Library Employees Research Articles

The Management of Strategic Change in the Municipal Public Library

The Management of Strategic Change in the Municipal Public Library

A window of opportunity: Sustained excellence in academic library response to the challenges of COVID-19

An integral part of the higher education enterprise, academic libraries found themselves at the epicenter of the response to the impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak in early spring 2020. This two-phase study investigates how selected regional academic libraries across the United States have been coping with the challenges inflicted by COVID-19, including changing modes of service delivery, the need to provide adequate technology infrastructure, health and safety concerns, and the feelings of anxiety and isolation by library employees. The study demonstrates that these challenges can be overcome with transparent communication, resilient employees, proactive decision-making, and adaptive organizational culture.

Creating a contactless pickup service at the University of Michigan library: Iterative service design and interaction safety during the pandemic

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor had embraced service design and design thinking, but the pandemic-induced campus transition enabled staff to innovate differently. Many services transitioned to virtual options but some onsite library services reopened for Fall 2020. Library employees created a new service model to accommodate request fulfillment of non-digitized collections: contactless pickup. Continuous feedback loops, interaction safety, and quick, collaborative support were key elements to the service’s success in design and implementation. This paper outlines its development, implementation, and adaptation, along with lessons learned and an exploration of interactions continuing to inform future design discussions and service creation.

Organizing and Facilitating Critical Conversations around Systemic Racism: Opportunities and Challenges

The Coffee and Critical Conversations Series was organized by Emory Libraries Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) subcommittee on Professional Development for library employees to engage in dialogue and build community around DEI topics. The subcommittee sought to foster understanding and inspire fruitful discussion on institutional racism in libraries, allyship, and the legacy of racialized trauma pervading African American life.
 The conversation series began virtually in summer of 2020. Each session was based on a curated collection of shared media (film clips, news articles, TED talks) and was facilitated by volunteers via Zoom. Attendees were given reflection questions to help guide conversation in small breakout groups. As the sessions wrapped up, the facilitators provided further resources for participants to continue their exploration of the topics. We assessed participant responses with an open-ended survey and solicited feedback from participants to inform future sessions.
 Like many of our peers, not everyone in our organization has felt informed enough to engage with social justice movements in the library. Our goal was to transform the organizational culture and relieve anxiety around discussing racism and oppression both in our institution and beyond. Coffee and Critical Conversations offers a space for folks to demystify their emotions, find language to express their feelings about current events, and foster authentic connections on our path to creating a more equitable institution.

The extent to which internet school students are used in school libraries within karak Education schools: مدى استخدام طلاب المدارس للإنترنت في المكتبات المدرسية ضمن مدارس تربية الكرك

The study aims to explore the current reality of internet service in school libraries affiliated with the education of Karak by identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the service and identifying the most important problems facing the use of the Internet in school libraries. The study also aimed to knew the views and perspectives of each of the managers, secretaries and employees of school libraries on the impact of the Internet service in their libraries. The study gains its importance by addressing the issue of the Internet and its basic services in school libraries and its importance and benefits in the scientific research process. The study population consists of students of the education schools in Karak Governorate from the preparatory and secondary school levels. The study sample is represented in the Kasbah of Karak schools for males and females for the preparatory and secondary stages. The researcher used the descriptive, analytical approach and the case study approach. The researcher collected data through books and periodicals that dealt with the Internet topic and the interview with the librarian and the questionnaire. The study came out with a set of findings and recommendations for students and librarians, which will help develop the use of the Internet in school libraries.

The Influence of Situational Leadership, Work Environment, Competence, and Motivation on Employee Job Satisfaction at the National Library of Indonesia

This study aims to determine the effect of situational leadership, work environment, competence, and motivation on employee satisfaction at the National Library. The research population is the National Library employees who work in the Deputy for Library Material Development and Information Services, with a total sample of 195 people. The design of this research is quantitative research with a data analysis method using multiple linear regression. The results of the study state that situational leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction, the work environment has a positive and significant impact on employee job satisfaction, competence has a positive and significant impact on employee job satisfaction, and motivation has a positive and significant impact on employee job satisfaction. Situational leadership, work environment, competence and motivation together have a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction.

