Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How We Done It Good: Research Through Design As A Legitimate Methodology For Librarianship, Rachel Ivy Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

“How we done it good” publications—a genre concerning project-based approaches that describe how (and sometimes why) something was done—are often rebuked in the library research community for lacking traditional scientific validity, reliability, and generalizability. While scientific methodologies may be a common approach to research and inquiry, they are not the only methodological paradigms. This research posits that the “how we done it good” paradigm in librarianship reflects a valid and legitimate approach to research. By drawing on the concept of research through design, this study shows how these “how we done it good” projects reflect design methodologies which draw …

Data-Driven Music Score Approval Plans: Working With Data And Vendors To Get What You Need, Rachel Fox Von Swearingen

Libraries' and Librarians' Publications

Approval profiles for music scores are detailed plans that require local data analysis, assessment, and coordination between vendors and librarians. This panel will explore the process of developing, assessing, and editing approval criteria, with a focus on making evidence-based decisions.

Librarian experiences presented will include setting up an approval plan for the first time and adjusting an established approval plan with new criteria. Local data sources discussed include use data from circulation and interlibrary loan histories, institutional performance history from concert and recital programs, e-resource availability, and faculty input from surveys and interviews. The panel will also cover broader issues …

Toward A Design Epistemology For Librarianship, Rachel I. Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

The design of information tools and services is an integral component of librarianship, yet American librarianship has self-identified as a social science for more than 100 years. This paper suggests an alternative epistemological perspective to the scientific tradition in librarianship: design epistemology. The paper discusses key elements that comprise design epistemology and presents examples of manifestations of these elements in librarianship. Analysis reveals that librarianship has much in common with design epistemology, yet the field lacks explicit acknowledgement of design as a fundamental epistemological framework. The paper concludes with a call for reconceptualizing librarianship as a design discipline.