From Gutenberg to the global information infrastructure: access to information in the networked world

345 Pages·2000·4.903 MB·English

by  Christine L. Borgman

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From Gutenberg to the Global Information
Infrastructure
Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing
series editor: William Y. Arms
Digital Libraries, William Y. Arms
From Gutenberg to the Global Information Infrastructure: Access to
Information in the Networked World, Christine L. Borgman
From Gutenberg to the Global Information
Infrastructure
Access to Information in the Networked
World
Christine L. Borgman
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2000 Christine L. Borgman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any
electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information
storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
Set in Sabon by The MIT Press.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Borgman, Christine L., 1951–
From Gutenberg to the global information infrastructure : access to information
in the networked world / Christine L. Borgman.
p. cm. — (Digital libraries and electronic publishing)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-262-02473-X (alk. paper)
1. Information superhighway. 2. Digital libraries. 3. Libraries—Special
collections—Electronic information resources. 4. Information superhighway—
United States. 5. Digital libraries—United States. 6. Libraries—United States—
Special collections—Electronic information resources. I. Title. II. Series.
ZA3225. B67 2000
025.5'24—dc21 99-039906
Contents
Series Foreword vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
1 The Premise and the Promise of a Global Information Infrastructure 1
2 Is It Digital or Is It a Library? Digital Libraries and Information
Infrastructure 33
3 Access to Information 53
4 Books, Bytes, and Behavior 81
5 Why Are Digital Libraries Hard to Use? 117
6 Making Digital Libraries Easier to Use 143
7 Whither, or Wither, Libraries? 169
8 Acting Locally, Thinking Globally 209
9 Toward a Global Digital Library: Progress and Prospects 225
References 271
Index 311

Series Foreword
Since 1990, digital libraries and electronic publishing have moved from
esoteric interests of a few visionaries to activities that are beginning to
rival traditional libraries and traditional publishing. The catalysts have
been technical (personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web),
but contributions have come from every discipline that values the dis-
semination of high-quality information. Many of the challenges associ-
ated with building the new libraries are social, economic, or legal rather
than technical.
Digital libraries are being implemented by people who work within
conventional libraries, but also by people who do not consider themselves
librarians or publishers. The World Wide Web has created new profes-
sions. Research in digital libraries has become a vibrant academic sub-
discipline, with computer scientists working alongside economists,
sociologists, lawyers, and librarians. An interdisciplinary body of exper-
tise is emerging.
To write books about digital libraries may seem a contradiction. Most
researchers in this field rely heavily on the Internet for current informa-
tion, but these same people are very conscious of the strengths of con-
ventional publications. Innovation and current research are widely
reported in articles and papers published in journals and magazines and
presented at conferences; much of this detailed material is openly avail-
able online. A book provides an opportunity to be more contemplative
and to give perspective to a field. The aim of The MIT Press’s series on
Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing is to provide a context. The
hope is to have created a series that is valuable to both specialists and
viii Series Foreword
nonspecialists. The specialists will see how other leaders in the field view
the state of the art, recent research, and longer-term trends. The non-
specialists will be introduced to the initiatives that are leading to the new
generation of libraries and publishing.
William Y. Arms
Preface
Amidst the enthusiasm surrounding the emerging global information infra-
structure are claims that computer networks are the greatest advance in
human communication since Gutenberg invented printing. Many contend
that printed books and journals will soon be replaced by electronic docu-
ments that are malleable, mutable, and mobile. Physical libraries will be
replaced by digital libraries, and librarians by cybrarians. Paper archives
will be replaced by digital archives, and the appraisal role of archivists will
no longer be needed because saving everything will be easier and cheaper.
Commerce will be conducted online, and the neighborhood shopping mall
will fade away. Political jurisdictions will cease to matter, as cyberspace
respects few boundaries. Freedom of speech will become absolute, as peo-
ple communicate across borders over a populist, decentralized medium
devoid of central authority.
We are in the early stages of birthing a global information infrastructure
(GII) and already the hyperbole of such statements is apparent. In the first
place, Johannes Gutenberg did not invent either printing or movable type.
Both originated in Asia centuries before his birth. Gutenberg’s accomplish-
ment was to perfect printing with movable type. To do so, he drew upon his
knowledge of metalwork and jewelry making and experimented with inks,
molds for letters, and presses. It was his holistic approach that enabled him
to perfect each step of the process (Berger 1998), thereby contributing sig-
nificantly to the technology of human communication.
This book does not claim to invent the ideas of a global information infra-
structure or access to information, or any of the component parts, includ-
ing computer networks, digital libraries, digital preservation, electronic
publishing, information retrieval, human-computer interface design,