Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. Theory and Application; Proceedings of the International Conference on QQML 2009, Chania, Crete, Greece, 26‐29 May 2009

Citation

Dobreva, M. and Oliver, G. (2010), "Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries. Theory and Application; Proceedings of the International Conference on QQML 2009, Chania, Crete, Greece, 26‐29 May 2009", Library Review, Vol. 59 No. 6, pp. 480-481. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011054020

The application of qualitative and quantitative research methods in libraries is definitely an area which has enjoyed substantial interest in the last decades. Google returned over 1 million results to a search on qualitative and quantitative methods in libraries[1]. Given this plethora of information, what would be the benefit of reading a book of Proceedings from the First International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries held in Chania, Greece, on 26‐29 May 2009?

The book contains 62 papers grouped in 13 chapters addressing an impressive range of topics[2]:

1. (1)

   Methods.

2. (2)

   Management and marketing.

3. (3)

   The change of libraries.

4. (4)

   Digital resources and new library models.

5. (5)

   Focus to users and user groups.

6. (6)

   Information literacy.

7. (7)

   Quality.

8. (8)

   Using qualitative and quantitative methods in digital library education and research.

9. (9)

   Evaluation.

10. (10)

    Impact assessment.

11. (11)

    Information and communication technology services.

12. (12)

    Support to research.

13. (13)

    Cataloguing and manuscripts.

Such a collection is very helpful for the reader who wants to quickly gain an overview of the latest methodological developments. Applications of methods in library practice are something seldom specifically addressed. The amalgamation of traditional and digital library topics can be identified in the titles of the chapters where the digital technologies are clearly present; a closer look reveals that the range of specific topics addressed is indeed very wide. One could not expect a coherent or comprehensive presentation of the domain of quantitative and qualitative studies since this is a collection of papers. However, the book would definitely be of help to readers who want to get a general idea of new developments and also to start exploring specific areas in more depth. Authors include practitioners, academics and library studies students.

The invited papers included in this volume are “Measuring information library policies” by Carla Basili, “The next managerial leadership: continuation of a research agenda” by Peter Hernon and “Leadership and service provision in public libraries” by Niels Ole Pors.

It should be noted that most papers address either quantitative or qualitative methods. Both types of methods are addressed in the same paper in very few cases. This could, to some extent, hinder readers who would expect to find out how both types of methods work together since understanding how such combinations work in practice helps triangulation. This term was coined by Eugene et al. (1966) to represent the use of a combination of methods to study the same phenomenon. The proper choice of methods and the creation of study methodologies which would make use of both types of methods or mixed methods pose a range of questions – which methods to use; how to support qualitative research by quantitative methods; how two different types of study could really work together; and how to engage user communities taking part in studies in the most efficient ways depending on the combination of methods used. Having more publications which explore these issues would be of special interest, and would be a worthwhile theme to develop for future conferences.

The second international conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries took place in May 2010[3]; we hope that the outcome will present another set of papers on diverse experiences and more on the combination of quantitative and qualitative research.

Notes

1. 1.

   The search returned 1,060,000 results on 13 March 2010.

2. 2.

   The conference also had a special track on digital preservation; some of the papers presented there will be published in a forthcoming special issue of The Electronic Library journal; special guest editors for this issue are Dr Gillian Oliver and Prof Gary Gorman. Collections of papers will also appear in the journals Decision Support System and Technology, Library Management and Performance Measurement and Metrics.

3. 3.

   For more information please visit the website: www.isast.org