Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches

Trends and

Challenges to Future

Libraries: Exploring

Research Approaches

Sheila Webber

Information School, University of Sheffield

Plenary talk, QQML Conference, London, May 2016

Conference theme “Exploring

trends and challenges on building

the future libraries”

Sheila Webber, May 2016

Pictures taken by Sheila Webber in the

3D virtual world, Second Life: where

libraries and books are treasured ;-)

• How “challenges to libraries” are framed

• Some qualitative research approaches that can be

used to explore what the issues actually are, and

tell compelling stories

• Relevance of qualitative research to developing

staff and the library

• Will focus primarily on the academic library sector


Trading cards created using https://bighugelabs.com/

Word cloud created using http://tagxedo.com Sheila Webber, May 2016

Important questions!

• Why do people do things?

• What do people like doing?

• How do people feel about things?

• How does “the library” fit in with the whole of

people’s lives?


Avoiding

making

assumptions

that “everyone

is like this and

wants this”


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Case Study

You want to explore a

specific question or

problem, in a specific

context


Characteristics

• Investigating a specific problem or question

• Doing so in a “bounded context” i.e. you can tell fairly

easily whether something is inside or outside the

context you are focusing on

• You collect multiple sources of evidence to get

different perspectives on the problem

• Normally researchers are not participants, but they

may be so, in which case the researcher needs to

discuss her/his role and impact


Interviews with teachers

Focus

groups with

children

Observation,

photos and

field notes

Curriculum

documents,

handouts etc.

Syeda Hina Batool: case study investigation into information

literacy in primary schools in Lahore, Pakistan (Batool and Webber, 2014)

Recommended case

study textbook:

Thomas (2011)

Each case

= 1 school

Material

produced by

children in

focus groups


Characteristics

• Outcome may be a model or theory and/or practical

recommendations

• Start by describing relevant features of the context:

can be useful in helping you to “step back” from

familiar context

• Difference between systematically planned and

researched case study and just describing one

example


Ethnography


• Dent Goodman (2011: 1) cites Fetterman as describing

ethnographic writing as “the art and science of

describing a group or culture”

• Observation, participation, field notes & memos,

interviews

• Popularised for librarians by the ERIAL (Ethnographic

Research in Illinois Academic Libraries) project (Asher

and Miller, 2010) & UX seminars (e.g.

http://uxlib.org/2015/09/30/bookings/)

(though, in particular, some significant

information behaviour studies well before this) Sheila Webber,

May 2016

Khoo, Rozaklis and Hall (2012: 86) talk about the “growing complexity of the social and technological environments within which libraries are situated” and other factors “prompting libraries to think about how to describe their strengths, not just in terms of performance and metrics, but also in terms of the wider social cultural value they offer to users and communities”

Can be used directly to guide policy and improve services

Can provide vivid human stories which may convey the library’s value more effectively than bare numbers


• Regaldo and Smale (2015) investigated how students used (or did not use) the library for their coursework (City University of New York)

• Mapping diaries; student photos with elicitation interviews; interviews about the process of doing an assignment

• Notable finding: students liked private, individual spaces e.g. carrels: a large number commuted and did not have a quiet space to study at home


“I live in the library.

The library is, like,

my fulltime job.

When I don’t have

classes, I still come

to the library

because there’s too

many distractions at

home and in order

for me to be a

successful,

productive student, I

have to come to

school, to remain

dedicated and

driven” (p908) Sheila Webber, May 2016

Autoethnography


“an approach to research and writing that

seeks to describe and systematically

analyze (graphy) personal experience

(auto) in order to understand cultural

experience (ethno)” Ellis et al. (2011: 273)


Reflexivity of the

ethnographic

researcher,

questioning and

identifying her/his own

stance in relation to

the object of study

Reflexivity of the

autoethnographic

researcher, examining

her/his own practice,

feelings, interactions,

in a specific cultural or

social context


• Understanding one’s own practice, motivation,

feelings, place better

• Providing insight for others in a similar situation

• Making the librarian visible in the context

• Providing others with insight into the library’s and

librarian’s role

• Gaining better understanding of the social and

cultural context


• Grace and Sen (2013): community resilience and the role of the public library

• Wheeler, Graebner, Skelton and Patterson (2014): collaborative autoethnography on experiences of academic librarians serving on faculty associations

