Comments on: An anthropologist among the librarians

By: -

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 14:57:04 +0000

I agree with Nic Weber above. Also, I’d like to say that the science portion of “information science” has a lot to do with what I do. I use the scientific method and everything I do is data driven. The data is data that I and my colleagues collected. I think it’s fine for people to believe this kind of stuff that is written on this blog, except that I feel it’s sentiments like this that won’t drive the profession forward.

If you actually believe this “and the librarian/ patron relationship ends when the person gets the information they need” THEN LIBRARIES WILL DIE because the relationship doesn’t end. Coming to ask for help is the BEGINNING. Good luck!

By: Pamela Effrein Sandstrom

Pamela Effrein Sandstrom — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:36:08 +0000

The debate in the pages of Library Quarterly, from 1995 to 1999,outlined some of the concerns about scientific and non-scientific ethnographic research that we felt, as anthropologist and librarian, were not being discussed in library schools or in LIS/IS PhD programs. The issues are far from resolved in either field, but good work (and poor) goes on in both. If you are attracted to the social constructivist approaches, it’s important to distinguish between the social nature of science, and science’s epistemology — too often these are mixed up in critiques of science. You can find the original 1995 LQ article, and the subsequent debate, cited in our final response — Sandstrom, Alan R., and Pamela Effrein Sandstrom. 1999. “Antiscientific Approaches to the Study of Social Life: A Rejoinder to Nyce and Thomas.” Library Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 2 (Apr., 1999), pp. 299-303. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309333

By: Lilly Irani

Lilly Irani — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 05:32:54 +0000

I graduated from an Informatics department, where we would hang out at “iSchool” conferences with Information Studies, Information Science, Schools of Information, etc. Each of these names tends to connote different recent past (engineering school gone social, or library school gone internet-ty) and a different stance towards knowledge (info studies tends towards less positivist). In information studies, anthropological writings have been very influential in certain programs (Cornell, Irvine, UCLA) but your broad strokes definitely describe the majority of the field in my experience.

By: Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 15:29:33 +0000

Any recommendations on basic readings juxtaposing positivism and constructivism? Realizing this is impacting instruction programs very much but need a way in for people new to this …

By: Angela K VandenBroek (@akvbroek)

Angela K VandenBroek (@akvbroek) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 13:32:46 +0000

I worked in an academic library or three years after getting my Anthro MA. This perfectly describes most of my experience, especially the strong tendency for positivism. It was an observation that I made when trying to describe why certain conversations with my colleagues annoyed me so much. LOL

By: anthrodiva (@anthrodiva)

anthrodiva (@anthrodiva) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:06:55 +0000

*sharing* Love this.

By: Celia E. (@celiemme)

Celia E. (@celiemme) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 11:03:58 +0000

Love it! Started at a library as soon as I got my MA in anthro, and after some resistance have jumped into an MLIS course (I’m focused, predictably, on qualitative data archiving). You’ve captured a broad take on some of the differences quite well– look forward to reading more on these topics. I do believe the differences you’ve outlined provide us with a fruitful place in which to explore how theory overlaps with action, and how a deeper ethnographic perspective can engage with very grounded goals.

By: John Russell (@uohistlib)

John Russell (@uohistlib) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 05:13:55 +0000

Also, Matt, welcome to the tribe!

By: John Russell (@uohistlib)

John Russell (@uohistlib) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 05:13:31 +0000

That’s funny, I thought the positivist one was the most right on.

Matt, you might be interested in Jesse Shera (check out this blog post for an intro: http://blogs.princeton.edu/librarian/2013/09/review-jesse-shera-librarianship-and-information-science/ )

By: Julie Esparza

Julie Esparza — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 02:18:54 +0000

Welcome! It is ironic I’ve used Anthropology theories to do my research. If you like reading about why questions don’t get answered check out the work of JW Ely J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2005 Mar-Apr;12(2):217-24 and J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2007 Jul-Aug;14(4):407-14 and MA Graber Am J Emerg Med. 2008 Feb;26(2):144-7. I’m glad you have chosen Library Science.

By: Nic Weber (@nniiicc)

Nic Weber (@nniiicc) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 01:43:03 +0000

“The information science crowd is staunchly positivist.” I’m not sure where you are taking courses, or who you are reading but this is a very naive statement. There are certain sub-fields of IS that take a statistical approach to measuring information use (bibliometrics) but I wouldn’t say that a positivist logic is dominant, nor even all that prevalent (anymore) in this field. You might read someone like Blaise Cronin’s work in this area for an indication of what I mean (http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1385548) – Your history of IS is also sorely mistaken- it is not a rhetorical grab by librarianship. Library Science and Information Science are, what I would call, curiously coupled – they have some overlaps in their subject of study, but they are not nearly as similar or interchangeable as you are making them out to be here. And the title to your first section is just laughable – you’re being satirical about that at least, right?

By: Matt Thompson

Matt Thompson — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 23:15:32 +0000

Depends. Which part do you think is the most satirical?

By: Nic Weber (@nniiicc)

Nic Weber (@nniiicc) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 22:09:40 +0000

This is satire right?