I wish I could feel it was so simply stated. I have Egan, Shera, and all
the others on my shelves too and ideas as well. It's not enough--- and does
not solve the larger problem of supportive faculty in cataloging topics.

Sure there is a long history and historical aspects especially are not
wanted in many programs these days. Many faculty saying they work in
"organization" but often times it is not what it says on paper or the
marketing brochures, or genuine research interests.

EDUCAT has also been sending back my messages, but I wont' take it
personally. :-)

Best, Karen

Karen Weaver, MLS
Adjunct Instructor Cataloging & Classification
The iSchool at Drexel
Philadelphia PA
email: [log in to unmask]

Electronic Resources Statistician
Duquesne University, Gumberg Library
Pittsburgh PA
email: [log in to unmask]



On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 8:10 PM, Richard Smiraglia <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Wow! EDUCAT is really mean; it made me make up a new subject line ....
>
> So I got several responses about a dissertation about Dorcas Fellows, and
> that's great. What I meant to say was:
>
> I have a thousand of these ideas every day. What if we had a school devoted
> to these questions? What if I had doctoral students who were interested in
> studying how we got here? Do you think FRBR sprang full blown from the head
> of Zeus? It is the logical outcome of the movement Otlet began (even if it
> is empirically flawed). And, then we have to ask, did Otlet begin that
> movement? Where did he get his idea? And so forth ....
>
> Today I was looking at Egan and Shera's Prolegomena for the first time in
> awhile. I had completely forgotten it opens with an engineering reference to
> "control" as something that regulates a machine. There's a whole
> dissertation! Where did that come from? What was happening at GLS, in
> Chicago, at UChicago, in the US, in the world at that moment that led two
> library professors to write about catalogs in engineering terms? And how is
> that on a trajectory with where we are now?
>
> Dorcas was a fascinating character, and an incredibly influential disciple
> of Dewey, and yet we know next to nothing about her. Why?
>
> So, for all of you who want PhD's in cataloging, to you I say find a
> professor with some good ideas and sign yourself up. And then enjoy the
> ride!
>
> Richard
>
> Richard P. Smiraglia, Professor
> Editor-in-Chief, Knowledge Organization
> Palmer School of Library and Information Science
> Long Island University
> 720 Northern Blvd.
> Brookville NY 11548 USA
> (516) 299-2174 voice
> (516) 299-4168 fax
> [log in to unmask]
>