Dissertation Title: Design for Public Librarianship

PhD Candidate: Sandjar Kozubaev

Dissertation Committee:

Dr. Carl DiSalvo (Chair), School of Interactive Computing, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Tech

Dr. Nassim Parvin, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Tech

Dr. Chris Le Dantec, School of Interactive Computing, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Tech

Dr. Jay Bolter, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Tech

Dr. Stuart Candy, School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University.

Abstract

This doctoral thesis examines the present and futures of public librarians in the U.S. and the role this institution plays in community and civic life. The goal of the research is to answer the question: how might we design for public librarians? First, I propose to describe and explain public librarianship through the lens of infrastructures and infrastructuring to help illuminate the breadth and diversity of the work of librarians. In doing so, I also uncover insights about the politics and experience of futures, specifically that futures are socio-material and emerge at different scales through infrastructural relations. Second, I propose a series of design provocations and a set of scenarios that respond to those provocations to suggest opportunities for design that supports public librarianship as infrastructuring. The primary contribution of this work is to the study and practice of social design on the example of public librarianship. The secondary contribution is to the study and practice of futures.  

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