Library science
Library science, according to Luisa Orera Orera, is the "documentary science whose objective is the study of the library, understood as an information system; its typology and the different forms of library cooperation, especially networks and systems". Gómez Hernández, J., defines librarianship as "A discipline that studies the library as a documentary institution made up of a series of elements, their internal interrelationships and with the external context, and management processes including planning, organization, execution and control that make it possible to achieve their goals".
It should not be confused with librarianship, which is the science that studies the bibliological and documentary aspects of libraries. Librarianship, on the other hand, refers more to the set of techniques and knowledge necessary to, internally, govern the management and the ordering of books and documents within a library.
To define librarianship there was a debate about whether it was a science or a discipline. One of the first definitions that were made was that librarianship is the systematic set of knowledge related to the book and the library, coined Domingo Buoncuore. It does not mention that it was a science since before the second half of the 20th century, library science was not considered a science because its object of study was believed to be imprecise and also because of the lack of consolidation of theoretical or extra-theoretical support.
As time went by, the definition evolved as research work was carried out that strengthened its scientific aspect, and in an interdisciplinary way. Especially after the end of World War II, where scientific knowledge proliferated in part because of the competition for knowledge included in the Cold War period.
Today, librarianship is a science that uses the scientific method to discover the general arrangements that refer to the study of books and libraries, currently and retrospectively. The main contexts in which librarianship is developed are: socioeconomic and scientific-technological tradition.
It consists of a discipline that corresponds to the field of the humanities, since it brings together the main characteristics of them; deals with the study of man and his works, has a body of specific values and establishes its principles and rules based on research in which it analyzes not only causes and effects, but also the very essence of culture.
This is the set of theoretical and technical knowledge related to the organization and administration of a library. It includes a doctrinal part that studies the theory of the selection and acquisition of books, cataloging, classification and the economic-administrative system of the library: resources, premises and furniture, personnel, conservation of books and use of the library, and a part that is properly related to the art of administering it, of governing it, to carry out with the greatest efficiency and the least effort the specific purposes of the institution".
S. Danis defines library science as: science, techniques and activities related to the organization, management and regulation of libraries.
B. Richter specifies that library science is not a science, he defines it as an organizational practice that takes into account technical, administrative, social and psychological data.
G. Guerrieri defines library science as the set of rules that regulate a library.
A.Serrai has studied the concept of library science and defines it as a science of order. He presupposes that a library structure exists and works. Such a structure is an organization of documents. This organization is governed by principles, laws and rules.
Carrion defines it as the set of techniques necessary for the operation and organization of a library.
Librarianship is framed within the social sciences, within the sciences related to social interaction, since its objective is the modeling and satisfaction of the needs in information, services and space demanded by society.
Etymology
Etymologically, library science is the result of the Greek term biblion, which means book, and theke, which means storage, administration or description. It literally means administration or description of book stores. Therefore, librarianship is given the meaning of being the discipline or science in charge of the administration of libraries. Librarianship is the result of the union of biblion book, theke store and logos treated or study. Which means that librarianship is the treaty or study of the book store, and it is about the science of libraries.
Computer science and librarianship/ librarianship
Library Science and Information Studies deal with the technique whose field is made up of book collections and periodicals (magazines and newspapers), information and knowledge management. This last role over time has been extended to the management of information technologies. Librarianship is also interested in other information formats or resources, such as online periodicals, compact discs (CD-ROMs) and DVDs, microfiche, filming (video-cassettes, microfilm), audiotapes, etc
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The electronic format, especially the compact disc and online databases, have revolutionized the world of libraries, such as the specialized ones that appeared with some characteristic features that differentiated them from the traditional ones. Its users were people interested in specific subjects, with a very specific need for information and its collections are very varied, which is why it has been necessary to adapt the traditional catalogs of tokens or cards to the new formats, emerging electronic catalogs, also known as electronic catalogs. public access online. An example is the Online Computer Library Center.
The concept of collection has been transformed with the emergence of electronic databases, which do not need to be physically housed in the library to be accessible to users, and also due to the volatility of the information they provide. This has produced a profound change in the document collection policies (whether in electronic or printed format) of modern libraries.
Library science can be divided into theoretical and applied. In the first we include topics such as information theory and knowledge management, the study of the need for information and how to satisfy it to the world, external factors that influence the interpretation of knowledge, etc. Applied librarianship deals with topics such as collection development and maintenance, material lending services and information provision services (references), technical services (acquisition, cataloguing, classification and discarding). or purification) of the collections, interlibrary cooperation, ALFIN, copyright, freedom of information (right of access to information), conservation and preservation, management of the library or information unit, accessibility, etc. Along with bibliometrics is the informetrics or measurement of the potential capacity of documentary information transfer of a documentary or library system. Measures the amount of information possible with a search algorithm based on the keywords or descriptor codes that the reader uses in natural language and the equivalents and synonyms that the system or database has used to catalog the documents (terms contained in the categories in the case of Wikipedia). If we add the interactions or occurrences and establish a search quality index by the natural logarithm, which would be 1, 2 and 3 the optimum for the information recovery obtained. It is similar to the number of references downloaded by an Internet search engine.
The role of the reference librarian can be understood as an intermediary between the user and the collection of a unit of information. In order to be able to fulfill his function well, the librarian performs the so-called reference interview, in order to assist the user in planning and executing his information search. The librarian, as a technician, studies search algorithms, thesauruses, citation indexes, compilation of bibliographic news, treatment and attention to the user and solution of their queries, contacts with colleagues, etc. Currently and according to the development of information technologies and Web 2.0, the librarian is a facilitator of information and plays a very important role in the transmission of knowledge, due to its key role in organizing and retrieving it.
