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Revisiting Ranganathan

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:00:02 +0100

Contributors to the article: Elizabeth Matos, Marc LeBourdais

I want to share this short biography I did as part of a class at Simmons College. Shirkali Ramrita Ranganathan (1892 - 1972) is widely considered one of the greatest librarians of the 20^th century and regarded as the “Father of Library Science.” His groundbreaking work continues to be relevant today, as his Five Laws of Library Science have come to be viewed by librarians as “timeless objectives that put our profession’s goals into perspective.” Similarly, his advocacy of open access to knowledge (for all) has renewed significance in this age of online access and digital rights management and his contributions of faceted classification have become popular with online applications.

Ranganathan transitioned into library sciences after studying and teaching college level mathematics. In 1924, after becoming the first librarian at the University of Madras in India (in Chennai) he went to train in England for a year. He was impressed with the services provided at the various libraries he visited and this experience greatly influenced the direction he was to take in his career inspiring a library movement, increased library professionalism, and open access in India amidst the country’s struggles for independence.

Dedicated to his new field of library and information science, Ranganathan spent years reflecting and researching and by the end of his life he had written 60 books and nearly 2,000 research articles including The Five Laws of Library Science (1931), Colon Classification (1933), and Classified Catalogue Code (1934). His five laws read:

Books are for use
Every reader, his/her book
Every book its reader
Save the time of the reader
The library is a growing organism

These laws reflected two main themes which represent a revolution in library theory and practice that advocate for a framework of library services based around access and customer service. These themes also resonated within the context of the Indian independence movement as Ranganathan sought to transform a fossilized colonial library system (very different from what he saw in Great Britain) to one that met the needs of millions of underserved Indian people. Ranganathan believed that books were for people to use and that patrons should be able to find whatever they were searching for.

Building on this idea, he realized that classifications needed to be more flexible, to reflect the various subjects that a user may want to find. He felt that the Dewey Decimal Classification system forced knowledge into predetermined templates whether the subject fit or not. His Colon Classification provided an alternative system to organize information and was the first faceted classification system. The system divides the each class into facets, which define its properties and characteristics such as the “matter” or physical material of a category, its “personality” or core of the subject, and the “space” or place a category may consist. These facets can then be reorganized by the user, placing each one into a new context depending on its position relative to its neighbors. This method attempts to include all possible subjects, reflecting the needs of diverse users, and therefore, the main principles of Ranganathan’s Five Laws.

Ironically, Ranganathan’s influence on library classification may turn out to be indirect, despite his prominent role within the discipline. Although extremely influential, his colon classification system has not been widely implemented by librarians outside of India. His work around facet analysis has been more widely adopted. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus uses a faceted system and popular online services like Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and many other retail-oriented websites have adopted Rangathan’s methods for their site’s information organization.

Reference

Cochrane, P. A. (2002). Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan. In J. R. Schement (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.

Rimland, Emily. Ranganathan’s Relevant Rules. Reference & User Services Quarterly. Summer 2007, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p24-26

Roe, George. Challenging the control of knowledge in colonial India: political ideas in the work of S. R. Ranganathan. Library & Information History, March 2010, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p18-32

Sharma, R. (1992). Ranganathan's impact on international librarianship through information technology. Libri: International Journal Of Libraries & Information Services, 42(3), 258-267.

Weihs, J. (2010). A Brief History of Classification, Part 5. Technicalities, 30(5), 14-16.

A Select Bibliography of S. R. Ranganathan

Dudley, Edward. S.R.Ranganathan, 1892-1972: papers given at a memorial meeting on Thursday 25th January 1973, Library Association, London 1974

Ingwersen, P & Wormell, I. (1992). Ranganathan in the Perspective of Advanced Information Retrieval. Libri: International Journal Of Libraries & Information Services, 42(3), 258-267. p193,196,179

Pauline A. Cochrane. Putting knowledge to work: an American view of Ranganathan’s Five laws of library science, Vikas Publishing House, Delhi 1973

Hugo: A Celebration of Film and Preservation

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:56:17 +0100

I generally don't write reviews of films, but after being pleasantly surprised last week as I watched the multiple themes of preservation unfold in 3D in Hugo I felt it was deserved. While the plot was at times formulaic, Scorsese's increasing interest in film preservation and early cinema take center stage as the message permeates throughout the film. In fact, deeper meanings and understandings of life, family, and purpose are revealed through the act of preservation and exhibition/access (two tenets of archival practice).

