LIS 4010 Organization of Information

Fall, 2000

Library and information science literature has recently broached the idea of a postmodern approach to the profession. Although a unified theory has not developed, some common themes have arisen. A review of the recent literature presents the salient theoretical concepts of postmodernism in information environments. Next I examine how the Internet Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com) embodies many postmodern attributes and attitudes towards the organization of information.

Postmodernism

The information revolution created by the internet has led some librarians to question the intellectual underpinnings of the profession. Postmodern library science, which adopts ideas principally from the humanities and the social sciences, attempts to understand this new information environment. A review of the relevant literature reveals three major theoretical ideas of a postmodern library. First, postmodernism challenges the traditional positivist notion that an objective and strictly logical methodology is possible or desirable. All theories and methodologies are social constructs reflecting the biases of their creators; therefore, no one classification system is complete or useful for all users (Day, 1996). The “aboutness” of an information object is subjectively determined based on the requirements of the collection and the user. Rather than assisting the user, attempts at objective classification restrict a library’s ability to help the user. A surrogate record, if it is needed at all, should not be created for all possible searches, but only for a specific type of search.

Second, a postmodern approach posits a fusion of library and user. This is a patron

centric model of librarianship in which the user, or community of users becomes the

library. Barriers between user and library disappear. A common metaphor is that of Prometheus (Young, 1996). Postmodern Prometheuses not only climb Mount Olympus to steal the fire of the library gods, but become the fire themselves and share this fire with others (Radford, 1998).

Third, a library is not only a physical location that stores books, but a connection among texts that creates the context for transforming information into knowledge. The library/librarian assists in enhancing the information flow and in turn is enhanced by the information flow (Zwadlo, 1997, p.115). The information flow is heterogeneous and in constant flux. No single list of predetermined subject headings of a classification scheme can adequately describe the information flow. The information object’s location on the shelf or the server is inconsequential compared to its location in the community of ideas.

Computer technology plays a central role in allowing users access to the contextual information flow. For a postmodernist, technology does not dehumanize librarianship. A contextual, patron based model means that libraries focus on user behavior instead of objects. Librarians should concentrate their efforts on understanding how users will access information and incorporate it in their thinking (Young, 1996).

Postmodernism’s ideological challenge to traditional library classification theory has not lead to a rejection of orthodox classification systems, such as Library of Congress or Dewey Decimal Classification. However, most writers agree that librarianship in the future will combine aspects of positivism and postmodernism.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) embodies many of the characteristics of a postmodern organization of information without eschewing all traditional classificatory techniques. Recently acquired by Amazon.com, IMDb started as a volunteer database of motion picture and television program data. IMDb not only permits, but also encourages, users to download the database’s files to create their own version of the database, for noncommercial purposes only. http://us.imdb.com/interfaces This a perfect example of placing an object into the information flow. Individual users are not limited to the presentation offered by the “official” database, but may tailor the information to meet their needs. In the future, increased bandwidth and advances in computer ontologies will only increase the number of users able to transfer the files to their computers. IMDb also provides instructions on how to incorporate its search box in a user’s web page. This allows many more potential users to access the site without knowing the precise URL or even the name of the database.

Message boards on the site enhance the sharing of information and permit users to collaborate when forming searches. Most message threads concentrate on a single film or actor, but users have expanded the threads to cover genealogical questions and international political relations. The messages create new and unexpected contexts for data about filmed entertainment.

The database receives voluminous contributions from users every week. Instructions on the site itself allow users to add information via file transfer protocol or email. IMDb staff members verify accuracy and provide authority control for personal names and titles, but users decide what new categories of information they wish to add to the database. User input is essential to the viability and growth of the database. In true postmodern sense, users are taking from and contributing to the information flow.

IMDb’s approach to searching also reflects postmodern ideas. Access points are not static and constantly adapt to user needs. The focus is on user postcoordination of search terms rather than precoordination by catalogers. Through plot summaries, users contribute to the subject keywords that describe the “aboutness” of a particular item. No arbitrary limit has been placed on the number of subject headings that a listing may have.

However, the lack of rigorous cataloging presents problems as well. Only about 25% of the titles have keyword descriptions, which limits the ability to search. http://us.imdb.com/database_statistics The lack of a controlled vocabulary in assigning subject headings also fails to address the problem of homonyms. For example, a search for the term “dogfight” will retrieve films about aviation battles and dogs fighting in the streets. The user must sift through the results created by the systems inherent lack of precision. Another negative aspect of this ad hoc approach to information organization is that there is no guarantee that the information will remain accessible. IMDb’s own copyright and licensing page explicitly states that they may “remove or delete information at any time” http://us.imdb.com/Copyright . Placing data in the common information flow does not ensure its preservation or long-term accessibility.

Postmodernism favors a user centric definition of librarianship in which distinctions among technologies, information, users and libraries are blurred. All contribute and are transformed by the process of interpreting information. Easily accessible and interactive databases on computer networks, such as the Internet Movie Database, illustrate postmodern influences in information systems. Postmodernism has not replaced the positivistic paradigm of library science methodology, but all organizers of data must grapple with postmodern ideas as they create information systems in the digital interconnected age.

References

Borgman, C.L. (1986). Why are online catalogs hard to use? Lessons learned from information retrieval studies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 37(6), 387-400.

Borgman, C.L. (1996). Why are online catalogs still hard to use? Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(7), 493-503.

Budd, J.M., & Raber, D. (1998). The cultural state of the fin de milleanaire library. Library Quarterly, 68(1), 55-79.

Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. The Atlantic Monthly, 176(1), 101-108.

Day, R. (1996). LIS, method and postmodern science. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 37(4), 317-324.

Miksa, F.L. (1998) The ddc, the universe of knowledge and the post-modern library. Albany, NY: Forest Press.

Radford, G.P. (1998) Flaubert, Foucault and the bibliotheque fantastique: toward a postmodern epistemology for library science. Library Trends, 46(4), 616-634.

Taylor, A.G. (1999) The organization of information. Englewood, CO. Libraries Unlimited, Inc.

Young, P.R. (1996). Librarianship: a changing profession. Daedalus, 125(4), 103-125.

Zwadlo, J. (1997). We don’t need a philosophy of library and information science – we’re confused enough already. Library Quarterly, 67(2), 103-121.