This unique text outlines the main scientific purpose and objective of the science of documentation and also describes the main skills for a documentalist in the 21st century.
This book is 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, both in everyday life and in professional contexts.
What do W.A. Mozart, Ernest Hemingway, Edvard Munch, Thorkild Kjærgaard, Martin Luther King Jr., the Social Security Agency and Tammy White have in common? They all created documents in order to communicate and inform the world of their music, literature, art, science, social security and personal life and business, all of interest for documentation studies.
Through seven case-studies, it is shown how a complementary analysis of the intertwined processes of documentation, communication and information in any kind of social situation can be conducted. They demonstrate how complex the relationships are between the agents involved, the means chosen to be used and in which modes, the resulting complex of documents are created no matter whether it is in the arts, public administration, politics or personal social media. The complementary analytical model and method has relevance not only for documentation, communication and information scholars in a narrow sense, but will be applicable to many different fields of research in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences/engineering and design.
This book provides a solid theoretical and analytical framework for anyone who deals with document management, both the professionals in archives, libraries and museums, and for all those who have to manage documents as part of their professional life in healthcare, transportation, education, production, trade etc.
Key topics covered include:
- Human life in a documentation perspective
- Documentation in theory
- Documentation: a conceptual history
- A complementary theory of documentation
- A model for documentation analysis
- Documentation in practice: 6 case studies
- Documentation in society
- The science and profession of documentation.
