USER-CENTERED THINKING - LESSONS FROM READER CENTERED THEORY

Some literary theorists have suggested that the process of reading is a complex one and is central to the interpretation of texts. These the orists do not ignore the creation of texts or the authors' creative ac tivities, but place special emphasis on the role of the reader. This a pproach has relevance for the study of the use of libraries. This pape r offers an analogy between text and library and between reader and li brary user. The analogy is possible because both reader and user adopt intentional stances with regard to that which is to be interpreted an d employ cognitive and affective means in interpretation. At the heart of this approach is a phenomenological-hermeneutical way of thinking that treats reading and library use as an event consisting of varying intention and interpretive possibilities.