Journal of Documentation

Emotional labour in librarians' instructional work : Table of Contents

Heidi Julien, Shelagh K. Genuis — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – Library staff are experiencing increased work role complexity as they move from being service providers towards greater instructional roles, providing bibliographic instruction, user education, and information literacy instruction. The purpose of this paper is to explore how library staff relate to their instructional roles and the implications of those self-understandings for instructional outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from qualitative interviews with library staff in Canadian academic and public libraries and diary entries written over a three-month period were analyzed using NVivo software and an open-coding, grounded-theory approach. The study took a phenomenological perspective and was influenced by constructivist sociological role theory. Findings – Data analysis revealed the central place of affect in the experiences of librarians engaged in instructional work, and brought focus to the relational aspects of this work and the affective impact of visibility/invisibility of instructional outcomes. A prominent theme was the expression of “emotional labour”; participants used a variety of methods to manage this occupational stressor as they experienced it within the context of instructional work. Practical implications – Individuals and organizations will benefit from considering the influence of affect on library staff. Those who educate librarians should seek to improve understanding of affect and its impact on instruction; organizations will benefit from addressing the emotional labour performed as a part of the teaching role. Originality/value – The study draws attention to the affective experiences of library staff. This is the first research article in the LIS literature to explore emotional labour as it relates to librarians.

Describing art: an alternative approach to subject access and interpretation : Table of Contents

Megan Winget — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the art historical antecedents of providing subject access to images. After reviewing the assumptions and limitations inherent in the most prevalent descriptive method, the paper seeks to introduce a new model that allows for more comprehensive representation of visually-based cultural materials. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a literature-based conceptual analysis, taking Panofsky's theory of iconography and iconology as the starting-point. Panofsky's conceptual model, while appropriate for art created in the Western academic tradition, ignores or misrepresents work from other eras or cultures. Continued dependence on Panofskian descriptive methods limits the functionality and usefulness of image representation systems. Findings – The paper recommends the development of a more precise and inclusive descriptive model for art objects, which is based on the premise that art is not another sort of text, and should not be interpreted as such. Practical implications – The paper provides suggestions for the development of representation models that will enhance the description of non-textual artifacts. Originality/value – The paper addresses issues in information science, the history of art, and computer science, and suggests that a new descriptive model would be of great value to both humanist and social science scholars.

The paradox of expertise: is the Wikipedia Reference Desk as good as your library? : Table of Contents

Pnina Shachaf — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of answers on the Wikipedia Reference Desk, and to compare it with library reference services. It aims to examine whether Wikipedia volunteers outperform expert reference librarians and exemplify the paradox of expertise. Design/methodology/approach – The study applied content analysis to a sample of 434 messages (77 questions and 357 responses) from the Wikipedia Reference Desk and focused on three SERVQUAL quality variables: reliability (accuracy, completeness, verifiability), responsiveness, and assurance. Findings – The study reports that on all three SERVQUAL measures quality of answers produced by the Wikipedia Reference Desk is comparable with that of library reference services. Research limitations/implications – The collaborative social reference model matched or outperformed the dyadic reference interview and should be further examined theoretically and empirically. The generalizability of the findings to other similar sites is questionable. Practical implications – Librarians and library science educators should examine the implications of the social reference on the future role of reference services. Originality/value – The study is the first to: examine the quality of the Wikipedia Reference Desk; extend research on Wikipedia quality; use SERVQUAL measures in evaluating Q&A sites; and compare Q&A sites with traditional reference services.

References to e-texts in academic publications : Table of Contents

Suzana Sukovic — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore roles of electronic texts (e-texts) in research enquiry in literary and historical studies, and to deepen the understanding of the nature of scholars' engagement with e-texts as primary materials. The study includes an investigation of references to e-texts and discussions about researchers' citation practices in interviews. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methodology was used to explore scholars' interactions with e-texts in 30 research projects. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to examine citations and any other acknowledgments of e-texts in participants' prepublications and published works. In-depth semi-structured interviews provided data for findings about researchers' citation practices. Findings – Formal acknowledgments of e-texts do not represent the depth and breadth of researchers' interactions with e-texts. Assessments of the relevance and trustworthiness of e-texts, as well as considerations of disciplinary cultures, had some impact on researchers' citation practices. Research limitations/implications – The study was based on in-depth data-gathering from a small group of participants. It does not have any statistical significance and the findings cannot be generalized, but comparisons with other scholars in literary and historical studies are possible. The study indicated a need for further investigation of changing academic practices in general and citation practices in particular. Practical implications – The findings have implications for the development of standards and institutional support for research in the humanities. Originality/value – The study provides new insights into the phenomenon of a very small number of citations of electronic sources in publications in the humanities, and considers issues related to citations from the perspective of changing academic cultures.

