Ethnographic Inquiry at the Library: Analyzing Relations to Understand the Barriers to Public Reading
Issue:
Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2021
Pages:
1-11
Received:
16 November 2020
Accepted:
1 December 2020
Published:
25 January 2021
Abstract: A number of sociological inquiries over the last twenty years have demonstrated the pertinence and usefulness of an ethnographic approach to studying the relationship between library users and professionals, between the users and the “objects” on offer at the library, and between people and the spaces created for them. the interactions observed in libraries show the social ties of class and gender which, reinforced by the effects of age and generational differences, drive social segmentation from within the library. despite the sequence of reforms that have changed the mission of french libraries since the 1980s, there remains a vast section of the french population that never steps foot in a library, even if one is located close to home or where they work or study. since physical inaccessibility is not the problem, what is? During a round table at the conference of the Association of French Librarians (ABF) in June 2017, the issue of the social inequalities that are created and amplified by the relationship between library staff and publics and between books and publics was identified as one of libraries’ greatest challenges. librarians now admit that the “library apparatus” produces inequalities. it is an “apparatus” in the foucauldian sense, simultaneously a discourse, site and tool of power that aims to define, discipline and order knowledge; its structural characteristics themselves can deter the entrance of people unaccustomed to places of culture and thus favor their self-exclusion: imposing architecture, austere layout, minimalist decoration, coded displays and signs, majority female staff, and professional jargon are so many dimensions of a space that remains autoreferential and closed off. akin to schools in their link to written texts and established knowledge, libraries are socially-marked sites, expressions of separate territoriality within a neighborhood, city, or even a university campus. by proclaiming in every way and direction the absolute dominion of the written word, the library erects a silent but powerful boundary between those who master this realm of the word – absorbed as an aesthetic education more than it is learnt at school – and use it in their work, their free time, their culture, curiosity and emancipation, and those who dwell outside of the lettered, de facto socially-dominated world.
Abstract: A number of sociological inquiries over the last twenty years have demonstrated the pertinence and usefulness of an ethnographic approach to studying the relationship between library users and professionals, between the users and the “objects” on offer at the library, and between people and the spaces created for them. the interactions observed in ...
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Observance of COVID 19 Protocols and Effective Use of Library Resources and Services in the State Universities in North Central, Nigeria
Issue:
Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2021
Pages:
12-18
Received:
24 December 2020
Accepted:
6 January 2021
Published:
23 February 2021
Abstract: The emergence of COVID 19 has led to total or partial lockdown around the world, thereby restricting movements as well as physical contacts. COVID 19 could be contracted through touching infected book shelves, books, catalogue cabinet, reading carrels and tables, among others. At the same time, adequate information is required to prevent and manage the virus from spreading. The study examined the observance of COVID-19 protocols and effective use of library resources and services in State Universities in North Central, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study is 163 library staff. This comprised of the entire library staff in the six state owned universities in North Central, Nigeria. Online survey was conducted using Google form between 15th and 14th of December, 2020. The link to the Google form was shared via individual and group social media platforms of the staff so as to increase the response rate. Data collected was analyzed using frequency distribution table, chart, percentage and mean with the aid of SPSS version 23. The findings revealed among other things that; library services are poorly provided by university libraries during COVID-19 lockdown in state owned university libraries in North Central, Nigeria. Majority of the respondents agreed that their library posted updates about COVID-19 on library blog, websites, portals etc. and use of social media for library services delivery during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Other services like; Ask Librarian virtual reference service, electronic delivery service, providing access to e-books, providing access to e-journals, providing OPAC as tool for browsing and searching the library collection, providing access to students' electronic thesis and dissertation, electronic Newspaper Clipping Depository and so on were poorly provided. Also, it was revealed that the observance of COVID-19 protocols affected effective use of library resources and services. It was also revealed that; erratic power supply, lack of adequate electronic resources in the library, lack of funds to fumigate library environment, lack of internet access in the library, nonchalant attitude of staff towards observing COVID-19 protocols, lack of adequate accommodation in the library to observe social distancing, and inadequate digital skills to adopt online services and so on, as major challenges. The study however, recommended among other things that; the library management should provide adequate digital skills training to their staff so as to adopt online services in this COVID-19 period. Adequate infrastructural facilities should be made available and accessible.
Abstract: The emergence of COVID 19 has led to total or partial lockdown around the world, thereby restricting movements as well as physical contacts. COVID 19 could be contracted through touching infected book shelves, books, catalogue cabinet, reading carrels and tables, among others. At the same time, adequate information is required to prevent and manage...
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