This essay compares activity theory (AT) with distributed cognition theory (DCOG), asking what each can do for CSCW. It approaches this task by proposing that theories – when viewed as conceptual tools for making sense of a domain – have four important attributes: descriptive power; rhetorical power; inferential power; and application power. It observes that AT and DCOG are not so different: both emphasize cognition; both include the social and cultural context of cognition; both share a commitment to ethnographically collected data. Starting with a description of the distributed cognition approach, it uses an example of a DCOG analysis to ground a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of AT and DCOG as an approach to issues in CSCW. Finally, the essay considers what theoretical work is being done by the attributes of the respective theories, and whether AT, DCOG, or any theory developed outside the context of group work, will work for CSCW.

This conceptual piece presents a framework to aid libraries in gaining a more thorough and holistic understanding of their users and services. Through a presentation of the history of library evaluation, a measurement matrix is developed that demonstrates the relationship between the topics and perspectives of measurement. These measurements are then combined through evaluation criteria, and then different participants in the library system view those criteria for decision-making. By implementing this framework for holistic measurement and cumulative evaluation, library evaluators can gain a more holistic knowledge of the library system and library administrators can be better informed for their decision-making processes. "The characteristic way of management that we have taught in the Western world is [to] take a complex system, divide it into parts and then try to manage each part as well as possible. And if that's done, the system as a whole will behave well. That's absolutely false, because it's possible to improve the performance of each part taken separately and destroy the system at the same time." (Ackoff, 1993) In order to make informed decisions and justify services, librarians should evaluate their offerings on a regular basis (Bawden, 1990). In reality, many evaluations occur because of a problem or report requiring immediate management involvement. These last-minute evaluations are akin to modern emergency-room medicine: just as many patients wait until the symptoms become unbearable before seeking treatment, many library decision-makers wait until problems force a rapid evaluation. Just as the goal of holistic medicine is reaching a state of wellness for the entire body, the goal of holistic evaluation is reaching a state of wellness for the entire libra...

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