The role and adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in librarianship have been important themes for discussion and research over many years – the extensive literature is evidence of that. One may thus ask the question: Why is a new critical approach relevant now? The editors address the rationale for this collection of essays on a “new critical approach” in the introduction to this book. Reasons include the rapid development in new technologies and the effect of these technologies on systems and on society as a whole. Furthermore, the editors believe that the grounds for critique need renewing.
The editors consider this volume as the second edition to a work entitled Critical Approaches to Information Technology in Librarianship: Foundations and Applications (1993). The first edition addressed the theme by sampling relevant disciplines. This volume highlights a series of broader theoretical approaches and traditions in which many of the old and new critical approaches are rooted.
The book is organised into two distinct yet interrelated parts. Part 1, entitled Foundations, explores technology‐related issues of concern to libraries, other types of institutions, individuals, and society as a whole. Chapter 1 provides a general overview of critical theory relating to technology. In Chapter 2 a closer look is taken at surveillance as a set of evolving practices and processes that are intimately bound up with various technological apparatuses. In Chapter 3 the author uses the perspective of autonomous Marxism to identify and unpack various elements of techno‐capital and its appropriation of the internet. Chapter 4 explores technologies, literacies and systems of education. Chapter 5, the final chapter of Part 1, provides a discussion of libraries, the law, information technologies and the reasons why libraries should care about larger theoretical concerns and perspectives.
Part 2 is entitled Applications and examines both macro‐ and micro‐level processes and effects surrounding information technology/library relationships and the implications of these relationships for libraries, librarians, users of libraries and LIS as a discipline. The first chapter of Part 2 (Chapter 6 of the book) explores longstanding understanding of the term “information technology” – a term often used incorrectly. Chapter 7 examines the elements of library work within modern capitalism. In Chapter 8 the author takes a detailed look at the current intersections among technology, gender and librarianship.
Chapter 9 reviews and offers critical commentary on the literature related to children and technology. The issues surrounding open source software (OSS) and the potential that it holds for libraries form the theme of Chapter 10. The authors of Chapter 11 respond to the ongoing concerns about the ability of information seekers to effectively employ library catalogues and web portals. The authors use regulation theory to examine longstanding information retrieval problems. Chapter 12 reviews the extensive literature on the topic of digital preservation. The volume concludes with a final chapter examining the ongoing need for librarianship to be critical of technology, and establishing again the need for a critical approach to ICTs in librarianship.
The contributing authors and editors are academics and researchers in the fields of information science, media studies, ICTs, education and librarianship. The authors mostly conducted reviews of recent published literature, although the coverage is by no means complete. Each chapter is followed by a list of references to the literature covered. Readers interested in pursuing particular themes and topics further should find these lists useful. Since the volume provides a wide‐ranging coverage of approaches and topics related to the broader theme and does not require consecutive reading of chapters, it is possible for the reader to conduct selective reading.
Although it may appear that this book is aimed at academics and researchers in the field of information and library science, as well as practising librarians, anyone with an interest in the impact of technologies on society should find a number of relevant chapters and passages in this volume. An example is Chapter 9 about children and information technology that should be of interest to parents and teachers.
