Neutrality at the Core of Information Services
Librarianship, indexing, and abstracting all provide information services — the driving purpose behind those three tasks are to unite people with the information they seek in as simple and timely a manner as possible.*
Librarianship
The foundational principles of librarianship as we know it, are Ranganathan’s Five Laws. Published in 1931 by S.R. Ranganathan, they are as relevant today as they were then, and are widely taught in Library and Information Science programs:
Ranganathan’s 5 Laws of Library Science
Books are for use.
Every reader his/her book.
Every book its reader.
Save the time of the reader.
The library is a growing organism.
The public library, as we know it today in the United States, has its roots in historical chautauquas where people would gather to discuss and learn about current events and other relevant societal or scientific developments.
Similarly, Benjamin Franklin founded the Library Company of Philadelphia:
Founding father Benjamin Franklin knew better than most the benefits of self-education. In 1727, he established the Philadelphia-based discussion group known as the Junto, which sought “mutual improvement” through intellectual dialogue. Yet while Franklin enjoyed the Junto’s spirited—and secret—debates on matters moral and scientific, he became convinced that the group needed an authoritative library to referee basic facts.
Having a core principle of information access and dissemination, the true purpose of modern librarianship is to ensure that all members of the community have access to information resources that are pertinent to their own needs.
Indexing
The purpose of indexing is not to interpret or make quality judgments, it is to provide a logical map of the text that readers may use to find information they are looking for within the document being indexed.
Essentially, the purpose of an index is to serve as a signpost; to provide a logical presentation of information that is loyal to the text, so that readers may know where to look, to find the specific information they seek.
Abstracting
In his book, F.W. Lancaster** takes an in-depth look at abstracting, its functions, styles, and methodology. But, specifically, what he writes about the purpose of abstracting, on page 104, is especially relevant to the importance of accurately reflecting the content of the text [emphasis is my own]:
“Many different purposes could be mentioned. First and foremost, perhaps, abstracts facilitate selection. That is, they help the reader decide whether a particular item is likely to be of interest or not.”
He goes on,
“In some cases, too, a good informative abstract may actually substitute for the reading of an item that is of interest to the user. Abstracts are particularly useful in illuminating the content of items written in languages unfamiliar to a particular reader.”
In short, the purpose of indexing and abstracting, like librarianship, is not to interpret or judge information but to enable efficient information access and retrieval.
*In July 2023, I published a similar Blog (and Substack) post, on the similarities between indexing and abstracting work: Information Access: Indexing & Abstracting
**Lancaster, F.W. “Indexing and Abstracting in Theory and Practice,” 3rd Edition, University of Illinois GSLIS, Champaign, IL, 2003.
