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

Stephen J Bensman notsjb at LSU.EDU
Tue Feb 22 09:05:45 EST 2005


I have a life--a very good life.  It is you that should perhaps get a life.
I happen to take myself with a large grain of salt.  You obviously don't.
-- SB






Joan Kolias <kolias at MIT.EDU>@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU> on 02/22/2005 07:47:33 AM

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

Get a Life!

At 02:15 PM 2/21/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>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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Joan M. Kolias
Metadata and Reporting Analyst
MIT Libraries
E25-131
kolias at mit.edu
voice:  617 253 0633



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