Book’s materiality: mapping and thematic visualization in the information science literature

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The book is a symbolic object or a “semiophore”, which denotes its condition of being “beyond information”, involving, in addition, materiality and institutionality.

Objective:

To map authors, works and themes related or tangent to the subject “book’s materiality” in the scope of information science.

Methodology:

A mapping of the thematic coverage was carried out in national and international databases, then, the texts identified were analyzed and visualized using Voyant Tools tool.

Results:

100 documents that covered the period between 1996 and 2020 were analyzed, with the highest occurrence of publication of book’s materiality thematic in the years of 2016, 2017 and 2018. In terms of terminology, expressions that lead to the understanding of the book as a documentary and symbolic support that contains information, stand out, and can compose collections in institutions worried with social memory, as is the case of libraries. The journals that most publish articles on the subject were Encontros Bibli and Journal of Documentation, and the databases that index the most journals that address the topic were BRAPCI and Library and Information Science Abstracts.

Conclusion:

The book’s materiality theme establishes a bridge between the breadth of the “materiality” concept and a relationship between book and document. The book - when studied based on the multidimensionality of materiality, whether expressed in analog or digital environment - constitutes itself as a symbolic object in addition to being conceived as a mere source of information.

KEYWORDS
Materiality; Book; Document; Information Science; Digital humanities; Voyant tools