Cultural mediation in libraries: conceptual contributions

Author(s)

Alessandro Rasteli

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Marília. 2019-04-10.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências. Marília
• Defense date: 2019-03-21
• Advisor: Rosângela Formentini Caldas

Abstract

The debates about cultural mediation in Information Science in Brazil emerged at the beginning of the 21st century. However, in the context of libraries, there are few publications about their cultural function. In Brazil, the research gap on the theme related to the library can be attributed to a concentration of studies on cultural mediation in museums, art exhibitions and in the pedagogical area, so that there are many activities involved in cultural mediation, its conceptual landscape and the mediation in different situations and places is still new and thirsty for research and reflection. When talking about cultural mediation, it is taken into account that it is a complex area, transdisciplinary, requiring investigations and should be better conceived in the conceptual plane. Existing publications do not deepen the scientific status of cultural mediation in libraries. In view of this, the general objective of research was the construction of a concept for cultural mediation in libraries based on Information Science. To carry out a retrospective on the society and libraries in Brazil: beginnings and evolution; describe the perspectives around the concept of culture and information, highlighting the relationship between culture and information; explore the cultural function of libraries, observing the perspectives of cultural animation and cultural action; investigate the modes of cultural activities in libraries; to verify the conceptual perspectives on cultural mediation in the literature of Information Science in Brazil and in France. The research has a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive approach, adopting the methods of bibliographic research and field research, using content analysis as a procedure for the analysis of the data collected. The established categories of analysis sought to cover and follow the path of knowledge produced on cultural mediation in the contexts of Brazil and France. The Brazilian researchers involved with the subject of cultural mediation were delimited as research universe; the Group of Studies and Interdisciplinary Research in Information and Communication (GÉRiiCO), the Bibliothèque Municipale de Lille, French librarians and databases related to the research theme. The results of the analysis of content by categories together with the results of the bibliographical research and the field research gave grounds for the contribution of a concept of cultural mediation in libraries. As a result, the research identified conceptual perspectives that enabled collaboration in the construction of a concept of cultural mediation in libraries. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/22142-7 - Cultural mediation in libraries: conceptual contributions
• Grantee: Alessandro Rasteli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate