Museum Information Professionals Research Articles

Emergence of a new method: The Grounded Delphi method

This paper reports on the Grounded Delphi method (GDM), a relatively new methodological extension of the Delphi method, achieved by incorporating aspects of Grounded Theory, as used in a recent doctoral dissertation. The research explored the skills, knowledge, qualities and professional education needs of information professionals in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) in Australia, with a view to determining relevant educational requirements to enable information professionals to operate across these blurred cultural heritage boundaries. Implications of using GDM for LIS research, and for research methods in general, is that it improves the rigour of theory building in Delphi studies, while the consensus, or force ranking, aspect of Delphi assists in improving the relevant level of importance of categories derived from Grounded Theory.

Building community among museum information professionals: a case study of the Museum Computer Network

Museum information professionals meet the needs of the producers and consumers of museum information resources, yet, little is known of how their own needs are met or what benefits they obtain from being part of a broader professional community. This study presents results from a survey of 283 individuals who were asked about their relationship with the Museum Computer Network, an international professional organization dedicated to supporting the needs of museum information professionals. The results shed light on how professional organizations can meet the needs of individuals who share a common interest in museums and information technology, particularly when those individuals are professionally diverse and geographically distributed. The results can help researchers and practitioners better understand how to build community among museum information professionals, and have implications for all organizations supporting the needs of museum professionals.

Engaging the Experts in Museum Computing: Seven Years of Queries on MCN-L

MCN-L, an email listserv administered by the Museum Computer Network, is open to anyone interested in discussing information technology in museums and other cultural heritage organizations. To determine how MCN-L meets the needs of museum information professionals, this study presents an analysis of more than 6,000 emails sent to the listserv over a seven-year period (2004–2011). The results of this analysis indicate that MCN-L adds value to the online community of museum information professionals by providing an online communication channel focused on professional outreach and expert support, backed up by specific examples drawn from personal experiences. MCN-L's emphasis on personal expertise is a key characteristic that speaks to the listserv's lasting value to the museum community and has implications for researchers and practitioners as they consider the future of computer-mediated communication for all museum professionals.

The Research Imperative: Medical Library Association policy and the curricula of schools of library and information science

Ten years after the Medical Library Association (MLA) adopted its first research policy, the 1995 Using Scientific Evidence to Improve Information Practice [1], MLA President Joanne Gard Marshall, FMLA, appointed a task force to research and publish a new official statement [2]. The resulting MLA research policy statement, The Research Imperative, was approved by the MLA Board of Directors in 2007 and “challenges MLA members to build a supportive culture that values and contributes to a research base that is recognized as an essential tool for future practice” [2]. It describes domains of research as well as basic, advanced, and specialized research skills sets. The Research Imperative encourages health sciences library and information science (LIS) practitioners to take advantage of different educational opportunities to acquire and build on that skills set. Specifically, it recommends, “4. MLA will provide and promote education and training to support health sciences information research. To accomplish this recommendation, MLA will work with academic programs to ensure that opportunities to develop quantitative and qualitative research knowledge and skills appear throughout the curriculum, provide a complete range of basic and advanced courses in quantitative and qualitative research methodology through MLA's continuing education (CE) program, and encourage graduate LIS schools to require master's degree students to undertake a research project in information science” [3]. Curricular decisions for programs leading to the LIS master's degree (MLIS) are shaped by many factors, not the least of which is the very wide variety of careers that holders of such degrees can expect to have. Many will undoubtedly work in school, public, academic, or special libraries. Many others will be information professionals in archives, museums, corporations, and other organizations. In any case, a major driver for MLIS curricula is program accreditation by the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA Standards for Accreditation do not specify exactly what courses should be taught, but the accreditation seeks evidence of various curricular elements. In particular, the standards require that a program's mission, goals, and objectives include: “the importance of research to the advancement of the field's knowledge base…the importance of the contributions of library and information studies to other fields of knowledge [and]…the importance of the contributions of other fields of knowledge to library and information studies.” Furthermore, they seek evidence that the curriculum of an accredited program “emphasizes the evolving body of knowledge that reflects the findings of basic and applied research from relevant fields” [4]. Do MLIS academic programs “ensure…opportunities to develop quantitative and qualitative research knowledge and skills?” Do they “require master's degree students to undertake a research project in information science” [3]? Evidence of such opportunities would include (but not be limited to) courses and evidence of whether research projects are required for graduation from such programs. In a comparison of LIS research course requirements with those of other master's level programs in related disciplines, Park studied the 2002 graduate catalogs of fifty-two of the then fifty-six ALA-accredited MLIS programs as well as the catalogs of master's of business administration, master's of social work, and master's of education programs at some of those schools. She found that all but three of the MLIS programs offered research methods courses, but only twenty required such a course for graduation [5]. Park reported that “LIS does not use consistent terminology across schools to identify what constitutes a ‘research methods’ course” and that the courses “vary from comprehensive coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methods to superficial inclusion of simple survey methods.” Park discussed aspects of the MLIS degree that related to research “at the consumer level” and “at the contributor level” [5]. Evidence-based LIS (and other types of evidence-based practice) are examples of the use of the consumer level of research expertise. Practitioners in many fields can confuse the two functions, especially when the word “research” is taken to include searching literature for published scientific studies, as opposed to actually carrying out such studies. The Research Imperative quite rightly calls for health sciences librarians to practice as consumers of and contributors to research in the discipline. This study seeks evidence of the current availability of required or elective research methods courses and research projects as a graduation requirement in ALA-accredited masters' programs in library and information science.

