Ranganathan‘s five ‘laws’ have classic status in the library community. I am using ‘classic’ in the Frank Kermode sense of being ‘patient of interpretation’ over time: they express something which remains relevant as contexts change.
I wrote about The Long Tail in terms of aggregation of supply and aggregation of demand.
In this context, aggregation of supply is about improving discovery and reducing transaction costs. It is about making it much easier to allow a reader to find it and get it, whatever it is. Or, in other words, every reader his or her book.
Aggregation of demand is about mobilizing a community of users so that the chances of rendezvous between a resource and an interested user are increased. Or, in other words, every book its reader.
Incidentally, for those who need to be reminded about the full five laws, check out the stylish Qu�dam cuiusdam.
Share
More from LorcanDempsey.net
Libraries and library studies
I wrote this piece on libraries and possible educational responses as part of a longer contribution on the informational disciplines and the iSchool. A principal goal was to suggest that libraries present interesting and challenging research and educational questions, which cross disciplines.
14 min read
Information: a brief schematic history
In a piece on the informational disciplines and the iSchool, I sketched this very schematic and informal overview of information, broadly construed. My focus is pragmatic, related to library interests. I consider several current issues, including the 'apotheosis of the document' in an AI context.
20 min read
So-called soft skills are hard
So-called soft skills are important across a range of library activities. Existing trends will further amplify this importance. Describing these skills as soft may be misleading, or even damaging. They should be recognized as learnable and teachable, and should be explicitly supported and rewarded.
12 min read