Specific references to early filmmaking processes are scattered throughout the film - a series of scenes depict Melies' production company in action and dialogue that talks about hand-tinting individual scenes. More difficult issues are covered by the film professor's dialogue. The film culminates in a dreamlike sequence of images celebrating Melies' career. The re-discovery of which is brought about because of the professor's extended search for his surviving films (previously thought to be lost).

Film archivists should use the film to champion their causes. Hugo celebrates the role film has played in the passions and dreams in our lives. It is accessible to viewers and can help increase the general knowledge and importance of our profession. Most significantly, it does this by speaking not to their intellect, but to their hearts.

Thoughts on the Digital Public Library of America Plenary Meeting

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:32:45 +0100

A couple weeks ago I was working at home and had the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) plenary meeting streaming live on my computer. It played in the background, much like I would listen to music or a broadcast, as I plugged away at the day's activities. I would tune in and out of the discussion, occasionally flipping back to the window that streamed the event when something caught my attention.

I was very impressed by the comments made by a participant from the British Library and moved by her enthusiasm and excitement of the DPLA initiative. She warned of the challenges of shifting the culture of large organizations such as the British Library and Smithsonian and saw the advantages of the smaller more "nimble" organizations. I was also struck by her comments that the current generation of kids can't read cursive. It seems absurd but as I thought of it more deeply it made sense. My own kids have learned to read and write cursive but they never use it and are required to type all school assignments.

The announcement of a collaboration between DPLA and Europeana was a pleasant surprise. I am a big fan of what Europe is doing to preserve their cultural media (both Europeana and Presto Center which focusses on audiovisual materials).

Despite the great flow of ideas and vision for the DPLA, the desire for strong connectivity, open access, inoperable data modes, etc. I was struck by one particular comment made by a participant in the audience. She talked about a "scanabego" ... a vehicle that would travel to various libraries scanning their books. I immediately applied this to an audiovisual context where I believe there is an even more pressing need than books.

A combination of disappearing knowledge, equipment, and obsolescence of formats requires a concerted nation effort... which I believe has only received lip-service in the DPLA initiatives to date. There are countless audio and video recordings, particularly local productions and creations, that are sitting on shelves with no plan in place to preserve them. The rapid changes in library operations have, understandably, over-looked audiovisual materials. Nonetheless, they are an integral part of the historical record and can fit well in the rocketing online demand for audiovisual media.

It's funny that in all of the discussions and presentations of the beta-sprint projects this one idea of a mobile video digitization project has stuck with me. Maybe it's a calling...

A Collection Like No Other: KYUK Broadcasting Archives

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:31:48 +0100

The KYUK Archive is a unique collection of radio and television public broadcasting and locally produced documentaries, interviews, and news. With over 5,000 tapes and videos, the contents of the Archive represent a rich documentation of the social, political, and economic life of the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta region including distinctive and irreplaceable Yup’ik language recordings. The organization, preservation, and access of these materials will provide an invaluable resource for the maintenance of the regions’ historical memory as well as a treasure trove for researchers, scholars, and community in general.

I had the pleasure last month to make the trek to Bethel as part of a 3-day research trip to visit the station. The isolation and remoteness of the town is immediately realized as you step off the plane (Bethel is not connected to any contiguous road system). The isolation is not just physical, the region is on the fringes of bandwidth pipeline with spotty internet service, raising a host of issues around access long-forgotten in the lower 48. I was there specifically to conduct an assessment of the station's capabilities to plan, implement, and manage a long-term digital preservation project and ascertain the needs to achieve success.

Plain and simply, the Archives at KYUK constitute the largest and most comprehensive history of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta region of western Alaska and the community of Bethel. Moreover, the Archive consists largely of primary source materials, considered the building blocks of scholarship and the formation of an accurate historical record. With over 40 years of broadcasting history stored at the station nothing else like it exists anywhere. If it is lost the rich history of the region, captured on audiovisual media, is lost forever.

The contents of the KTUK Archive includes a wide range of programming that includes:

edited news stories
newscasts
long form documentaries and production elements
locally produced promos and public service announcements
instructional video
public affairs
feature magazine
fundraisers and game shows
Yup’ik dance performance programs
Yup’ik history and Yup’ik language videotapes

KYUK Programs include The Kuskokwim 300 Dog Race, Platinum Dreams about a Yup'ik Eskimo prospector while searching for gold found one of the largest platinum deposits in North America, and Tales of the Tundra featuring Yup'ik storytellers spinning tales of fantastic creatures, terrifying ghosts, and mischievous Little People. KYUK also has dozens of hours of oral histories with elders, and footage of significant cultural events such as the Cama-i Dance Festival where indigenous dancers from around the world join Native dancers across Alaska each spring.

Thanks to my host Mike Martz, I did get out on the river one evening and went berry picking in the tundra. The result was a delicious bowl of Aqutak (or Eskimo Ice Cream) courtesy of his lovely wife.

New Thinking about Access and Preservation

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:33:44 +0100

I decided this week to repost a comment I left on a recent blog post on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art site. The contributing blogger was Rick Prelinger, archivist, filmmaker and all-around good guy. Rick is extremely well respected in the archival community for his work and thoughtful deliberation on the challenges and issues that this community faces. His post is well worth the read as he posits a new way of preserving materials through direct access.

Comment:

Thanks for your thoughts and call to action (or at least getting us to thinking about taking some new action). From my experience of managing archives within larger entities you are often beholden to the policies of the parent institution (universities in my case). Sadly, university policy did not allow us to have volunteers for liability reasons. In fact, we could not have anyone other than a student or someone affiliated with the university assist us. As such, at least in the short-term I see your proposition working best for stand-alone or semi-autonomous archival institutions.

The question about allowing researchers and users into the back rooms is certainly provocative and will raise protests. One consideration that cannot be overlooked is that managing volunteers/users in this capacity will be time-consuming. It cant just happen without a change of roles in archival staff. Security is also an additional issue. Unfortunately things occasionally go missing when doors are opened wide - with rare or valued collections it seems this approach will not be accepted.

Despite these protestations I generally agree with you that a radical new approach needs to occur to make more materials both accessible but also findable. I fear that merely digitizing and putting something online people believe this is providing access. It must be findable. Is the low use of certain materials partly the result of poor description/ cataloging?

As libraries struggle to redefine themselves in the digital world and are consumed around questions of licensing the same books and journals, etc. Archives should be thrust into the spotlight. They are often largely made up of unique, primary source materials that exist no where else. Their content has always been valued as the engine behind new research, scholarship, and education and should drive new media productions and scholarly communication.

I also agree with you that there are masses of information that we will not digitize. However, I also believe that not everything needs or deserves the effort and expense to "survive" in a digital form. If we agree that we will not be able to digitize "everything" we must recognize the need to select. Despite protestations of "we have no right" the mere act of digitizing something is a subjective decision - one work has been chosen before another. I believe that there is an absence of discussion about what is being digitized. Who's history? Who's voices? In what order? What are we missing? Will our digitized histories be representative and relevant to our changing demographics 10 years from now?

The Center for the Future of Museums in a recent report proposed two considerations that I feel are important to note and can be transplanted to archives or cultural institutions in general (particularly in the US). The first might actually be applicable to some of your propositions.

1. With the aging population remaining more interested in continuing some form of work later in life museums/archives can position themselves as places of choice for this group. 2. Demographic shifts means that our archives must be relevant to the new multi-ethnic society both as users and supporters. It's safe to assume that they will looking to use online resources, be voting on local, state, and federal funding and we will be looking to cultivate new relationships of potential donors.

Regards,

David

Archiving Paradise: Moving Image Preservation in Hawaii

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:35:35 +0100

The current condition of Hawaiian film and moving image heritage is in a precarious state. Until recently, there was no institution that focused its effort on preserving moving image materials. With each new paradigm shift in media communication and technology, older formats are neglected, destroyed, or discarded. In the transition from film to videotape, a large amount of early Hawai’i film was neglected. Coupled with the tropical environment of high temperatures and humidity, the overwhelming majority of film materials have been lost. What is left is of paramount importance to preserve.

Similarly, despite the abundance of visitor and vacationers, who undoubtedly have snapped, filmed, and recorded the beautiful beaches and geography of these majestic islands, the Hawaiian voice and people’s history were traditionally overlooked or ignored. The filmmaker Esther Figueroa notes that Hawaiian (and Pacific Islands' in general) culture and traditions are as fragile as the ecological environments found on these islands… that they are “one of the most fragile cultures in the world”. As such, a systematic, well planned and executed archive whose mission is to preserve Hawaiian moving image and media heritage was needed to keep these traditions and voices alive.

