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Philosophical Ancestry of the American Library Information Science

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Philosophical Ancestry of the American Library Information Science DOCUMENT RESUME ED 406 977 IR 056 339 AUTHOR Nitecki, Joseph Z. TITLE Philosophical Ancestry of the American Library Information Science. PUB DATE Apr 97 NOTE 259p.; For related documents, see ED 363 346 and ED 381 162. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Reports - Research (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Citations (References); *Information Science; *Keywords; Librarians; *Library Science; Meta Analysis; *Philosophy IDENTIFIERS *Library Literature; Philosophers; Philosophical Research ABSTRACT This work supplements a previous work, "Philosophical Aspects of Library Information Science in Retrospect." It explores Library Information Science, which deals with the facilitation of recorded knowledge, the metalibrarianship encompassing the theoretical aspects of a broad range of recorded communications, and the philosophies thereof. This essay identifies relationships between published librarians interested in philosophical aspects of the field and their philosophical "mentors." Philosophers cited by librarians are identified and their major contributions to philosophy are briefly summarized. The impact of cited philosophers on the philosophy of Library Information Science is inferred from the comments made by citing librarians. The study draws keywords from librarians' comments, earmarks them as representative of certain philosophical concepts, and examines how frequently they appear. This examination fuels consideration of various relationships between philosophers and their views, ways terminology is interpreted, and theoretical background of Library Information. Appendices contain:(1) profiles of cited philosophers;(2) major philosophical systems; (3) major key words;(4) frequency of key words citations; and (5) analysis of the most frequently cited words. (Contains 242 references.) (AEF) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. S CN Points of view or opinions stated in this () document do not necessarily represent C) official OERI position or policy. PHILOSOPHICAL ANCESTRY THE AMERICAN LIBRARYOF SCIENCE INFORMATION by Joseph Z. Nitecki 1997 BEST COPY AVAILABLE "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Joseph Z. Nitecki TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." ABSTRACT This is a supplement to the compilation ofessays in the philosophy of the American librarianship (Nitecki, 1995). Each philosopher mentioned in that compilation is discussed separately in Part II of this essay, with brief description of his viewpoints, comments about him and the relevance of his philosophy to librarianship. The impact of the listed philosophers on the philosophy of librarianship is inferred from the statements made about them by persons citing them. Each selected statement is abbreviated with its first word considereda key word for the subject addressed. Various relationships between the philosophers, their views, key words and levels of their interpretations are described in the appendixes to this study. 1 CONTENTS Part I. The Analysis 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 3. Perceived Heritage a. Profiles of Philosophers b. Major Philosophical Systems c. Philosophical Issues d. Key words as Indicators of Philosophical subjects e, Most Frequently Cited Data f. Significance of Most Frequently Cited Data 4. Bibliographical Distribution 5. The Nature of Emerging Pattern 6. Major Characteristics of Library Information Science Philosophical Tradition. Part II. The Progenitors Part III. Appendixes. 1: Profiles of Cited Philosophers A. Philosophers Characteristics B . Schools of Philosophy 2: Major Philosophical Systems A. Synopsis B . Examples of Contrasting Interpretations of Some Philosophical Concepts 3: Major Key Words 4: Frequency of Key Words Citations 5: Analyzes of Most Frequently Cited Key Words A. Most Frequently Used Key Words B . Key Words related to Cited Philosophers C. Summary of Key Words Arranged by Date D. Levels of Cited Key Words E. List of Key Words Cited by Selected Librarians F. Summary of Key Words Cited by Selected Librarians Part IV. Bibliography 4 2 PART I: THE ANALYSIS 1. Introduction. Bibliothecal communication always takes place between past recorded knowledge and its present recipients. It relates to the processes, both physical and cultural, which to some extend made each of us individually, and all of us together, what we are. To understand ourselves and the world around us, we communicate with experiences of others through available records. Library information science deals with facilitation of recorded knowledge, the metalibrarianship encompassing the theoretical aspects of a broad range of recorded communications, and the philosophy of metalibrarianship searches for the meaning, the nature and values of such communication. This essay attempts to identify some relationships between individuals interested in philosophical aspects of Library Information Science (LIS) and their philosophical mentors. 2. Methodology. The study is based on the thorough review of all essays in English language, listed in the Library Literature under 'Librarianship, Philosophical Aspects' in J. Z. Nitecki: Philosophical Aspects of LIS in Retrospect, 1995.1 The total literature in American philosophy of librarianship is small, hence the citations are relatively few; however, within that small sample there are some interesting relations. Although this type of study does not lend itself to the rigor of the 3 scientific analysis, some numerical relations between the kinds of philosophers cited, their profiles, and the topics identified by the citations may suggest interesting patterns within the discipline. Limitations of the analyses are determined by the degree of subjectivity in formulating, classifying and interpreting data. The scope of the study is well defined, statistical descriptions are simple and obvious but the selection of key words and designations of their interpretative levels are of necessity subjective. The study includes all individuals who are identified as philosophers in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, although not all are also listed in either of the philosophical dictionaries consulted. The criteria for selecting the key words were determined by the actual context of the domain studied, i.e., they refer to the summaries provided in the second part of this study only, not necessarily reflecting major philosophical concepts of cited philosophers. The impact of philosophers on LIS is inferred from the examination of key words in the summaries of the philosophers viewpoints listed in appendixes. They provide numerical analysis of relationships between philosophers, their profiles and impact on librarians who cited them. The study identified 503 keywords referred to ninety-four philosophers cited by 154 authors in the 225 essays published in library literature on the subject of library philosophy.2 In Part II of this study the philosophers cited by librarians were identified and their major contributions to philosophy 6 4 briefly summarized. The individual entries consist of paraphrased extracts from The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a handbook (Avey, 1954) and two dictionaries (Angels, 1992 and Runes, 1981). The impact of cited philosophers on the philosophy of LIS is inferred from the comments made about each philosopher by citing librarians. The annotations vary in scope. Some references relate cited philosophers directly to the issues in philosophy of library information science, others are mere casual notes or quotes, indicating librarian's familiarity with a given philosopher. Appendixes contain numerical descriptions of various relationships between the philosophers, their profiles, key words expressing their philosophical views and the authors citing them in American library literature. Appendix-1 contains (1) the list of philosophers cited by librarians, arranged in alphabetical order with a note about the period, nationality of each philosopher and his major school affiliation. It also included numerical summary of nationalities, cited schools of philosophy, and their rank order (Appx-la). Appx-2: This appendix list all philosophical schools of philosophy and the philosophers affiliated with them (Table 1). It also includes some philosophers that are not reviewed in this study, but who are important representatives of particular schools. The appendix also includes examples of contrasting interpretations of some major philosophical concepts (Table 2). The list is arranged in two columns: first represents conceptual, frequently metaphysical, definitions, the second the 5 experiential, mostly epistemological, interpretations. Following each pair of concepts is a brief note about its possible equivalence in philosophy of metalibrarianship ('M'). Appendix-3 consists of primary data on which all the statistical descriptions of this study are based. It lists sequentially all philosophers cited in this study arranged by periods, followed by abbreviated key words and levels of their interpretations by quoted librarians. Column (a) refers to the philosophers listed by name in Appendix 4.
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