A DJ in the Library

Disc Jockeys (DJs) have worked with large collections of electronic media since the advent of file sharing in the 1990s. Each week, or more often, they generate fresh sets of material from the collection and present them publicly. The DJ’s interaction with the digital collection has to support recall and encounter in a creative flow. Their system for retrieving and using information enables learning, stimulates creativity, and allows responsive presentation and publication. The DJ’s model of information interaction is a read/write engagement in the archive: a system of authorship that reuses pre-authored material. It is transferable to other data-representations.