Last year I asked fellow listers to help me with a query relating to my
research which went as follows:
"I am currently researching the attitudes of public library staff towards
ICT with particular emphasis on the Internet for my PhD. I am trying to
clarify certain issues at the moment and would really appreciate any
input/thoughts/personal experiences from list users. Specifically,
What do you and other staff consider to be the Internet?
What do public library staff use the Internet for?
Are Librarians using it in different ways to Library Assistants?"
Here is a summary of the replies which proved very helpful in helping me
clarify some areas of the research. Many thanks to those who replied.
To many library workers the term Internet would seem to include both the
Internet and the WWW. To illustrate this of the responses received, one
librarian stated that personally they didn't’t understand the difference
between the Internet and the WWW whilst another said that the Internet was
everything they found through Internet Explorer.
Staff uses of the Internet were identified as the following:
Reference and Enquiries: General enquiries and information, examples include
searching for company and tourist information
Bibliographical: Ordering stock, ILL, checking bibliographic details,
publisher’s websites
Communication: Email both personal and professional, Co-operation with other
libraries
Professional: Awareness, Mail lists, Annual Library Plans
As to whether library assistants and librarians are using the Internet
differently there were a variety of responses with some respondents saying
there were no differences, others that library assistants used it more or
that librarians were the main users. Usage seemed to be reliant on the
culture of the library staff worked in i.e. whether there was a great
difference between the roles of library assistants and librarians, whether
management encouraged all staff to use the Internet for a variety of uses
and finally, individual staff confidence and/or skill.
Hope this is of some interest.
Regards,
Rachel Spacey
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