• e z The Atlantic Provinces Library Association Volume 62, Number 2 ISSN 0001-2203 September/October 1998 CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SLIS SCHOOL OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION STUDIES one of the most articulate heralds of print's demise. For his FRIDAY LECTURE SERIES part, McLuhan, in seminal works such as The Mechanical As part oj its continuing education programme, SUS presents a Bride and Understanding Media, felt that he was describing series ofFriday lectures. These lectures are open to the public at the enemies of the book. As Dr. Gordon put it, McLuhan no charge. The synopses reprintedhere originally appearedon the turned in the fire alarm only to be charged with arson. Citing SUS web site at <hllp//wWw.mgml.da/.ca/s/is/con_edjr.html> passages from McLuhan's books, interviews, and his personal correspondences, Dr. Gordon underscored the ease with which his views were taken out of context and later JANUARY 23, 1998 misrepresented by a popular med ia incapable ofunderstand­ "THE BOOK AS TECHNOLOGY: WHAT McLuHAN TAUGHT AND WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT HE TAUGHT" ing the subtle processes outlined therein. DR. TERRY GORDON, DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH One of the most important distinctions McLuhan drew DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY was between technologies that were obsolete, and those that were obsolescent. Obsolescence implies an active process, On Friday, January 23rd, 1998, Dr. Terry Gordon ofthe inevitably following the advent of new technologies. Older, Department of French, Dalhousie University, delivered a more established technologies subsequently undergo lecture entitled "The Book as Technology: What McLuhan transformations that alter their basic functions and mean­ Taught and What People Thought He Taught". In outlining ings. Returning to the book, McLuhan accordingly traced the Marshall McLuhan's views on the book, Dr. Gordon hoped rise of print cu Iture and its subsequent obsolescence in the to explain and clarify some of the popular misconceptions face of rapidly expanding electronic media, film and surrounding McLuhan's bod y of work, particularly with television in particular. regards to print media. Studying the effects of new media on individuals and (continued on next page) societies was a central preoccupation for McLuhan. Dr. Gordon, who recently completed the authorized Marshall McLuhan biography, Escape into Understanding, chose one of his subject's most powerful indictments for the book's Inside This Issue... title. Throughout the talk, Dr. Gordon challenged the audience, as his subject had done decades before, to join him From the President's Desk 2 on a voyage of discovery in which we strive to understand technologies in relation to one another and in relation to APLA Executive 1998-99 4 ourselves. Margaret William Trust Fund Award 4 All media, including the book, McLuhan regarded as technologies. A technology, according to McLuhan, is any APLA Conveners 1998-99 5 extension ofourselves, whether ofour physical selves or of APLA '98 Session Reports 9 our minds. As new media develop, they do not replace the News from the Provinces II old technologies so much as they complicate them. McLuhan, then, was concerned with uncovering the pro­ Review: Electric Library Canada 16 cesses by which new media interact with and transform older SUS Occasional Papers Series 17 ones. Coming Events 19 According to Dr. Gordon, McLuhan loved few things more than reading a book. He actually likened television to Eileen Wallace Research Fellowship 19 bacteria or poison. He was and still is, however, identified as Page 2 APIA Bulletin September/October 1998 From the President's Desk Ciao.... well, summer days have structure and leadership. Dr. English organization whose strength is come and gone.... though this summer will submit a report, with derived from the commitment of its was sunny, warm and very dry, it was recommendations, to the Minister of members. Not only do we survive on too short.... so I hope everyone Canadian Heritage by November 30, their financial commitment (i.e. enjoyed every minute ofit with plenty 1998. APLA, as a stakeholder, wi II be membership dues) but also on the of fun and adventure! submitting a brief to Dr. English by individuals who volunteer their time One item ofimportance that came September 15, 1998. to the many activities that make out this summer is the forthcoming The APLA Executive meeting APLA. In fact, while money is review of the National Archives of will be held in Antigonish on October important, volunteers are the Canada and the National Library of 17 and 18. Among the items to be lifeblood of our organization. If you Canada. Dr. John English discussed are Advocacy training, feel you can devote some time and (Department of History at the Provincial workshops, and the hiring energy to the many activities going University of Waterloo) will be of an Executive Director for this on, please contact us. You can call or consulting stakeholders on the future Association. I welcome suggestions E-mail either