Is There a Text in This Library? History of the Book and Digital Continuity

An argument is made for integrating historical viewpoints in coursework that will prepare master's library science (MLS) students for digital librarianship. Several components of that approach are discussed in this essay. Their application in the classroom, which involved collaborative teaching using the Internet, is presented as well. This paper reveals how book historians may find new roles as interpreters of the transformation of the library, from a logocentric library, which traditionally provides a fixed physical framework within which texts are accessible to users, to a "soft" library delivered on distributed servers. The emergence of new modes of textual transmission, the changing concept of the text, and the need to create new social spaces in which texts are collected and used can benefit from an awareness of the production, distribution, and use of text in traditional media environments. For historians of books, libraries, and the library profession, it is of crucial importance to define what historians can bring to the identity of the field, what historical components of library and information studies (LIS) curricula should be maintained, and how historical perspectives may be conveyed effectively. At a time when book history has all but disappeared from library school programs, historians should re-examine what they can contribute to a better understanding of the new environments of textual transmission, the changing concept of the text, and the creation of social spaces in which texts are collected and used. This essay exemplifies how book historians in library and information science programs may respond to these needs. Implicitly, this essay argues for the importance of the study of production, distribution, and the cultural impact of texts for digital librarianship.