From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory

In this study a historical parallel is drawn between the emergence of the card catalog at the end of the 18th century and the contemporary rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), identifying them as analogous technological milestones in the organization of knowledge. It is argued that both artifacts a...

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Autor principal: Ferreyra, Diego
Formato: Artículo publishedVersion
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras 2025
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Acceso en línea:https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/ICS/article/view/17710
https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=biblioinfo&d=17710_oai
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spelling I28-R145-17710_oai2026-02-10 Ferreyra, Diego Ferreyra, Diego 2025-12-10 In this study a historical parallel is drawn between the emergence of the card catalog at the end of the 18th century and the contemporary rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), identifying them as analogous technological milestones in the organization of knowledge. It is argued that both artifacts arose as technical and provisional responses to logistical challenges of scale. Based on this analogy, potential challenges for the field of library science are analyzed. It is concluded that these issues, although presented with renewed intensity, bring to the forefront fundamental questions of the discipline regarding the status of legitimate knowledge, interpretation, and the material circulation of cultural artifacts. ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s18511740/ppv90454i Se traza un paralelismo histórico entre la emergencia del catálogo de fichas a finales del siglo XVIII y la irrupción contemporánea de los Grandes Modelos de Lenguaje (LLM), identificándolos como hitos tecnológicos análogos en la organización del conocimiento. Se argumenta que ambos artefactos surgieron como respuestas técnicas y provisionales a desafíos logísticos de escala. A partir de esta analogía, se analizan desafíos posibles para el campo bibliotecológico. Se concluye que estas problemáticas, aunque se presentan con nueva intensidad, actualizan preguntas fundantes de la disciplina sobre el status del conocimiento legítimo, la interpretación y la circulación material de los artefactos culturales. ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s18511740/ppv90454i application/pdf text/html https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/ICS/article/view/17710 10.34096/ics.i53.17710 spa Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/ICS/article/view/17710/15540 https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/ICS/article/view/17710/15537 Derechos de autor 2025 Diego Ferreyra https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 Información, cultura y sociedad; No. 53 (2025): Diciembre; 5-9 Información, cultura y sociedad; Núm. 53 (2025): Diciembre; 5-9 1851-1740 1514-8327 Cataloguing Large Language Models Social memory Documentary mediation Catalogación Modelos de lenguaje (Large Language Models) Memoria social Mediación documental From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory Del catálogo de fichas al espacio vectorial. Los modelos de lenguaje como infraestructuras de mediación y memoria social info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=biblioinfo&d=17710_oai
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-145
collection Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
language Español
orig_language_str_mv spa
topic Cataloguing
Large Language Models
Social memory
Documentary mediation
Catalogación
Modelos de lenguaje (Large Language Models)
Memoria social
Mediación documental
spellingShingle Cataloguing
Large Language Models
Social memory
Documentary mediation
Catalogación
Modelos de lenguaje (Large Language Models)
Memoria social
Mediación documental
Ferreyra, Diego
Ferreyra, Diego
From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
topic_facet Cataloguing
Large Language Models
Social memory
Documentary mediation
Catalogación
Modelos de lenguaje (Large Language Models)
Memoria social
Mediación documental
description In this study a historical parallel is drawn between the emergence of the card catalog at the end of the 18th century and the contemporary rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), identifying them as analogous technological milestones in the organization of knowledge. It is argued that both artifacts arose as technical and provisional responses to logistical challenges of scale. Based on this analogy, potential challenges for the field of library science are analyzed. It is concluded that these issues, although presented with renewed intensity, bring to the forefront fundamental questions of the discipline regarding the status of legitimate knowledge, interpretation, and the material circulation of cultural artifacts. ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s18511740/ppv90454i
format Artículo
publishedVersion
author Ferreyra, Diego
Ferreyra, Diego
author_facet Ferreyra, Diego
Ferreyra, Diego
author_sort Ferreyra, Diego
title From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
title_short From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
title_full From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
title_fullStr From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
title_full_unstemmed From the catalog of index cards to the vector space. Language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
title_sort from the catalog of index cards to the vector space. language models as infrastructures of mediation and social memory
publisher Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
publishDate 2025
url https://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/ICS/article/view/17710
https://repositoriouba.sisbi.uba.ar/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi?a=d&c=biblioinfo&d=17710_oai
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