This notion was not lost on Heather Giugni, a Hawaiian filmmaker who saw her own work and that of her colleagues disappearing. When an opportunity came to honor her late father she jumped at the chance of creating an archive in his name to care for Hawaii’s rich moving image heritage. She was able to secure funding for the first phase of the project and Chris Lee, Hollywood producer and founder of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii, was able to secure a home for the project at the University.

In the spring of 2009, I had the good fortune of being selected to consult on the new archive project in Hawaii, and to work with some very amazing, passionate, and incredible people. The report I produced was to be used as a blueprint for the establishment of a new moving image archive program. It is divided into three main parts (and can be found on the Henry Ku’ualoha Digital Archive website.

Part 1 – Describes the current status of audiovisual materials in Hawai’i. The section provides an overview of past practices and efforts of preservation. Part 2 ‐ outlines the considerations of starting and operating a moving image archive and an exploration into fundamental preservation issues. Part 3 – Describes important recommendations and implementations necessary for the creation of the Archive. The section offers archival systems and procedural suggestions, policies and procedures and estimated budgets.

Later that the year, I joined the HKG Digital Archive project for a 8-month period that initiated Phase 2 – a pilot project that would work with local media sources to preserve and put a collection online. The brutal winter this year in Boston made me wonder if I was mad to have left the Project. And while Phase 2 it is yet to be completed, there have been many accomplishments to be celebrated and concrete steps take to solidify the Archive and bring it to fruition.

Chief among the Project’s accomplishments have been to secure a long-term home for the archive at the new West Oahu campus. In addition, several staff have been hired, there has been a few formal acquisitions of large collections, and new equipment purchased. However, most importantly – the HKG Archive is gaining the respect and trust of those who create the media, those who have kept the materials that need preserving, and the larger community who has recognized the need for such an institution.

I look forward to the grand opening of the HKG Archive in the fall of 2012.

Slash and Burn: Archives, Libraries, PBS, Arts under fire

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:36:33 +0100

Jack Ohman cartoon, Oregonian

In general, I do not plan to blog on political issues. Nonetheless, I can foresee intersections where exceptions will be made. Issues pertaining to copyright is an area likely to qualify. Similarly, the current debate in the U.S. around debt and budget cuts is another. In the current environment the following mathematical equation seems to be accepted as law:

Debt – dismantling progressive programs = balanced budget

Don’t believe me? Take a look at these 70 programs slated to be cut. These include millions in dollars of funding for the arts, heating subsidies for poor households, and [unbelievable] the elimination of Wall Street reform laws. The Republican majority has passed cuts that target disproportionately programs they have traditionally opposed, and despite their promises of austerity have shown little appetite for paring back military spending.

Take action now

The previous list of cutbacks sadly list many worthy causes to choose from, I would like to focus on the following:

Public Broadcasting: Seems like their budgets are attacked and threatened every 6-7 years. Having worked closely with archival collections from public broadcasting I have seen firsthand the treasures created during the production of their programs. Go the the site 170 Million Americans to take action.

National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC): Great to see the Society of American Archivists taking a strong position and getting the message out to support this great granting organization. I worked with the organization preserving civil rights footage from the Eyes on the Prize series. I also worked as a reviewer for their grants which awarded the Bishop Museum a great to preserve rare Hawaiian language recordings. You can see what was funded in your state by going to the NHPRC site. Be sure to visit the SAA website to help stave off the devastating cuts (60%).

Revisiting Old Media Archives

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:09:33 +0100

Unpacking boxes the other day I came across a copy of my article 'Out of the Archive: Challenges and Opportunities for New Scholarly Access from Old Media Collections' published in the journal Black Camera just over a year ago. In the winter of 2009, I was just starting my position at the University of Hawaii and did not read the journal when it came out. Now that I am in Boston, I can reflect.

The journal is the first edition of the "new series" of the Black Camera, a partnership with the Indiana University Black Film Center/Archive and Indiana University Press.

The journal focuses on the black cinematic experience, but Editor and BFCA Director Michael T. Martin had asked me to contribute since it also provided a forum that included archival notes and profiles. He had recently sat through a presentation I made about the Henry Hampton Collection and the increased use of moving image materials for research, education and communication.

At that time I had seen the slow increase in use of the collections at Washington Universities Film & Media Archive. I strongly believed, and still do, that as new forms of publishing and scholarship change, including the increased use of audiovisual resources, media archives can situate themselves at the center of this change.

