Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
Interviewee: Stephen Edwards, 24, a senior at St. John’s University, is a Business student
(actuarial science) attending the Manhattan Campus.
Summary
Stephen regularly uses the services offered at the St. John’s University Manhattan
campus Library. Previously he used to go to the Queens campus Library. When asked
about what type of library it is, he defined the Manhattan library as specific to the
Business syllabus (insurance topics), and Queens to a wider variety of subjects. He
knows about the main services offered by the library, for example, access to print and
online research, and sees benefits to using the library including “expanding your
knowledge base”.
Other benefits mentioned include assistance with assignments, a
resource for research in and outside one’s major.
Who decides materials? Stephen believes it is collaboration between all the
Colleges in the university, and the professors decide the material in eReserves. He had
no idea who organizes the material, but he had some knowledge of where different
subjects where located, for instance, Government and Politics are located on the fourth
floor. In addition, he found the way it was organized to be helpful, especially the
electronic resources of the library, (such as the search engines, and Proquest searches) in
locating “books”. Noting his limited understanding of how the library is organized, he
could not make much suggestions on how it could be organized, other than the need to
ensure the books are returned to its exact place should he need them.
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
According to the respondent, the staff is divided in two categories: those who are
specialists and student workers. Further, the specialized staff was distinguished from
student workers by their age. He also noted that they were more educated and highly
trained than student workers. His perception of their entry into library work was that it
was administrative work and there was not any career planning involved in entering this
type of work.
My observations about what I heard in the interview
Generally, I was amazed by the interviewee’s lack of knowledge about the work
of Librarians and Library and Information Science in general. Despite his lack of
knowledge on this area, he views the library as important place because it provides an
environment conducive to learning, something that he finds other students do not
appreciate enough.
On the question on “what kind of library is it” it was difficult for the interviewee
to respond and he needed further explanation. This shows that he (and probably other
students) is ignorant about the different types of Libraries. He thought of it based on
subject, which is a valid way of classifying them because you are looking at the
information needs of the users. However, libraries also serve other needs, in particular,
recreational needs, and the needs of communities- a place to hold meetings or language
classes for newcomers. Thus, this student has a limited view of libraries as only serving
information needs.
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
In regards to his responses about the library’s staff, librarians are not perceived to
be professionals; rather they are seen as administrative or office workers. Although they
are perceived to be trained, their training or education is inferior to other professions.
How could this be given their educational qualifications-master’s degree and higher?
Moreover, I found it quite simplistic to use age to distinguish
who is the
“specialized” staff or (librarian) and who is the student worker. Suppose there is a young
librarian? Perhaps, he views librarians as middle-aged adults. If this is the case, it
supports the sentiment that librarianship is not a career that young people can actively
plan to enter, but rather an administrative job.
He knew little about how the library is organized physically, yet is quite aware of
its electronic side. I was impressed that he know about “Proquest”. This shows that the
library is not thought of only in the physical realm, but is viewed as a “hybrid library”
(Rubin 2004, p. 96). In light of this, it implies that electronic resources are gaining more
attention of students than the print resources;. For example he was not aware of the print
periodicals section (current and back issues) on the second floor, yet he knew of
Proquest- “an electronic index of abstracts and articles”. (Katz 2002 p.154)
The greater attention given to electronic resources by students could be related to
their need to be more “self-sufficient in locating information” according to Rubin. (2004,
p.27). Thus, Stephen would prefer to find information on Proquest than go to a librarian
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
as it he sees as being efficient and less-time consuming. As a result, the St. John’s
Library would have to consider adding more electronic resources to meet the information
needs of students.
Indeed, the
relationships among the answers given by the interviewee are
insightful. The perception that librarians are administrative staff could explain why he did
not mention them as the decision makers for the materials in the Library. The Colleges
were mentioned, in other words, the faculties of these colleges are regarded as the
decision makers. I agree with this perception, but he failed to acknowledge the people
who actually organize the material so that it is accessible. Librarians provide the access
to the materials, so how is it that they are not mentioned as well? They prepare the
physical and electronic resources so as he mentioned he could find the resources, still
they are unseen. Unacknowledged and undervalued. I feel somewhat angry when I think
about it.
In conclusion, it is difficult to say more as little was said by the interviewee about
the library. Perhaps that says a lot. People seem not to seek to know more about the
library which is such an important resource in their personal and professional
development. Is it that they take it granted because it is free? What if students were not
able to access “Proquest” and other full-text databases? Stephen’s lack of knowledge has
made me aware of my own ignorance about the library at St. John’s? For instance, are
their resources that are no longer available and why?
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
Suggestions?
Having no idea of who organizes the material may not be important to Stephen
and other students However, it is pivotal that the student body or government be aware to
ensure that students could have some say in to what resources are available to them. It is
their library after all. Also, there should be a way to show students how the library is
organized and how important a role librarians play in their academic success as well as
the success of the university in fulfilling its mandate.
Safiya—
It sounds like you had an interesting and edifying interview. However, this paper
reads as if it is a rough draft rather than a finished research report. There are numerous
writing mistakes, and some of your sentences are hard to understand. Did you run out of
time?
For your next paper, I urge you to make use of the Writing Center on the first
floor of the Library.
Grade = 78
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
Appendix
Questions asked in interview
1. Background: What Library do you use most often?
What kind of library is it? How often do you use it?
2. Library Services: What services are offered by the library to its users? Do
you use the services? What will the library do for you?
What kinds of help will they give you?
3. Library Collection: Who decides what materials will be in the library? Who
organizes the materials in the library? How is it organized? Is the way it is
organized helpful to you? How could it be organized better for you?
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
4. Library Staffing: What kind of staff does a library have? How did you know
that? How do they learn their jobs? How do they get into library work?
Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
LIS 204
Submitted by: Safiya Roseman
Submitted to: Kevin Rioux, PhD
Submitted on: October 4th, 2006
This should be the first page, not the seventh.
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Assignment: Research Report on perceptions of LIS
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