Jesse Shera, Sociologist of Knowledge?

Throughout his career, Jesse Shera suggested that social epistemology (SE) could provide librarianship with the intellectual basis it needed to evolve. While he spoke of social epistemology on a number of occasions, he did not articulate a completely clear and consistent idea of SE. Given an emphasis on knowledge today, it may be time to revisit Shera' s writing on SE. What emerges is a fuzzy conception of knowledge and an approach that is more sociological than philosophical in nature. Shera's sociological grounding has helped establish a foundation for the profession, but the foundation can be strengthened by the addition of a more strictly epistemological component.