Democratic theory in library information science

: A recent article by Joseph Buschman regrets that democratic theory is an unfinished idea. The argument appears to assume an essential relationship between library information science (LIS) and democratic theory. Libraries services are important for undemocratic purposes also, and like other sociotechnical systems partake on the cultural context in which they are deployed. Sir: In his article "Democratic theory in Library Information Science: Toward an emendation" (August 2007, JASIST 58[10], pp. 1483-1496), Joseph Buschman notes that Thomas Jefferson in 1787 and James Madison in 1822 stressed the importance of newspapers and popular information for a liberal democratic government (p. 1483). He regrets that in Library Information Science (LIS) "democratic theory is an unfinished, truncated idea remaining at its Jeffersonian/Madisonian beginnings" (p. 1485), cites a wide range of authors as evidence of a chronic collective failure to develop "democratic theory&...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: JASIS
• Authors: Michael K. Buckland
• Keywords: Democratic Theory, JASIS 2008, Joseph Buschman, Library Information Science