Nr 3/4 1994

Torunn Pettersen
Librarianship, Culture and ethnicity. On Librarianship in small communities in the Nordic Region
The article treats a number of questions concerning the relationship between library and the surrounding community with the point of departure in the conditions of librarianship on the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Saamian land. Do libraries in these areas distinguish themselves from libraries in other parts of the world and what kind of competence do they demand of their staff?
    In june 94 a seminar was held on the Faroe Islands by the Royal Danish School of Librarianship and the National Library of the Faroe Islands on "The Library in a linqustically, geographically and economically limited envinronment". The author of the article draws connections between the discussions on the seminar and her own experience as head of the library at the Saamian High-school in Kautokeino in the Norwegian part of Saamian land.
    Librarians in the areas mentioned above face many of the same problems as librarians do in other parts of the world, but they have some specific problems due to their special situation. Firstly, they are placed in parts of the nordic national-states, characterized by people having another mother's tongue than the majority of the national state, secondly they have problems with infrastructure and communication caused by long distances or isolated by the sea and mountains. Like other libraries they are forced to make priorities, to make a useful organization, to secure a well-educated staff and to manage the scarce economic resources. But these tasks must also be adjusted to the specific linqustic, physical and not least social and political conditions in these communities, at the same time maintaining communication and co-operation with the rest of the world.
    The second part of the article treets the question: Is it possible to talk about Saamian library and Saamian librarianship? The author suggests, that one define the ethnicity of a library, in this case Saamian, by its attachment: to whom does it belong or by whom is it run, or by its collections or its users.
    It is difficult to say what kind of competence you need to work in a Saamian library. Of course, being Saamian is a qualification, but it must be combined with a good formal competence in librarianship in general. The best will undoubtedly be a kind of cocktail of both. This will be improved by the coming model for library-education at the University in Tromsø.

Vuokko Hirvonen
The Saamian literary Institution -
On the conditions for saamian litterature and saamian literary research
The Saamian people lives in the northern parts of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia, speaking appr. 10 different kinds of saamian language. The dominant language is the North Saamian language, which has been accepted as a common written language in the northern Saamian society crossing the national borders. In 1619 the first book in saamian language was published in Sweden and since then about 1000 titles have been published in saamian language. Most of the works are translations of titles, originally written in other languages. But from 1970 a growing part of the saamian fiction is written by saamian authors and supposed to be read in saamian.
    Scientific research in saamian literature is in its very beginning. Untill now most research has been done on linquistic problems, but alongside the growing possibilities to use the saamian language in public, in school, in art, in politics and so on, one can observe a growing interest in studying the saamian literature, its history.
    One must consider, however, whether the general theories and metode of literary studies are capable of showing the specific character of the saamian literature.
    Although conditions for the saamian authors and poets have been improved, much can still be better. An organization for saamian authors, SGS, was established in 1979 to work for better conditions for the authors writing in saamian. The small language-groups within the Nordic countries, saamian, greenlandic and Faereoan, can now nominate candidates for the Nordic Council's literary prize. Special committees for samian litterature have been appointed in connection with the new established parlaments for the saamian people in Sweden, Norway and Finland. A growing number of publishers are solely working with saamian publishing. But in order to improve the generel situation for saamian litterature, research in the use of saamian litterature is urgently needed.

Geir Vestheim
"Our Library-policy" -
The Norwegian Labour-movement and the Library-question in the nineteen-thirties
In the 1920s and 1930s the Norwegian labour movement was heavily engaged in educating and enlightening their own member masses to prepare them for participation in the political bodies within the movement itself and the constitutional political bodies of Norway. Actually this was a real enligthenment project - in the philosophical as well as the everyday meaning of the concept.
    This enlightment or popular educational project was primarily organised and carried out within the framework of a separate organisation for this purpose, Arbeidernes Oplysningsforbund (Educational League of the Labour Movement). Part of this popular educational programme was a series of small books and pamphlets on library policy, with special focus on public libraries.
    The public library policy worked out by the Labour Party and the Educational League of the Labour Movement was an integrated part of a more general enlightment and cultural policy advocated by the labour movement. In compliance with the ideological mainstreams of the Norwegian Labour Party in the 1930s, this library policy was left wing and characterised by marxist attitudes and rhetorics at the outset, but in the late 1 930s the left wing library policy was moderated by the Labour Party itself which from 1935 and for thirty years to come was in government position.
    The Public Library policy of the labour movement may be interpreted as a continuation of the popular enlightement project of the l9th. century but with stronger emphasis on collective freedom values than on individual rights.
    In the character of a rational category the library policy of the labour movement in Norway in the 1930s was a combination of a puposive, ideologically motivated rationality that intended to help elected representatives of the Labour Party to take part in debates and decision making on public library mattere, and a humanistic rationality mainly concerned with the intellectual and personal well-being of the citizen of the social democratic state.

