Dissertation
To our health: a case study of archivists' information work and information practices at history of medicine collections in Philadelphia
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Nov 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000904
Abstract
Work archivists do to make collections broadly accessible is critical to the use of unique evidential primary sources in repositories. Use of primary sources in interdisciplinary research contributes to information science and its role in global health and sustainability practices, yet scant research investigates archivists' role in this information-intensive work. My qualitative case study in the naturalistic paradigm is the first to study the complex social phenomenon of archivists' work from the perspective of persons doing this work at history of medicine collections in Philadelphia. It is among the first to bring to the archival context sensitizing concepts grounded in LIS literature on human information behavior, information practice, information work, and communities of practice. Two research questions explore archivists' work: "How do archivists produce and put information to use through information work and information practices at medical history collections in Philadelphia?", and "How can a theoretical framework based on sensitizing concepts in information practice, information work, and communities of practice literature refine analysis of archivists' production and use of information through information work?". The theoretical framework's four components outline four distinct yet interrelated work contexts to analyze behind-the-scenes work of processing and curation as well as the visible work of reference services and outreach. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques recruited eleven informants at six of Philadelphia's ten special collections registered in the National Library of Medicine Directory of History of Medicine Collections. Data collection bracketed six months before and after COVID-19 onset in Philadelphia and included semi-structured interviews, analytic memos, and empirical documentation. Data analysis indebted to constructivist grounded theory relied on a human instrument, emergent design, the constant comparison method, and inductive reasoning. Trustworthiness criteria and measures mitigating bias ensued from project onset. Findings demonstrate that participants put information to use through trajectories of layered information work. In conclusion, the sensitizing concepts elucidate participants' personal and professional agency in embodied and affective information work. Archivists' work is a form of collections use and an information practice that underlies discovery and access to primary sources. Implications concern recognition of archivists' information practices as part of archival and information science research.
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Details
- Title
- To our health
- Creators
- Deborah A. Garwood
- Contributors
- Alexander H. Poole (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xi, 369 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Information Science (Informatics) (2013-2026); College of Computing and Informatics (2013-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991016457358204721