Results pdfs

Here are the individual pdfs,

• Summary How are public libraries engaging with Library 2.0
• Full text How are public libraries engaging with Library 2.0
• Bibliography How are public libraries engaging with Library 2.0
• Appendix 1 Expanded results of blog search inc sample posts
• Appendix 2 Survey
• Appendix 3 Survey results

Also relevant are the del.icio.us bookmarks which I will continue to update whenever I find new UK public library blogs. The UK Library Blogs wiki points you in the direction of blogs set up by or about library blogs, this specific page lists institutional blogs – if you know about one that isn’t on there then please add it in or let me know about it – this research is ongoing as far as I’m concerned and I’ll be delighted to receive feedback.

How are public libraries engaging with Library 2.0 RESULTS (at last)

Well thank you for your patience. I have finally chopped up bits of my dissertation into pdfs in what I hope will be a useful way. I’ll just put some of the abstract into the body of this post to give a flavour for readers to decide if they’d like to read further. I’m going to email this portion of the research to all those survey respondents who indicated an interest  in learning more and point them here to get more info.

Abstract

Background.

There has been much debate on whether or not Web 2.0 applications have a role to play in the modern library and to what extent. In this context so-called social networking applications are referred to as Library 2.0 and they have divided opinion throughout the profession as to their applicability and worth within public libraries. A few interested parties have conducted their own research into this area but there are very few peer-reviewed studies as yet. Preliminary research suggested UK public libraries are not engaging with Library 2.0.

Aims.

This research aimed to discover the level of engagement of UK public libraries with Library 2.0.  Blogging was the application that was studied in order to narrow the focus of the research to a scope that was achievable given the time constraints, thus as many UK public library blogs as possible were sought. Further to this, this research aimed to discover the attitudes and behaviours of public librarians towards the use of Library 2.0 in their libraries.

Methods.

A literature review was conducted relating to the uptake of Library 2.0 in public libraries, including finding examples of uptake, attitudes and behaviours towards Library 2.0 and other related general research.UK public library blogs were sought and content analysis performed on them to investigate their purpose and success. Finally a survey was devised and sent to all the UK public library authorities as well as many other recipients in the public library sector.

Results.

The literature suggested that public libraries are lagging behind other sectors in engagement with Library 2.0, and blogging specifically; very few peer-reviewed studies have been conducted to date. There is a move towards deriving and utilising standardised methods for blog evaluation to determine success. Twenty UK public library blogs were found, 13 still active, 6 inactive and 1 defunct. 498 people responded to the survey and a wide range of attitudes and behaviours were discovered.

Conclusions.

This study has identified early adopters of blogging in UK public libraries. In taking blogs as a microcosm of the wider Library 2.0 milieu this study has identified several emerging trends that may warrant further study regarding the lack of uptake of Library 2.0; these include technological barriers presented by IT departments and wider organisational culture; apathy of library staff, lack of engagement; a feeling that social networking has no relevance to what a library should be doing; a lack of time to devote to content creation; and use of other methods of communication deemed more appropriate.

The shine is off blogging for libraries.

Despite the heat being very much on (deadline for dissertation 30th September) I cannot stop wandering in to new writings and research on the subject of public library blogs – I mostly have to turn the router off to get any writing done. This latest from Walt Crawford makes very interesting reading, especially as I was one of the 80 people who bought his book! It seems that a lot of blogs have fallen by the wayside, lay becalmed and unloved. I think the jump-on-the-bandwagon era is over and now business cases need to be made and sound evaluations of social software are being made before enthusiastically setting off into the echo chamber. This means that my discussion  and conclusions will be quite different to what they would have been if I had completed and submitted last September, there is the benefit of a little more distance and discernment now.

Getting back on the horse…

After a lengthy period of illness I am now trying to get back into my research – whilst working. I have a lot of respect for people who are able to split themselves many ways and keep all the balls in the air; I’m pants at it. It takes me a long time to warm up.

I’m working through my content analysis now; what really helped was drawing together my survey material in response to a request from a librarian in Portugal – how cool is that, I’m still tickled at how Web 2.0 can draw us together in our common goals – which has focussed my mind at what I have asked. This will help me to work out what people have answered! Simple but it’s these baby steps that get me to my ultimate goals, not over-reaching and trying to do it all at once.

I am of course concerned about the relevance of my research now that a few months have passed and I’ve not been so connected. What I have to remind myself of is that many people and public libraries are really not all that connected at all yet so I have to think that I am still doing some research that is valid. That’s one good reason why I don’t think I’d make the world’s greated PhD student, that angst of relevance and up-to-date-ness muct be crippling sometimes!

Anyhoo, back to it!!!!

Analysis paralysis?

