{"title":"Bodies, Brains, and Machines: An Exploration of the Relationship between the Material and Affective States of Librarians and Information Systems","authors":"Stacy Allison-Cassin","doi":"10.1353/lib.2020.0009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This paper uses the idea of information networks and the ways librarian bodies are called to serve as a relay within information systems. The founding of librarianship as a profession in the Victorian period during a period of increased bureaucracy and mechanization has had a profound and far-reaching impact on the way women’s bodies and affective states are subsumed into information systems. The history of librarianship is read alongside Kittler’s analysis of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula as a story not about vampires but about office technology. The connection between women’s bodies and information processing is further traced through an analysis of the film Desk Set. The film is examined for the ways librarian bodies and affective states interact with computer technologies to show that women are encouraged to fully give over brains and bodies to serve as nodes along library information systems, in effect becoming cyborgs. Finally, contemporary issues around digital systems and affect are examined as a possible means to provide a bulwark against the complete surrender to capitalist information flows.","PeriodicalId":47175,"journal":{"name":"Library Trends","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/lib.2020.0009","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Library Trends","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2020.0009","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Abstract:This paper uses the idea of information networks and the ways librarian bodies are called to serve as a relay within information systems. The founding of librarianship as a profession in the Victorian period during a period of increased bureaucracy and mechanization has had a profound and far-reaching impact on the way women’s bodies and affective states are subsumed into information systems. The history of librarianship is read alongside Kittler’s analysis of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula as a story not about vampires but about office technology. The connection between women’s bodies and information processing is further traced through an analysis of the film Desk Set. The film is examined for the ways librarian bodies and affective states interact with computer technologies to show that women are encouraged to fully give over brains and bodies to serve as nodes along library information systems, in effect becoming cyborgs. Finally, contemporary issues around digital systems and affect are examined as a possible means to provide a bulwark against the complete surrender to capitalist information flows.
期刊介绍:
Library Trends, issued quarterly and edited by F. W. Lancaster, explores critical trends in professional librarianship, including practical applications, thorough analyses, and literature reviews. Both practicing librarians and educators use Library Trends as an essential tool in their professional development and continuing education. Each issue is devoted to a single aspect of professional activity or interest. In-depth, thoughtful articles explore important facets of the issue topic. Every year, Library Trends provides breadth, covering a wide variety of themes, from special libraries to emerging technologies. An invaluable resource to practicing librarians and educators, the journal is an important tool that is utilized for professional development and continuing education.