School of Information
Management & Systems. Fall 2003.
142 Access to American Cultural Heritages.
M. Buckland.
Assignment 11: Interview.
Due Nov 17
Talk with someone active in relation to access to cultural heritage:
Librarian, museum manager, cultural attache, cultural or historical society
official, preservation activist, documentary movie maker, teacher,...
These people are typically very pleased to be interviewed. They work
with dedication and like it when someone shows an interest in what
they are doing and why.
Find out about that individual's values, motivation, priorities, and
sense of the political and economic issues being faced.
It makes sense to talk to some person who would be a useful source of
information about the topic of your portfolio, but that is not a requirement.
The benefit derived from an interview is greatly increased if you are well
prepared. The more you know about the topic of the interview the better.
Also the more you know about the background of the person interviewed the
better, although that may not be feasible. In addition, interviews should
not be hurried. Allow two hours and/or a repeat meeting. The key is to
listen carefully, which can be hard work. With older people and
busy professionals one usually has to schedule an appointment well in
advance.
In the past this assignment has worked out consistently better
than I had originally expected.
Send an e-mail note to the rest of the class with two paragraphs
-- one about the person you talked
with and the other a brief summary of what you learned -- to
is142@sims.berkeley.edu Also a written summary (approx. 2 pages
single-spaced) to me.
Feel free to add your own comments to your account of the interview.