Risky Profession: How U.S. Librarians Fight for Their Safety

In society, the concept of public library is traditionally associated with silence, peace and safety. However, modern realities indicate that the library profession is associated with many risks. As the experience of the United States shows, employees of public libraries are increasingly faced with problems that disrupt the normal functioning of library and information services and negatively affect the emotional and psychological state of staff and patrons. Ensuring safety of the library is a common concern, equally affecting both employees and patrons of the library. A threat to the safety of library is a potentially or actually possible event, action, process or phenomenon that can disrupt the stability of its operation or lead to shutdown of its functioning. The article considers the subjective threats, i. e. caused by the actions and behaviour of people. These can be mentally unbalanced, substance abusers or armed visitors, computer hackers, etc. Many of them pose a real danger to life and health of both librarians and library patrons. Based on the analysis of the U.S. periodical press, the author provides facts that clearly demonstrate the vulnerability of public library staff to the threats of the modern world: the risk of being killed, the risk of drug overdose of visitors, the risk of hacker attacks on library computers, the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. Library rules and regulations are created to protect the rights, interests and safety of users and employees. It is necessary to keep them up-to-date taking into account the socio-cultural changes in modern society and transformation of human behaviour. The article shows what measures are taken by U.S. public libraries to ensure the safety of employees and patrons.

What is a Library Website, Anyway? Reconsidering Dominant Conceptual Models

In late 2019, Thompson Rivers University embarked on a multi-phase website usability project beginning with a website user survey, to be followed shortly afterward by usability testing and interviews. While the survey was completed as planned, the COVID-19 pandemic closed the library and interrupted the usability testing phase. This interruption and the frantic website changes that followed led me to consider survey findings within the context of differing conceptual models of the library website as a whole. This study explores a number of conceptual models of the library website in further depth, considering evidence from both the existing literature and the user survey in addition to the researcher’s own experience making post-COVID website updates. Particular models that are examined include Website as Research Portal, Website as Extension or Representation of the physical library, and Website as Library Branch. Each of these conceptual models has different implications on priorities, structure, purpose, and resource allocation. Rather than considering the models of library employees superior or more advanced than those of students, I contend that an awareness of myriad ways to understand the website can best bridge the gap between library employees and other users. The study concludes that while there is no perfect model of the library website, considering and communicating our models may sharpen collegial decision-making structures and create greater unity of purpose within the library.

Virtual onboarding: lessons from the pandemic

This article explores lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic on how to best onboard new library employees in a remote working environment.

Professional Ethics Perception and Behavior of Public Library Employees in Izmir Province

Kütüphaneler, bilgiye erişimde kullanıcı ile bilgi arasında köprü görevi üstlenmektedir. Bilginin derlenmesinde, düzenlenmesinde ve kullanıma sunulmasında önemli bir rol oynayan kütüphane çalışanlarının mesleğe karşı sorumluluklarını yazılı hale getiren mesleki etik ilkeler, tüm kütüphanelerde olduğu gibi, halk kütüphanelerinde de etkin bir role sahiptir. Daha çok toplumla iç içe hizmet veren ve kapıları herkese açık olan halk kütüphanesi çalışanları için mesleki etik ilkeler vazgeçilemez niteliktedir. Çalışma, Türkiye’deki halk kütüphanelerinde görev yapan kütüphanecilerin mesleki etik algısını ve bu bağlamda mesleki etik ilkelerinin uygulanabilirlik durumunu İzmir ili örneği üzerinden saptamak amacıyla hazırlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, İzmir ilinde yer alan 38 il/ilçe halk kütüphanesinde hizmet veren kütüphane çalışanlarının mesleki etik farkındalığını ölçmeye yönelik sorular derlenmiş ve bu sorulara verilen yanıtlar üzerinden değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Yönetici ve kütüphane çalışanlarından oluşan toplamda 166 kişilik evrende, görev tanımları nedeniyle kullanıcılarla doğrudan teması olan ve buna bağlı olarak etik ikilemler yaşamak durumunda kalan 110 personel, örneklem olarak seçilmiştir. Bu grup içerisinden 89 kişinin vermiş olduğu yanıtlar, SPSS istatistik yazılım programından yararlanılarak araştırmanın amacı odağında analiz edilmiştir. Anket çalışmasına katılan halk kütüphanesi çalışanlarının vermiş oldukları yanıtlar neticesinde, çalışanların mesleki etik ilkeler konusunda yeterli farkındalığa sahibi olmadıkları ve mesleki etik ikilem durumlarında ‘doğru’ olanı yapma yetkinliklerinin tam olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Buna bağlı olarak, çalışmanın evrenini oluşturan kütüphanecilerin, toplumun tamamına hizmet verme yükümlülüğü olan halk kütüphanesi işleyişinde mesleki etik duyarlılığını mesleki davranışlarına yeteri kadar yansımadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonunda, elde edilen bulgular ışığında mesleki etik ilkelerin, günümüzün değişen dinamikleri ve hizmet anlayışı doğrultusunda güncellenerek yeniden ve tüm paydaşları eksiksiz kucaklayacak şekilde revize edilmesinin gerekliliğine dikkat çekilmiş ve bu konuda bulgulardan yola çıkılarak önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Perception of Library Professionals regarding HRD Climate: An Empirical Study

