Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Transformative Spaces: The Library as Panopticon

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Transforming Digital Worlds (iConference 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 10766))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This paper seeks to describe and understand the nature of library experiences that both conjure immersion in different worlds, and yet relate to the physical spaces in which they occur. What does the library space make possible and what does it prohibit? Using Foucault’s account of panopticism to unpack layers of surveillance, docility and agency within library sites, this paper seeks to gain a richer understanding of panopticism and the library as a social institution. A discussion of Foucault’s panopticism is followed by the identification of areas where application of his concept might be useful to scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the experience of library users in their interaction and encounters with information interfaces, both interpersonal and technological.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Moran, C.: Alma mater. In: Gray, R. (ed.) The Library Book, pp. 91–94. Profile Books, London (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  2. King, S.: The library policeman. In: King, S. (ed.) Four Past Midnight. Signet, New York (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Radford, G.P., Radford, M.L., Lingel, J.: The library as heterotopia: Michel Foucault and the experience of library space. J. Doc. 71(6), 1265–1288 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Radford, G.P., Radford, M.L.: Libraries, librarians, and the discourse of fear. Libr. Q. 71(3), 299–329 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Foucault, M.: Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, New York (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Foucault, M.: Of other spaces. Diacritics 16(1), 22–27 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Anand, A.: Character building. In: Gray, R. (ed.) The Library Book, pp. 5–8. Profile Books, London (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Mellon, C.A.: Library anxiety: a grounded theory and its development. Coll. Res. Libr. 47(2), 160–165 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Jiao, Q.G., Bostick, S.L.: Library Anxiety: Theory, Research, and Applications. Scarecrow Press, Lanham (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Carlile, H.: The implications of library anxiety for academic reference services: a review of the literature. Aust. Acad. Res. Libr. 38(2), 129–147 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brunon-Ernst, A.: Beyond Foucault: New Perspectives on Bentham’s Panopticon. Ashgate, Burlington (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bentham, J.: The Panopticon Writings. Verso, New York (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Foucault, M.: The eye of power (Trans. by, C. Gordon). In: Gordon, C. (ed.) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977, pp. 146–165. Pantheon Books, New York (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Foucault, M.: The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception (Trans. by, A.M. Sheridan Smith). Vintage Books, New York (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Sheekey, N.: Librarian at the Harris-Manchester College of the University of Oxford, 17 March 2016

    Google Scholar 

  16. Radford, M.L., Radford, G.P.: Power, knowledge, and fear: Feminism, Foucault, and the stereotype of the female librarian. Libr. Q. 67(3), 250–266 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Douglas, M.: Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge, New York (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Eco, U.: De bibliotheca (Trans. by, A. McEwan). In: Hofer, C. (ed.) Libraries, pp. 7–14. Schirmer/Mosel, Munich (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hill, S.: A corner of St. James. In: Grey, R. (ed.) The Library Book, pp. 109–113. Profile Books, London (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Foucault, M.: The Fantasia of the library. In: Bouchard, D.F., Simon, S. (eds.) Michel Foucault: Language, Counter-Memory, Practice, pp. 87–109. Cornell University Press, Ithaca (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Makri, S., Blandford, A.: Coming across information serendipitously – Part 1: a process model. J. Doc. 68(5), 684–705 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Tynan, D.: Online behind bars: if internet access is a human right, should inmates have it. The Guardian (2016). https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/03/prison-internet-access-tablets-edovo-jpay

  23. Miller, S.: The banning of books in prisons: “It’s like living in the dark ages”. The Guardian (2016). https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/03/prison-internet-access-tablets-edovo-jpay

  24. Green, A.: Interview with a prison librarian. Ask a manager. http://www.askamanager.org/2015/10/interview-with-a-prison-librarian.htmlk

  25. Conrad, S.: Collection development and circulation policies in prison libraries: an exploratory survey of librarians in US correctional institutions. Libr. Q.: Inf. Commun. Policy 82(4), 407–427 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Lingel, J.: Occupy wall street and the myth of technological death of the library. First Monday 17(8) (2012)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ, USA

    Gary Paul Radford

  2. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Marie Louise Radford

  3. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

    Jessa Lingel

Authors
  1. Gary Paul Radford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marie Louise Radford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jessa Lingel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary Paul Radford .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Gobinda Chowdhury

  2. Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Julie McLeod

  3. University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Val Gillet

  4. University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Peter Willett

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Radford, G.P., Radford, M.L., Lingel, J. (2018). Transformative Spaces: The Library as Panopticon. In: Chowdhury, G., McLeod, J., Gillet, V., Willett, P. (eds) Transforming Digital Worlds. iConference 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10766. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78105-1_79

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78105-1_79

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78104-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78105-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation