Rachel Clarke

Formerly the cataloging librarian at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Rachel Ivy Clarke is currently an assistant professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Her research centers on the reconceptualization of librarianship as a design profession (rather than a scientific one) to facilitate the systematic, purposeful design of library services for the 21st century. She holds a BA in creative writing from California State University Long Beach, an MLIS from San Jose State University, and a PhD from the University of Washington.

The bulk of my current research focuses on reconceptualizing librarianship as a design profession rather than a scientific discipline. Design is a creative discipline that often seems magical and intimidating to outsiders. Yet design reflects unique ways of knowing and assessing knowledge, different from traditional science. My dissertation, “It’s Not Rocket Library Science: Design Epistemologies and American Librarianship” analyzes examples of artifacts created through American library history to argue that librarianship is truly a design discipline. Continuing work draws on the idea of critical design–the creation of provocative artifacts to challenge established assumptions–to reveal ways in which libraries can explicitly, rather than implicitly, demonstrate and empower the values that set them apart from other information service providers. I also explore ways of incorporating design epistemology into both formal and informal LIS education.