From Weberian Rationalization to JavaScript Components
Modularism in Academic Library Software
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5860/ital.v44i3.17357Keywords:
modularism, software maintenance, academic libraries, case study, vue.jsAbstract
This paper considers modular approaches to building library software and situates these practices within the context of the rationalizing logics of modern programming. It briefly traces modularism through its elaboration in the social sciences, in computer science and ultimately describes it as it is deployed in contemporary academic libraries. Using the methodology of a case study, we consider some of the very tangible and pragmatic benefits of a modular approach, while also touching upon some of the broader implications. We find that the modularism is deeply integrated into modern software practice, and that it can help support the work of academic librarians.
References
Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam (University of Michigan Library, 2005), 126, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ADH9165.0001.001.
Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master (Addison-Wesley Professional, 1999).
Anelis Pereira-Vale et al., “Security in Microservice-Based Systems: A Multivocal Literature Review,” Computers & Security 103 (2021): 102200, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2021.102200.
Angela D. Buscalioni et al., “Modularity at the Boundary Between Art and Science,” in Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems, ed. Werner Callebaut and Diego Rasskin-Gutman (MIT Press, 2009).
Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection (Princeton University Press, 2005).
Anusha Reddy Guntakandla, “Microservices and Modular Architecture: Revolutionizing E-Commerce Scalability,” Journal of Computer Science and Technology Studies 7, no. 4 (May 10, 2025): 133–37, https://doi.org/10.32996/jcsts.2025.7.4.15.
“apt,” Debian, 2025, https://salsa.debian.org/apt-team/apt.
Arthur B. VanGundy, Managing Group Creativity: A Modular Approach to Problem Solving (American Management Associations, 1984).
Björn Butzin, Frank Golatowski, and Dirk Timmermann, “Microservices Approach for the Internet of Things,” in 2016 IEEE 21st International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA): September 6–9, 2016 Berlin, Germany (IEEE, 2016), https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA.2016.7733707.
Bruno Latour, We Have Never Been Modern (Harvard University Press, 1993).
Carliss Y. Baldwin and Kim B. Clark, “Managing in an Age of Modularity,” Harvard Business Review 75, no. 5 (1997): 84–93.
Claus Rueffler, Joachim Hermisson, and Günter P. Wagner, “Evolution of Functional Specialization and Division of Labor,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109, no. 6 (2012): E326-E355, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1110521109.
Daniel Davis, Jane Burry, and Mark Burry, “Understanding Visual Scripts: Improving Collaboration through Modular Programming,” International Journal of Architectural Computing 9, no. 4 (2011): 364, https://doi.org/10.1260/1478-0771.9.4.361.
David L. Parnas, “On the Criteria to be Used in Decomposing Systems into Modules,” Communications of the ACM 15, no. 12 (1972): 1053–58, https://doi.org/10.1145/361598.361623.
David L. Parnas, “The Secret History of Information Hiding,” in Software Pioneers: Contributions to Software Engineering, ed. Manfred Broy and Ernst Denert (Springer, 2002). For a discussion of object-oriented programming, see https://press.rebus.community/programmingfundamentals/chapter/objects-and-classes/.
Dutch Mandel, “Ford Kills Modular Truck Plan for ‘90s,” Automotive News (1989): 1.
Erik Westra, Modular Programming with Python: Introducing Modular Techniques for Building Sophisticated Programs Using Python (Packt Publishing, 2016), 1.
Ernst Pisch et al., “M-Score: An Empirically Derived Software Modularity Metric,” in Proceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (ACM, 2024), 382–92, https://doi.org/10.1145/3674805.3686697.
Evan You, “The Progressive Framework,” 2023, https://vuejs.org/.
Frank F. Pieper, Modular Management and Human Leadership (Methods Press, 1958).
Gregroy Currie and Kim Sterelny, “How to Think About the Modularity of Mind-Reading,” The Philosophical Quarterly 50, no. 199 (2000): 145–60, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9213.00176.
Herbert A. Simon, “The Architecture of Complexity,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 106, no. 6 (1962): 467–82.
Ilana Lavy and Rashkovits Rami, “The Circumstances in which Modular Programming Becomes the Favor Choice by Novice Programmers,” International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science 10, no. 7 (2018): 1, https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2018.07.01.
J. Paralikas et al., “Product Modularity and Assembly Systems: An Automotive Case Study,” CIRP Annals 60, no. 1 (2011): 165–68, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2011.03.009.
James L. Nevins, Daniel E. Whitney, and Thomas L. De Fazio, Concurrent Design of Products and Processes: A Strategy for the Next Generation in Manufacturing (McGraw-Hill, 1989).
James Lewis and Martin Fowler, “Microservices: A Definition of this New Architectural Term,” MartinFowler.com, March 25, 2014, https://martinfowler.com/articles/microservices.html.
Jeff Maynard, Modular Programming (Petrocelli Books, 1972).
