Image problem even haunts hi-tech libraries
Stereotypes associated with library and information professionals in Singapore
The Authors
Shaheen Majid, Division of Information Studies, School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Azim Haider, Division of Information Studies, School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Abstract
Purpose – The objective of this paper is to investigate perceptions and stereotypes associated with the library and information profession and to determine whether the public image of library professionals has improved with the extensive use of ICT.
Design/methodology/approach – The areas covered in this study include: perceptions of the nature of work performed by librarians, their personality traits, social status, education level, employment opportunities, income level, and contributions made to society. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were collected at three academic and three public libraries in Singapore. A total of 214 individuals participated in this study.
Findings – It was found that library users in Singapore do not have a flattering image of librarianship and perceived the status of librarians to be low as compared to certain other professions. They also believed that library work does not require higher education and is routine-based, easy, and boring work. On the one hand, the personality of a librarian was described as helpful, friendly, orderly, and polite; on the other hand, it was perceived to be a person who is bookish, boring, quiet, and conservatively dressed.
Originality/value – The paper offers some suggestions for improving the image of library and information professionals in society.
Article Type:
Research paper
Keyword(s):
Librarians; Perception; Personality; Prejudice; Singapore.
Journal:
Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives
Volume:
60
Number:
3
Year:
2008
pp:
229-241
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
0001-253X
Introduction
Libraries are gateways to knowledge and provide access to materials that help users achieve various objectives such as gaining general awareness, education, research, business, seeking jobs, leisure, and personality development. The growth and progress of any nation, in addition to certain other factors, is directly linked to the development, sophistication, and utilisation of its libraries, which can make its citizens lifelong learners. Libraries either acquire or provide access to various materials such as monographs, books, periodicals, reference tools, audiovisual materials, electronic databases and many other sources to meet the diverse information needs of their users. Libraries also establish different physical facilities, information services, user education programmes, and many other activities to enable effective and convenient utilisation of their resources. In recent years, due to the extensive use of IT in libraries, users can access to an enormous amount of knowledge which was earlier beyond their reach.
Librarians play a key role in building library resources, processing materials for their easy identification and access, running various literacy programmes, developing and maintaining IT infrastructure for convenient in-house and remote access, answering reference queries, and providing a comfortable environment for study, research, and other educational and recreational activities. However, the progress, image, and prestige of any profession largely depend on the quality of the individuals associated with that profession. Often, people consider various factors such as financial benefits, social status, employment opportunities, job satisfaction, and security when selecting a profession. As a result, stereotypes and perceptions of a particular profession are likely to influence their decision to either join it or look for some other profession. The more highly a profession is regarded by the general public, the greater will be the competition to enter it, thus attracting individuals with better capabilities and competence. It is therefore important for any profession to make concerted efforts to improve its image and formulate strategies for attracting outstanding people.
Perceptions and stereotypes
Many contemporary theorists agree that stereotypes are characteristics that are descriptive of, attributed to, or associated with members of social groups or categories. Ashmore and Del Boca (1981) defined stereotypes as a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people. According to McCauley et al. (1980), stereotypes are those generalisations about a class of people that distinguish them from others. Stereotype ideas are created during the perception process when the observer forms fixed and oversimplified ideas or images of a particular group or class of people (Scott and Marshall, 2005), and these images are often unreal and biased (Colman, 2001). Stereotypes can be found that are associated with nations, ethnic groups, social classes, religions, and professions.
Stereotypes can be positive, negative or mixed, and are applied indiscriminately to all members of a group, without allowing for individual differences. Although stereotypes contain some truth, these are often generalised and biased, and yet are accepted as a “reality”. Stereotypes are often distorted, in that they exaggerate and universalise some of the characteristics of some of the members of the stereotyped group (Worchel et al., 2000). Understanding of stereotypes is important because people treat members of other groups based on their stereotyped views (Swim et al., 1989) and interact, at least initially, with the stereotype rather than with the true person. This results in many individual injustices, since only some persons in the group fully fit the stereotype.
