INLS 180 Day 20 Notes

March 24, 2004

 

Some very good questions posted AND responses---this is good!

 

Catharsis:  where is this going?  What are the key choice/points, ethical decisions each of us make as we establish and maintain careers and contribute to our world?  What are the drivers of these decisions (often unconsciously made)?  Claim: Our interactions with information and people are the drivers (some of which we can control, some caused by our jobs/environment).  Subclaim: In today’s global village, we increasingly interact with information as surrogates for human-human interactions to overcome the limits of time and space.

 

  1. One minute papers

Main Points

Intermediary services changing rapidly due to IT [consider how fundamental communication and information are to intermediation]

3 big factors in professional lives: change, change, change

there is a dynamic between globalization and localization [economics, services, digital libraries]

we are in the business of change

 

Questions

Interrelationships between technology and service economy?

How do people make decisions/choices?

How to address the ethical implications of economics?

How will disintermediation affect reference services?

How will technology diffuse to communities with limited resources?

Can we predict change to make career decisions [think of careers with life cycle approach rather than linear progression]

How to decide when change is a good and when to resist?  [the word ‘disruptive’ is used glowingly today]

Will the number of [choose one: web designers, catalogers, reference librarians, teachers/tutors, etc.] needed exceed the talent pool? [resource pool]

Will people always choose the cheapest product? [most people, most of the time—see Roloff]

What are businesses’ responsibilities to customers?

What kinds of information jobs won’t be outsourced?  [people intensive jobs]

Where is the convergence of ILS and social justice?  [do we think globally and act locally?  How to run against the wind?]

What examples of old services being revived?

Are these changes out of control?

How does cost and time affect change?

 

2. Discuss papers

Roloff, M. E. (1981). Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach. Chapter 1, Social Exchange: Key Concepts, p13-31.
Dewdney & Sheldrick Ross (1994). Flying a light aircraft: Reference service evaluation from a user’s viewpoint. RQ 34(2), 217-30.

 

New Groups

Catherine, Maureen, Kristen, Craig, Becca, Courtney

Robin, Lourdes, Mara, Crystal, Tim

Jackson, Will, Margaret, Chris, Peter

Kasia, Chad, Sarah, Lynne, Alida

Scott, Cynthia, Allison, Marisa, Tim

AJ, Jeff, John, Jane, Elizabeth

 

3. One-minute paper

What was the big point you learned in class today?

What is the main, unanswered question you leave class with today?