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Text 1 +  Task 1 - identify key terms in the text and visualize how they are related (mind map, word cloud)

Humans and human societies have always organized and transmitted knowledge,  meaning,  and  human  experience  by  means  of  particular modes  of  communication.  Oral  cultures  and  societies  preserve  their knowledge  using  songs,  stories,  genealogies,  poetry,  hymns,  and  so  on.Literate  cultures  preserve  their  knowledge  using,  among  other  things,lists, e-mail, recipes, newspapers, novels, maps, journals, books, diaries,textbooks,  letters,  and  Weblogs.  Such  forms  of  communication  are  an inherent part of the organization of any culture because they structure and sustain society’s institutionalized means and modes of communication. The concept that covers this variety of forms of communication and human  activity  can  be  termed  genre.  Most  people  would  probably instinctively associate genre with literary forms, such as the novel, the poem, or the drama, and there is nothing wrong with this. However, we also recognize that there are a number of communication forms pertaining  to  nonfictional  prose  and  used  in  a  variety  of  human  activities.Genres  of  nonfictional  prose  cover  the  relationship  between  forms  of communication, human activity and social organization, and how activities are typified by means of genre. Genre is thus broader than literary works. It follows that in order to understand genre we will have to look at more than mere text types. This chapter deals with genres of nonfictional prose. Although research in library and information studies (LIS)is not limited to nonfictional prose and its use in various professional or everyday life contexts, many classical LIS studies of, for instance, information  use,  are  indeed  studies  of  the  use  of  nonfictional  prose,  in  particular,  scholarly  literature.  However,  these  studies  seldom  address textual form. 

Task 1b - check your visual material, does it include some verbs and adjectives too? e.g. to preserve information / knowledge

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Task 2 - predict, what is going to be the next sentence? Write it down:

Text 2 - task 2b: identify the purpose statement

The  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  to  critically  review,  discuss,  and  analyze the concept of genre within LIS. This results in the following chapter  structure.  First,  a  discussion  of  the  LIS context  and  its  relation  to genre is provided. Emphasis is on the significance of genre for LIS, why should want to know (more) about it, and what exactly it is about genre that is important for LIS to know. This is followed by an overview of genre and genre-related research in LIS and its implications for LIS research  and  discourse.  I  examine  the  ways  genre  theory  has  been employed  in  LIS  research  and  related  fields.  Third,  a  review  of  genre theory research is provided in order to show what scholarly traditions inform  modern  genre  theory  and  its  concepts.  Fourth,  I  outline  basic concepts from genre theory in order to demonstrate their usefulness inLIS  research.  The  concluding  section  points  to  the  need  for  further genre-oriented perspectives in LIS research.

Task 2c: In the text above, find examples of:

• passive voice

• author´s voice

• cohesive tools

• linking words

1. It  would  tell  us  what kinds of genres various people and institutions in different communicative  contexts  prefer.  A  genre  view  of  these  communicative  activities would provide a means to examine systematically document production and  use  and  the  organization  of  document  production  and  use.  

2. Thus, using  genre  as  an  analytical  concept  in  LIS  would  help  us  understand how  professional,  cultural,  and  social  communication  is  carried  out.  It would also enable understanding of how genres organize activity, texts, knowledge,  and  people.  

3. This implies that we should view information systems not as ends in themselves but rather as means to an end. We should focus on what information  systems  do,  as  tools  to  be  used  in  goal-directed  activity. 

4. For the sake of the argument, assume that LIS is the study of how and  with  what  means  professional,  scholarly,  cultural,  and  social knowledge  as  materialized  in  documents  (print  or  electronic)  is  communicated  in  society  and  what  function  libraries  and  other  similar knowledge organizing institutions or activities have, or are supposed to have,  in  these  communication  processes. 1 

5. Moreover,  a  genre  perspective  would  not  only focus  on  the  people  and  the  production  and  use  of  various  documents, but  also  stress  typical  activities  in  which  people  are  discursively engaged. From a genre point of view, then, document production and use are  looked  upon  not  as  ends  in  themselves  but  in  terms  of  how  documents help people do their work (cf. Bazerman, 2004, p. 319).

6. If LIS, by means  of  theoretical  and  empirical  studies,  can  gain  a  more  thorough understanding  of  situated  and  typified  document  production  and  use, then we may also be able to have a more informed understanding of the ways in which information systems help, or fail to help, people do their work. 

7. As LIS is interested in how knowledge in documents and other arti facts  is  organized,  genre  theory  is  a  productive  perspective.  Studying genres  would  reveal  how  they  and  human  activity  are  important  organizing  factors  of  communication  and  knowledge.  

8. Professional,  scholarly,  cultural, and social communication as manifested in documents comprises a diversity of genres: work orders, newsletters, recipes, bibliographies, articles  in  literary-cultural  journals,  surveys,  chronicles,  technical reports,  governmental  reports,  scholarly  articles,  book  reviews,  and  soon. 

9. Such a view may have been present in LIS but formulated in other ways. However, what has been missing is the genre perspective.