Miriam L. Matteson and Beate Gersch
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how US public libraries offer information literacy (IL) instruction to their patrons.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how US public libraries offer information literacy (IL) instruction to their patrons.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a content analysis of eight library websites to determine passive IL instruction and active literacy instruction.
Findings
Library web guides offer passive IL instruction by highlighting resources patrons may wish to access to resolve information inquiries. Further, the authors found that a little less than 50 per cent of library programming offers some IL instruction, the majority of which relates to helping patrons learn to use tools to create information products.
Originality/value
IL is the ability to recognize the need for information, to effectively find information to meet that need and to use information for some purpose or goal. Academic, school and public libraries believe that understanding and using information critically and effectively bring gains to an individual and to society. However, they diverge in how and why they engage in IL instruction. The authors’ findings suggest that less than half of the libraries surveyed are providing active IL instruction, despite the recognition of the benefits IL provides.
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Keywords
This chapter provides background information on the human emotions process, differentiating between processes that are spontaneous and automatic and those that can be regulated…
Abstract
This chapter provides background information on the human emotions process, differentiating between processes that are spontaneous and automatic and those that can be regulated with intentional effort. The chapter then also highlights two constructs, emotional labor and emotional intelligence, that naturally derive from the emotion process and are prevalent in the workplace. These two constructs are important to understand from a theoretical and empirical perspective to identify and manage them most effectively in library work settings. The chapter is a general review of some key concepts citing seminal and exemplar literature from the fields of organizational behavior, psychology, and library and information science to support and illustrate the ideas presented. The value of the chapter is first as an orientation to the science behind emotions. To more fully understand how and why emotion is such a force in the workplace, it is necessary to understand the emotion process. Further, the chapter adds practical value by presenting the constructs of emotional labor and emotional intelligence and including suggestions for how employees and managers can most effectively harness the power of emotions in ways that are most productive for individual employees as well as to achieve organizational goals.
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Miriam L. Matteson, Elizabeth Schlueter and Morgan Hidy
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of continuing education in management for librarians.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of continuing education in management for librarians.
Design/methodology/approach
Directors from public and academic libraries were surveyed to explore their perceptions of the need for and value of management knowledge in librarians.
Findings
The results show that library directors consider a wide range of management areas important for librarians to possess and believe that having above average management knowledge is a significant factor in hiring and promotion decisions. Respondents perceive that applicants for mid to senior positions in libraries are more likely to have average or low levels of management knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations to the study are the small sample and the exclusive focus on library directors. Future research on the need for and value of management knowledge for librarians should also examine the perceptions of early to mid career librarians and should explore associations between employees' levels of management knowledge and promotion and hiring decisions.
Practical implications
Results suggest that librarians who wish to move up professionally would benefit from pursuing continuing education in management. Libraries should look for ways to offer management training to staff through collaborations with other libraries and community organizations. Library and information science education programs should offer strategically designed continuing education in specific areas of management.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates a gap in the field of librarianship in the development of highly knowledgeable, trained managers, and offers some solutions to librarians, library institutions, and schools of library and information science toward closing that gap.
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Miriam Louise Matteson, Susan Musser and Elizabeth Allen
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of librarians toward continuing education (CE) in library management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of librarians toward continuing education (CE) in library management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study followed survey design to collect perceptions of librarians from around the USA. In total, 166 usable surveys were returned and the bulk of the analysis examined responses from non-directors (n=96).
Findings
Non-director librarians identified knowledge areas important for success as a manager including human resources, leadership, and organizational behavior. The majority of respondents assessed their own level of management knowledge as average to above average. In all, 38 percent of respondents indicated their management knowledge came from workshops, webinars, and conferences. Respondents reported that the opportunity for a salary increase, as well as a personal desire to learn were motivators for seeking CE in management.
Practical implications
A CE program in management should extend the knowledge learned in the MLIS degree, address knowledge, skills, and individual development, be flexibly scheduled and reasonably priced, and offer clear benefits to the library and to the learner.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates the importance of building a CE program in management that compliments other educational offerings in order to help librarians develop the knowledge and skills needed to lead libraries.