In this history of indexes and indexing, Dennis Duncan offers a scholarly, but very readable, mix of information history, literature, information science, and the history of books and reading. To someone, like myself, whose ideas of indexes has revolved around the likes of Index Medicus and Chemical Abstracts, the ideas of satirical indexes, indexes as… Continue reading Indexes (and quite a bit besides), history of
Category: documents, books, libraries
Remembering Mr. Kemp: Gardening in a ‘book-making age’
I have a long-standing interest in the Victorian information environment, which is many ways still influences our own. In particular, I have been fascinated by how information-rich was the world of botany, horticulture and the design of parks and gardens in that period. Several of the leading garden designers were also prolific authors and editors,… Continue reading Remembering Mr. Kemp: Gardening in a ‘book-making age’
Everything old is new again
While reading the fifth, and latest, volume of Peter Ackroyd's splendid history of England, which deals with the Victorian age, I was struck by the extent to which the atmosphere of the late nineteenth-century nation, which Ackroyd captures so evocatively, mirrors our own troubled and anxious times. Whether or not the study of history allows… Continue reading Everything old is new again
“For its own sake and for his own personal joy”: Leonardo’s unpublished notebooks
Leonardo da Vinci is known for many things, but being a case study of one style of information behaviour is not usually among them. However, among the many other aspects of his life covered in Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography, this emerges clearly, particularly from a consideration of his voluminous production of notes and lists, many… Continue reading “For its own sake and for his own personal joy”: Leonardo’s unpublished notebooks
Byrhtferth’s diagram: microcosm and macrocosm
Among the many wonderful things on display at the recent Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition at the British Library was the intriguing image known as Byrhtferth's diagram. The version of the diagram on display was from the British Library's own manuscript collection (Harley MS3667). Although stunning, it is somewhat incomplete: St John's College, Oxford, has a slightly… Continue reading Byrhtferth’s diagram: microcosm and macrocosm
Physicist as librarian; Henri Poincaré’s intriguing metaphor
Among the new additions to Oxford University Press's admirable series of Very Short Introductions is a revised edition of J.L. Heilbron's VSI to the History of Physics. An interesting read in general, it raises one intriguing idea in particular; the metaphor of physicist as librarian. Libraries and documents feature throughout the book. Heilbron notes that… Continue reading Physicist as librarian; Henri Poincaré’s intriguing metaphor
In praise of speculative (or even science) fiction
I have always liked science fiction. This is not something that serious people usually want to admit to, though the perception that the genre is fit only for nerdy adolescents has diminished over recent years. There has been a growing, if somewhat reluctant, acceptance that the more thoughtful end of science fiction can be valuable… Continue reading In praise of speculative (or even science) fiction
Chemistry and its (information) history
It has often been said that chemistry was, and to an extent may still be, the most information-intensive of the sciences; see, for example, the article by Lyn Robinson and myself on chemical information literacy. This status is now challenged by molecular biology, with its 'Central Dogma' stating that information flows from DNA to RNA… Continue reading Chemistry and its (information) history
“The summary of the universe”: thoughts on Venice in the words of Peter Ackroyd
I visited Venice for the first time recently, and wanted to set down some impressions: partly on the nature of the city itself, partly on its history of collections, archives, printing, and recording knowledge. However, I found that these ideas were expressed more evocatively than I could ever manage by Peter Ackroyd in his 'Venice:… Continue reading “The summary of the universe”: thoughts on Venice in the words of Peter Ackroyd
Rocking documentation
There rolls the deep where grew the tree. O earth what changes hast thou seen! There where the long street roars hath been The stillness of the central sea. The hills are shadows and they flow From form to form and nothing stands; The melt like mists, the solid lands, Like clouds they shape themselves… Continue reading Rocking documentation
The Occasional Informationist 