Blogpost 2

Second week of research

This week I had a lot more success with my research than last week, although I was still quite taken aback at how some of my research progressed. As I mentioned last week, the plan this week was to collect resources I had reserved and also ask a reference librarian for help. Unfortunately, although the online systems didn’t seem to show this, most of the resources I reserved are on loan and aren’t due back until about 21^st September, so I have to patiently wait. I think someone else must be researching a similar topic to me. I was also shocked to find out that many of the items are listed as “not been seen since …” and locating them is becoming quite difficult. However I did manage to borrow a few resources which I had fun going through. The most useful text seem to be Junior non-fiction books but they still contain a fair bit of useful information, just not quite as in-depth as I had hoped for. The information and dates are a good starting point though.

My reference interview wasn’t quite so successful. In fact I came away without any extra information or resources at all. The library was quite busy and the one reference librarian did seem quite flustered but wasn’t interested in me or my query and didn’t use any of the skills we have been learning about. The only benefit was that she reserved a book for me, however by the time she got around to ringing the other branch to get it put aside for me; someone else had already borrowed it, so I am now waiting for that book too. I have learnt now though that I need to be more forceful in the way I request things if the person I am talking to is not paying enough attention to my request and needs and I have also learnt how it feels to receive such bad customer service in a library which I can draw on when on the other side of the desk.

How did humans communicate before printing?

From the resources I did borrow, I managed to more accurately pinpoint the dates and terms I was after. This means I can be more accurate in my online searching and easily find reputable sites on the topics I’m after, avoiding things such as stamp art and screen printing.

This week I decided to concentrate mostly on pre-printing days. In other words how did humans communicate before printing presses were invented? This is a massive and extremely interesting topic in itself and spans across thousands of years with the beginning of hundreds of languages and ways of writing them. However there are several stand out progressions that I plan to focus on such as:

·         Sumerian writing in 3,500BC – Clay tablets

·         First quill pens used 500BC

·         Paper created in China 105AD

·         Codex books replaced scrolls 400AD

·         Block printing developed in China 868AD

·         Movable type printing invented in China 1040AD

(Ganeri 1995, p.28)

Slave treaty tablet

"Treaty c.1480BC for fugitive slaves. Clay cuneiform tablet." (Wikimedia Commons 2011) – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASlave_treaty_tablet.jpg .

Cite

Ganeri, A 1995, From reed pen to word processor: the story of writing and printing, Signs of the times, Evan Brothers Limited, London.

Graham, I 2000, Books and newspapers, Communications close up, Evan Brothers Limited, London.

Green, D 2004, The serendipity machine: a voyage of discovery through the unexpected world of computers, Allen & Unwin, NSW.

Oxlade, C 2011, The computer, Tales of invention, Raintree, London.

Tinney, S 1998, ‘Texts, tablets, and teaching’, Expedition, vol. 40, no. 2, p. 40, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 September 2012.

Wikimedia Commons 2011, ‘Slave treaty tablet’ [image], File: Slave treaty tablet, Wikimedia Commons, viewed 10 September 2012 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASlave_treaty_tablet.jp.

Blogpost 1

Research Plan

The history of libraries, books and communication is such a vast and interesting subject that I found it difficult to narrow down to just one topic. However, I have decided that the aspect I think will be the most interesting and valuable for me to research at this time is “The development and consequences of printing”.

I have chosen the fascinating topic of printing as I am intrigued by the amazing progress that has been made, in such a relative short amount of time, from cave drawings to web 2.0 with comparatively few steps in between. Whilst I will be mostly focusing on printing itself, I believe it will also be important to look at the communication methods used prior to printing so as to get a full understanding of its progression and development, and then also look at what followed so as to evaluate the consequences.

Although the results may take me elsewhere, the key points I initially plan to research are:

1. How did humans communicate before printing?

2. When and where was printing developed?

3. How did the development come about?

4. Who was responsible for making printing so widespread?

5. How long did it take for printing to be phased in?

6. How did printing change the ways of libraries, books and communication?

7. Where would we be today without the discovery of printing?

8. How has printing changed since its first use?

9. Does the art of printing still have a future in the modern world?

My research will probably lead me down many paths, but my main steps will be:

1. Search the Swinburne online library catalogue and databases

2. Search the online catalogues and databases of several council libraries such as Glen Eria and Boroondara

3. Search the National Library of Australia website, including TROVE

4. Search for reputable websites on the Internet

5. Visit a library and speak to a reference librarian

6. Talk to friends and fellow students about their knowledge of printing and information on the topic

Whilst completing this research and sifting through whatever information I find, I will continue to reassess my initial topic, points and search strategies to improve my final outcome. All the while I will create a blog to present both my end results and a weekly update, over the next 6 weeks, of my strategies and discoveries along the way. I am quite excited to both research the topic and reveal my findings.

 

Research  to date

I have found it a little harder than I was expecting to accurately pinpoint the exact information I am after using the internet. This is mostly due, I believe, to there being so many forms of printing and also that I am only wanting to use reputable sites. This means that I have to sift through quite a few pages that either have nothing to do with what I am looking for or the information I have found may not be completely correct.

To help tackle this, I have searched the online catalogues of several local libraries and reserved quite a few resources at each that I believe will have lots of useful information. From this information I can then also narrow my search criteria more accurately using correct terms and hopefully have better luck researching online. I will then also start searching the online databases using the same criteria.

When my reserves are ready to be picked up, I will also speak to reference librarians at each library and see if they can come up with any other resources or search techniques that I haven't yet tried or thought of. I am currently in the process of making a list of questions to help the interview go smoothly.

The one piece of information that all my research seems to agree with is that Johannes Gutenberg played a major role in the development of printing throughout Europe in the mid to late 1430's with a moving type printing press. I am yet to lock down the exact details and dates as there are quite a few variations. However several sites, including Encyclopaedia Britannica, display the following picture, entitled Gutenberg, Johannes: in his workshop, as "An artist's visualization of Johannes Gutenberg in his workshop, showing his first proof sheet".

 

 An artist’s visualization of Johannes Gutenberg in his workshop, showing his first proof sheet

What it probably looked like in Gutenberg’s workshop (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2012 (d)) – http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249878/Johannes-Gutenberg

Cite

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2012 (d), 'Gutenberg, Johannes: in his workshop' [image], Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, viewed 4 September 2012,
ttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249878/Johannes-Gutenberg .