Volume 16, numéro 2, 2021

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Objective – The present study intends to investigate the occupational stress and job performance of university library professionals in North-East India. The main objective of the study is to assess the perceived level of occupational stress among library professionals and to identify any relationship between occupational stress and library professionals’ job performance. The study also aims to study gender differences regarding perceived occupational stress and job performance among library professionals as well as examine the influence of occupational stress on perceived job performance.

Methods – Descriptive survey method was used for the study. The sample population consisted of 123 library professionals from different parts of North-East India selected through convenience sampling technique. The survey consisted of a structured questionnaire divided into three sections: demographic information, self-perceived occupational stress, and self-rated job performance. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques including frequency, mean, standard deviation, t test, correlation co-efficient, and simple linear regression analysis were used to analyze data and interpret results with the help of the statistical package SPSS version 20.

Results – The findings of the study established that a majority of library professionals working in university libraries of North-East India perceived a moderate level of occupational stress. It was also determined that male and female library professionals do not differ in their perception of occupational stress (p > 0.05), while a significant mean difference was found between male and female library professionals’ perceptions towards their job performance (p < 0.05). Males scored themselves higher than females in terms of eight indicators of job performance: quality of work performance, ability to handle multiple jobs, communication skills, decision making, problem solving, technical skills, ability to perform competently under pressure, and contribution to the overall development of the library. Regarding the relationship between occupational stress and job performance, the data indicated a significant negative relationship between occupational stress and job performance (r = -0.296, p < 0.01). In addition to this, intrinsic impoverishment, under participation, low status, and poor peer relationships were some of the factors negatively affecting the job performance of library professionals.

Conclusion – The present study provides an insight about how occupational stress affects job performance of library professionals working in academic libraries. The findings revealed that there exists a modest but statistically significant negative relationship between occupational stress and job performance, which implies that an increment in the level of perceived occupational stress tends to influence library professionals’ self-perception of job performance negatively.

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Objective – This article presents findings about undergraduate student attitudes regarding search data privacy in academic libraries. Although the library literature includes many articles about librarian perceptions on this matter, this paper adds rich, qualitative evidence to the limited research available about student preferences for how libraries should handle information about what they search for, borrow, and download. This paper covers acceptable and unacceptable uses of student search data based on American undergraduate student perspectives. This is an important area of study due to the increasingly data-driven nature of evaluation, accountability, and improvement in higher education, which relies on individual-level student data for learning analytics. These practices are sometimes at odds with libraries’ longstanding commitment to user privacy, which has historically limited the amount of data collected about student use of materials. However, libraries’ use of student search data is increasing.

Methods – This qualitative study was approached through interpretive description, a rigorous qualitative framework for answering practical research questions in an applied setting or discipline. I employed the constant comparative method of data collection and analysis to conduct semi-structured interviews with 27 undergraduate students at a large, American, urban public research institution. Interviews included questions as well as vignettes: short scenarios designed to elicit response. Through inductive coding, I organized the data into interpretive themes and subthemes to describe student attitudes.

Results – Participants viewed academic library search data as less personally revealing than internet search data. As a result, students were generally comfortable with libraries collecting search data so long as it is used for their benefit. They were comfortable with data being used to improve library collections and services, but were more ambivalent about use of search data for personalized search results and for learning analytics-based assessment. Students had mixed feelings about using search data in investigations related to criminal activity or national security. Most students expressed a desire for de-identification and user control of data. Students who were not comfortable with their search data being collected or used often held their convictions more strongly than those who found the practice acceptable, and their concerns were often related to how data might be used in ways that harm members of vulnerable groups.

Conclusion – The results of this study suggested that librarians should further explore student perspectives about search data collection in academic libraries to consider how and if they might adjust their data collection practices to be respectful of student preferences for privacy, while still meeting evaluation and improvement objectives. This study also introduces the qualitative framework of interpretive description to the library and information science literature, promoting use of this applied qualitative approach, which is well-suited to the practical questions often asked in library research studies.

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Objectives – In recent years, moral distress has become a topic of interest among health professionals. Moral distress is most commonly described in the nursing literature, and refers to a situation wherein an individual knows the correct action to take, but is constrained from doing so. While moral distress differs from the classic ethical dilemma, in recent years practitioners and theorists have advocated for a broadening of the definition of moral distress. To date, no study has examined another group of individuals who frequently interact with patients and who may be constrained by the confines of their role - Consumer Health Information Professionals (CHIPS). The objective of this study was to determine if CHIPS experience moral distress and/or ethical dilemmas, and to determine what, if any, coping strategies these individuals have developed.

Methods – This study employed a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data were gathered via an online survey which was distributed to relevant consumer health information professional electronic mail lists. The survey contained demographic questions and a series of questions related to potential discomfort within the context of work as a consumer health information professional. Qualitative data were also gathered through phone interviews with CHIPS. Interview questions included the participant’s definition of moral distress, professional experiences with moral distress, and any coping strategies to manage said distress.