• Patin (2015): role of the school library during the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita

• Anne-Marie Deitering’s autoethnography initiative: – https://info-fetishist.org/2015/05/22/cfparticipation-

autoethnography-learning-community/

– https://info-fetishist.org/2015/09/04/phase-1-autoethnography-learning-community/


Phenomenography


“Phenomenography is the

empirical study of the differing

ways in which people

experience, perceive, apprehend,

understand, conceptualise

various phenomena in and

aspects of the world around us.”

(Marton 1994)


• So, useful if you want to find out about the different ways in which people conceive of, or experience, a phenomenon…

• The phenomenon could be: the library; a specific learning experience; using the catalogue …

• Have to end up with a small number of categories, that are distinct, and between them describe the qualitatively different ways people think about or experience the phenomenon


Example: Categories from Emily Wheeler’s research

into librarians’ conceptions of themselves as teachers

of information literacy: librarians conceived of

themselves as ...

• Category 1 - teacher-librarian

• Category 2 - learning support

• Category 3 - librarian who teaches

• Category 4 - trainer Wheeler and McKinney (2015)


Applications of phenomenographic research

• Variation theory: having identified how learners’ conceive of a subject, you design learning that enables them to experience the variations

• Workplace training & education e.g. Masters students at the Sheffield iSchool were able to use Wheeler’s framework when reflecting on their own development as teachers of information literacy

• Understanding people better, so you are better able to engage with them

• The interview itself can be a learning experience for the interviewee and interviewer


Action Research


Characteristics

• Start with an aspect of practice that you want to improve

• Only feasible if you have to power to make changes to practice;

usually you would be involved in that practice (e.g. you want to

improve your own practice) but might be invited in as a

catalyst/facilitator of change

• The participants are the people affected by, or observers (key

informants) of, the practice

• Multiple sources of evidence, including your

own reflections


Classic cycle is: Plan, Act, Monitor, Reflect

Levy’s (2003; 100) representation of the process


• Malenfant, Hinchliffe and Gilchrist (2016) introduce

special issue or C&RL with action research projects

from the Assessment in Action initiative

• Describe it as “an emergent developmental form”

(p143) (improving practice and developing the

community of inquiry involved in the action

research)


Qualitative research, developing

librarians and the library


Embedding Academic and

Research Libraries in the

Curriculum “Solvable

challenge: those that we

understand and know how

to solve”

Rethinking the roles and

skills of librarians

“Difficult challenge:

Those that we

understand but for which

solutions are elusive”

Embracing the need for

radical change “Wicked

challenge: those that are

complex to even define,

much less address”

Three challenging areas

from the Horizon Report

2015 Library Edition

(Johnson et al., 2015)

.. though I’m rather sceptical about these categorisations!


Rethinking the roles and skills of librarians

• Giving librarians and their managers insight into their current practice, feelings, motivations, work context (e.g. through autoethnography): giving people ownership of their development

• Insight into users’ experience helping to ensure services, and also librarians’ skills and roles, are developed appropriately

• Some research skills also relevant to librarians’ practice e.g. interviewing

• Giving a framework to develop practice

• Avoid putting too much emphasis on “agony areas” like staying current, using technology

Examples: Wheeler et al. (2014); Whitworth et al. (2014)

Reflexive researcher/ reflective practitioner


Embedding Academic and Research

Libraries in the Curriculum

• Understanding more about the learning context and the key actors in that context

• Undertaking research that can lead to evidence-bsed recommendations for action

• Developing relationships through research: as fellow researchers, as participants, as co-learners within the research process

• Providing vivid examples of how librarians and libraries can make a difference


Embracing the need for radical change

• Gaining insight into what the changes are (and

whether they really are radical)

• Grounding plans for change in knowledge of the

specific context, and the feelings and needs of the

human beings in that context

• Understanding technology as one part of a human’s

life world, rather than an unstoppable force of

nature which changes everything


Qualitative research: the librarian’s

friend and solution to wicked

challenges! Sheila Webber, May 2016

Sheila Webber

Information School

University of Sheffield

[email protected]

Twitter & SL: Sheila Yoshikawa

http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/

http://www.slideshare.net/sheilawebber/

Orcid ID 0000-0002-2280-9519

Pictures by Sheila Webber

taken in Second Life (a trademark

of Linden Lab)

References • Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of contemporary

ethnography, 35 (4), 373-395.