myself, Penny Marshall role of these institutions. Part of the or comments from any APLA (Vice President-President Elect), any consultations will include an member regarding these issues or any member of the Executive, or any of examination of NA and NL's other matter that he/she wishes to the Conveners of the Interest Groups mandates, collections/acquisitions, have considered at the upcoming or Committees. We need your access, preservation, information Executive meeting. support! management issues, organizational One final word.... APLA is an - Francesco Lai JANUARY 30, 1998 CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continu edfrom page I) "ON ENCOUNTERING THE DIGITAL NEWSPAPER: WHAT DO READERS Finally, Dr. Gordon outlined McLuhan's Tetrad of EXAMINE? WHY? WHAT FACILITATES THE PROCESS?" ELAINE TOMS Media. These, McLuhan maintained, are the essential DALHOUSIE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES questions, applying to any medium or technology, that need to be answered if we are to understand the processes by The seventh lecture in the 1997/1998 SUS lecture series which new and old media interact with one another: was presented by Dr. Elaine Toms ofthe Dalhousie Univer­ I. What does it extend? sity School of Library and Information Studies. Dr. Toms 2. What does it obsolesce? presented the results ofher recent study which examined not 3. What (older medium) does it retrieve? digital newspapers per se, but the issues ofwhat people read, 4. What does it reverse or flip into when pushed to its why they read what they read, and how the reading process extreme form? can be facilitated . According to Dr. Toms, people acquire Media, McLuhan held, always work in pairs. As one information in three ways. Facts are acquired about some­ interacts with and supplants the other, both undergo pro­ thing people can clearly define (using search engines), or cesses that rarely, if ever, leave their respective characters about something they cannot fully describe but .will recog­ unaltered. nize on sight (via lists of categories or networks of nodes), Throughout his life, McLuhan was disturbed that we or are acquired in an accidental, serendipitous fashion. The were moving towards the twenty-first century with nine­ last category, the unplanned encountering of a piece of teenth century perceptions. His careful and articulate information, was the major emphasis of this study. No insights, according to Dr. Gordon, pointed the way towards systems exist at present that take the serend ipitous encounter an escape into understanding -- not only of medias' effects into account. In an attempt to attract readers, system devel­ on one another, but of their effects on individuals and opers are currently emphasizing glitz and gadgetry over societies as well. content. - Marc Bragdon, first year student, 1997-98 Dr Toms' experimental study was designed to test the effectiveness of two types of menus and two types of "Items-to-Browse" tools. The47 participants were presented (continued on next page) September/October 1998 APLA Bulletin Page 3 CONTINUING EDUCATION AT DAL SUS (continuedfrom page 2) A preliminary analysis of reader motivations indicated that participants most frequently cited "personal" reasons for with a Halifax newspaper in electronic form ; the information selecting an article; for example, the article related to a contained in the paper had previously been categorized and reader's work. Reader motivation fell into three broad indexed by Dr. Toms, and the graphics had been removed. categories; partially apperceptive (readers perceive the world The participants were divided into two groups and provided in terms of their own interests), partially format specific with one of two tasks; either explicitly to search for answers (related to the specific characteristics of the newspaper), or to specific questions, or implicitly to read the paper as the partially curiosity and /or instinctive. In ex amining what participant wished. This implicit task provided opportunities facilitates the reading process, Dr. Toms found that menus for encounters. Participants identified, rated and ranked were used significantly more often than the other tools, and articles ofinterest and stated their reasons for this . They also were the top ranked tool for browsing. However, more specified the order in which they would have liked to have interesting articles were identified from the list of sugges­ seen the arti cles. tions (the least used tool) than via the search tool. Dr. Toms Dr. Toms found that people examined approximately 20 suggested that , in interacting with the digital newspaper, articles per session, and found about 16 items via the menus readers examine the volume of articles, scan many menu and 4 items via the "items-to-browse" category. The most Iistings but make qui ck selection decisions, and that they popular category examined was News, with Science and require a stable, directional tool. Technology articles being the least popular. Those surveyed In highlighting the conclusions that emerged from this examined proportionally the same num ber ofarticles in each study, Dr.