The concept of ‘information’ in five different realms – technological, physical, biological, social and philosophical – is briefly examined. The ‘gaps’ between these conceptions are discussed, and unifying frameworks of diverse nature, including those of Shannon/Wiener, Landauer, Stonier, Bates and Floridi, are examined. The value of att…[Read more]

The complexities of the many concepts and models around information literacy are considered, and some personal views given as to how they may best be clarified, both theoretically and practically. A slightly adapted idea of the concept of information fluency can serve as a main general purpose for the promotion of information literacy, expressed…[Read more]

It is suggested that, in addition to data, information and knowledge, the information sciences should focus on understanding, understood as a higher-order knowledge, with coherent and explanatory potential. The limited ways in which understanding has been addressed in the design of information systems, in studies of information behaviour, in…[Read more]

Text of 15-minutes talk given at the CILIP Local Studies Group Conference 2018: Oral history and sound heritage. It briefly presents my Library Science master’s dissertation, ‘”The public libraries of London” collection: oral history in the digital age’, which can also be found in CORE.

Critlib, or critical librarianship, is the discussion and application of social justice issues in the library field. Generally, the application of critlib has been focused on information literacy and pedagogy, as well as cataloging, but one important aspect of the discussion that is often overlooked is that of library management. Just like…[Read more]

Proposal for Book ‘Em: Libraries, Librarians, and Information in Mystery Fiction, 1970-2018

This blog post gives an updated and modified text of a keynote address given at the Fifteenth International ISKO Conference, Porto, 9th July 2018.

Many academic libraries conduct extensive user studies when redesigning their websites, considering characteristics such as design features, information architecture, and link and information placement. One of the less studied aspects impacting library website usability is choice of language. This article presents the results of a usability study…[Read more]

DocPerform is a multi- and interdisciplinary research project based at City, University of London. Led by members of the Department of Library & Information Science, it comprises scholars and practitioners from the fields of performing arts and library & information science. The project concerns conceptual, methodological and technological…[Read more]

DocPerform is a multi- and interdisciplinary research project based at City, University of London. Led by members of the Department of Library & Information Science, it comprises scholars and practitioners from the fields of performing arts and library & information science. The project concerns conceptual, methodological and technological…[Read more]

Argues that the list of Core Library Values compiled by the American Library Association should be applied to our broader information landscape, not just to libraries.

Photography students and the specific information resources they use represent a relatively unexplored area in the Library and Information Science literature. The intention of this study is to explore the relevance of the physical photobook and digital resources to this specific audience. A mixed method, pragmatic approach was deemed the most…[Read more]

This essay suggests that there has been a relative lack of digitally enabled historical research on the recent past, when compared to earlier periods of history. It explores why this might be the case, focussing in particular on both the obstacles and some missing drivers to mass digitisation of primary sources for the 20th century. It suggests…[Read more]

From 1852 the Hôtel Drouot was the space where the French auctioneers (Commissaires-Priseurs) – who held a stately sanctioned monopoly – organized their auctions. By processing data from the art auction catalogue repertory by Frits Lugt and the extended version Art Sales Catalogues Online, it is possible to map the networks of art marketing at…[Read more]

The following text presents an online project, which has been developed since April 2007 with a duration of five years on the initiative of the Kunstgeschichtliches Institut in Frankfurt and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, together with the partner institutions Städel Museum and Historisches Museum in Frankfurt and jointly financed by…[Read more]

Drei digitale Kunstprojekte aus den Jahren 2015 und 2016 werden in diesem Text vorgestellt und verglichen, Game Over Facebook, WrongGrid und Curating Money. Ihnen ist gemeinsam, dass sie in Konfrontation zu ihrem jeweiligen technischen und ästhetischem Kontext stehen, beispielsweise zu den digitalen Plattformen, auf denen sie gespeichert sind,…[Read more]

Am 11.10.2014 erschien im Feuilleton der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung ein Artikel von Gina Thomas über die derzeitige Intensivierung der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit zum Kunstmarkt. Der Titel lautete: Wie der Kunsthandel die Wissenschaft erobert. Auf diese Bestimmung eines Verhältnisses und die gebrachten Beispiele soll hier reagiert werden.

In Along an African Border, anthropologist Sónia Silva examines how the Angolan refugees living in Zambia during the Angolan civil war used their divination baskets to cope with daily life in a new land. To many people, these baskets are capable of thinking, hearing, judging, and responding. They communicate by means of small articles drawn in…[Read more]

Sónia Silva is an Associate Professor of anthropology at Skidmore College. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Zambia, as well as museum work in Europe and the USA, Silva’s research deals with materiality, material religion, the notion of the fetish, ritual and religion, divination, witchcraft, violence, and museums. Silva is the author of Alon…[Read more]