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Renowned author Paul Duguid will be at the UA to give a talk on Web 2.0 and the movement toward more open forms of information systems.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
February 22, 2008

Since its inception, the Internet has increasingly moved from being a closed system to one that is more open and democratic in form – but what does that mean for all of us?

Noted author and lecturer Paul Duguid will speak on the topic at The University of Arizona on March 6.

Duguid, this year's ISI Samuel Lazerow Memorial Lecture featured speaker, will present his lecture “Open or Closed” on what is driving Web 2.0 and the inclination toward more open systems.

Duguid, an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Information who also holds an appointment with the University of London, is a former consultant to the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

Web-based social networks, Wikipedia and business wikinomics, which represent is support of a movement from closed to open information systems, have received quite a bit of hype as well as criticism.

Yet Duguid said the existing struggle we see between those who want to make information system more accessible and those who want to keep them closed is not new, and it is also not entirely the result of new technologies.

He supports looking at earlier struggles over open or closed systems to explain what is happening today.

Duguid co-authored the book titled, "The Social LIfe of Information," which takes a look at the age of information and its technology-based advancements. He has also researched and written about such topics as how technology affects our social lives, how knowledge plays out in organizational structures and the role of branding.

The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science is one of few library schools selected nationally to host the prestigious ISI Samuel Lazerow Memorial Lectures.

The lecture series is sponsored by Thomson Scientific to honor Samuel Lazerow for his long and distinguished service to the library profession. Thomson Scientific provides integrated information solutions to researchers and librarians, physicians and pharmacists, and other professionals worldwide.