Reimagining the Library as a Technology: An Analysis of Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science within the Social Construction of Technology Framework

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Patrick L. Carr (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: S. R. Ranganathan's five laws of library science have long been a theoretical cornerstone of librarianship. This article draws on theories in the field of technology studies to advance the claim that the enduring relevance of the five laws is rooted in how they embrace the social construction of technology (SCOT) framework , which is based in the supposition that the actions of user communities shape a technology's meaning. After briefly discussing the five laws along with the central principles of the SCOT framework , the article analyzes how the laws map within the framework and also how the laws confound the claims of a competing theory of technology , technological determinism. The article advocates that librarians use the laws' SCOT-based principles as a guide to navigate through a period of transformative change.

Additional Information

Publication

Other

"Patrick L. Carr , ""Reimagining the Library as a Technology: An Analysis of Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science within the Social Construction of Technology Framework , "" The Library Quarterly 84 , no. 2 (April 2014): 152-164. https://doi.org/10.1086/675355"

Language: English

Date: 2014

Keywords

Library science, Social Construction of Technology framework, Technology, Library and information science, Social constructionism

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