From Gutenberg to the Global Information Infrastructure: Access to Information in the Networked World

Christine L. Borgman, Ph.D.

University of California, Los Angeles

Friday, 20 April 2000

8:30-9:00 Coffee and Doughnuts
9:00-10:30 Presentation

OCLC Auditorium
6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, OH 43017

Will the emerging global information infrastructure (GII) create a revolution in communication equivalent to that wrought by Gutenberg--or merely result in the evolutionary adaptation of existing behavior and institutions to new media? Will the GII improve access to information for all? Will it replace libraries and publishers? How can computers and information systems be made easier to use?

Christine Borgman draws on research and practice in areas such as computer science, library and information science, communications, information policy, and business, in order to address these questions. Her presentation, based on her recently published book, From Gutenberg to the Global Information Infrastructure: Access to Information in the Networked World, will focus on the present and future role of libraries in a global information infrastructure, set in the context of research on information technology-related behavior and policy. Additionally, she will touch on topics including the design and use of digital libraries; human and institutional aspects of electronic publishing; the cycle of creating, using, and seeking information; and the adoption and adaptation of information technologies.

Dr. Borgman is Professor at UCLA, where she holds the Presidential Chair in Information Studies. She is also Visiting Professor in the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University, England. Her teaching and research interests include digital libraries, human-computer interaction, electronic publishing, information seeking behavior, and scholarly communication and bibliometrics, as well as information technology policy in Central and Eastern Europe. She has lectured or conducted research in more than 20 countries. Dr. Borgman holds a B.A. in mathematics from Michigan State University, an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. in communication from Stanford University. Her doctoral research was partially funded by OCLC.