policy, concluding that the use of EBP legitimises a lack of patient-centred evaluation. Research limitations/implications - Limitations of the research include a lack of engagement with patients using the scheme, and future research should aim to present a more patient-centred account to compliment this policy-focused work. Originality/value - Little in-depth work has been conducted on the strategy behind the introduction of bibliotherapy schemes in the UK or elsewhere, and this paper presents an in-depth theoretical analysis of the first nationwide bibliotherapy scheme in the world.

Social discovery tools: Extending the principle of user convenience

Louise Spiteri — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the principle of user convenience and social discovery systems. New social discovery systems have social-type Web 2.0 features that allow users to enhance the content of bibliographic records by adding their own tags, ratings, and reviews. One of the primary underlying principles of cataloguing is that catalogue records be designed with the user in mind, i.e., user convenience. Design/methodology/approach - A review of the literature and codes of ethics of associations of information professions was undertaken to examine: (a) the ethical dimensions of creating catalogue records to reflect user convenience, (b) the relationship between culture and user convenience, and (c) how social discovery tools can facilitate the creation of interactive and flexible catalogue records that reflect the culture(s) and needs of the library communities in which they exist. Findings - Social discovery systems can address the primary barriers to creating catalogue records that meet user convenience: (a) determining and reflecting the needs and cultural warrant of the users, and (b) maintaining the quality and integrity of the catalogue records.Practical implications - Social discovery systems can serve as a bridge between cataloguers' desire to create accurate catalogue records that conform to accepted cataloguing standards, and their ethical imperative to ensure that these records meet the needs of the clients. Originality/value - The findings of this study will pave the way for further research into how user-contributed metadata allow clients to express their needs and cultural warrant and to interact with each other and library staff

Homelessness and access to the informational mainstream

Thomas Muggleton, Ian Ruthven — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - To explore how homelessness affects access to information serving higher-level needs such as identity formation and social interaction.Design/methodology/approach - A multi-disciplinary literature review informed the design of 18 semi-structured interviews as well as their subsequent analysis. The interview data was intended to be qualitative and exploratory since it addressed a perceived gap in the information and library science literature.Findings - Findings present the ways in which interviewees managed to access information and the way such information helps socialisation and well-being. Research limitations/implications - The study focused on individuals who were potentially more confident and resourceful. The study is also limited to Glasgow which has relatively good provision for the homeless. Further research in a different locale and among less confident individuals would be necessary to corroborate findings in this regard.Practical implications - The findings confirmed a fundamental research assumption that homeless individuals would pursue higher-level needs alongside more basic physiological needs. This has practical implications for public libraries' service provision to homeless populations, and also suggests there is greater room for collaboration between libraries and homeless service agencies.Originality/value - The paper addresses a gap in the literature concerning homelessness and higher-level needs. This has implications for the provision of information and services within both public libraries and organisations serving the homeless. Findings also challenge widespread assumptions regarding the ‘otherness’ or distinctiveness of people who are homeless.

Collecting and Compiling: The Activity of Seeking Pictures in Primary School

Anna Lundh, Mikael Alexandersson — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this study is to further our understanding of the situated activity of seeking pictures. It relates to an ongoing discussion on how multimodal information literacies are enacted in different social practices. Design/methodology/approach - In order to understand the characteristics of the communication and interactions in the activity of seeking pictures, video recordings from an ethnographic study of primary school children working with problem-centred assignments have been analysed. Findings - The analysis reveals how the activity of seeking pictures is shaped by the assumption that pictures are different from facts and information; pictures are seen primarily as having decorative functions. The activity is also characterised by playful, yet efficient cooperation between the children; they make the activity meaningful by transforming it into a play and game activity where pictures become important as physical objects, but not as a semiotic means of learning. Research limitations/implications - The study is limited to the activity of seeking pictures in a specific primary school; however, it shows how modes other than textual modes can be included in the study of information activities. Practical implications - The study reveals the need for developing methods for enhancing children’s possibilities to critically examine and learn from visual material, such as pictures. Originality/value - Research on information seeking and information literacies rarely focus on multimodal aspects of information activities or the seeking of pictures outside special collections, despite the increased significance of visual material in the contemporary media landscape. This paper shows how studies of multimodal information activities can be designed.

Alternative Libraries as Discursive Formations: Reclaiming the Voice of the Deaccessioned Book

Gary Paul Radford, Marie Louise Radford, Jessica Lingel — 2012-03-02 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Deaccessioning, the deliberate culling, disposing, or selling of books from a collection, is one of the most controversial aspects of the collection development function of the library. This article examines what can become of this universe of deaccessioned books through a consideration of two alternative libraries, or libraries-which-are-not-libraries. The existence of such alternative libraries allows one to address questions such as: Can the value of a deaccessioned book be reclaimed and, if so, how? Do these books continue to have a voice and, if so, what is it possible for that voice to say? Design/methodology/approach - These themes are explored through the work of Michel Foucault, in particular the analyses of statements and discursive formations found in his book, The Archaeology of Knowledge (Foucault, 1972). Findings - Foucault’s work is found to offer a means by which to conceptualize and describe the place and value of deaccessioned books as they are reclaimed by the alternative library. Originality/value - What is new in this article is the consideration of books and other texts that are otherwise considered worthless by the institutions that deaccession them. The librarians and artists who bring these texts back to life say something unique about the value of texts in contemporary society.