The present paper is an attempt to study the effect of gender and nature of job on perception of Human Resource Development (HRD) climate among professional library employees. The primary data was collected from professionals working in different agricultural university libraries (regular and deemed) of five northern Indian states. Descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. A sample of 96 male and female library professionals with different jobs constituted the sample for the present study. Mean, standard deviation, ‘t’ test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The analysis showed that gender has no impact on perception of HRD climate, both male and female were equally satisfied in the context of HRD climate while impact of nature of job was observed. Permanent employees were found more satisfied with HRD climate than respondents working part-time staff and on and ad-hoc basis. Designation of library professional also influences perception of HRD climate.

Inovasi Pelayanan Dinas Kearsipan dan Perpustakaan Kabupaten Cianjur di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

The presence of Covid-19, which is considered a global pandemic at this time has had a huge influence on various aspects of activities in human life, many activities have had to be stopped or postponed including library service activities. The existence of a work from home policy as a step to anticipate the transmission of the corona virus, causing library employees to work from home and carry out various activities online. So that the library cannot provide services to the community directly. Therefore, libraries need to create new innovations in order to provide services according to the information needs of the community in the midst of a pandemic. This study aims to determine the innovations that the Office of Archives and Libraries of Cianjur Regency have in providing services to the public or library users during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques used are literature study, observation, interviews, and documentation. While the data analysis used is data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results in this study indicate that due to the covid-19 pandemic, the library service system has changed. The various kinds of face-to-face services are limited and switched through digital services. To deal with the situation,The Office of Archives and Libraries of Cianjur Regency seeks to create new innovations in order to continue to provide sources of information to the public with recommend access to digital services in the form of the Ipusnas application and the CANDIL application. It is hoped that all libraries can continue to provide various kinds of innovations by implementing technology-based services. Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic; Libraries; Innovation; Services

A 360 Degree View: The Ideal Qualities of Library Leaders and Employees

The rapidly changing demands of library customers across different fields of librarianship mirrors that of general society. Are the qualities deemed important for these jobs five or ten years ago still deemed important today? Are these administrators and employees satisfied working in a field that requires such constant change and growth? Our study seeks to address these questions by providing further insight into what qualities library leaders look for in today’s library employees while also providing insight into what qualities library employees look for in today’s library leaders for a 360 degree view. Using a research study crosswalk, interview and survey questions were developed to ensure internal and construct validity and close alignment. The study’s total sample was 289 participants, which included interviews and an online survey completed by public, academic, school, and special libraries in North Carolina and a large public library system in Arizona. The authors found the following: 1) leaders are associated with creating vision, motivating staff, and driving an organization forward, 2) managers are associated with following operational procedures, being task-focused, and being approachable to staff, and 3) excellent library employees show initiative, are self-motivated, are passionate about the work, and demonstrate a willingness to learn new skills.

Building Partnerships by Infusing Kindness: A Social Worker and Librarian's Shared Journey to Meaningful Cross-Discipline Collaboration

In this column, the authors will examine an innovative approach to library employee training, as well as reflect on their shared experience through the planning, implementing, and revising process. They will articulate the steps taken in development of a training model that uses a social work simulation lab to provide library employees with the opportunity to practice de-escalation techniques instantaneously with actors demonstrating a spectrum of authentic patron interactions, and experienced professionals, spanning librarianship and social work, providing immediate constructive feedback. To this end, the authors will contribute contemplative best practices for application of techniques relevant across the library discipline, as well as offering evidence of the strategies discussed informing progressive modifications to library-specific safety policies and procedures. The authors will also integrate suggested next steps, including complementary training opportunities based on mental health awareness and self-care.

Psychological Capital and Information Literacy Skills as Determinants of Job Performance of Academic Library Employees in State Universities in South West, Nigeria

Rationale of Study – This study investigated psychological capital and information literacy skills as determinants of job performance of academic library employees of state universities in South-West, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to determine the levels of psychological capital, information literacy skills and job performance of the respondents and to ascertain the relationships among psychological capital and job performance of the respondents.Methodology – The survey research design was adopted. The total enumeration technique and validated questionnaire were used to gather data on a population size of 140 academic library employees with 100 percent response rate achieved.Findings – The findings revealed that psychological capital (r=0.636, p<0.05) and information literacy skills (r=0.682, p<0.05) had significant relationships with job performance of the respondents. Also, psychological capital had significant relationship with information literacy skills of the respondents (r=0.716; P<0.05). More importantly, psychological capital and information literacy skills significantly determined job performance of the respondents (F=60.004, df=2; 115; Adjusted R square=0.5020; P<0.05).Implications – The study demonstrates that psychological capital and information literacy skills are critical ingredients in enhancing job performance of academic library employees in state universities in South-West, Nigeria.Originality – Few study has been done on psychological capital and information literacy in relation to job performance of academic library employees.

