The influence of the current context

Abstract:

The current context - political, economic, social and technological - is described and critiqued, particularly from the ideological point of view. Libraries have been modified mainly because of developments in these spheres, thus further emphasising the need for a radical shift in purpose and practice. The nature of 'profession' and 'discipline' is explored, and what this means for the theory and praxis of LIS.

Key words

professional context

information society

theory and praxis

profession

discipline

ideology

Context

The social and historical context in which librarians work has always influenced the ways in which their work is done, as it has the materials they deal with, and this era is no exception. We should remember that there is no immutable set of fixed principles for librarians: principles are determined by their prevailing social, cultural and technological contexts, which must constantly be reinterpreted (Cook and Schwartz, 2002). However, the role of librarians (and other information professionals), as we currently understand it, was established during the 19th and 20th centuries, and libraries are still languishing in a paradigm which was shaped by social events, institutions and practices that, by and large, no longer exist. Not only has technology changed significantly, but nearly every aspect of human lifestyle and understanding has as well, and, in particular, information problems have become increasingly complex. All societies are in a constant state of flux and change, although sometimes the change process can be more rapid, complex or total than at others. Constant environmental pressures on professions demand intellectual and practical realignment, so the current context bears investigation.

There are many reasons for social change, and entities or phenomena causing change may have their origin in one or more different spheres: environment, politics, economics, military, education, religion, science or technology. Reactions to change also differ: occasionally, change appears to be unavoidable and irresistible, although a more existentialist view suggests that we are free to create individual responses to events built on individual responsibility and authenticity, and therefore we can resist change if we so wish. In other words, there is a choice regarding the extent to which a change will be effected, the conditions under which the change will occur and the meanings that are constructed concerning the change and its purpose. Regardless of the cause or driver or extent of change, people nonetheless interpret entities and phenomena in certain ways which will determine a framework for the actions that will follow.

Abbott and the professional context

In 1988, Abbott undertook a study of LIS and the nature of contextual changes which could affect the discipline/profession (which he revisited in 1998). Three areas of context in particular, according to Abbott, demand responses from the discipline/profession.

One of these . [is] the context of larger social and cultural forces that sometimes transform whole areas of professional work as well as the rules of the game by which professions themselves are organized and structured. The second context is the context of other professions. Professional work is usually work contested by other environing professions . the third crucial context is the context of other ways of providing expertise. Expertise resides not only in individuals, as is the pattern with professionalism. Expertise can also reside in things and in organizations. (Abbott, 1998,pp.433-4)

Abbott's three contexts are interpreted here to mean the Information Society,1,2 the diversification, specialisation, fragmentation, collaboration and integration of the information professions, and ICTs and their engineers (computer scientists and other technologists) as systems of rival expertise.

What is a 'profession'?

A definition of 'profession' is necessary here for clarification. There is some elitism attached to a 'profession', and a great number of work groups choose to refer to themselves as 'professions' for that reason, although people are reluctant to call a car mechanic a 'professional' because it is felt to be inappropriate in terms of status and standing. This unwillingness, as Abbott (1988) has explained, is probably less to do with the actual characteristics of car mechanics as an intellectual discipline - conceptually, it is often very close to areas of medicine - than it does with the status of the work itself and those who do it.

Parsons names several core criteria which distinguish professional work from the work of other occupations, namely a 'requirement of formal technical training . giving prominence to an intellectual component'; the development of 'skills in some form of its use'; and the 'socially responsible uses' of the profession (Parsons, 1968, his italics). In order to develop this knowledge and skills base, professionals require extensive education which has a significant abstract intellectual component, and they should provide an important service to society. Among the various distinguishing criteria of a profession are: a core body of knowledge outlining and governing its practices, a social problem or need which the profession uses its knowledge base to deal with, and a degree of autonomy. Some definitions add characteristics such as a regulatory body, the existence of a professional association, standards of competence and university-level training.

A broad outline of the traits of a profession include the following: (1) it is a full-time occupation (amateurs might do the same thing as an avocation); (2) it is viewed loosely as a calling, that is, an occupation that places behavioral and ethical demands on the person who engages in it; (3) it is based on special, often esoteric, knowledge that usually involves training of exceptional duration; (4) it is regulated by a credentialing process usually administered by a peer organization and thus excludes those not so trained; (5) it is dedicated to the service of the community and is not intrinsically self-serving; (6) it allows professionals considerable autonomy as they exercise their own judgment and authority. In practice this leads to an elitist occupation. (Freidson, 1984, p. 2)

Abbott (1988, p. 8) defines professions as 'exclusive occupational groups applying somewhat abstract knowledge to particular cases', and he believes that a profession's strongest claim of jurisdiction over a problem is that its knowledge system is effective in the task domain. Hughes, for example, has stated that professionals

know better than others the nature of certain matters and know better than their clients what ails them or their affairs . professionals have the exclusive right to practice as a vocation the arts they profess to know. (Hughes, 1965, pp. 1-3)

Bayless (1988) distinguishes between 'scholarly' and 'consulting' professions and considers that 'scholarly professionals' usually work for a salary, are part of a department or institution, and works on tasks assigned by employers. Scientists, journalists, teachers, technicians and libraries are, in Bayless's view, this type of professional. 'Consulting professionals', on the other hand, act primarily for an individual client, providing a fee-based service. Consulting professionals are lawyers, doctors, architects and engineers.

Context 1: the information society

The various epithets that are most commonly used to describe contemporary society reflect the social transitions that have occurred largely because of the increase in availability of public education, the development of mass media and, most recently, the appearance of the Internet. The literature on the information society (or knowledge economy) is both vast and heterogenous, emanating from fields such as knowledge management, economics, sociology, cultural and media studies, education and policy development and even philosophy, and no attempt is made here to deal with the concept from all points of view.

The 'information society' concept was first mooted by the anthropologist and biologist Tadao Umesao. His work (On Knowledge Industries) was published in 1963 (as noted by Ito, 1989), when he postulated that the electronic and knowledge industries would be pivotal to a structural transformation of society, related to 'johaka shakai', a term indicating the highest stage of societal evolution. The Information Society metaphor suggests that 'a total social transformation is predicted; and secondly, this transformation is generally a good and progressive movement' (Lyon, 1988). While the phrase 'the information age' dates back to at least 1903 (Lubar, 1993), it is Daniel Bell (1974) who is most closely associated with the term 'post-industrial society'. Bell drew...