Finding the skills for tomorrow: Information literacy and museum information professionals

This paper presents results from 21 semi-structured interviews with museum information professionals who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies in museums. The interviews were analyzed to develop an understanding of the information literacy skills of museum information professionals. This paper presents the results of this analysis, and discusses the state of information literacy in museums, and the increasing need for museum information professionals to possess information literacy skills. The results illustrate how information literacy is defined by information professionals in museums, and how perceptions of information literacy and its importance to museums have changed over time.

The changing nature of information work in museums

AbstractThis article presents results from 21 semi‐structured interviews with museum information professionals (MIPs) who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies. Interviews were analyzed to determine (a) the challenges MIPs face as they adapt to changing technical capabilities and strive to meet the changing needs and expectations of museum users and (b) the coping mechanisms MIPs employ on the job that enable them to deal effectively with those challenges. This article explores the results of this analysis, exploring how MIPs cope with the changing nature of information work in museums by relying on thirteen different strategies including (a) assessing new technologies in relation to the museum's core mission, (b) helping museum professionals embrace new ideas about information access and provision, and (c) promoting internal practices that encourage the sharing of information and the integration of information science into museum work. This article also discusses the implications of these challenges and strategies for current and future MIPs, and assesses their impact on changing perceptions, roles, and research for information professionals in museums as they work to meet the information needs of all museum users.

Meeting user needs in the modern museum: Profiles of the new museum information professional

This article presents results from 21 semi-structured interviews with museum information professionals who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies. These interviews were analyzed to develop profiles of four types of information professionals working in museums. The article presents these profiles, focusing on the responsibilities of today's museum information professionals and their role in meeting user needs in the modern museum, thereby improving understanding of the evolving role of museum information professionals.

Finding the skills for tomorrow: Information literacy and museum information professionals

This paper presents results from 21 semi-structured interviews with museum information professionals who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies in museums. The interviews were analyzed to develop an understanding of the information literacy skills of museum information professionals. This paper presents the results of this analysis, and discusses the state of information literacy in museums, and the increasing need for museum information professionals to possess information literacy skills. The results illustrate how information literacy is defined by information professionals in museums, and how perceptions of information literacy and its importance to museums have changed over time.

Digital libraries, virtual museums: same difference?

PurposeThis paper provides an overview of activities in the field of virtual museums and considers a number of issues for which there are parallels in the field of digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachUsing a range of illustrative examples, we attempt to determine what defines a virtual museum on the one hand and a digital library disguised as a virtual museum on the other; when it makes sense for virtual museums to work in partnership with digital libraries, or draw on digital library research and development; and how the power of the digital environment might be harnessed to further the traditional values of the museum community.FindingsFinds that virtual museums and digital libraries have much in common and the boundaries between them are increasingly blurred. The provision of object‐level metadata, needed to realise the wider potential of the digital environment to enhance and extend the traditional museum experience, gives rise to a number of issues which are shared by libraries and for which shared approaches would be beneficial. In particular, collaboration between the museum and library communities is essential if solutions to the problems of cross‐domain searching are to be found and its potential to facilitate new knowledge creation fully exploited. However, any collaborative approach must take into account the differences, as well as the similarities, between the two communities, as these differences are fundamental and defining.Originality/valueThe paper will be of interest to museum, library and other information professionals, and particularly those developing distributed and/or cross‐domain digital collections.

So You Want to Work in a Museum . . . Guiding the Careers of Future Museum Information Professionals

This paper presents results from twenty-one semi-structured interviews with museum information professionals who were asked about their experiences working with information resources, tools, and technologies in the museum environment. These interviews were analyzed to determine common elements in the participants' career paths, educational backgrounds, and on-the-job experiences. Based on this analysis, we identified five factors that we believe will influence the ability of Library and Information Science (LIS) students to succeed as information professionals in museums. This paper will provide guidance for LIS students who wish to pursue museum careers, answering the question, How do I become an information professional in a museum?

The Evolving Roles of Information Professionals in Museums

Alors que de plus en plus de musees cherchent a fournir un acces en ligne a une information structuree sur leurs collections, le role et les responsabilites des professionnels de l'information travaillant dans ces musees sont amenes a evoluer profondement. A partir d'enquetes et d'entretiens menes aupres de professionnels, l'A. explore les changements intervenus dans le travail du webmestre de musee, en considerant quatre perspectives : les nouvelles competences et responsabilites, l'evolution des attentes et des demandes, les changements d'attitudes, la reponse aux besoins des utilisateurs.

Museum Information Professionals as Providers and Users of Online Resources

Les professionnels de l'information, bien que non seulement producteurs et fournisseurs mais aussi utilisateurs de ressources numerisees et de leurs descriptions, constituent pourtant le groupe d'utilisateurs le moins etudie. Le projet d'evaluation de MOAC (the Museums and the Online Archive of California - projet de diffusion de materiels culturels sur le Web en acces public), s'est precisement interesse aux professionnels de l'information en tant qu'utilisateurs.