using equal access to information to leverage professional

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Ian M. Johnson*
Department of Information Management
Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University
Aberdeen, UK
USING EQUAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION TO LEVERAGE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
[RÓWNY DOSTĘP DO INFORMACJI JAKO DŹWIGNIA ROZWOJU
PROFESJONALNEGO]
Abstract: Electronic publishing generally, including the emergence of Open Access journals, has significantly improved access to current professional knowledge. This paper considers how this can be used most effectively to
enhance the development of libraries and information services. It argues that while equal access to published information improves the opportunity to make international comparisons, these may still lack the contextual information
needed to make the objective evaluations that could influence decisions on the support provided for libraries and
information services. The paper discusses the challenges and opportunities in undertaking international collaborative
research as a means of enriching the contextual understanding in comparative studies.
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH – EDUCATION – ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING – OPEN ACCESS
Abstrakt: Elektroniczne publikowanie jako takie, a w jego ramach nowo powstające czasopisma Open Access,
znacznie poprawiło dostęp do aktualnych zasobów wiedzy profesjonalnej. W artykule przedstawiono rozważania
nad sposobami efektywniejszego wykorzystania tej formy publikowania do pobudzania rozwoju bibliotek i działalności informacyjnej. Wyrażono twierdzenie, że choć równy dostęp do opublikowanej informacji stwarza dogodniejsze warunki dla analiz komparatystycznych w skali międzynarodowej, to w porównaniach tych może brakować
informacji na temat lokalnego kontekstu, niezbędnej do formułowania obiektywnych ocen, które z kolei mogą
wpływać na decyzje o wsparciu finansowym udzielanym bibliotekom i ośrodkom informacji. Omówiono wyzwania
*
Professor IAN M. JOHNSON, Professor of Information Management, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon
University, Aberdeen, Great Britain. Former Chairman of British, European and international bodies concerned with
education for Librarianship and Information Studies, and of the IFLA Professional Board. Participant of numerous
international projects, most recently concerned with improving access to networked information resources. Joint Editor of
Libri: international journal of libraries and information services. Member of the editorial board of Education for
Information. Writes a regular column in Information Development. Two the most important publications: (2007) Electronic
publishing in Librarianship and Information Sciences in Latin America – a step towards development? (co-author with
V. Cano). Information Research Vol. 13, No. 1. [online:] http://informationr.net/ir/13-1/paper331.html; (2005) “In the middle
of difficulty lies opportunity” - using a case study to identify Critical Success Factors contributing to the initiation of
international collaborative projects. Education for Information Vol. 23, No. 1/2, March, p. 9–42. E-mail:
[email protected]
Prof. IAN M. JOHNSON, Department of Information Management, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon
University, Aberdeen, Wielka Brytania. Były prezes brytyjskich, europejskich i międzynarodowych organizacji zajmujących
się problematyką kształcenia w zakresie bibliotekoznawstwa i informacji naukowej. Były członek Komitetu Fachowego
IFLA. Uczestnik wielu projektów międzynarodowych, w ostatnim czasie głównie przedsięwzięć zmierzających do poprawy
dostępu do źródeł informacji w środowisku sieciowym. Jeden z trzech redaktorów naczelnych Libri: international journal of
libraries and information services. Członek komitetu redakcyjnego Education for Information. Autor stałej rubryki
w periodyku Information Development. Dwie najważniejsze publikacje: (2007) Electronic publishing in Librarianship and
Information Sciences in Latin America – a step towards development? (współaut. z V. Cano). Information Research Vol. 13,
No. 1. [online:] http://informationr.net/ir/13-1/paper331.html; (2005) “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” – using
a case study to identify Critical Success Factors contributing to the initiation of international collaborative projects.
Education for Information Vol. 23, No. 1/2, March, p. 9–42. Adres elektr.: [email protected]
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i szanse związane z podejmowaniem międzynarodowych kolektywnych projektów badawczych, będących potencjalną drogą do lepszego rozumienia uwarunkowań kontekstowych w badaniach porównawczych.
BADANIA PORÓWNAWCZE – EDUKACJA – ELEKTRONICZNE PUBLIKOWANIE – OPEN ACCESS
*
*
*
Introduction
Recently, a British newspaper report on money wasted by the National Health Service in Scotland focused
on a number of non-jobs – staff whose work the journalist regarded as unnecessary. These unnecessary jobs allegedly included the library service managers. Of course, we would disagree with the journalist’s judgement, but
how could he have come to that conclusion? He is not alone. Several major newspapers in Britain have closed
their libraries, and the journalists there rely on the Web as a source of information. Many local public library
services in Britain are being starved of funds, and are closing branch libraries. In other countries, we can see
numerous examples of university libraries with out of date collections of books and inadequate collections of
journals. Why are these libraries seen as a low priority for funding? Despite the rapid emergence of the ‘Information Society’, why have we not been able to present an effective case for our role and impact in contemporary
society? How have we failed to spread an appreciation of what we do and its significance?