Tord Høivik
The Open Space - An essay on the future of librarianship
The library we grew up with is rooted in industrial society. Librarians are now experiencing a crisis of identity because industrial society is in decline. We are moving towards a different form of social organization - a a society which some have called post-industrial. Librarians can regain identity by developing their role and functions within this new context.
    The essay is based on the premise that the current process of social change is massive and deep. It affects the nature of production, of work, of consumption, and of education. In post-industrial society, products are immaterial and symbolic. We consume meaning rather than physical matter. Work is concerned with creation and management of meaning. Information is not subsidiary to the "real" production of material goods. Information -in a wide sense - is the product itself. The physical component-paper , video cassettes, T-shirts and hard disks - becomes a mere substratum or container. We may call this society, and this form of production, semiotic.
    Traditionally, the main task of libraries has been the collection, storage and retrieval of printed documents - in modem parlance we might say the management of public information resources. In semiotic society, this task has moved from the periphery to the centre of value creation. Libraries can, in principle, respond in three main ways: (1) by sticking to their old tasks and accepting gradual decline; (2) by remaining in a reactive, low-profile role within the new world of information; (3) by developing innovatory, high-profile roles as knowledge managers and network navigators in the new context. The author favours the third option. 

Nr 2 1994

Helge Høivik
Knowledge organization and document: en evolutionary perspective
The notion of the printed document as the pillar of librarianship is no longer valid, in particular as a foundation for a theory of knowledge organization. This article proposes a linguistic approach where written language must be understood in its historical, i.e. evolutionary context. Main forms of human knowledge representation are summarized as procedural, episodic, mimetic, mythic and theoretical. Language is seen as a process of social exchange of utterances; a continuous circle of discourse. Within these circles, some utterances are mediated. Mediated circles of discourse contain loci for production, storage, retrieval, dissemination, display and consumption of text. Of prime importance today is the study of the storage and retrieval loci of electronically mediated text. Among the many evident advantages of these kinds of text, the possibility to address and activate several or all modes of human knowledge organization, is given importance. This might lead to the development of better storage- and retrieval systems.

Kjell Birger Hansen
Knowledge, a resource for development of business and society in Northern Norway -
will an institute for research and education in librarianship give a positive impact on the growth of the region?
During the last 10-15 years there have been a real growth in capacity of education at university level in Norway, and the Norwegian society is focusing on knowledge as a basic element of further development - especially in the rural districts. The University of Tromsø is planning an institute for research and education in librarianship. The possibility to implement information science, not only as part of an ordinary library education, but as an interesting and important subject in various educations for public and business professions, will be of importance for the future development of Northern Norway.

Helge Salvesen
Research Librarians within the University Library - Academic Staff for what Purpose?
Artikkelen tar opp spørsmål om arbeidsoppgaver, utfordringer, utdanningsveier og forskningskompetanse for universitetsbibliotekarene eller forskningsbibliotekarene. Det blir argumentert for at universitetsbibliotekene står overfor store utfordringer når det gjelder krav til dokumentasjons- og referansetjenester, i form av individuell veiledningstjeneste for forskere og studenter, organisert dokumentasjonsundervisningsager innenfor de enkelte fagstudier og i mer langsiktige tilretteleggingsoppgaver for forskning som krever utviklings- og forskningsinnsats i bibliotekene. Dette forutsetter at universitetsbibliotekarene har kompetanse for egen forskning og i forskningsformidling og at deres faglige profil og ansvar blir oppvurdert og at deres ansvarsområder begrenses til det faglig forsvarlige. Det blir også sterkt betont at et forskningsbibliotek er en organism som er avhengig av at alle ledd i systemet fungerer dersom helheten skal fungere. Aktuelle arbeidsoppgaver for universitetsbibliotekarer innenfor rammene av et universitetsbibliotek blir også diskutert. Det er alltid slik at bibliotekets nytte må vurderes av dets brukere, ikke av seg selv. Den brukerorienterte veiledningstjeneste blir trukket fram som særlig viktig for bibliotekets berettigelse. I tillegg til individuell veiledning blir organisert undervisning og langsiktig tilretteleggingsarbeid i form av biblioteksrelevante utviklings- og forskningsoppgaver poengtert.
    Infrastruktur har først og fremmest indirekte nytte. Å investere i bibliotek for et universitet må derfor lønne seg i den forstand at de pengene som brukes der, må gi bedre forrentning av investert studiekapital og forskningskapital enn å bruke de samme pengene på andre ting. Men forrentningen må vurderes i et langt tidsperspektiv. Nedskjæringer i infrastruktur vil på den andre sida først merkes etter en viss tid. Det nytter ikke å vanne avskårne blomster. Dersom rotsystemet er borte, dør plantene etter en stund uansett hvor mye de vannes. Infrastrukturen er universitetets rotsystem. Det blir også argumentert for at vitenskapelige samlinger og samlingspleie må få en renessanse i vitenskapen. Disse vil være identitets- og miljøskapende for institusjonen og de vil i seg selv være forskningsskapende og samtidig virke som limstoff i universitetenes iboende tendens til faglig pulverisering.
    En planlagt informasjons- eller dokumentasjonsutdanning ved Universitetet i Tromsø blir sett som en mulighet for å bygge opp et bibliotekfaglig forskningsmiljø i Norge, hvor også det faglige personalet ved forskningsbibliotekene blir trukket med. Et forskningsbaseret universitetsfag innenfor informasjons- eller dokumentasjonsvitenskap vil kunne bestå av tre elementer, en humanistisk basis hvor dokumentasjonsbegrepet og formidlingsaspektet stå sentralt. Hvilke mekanismer og strategier gjør seg gjeldende i bevaringsutvelgelse av dokumenterbar viten og hvilke muligheter har vi for å nå ut med denne viten? Faget må også ha en samfunnsvitenskapelig tilnærming hvor kunnskapsakkumulering ses som sosiologisk fenomen. Endelig må måter å lagre og gjenfinne informasjon innenfor dokumentasjonscentraler som bibliotek, arkiv og museer analyseres. Elektronisk dataregistrering vil her stå sentralt.
    Informasjons- eller dokumentasjonsforskning må åpne seg mot mange fag. Den må trekke til seg folk med bakgrunn i ulike vitenskaper, men som har som fellesnevner at de ønsker å profilere sin forskning mot bibliotek, informasjon og dokumentasjon. Det faglige personalet ved universitetsbibliotekene vil i framtida også stå overfor nye utfordringer fordi rammebetingelsene ved universitetene vil endre seg. Undervisningsformene vil bli mer projektorientert. Biblioteksbehovet vil bli større enn ved undervisningsformer med faste pensumlister og oversiktsforelesninger. Økt fjernundervisning vil stille store krav til desentraliserte bibliotektjenester. Universitetene blir tvunget til å satse mer på den faglige kompetanse ved sine bibliotek. God infrastruktur gir komparative fortrinn om å bli framtidas budsjettvinnere innenfor høgere utdanning og forskning