Results – The authors received 213 survey responses. To test whether any of our demographic variables help to explain survey response, we used STATA to calculate Pearson correlation coefficients. Individuals who were more likely to experience discomfort in their occupation as CHIPS included individuals with less experience and individuals who identified as Black and Latinx. Interview data indicated that participants most commonly experienced ethical dilemmas related to censorship, providing prognosis information, and feeling constrained by institutional policies. Few interview participants described scenarios that reflected moral distress.

Conclusions – CHIPS do not appear to experience moral distress, at least according to its most narrow definition. CHIPS do consistently experience distinct ethical dilemmas, and the most durable patterns of this phenomenon appear to be related to experience level and racial identity. In recent years, researchers have raised calls to broaden the definition of moral distress from its narrow focus on constraint to include uncertainty, and CHIPs do experience moral uncertainty in their work. Further study is needed to determine how to best address the impacts of discomfort caused by ethical dilemmas among these groups.

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Objective – This study investigated student perceptions of an undergraduate university library’s curriculum collection, before and after a move to a new library building. The objective was to identify how factors such as proximity to program classrooms and faculty offices, flexible seating, accessibility, and other physical improvements to the space housing the collection impacted students’ perceptions.

Methods – This longitudinal study conducted between 2016 and 2017 used a combination of methods to examine whether library use of a specialized academic library collection was impacted by a significant space improvement and change in location. A cohort of education students was surveyed before and after the construction of a new building that housed both the library and their department and co-located the curriculum collection with departmental teaching spaces. The students were surveyed about their use of the space and resources. The researchers then compared the survey results to circulation data. The researchers ground this study in Lefebvre’s spatial triad theory, applying it to library design and collection use (Lefebvre, 1992).

Results – Researchers identified proximity to classrooms and general convenience as the dominant factors influencing students’ use of the collection. Survey results showed an increased awareness of the collection and an increase in use of the collection for completion of assignments and practicum work. Circulation data confirmed that between 2016-2019, there was a steady increase in use of the curriculum collection.

Conclusion – Students’ responses revealed that physical characteristics of the space were less important than proximity, the major factor that impacted their use of the curriculum collection. This revelation confirms Lefebvre’s idea that spatial practice, i.e., how users access and use the space, is more significant and identifiable to students than the design and physical characteristics of the space.

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Objective – In this case study, an archivist and librarian teamed up to teach an introductory course on family history research for adult learners at their university’s lifelong learning centre. In response to students’ relative lack of digital skills, the instructors developed a new set of introductory skills that they believe are essential for genealogy research.

Methods – Authors conducted pre- and post-course surveys to determine student expectations and the extent to which the course met those expectations. Authors coded one of these surveys.

Results – Course assessment and class activities exposed the need for a set of digital skills that go beyond a literacy framework to assist family history researchers. After analyzing key themes found in pre- and post-course assessment, authors developed a new tool for genealogy instructors titled Introductory Digital Skills and Practices in Genealogy (IDSG).

Conclusion – Archivist/librarian collaborations are an excellent way to cultivate needs-based teaching and outreach opportunities in our wider communities, particularly for adult learners. The Introductory Digital Skills and Practices in Genealogy tool is meant to inspire and assist other library professionals who want to teach family history research, serving as a reminder to centre teaching tangible digital skills as a focal point of instruction.

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Background – Knowledge synthesis (KS) reviews are increasingly being conducted and published. Librarians are frequently taking a role in training colleagues, faculty, graduate students, and others on aspects of knowledge syntheses methods.

Objective – In order to inform the design of a workshop series, the authors undertook a scoping review to identify what and how knowledge synthesis methods are being taught in higher education settings, and to identify particularly challenging concepts or aspects of KS methods.

Methods – The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE & APA PsycInfo (via Ovid); LISA (via ProQuest); ERIC, Education Research Complete, Business Source Complete, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Library & Information Science Source, and SocIndex (via EBSCO); and Web of Science core collection. Comprehensive searches in each database were conducted on May 31, 2019 and updated on September 13, 2020. Relevant conferences and journals were hand searched, and forward and backward searching of the included articles was also done. Study selection was conducted by two independent reviews first by title/abstract and then using the full-text articles. Data extraction was completed by one individual and verified independently by a second individual. Discrepancies in study selection and data extraction were resolved by a third individual.

Results – The authors identified 2,597 unique records, of which 48 full-text articles were evaluated for inclusion, leading to 17 included articles. 12 articles reported on credit courses and 5 articles focused on stand-alone workshops or workshop series. The courses/workshops were from a variety of disciplines, at institutions located in North America, Europe, New Zealand, and Africa. They were most often taught by faculty, followed by librarians, and sometimes involved teaching assistants.

Conclusions – The instructional content and methods varied across the courses and workshops, as did the level of detail reported in the articles. Hands-on activities and active learning strategies were heavily encouraged by the authors. More research on the effectiveness of specific teaching strategies is needed in order to determine the optimal ways to teach KS methods.