Public Libraries and the Nordic Welfare States Opening Discussion Theme: If you do not know what to do, go back to basic

1. Public Libraries and the Nordic Welfare States Opening Discussion Theme: If you do not know what to do, go back to basic principles. Michael Buckland and we can celebrate a birthday! NORSLIS, Uppsala

2. The Platform Paper . . . Many questions and “challenges”: -- Market liberalism -- Multiculturalism -- Info literacy education -- Digitization -- Is it a good platform? -- How complete is it? -- Are these past issues or future priorities? -- Are the questions productively formulated? -- Which challenges need research? Why? How? -- Can research priorities be selected? Important: These are perceived to be problems. What are libraries for? – in principle. NORSLIS, Uppsala

3. Library Science 200 years old: 1808-2008. Happy Birthday! Martin Schrettinger. 1772-1851. Forget metaphysics. Design systematic arrangements to make documents available simply, quickly, effectively, economically. NORSLIS, Uppsala

4. Documents in society -- Lawyers and law courts use documents as evidence, as proof. -- Educators use documents (textbooks, instructional materials) to teach, and to empower and limit teachers. -- Scientists use documents (articles, offprints) as the archive of achievement and for personal status. -- Media specialists and publicists use documents to persuade. -- Governments use documents to exercise social control. -- Religions use documents for authority and adherence. -- Patriots use documents to commemorate and for loyalty. -- Artists create documents to inspire and to challenge. -- Commerce is based on documented transactions. The transition to reliable digital documents is a major challenge in commerce -- etc., etc. More and more…! Society is very full of documents! In this contextwhat should libraries do? NORSLIS, Uppsala

5. Six aspects of providing access to documents: 1. Identification: Is there a suitable document for my purpose: Bibliography, documentation, classification, indexing and retrieval. Where to search? How to select? 2. Availability: Physical access, document delivery. 3. Price to the user: User’s effort, time and money; 4. Cost to the provider: Effort, money, other resources used by the library. Policy constraints: Security, safety, social values, . . . 5. Understanding: Does the reader understand it: language, specialized expertise, context, . . . 6. Acceptability: Does the reader trust it, believe it. Should he/she? 1 – 4: Document-supplying systems. 1 – 6: Systems that inform. NORSLIS, Uppsala

6. 1. Phenomenological aspect: Documents are objects perceived as signifying something. The status of being a “document” is not inherent but attributed (given to) an object. Meanings always constructed by observers. 2. Cultural codes:All forms of expression depend on some some shared understandings, language in a broad sense. Character Status 3. Media Types: Different type of expression have evolved: Texts, images, numbers, diagrams, art … 4. Physical Media: Paper; film; analog magnetic tape; bits;…. Anything perceived as a DOCUMENT (=1) has cultural (2), type (3), and physical (4) aspects. Genres are situated combinations. Being digital affects directly only aspect 4. Limited benefit in studying only digital documents. NORSLIS, Uppsala

7. Exploratory Search Interfaces: Medical specialties NORSLIS, Uppsala

8. Nordic Welfare States An outside view: Likely developments include: -- Continued relative inflation in costs of library services (and other human services) because technological costs tend to decrease but human costs do not, unless services adapt, e.g. delegate more work to users (self-service) and/or to technology. -- Public funding policy change, e,g, from Good for government to fund to Good and also necessary for government to fund – a more complementary role. It is important to study bad and dangerous ideas! NORSLIS, Uppsala

9. Categories of library purposes • Finnish public library legislation: • Promote equal access to information • Stimulate cultural activities • Lifelong learning • Citizenship • Platform paper: • Social roles • Learning (Opportunities, Information literacy) • Digitization NORSLIS, Uppsala

10. An alternative set of categories • Cultural activities: • 1.1. Culture is active: Performance of reading, writing, singing, dancing, filming, listening, acting,… • 1.2. Cultural memory: Recording, collecting, preserving, documenting, providing access • 2. Learning, education, esp. access to explanations • 3. Learning skills: How to find out; Information literacy;… • Citizenship • 4.1. Political information: Laws, regulations, officials,… • 4.2. Community development: Resources, communication,… • What is good library service for each? NORSLIS, Uppsala