Selected parts of
Library research - a report for The Research Council of Norway, the section for humanities and social sciences
A committée was appointed by the research council of Norway to make a report evaluating the need for a special research-programme for library research in Norway. The committee concludes, that there are several good reasons for such a programme. Untill now, the library research in Norway has been very scattered and consisted of small projects with little coordination. Besides this, most of the work has been connected to very practical problems in the LIS-sector and lacked a more scientific base.
    The committée propose a programme lasting 8 years beginning with a number of research training scolarships to make it possible to have qualified candidates for a number of three years full research fellowships. The programme are also going to promote a network among LIS-researchers in Norway and abroad.
    The committée has not pointed out specific topics for the coming research, but have outlined some general themes and guidelines, which can be summarized as follows: From the perspective of society it can be interested to study libraries as centers for information, libraries as cultural institutions and lastly libraries as conserving institutions. Secondly, it can from the perspective of the LIS-sector in itself be worthwhile to make research in the exploitation and development of systems for knowledge organization., the development of LIS-organisztions, in library users and userneeds and lastly in the different conceptions of libraries and librarians. Thirdly it will in a more general perspective of research be an important task for the programme to stimulate the discussion of the theoretical foundations of library and information research and to promote a library research characterized by crossing the different disciplines and thus developing a interdisciplinary library research.

Niels Windfeld Lund
The art of Creating and Maintaining Environments for Library Studies.
A Report from a Nordic Workshop at the University of Tromsø, April 11th.-12th. 1994
On the occassion of the publication of the first volume of the Norwegian Journal of Library Research and the decision made by the University of Tromsø concerning a new library- and information science study programme at the University of Tromsø, a nordic workshop was held in Tromsø i April 1994 on the foundations and conditions for Library- and Informationscience (LIS) environments in the Nordic Countries. The workshop was organized around four themes: the history of the environments, the disciplinary profile, the relationship between research and education and networking and cooperation among LIS environments.
    A number of the pioneers from some of the smallest LIS-environments in the nordic countries were invited to tell about their experiences with developing LIS-environments under very different conditions. In the discussions of the workshop, it was emphazised, that you can't have a disciplinary profile formulated once for all, but you have to all the time to discuss it and make revisions corresponding to what people in the environment are actually interested in and both to what the LIS-sector in a broad sense demands of usefull knowledge and to the demands from the scientific world concerning meeting the normal scientific standards. In order to cope with these great challenges it was stressed by many speakers, that one needs a good network among the different LIS-environments within the country, but also abroad, not least with the other environments in the Nordic countries. To support this need a nordic yearbook for library, information and documentation studies, published in english, was founde at the workshop. At the end of the workshop, plans for a research programme on library research in Norway was presented by the chairman of the committée, which had made a report to The Research Council of Norway. (Substantial parts of the report is published in this wolume of the Norwegian Journal for Library Research).