Reading libraries: An interpretive study of discursive practices in library architecture and the interactional construction of personal identity.

摘要

This dissertation presents an interpretive study of discursive practices in architecture and environmental design within the context of selected academic, public, and school libraries. Analysis and interpretation is approached from within a social constructionist perspective (Berger & Luckmann, 1966), particularly as it has been developed in communication theory (Mokros & Deetz, 1995; Mokros, Mullins, & Saracevic, 1995). A constitutive theory of communication recognizes the preeminence of communication in human affairs and sees the communicative event as the site of both meaning and identity construction. Within this framework, I seek first to show how library architecture and design may be viewed discursively. Foucault's (1972) theory and vocabulary of discursive formation are used to suggest that the library as a physical place is not merely a repository of materials, but is itself a socially constituted semiotic artifact, in which social and political values are embedded and through which they are reproduced. In the second part of this research I particularly wish to call attention to the ways in which physical elements help to create social environments, and to show how interaction between individuals and library "texts" contributes to the constitution of personal identity and to the construction of the meaningful identity of the "library" in the "eyes" of the individual. The work of Scheff (1990) offers a theoretical grounding for an exploration of "hypothetical" products and byproducts of these engagements. In this regard, I conclude by examining the implications of this dissertation for the development of theory, practice, and research in librarianship. In particular, the research offers planners an understanding of the "political" nature of design choices in the design of public spaces and makes suggestions for the creation of user-centered libraries.