Bensman SJ " Urquhart and probability: The transition from librarianship to library and information science" JASIST 56 (2). JAN 15 2005. p.189-214

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Addresses: notsjb at lsu.edu

TITLE:          Urquhart and probability: The transition from
                librarianship to library and information science (Article,
English)
AUTHOR:         Bensman, SJ
SOURCE:         JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE
                AND TECHNOLOGY 56 (2). JAN 15 2005. p.189-214 JOHN WILEY
                & SONS INC, HOBOKEN

ABSTRACT:       In this article, I analyze the role of Donald J. Urquhart
in the creation of modern library and information science. Urquhart was one
of the chief architects of information science in Britain and founder of the
National Lending Library for Science and Technology (NLL), which evolved
into the present-day British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC). In
particular, I focus on the part played by Urquhart in the development of
that branch of information science termed bibliometrics, the application of
mathematical and statistical techniques to information phenomena, pursuing
both historical and practical aims. The article is intended not only to
trace the history of the probability distributions applicable to library use
and other facets of human knowledge but also to demonstrate how these
distributions can be used in the evaluation and management of scientific
journal collections. For these purposes, the paper is divided into three
parts of equal importance. The first part is statistical and establishes the
theoretical framework, within which Urquhart's work is considered. It traces
the historical development of the applicable probability distributions,
discussing their origins on the European continent and how Continental
principles became incorporated in the biometric statistics that arose in
Britain as a result of the Darwinian revolution. This part analyzes the
binomial and Poisson processes, laying out the reasons why the Poisson
process is more suitable for modeling information phenomena. In doing so, it
describes key distributions arising from these processes as well as the
various tests for these distributions, citing the literature that shows how
to conduct these tests. Throughout the discussion, the relationship of these
distributions to library use and the laws of information science is-
emphasized. The second part of the article analyzes the pioneering role of
Urquhart as a conduit for the entry of these probability distributions into
librarianship, converting it into library and information science.
He was the first librarian to apply probability to library use, utilizing it
not only to establish and manage the scientific journal collections of the
NLL but also to evolve his Law of Supralibrary Use. Urquhart's work is
portrayed within the context of a general trend to adopt probabilistic
methods for analytical purposes, and a major premise of this article is that
his law and the probabilistic breakthrough, on which it was based, were most
likely in Britain. which was one of the few countries not only to develop
but also maintain the necessary scientific preconditions. The third-and
concluding section-discusses how Urquhart's Law forces a probabilistic
reconceptualization of the functioning of the scientific journal system as
well as the law's practical implications for journal sales, collection
evaluation and management, resource sharing, and the transition from the
paper to the electronic format.

AUTHOR ADDRESS: SJ Bensman, Louisiana State Univ, LSU Lib, Baton Rouge, LA
                70803 USA
Louisiana State Univ, LSU Lib, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA

Publisher: JOHN WILEY & SONS INC, 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN, NJ 07030 USA
Subject Category: COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS; INFORMATION SCIENCE
& LIBRARY SCIENCE

IDS Number: 890JU
ISSN: 1532-2882

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