Jim Hahn and Nathaniel Ryckman, “Modular Mobile Application Design,” Code4Lib Journal 18 (2012), https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/7336.
Jonathan Bradley, “Creating a Custom Queueing System for a Makerspace Using Web Technologies,” Code4Lib Journal 55 (2023), https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/16876.
Julius B. Mathews et al., “Industrial Applications of a Modular Software Architecture for Line-Less Assembly Systems Based on Interoperable Digital Twins,” Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering 9 (February 28, 2023): 1113933, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmech.2023.1113933.
Kehua Miao et al., “A Microservice-Based Big Data Analysis Platform for Online Educational Applications,” Scientific Programming (June 3, 2020): 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6929750.
Lamine Lagsaiar et al., “Modular Software Architecture for Local Smart Building Servers,” Sensors 21, no. 17 (August 29, 2021): 5810, https://doi.org/10.3390/s21175810.
Lev Manovich, Software Takes Command (Bloomsbury, 2013).
Library Management System: Alma—Ex Libris, Ex Libris, 2025, https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/.
Lyudmila Kozhukhovskaya, Vladimir Baskov, and Anton Ignatov, “Modular Management of Indicators of Efficiency and Safety of Transportation Processes,” Transportation Research Procedia 20 (2017): 361–66, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2017.01.048.
Mark Eaton, “On the Ethics of Working with Library Technology: The Case of the Open Journal Matcher,” Journal of Web Librarianship 16, no. 1 (2022): 68–78, https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2021.2013387.
Mark J. Greeven et al., “Why Companies Must Embrace Microservices and Modular Thinking,” MIT Sloan Management Review 63, no. 1 (2021): 1–6, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-companies-must-embrace-microservices-and-modular-thinking/.
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958).
Melissa A. Schilling, Strategic Management of Technological Innovation (McGraw-Hill Education, 2017).
Michel Krämer and Julia Senner, “A Modular Software Architecture for Processing of Big Geospatial Data in the Cloud,” Computers & Graphics 49 (2015): 69–81, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2015.02.005.
“npm/cli,” npm, GitHub, 2025, https://github.com/npm/cli.
Nuno Gonçalves et al., “Monolith Modularization Towards Microservices: Refactoring and Performance Trade-Offs,” in 2021 IEEE 18th International Conference on Software Architecture Companion (IEEE, 2021), 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSA-C52384.2021.00015.
Paul Duchscherer and Douglas Keister, The Bungalow: America’s Arts and Crafts Home (Penguin Studio, 1995).
Paul Osman, Microservices Development Cookbook: Design and Build Independently Deployable, Modular Services (Packt Publishing, 2018).
Petar Krivic et al., “Microservices as Agents in IoT Systems,” in Agent and Multi-Agent Systems: Technology and Applications, ed. Gordan Jezic et al., Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 74 (Springer Cham, 2018), 22–31, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59394-4_3.
Prashant Ram, "A simple guide to help you understand closures in JavaScript," Medium (blog), January 16, 2018, https://medium.com/@prashantramnyc/javascript-closures-simplified-d0d23fa06ba4.
“pypa/pip,” Python Packaging Authority, GitHub, 2025, https://github.com/pypa/pip.
Robert Lin, “Monolithic vs Modular,” Medium (blog), November 3, 2016, https://medium.com/@berto168/monolithic-vs-modular-9b6d69684a2c.
“Rubygems/Rubygems,” RubyGems, GitHub, 2025, https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems.
Sam Newman, Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems (O’Reilly Media, 2015).
Sam Newman, Monolith to Microservices: Evolutionary Patterns to Transform Your Monolith (O’Reilly Media, 2020).
Sasan Seydnejad, Modular Programming with JavaScript: Modularize Your JavaScript Code for Better Readability, Greater Maintainability, and Enhanced Testability (Packt Publishing, 2016).
Shihabur Rahman Chowdhury et al., “Re-Architecting NFV Ecosystem with Microservices: State of the Art and Research Challenges,” IEEE Network 33, no. 3 (2019): 168–76, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8688711/.
Valerio Acanfora et al., “A Feasibility Study on Innovative Reinforced Modular Frames for Automotive Applications,” Macromolecular Symposia 404, no. 1 (2022): 2100455, https://doi.org/10.1002/masy.202100455.
Victor Velepucha and Pamela Flores, “A Survey on Microservices Architecture: Principles, Patterns and Migration Challenges,” IEEE Access 11 (2023): 88339–58, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3305687.
Werner Callebaut and Diego Rasskin-Gutman, eds. Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems (MIT Press, 2009).
Yu Gan and Christina Delimitrou, “The Architectural Implications of Cloud Microservices,” IEEE Computer Architecture Letters 17, no. 2 (July 1, 2018): 155–58, https://doi.org/10.1109/LCA.2018.2839189.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mark E. Eaton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors that submit to Information Technology and Libraries agree to the Copyright Notice.
