Emporia State University Research and Creativity Day Poster Session, April 26, 2012

Librarians’ Professional Identities and Stereotypes through the Evolution of Social Networking:

A Survey and Analysis

Cynthia AkersDirector of InstructionEmporia State University Libraries and Archives

What Prompted This Survey?We know that patrons of all types of libraries can hold certain stereotypes of librarians (and sometimes, for very valid reasons!)Stereotypes include:• The Old Maid (not necessarily limited by gender)• The Police (zealously guarding books)• The Parody (comical or satirical representation)• The Inept (socially awkward/uncomfortable)

Can you think of other stereotypes?Attebury, “Perceptions of a Profession: Librarians and Stereotypes in Online Videos”. Library Philosophy and Practice, 2010.

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/attebury.htm

Enter…Social Networking!

Assumptions:• Generation X/Y/Millennium

cultures may be more comfortable with technology (digital natives)

• As these cultures choose professions, they may be more apt to incorporate social networking into library presences and influence other generations into doing so

• Are, then, professional identities affected positively, negatively, or not at all by the prevalence of social networking tools?

Social Networking Examples: Facebook (and to a much lesser extent anymore, MySpace)

Twitter

Blogs

Google+

LinkedIn

YouTube

What Does the Literature Say?

Not much, at present! The assumptions about librarian identities and social networking about have only recently been tested:

Ramirose Attebury (2010): Examined librarians and stereotypes in online videos.

Most library literature covers either librarians’ attitudes toward the Internet, or “how-to” articles on setting up a library’s Facebook or Twitter presence for publicity, promotion, and outreach.

Survey: Summer and Early Fall 2011

• Zoomerang survey created for two audiences:– Librarians and library personnel

• Librarians – defined as holding a Master of Library Science degree or equivalent from an institution accredited by the American Library Association

• Library personnel – working in a library but not holding above degree

– Library and information science students• Enrolled full-time or part-time in MLS or equivalent program in an

institution accredited by the American Library Association

• Approval for survey granted by ESU Institutional Review Board

• No limit on type of library; responses solicited from public, academic, school, special, and any other libraries

Survey Distribution and Responses

Link to the survey and E-mail distributed to the following listservs:• KANLIB-L (Kansas libraries)• PUBLIB-L (public libraries)• LIBREF-L (reference

librarians)• ILI-L (library instruction)• DIGREF-L (digital reference)• GOVDOC-L (government

documents)

800 responses• 703 – librarians• 64 – library personnel• 33 – library science student

Further demographic breakdowns:• Librarians and library

personnel: – 597-female; 100-male

• Library science students:– 28-female; 2-male

15

91

101

78

80

84

86

114

448

Age Range of Respondents - Librarians and Library Personnel

20-2526-3031-3536-4041-4546-5051-5556-6061-6565 or over

4

10

3

4

1

2

4

1

Age Range of Respondents -- Library and Information Science Students

20-2526-3031-3536-4041-4546-5051-5556-6061-6565 or over

(No respondents 65 and over)

468

286

239

311

100

171

Librarians and Library Personnel:What social networking tools do you use in your

professional/scholarly activities?

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube or similar online video service

Blog

I do not use social networking tools in my professional/scholarly activi-ties

Other (please describe)

“Other” included LinkedIN, Google+, Google Sites, Google Docs, Meebo, FourSquare, listservs, Flickr, Goodreads.

19

11

12

15

8

7

Library and Information Science Students:What social networking tools do you use in your

scholarly activities?

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube or similar online video service

Blog

I do not use social networking tools in my scholarly activities

Other (please describe)

“Other” included Plurk, LinkedIN, Web-Junction, Ning, Moodle

247

211

71

50

40

96

Librarians and Library Personnel:How often do you use these tools in your professional/scholarly activities?

Daily

Weekly

More than twice a month

Monthly

Less than twice a month

I do not use social networking tools in my pro-fessional/scholarly activities

15

3

2

1

2

7

Library and Information Science Students:How often do you use these tools in your

scholarly activities?

Daily

Weekly

More than twice a month

Monthly

Less than twice a month

I do not use social networking tools in my scholarly activities

How Do You See Social Networking Tools as Changing One’s Professional Identity?

Librarians and Library Personnel (424 comments)“I am old:+)- I will always consider myself a librarian, not a social media maven. Social media are just another set of tools in my professional toolkit.”

“Because these are tools of communication, I don't see them as changing one's professional identity, but simply as what it is: a tool. Social networking is pervasive beyond our profession. I don't see the tool itself as having any more difference in changing one's professional identity as, say, print on paper.”

“It is very much about presentation, PR, and marketing. Best face forward all the time! Having to understand that some media are more effective than others by type of information being released. Having to have awareness that confidential data is not best placed or is inappropriate for some social media platforms.”

“Very easy to blur the line between personal and professional. Can facilitate relationships, but can also cause problems. Useful for spreading ideas and information quickly, but must be alert to misinformation and to information taken out of context.”

“It changes how you are seen by your colleagues, peers, and by the general public. You are now gauged by your conduct, by the things you say, by the things others say about you, by what you write, by the way you write it, and through… face to face, papers, peer review, presentations…For me, Twitter has been the best networking tool in the profession. It has both allowed me to listen in on what others are doing and share my own experiences and resources through minimal effort and in a "drop-in-to-view-the-current-news-whenever" kind of way. It has allowed me to make many more connections that then helps face to face meeting at conferences, etc. than I would have otherwise.”

