Gary P. Radford

Structuralism, post‐structuralism, and the library: de Saussure and Foucault

Purpose – Explores the relevance of structuralism and post‐structuralism to the field of library and information science (LIS).Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a literature‐based conceptual analysis of the two philosophical movements, structuralism and post‐structuralism, as represented by the seminal figures of Ferdinand de Saussure and Michel Foucault.Findings – The principles of structuralism and post‐structuralism have significant implications for how the role of the modern library can and should be viewed.Originality/value – Provides insights into LIS by drawing on philosophical perspectives that are beyond the LIS literature.

The role of research methods in corporate communication

Posits that, while research is acknowledged by practitioners, a way of integrating the value of research methods into the day‐to‐day practice of corporate communications has not been found. Tests this by using appropriate research methodologies. Looks at the role of research and then examines research methods and corporate communication strategy. Concludes that communication is becoming a knowledge‐based profession, and the lines between corporate communication/public affairs disciplines are converging, therefore media relations, issues management, advertising and the rest of the disciplines will be more closely integrated.

On Virtual Face-Work: An Ethnography of Communication Approach to a Live Chat Reference Interaction

Erving Goffman’s theoretical framework and concept of face-work has the potential to greatly increase the understanding of interpersonal dynamics in computer-mediated communication realms. This research used an ethnography of communication approach and the concept of face-work to analyze the transcript of an interaction between a librarian and a library user in a Web-based virtual reference service environment. This highly goal-oriented interaction, even though it lacks the immediacy of face-to-face interaction, was found to be a rich source of face-work.

Public relations in a postmodern world

This article uses Holtzhausen’s dichotomy of public relation’s modernist principles and the public’s postmodern expectations as a means of framing a discussion of public relations in a postmodern world. The following questions are addressed: What does it mean to say that public relations is modernist and its public is postmodern? What are the implications of this dichotomy for the ways in which public relations practice and scholarship are spoken about and understood? Drawing upon the work of Jean-Francois Lyotard, Michel Foucault and Umberto Eco, it is argued that a postmodern perspective allows one to consider public relations as a narrative; that is, a way of talking about the world, the people in that world and public relations’ relationship with those people. The use of postmodernism here is intended to foreground the ways in which pubic relations is talked about, and the implications of these ways of talking.

Alternative libraries as discursive formations: reclaiming the voice of the deaccessioned book

Purpose – Deaccessioning, the deliberate culling, disposing, or selling of books from a collection, is one of the most controversial aspects of the collection development function of the library. This article aims to examine what can become of this universe of deaccessioned books through a consideration of two alternative libraries, or libraries‐which‐are‐not‐libraries. The existence of such alternative libraries allows one to address questions such as: Can the value of a deaccessioned book be reclaimed and, if so, how? Do these books continue to have a voice and, if so, what is it possible for that voice to say?Design/methodology/approach – The themes are explored through the work of Michel Foucault, in particular the analyses of statements and discursive formations found in his book, The Archaeology of Knowledge.Findings – Foucaults work is found to offer a means by which to conceptualize and describe the place and value of deaccessioned books as they are reclaimed by the alternative library.Originalit...

The library as heterotopia: Michel Foucault and the experience of library space

Purpose – Using Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopia as a guide, the purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of considering the library as place, and specifically as a place that has the “curious property of being in relation with all the other sites, but in such a way as to suspect, neutralize, or invent the set of relations that they happen to designate, mirror, or reflect” (Foucault, 1986a, p. 24). Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon a range of literary examples and from biographical accounts of authors such as Alan Bennett, Michel Foucault, and Umberto Eco to show how the library space operates as a heterotopia. Findings – The paper finds that drawing together the constructs of heterotopia and serendipity can enrich the understanding of how libraries are experienced as sites of play, creativity, and adventure. Originality/value – Foucault’s concept of heterotopia is offered as an original and useful frame that can account for the range of experiences and associations uni...

Slavoj Žižek, Rex Libris, and the Traumatic Real: Representations of the library and the librarian in a modern comic book series

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the work of philosopher Slavoj Žižek to gain insights into representations of the librarian and the library in contemporary popular culture. Design/methodology/approach – A psycho-analytic reading of the comic book series Rex Libris using Slavoj Žižek’s treatment of Jacques Lacan. Findings – Žižek’s approach can provide novel and previously unconsidered insights into the understanding of librarian stereotypes in particular and representations of the library in general. Research limitations/implications – This paper is limited to the representations of the librarian and the library in one comic book series. Its findings need to be generalized to representations in other forms of popular culture. Originality/value – As far as the authors know, this is the only paper that has applied the work of Žižek in the library and information science (LIS) literature. As such, not only are the insights into the representations of librarians and libraries important, this pap...

Transformative Spaces: The Library as Panopticon

This paper seeks to describe and understand the nature of library experiences that both conjure immersion in different worlds, and yet relate to the physical spaces in which they occur. What does the library space make possible and what does it prohibit? Using Foucault’s account of panopticism to unpack layers of surveillance, docility and agency within library sites, this paper seeks to gain a richer understanding of panopticism and the library as a social institution. A discussion of Foucault’s panopticism is followed by the identification of areas where application of his concept might be useful to scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the experience of library users in their interaction and encounters with information interfaces, both interpersonal and technological.

Engaging at the margins: Theoretical and philosophical approaches to social justice: Engaging at the Margins: Theoretical and Philosophical Approaches to Social Justice

This interactive panel demonstrates how critical, interdisciplinary theoretical and philosophical approaches outside the field of library and information science (LIS) can foster new ways of thinking about the concept of social justice. The panel consists of four researchers whose scholarship connects to these approaches. The following areas will be discussed: extending the philosophy of justice‐as‐fairness using the work of Amartya Sen, employing Umberto Ecos theoretical approach of semiotics to critique contemporary LIS practices and ideologies and adopting an information practices approach to highlight the importance of sociocultural context, embodiment and unsanctioned resources among those with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) identities.