scholarly journals Membership of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) among library and information service workers in KwaZulu-Natal

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Musawenkosi Phumelelo Khomo
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

The objectives of the study were: 1) to investigate the extent to which workers in library and information services in KwaZulu-Natal are members of LIASA; and 2) if there are substantial numbers of LIS workers who are not currently members, then what are the possible reasons for this? The study surveyed three types of library services in KwaZulu-Natal, namely, academic, public and special libraries with 330 LIS workers participating in the study. A census was done of LIS workers in special libraries and in academic libraries of public higher education institutions in KZN. Simple random sampling was used in selecting public libraries in KZN for participation in the study. All staff in the selected sample of public libraries were surveyed. The research instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire. It was established that a significant number of LIS workers in all three types of libraries surveyed in KZN are currently not members of LIASA for various reasons. LIASA has been unable to draw significant membership from the support staff category in LIS services despite its constitution claiming to embrace all LIS workers. The study recommends that LIASA market itself more aggressively to increase membership levels particularly in the public library sector and among support staff in all LIS services. It also recommends that LIASA should consider involving itself in the industrial concerns of the LIS sector.

Employee perceptions of the influence of diversity dimensions on co-worker interactions and daily organizational operations

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 810-819
Author(s):  
Atasha Reddy ◽  
Sanjana Brijball Parumasur
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Influences ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

This study assesses employee perceptions of the influence of diversity dimensions (race, gender, religion, language, sexual orientation, attitudes, values, work experience, physical ability, economic status, personality) on their interactiions with co-workers as well as on their organization in its daily operations. These perceptions were also compared and gender related correlates were assessed. The study was undertaken in a public sector Electricity Department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The population includes 100 employees in the organization, from which a sample of 81 was drawn using simple random sampling. Data was collected using a self-developed, pre-coded, self-administered questionnaire whose reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reflect that employees perceive that their interactions with co-workers are most likely to be influenced by attitudes, work experience and personality and that daily organizational operations are most likely to be influenced by race, work experience and attitudes. Furthermore, religion and sexual orientation are perceived as having the least influence on co-worker interaction and day-to-day organizational operations. In the study it was also found that employees perceive that race followed by gender influences day-to-day organizational operations to a larger extent than it influences co-worker interactions. Recommendations made have the potential to enhance the management of workforce diversity

Reversing the gaze on race, social justice, and inclusion in public librarianship

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Amber Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Historical Times ◽  
Diversity Studies

While contemporary revisionist narratives frame the public library as a benevolent and neutral community resource, it has existed for over two centuries and has a deeply shaded past. Particularly, public libraries played key roles in projects tied to the industrialist mission of states and the education of select social groups during key historical times. In no uncertain terms, these were inherently racist and colonial projects in which libraries helped proffer socially constructed and politically motivated ideas of race and class. This work draws on relevant and important work in anti-oppression studies, Black studies, critical diversity studies, and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to trouble contemporary revisionist perspectives in public librarianship to show how they further entrench monocultural normativity and structural racism. It also draws on scholarship in anti-racism studies to reimagine possibilities for public librarianship that genuinely reflect its core values of equity and justice.

The e-book war in Denmark

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105
Author(s):  
Lisbeth Worsøe-Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Book Market ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Commercial Market ◽  
Book World ◽  
Traditional Understanding

The aim is to investigate how digitisation and in particular e-books have changed relations between private players and public institutions within the Danish book world through a case study of eReolen, a private-public partnership functioning as common platform for public libraries’ lending of e-books in Denmark. Traditional and new models of the book world are discussed as the basis of understanding relations between the players. A new way of analysing the field outlined by literary sociologist, Professor Johan Svedjedal, is adopted. The main conclusions are that the lending of e-books has disrupted the traditional understanding and interaction between the public library system and the commercial book market. In addition, the Danish library system through the partnership has taken on a new function in relation to the commercial market, namely acting as the engine in building a market for Danish e-books.

scholarly journals A public library cannot live on books alone: A lesson from history

IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Șerbănuță
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
System Development ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Totalitarian Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Archival Documents

For almost half a century Romania was under a totalitarian regime. In times of severe censorship and information control the communist regime promoted public libraries. This paper will present the main phases of the public library system development and discuss how the state’s emphasis on providing large collections of books influenced library services. As part of an oral history project, this paper will use memories of people who worked in public libraries of various sizes in the 1970s and the 1980s, archival documents and secondary sources to contribute to a more nuanced discussion about the recent history of Romanian public libraries. What were the phases of the development of the national library system and how important was the library collection for the institutional survival of the public library? The paper will also discuss the collection development policy and contrast it with the impoverished professional development within the library system.

scholarly journals Unchain my heart and set me free: A new civil society library model.