Classification
There are various classification systems in use, with the primary objective of physically organizing library collections on shelves, the most widely used being Dewey or the Universal Decimal Classification in Europe, the United States Library of Congress Classification system, BLISS, Ranganathan Faceted Classification, Black Classification for Dentistry Libraries, etc. Through the use of these classifications, it is possible to assign to the material individually and when organized on the shelves (for example, a book) a numerical or alphanumeric code that reflects its content (themes or subjects), and that serves to locate them together in the shelves materials that have related content.
On the other hand, it is the classic task of the librarian to create a card card (format 12.5 to 7.5 cm) with the main data of the book: title, author, publisher, publisher, year of publication, edition, number of pages, and theme, which is extracted from one of the classification systems in use, today with the new technologies these files are directly made from the software where the information is loaded. The set of these cards constitutes the manual catalog of a library, which are arranged alphabetically. There are several methods to organize the cards thus created and increase the search possibilities in the manual catalogue. The cards represent the materials kept in the library (eg books), and are considered true surrogates or representatives of these materials.
However, it must be remembered that the librarian does not only work on catalog cards. Exclusively for books, since, periodicals, such as magazines, newspapers, newspapers, gazettes, and also maps. In general, other sources of information on paper, as well as those created in other formats (such as acetate discs, CDs, or DVDs) are organized in the same way as cardex, placing the essential data so that they arrive or are retrieved by the user.
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With the advent of computers, manual catalogs and the practice of assigning a single or limited number of thematic categories to each material have become obsolete, since it is currently possible to assign a large number of descriptors to each material, to improve the representation of its content; in order to facilitate and broaden the possibilities of the search.
Library science and documentation
The organization of a library, that is, the physical organization by subjects of a catalog of books, has led to the study of how to structure human knowledge: cataloging and classification. The study of information architecture includes a specialty called "Bibliometrics", which deals with, for example, citation rates, the impact factor, the number of times an article is cited in other articles, etc. The approach to the business world is expressed in Knowledge Management, which seeks quality or relevance and selective dissemination of knowledge, to deal with information overload. The world of libraries and documentation centers is very sensitive to the knowledge of its users and authors, which means studying the needs of customers through surveys and interviews (obstructive methods) or by analyzing customer search patterns., as can be the analysis of the weblogs of the catalogs (non-obstructive methods).
For Jesse H. Shera, the evolution that has taken place from documentation and library science as a science together with the independence of both, follows the following points:
- Until the end of the 19th century, literature and documentation were considered the same science
- When the bibliotheconomy was led by the cult of universal education and self-perfeccionism, the documentation ventured alone in the world of bibliographies.
- The documentaries refined the documentation techniques and extended them to; organization, use and reproduction of the material.
- By becoming the documentaryists in pioneers, an increasing abyss to separate them from the librarians.
In Spain you can study Library and Information Science in more than a dozen universities; With the adaptation to Degree with the new Bologna study plan, the name of the degree was renamed Information and Documentation. Library and Information Science professionals -librarians and documentalists- participate in associations both nationally, regionally and internationally.
Diploma in Library Science and Documentation
First cycle degree, belonging to the area of Social and Legal Sciences.
These studies aim to train a qualified professional to occupy jobs, both technical and managerial, in documentary institutions and in business organizations and public administrations: professionals specialized in the search, selection, classification and storage of all kinds of information, regardless of the medium in which it is contained.
To achieve this goal, all the standards and techniques for cataloging, indexing and content analysis used to collect and organize the information generated in libraries, archives and documentation centers are studied. Likewise, the organization and administration of libraries, newspaper archives, archives, documentation centers are also subjects of study in this degree... Just as important as knowing where to find the information is being able to retrieve it so that it is easy to consult. The new information and communication technologies (ICT) have had a decisive influence on this profession in recent years. Currently, it is almost impossible to carry out this type of work without knowing in detail the operation of databases, or search engines on the Internet.
Professional exit
Work in the library (general, university, popular, school, foundation libraries and any other type of library) continues to be one of the main job opportunities for these graduates; currently, the professional perspectives of this collective are much broader.
Medium and large companies and institutions need and demand experts in library science and documentation, for the organization and management of the files of their companies, especially those that work with information, such as newspapers,...
These professionals provide the necessary documentation at all times to cover the information needs of the company.
There are a number of specialties that librarians can further develop, depending on their interests: specializing in a specific field, such as law or medicine, or working with specific groups, such as children. Some focus on digital librarianship, helping users evaluate and navigate digital sources of information or use technology to catalog and index digital information.
Business Context
Companies need to organize and manage their information efficiently and dynamically, technology centers base a large part of their success on the capacity and professionalism of their documentation centers. The creation of content in the development of Internet portals. Producers of legal databases, administrative information or press databases.
Librarianship towards improved management
- Attention to the problem of the recovery of information in libraries, which occupies authors of the Anglo-Saxon area such as Line and Lancaster.
- Research on how to integrate and apply information technologies.
- The development of research on topics such as quality in services, users, or evaluation of collections and services.
- The support of international organizations such as Unesco for the standardization and development of libraries.
- The performance of professional associations (ALA, IFLA), for the development of norms, the publication of journals and the holding of scientific congresses in the area.