SKIP Project Research methods

1. Introduction

Qualitative research methodologies were used throughout the project. These included:

• a literature search
• an interview programme
• a review of the curricula of Departments of Information and Library Studies
• a review of the work of the Information and Library Studies Lead Body (ILS-LB) and the Information Technology Industry Training Organisation (ITITO)
• a dissemination programme

Micro and macro approaches were adopted for the research methodology. This twofold approach aimed to:

• position the issue of skills requirements for LIS staff within an organisational context, by looking at current practice within selected institutions.
• evaluate current and future skills requirements for Information Professionals within the wider context of higher education and society as a whole. The aim being to make recommendations or provide guidelines which could be of use to Heads of Library and Information Services when recruiting new staff, or in the identification of training needs.

The research methodology is presented in chronological order below.

2 The methodology

2.1 Review of the literature

This was the first task to be undertaken. The aim of the literature review was as follows:

• to obtain an overview of opinion emanating from within the profession on the changing roles and skills requirements for LIS staff.
• to obtain an overview of opinion emanating from outside the profession, for example, reports published by funding bodies, and articles written by the academic community.
• to facilitate comparison between theory and practice when gathering data during the interview programme.
• to collate articles to use as supporting evidence in publications and other dissemination activities, and to identify trends and recurring themes.

2.2 Review of ‘library school’ curricula

Departments of Information and Library Studies (DILS) were contacted with a request for copies of their current prospectuses. This exercise was undertaken with the aim of establishing the extent to which new skills, especially those aimed at equipping staff to work in the electronic and networked environment, are reflected in current education programmes. Approved Departments of Information and Library Studies are those listed by the following professional organisations:

• the Library Association
• the Institute of Information Scientists
• the British Association for Information and Library Education and Research (BAILER) directory for 1995

A critique of library school curricula can be found at Appendix C.

2.3 Review of the work of the Lead Bodies

The Information and Library Services Lead Body (ILS-LB)) was contacted in April 1996, with a request for information on Scottish and National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQs). The Information Technology Industry Training Organisation (ITITO) was also contacted to facilitate comparisons between the structure and content of the qualifications in the two sectors. The results of this exercise can be found in Appendix C.

2.4 Programme of visits

The main bulk of the research data was gathered via a programme of visits to selected participating institutions. This process comprised:

The selection process

A list of 50 higher education HEIs (HEIs) was drawn up by the Project team. The initial selection comprised HEIs which had been identified as having a strong IT focus within information service provision. The initial identification drew on the literature and on the SKIP Project Director’s personal knowledge, and it was anticipated that these institutions would be potentially rich sources of data in the SKIP project’s area of research.

The final group of participants comprised those who formally confirmed their willingness to take part - the majority of whom were ‘new’ universities. The identities of the participating HEIs remains confidential, but where they are referred, for example in Appendix B, a coded reference is used. This reference indicates the type of institution involved (for example the prefix ‘new’ ‘old’ or ‘IHE’ to denote a new, or old university, or an institute or college of higher education). The following is a break down of the participants by type and geographical distribution:

3 Welsh institutions

2 Scottish universities

5 ‘old’ universities

3 colleges/institutes of higher education

10 ‘new’ universities

18 in total

Sixteen HEIs were visited between October 1996 and March 1997, and one in May 1997. Each visit took place over a period of two days. The remaining HEI agreed to take part in a telephone interview.

The interview programme

The number of staff interviewed at each HEI varied, as this was left to the discretion of the named contact person, and was dependent on staff availability, and their willingness to be interviewed. A total of approximately 150 staff were interviewed.

A range of staff, from heads of service to library assistants, were interviewed. SKIP was particularly interested in interviewing staff in new posts, or those whose roles and/or skills requirements had changed, due to the impact of electronic and networked information resources. We were also interested in paraprofessional staff and subject specialists, as both groups have taken on new roles in response to changes in the teaching and learning environment, and were identified in the Fielden Report as likely to continue to be affected by change. [1]

Designing the interview questionnaires

A set of semi-structured questionnaires were designed, one for each of five groups of staff:

• Heads of service and senior managers
• Subject specialists/Faculty team leaders/Systems librarians/Schools liaison librarians
• Assistant Librarians/junior professionals
• New post holders
• Library assistants/senior library assistants/paraprofessional staff (group interviews)

The questions, copies of which are attached at Appendix D, were designed to provide a range of qualitative data, which would operate on several levels:

• provide insight into the service and the organisation it serves, in terms of prevailing culture and structure.
• provide insight into individual staff’s perceptions of the service with particular reference to changes effected through IT which has impacted on their skills, roles, and responsibilities.
• facilitate an analysis of the gap between individuals’ perceived needs in relation to skills and training, and those identified by management and elsewhere (e.g. through the literature).
• enable a composite picture to be built up highlighting common themes and issues.

Collation and evaluation of information on institutional resources

The majority of the participating institutions forwarded documents which provided useful background material on the library and information service This was supplemented by materials found on institutional Web sites, and acquired during visits to institutions. The material included:

• covering letters containing: facts relating to the service and to staffing requirements; opinions on skills requirements and changing roles of staff
• details of new posts and job descriptions for a range of postholders
• organisational charts and diagrams showing working relationships
• internal papers written by senior managers on staffing issues and structural changes
• service level agreements and information strategies
• in-house bulletins and newsletters
• library guides and other literature, aimed at informing or helping the user
• workbooks, to which LIS staff had contributed, for use on information and study skills modules/programmes

This documentation enabled a composite picture of each information service to be built up, and provided background information for the interviews.

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References:

1. John Fielden Consultancy. Supporting expansion: a study of human resource management in academic libraries. (A report for the Management Sub-group of the Library Review). Bristol: HEFCE, 1994. (The Fielden Report) paras. 2.51, 3.5, 3.24-3-30, 4.13

The Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) was funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
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