Stereotypes and perceptions of librarians
Studies conducted on perceptions and stereotypes associated with librarians clearly show continuity, and there is no clue of improvement in their image. An early study by Leigh and Sewny (1960) suggested no single distinctive image of librarians, but rather, a number of different images ranging from a scholarly and resourceful professional to a timid, plain-looking, middle-aged female stamping cards and collecting pennies for overdue books. Hernon and Pastine (1977) studied the perceptions of full-time students at the University of Nebraska of the educational role of academic librarians. The study suggested the existence of stereotype images and misperceptions. A librarian was described as a little old lady behind the desk, checking out or shelving books, filing cards, and keeping the library in order. Cowell (1980) described the popular image of the librarian as a fussy old woman, myopic and repressed, brandishing or perhaps cowering behind a date-stamp, and surrounded by an array of notices which forbid virtually every human activity. Goulding et al. (1999, p. 15) painted the image of a librarian as “particularly shy, introvert, insecure, strict, punctual and dull”, at the same time described as “reliable, serious and selfless”. Peresie and Alexander (2005, p. 28) observed that the media and authors of fiction often portray a librarian as a “spinster, cold, stern, timid, shy” but “intelligent, well-informed, and helpful”.
Fisher's (1988) analysis of 30 years of studies on the topic presented a mixture of positive and negative personality traits of librarians. Some of the positive traits highlighted were of a confident, reasonably social, and innovative person. On the other hand, librarians were perceived to have low leadership qualities, and to be resistant to change, conservative, fussy, and cowering behind a date stamp. They were found to be social outcasts and unable to find employment elsewhere.
Harris and Sue-Chan (1988) studied the perceptions of public library users and university students of the work performed by librarians and lawyers. It was found that they underestimated librarians' level of involvement in administrative and technical tasks, whereas they exaggerated the skills involved in practising law. In addition, both groups of subjects perceived lawyers to be significantly more intelligent than librarians. It was not only the general public who did not adequately understand the role of librarians: even professionals from many other disciplines, depending heavily on libraries, failed to fully appreciate the contribution of librarians. Fleck and Bawden (1995) investigated the perceptions of legal and medical professionals and found that librarians were considered unambitious people, although on the whole they were perceived as efficient, intelligent, enthusiastic, and cooperative. De Guzman et al. (2007) investigated the image of librarians among Filipino school pupils. They were asked to fill out a robotfoto box for illustration and to fill in a diagram. Two faces of librarians emerged based on the children's drawings – the desirable and the undesirable librarian. The desirable librarian was considered to be an enticing, enduring and engaging person. On the other hand, the undesirable librarian was characterised as disappointing, depressing and depriving.
In a study of university faculty's perceptions of librarians, Divay et al. (1987) reported that the faculty viewed librarians primarily in a service role within the university and put a positive image on the usefulness of librarians and valued their expertise but did not perceive them to have management, teaching, or research responsibilities. Moreover, they were not commonly perceived as contributing to the overall education system. Bowden (1994) found a link between the low general image of librarians and their low status, which together led to poor salaries and inadequate service conditions. He noted that there was only a limited understanding of librarians' responsibilities and was of the view that the profession's female identity was the cause of its low reputation.
Ramjaun (1997) reported the poor status and image of the library profession in Mauritius, which was mainly due to lack of recognition from higher authorities, poor budgets, inertia of the library association, conservative librarians, unattractive salaries, lack of professional staff, sub-standard libraries, and absence of proper legislation. Harris and Wilkinson (2001) used a questionnaire to collect responses from 2,000 students entering their first year of university studies at a large Canadian university regarding work roles, future employment prospects, educational requirements, status, and starting salaries of 12 occupations. The study revealed that the students considerably underestimated the level of education required to become a librarian. Most of the students did not believe that librarians require a university degree. They also underestimated librarians' employment prospects to be lower than jobs in other disciplines.
Libraries in Singapore
Libraries in Singapore have invested heavily in constructing modern, highly functional and attractive library buildings as well as on developing sophisticated IT infrastructures. Access to a huge number of electronic information sources and modern gadgets such as computers, multimedia equipment, automatic self-checkout machines, and fine payment kiosks are quite common in all types of libraries. Certain creative, innovative, and revolutionary initiatives of these libraries, such as using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology), do-it-yourself (DIY) libraries, and roaming librarian with wireless notebooks, are examples that have received international praise and have been replicated in many parts of the world. The Bukit Batok Community Library Singapore was the first library in the world to use RFID technology in 1998 to support its Electronic Library Management System (Yuen, 2006). The RFID technology facilitates collection management and circulation of items through self-borrowing, returning, sorting of library items, stock-taking, identifying misplaced items, and other applications. Use of this technology has considerably improved library efficiency and customer satisfaction. The network of public libraries under the National Library Board (NLB) has been able to reduce the book sorting and re-shelving time by using RFID technology to one hour after return compared to the eight hours taken previously (Hajbee, 2007).
