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Eros in the library: Considering the aesthetics of knowledge organization
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 April 2019
Abstract
Privileging the aesthetic aspects of knowledge organization through a feminist historical lens may open possibilities for reimagining a library's space. This paper reveals the history of a relatively unknown figure in the history of knowledge organization. I will suggest that we might regard Pamphila, a miscellanist who lived in Greece during the 1st century, as a ‘radical cataloguer’ who introduced a method associated with weaving and embroidery. Her organizational method privileged beauty and pleasure, along with historical accuracy and usefulness.
A version of this paper was presented as a keynote speech for the annual conference of ARLIS UK & Ireland in July 2018. The author would like to thank the coordinators for their hospitality and feedback.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Art Libraries Journal , Volume 44 , Special Issue 2: Critical Art Librarianship , April 2019 , pp. 67 - 71
- Copyright
- © ARLIS, 2019
References
1. The reference to Pamphila is supplied in the context an account of reference books, specifically Photius's Bibliotheca: ‘The Bibliotheca discusses many Hellenistic and Byzantine works that have since been lost, including a few books that could be reference works—a dictionary of dates by Phlegon of Tralles (second century CE) and the Historical Notes of Pamphila, a female scholar under the reign of Nero (first century CE).’ Blair, Ann, Too Much to Know: Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010), 23-24Google Scholar.
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20. Many thanks to Matt Wilson for his scholarship and conversations about drawing new lines using threads in the library space. Wilson, Matthew W., New Lines: Critical GIS and the Trouble of the Map (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2017)Google Scholar.