MichaelBuckland

WhatIsaDocument?
TheevolvingnotionofdocumentamongOtlet,Briet,Schurmeyer,andtheother
documentationalistsincreasinglyemphasizedwhateverfunctionedasadocumentratherthan
traditionalphysicalformsofdocuments.Theshifttodigitaltechnologywouldseemtomakethis
distinctionevenmoreimportant.(Buckland,p.808)
1.Doyouagreewiththisstatement?Whyorwhynot?
Especiallyinourageofdigitaltechnology,Ithinkthatitisextremelyimportanttothink
aboutwhatconstitutesadocument.WhenIthinkofadocument,Ithinkofsomethingthatis
written,eitherinphysicalorelectronicform.However,whenwearethinkingaboutdocumentsin
termsoflibrarianshipandorganizinginformation,Ithinkthatthedefinitionofadocumentneeds
tocovermoreforms.Arecordingofasongisntnecessarilyanylessimportanttosomeonethan
thewrittenscore,sothesongrecordingshouldbeconsideredadocumentaswell.
Thatbeingsaid,Imnotsurethatthelabelgiventothevariousitemsthatcanbe
catalogedinalibraryreallymatters.Fortheuser,itdoesntmatteriftherecordingofthesongis
consideredadocumentoranartifactorsomethingelseentirelywhatmattersisthattheuser
canfindandlistentothesongaseasilyashecouldfindandreadthescore,andthatthelibrary
treatstheorganizationandprotectionofsongs(orothernonstandarddocuments)withequal
respectandcareastheytreatthemoretraditionaldocuments.

2.HowdoesBrietdefinedocument?HowdoesRanganathandefineit?
Brietdefinesdocumentsas...evidenceinsupportofafact(1951).Thisevidencecould
beanyphysicalthingthathasbeencollectedforthepurposeofstudyorforprovingsomething.
Therefore,evenananimalinthezoocouldbeconsideredadocument.
Ranganathandefinesadocumentas..arecordonamoreorlessflatsurface(1963).In
hismind,adocumenthadtobesomethingthatcouldeasilybehandledandstored.Sound
recordingswerenotconsidereddocument,andananimalcertainlywouldnotbeconsidereda
document.

2a.DoyouagreewithBrietorRanganathan?Why?
AlthoughmyownpreviouslyexistingideaofadocumentalignswithRanganathans
definition,Ithinkthatlibrariesshouldadoptadefinitionofdocumentthatismorecloselyrelated
toBriets.Icannotquiteaccepttheideaofananimalorastoneasadocumentasshe
suggested,butaudiovisualrecordsofinformation,suchasphotographs,soundrecordings,and
videosshouldbeconsidereddocuments.AsImentionedabove,theseareallstillrecordsof
information,andshouldbecatalogedandpreservedwithcare.

2b.
DoesBucklandsarticlehelpusunderstandtheinformationinfrastructure?If
so,how?
Bucklandtalksabouttwowaysofapproachinginformationinfrastructure.Thisfirstwayis
tocollectandorganizematerialsthathavebeendeterminedtobeevidenceofsomething.The
secondwayistocollectandorganizeanythingthatcouldlikelybeusedasevidenceby
someoneinthefuture.Bucklandsumsitupbysaying,Inthismanner,informationsystemscan
beusednotonlyinfindingmaterialthatalreadyisinevidence,butalsoinarrangingmaterialso
thatsomeonemaybeabletomakeuseofitas(new)evidenceforsomepurpose.(Wilson,
personalcommunication,1995)(1997).Iseelibrariesasbeingresponsibleforhavingan

informationinfrastructurealignedwiththefirstwaymentioned,andmuseumsasbeing
responsibleforthesecondwaymentioned.

TarcisioZandonade.
SocialepistemologyfromJesseSheratoSteveFuller
Evenacursoryexaminationofthehistoryoftheclassificationofthesciencesemphasizedthe
extenttowhichanyattempttoorganizeknowledgeisconditionedbythesocialepistemologyof
theageinwhichitwasproduced.Thisdependenceofclassificationtheoryuponthestateofthe
sociologyofknowledgewilldoubtlessbeevenmorestronglyconditionedinthefuture.(Egan
andShera,1951.P.82)
Reviewthemainideas(propositions)thatSheraputsforthinhisAnEpistemological
FoundationforLibraryScience.
1.Doyouagreewiththepropositions?Arethereanywithwhichyoudisagree?
ImnotsureifIagreethatknowledgeandlanguageareessentiallyinseparable.Thatis
trueformostsubjectsandtopics,butforsomethinglikeknowledgeofthenaturalworld(what
plantsareediblevs.poisonous,howtogethome,wheretofindwaterorhowtocatchfood,
etc.),apersoncanlearnthesethingswithoutlanguage.Therestofthepropositionsseem
logicaltome.

2.Whichpropositionsdoyouthinkaremostimportant?
Ifindthefollowingpropositionstobethemostimportant:Theaimoflibrarianshipisto
bringtothepointofmaximumefficiencythesocialutilityofmansgraphicrecord,Thebrain
deteriorateswhendeprivedofinformation,Toavoiddecay,asocietymustmakeconstant
provisionfortheacquisitionandassimilationofnewinformationandknowledge,andThetools
andmethodsofthelibrarianforthecontrolofhiscollectionarehisclassificationschemes,
subjectheadings,indexes,andotherdevicesforthesubjectanalysisofbibliographicunits.I
findthesepropositionsimportantbecausetheydiscusstheroleoflibrariesinpreservingand
sharingculturalinformationandknowledge.

3.HaveanybeenaffectedorchangedbytheInternetandtheWorldWideWeb?
Theprovisionthat,Thelibrarianisaneffectivemediatorbetweenmanandhisgraphic
recordshasbeenaffectedbytheInternet.Ibelievethatthisstatementisstilltrue,buttherole
ofthelibrarianinmediatinggraphicrecordshasbeenchallengedbytheInternet.Manypeople,
especiallyyoungpeople,haveforgottenhowmuchlibrarianscanhelpthemfindandsort
throughinformationbecausetheydependonsearchengines,suchasGoogle,foralloftheir
information.

4.
DoSheraspropositionshelpusunderstandtheroleoflibrariesintheinformation
infrastructure?Ifso,how?
Sheraspropositionsemphasizetheimportanceofmakinginformationavailableto
everyone.Todothis,librariansneedtomakesurethatinformationisorganizedinawaythatis
easyforpeopletoaccess,eitherontheirownorwiththehelpofalibrarian.

Howshouldthepursuitofknowledgebeorganized,giventhatundernormalcircumstances
knowledgeispursuedbymanyhumanbeings,eachworkingonamoreorlesswelldefined

bodyofknowledgeandeachequippedwithroughlythesameimperfectcognitivecapacities,
albeitwithvaryingdegreesofaccesstooneanothersactivities?(Fuller,198719882002b)
ReviewFullersprogramofSocialEpistemology.
1.Dohisideashelpusunderstandtheroleoflibrariesintheinformationinfrastructure?
Ifso,how?
WhileFullerdoesntgointospecificdetailabouthowlibrariansshouldgoaboutdoing
this,hedoesmentiontheneedforlibrarianstomakeknowledgeaseasilyaccessibleand
logicallyorganizedaspossible.Thebetterapersonisabletocommunicateknowledge,the
betterthelearnerwillunderstandthatknowledgeandbeabletoconnectittohisorherexisting
knowledgebase.

Pleasecommentonthefollowingquote:
Epistemology:Isitpossibletoknowanything?Ifnot,howdoweknowthis?
Woody
Allensdefinitionofepistemology
Allensdefinitionofepistemologyisintriguing.Thequestionsthatheposesseemtobe
thecentralquestionsthatepistemologistgrapplewith.IfoundFullersdiscussionofthe
definitionofknowledgeespeciallyinteresting.Hementionedthatotherlanguageshave
differentwordsforknowledgebyacquaintanceandknowledgebyinference.Iremember
strugglingwiththisconceptwhenIwaslearningFrenchinschool.Ittookalotofpracticeto
figureoutwhentouseconnatreandwhentousesavoir.Consideringthedifferentpotential
definitionsoftoknow,wecouldinterpretAllensquestionsfromdifferentperspectives.