One function of libraries is to preserve the scholarly and cultural record. This is a rather diffuse goal, for which libraries feel variably responsible. Of course, national libraries have a particular mandate, usually to gather and preserve the published record of their home country, or in some cases, more broadly, of materials published about their home country anywhere. Sometimes, a library might develop a special responsibility or role, as is the case of the Linen Hall Library and its Northern Ireland Political Collection which it describes as “the definitive archive of the recent troubles”.
So, what are some of the issues that libraries now face in capturing the record? One way to approach this is to think about collection types using the collections grid we developed a while ago.
Common and curated
Bought resources:
Licensed resources: Libraries
Rare and curated
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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.
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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.
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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
