Librarian As Perpetuator

1. Concepts For a Revolutionary Field: Philosophy Behind Library and Information ScienceAndrew Beman-Cavallaro, MLSAssociate Director of LibrariesPasco-Hernando State CollegeSpring Hill Campusbemanca@phsc.edu352-340-4829

2. Librarian As Perpetuator • We are members of a cabal stretching back millennia which has kept the Information of Mankind safe, caused knowledge to expand, and dedicated its participants’ lives to ensuring the intrinsic value of access. • Radical Revolutionaries ;) • Drivers of the catalysts of social change (Vision/Inspiration/Appreciation/Encouragement)

3. How? • SSLLI • Physics & Ontology: Nature of existence [Schrodinger (superposition)/Heisenberg] • Philosophy as interest • Information Theory, Foundations of Mathematics, Logic, Conversation Theory…

4. Who? • Bertrand Russell: Logic/Linguistics • Ludwig Wittgenstein: Mathematics • Richard Dawkins: Biology/Genetics • Claude Shannon: Information Theory

5. What? • 117 Library related eJournals (PHSC) • 1 Library & Philosophy Journal: Library Philosophy and Practice • University of Oxford to the rescue: Luciano Floridi

6. Philosophy of Information • Philosophy of Information in LIS • Epistemology: Study of the nature of knowledge • Social Epistemology

7. Philosophy of Librarianship? • Do we have one? (ALA values) • “To provide unbiased access of Information to a Population” • Access, Engagement, Instruction, Info.Lit.

8. Philosophy of Librarianship? (cont.) • Patience & Fortitude? • Create, Consolidate, Disseminate, Utilize • Are we just practical application?

9. BRIEF History • Sumer tablets (cuneiform) 4th mil. BC • Archives: approx. 2600BC • Private archive: Ugarit, 1450BC-1200BC • Library of Ashurbanipal (Sardinapolus): approx. 280BC, Nineveh

10. BRIEF History (cont.) • Library at Alexandria, approx. 280BC • Zenodotus to us • Crazy idea #1: Cave paintings (Lascaux)

11. What Do We Know of Information? • “Facts or details about a subject”(Merriam) • Written words? Ideas? Interpretation? Language? Rewritten? Knowledge? • Music as example

12. Information (cont.) • Can Information be destroyed? (Hawking) • Information Ecology • Information vs. documentation • Big data: The End of Theory

13. Quantum Computing • Altering the future of the way we think • As We May Think • Qubit

14. Everything Is Information Meme…(Dawkins)

16. Information & Communication • If there is Information can you know about it without communication? (Take a look) • Biologically (DNA) • Libraries use Librarians to make more Libraries • “The Information wants to get out”

17. Communication (cont.) • Communication as transference of Information (Hofstadter: Gödel, Escher, Bach) • Image based use of Information • Douglas Adams’ technology rules • Smart phones and kids & “www” (phone vs. user)

18. The Nature of Information • Marking→(value)→ • Symbol →(organized)→ • Data→(processed)→ • Information→(understood)→ • Knowledge→(acted upon)→ • Wisdom

19. Nature of Information (cont.) • Charles Babbage: Mechanical Computer (ahead of his time) • Samuel Morse: Code (not alphabet nor binary) • George Boole: Search Logic • Alan Turing: Code breaking

20. Defining a Library • The building? (Seattle Public Library) Third Space? • The Staff, fewer Libraries, more Librarians? (vending machine Libraries) • The collection? (umbrellas, phone chargers, people) • The population served? (Patron driven acquisition)

21. Defining a Library (cont.) • Digital Commons vs. open access lectures • Crazy idea #2: The grape • Semantic web → subject cataloguing

22. Defining a Library (cont., cont.) • Library as a place of conversation • Look, feel, and smell of books not enough (eBook newcomers fall the fastest) • Big redesign factor of a Library: 1st website

23. Defining a Library (cont., cont., cont.) • The naysayers: • In the digital age why do we need Libraries?

25. Defining a Library (cont., cont., cont.) • Statistics to show value (no INTRINSIC value?) • Library like Fire Department • Consumerism of Information/relevancy

26. Everything That Has Information Confounds Society • Everything • That • Has • Information • Confounds • Society

27. The People: • Immanuel Kant: dignity, autonomy, respect • John Rawls: Veil of Ignorance (contract) • John Locke: Life, Liberty, property, taxation • Aristotle: Teleological (sake for an end) To the best goes the best

28. Outcomes… • Consequentialism? • Utilitarianism? • Libertarianism? • Deontology?

29. Another Dude: • “A country that does not know how to read and write is easy to deceive.” -Che Guevara • A population which is Information illiterate is easy to deceive. • Information illiteracy=poverty (Not age based)

30. “Be realistic, demand the impossible.” -Che

31. Personal Burden of Information • Responsible for accessing material which used to be provided • Now without instruction/assistance • Removal of eTitles from Libraries & personal devices • Facebook editing settings & public status • Zuckerberg: End of Privacy

32. Dealing With the Devil? • Library collaboration with corporations: B&N, Amazon for eReadertraining Renting book or article pages? Wikipedia’s scholarly possibilities YouTube as the World’s Public Media Library

33. A forgetful Google means a society denied the right to know

34. Spark With Imagination, Fuel With Data • Share Everything • Be a Platform • 1/5th Work Week

35. Hope From Non-Profit

36. Marketing Crazy idea #3: Alternative READ Posters…

41. Marketing (cont.) • Social Media • Geek • Anti-Reading PSA • Social Maturity And Real Thinking Syndrome PSA • Inclusion in MLIS curriculum

42. Conclusions Think radical Think large Think weird Think often

43. Thank You

44. Special Thanks Anthony Adams: Librarian, Hernando County Public Library Ray Calvert: Director of Libraries, PHSC Drew Smith: Librarian, USF Guy McCann: Physical Sciences Professor, PHSC Jessica Riggins / Vikki McLean: TBLC