Problems in LIS research
Should we simply claim that not enough research has been done because, in most countries, support for research into library and information management is far from generous? It may be true that research funding for
our field is not as great as the support for other disciplines, but why is that the case? Have we not made convincing use of the research resources that are available?
Research funders are particularly concerned about the quality of research. How can we develop the expertise
of library and information science researchers? Many researchers in our field simply describe what is happening,
rather than testing and validating it [Urbizagástegui Alvarado 2004]. In the published outputs from their work,
the broader context of the investigation is ignored; objectives are superficial; and research findings are not discussed in comparison with the findings of similar surveys elsewhere to isolate what is relevant and viable. How
do we help them to work in an environment in which they and their work can develop?
What are the factors that have limited research funding agencies’ perceptions of the role that information
does or could play in promoting social and economic well-being? Have we permitted research to focus too much
on improving library operations and the applications of new information technology, and not enough on measuring the returns to society from investment in library services in education, health, economic development, etc.,
where there is more generous funding for research? Availability and accessibility of information for all members
of society poses a major challenge to library services. The wider needs of the illiterate, the poor and the elderly,
and those who live in rural communities attract political sympathy and support in every country, and they are
often the most disadvantaged members of society when dealing with information materials. Could studies of the
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impact of libraries and information services in fields that are widely recognised as socially and economically
important pressurise governments to improve them?
How the could we ensure that the results of research into the impact of library and information services are
fed into the political agenda to justify the additional investment, and secure popular support for it [Menou 2001;
Johnson, et al. 2004]? What do we need to do to make the outcomes of research into library and information
work a matter of interest to the policy makers?
Have we been disadvantaged because researchers in our field tend to work alone on their specialist interest
rather than in research groups whose greater outputs might be more visible? How do we ensure that we create
a large body of evidence from research in a particular field? Because of the size of many Schools of Librarianship and Information Studies, and the variety of subjects they need to cover, many academics tend to have no
immediate colleagues with whom they share a specialist research interest. They work alone, rather than in large
research groups, which may inhibit the development of research techniques, and their occasional published papers may be lost in the mass of papers that appear today and receive insufficient attention. This problem is exacerbated because there is often little consensus between the academic and practitioner communities about the priorities for research [Smith, 2009]. Moreover, there appears to be a marked difference between the topics that the
academics wish to research and the topics that the practitioners favour for discussion at conferences [Marques de
Oliveira 2008]. How can we combine individuals’ efforts to focus research interests, create groups of researchers, and disseminate their research results in a way that commands more attention?
Bridging the information divide
It could be argued that a major contributor to this problem has been the growing ‘information gap.’ The increase in the number of universities and in research activity, particularly during the last hundred years, resulted
in the dramatic growth in scientific and scholarly literature usually referred to as the ‘information explosion’.
However, the growing number of titles and regular price increases were not matched by comparable growth in
libraries’ budgets, and this resulted in fewer purchases for each title, limiting researchers’ awareness of the new
developments in their field.
However, recent technical developments have resulted in changes for libraries and information services in
the last 10 years that have probably been more radical than at any time since libraries were first established. The
research community has welcomed the increase in journals and papers available electronically, through both the
commercial publishers’ ‘Big Deals’ and the development of Open Access journals and repositories. There is
clear evidence that the availability of electronic journals, and the convenience and ease with which they can use
them, has increased journal use dramatically [Schonfield, et al. 2004]. The improvements in access to information that have been presented by electronic publishing have clearly raised awareness of new developments. How
could we capitalise on the improvement in international access to information to enhance support for libraries
and information services?
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Awareness or understanding?
Simple awareness of new ideas will not secure additional financial support for libraries and information
services to introduce new services. If any new idea is to be implemented successfully, awareness of its general
relevance is insufficient. Most recent research into the impact of library and information services has necessarily
comprised a study of a single institution within one country, and often failed to make objective comparisons of
the impact of variations in the human, financial and technical resources provided for library and information
services. How, then, do we now begin to investigate how an innovation has been and should be adapted to local
circumstances?