The use of RFID technology also led to the establishment of DIY-type libraries. The DIY library concept was first implemented in the Sengkang Community Library in 2002 and customer service counters were replaced with self-service machines. Only one librarian is physically positioned in the library (not “visible” to the public), with a concierge who also acts as a security guard. Different user services such as new membership registration, membership renewal, borrowing, renewal and returning of books, payment of fines, and other services are provided by different kiosks (Foong, 2004). Library patrons can also use these kiosks for seeking assistance on library resources and services from a pool of cybarians (remote librarians) located at another library. A majority of the library users at this library were satisfied with the quality of service provided to them (Yuen, 2006).
Academic libraries in Singapore are also in the forefront in embracing new technology and introducing innovative services. For example, the OPAC of the National University of Singapore can also be searched through handheld devices. Similarly, patrons of this library can also perform online tracking of their inter-library loan and document delivery requests (Yap and Koon, 2006). Over 500 PCs are accessible to library patrons at Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Polytechnic libraries (Choy, 2005). RFID technology is also being used by many academic libraries in Singapore. These libraries also provide a video-on-demand (VOD) service on a 24/7 basis and videos can be streamed to users within the library, in individual offices, and in lecture theatres and classrooms. Virtual reference service is also gaining popularity and many public and academic libraries in Singapore allow their patrons to ask questions via telephone, e-mail, SMS, or through web chat. Some libraries also offer real-time co-browsing of web pages to help users search for the required information.
The literature review suggests that despite a paradigm shift in the role and responsibilities of librarians, they still suffer from stereotypes and misperceptions all over the world. Libraries in Singapore, particularly public and academic libraries, are considered very sophisticated, modern, stylish, and well stocked. It will be interesting to investigate whether these hi-tech libraries have improved the image of librarians in Singapore. The main objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions and stereotypes associated with professional librarians in Singapore. Some areas covered by the study were: respondents' perceptions of the type of work performed by librarians, their social status and contribution to society, their identity in terms of gender, educational requirements, income and career prospects, and their personality traits. The findings of this study will be useful for public and academic libraries, the Library Association of Singapore (LAS), library education programmes, the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore and other stakeholders in taking the steps necessary to improve the image of library professionals in Singapore.
Method
A pre-tested questionnaire was used for collecting data from individuals visiting three academic and three community public libraries in Singapore. To facilitate data collection, public libraries located on the Western side of Singapore were included in the study. Currently three public universities are functioning in Singapore and data was collected from their libraries. The participants were randomly selected; however, efforts were made so that the sample should remain, as far as possible, in proportion to the ethnic composition of Singapore. Only individuals more than 16 years old were entitled to participate in the study. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 20 questions, the majority of which were close-ended questions with an open option for providing responses that were not adequately covered in the listed options. The questionnaire was distributed to individuals who looked more than 16 years old, seated in the reading areas of these libraries. They were asked to return the filled-in questionnaires in a box placed at prominent places in the participating libraries. Due to time constraints, a small sample size was used for this study. A total of 415 questionnaires was distributed and 214 filled-in questionnaires were received back, for a response rate of 51.6 per cent.
Findings
Profile of respondents
The respondents were fairly distributed based on their ethnic background, age group, gender, and education level. Slightly over half of the respondents were Chinese, 12.8 per cent Malays, 7.5 per cent Indian, and the remaining 12.2 per cent belonged to other smaller ethnic groups. More than 51 per cent of the respondents were in the age group 16-25 years old, 35.5 per cent were in the age group 26-35 years old, 11.2 per cent were in the age group 36-45 years old, and only 1.9 per cent of the respondents were more than 45 years old. Slightly over 54 per cent of the respondents were female and nearly 46 per cent male. Regarding the educational level of respondents, 5.6 per cent of the respondents had up to secondary education and 43.9 per cent had a diploma or A-level qualifications. The percentages of respondents possessing a degree or a postgraduate qualification were 31.8 per cent and 18.7 per cent, respectively. Over 60 per cent of the respondents reported visiting the library at least once a week, 15.8 per cent once in a fortnight, 16.7 per cent once a month and 7.5 per cent as and when needed.
