Ciberespaço x Centro de Cálculo: em busca de parâmetros e procedimentos para a atuação das bibliotecas na era do conhecimento

Abstract

This study deals with the actor-network theory and stresses the concept of centres of calculation which is seen as an operator capable of showing the role that a library plays in the cyberspace. This concept uses the Janus' paradox to recover the history of the libraries by linking their past, present and future through the operations that put them in motion. The idea of cyberspace is discussed according to the assumptions of Pierre Lévy putting in relief a major problem which is inherent to the cybernetic medium itself and has to be faced by the libraries, i.e. the intermediators. In turn, the idea of centres of calculation is brought up since it allows to recover services that place a library in action in the cyberspace. An investigation in the network is done based on the elements that indicate that the libraries of the brazilian federal universities operate in the cybernetic medium. It is evident from an analylis of the operators identified in the evolution of these libraries that their traditional pratices have incorporated a process of continuous redefinition in response to technological changes in the fields of communication and information.