Historical Nodes of Inquiry Historical Nodes of Inquiry University Education and University Education and

Technological Tectonic ShiftsTechnological Tectonic Shifts

Ned FieldenLibrarianSan Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco, California, USAfielden@sfsu.edu

http://online.sfsu.edu/~fielden/cam

Nodes of InquiryNodes of Inquiry

Shortage of TextsPecia SystemPrinting Press

Need to Share IdeasThe Languages of Learned

Discourse in the 17th & 18th Centuries:

Journals, Letters, Academic Societies

PeciaPecia System System

• Text Copying System– Xerox of the 13th Century

• Authoritative Text (Pecia)• Distributed to Scribes• Bought or Rented at Stationers• Regulated by University

Pecia UniversitiesPecia Universities

• Bologna• Padua• Verceli• Perugia• Terviso• Florence• Naples

• Paris• Toulouse• Oxford • Salamanca

Pollard, G. 1978

1717thth & 18 & 18thth Century CenturyScholarly CommunicationScholarly Communication

Leibniz & NewtonLearned Societies more important than UniversitiesLettersPublications

Moral of Technological Moral of Technological ChangeChange

• Does not need to be Earth-shaking• Human Centered• Anything that brings Minds & Ideas

Together is a Good Thing