Perceptions of various professions
In order to understand the perception of the respondents of the library profession, they were indirectly asked about the type of work performed by different professionals such as doctors, accountants, lawyers, IT specialists, librarians, and teachers. They were asked to indicate whether the work performed by these professionals was academic, administrative, clerical, intellectual, professional, or technical in nature.
It is clear from Table I that the work performed by doctors and lawyers was seen as professional by most of the respondents, followed by that of accountants, IT specialists, teachers, and librarians. Only 20 respondents believed that the nature of work done by librarians was professional. Instead the majority of them viewed the nature of librarians' work as administrative and clerical. It was interesting to note that the choices made by the respondents were largely in line with the nature of the work done by these professionals, except for librarians. This finding was in line with many previous studies where librarians' work was found to be not properly understood.
Perceived status in society
Respondents were asked about their views regarding the status of individuals belonging to the professions included in this study (Table II). It was found that among the professions included, the respondents gave the highest rating to doctors (mean score=7.74) and the lowest to librarians (mean score=4.28). This finding is consistent with the previous studies where librarians were perceived to have poor status in society.
Gender suitability for different professions
Respondents were asked about their views regarding suitability in terms of gender for the listed professions. As expected, the majority of the professions were considered suitable for both genders, with notable exceptions being IT specialists and librarians, for which more than 50 per cent of the respondents chose men and women, respectively (Table III).
Perceived minimum educational requirement
The respondents were asked to indicate the minimum required education to become a librarian. It was shocking to note that 40.4 per cent of the respondents believed that the desired qualification to become a librarian is O-levels or an equivalent qualification (Figure 1). Another 30.9 per cent of respondents felt that the desired qualification was A-levels, while 20.8 per cent thought it was a non-professional degree. Only a very small percentage of the respondents said that a professional bachelor's degree (6.5 per cent of respondents) or a Master's degree (1.9 per cent) was required to enter this profession. In fact, this finding was not surprising as earlier a large majority of the respondents mentioned that librarians mostly perform clerical and administrative work and probably that is why they thought that O- or A-level qualifications were adequate for this type of work.
Perceived level of computing knowledge
The respondents were asked, in their opinion, what level of computing knowledge and skills are possessed by librarians and individuals from other professions. As expected, the respondents felt that IT specialists possess very advanced computing knowledge (mean score=8.58; see Table IV). However, it was somewhat surprising that accountants and teachers were perceived to possess better computing knowledge and skills than librarians. It was unexpected as Singapore libraries are well known for their prompt and innovative use of sophisticated technologies.
Income prospects
Respondents were asked to rate income prospects for individuals belonging to the listed professions on a nine-point scale, with “1” denoting the least level of expected income and “9” denoting the highest income prospects (Table V). The respondents gave librarians the minimum rating for income prospects whereas, as expected, doctors were perceived to be the highest earners. Obviously, as presented in previous sections, if librarians were perceived to perform clerical tasks and possess low qualifications they cannot be expected to get higher salaries.
Usefulness to society
The respondents were asked to express their opinion regarding the contribution made to society by individuals from the listed professions. Although a relatively higher mean score was received by librarians, they were still perceived to be the least useful to society (Table VI). Interestingly teachers, who were ranked next to librarians for income prospects, received second highest ranking after doctors for their contribution to society. It appeared that respondents were unaware of and non-appreciative of the contributions made by librarians to society by facilitating learning, research, personality development, and recreation.
The respondents were also asked, if given a chance, whether they would consider becoming a librarian. While a majority of the respondents (39.3 per cent) remained unsure about it, more people (31.8 per cent) answered in the affirmative than those who answered in the negative (28.9 per cent). Although apparently this could be seen as a good sign for the profession, the result was probably influenced by the fact that this question was not asked for the other professions included in the survey.
