How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story
Purpose – This paper aims to understand how a special library helped firefighters in Illinois navigate the digital revolution by evidencing the elements and forms of work that made its innovative services possible. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the history of a special library th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Digital Transformation and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-08-2022-0035/full/pdf |
| _version_ | 1797786246468075520 |
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| author | Claudia Grisales Bohorquez Lian Ruan Kate Williams |
| author_facet | Claudia Grisales Bohorquez Lian Ruan Kate Williams |
| author_sort | Claudia Grisales Bohorquez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – This paper aims to understand how a special library helped firefighters in Illinois navigate the digital revolution by evidencing the elements and forms of work that made its innovative services possible. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the history of a special library through a community informatics lens, drawing from sociomaterial perspectives to highlight forms of work often invisible in digital innovation. Data was collected through documentary revision, oral histories and semi-structured interviews. Deductive-inductive coding and constant comparative analysis was used in the analysis. Findings – A historical narrative of the library between 1990 and 2021 highlights three sociotechnical innovations that assisted firefighters through the digital revolution: the facilitated collection, the co-created collection and the inside-out library. To develop these innovations the library drew from institutional relations, personal relations, grants, labor, knowledge of firefighters and technology. Various forms of articulation work brought these elements together to create innovative services. Originality/value – The role of special libraries in addressing the digital divide has not been sufficiently detailed so far; this paper is a contribution in that direction. It also has practical value for professionals working in specialized libraries and information centers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:05:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bfd3a95a66d241419094f1fd42550f7d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2755-0761 2755-077X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:05:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Transformation and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-bfd3a95a66d241419094f1fd42550f7d2023-07-06T06:52:48ZengEmerald PublishingDigital Transformation and Society2755-07612755-077X2023-02-0121425910.1108/DTS-08-2022-0035How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics storyClaudia Grisales Bohorquez0Lian Ruan1Kate Williams2Informatics Programs, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USAIllinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USASchool of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USAPurpose – This paper aims to understand how a special library helped firefighters in Illinois navigate the digital revolution by evidencing the elements and forms of work that made its innovative services possible. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine the history of a special library through a community informatics lens, drawing from sociomaterial perspectives to highlight forms of work often invisible in digital innovation. Data was collected through documentary revision, oral histories and semi-structured interviews. Deductive-inductive coding and constant comparative analysis was used in the analysis. Findings – A historical narrative of the library between 1990 and 2021 highlights three sociotechnical innovations that assisted firefighters through the digital revolution: the facilitated collection, the co-created collection and the inside-out library. To develop these innovations the library drew from institutional relations, personal relations, grants, labor, knowledge of firefighters and technology. Various forms of articulation work brought these elements together to create innovative services. Originality/value – The role of special libraries in addressing the digital divide has not been sufficiently detailed so far; this paper is a contribution in that direction. It also has practical value for professionals working in specialized libraries and information centers.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-08-2022-0035/full/pdfCommunity informaticsFirefightingEmergency ResponseSpecial libraryInvisible work |
| spellingShingle | Claudia Grisales Bohorquez Lian Ruan Kate Williams How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story Digital Transformation and Society Community informatics Firefighting Emergency Response Special library Invisible work |
| title | How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story |
| title_full | How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story |
| title_fullStr | How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story |
| title_full_unstemmed | How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story |
| title_short | How librarians and firefighters built a special library in Champaign, Illinois, USA: a community informatics story |
| title_sort | how librarians and firefighters built a special library in champaign illinois usa a community informatics story |
| topic | Community informatics Firefighting Emergency Response Special library Invisible work |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DTS-08-2022-0035/full/pdf |
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