Introduction to Documentation Studies: Complementary Studies of Documentation, Communication and Information

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Facet Publishing, 2024 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 208 pages

This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to documentation studies. It outlines the historical background of, and the theoretical foundation for a complementary approach to documentation issues and processes: not only in the context of academic study, but also in the practice of documentation in different parts of society.

What do a composer, a writer, a painter, a historian, a political activist, and a social agency office have in common? They all create documents to communicate and inform the world, making documentation a necessity for any human interaction in society. Through six case-studies, the book shows how a complementary analysis of the intertwined processes of documentation, communication, and information in any kind of human interaction can be conducted. It demonstrates the relationships between the agents involved, the means chosen and in which modes the resulting complexes of documents are created, regardless of the field.

The complementary analytical model and method is relevant not only for documentation, communication, and information scholars, but to a range of fields of research in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences/engineering and design.

Written by an expert in documentation, this book provides a solid theoretical and analytical framework for professionals in archives, libraries, and museums, and for all those who manage documents as part of their professional life in healthcare, transportation, education, production and trade.

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About the author (2024)

Niels Windfeld Lund born 1949 in Copenhagen, Denmark, became the first employee and full professor in Documentation Studies, University of Tromsų, Norway, in 1996 and was responsible for the initial development of Documentation Studies. From 1975 till 1988 Dr. Lund was associate professor at the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Denmark. Professor Lund has been Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, (2001 / 2005-06). In 2001 prof. Lund founded The Document Academy, an international network for documentation studies organizing annual DOCAM conferences. Lund has mainly done research on libraries, general document theory and documents in health care and the arts. In 2014, prof. Lund retired, but is still active as professor emeritus.