Transforming a university library into a learning organisation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to discuss the strategies to promote a culture of professional learning within an Australian academic library. As the COVID-19 experience has shown new and evolving roles require skills, knowledge and abilities that current library employees may not have trained for. One framework which supports continuous professional development and employee motivation is the concept of a learning organisation, where staff across all levels of the library acknowledge the value of continuous learning and autonomously engage in activities to keep their skills up to date and relevant.Design/methodology/approachThe article is a case study of a three-year period of interventions and outcomes in an Australian academic library.FindingsThe strategies discussed provide insights for library managers and leaders about how organisational change can be incrementally embedded through clarity of purpose, aligned leadership, transparent processes, self-determination and social learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study examines a single institution.Originality/valueThe paper provides practical strategies and examples from the case study of one university library which has successful embedded workplace learning as a regular and accepted part of staff routines.

The relationship between work conditions and perceptions of organizational justice among library employees

Library employees hold perceptions about the fairness of the outcomes, processes, and interpersonal treatment in their workplaces. When employees feel the workplace is fair they are more likely to feel commitment to the organization, perform in-role and extra-role tasks, and experience job satisfaction. When employees perceive injustice in the workplace, research points to negative outcomes such as withholding work or even sabotage. To understand the antecedents of organizational justice, researchers carried out a national survey of librarians to compare the predictive power of perceived organizational support, job autonomy, job feedback, and job stress. Results indicate that increasing librarians' perceptions of organizational support and their autonomy, and providing meaningful and timely job feedback can increase overall perceptions of justice. Managers can enhance a climate of justice in their workplaces by developing strategies that target organization support, autonomy, and feedback to reduce a sense of injustice between and among employees.

Creating Connections: Engaging Student Library Employees through Experiential Learning

Academic libraries are finding that involving student employees in collaborative projects fosters student development while increasing library capability and impact. This article validates and builds on Denda and Hunter’s team-based engagement framework. The authors expound on that model with principles of experiential learning that apply to a broad scope of student library work. They demonstrate this approach through creative project examples, including the exhibit “Connection.” Engaging student library employees through workplace experiential learning connects them to people and purpose, fostering skill development and a service mindset for their library roles and future careers.

The Digital Humanities Working Group at the University of Florida

Alexandra Cenatus, Megan Daly, and Tiffany Esteban, the Co-Conveners of the UF Digital Humanities Working Group (DHWG), will share the story of the founding of the DHWG, its mission, and its work, from first projects to current events and future aspirations. The DHWG started as a small team composed of UF library employees and Humanities scholars engaged with exploring the newly emerging field of digital humanities. It has since expanded its membership to library professionals, researchers, instructors, and students from around the country. The group hosts lightning rounds on a monthly basis for UF community members and speakers from other universities to share their projects and their digital humanities knowledge, learn from each other, and collaborate. The group also keeps the UF community informed about trends and upcoming events in digital humanities across the country by sending out news and conference calls over its listserv. This article in Source Magazine will spread the word about the DHWG to a wide audience of UF readers to inform them about the past, current, and future of the digital humanities at the University of Florida and welcome them to join in the activities.

Beyond Reference Data: A Qualitative Analysis of Nursing Library Chats to Improve Research Health Science Services

Objective - The objective of this study was to analyze trends in academic library reference chat transcripts with nursing themes, in order to improve all library services and resources based on the findings. Methods - In Fall 2018, health science liaison librarians performed a qualitative study by analyzing 60 nursing chat transcripts from LibraryH3lp. These chats were tagged, anonymized, coded, and then analyzed in Atlas TI to identify patterns and trends. Results - Chat analysis showed that librarians staffing chat are meeting the research needs of nursing patrons by helping them find full-text articles and suggesting the appropriate library databases. In order to further improve these virtual services, workshops were offered to Library and Information Science (LIS) interns and staff who answer reference chats. Nursing online tutorials and research guides were also improved based on the results. Conclusion - This study will help academic libraries improve and expand services into the virtual realm, to support library employees and patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Virtual reference chat is not going away; in the current academic environment it is needed more than ever. Using these library chats as the basis for additional chat staff training can reduce staff anxiety and prepare them to better serve patrons.