This book critically examines the organization of knowledge as it is involved in matters of digital communication, the social, cultural and political consequences of classifying, and how particular historical contexts shape ideas of information and what information to classify and record. Due to permeation of digital infrastructures, software, and digital media in everyday life, many aspects of contemporary culture and society are infused with the activity and practice of classification. That means that old questions about classification have their potency in modern discourses about surveillance, identify formation, big data and so on. At the same time, this situation also implies a need to reconsider these old questions and how to frame them in digital culture. This book contains contributions that consider classic library classification practices and how their choices have social, cultural and political effect, how the organization of knowledge is not only a professional practice but is also a way of communicating and understanding digital culture, and how what a particular historical context perceives as information has implications for the recording of that information.
Jack Andersen is an associate professor, PhD, at the Royal School of Library and Information Science, University Copenhagen. Andersen’s research interests are centred on digital media, classification, and genre theory. Andersen has published several articles dealing with how to understand knowledge organization, scholarly literature, and information literacy from social theoretical, epistemological, and genre theoretical approaches. His recent edited volume, Genre Theory in Information Studies, explores different dimensions of genre in analyses of information. He is on the advisory board for the international research network, Genre Across Borders. In 2009-2013 Andersen served as vice-director and chair of department at the Royal School of Library and Information Science. He teaches courses on the theory of science, academic writing, media theory, and digital culture.
Laura Skouvig is associate professor in Information Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Her primary research interest is the field of information history focusing on the history of the information age and information society. She has published articles on information networks, surveillance and communication of information primarily in the period of late 18th and early 19th century. Theoretically she works with inspiration from Michel Foucault and rhetorical genre theory. She’s on the editorial boards of two international journals: library and information history and information and culture. She teaches courses on the theory of science and knowledge culture.