Nature of work undertaken by librarians
Respondents were given five bipolar choices to characterise the type of work performed by professional librarians. A majority of the respondents thought that the work undertaken by librarians was routine, boring, general, easy, and state of the art (Table VII). It appeared that the respondents did not have a clear understanding of the type of work performed by librarians. On the one hand, they perceived it routine, boring, and easy; on the other hand, they considered librarianship to be state-of-the-art work.
Tasks performed by librarians
The respondents were asked to indicate the type of tasks performed by individuals carrying the job title “librarian”. The tasks presented in Table VIII are arranged in descending order of the frequency of choices made by the respondents. The findings presented a mixed picture where the first two frequently selected tasks fall under the scope of librarians, followed by two non-professional tasks, such as checking in and checking out books, and shelving library materials. A majority of the respondents did not identify two IT-related tasks, i.e. developing and managing IT infrastructure and designing web sites. This was surprising as libraries in Singapore are quite hi-tech and use information technology extensively. Probably respondents thought that IT infrastructures and web sites in libraries are developed and managed by IT professionals and not librarians.
Personality traits
Respondents were presented with a list of 39 personality traits and asked to tick only those traits that they felt were applicable to librarians. Table IX presents 16 personality traits that were chosen by more than 20 per cent of the respondents and comprised a mix of positive and negative traits. The top five positive traits of librarians, as perceived by respondents, were helpful, friendly, orderly, polite and kind. On the other hand, the top five somewhat negative personality traits of librarians included bookish, boring, quiet, conservatively dressed and reserved. In addition, more than 20 per cent of the respondents felt that librarians were uncreative and uninteresting individuals.
Conclusion
The findings of this study are not astonishing, as many previous studies have shown almost the same trends. However, it was surprising and disturbing to note that the respondents were unappreciative of the changes that have occurred in libraries during the last decade. It is particularly frustrating for libraries in Singapore as these are at the forefront in implementing sophisticated and innovative ideas. A majority of the respondents felt that librarians are not highly educated individuals and possess only limited computing knowledge and skills. They also thought that librarians basically undertake administrative and clerical tasks. The important question here is that if their viewpoint is correct, then who in their opinion is implementing and managing the advanced and creative library systems in Singapore which have received international recognition and praise? Similarly, the respondents felt that librarians have a low status in society, they earn less and their contribution to society is very limited. It is obvious that with such a low and negative image of librarianship we cannot expect many outstanding individuals to join this profession.
It appeared that many respondents, as also revealed by many earlier studies, were unable to distinguish librarians from other library staff. This confusion is probably due to the apparent “invisibility” of librarians to their users. In many libraries, users interact more frequently with para-professionals and counter clerks as these individuals are usually positioned at different prominent locations in the library and perform certain “visible” tasks such as answering basic reference queries, performing circulation transactions, shelving library materials, maintaining equipment, and managing library security. As a result, probably many library users think that the individuals undertaking certain visible activities in the library are actually professional librarians. Similarly, extensive use of DIY gadgets has also reduced opportunities for the general public to interact with library staff, particularly professional librarians. While innovative and creative use of technology is essential for enhancing library image and improving the quality of services, it is desirable that ample opportunities be provided for more interaction and communication between users and information providers. In addition, various library stakeholders, particularly public and academic libraries, the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore, and the Library Association of Singapore, as well as library education programmes in Singapore, need to undertake concerted marketing efforts for creating awareness about the role and responsibilities of librarians, and the contributions made by them to society by promoting learning, education, research, business, leisure and personality development. The improved image of libraries and librarians will not only help sustain this vital profession, but also attract individuals with higher capabilities and competencies.
Figure 1Perceived minimum qualification to become a librarian
Table IType of work performed by different professionals (multiple responses)
Table IIStatus of different professionals in society
Table IIIGender suitability for different professions
Table IVPerceived computing knowledge of professionals
Table VIncome prospects of different professionals
Table VIUsefulness to the society
Table VIIPerception of the nature of work performed by librarians
Table VIIIPerception of tasks performed by librarians (multiple responses)
Table IXPerceptions of personality traits of librarians (multiple responses)
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Corresponding author
Shaheen Majid can be contacted at: asmajid@ntu.edu.sg