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
New Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Oversight ◽  
Direct Government ◽  
And Control

A new model of the public library is outlined that explicitly links it to its role in support of civil society. The model argues that the ongoing “chaining” of public libraries to direct government oversight and control is deleterious to their ability to actualize their potential. Collateral argument is made that that it is the civil society character rather than the simply free nature of these libraries which needs to be harnessed to help move the conceptualization of the sector away from a reactive model of client service toward a dynamic approach that integrates with the life experiences of clients.

Immaterial labour, public librarians, and third-generation public libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan A Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Public Librarians ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Blind Spots

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to draw attention to one specific upper-level government policy document in which a discourse of perpetual innovation and customer service is promoted, and the kinds of questions such discursive interventions raise for the future of work in public libraries; and second, to demonstrate the explanatory potential of the concept of immaterial labour for questions relating to emerging labour processes in libraries. The concepts of “prosumer” and Web 2.0 are included as discursive resources of relevance to any discussion of immaterial labour. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a public policy visioning document for public libraries in Ontario, Canada, with reflections on related literatures. Findings – The concept of immaterial labour provides an additional analytic tool suitable for questions of relevance to public librarians and library scholars. Within the government text under review which deals specifically with the future of the public library to 2020, the identity of the public librarian is alarmingly absent. Conversely, the library patron as a producer and consumer is privileged. Research limitations/implications – Failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for public library professionals, educators and researchers. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the value of a discourse analysis for uncovering the ideological dimensions of policy documents, while simultaneously modelling the method using the kind of policy text commonly produced in governments around the world. Social implications – This paper shows how failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for the public library community. Originality/value – This paper contextualizes the immaterial and volunteer labour of the public library user as producer/consumer in the context of the future of the frontline professional and waged librarian.

Democracy, digitisation and public libraries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Skøtt
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
National Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Media Types

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what democratic challenges the digitisation of the public libraries in Denmark has entailed. Using the concepts from a national library professional strategy from 2012, an analysis of 9 librarians’ experiences with digital dissemination in practice is conducted. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a part of a larger research project called “If digitisation is the answer, then what was the question?”. This sub study builds on the semi-structured interviews with library staff members, case-descriptions of two central providers of digital public library materials, as well as literature studies of missions, vision and strategies from different public library policy institutions. To frame the study, a literature review has been conducted. Findings The author detects the presence of several incompatible conditions in digital dissemination. These conditions are predominantly of an organisational nature, potentially containing major consequences for citizens’ free and equal access to information, knowledge and culture. Among other things, the Danish public libraries risk substantiating an already existing and problematic polarisation between technologically capable and incapacitated groups of people. Originality/value The digital transformation of society has only just begun. Therefore, it is important to examine the consequences of the transition to digital media types for central cultural institution such as the public libraries. The present study is an early and minor contribution to the illumination of a process requiring many more and large-scale studies.

The Public Library in an Aging Society

2014 ◽  
pp. 266-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Donkai ◽  
Chieko Mizoue
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
Aging Society ◽  
Service Category ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Recent Government ◽  
Individual Service

This chapter describes the present conditions of our aging society, with a particular focus on Japan as a typical example of such a society. In Japan, one in every four individuals is over 65 years of age, and one in eight is over 75 years of age. Further, based on this demographic change to an older population, this chapter discusses a new library service designed to enhance the lives of elderly citizens. The authors explore this new service from the viewpoint of lifelong learning, utilizing the results of recent government surveys and some case studies, such as those done at the Izumo City Hikawa Library and the Akita Prefectural Library in Japan. Although the elderly have been placed within the category of “disabled library patrons,” in recent years, it has become more common to consider the elderly, as a whole, as an individual service category. We should, in the near future, pay more attention to supporting elderly citizens at public libraries to engage them in the development and maintenance of their own communities.

Public Libraries in the Modern World

2018 ◽  
pp. 239-263
Author(s):  
M.N. Venkatesan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Modern World ◽  
The Public ◽  
Group A ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Independent Decision

Modern society has various needs such as education, research, cultural advancement, information, spiritual and ideological pursuits, pastime and recreation. Society has founded various institutions to serve these needs, among them the library occupies a prominent place; the library is able to meet all of them in equal measure. The public library is the local centre of information making all kinds of knowledge and information made available to its users. The public library, the local gateway to knowledge, provides a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision making and cultural development of the individual and social group. A public library as enunciated in the UNESCO Manifesto (1994) is expected to play the libraries role in three main areas like information, education and culture. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of how the public libraries support and guides the digital and modern world.

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