There comes a point in any research where you simply have to stop reading what other people have written. This is difficult because there are so many multi-branching and diverging avenues your reading can take you down. This was far less of a problem when I was an undergraduate in the 1990s because it was quicker to establish whether or not something was a blind alley: this was often the result because the university library simply did not subscribe to the journal in which you were interested and by the time an inter-library loan came through, the course was over and you were into the summer holiday!

Of course it’s far better now, you can satisfy yourself that you really have read everything that has been published in the English language that is available electronically, but the amount of time that takes! I’m trying to put my literature review together for the introduction and methodology sections of my dissertation but I just keep finding new stuff! I just found a really interesting article on organisational blogging and how it was found to give an organisation a more human voice in the perceptions of its readers; this is an intuitive truth but of course empirical evidence is always key. Then of course you look in Google Scholar and do a citation search on your key references and that’s another afternoon gone.

At some point, information overload kicks in and it’s time for a cup of tea….

Public library survey is go!

Well here it is at long last, I’ve piloted and tweaked and hope it tells me what I want to know about public libraries engagement with Library 2.0. I’m not so keen on the “social” networking name of all the sites and applications this entails as there’s so much that it professional in their functionality now.

Please take my survey, I’ll love you forever (well, I’ll say thank you)

Anyhoo, here’s the info:

My name is Sarah Hammond and I am conducting some research in fulfilment of my MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield. I am interested in how public libraries and librarians feel about the use of so-called social networking websites and software as a tool for the library and its various functions.

I am interested in obtaining the views of as many public librarians who canspare a few moments to complete this survey but if you do not wish to but thinkone of your colleagues might, then please forward it on to them. Could I ask you to please spare a few minutes to whizz through my survey?

Kind regards

Sarah Hammond

Student on the MA in Librarianship programme

Department of Information Studies

University of Sheffield

http://www.shef.ac.uk/is/

Modify and improve the monkey

So I need to go back and revise my questionnaire. One of my peers on the MA gave me the most constructive feedback anyone has been kind enough to give me, incredibly generous. Obviously my heart sank when I started to read it but when I pulled my morale out of my boots I was very grateful; the constructive criticism was structured and has enabled me to go back and really improve and streamline my survey; I’ll effect these changes then send it to my dissertation supervisor who probably thinks I’ve fallen off the planet.

On another note entirely: I am full of admiration for someone who can demonstrate logic gates using domino runs. That’s just not how my mind works, I’m not great at visualising like this. I can imagine Richard Feynman would have loved this!

I read a couple of articles yesterday on how Facebook is not a good business tool; I’ve joined some professional groups on FB and hope to get some survey respondents that way but I thought some good points were made, hence I immediately signed up to LinkedIn and found one of my brothers on there! I think this is an excellent tool and it’s quite surprising how many connections I have already.

Survey monkey business

I’m really impressed with Survey Monkey and I think that this would have made a massive difference to me and my peers when we did our undergraduate psychology degree all those years ago – back when the internet was a mere curio and functionally useless.

I notice that they are recruiting for a web developer at their HQ in Portland, OR. Oh if only I were a web developer and lived in Oregon! Not really, apart from the last part. One thing that really struck me is how the librarian and info profession commands respect in the US of A. It made me feel very positive about my career choice, I need to hang on to that through these tough days of dissertation and job hunting. Apparently there are 2.5 hours being advertised for a local branch library. This does leave me wondering how well the services are being managed if they have to advertise externally for this.

I’ve sent my cv to three agencies now which is progress. I am somewhat hamstrung by my lack of driving licence (and car) but Leeds is commutable and there are all kinds of interesting public and private sector organisations there.

On with the Monkey business.

Boot up the backside

I’m doing it again, getting panicky about the reading and not doing the doing, as it were. I need to just get on with the questionnaire construction and get it the hell out there, after the pilot. Time is running out and my jetlag is only just dissipating so it’s time to go up several gears.

If I keep blogging then it means I’m working so I have something to blog about and that I’m thinking about what I’m doing.

Keir is going great guns on his research and it’s high time I started to catch up with him! I’ve also been contacted by someone who is doing the same research at City University! No need to panic, obviously this idea has come into its time. There’s even a PhD around that looks excellent. It’s just very easy to get down-hearted that I won’t be able to put this into practice in a public library in the UK. I’ll have to see what the questionnaire finds out about organisational culture. I’m off to learn how to use Survey Monkey now.

SLA Conference Seattle

My own blog is somewhat becalmed as I am blogging for SLA at present on the most amazing experiences I’ve been so lucky to have. As I only submitted my last assignment (not counting that 20 000 word dissertation I need to magic up for 1st September) this time last week, I’ve been somwhat lax on the old blogging front there. Tsk tsk, not good enough I know. Well I calculated that I had written 17 000 words in the last 5 weeks – nothing like piling the pressure on yourself – so I reckon I can write any old tot, and at great length now. What an achievement.

To bed, to bed, to bed……… more in due course, I promise to my 1.1 readers – Cerf, 2008.

😉