Understanding complex information environments: A social analysis of watershed planning

This paper presents an approach to social analysis for the development of digital libraries. If digital libraries are viewed as both social and technological artifacts, then effective design requires that we must understand the social world in which each functions. The theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu and the situated action approach are suggested as sound bases for this understanding. Initial findings of our work in the arena of watershed planning, as part of the UC Berkeley Digital Library Project, are reported.