The abundance of primary source material in the collection, coupled with developments in new technology, offers the promise of transforming old media formats for use in new and exciting forms of research, education, and scholarly communication. However, collections such as the Hampton Collection are complex - in the kinds of materials it contains, physical formats, relationship to other materials, and of course copyrights. Much of this complexity acts as a disincentive. Similarly, the ambiguity or uncertainly of some copyright material often causes paralysis in an institution and casts a shadow over the rest of the collection.

I believe an additional barrier media archives often have to overcome is it's own medium. There has been centuries of scholarly tradition, research, and intellectual activities associated with the "book", "manuscripts" and "letters." The photograph and recorded sound (oral histories) are more recent, though now accepted mediums. Film and video was primarily (and still is) used for illustrative purposes. It is a great medium for educating "showing a clip in class" but at the bottom of the list for serous scholarship.

Nonetheless, there is change. Of particular interest to the new generation of scholars are the outtakes, interviews, and other materials created in the production process that did not make it into the final cut. These largely unknown and unused primary source documents are the raw materials necessary for new scholarship... thus making the old media relevant anew.

The Rise of the Digital Information Age

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 03:16:53 +0100

A Washington Post article I received from Nan Rubin through the AMIA listserv caught my attention last week. The article, a cursory level discussion of the Rise of the Digital Age provided a good snapshot of the enormous growth of digital information in comparison to older analog mediums. The graph is a particularly good illustration of this phenomenon.

The article introduces the term Exobytes to the "non-nerd" but more importantly, it touches upon some very real concerns surrounding the seemingly insatiable global appetite for all things digital.

Is it Worth Saving?

The author asks the question if everything we are storing is actually worth saving? And "what is the value of a silly cat video?" A Google search for silly cat videos yields over 10,000 hits (there are over 5,000 on Youtube alone). A closer look at the results show several of the cat videos as extremely popular - some with many millions of views. It also reveals that many videos are reposted and uploaded with exactly the same content. Is it really necessary to save and store over 5,000 silly cat videos? Or are sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr becoming the digital age family scrapbook?

While not intentional, the author harkens back to an early debate that raged within the archival community about the archivist’s role in the appraisal process. In 1956, T.R. Schellenberg published Modern Archives, a response to Sir Hilary Jenkinson’s belief that the archivist’s job was one of "keeper" and should not be involved the decision which records should be transferred to the archives for preservation. Schellenberg argued that with the overwhelming amount of records being created (largely a result of new mass reproduction technologies) it was necessary to put procedures in place to identify materials with appropriate value to select for the archive.

Today, current practice seems to take a laissez-faire approach to the Jenkenson model. The notion that - no one knows what value future researchers place on the materials so we should “just save it all.” Coupled with the real and perceived cost of cheap storage, much effort seem to be directed at how we can mine the mountains of data and little discussion about the real costs and consequences of saving "everything."

However we view the exebytes of data we are creating, it is undeniable that it is causing consequences. There is a huge increase in demand for energy. The "server farms" used to keep the massive stores of information suck down 1.5% of all U.S. electricity use. In 2007, they surpased energy consumption by color TVs.

The rapid changes in technology has also resulted in the growth of ewaste and is surging particularly in developing countries. With each new technical change there appears to be a steady increase in the digital divide between richer and poorer countries (see Mapping the Global Digital Divide). A recent Pew Hispanic Center report shows a significant gap growing between ethnic groups in the U.S.

The article closes with a comparison meant to humble the reader, noting that "the DNA in a single human body still stores far more energy - and a single human brain computes far more calculations - than all the technology on earth." However, far from humbling, it causes one to wonder why we can't uses the power of our calculations to make better choices. Maybe we need an upgrade.

Sustainable Preservation Practices (Day 2)

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:04:22 +0100

Sustainable Preservation Practices for Managing Storage Environments
Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University - October 28-29, 2010

Another full day of presentations and discussions. We began the day looking at how preservation environments use energy first looking at the variable components in a system (air handling fans, cooling/dehumidification, heating/reheating, humidification, and lighting). Next we looked at how we should best monitor and collected data and use IPI's metrics to analyze risk.

Kristin Smith walked us through a demonstration using IPI's PEMData Website. If you have not been on the site, I highly recommend it.If you have been using a PEM Monitor for your collection you can upload the data for evaluation. If not, there are datasets provided by the US National Oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA). There are also some good educational videos on understanding decay, hvac systems, and using metrics.

In the afternoon we discussed the need to have an Environmental Management Team (usually drawn from various units in your facility/institution). We wrapped up the session talking about planning issues and investigating opportunities for Energy Saving and Sustainable preservation.