Linking folksonomy to Library of Congress subject headings: an exploratory study : Table of Contents

Kwan Yi, Lois Mai Chan — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linking of a folksonomy (user vocabulary) and LCSH (controlled vocabulary) on the basis of word matching, for the potential use of LCSH in bringing order to folksonomies. Design/methodology/approach – A selected sample of a folksonomy from a popular collaborative tagging system, Delicious, was word-matched with LCSH. LCSH was transformed into a tree structure called an LCSH tree for the matching. A close examination was conducted on the characteristics of folksonomies, the overlap of folksonomies with LCSH, and the distribution of folksonomies over the LCSH tree. Findings – The experimental results showed that the total proportion of tags being matched with LC subject headings constituted approximately two-thirds of all tags involved, with an additional 10 percent of the remaining tags having potential matches. A number of barriers for the linking as well as two areas in need of improving the matching are identified and described. Three important tag distribution patterns over the LCSH tree were identified and supported: skewedness, multifacet, and Zipfian-pattern. Research limitations/implications – The results of the study can be adopted for the development of innovative methods of mapping between folksonomy and LCSH, which directly contributes to effective access and retrieval of tagged web resources and to the integration of multiple information repositories based on the two vocabularies. Practical implications – The linking of controlled vocabularies can be applicable to enhance information retrieval capability within collaborative tagging systems as well as across various tagging system information depositories and bibliographic databases. Originality/value – This is among frontier works that examines the potential of linking a folksonomy, extracted from a collaborative tagging system, to an authority-maintained subject heading system. It provides exploratory data to support further advanced mapping methods for linking the two vocabularies.

A study of academic library users' decision-making process: a Lens model approach : Table of Contents

Muh-Chyun Tang — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role different information sources (or cues) play in forming users' mental representation of a work in an academic library setting. Of particular interest is discerning how these information sources influence borrowing decisions. Design/methodology/approach – A large-scale user survey featuring two-part questionnaires was utilized in an academic library setting. The questionnaires were designed to ascertain those information sources exerting a formative influence on users' information-seeking behavior, especially the routes by which users came to know of a title and the sources by which they infer its content. Findings – Evidently users adaptively make use of a variety of cues to help them fulfil their information needs. These cues significantly reduced the uncertainty faced by users making a borrowing decision, even after their sense of domain familiarity was controlled for. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for library services. It is suggested that libraries could provide a more “cue-rich” environment that supports users' decision making and facilitates exploration of their collection. Originality/value – The research questions were framed in the language of decision-making theory, which, as the research demonstrates, sheds light on the dynamics between “cue validity” and judgment uncertainty. It also demonstrates the applicability of the “accuracy-cost” framework in the study of human information-seeking behavior.

Automated classification of web pages in hierarchical browsing : Table of Contents

Koraljka Golub, Marianne Lykke — Sat Nov 14 08:00:19 GMT 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this study is twofold: to investigate whether it is meaningful to use the Engineering Index (Ei) classification scheme for browsing, and then, if proven useful, to investigate the performance of an automated classification algorithm based on the Ei classification scheme. Design/methodology/approach – A user study was conducted in which users solved four controlled searching tasks. The users browsed the Ei classification scheme in order to examine the suitability of the classification systems for browsing. The classification algorithm was evaluated by the users who judged the correctness of the automatically assigned classes. Findings – The study showed that the Ei classification scheme is suited for browsing. Automatically assigned classes were on average partly correct, with some classes working better than others. Success of browsing showed to be correlated and dependent on classification correctness. Research limitations/implications – Further research should address problems of disparate evaluations of one and the same web page. Additional reasons behind browsing failures in the Ei classification scheme also need further investigation. Practical implications – Improvements for browsing were identified: describing class captions and/or listing their subclasses from start; allowing for searching for words from class captions with synonym search (easily provided for Ei since the classes are mapped to thesauri terms); when searching for class captions, returning the hierarchical tree expanded around the class in which caption the search term is found. The need for improvements of classification schemes was also indicated. Originality/value – A user-based evaluation of automated subject classification in the context of browsing has not been conducted before; hence the study also presents new findings concerning methodology.