Reclaiming the Heartland “Age of Discovery” Conference Association of Southeastern Research Libraries July, 2007 K.G. Schneider http://freerangelibrarian.com

Warning to Andrew*: There will be a cat picture * Pace, not Abbott

Obligatory Usability Observations LII subject radio-button test LII Usability study 2005 and help screens LII web log analysis and search behavior LII web log analysis and search success …results repeated and confirmed in other environments…

LII subject radio-button test

LII Usability study 2005 and help screens

LII web log analysis and search behavior

LII web log analysis and search success

…results repeated and confirmed in other environments…

Yet… Users like to browse as well as search (our findings repeat Andrew’s findings) Users do benefit and enjoy value-added information

Users like to browse as well as search (our findings repeat Andrew’s findings)

Users do benefit and enjoy value-added information

The System of Professions

Every profession aims for a heartland of work over which it has complete, legally established control. Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions

Jurisdiction

The “cultural machinery of jurisdiction” Diagnosis Treatment Inference Academic work

Diagnosis

Treatment

Inference

Academic work

Jurisdictional control Established by culture Established by law Protected by the profession Relies on a body of knowledge that is abstract—but not too abstract

Established by culture

Established by law

Protected by the profession

Relies on a body of knowledge that is abstract—but not too abstract

Jurisdictional control “should shape, indeed, the very public idea of the tasks that the profession does.”

Subordinate jurisdiction

Threats to Jurisdiction Technology Extreme abstraction Too little abstraction Hostile takeovers Internal organizational change

Technology

Extreme abstraction

Too little abstraction

Hostile takeovers

Internal organizational change

A profession that defines itself by its tasks is a jurisdiction highly vulnerable to dissolution through technological change.

A Cautionary Tale

Our Jurisdiction A historical perspective through the Five Laws* *chronologically remixed

Every reader his book

The library is a living organism

Every book his reader

Books are for use

Save the time of the reader

So where is our heartland?

Memory work travail de memoire “ Memory work is a process of engaging with the past which has both an ethical and historical dimension.”

Library jurisdiction in Memory Work Defending the right to read Fighting erosion of privacy Preserving the written (recorded) record Defending and improving access to information Paying attention to the concept of the public collection

Defending the right to read

Fighting erosion of privacy

Preserving the written (recorded) record

Defending and improving access to information

Paying attention to the concept of the public collection

Challenges to the heartland

External claims to expertise

Failure to make aggressive inroads in emerging jurisdictions

Task-based jurisdictional claims

Isolating ourselves from “the river” (Or, “nobody uses our data”)

UN important Jurisdiction Issues (As long as you’re in charge) Whether you or a machine modify a record Whether we have a bazillion separate catalogs or One True Database Whether we use Dewey, LC, SuDOC, BISAC, or Pick-up-sticks Whether you buy metadata or supervise its creation What formats we’re collecting

Whether you or a machine modify a record

Whether we have a bazillion separate catalogs or One True Database

Whether we use Dewey, LC, SuDOC, BISAC, or Pick-up-sticks

Whether you buy metadata or supervise its creation

What formats we’re collecting

User-centric views This is key… To reassert jurisdictional control , we must let formal evidence-driven knowledge drive our decisions

Jurisdictional Heroes The “Endeca” libraries The theorists fighting to build RDA so it puts us back in the river Danbury PL and Librarything for Libraries Maricopa County and Phoenix Public Various solo “embeds” extending our jurisdictional claims The anthropological studies being done of faculty and IR use

The “Endeca” libraries

The theorists fighting to build RDA so it puts us back in the river

Danbury PL and Librarything for Libraries

Maricopa County and Phoenix Public

Various solo “embeds” extending our jurisdictional claims

The anthropological studies being done of faculty and IR use

Reinserting ourselves into the marketplace of ideas about information organization

Maricopa

Things Badly Needed Librarian embeds across key professions Redirecting efforts toward activities such as automating classification and aggregating our silo-based efforts Bold theft of others’ ideas Clear statements of jurisdiction (not task knowledge) Support for the think tanks and incubators that will produce the next Dewey/Cutter/Sharp/Ranganathan/Lubetsky

Librarian embeds across key professions

Redirecting efforts toward activities such as automating classification and aggregating our silo-based efforts

Bold theft of others’ ideas

Clear statements of jurisdiction (not task knowledge)

Support for the think tanks and incubators that will produce the next Dewey/Cutter/Sharp/Ranganathan/Lubetsky

More Unfinished Business Liberating ourselves from format autism Finding our way back to our users Reimbedding user-driven perspectives into our organizational theories

Liberating ourselves from format autism

Finding our way back to our users

Reimbedding user-driven perspectives into our organizational theories

Our heritage, our future This Space For Rent

Questions? [email_address]