dc.contributor.author | Burns, C. Sean | eng |
dc.contributor.author | Bossaller, Jenny S., 1972- | eng |
dc.date.issued | 2012 | eng |
dc.description | Postprint of an article published in Journal of Documentation. Published article may be found at doi:10.1108/00220411211255996 | eng |
dc.description.abstract | Purpose: This study provides insight on the meaning of communication overload as experienced by modern academic librarians. Communication is the essence of reference librarianship, and a practically endless array of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools (ICTs) are available to facilitate communication. Design/methodology/approach: This study relied on a phenomenological methodology, which included nine in-depth interviews with academic librarians. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using RQDA, a qualitative analysis software package that facilitates coding, category building, and project management. Findings: Seven themes about librarianship emerged from this research: Attending to Communication Abundance, Librarians of Two Types, Instruction Not Reference, Twenty-first Century Librarianship, User Needs, Trusted Methods: Filter Not Retrieve, and Self-Impact. The shared meaning of communication overload, among these librarians, is that it is a problem when it detracts from or hinders their ability to assist their users. Practical implications: Further research should contribute to an understanding of communication as a problem when it interferes with serving the librarians' users, or to an understanding of interpersonal communication within the librarians' organizational structures and in their broader professional networks. Social implications: Research in popular psychology has focused on the negative impacts on productivity and concentration of living in an always-plugged-in environment. This research confirms that librarians should have time to work away from digital distractions to maintain job satisfaction. Originality/value: Important work by Radford and Dervin has focused on communication with users. This study focuses on the impact of ICTs on librarians' work and personal lives. | eng |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10355/15760 | |
dc.language | English | eng |
dc.relation.ispartofcollection | University of Missouri--Columbia. College of Education. School of Information Science and Learning Technologies | eng |
dc.rights | OpenAccess. | eng |
dc.rights.license | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. | |
dc.subject | academic librarianship | eng |
dc.subject | reference services | eng |
dc.subject | communication overload | eng |
dc.subject.lcsh | Communication and technology | eng |
dc.subject.lcsh | Electronic mail messages | eng |
dc.subject.lcsh | Reference librarians | eng |
dc.subject.lcsh | Academic librarians | eng |
dc.subject.lcsh | Communication | eng |
dc.title | Communication overload: a phenomenological inquiry into academic reference librarianship | eng |