• Asher, A. and Miller, S. (2010). So you want to do anthropology in your library? Or, a practical guide to ethnographic research in academic libraries. http://www.erialproject.org/

• Batool, S.H. and Webber, S. (2014). Early findings from a study of information literacy practices in primary schools of Pakistan. In Information Literacy. Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century. (pp 282-290). Springer.

• Dent Goodman, V. (2011). Applying ethnographic research methods in library and information settings. Libri, 61, 1-11.

• Dokphrom, P. (2013). Information literacy of undergraduate students in Thailand: a case of the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, Thailand. In M. Hepworth & G. Walton (Eds.). Developing people’s information capabilities. (pp.111-126). Bingley, England: Emerald.

• Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. The Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), 532−550.

• Ellis, C., Adams, T.E. and Bochner, A.P. (2011). Autoethnography: an overview. Historical social research, 36 (4), 273-290

• Farrell , R. (2014). Action research, assessment, and Institutional Review Boards (IRB): conflicting demands or productive tension for the academic librarian? New Review of Academic Librarianship, 20(2), 167-184.


• Grace, D. and Sen, B. (2013). Community resilience and the role of the public library. Library Trends, 61 (3), 513–541

• Klipfel, K.M. and Carroll, A. (2015). Librarians as action researchers: a practical framework for evidence-based information literacy instruction. In LOEX 2015 Annual Conference, Denver, CO, May 1, 2015

• Levy, P. (2003). A methodological framework for practice-based research in networked learning. Instructional science, 31, 87–109.

• Marton, F. (1994). Phenomenography. In T. Husén and T.N. Postlethwaite. (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of education. (2nd ed.). (pp. 4424-4429) Oxford, England: Pergamon Press.

• Malenfant, K. (2010). Leading change in the system of scholarly communication: a case study of engaging liaison librarians for outreach to faculty. College and Research Libraries, 71(1), 63-76.

• Malenfant, K., Hinchliffe, L. and Gilchrist, D. (2016). Assessment as action research: bridging academic scholarship and everyday practice.College and Research Libraries, 77(2), 140-143.

• Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and awareness. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

• Nazari, M. (2010). Design and process of a contextual study of information literacy: An Eisenhardt approach. Library & Information Science Research, 32(3), 179-191.

• Patin, B. (2015). Through hell and high water: a librarian’s autoethnography of community resilience after Hurricane Katrina. Media Tropes, 5(2), 58-83.

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• Reason, P. and Bradbury, H. (2008). The SAGE handbook of action research: participatory inquiry and practice. (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage.

• Regaldo, M. and Smale, M. (2015). “I am more productive in the library because it’s quiet”: commuter students in a college library. College and Research Libraries, 76(7), 899-913.

• Thomas, G. (2011). How to do your case study: a guide for students and researchers. London, England: Sage.

• Webber, S., Boon, S. & Johnston, B. (2005). A comparison of UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing. Library and Information Research, 29 (93), 4-15.

• Wheeler, E. & McKinney, P. (2015). Are librarians teachers? Investigating academic librarians’ perceptions of their own teaching roles. Journal of Information Literacy, 9(2), pp. 111-128.

• Wheeler, J., Graebner, C., Skelton, M. And Patterson, M. (2014). Librarians as faculty association participants: an autoethnography. In J. Dekker & M. Kandiuk (Eds.), In solidarity: Academic librarian labour activism and union participation in Canada (pp. 171-183). Sacramento, CA : Library Juice Press

• Whitworth, A. et al. (2014). Changing libraries: facilitating self-reflection and action research on organizational change in academic libraries. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 20(2), 251-274.


Trends and Challenges to Future Libraries: Exploring Research Approaches

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