history of information

Much to my (pleasant) surprise, I was quite moved by my studies in LIS 508 (The History of Recorded Information). This course was not only unlike any other I had taken at the iSchool, but it was unlike any other course I had taken. Ever. Never before have I had such a visceral response to my study materials, classroom activities and the final projects of my classmates. This course was deeply personal in a way that no other LIS course could be – and I entered the course thinking that I might learn some things about archives…and little else. I have never been so delighted at being so very wrong!

Because of this, I was challenged to view intellectual pursuits in a more diverse manner. It isn’t just about textbooks and pedantic learning. Between the fascinating account of David Levy’s book, Scrolling Forward, to the tangible experiences of bookbinding and calligraphy and culminating in the construction of a project based on a document or artifact that has personal significance to me, I saw a side of information as an entity that has been completely taken for granted. After viewing the other final projects of my classmates, I saw the world around me (and the objects therein) through a completely different lens.

Everything has a history and if documents could speak, we could better understand the world around us and appreciate what has come before us. Not only was I able to appreciate existing documents for their staying power, but I was also able to appreciate the documents in which the lifespan is brief, due to accidental or disastrous means or purposefully whisked away at the touch of a delete button.

The experience of learning bookbinding impacted me in a most profound way.  I felt very connected to this ancient art and I found it inspirational and, ironically, so new to be participating in something so old. Additionally, the experience gave me a renewed appreciation for the book as an object of art, worthy of adoration and crafted with great care and I was moved to tears as I pieced each page together.

The final project for this course was to examine a document, or collection of documents, that has personal significance, to study and research. We were then to compile our research into a presentation in which we showcase the document or collection of documents and discuss their significance.

I decided to look at a collection of drawings, done by children in the town of Nagapattinam in the state of Tamilnadu in southeast India shortly after the Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami in December of 2004. These drawings were facilitated, and later collected, by my brother-in-law, Max Garcia, and his friend, Micah Rubin, during their travels in the area. The drawings were then loosely and crudely bound and gifted to my partner, Jillynn Garcia, who is a board-certified clinical Art Therapist. These heart-wrenching drawings tell a tale all their own as the power and emotion of the artist is revealed in the artistic rendering of each piece.

click here to view my reflection on this project

cataloging

The final assignment for LIS 531 (Cataloging) was to perform an evaluation and assessment of the Cerritos Public Library online catalog in Cerritos, California. Although I was very interested in information organization, I wouldn’t say that I had a natural aptitude for cataloging. However, I have always been a detail-oriented person and have been continually fascinated by the minutiae of things.

This assessment challenged me to consider the user experience with the Cerritos online catalog in ways that very few users could possibly imagine. I conducted many different types of random searches and documented my findings. I also compared the usability features of the Cerritos online catalog to that of my own local public library. This assignment enabled me to appreciate the importance of database architecture and allowed me to truly comprehend the importance of the user experience and how critical it is for the catalog designer to have a fine grasp of the information seeking behavior of the varied users and their needs within a public library system. But not only was this exercise enlightening in that respect, it was also helpful in facilitating my efforts to become a more proficient searcher.

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