A Coherent Usable Whole

Several recent readings have changed my mind about something I had too casually dismissed. It concerns the problems of getting information into a coherent, usable whole. Good research librarians are sadly undervalued as are teachers of research methods. I, myself, prefer idiosyncratic skipping across bodies of knowledge and value eccentric serendipities, but I am not currently in active pursuit of much more than crafting some sense of community. Spartacus has described the Public Good Project as a network, and from what I’ve read of their work this means fulfilling a function similar to teams of investigative reporters. There are general skills as well as specializations. How people can learn these things and where they can find out more about what they’re looking to accomplish are skills that can be taught.

—J. Alva Scruggs

[ from a recent post ]

~ by tbarj on January 22, 2007.