Summer+2006+Q3+Response

Summer 2006 Question #3
B. C. (Bertram) Brookes proclaimed the basis of librarianship to be bibliographic. Michael Gorman has insisted that bibliographic control is the heart of the information professions. Michael Buckland has asserted that access to information is the central and defining principle of library and information science.

In a sense, the core knowledge of the information fields can be understood as focusing on access to information. First, demonstrate that you understand this central feature of the field. Then, identify three major components, or facets, of the concept "access to information" and describe their significance to the provision of access to information.

[|ALA Equity of Access]


 * Access to information objects**


 * Intellectual access: find, identify, and select a work through information retrieval systems based on needs.
 * Physical access: select and obtain a copy of the information-bearing item.


 * Rules of bibliographic control**


 * Identifying all types of information objects as they are made available.
 * Identifying works contained within information objects or parts of them.
 * Systematically pulling together these information objects into collections and depositories.
 * Producing lists of information objects prepared according to standard rules of citation.
 * Providing name, title, subject and other useful access points.
 * Providing means of locating object.

Providing access to information is the foundation of our role as librarians. We do this by:
 * Acquiring resources (physical and digital) for our patrons to freely use
 * Assigning appropriate and precise metadata to items for increased searchability
 * Providing information literacy sessions/tutorials to teach patrons how to access information on their own

Components/Facets:
 * Full-text indexing/searching
 * Allows for simple keyword searching
 * Gives access to the entire document, not just a snippet or a bib record representing it
 * Utilized by internet search engines for millions of documents
 * Professional assignment of formal subject headings/controlled vocabulary
 * Controlled, universal system of assigning subjects to items
 * Precise insight to what the item contains enabling quick evaluation of the item’s usefulness
 * No need for looking up all possible words/phrases representing a concept – the controlled vocabulary chooses one and cross-references the rest to that one
 * Folksonomies/social tagging
 * Gets user involved in the creation of access
 * Encourages community and collaboration amongst users
 * Brings to light subjects/keywords that one may never have thought of, thus increasing access to the broader population