Toward a user-centric universe

donna Bair-Mundy, Ph.D.

Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm shifts

Earth

Sun

Too much observational data did not fit the model

Paradigm shifts

Librarians as priests and priestesses of the temple of knowledge

Arbiters of Truth, Beauty, and Reliable Information Resources

Paradigm shifts

Librarians as priests and priestesses of the temple of knowledge

We decide what the users really need

We decide which resources are quality sources of information to fulfill the user’s need

We provide those resourcesUse

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Paradigm shifts

User

Librarians as priests and priestesses of the temple of knowledge

Too much research data did not fit the model

Dervin’s description of new, emerging paradigm

Resistance to the Paradigm shift

Librarians as priests and priestesses of the temple of knowledge

How do we characterize this debate in terms of Dervin’s model?

Question:

What is the librarian’s role in the temple of knowledge?