The effects of electronic communication and the World Wide Web on US academic documents librarians' relationships

Abstract

This article examines the impact of computer-mediated communication — specifically the use of e-mail and GOVDOC-L — and the use of and design of Web pages on academic documents librarians' professional relationships. Twenty-six semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with academic documents librarians throughout the US to enhance and help clarify previous quantitative research data from a national survey conducted on the same topic by the author. Findings from the interviews suggest that computer-mediated communication is not only important for passing information, but also in terms of professional support and community building. Computer-mediated communication also appears to be reducing the use of some other modes of communication by documents librarians. In addition, the interviews provide anecdotal evidence that internal and external relationships have been modified or created anew because of work related to the World Wide Web (WWW). The article concludes with a discussion on the impact that the altering of professional relationships may have on the documents librarians' profession.