While equal access to published information improves the opportunity to make comparisons, international
comparative studies may be required to make the meaningful comparisons that could influence decisions on the
support provided for libraries and information services. Researchers need not only to gather basic information
about the scale of resources allocated and the size of population served, but also to critically analyse and evaluate
the implications of the political, legal or organisational framework within which libraries and information services operate, and the social, geographic, educational and economic circumstances. Collaboration with people
from other disciplines as well as practitioners from libraries and information services may also be required to
provide the insights needed overcome the lack of background knowledge.
Towards a partnership of equals?
Researchers’ limited access to current information inhibited a shared understanding of the challenges that libraries faced in different social and economic environments, and constrained the development of partnerships
between individuals in separate institutions or different countries. Could more widespread knowledge of the
leading edge of professional practice in the field make it more likely not only that isolated researchers would
become more aware of interests shared with other researchers and practitioners, but also provide a basis for establishing partnerships to collaborate in evaluating new ideas? How then could we initiate the collaboration that
appears to be needed to address some of the current problems in research activity in the field of library and information management?
Opportunities for the development of personal networks have increased in recent years, as transport and
communications have become more readily available and relatively less expensive. Regional and international
conferences for SLIS are now well established. They are particularly important for researchers for whom, because of the poor distribution of their national journals, they represent a significant outlet for reporting on research activities [Steinerová, 2003). BOBCATSSS has taken on this role in Europe. These conference activities
also provide opportunities for the faculty of Schools of Librarianship and Information Studies to become acquainted, personally and professionally, but the subsequent initiation of the collaborative activities that are need
to develop an effective research agenda depends on the enthusiasm and energy of individuals.
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Winning support for LIS research
Support for depends largely on the perception of decision makers in governments and universities whether
or not they believe that libraries and information services produce significant benefits in terms of economic and
social development. The challenge is to identify not only potential areas for research but also the financial support for research that may be available from different agencies. Teachers and practitioners in relevant fields of
library and information work should be encouraged to work together to develop appropriate project proposals for
submission to funding agencies, acknowledging that:
“A major part of international co-operation is helping others to see the possibilities of a situation and encouraging them to exploit it in the light of experience from elsewhere.” [Cornish 2002]
These proposals need to focus more on activities that will attract support. There are numerous practical examples of library and information services playing an active role in supporting education, health care, and industrial and commercial activities [e.g. Njobvu, Koopman 2008]. However, although there have been some
studies which indicate that libraries had made a positive impact on reading development in young children and
on academic achievement, there have been few research projects that have clearly indicated that libraries do
make a positive impact in supporting health care and little investigation of the economic impact of information
services [Wavell, et al. 2002].
Developing successful and sustainable collaborative activities to support and expand research focused on the
key issues in development will require designing a method or tool for the measurement and evaluation of libraries’ contribution to development [Brewster 1976]. Attempts to develop methodologies for assessing the impact
of improving library collections or services have largely been unsuccessful [Menou 1993; Stone 1993; Thorngate, et al. 1995]. Studies continue to point to the inadequacy of research results purporting to demonstrate the
impact of librarianship and information work across the whole spectrum of economic, educational and social
activity in the developed countries [Wavell, et al. 2002], and re-iterate the need to develop methodologies that
are more effective [Horton 2000].
The effort required will bring other benefits. Research will not only provide a clearer picture of the measurable returns from investment in library and information services, but it will also be seen to become more rigorous in the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence about service development and delivery.
As a review of research in Britain noted:
“The quality of the [collaborative] research is likely to be higher, giving the research greater academic
standing and thereby enabling it to have more impact on the research agenda.” [McNicol, Nankivell 2003]
Finally, it is important to recognise that research results are likely to be ignored unless researchers understand how to communicate their conclusions effectively. Publication – even in a variety of media - is not enough.
For research to be influential, researchers must seek to identify and work closely with the people who can initiate
change, including elected politicians and other decision makers [Johnson, et al. 2004] to:
•
encourage confirmation of findings
•
build a relationship of trust and develop the courage to implement change
•
find the right opportunity and plan actions to implement change
•
identify necessary interventions to implement and evaluate the actions
•
facilitate commitment to implementation and evaluation (adapted from [Argyris 1993]).
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Summary
The growth of electronic publishing has significantly improved equality in international access to current
professional knowledge. However, there has been little or no discussion about how this can be used most effectively to enhance the development of libraries and information services. The challenge now is to initiate international collaboration to undertake comparative research that is sufficiently rigorous to command attention, and to
communicate it to decision makers to influence support for libraries and information services.
References
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