The Role of Libraries in the Research Process: Presentations from the USTLG Meeting at Oxford University

The USTLG meeting was held at Keble College in Oxford. Unfortuantely, I was not in attendance, but was able to glean some interesting information from the presentations given at the meeting. I was especially interested in the comments made by Lex Rigby in response to the keynote speaker, who, surprisingly, seemed quite ill-informed about the role that libraries and librarians play in research. It is often a crucial role, and one which requires a lot of knowledge, particularly in specialist subject areas. Using Google to find "quality web-based material" really dosen't cut it, not even for an undergraduate paper. Furthermore, librarians don't just provide a filter for these on-line services.

Sheffield's Splendid Libraries!

Information Commons, Sheffield University

The rather Zen-like exterior of Western Bank Library and the Arts Tower as seen from Weston Park

Sheffield Central Public Library

Furtive photo of the card catalogue from the Reference Section of Sheffield Central Public Library

Borgesian inspiration painted on the wall as Sheffield Central Public Library

Last week, I went up to Sheffield to visit the libraries at Sheffield University, where I was welcomed by the amazing Lex Rigby, Science and Engineering subject librarian at Sheffield University, and given a tour of the Information Commons and the Western Bank Library. I also had the chance to visit the Central Public Library, with its Local Studies and Archives unit and the Graves Gallery, a treasure trove of an art collection housed in a small but well-curated gallery at the top floor of the grand art deco Central Library building (circa 1934).

The Medium is the Message: Marshall McLuhan takes on Libraries

Canadian philosopher and educator Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) worked in media and communications theory. He is best known for coining "the medium is the message" and "global village",  in addition to predicting the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web. One of the cornerstones of McLuhan's philosophical outlook was how communications technologies (such as the advent of printed text, moveable type and electronic communications such as radio and television) affected cognition and organisation and dissemination of information (and therefore knowledge) such that it had great implications for society and social organisation as a whole.

Academic libraries must now reach students and researchers through increasingly digital media, particularly in the sciences. While there is still a demand for print journals, particularly in some fields, most researchers increasingly rely on on-line resources (ejournals and the like) for information. There is also an increasing trend in social media (web 2.0) for sharing this information, whether it be through blogs, twitter tweets or delicious bookmarks. Not only are these new media changing how research is conducted, but it is also changing how information is found, stored and organised. It is rapidly changing the role of the library and also of the librarian, particularly for specialist subject research.

Stating the obvious? Perhaps.

But often these technologies can result in an overwhelming "miscellization" (Weinberger, David. 2007. Everything is Miscellaneous) of information, categorised through amorphous and inconsistent tag clouds, rather than a strictly hierarchical and delineated classification of information, as would be typical of the more traditional library catalogue.

But then again, as McLuhan states: "Information overload equals pattern recognition". (McLuhan, Marshall. 1969. Counterblast)

And it's up to librarians to help get everything sorted.


Here's a bit more McLuhan, this time on mass media (with thanks to the Radio Free Vestibules):


The Ballad of Marshall Mcluhan from Randall Acronym on Vimeo.

Hello and Welcome!

This blog will attempt to record some "serious discussions" about Information Science. 
It might also record some moments in time, space and thoughts of a graduate library trainee at Oxford's science libraries: the Radcliffe Science Library, Alexander Library of Ornithology and the Sherardian Library of Plant Taxonomy.
For more information about Oxford's Graduate Library Trainee programme, please refer to the trainee blog.