I recently attended an Interesting presentation and discussion titled "Commodity Audience, Commodity Everything: The Social & Economic Production of Consumers". The room was filled with Media Studies scholars, and so the discussion portion of the presentation was dominated by MS theory. I was unfamiliar with the theorists they were discussing, but interested in both the tone and direction of the discussion (as and outsider), and inspired by what I think MS theory has a to offer LIS. Particularly in terms of examining the theoretical basis for some of the activities we (as librarians or information professionals) engage in.
For example, if corporations rely on consumer (and potential consumers') ability to utilize particular technological mediums to facilitate their (the corporations') ability to engage in direct marketing and increase the ability of consumers to impulse buy (ie. t-commerce), and thus feed the corporations' bottom line -- then, is the teaching of basic technological literacy (ie. a program to teach library patrons how to set up a Facebook account at a public library) making us complicit with a corporate agenda? How much of LIS professional activity becomes about educating/training docile consumers rather than critical thinkers?
Is it ethical to ignorantly offer programs without considering broader social implications of our actions? Are we performing a dis-service to our patrons in the guise of serving the public? Who really benefits?
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