11. Library goodness We want good libraries. What does that mean? – How good is it? Quality; Capability – What good does it do? Value; beneficial effects The books on shelves paradox – How well is it done? Cost-effectiveness Whose values? NORSLIS, Uppsala

12. Libraries, Community and Government -- Libraries serve (complex) communities -- Libraries are government agencies, “bourgeois paternalism” -- Libraries are purposive cultural enterprises using evolving techniques and technologies NORSLIS, Uppsala

13. COMMUNITY Situation Impact? Problem seen Action Uncertainties Decision GOVERNMENT NORSLIS, Uppsala

14. The Platform Paper has many uncertainties: We don’t know what to do…. -- Not all uncertainty needs academic research -- Three kinds of uncertainty: -- Uncertainties about values (priorities): Ask funders. -- Uncertainties about actions of others in related areas: Consultation, collaboration, coordination -- Uncertainties about the environment: of impact of changes: Descriptive, analytical, and predictive research. -- Uncertainty is a reason for adaptive systems. J. K. Friend & W. N. Jessop 1969. Local government and strategic choice. London: Tavistock. NORSLIS, Uppsala

15. Platform theme: Digitization Technology and technological change -- Technological stability encourages failure to distinguish between process and purpose (means and ends) because more of the same process is more of the same purpose. New technology (process) seen as criticism of purpose (values). Go back to purpose as the basis for choice of process (technology). -- Technological usually in two stages: 1. Do the same thing better with different technology 2. Do better different things with the new technology -- Design is the essence of being professional and of professional education (Herb Simon): Developing better designs of existing tasks; designs for new or changed situations. NORSLIS, Uppsala

16. Research in General -- Research and development make the choices possible. -- Innovation is managerial: choosing, implementing different programs. -- Scholarly: Search for contrary evidence (in all domains). -- Scientific: Develop / test theories, models (formal, quantitative domains) -- Critical: Examine assumptions and methods (all domains). -- Study things of in themselves: “academic” research (Neglected in LIS). -- Solve practical problems: Applied, professional, design. -- Tension between methods and purpose. -- Choice of method defined by problem. Whatever method works! -- But when purpose weak or unclear, method dominates. -- Real-world problems usually require multiple methods. -- Economics of scope: Study / teach similar problems in different areas. -- Look for exceptions, anomalies, opposites, . . . NORSLIS, Uppsala

17. Dissertations -- a personal U.S. perspective – Is there a question? No question, no answer! Avoid vague curiosity. – Can the question be answered? Is it a realistic question? – Interesting enough to want to work for years on it? Worth your valuable time? Change the world! Simple curiosity not enough. – Do your advisors understand what you are doing? If not, dangerous. – A coherent, approved proposal is very useful. – Use the minimal necessary cubic meters of effort. Extra ideas and material can be used outside and after the dissertation. – Ideally, improve theory and description and methodology and have practical consequences – Design! However it is done, there is probably a better way. – Methodology depends on the purpose. (Often the other way round). NORSLIS, Uppsala

18. Four examples • Book availability: How often can readers find the books they want? What are the causes of failure to find a copy? What changes in libraries service would improve service? (Length of loan period; extra copies) How much impact? • Stability of public library funding in a local government financial crisis: What factors are associated with larger or smaller impact on public library budgets? (Snunith Shoham. Organizational adaptation by public libraries. Greenwood, 1984) • Biography: Emanuel Goldberg, search engine 1927. • Design: Self-service reference. <ecai.org/neh2007> NORSLIS, Uppsala

19. Initial sketch for “Context Finding / Building” interface. Save search path Save link & notes as “stand-off” markup. Save link & notes as embedded mark-up. Insert / block text Ranked lists of suggested resources for each facet chosen Define facet Display of search result NORSLIS, Uppsala

20. Reading a text online… Names found NORSLIS, Uppsala

21. Hovering over a named entity highlights the areas where it appears in the text. NORSLIS, Uppsala

22. Name links to search of relevant resources. http://metadata.berkeley.edu/demos NORSLIS, Uppsala

23. Summary Not all questions are serious problems. Not all problems need academic research. Significant problems need multiple methods. We want good research: What does that mean? – How good is it? Quality – What good does it do? Value; beneficial effects – How well is it done? Cost-effectiveness Platform paper is a discourse of “challenges” -- which are really opportunities. There are many good problems needing research as we (re)design library services. NORSLIS, Uppsala