We had some discussion at the LHG's open meeting yesterday about the
possible change of name of the Group, to incorporate information
history, and this will be further discussed at the Group AGM in
Manchester in July.
On the train home after the meeting I read a very interesting article
relevant to this topic (but also more widely):
Jonathan Rose, 'Alternative futures for library history', in
Libraries & Culture, vol. 38 no. 1, Winter 2003, pp. 50-60.
Jonathan follows on from the article by Don Davis and John Arvid Aho,
'Whither library history?' in our own journal 'Library History' vol. 17
no. 1, March 2001, pp. 21-37. He considers their various options - for
library history to evolve into a branch of information science, or
mainstream history, or the history of the book - and also takes up Wayne
Wiegand's ideas on using critical theorists such as Foucauly and
Gramsci. Jonathan discusses all these and comes up with his own proposal
for a synthesis of interests in what he calls Book Studies, a very
wide-ranging discipline drawing on expertise (especially in the academic
sphere) from a multitude of disciplines. This would have the advantage
of making library history an equal partner, rather than hanging on to
the coat-tails of some other discipline.
I found it an interesting and stimulating paper, which I commend to
others involved in library history in the UK and elsewhere. I am not
sure that it would negate the favoured name of 'Library and Information
History Group' but it sheds some light on the debate. I am also not sure
that given the proportion of non-academic activity in library history,
certainly in the UK - from practititioners and retired folk, for example
- that trhe Rose formula would necessarily work her. But it is certainly
worth considering seriously.
Would it be useful to seek permission for these two papers (Davis/Aho
and Rose) to be mounted on the Web, perhaps on the LHG web-site?
Regards
Peter Hoare
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Peter Hoare, 21 Oundle Drive, Wollaton Park, Nottingham NG8 1BN
Tel/fax 0115 978 5297 E-mail [log in to unmask]
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