Platform Power and Libraries

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Building on research in critical library systems studies, Platform Power and Libraries traverses the divide between library, communication, and cultural policy research in the realm of platform studies. Organized through the model of what Nielsen and Ganter (2022) call "the five most important aspects of platform power," this book dissects the power dynamics inherently embedded to platforms that library practitioners and patrons must navigate. From information asymmetry to the power of making and breaking connections and beyond, this book brings light to the often overlooked and underexplored power that platforms can hold in libraries.

Christine F. Smith (she/her) is the Head of Acquisitions and Serials at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Smith has diverse experience across the library and information sector and has sat on committees, working groups and boards of directors of provincial, national, and international library associations. She holds a B.S. in Communication and an M.L.I.S. Her current research focuses on impacts and implications of systems and structures - both technological and socially-constructed.