“I think that "social networking" is the latest hot trend in librarianship that, if you're not accepting of or mad about them, you will be perceived as not "cool" and a "curmudgeon" - which conforms to stereotypes about librarians. I'm not saying I believe this perception is valid or fair, but it seems to be the "reality" that pervades the library profession.”

“They might learn that we are up to speed and libraries are relevant to them in today's world. We can help them with information shortcuts AND we can be fun (and funny) in our social networking!”

How Do You See Social Networking Tools as Changing One’s Professional Identity?

Library and Information Science Students (22 responses)“The most effective librarians today are the ones who are savvy in networking and use them to their advantage.”“I think we all have to be careful of our professional vs. personal online presence and how (if) to distinguish between the two.”“Kills the stereotype”“I think it shows people other sides of yourself and helps you branch out to have "conversations" and feel closer to others in your profession. Sometimes this can be bad, as people can see negative as well as positive personality traits online. Something you see online may change your view of the person. Usually it's good, but can also be bad.”“I think one's identity will be dependent on a person's ability to project professionalism through these tools. Some people will be better at this than others.”

How do you see social networking tools as affecting the future of our profession?

Librarians and Library Personnel (437 comments)“the more we are forced to dumb down our message the less value we will have.”

“From an academic librarian perspective, I would note that social networks take time away from reading or writing "scholarly material," such as published articles in peer-reviewed journals. This is, in my opinion, a good thing--studies on scholarly peer review make me doubt the validity of that system for weeding the good from the bad. And, anyway, the best peer review comes from people deciding to share--or not share--something with their networks. I get better content from Twitter, most days, than I do from journals.”

“I think that they will be another tool for our arsenal, but not something that is revolutionary. Ultimately, our job is to assist people to find the information they seek; whether we do it by phone, text message, instant message, email, or face-to-face makes little difference. It's similar to how we provide services in teaching, straight reference, collection development, and cataloguing. All are different facets of connecting information to the user, and social networking tools are simply an addition.”

“Social networking tools will continue to evolve and become more useful to our profession. Right now the social networking phenomenon is still just beginning to extend from individuals to organizations. Facebook really revolutionized the Web; making it a more individually-focused tool capable of filtering contacts and content tailored to the user rather than the ‘crowd.’”

“Ideally? Keeping people energized and connected. The issue is supervisors who see it as a "waste of time" and don't allow it, which leads to stagnation and isolation.”

“The line between librarians and journalists may blur. Clever use of social networking can also make it easier for libraries and librarians to connect with potential patrons who never, or rarely, cross the physical threshold of the library.”

How do you see social networking tools as affecting the future of our profession?

Library and Information Science Students(23 responses)“Social networking tools and our ability to use them and let them work for us will determine which libraries will remain stuck in the past and which will soar into the future.”

“Don't know. The profession is very much the same in many ways as it has been for decades. Ethics and customer service have always been important. How we do these things is different but getting the right materials into the hands (or computers or smart phones) of our customers is still very important.”

“Right now these function as an awkward add-on to our services. They probably function better in a public library setting. Most of these tools have been out 5+ years and to my mind have become stale -- I'm ready for a new generation of social networking tools. All technological change affects our world and our profession to some degree, but I don't think the current crop of social networking tools has or will affect our profession much.”

“As long as we don't forget to keep that personal touch - I can see it opening up a whole new area of library services.”

Is there anything else you would like to comment about social networking tools and

librarian identity/profession?Librarians/library personnel (219 responses)• It seems like people who don't use social networking

tools are being left behind. I worry for our profession, when people show such unwillingness to change their workflows.

• Frankly, I think we spend too much time worrying about our identity. What's wrong with being what the public believes us to be? If that's what they want from us, why not deliver? Isn't that our job? Who cares if they will always think of us as stereotypical shushers? If we are connecting them with the information they need, we're doing our job. If we're making them aware of information they didn't know they would be interested in, we're doing our job. If we're reaching out with education and opportunities, we're doing our job. The public is being served, regardless of how they perceive us or how we perceive ourselves. Our focus should always be our patrons, not ourselves.

• I am sensitive to the eventual disconnect that often occurs within SN connectivity. I think I might have said more did more sometimes and oftentimes feel that I might have 'dropped the ball' and am keeping another person waiting who might be hoping or more connection from me.

Library and information science students (8 responses)• I'm not worried about the generation gaps. I know

individuals (my parents' generation at least) who are using social networks better than people my age.

• I'm a Millennial who's had a webpage half my life and used generations of social networking tools. I like them, and I think they're changing things for the good in many ways, but I think that in the rush to understand and use these tools, we should remember that in-person connections (between colleagues, between user and librarian) are still valuable and cannot be replaced in many cases. Finding a balance is key!

• People are human, and they are more than entitled to expressing themselves, however, with a position comes responsibility, and in this position they should be professional on and off the clock, for their own reputation, and for the reputation of the establishment they work for.

Conclusions and Next Steps?• Analysis of data ongoing, but

preliminary findings are that librarians/library personnel are overall using social networking while at the same time noting the blurring of professional/personal identities and potential loss of privacy

• At present, no significant difference in generations regarding use of social networking and professional identity; perhaps some differences in concerns (privacy; jumping upon the latest technological “toy”; loss of personal service)

• Identify and survey a greater population of library and information science students; sampling is too small at present to extrapolate many comparisons with other groups

• Identify methods to survey library patrons – what are their perceptions of librarians, identity, and effects of social networking?

What are YOUR thoughts about your discipline, stereotypes, social networking, and professional identity? Let me know! [email protected]