A more global perspective on best practices – (International – IFLA)

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is considered the “global voice of the library and information profession.” IFLA has about 1500 members in 150 countries. The organization is deeply committed to freedom of information, an especially salient concern given the precarious political position many librarians and library systems are in when located in places where censorship is a true legal and social concern. The IFLA Code of Ethics also stresses the power of information as a part of democratic societies; in this way, it lines up with the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights articles 19, 26, 27, which, while difficult to enforce, promise world citizens the rights to information, assembly, association, and the free expression and creation of artistic and cultural endeavors. (What a nice way for me to sneak in information from my History MA thesis. Heh.)

IFLA’s code of ethics and best practices is far more politically direct than RUSA’s, which seems far more focused on the behavioral end of librarianship. (That’s fine, except for the things that RUSA leaves out, as mentioned in my previous post.) I think this is a great strength; the code can be applied across cultures, whereas RUSA does not address cultural differences, language barriers, and community.

From section 2, “Responsibilities towards individuals and society:”

In order to promote inclusion and eradicate discrimination, librarians and other information workers ensure that the right of accessing information is not denied and that equitable services are provided for everyone whatever their age, citizenship, political belief, physical or mental ability, gender identity, heritage, education, income, immigration and asylum-seeking status, marital status, origin, race, religion or sexual orientation.

Librarians and other information workers respect language minorities of a country and their right to access information in their own language.

Section 5 stresses the need for neutrality in the workplace as well as inclusive collection development. I find this to be an incredibly powerful passage that empowers librarians to bring as many voices as possible into librarianship, as well as the voices of patrons, no matter the location or culture.

Although IFLA’s code of ethics does not really address the issue of librarian approachability directly, it does stress that librarianship is a political and social profession, and that librarians have an imperative to serve all patrons with respect and on equal terms. These political and social concerns definitely affect the ways that librarians are perceived; without an emphasis on equality across culture, librarians might not be as sensitive to the needs of users and users may be too intimidated to approach. Staying socially open creates a friendly environment where librarians are perceived to be compassionate, curious, and helpful.

IFLA’s other publications are particularly useful for more information on current practices and trends. (The box on the left will guide you and there is a search for current and past publications as well.)

A good place to start… (US – ALA/RUSA)

A good place to start in a discussion of librarian approachability across cultures is to consider best practices as set forth by professional organizations. I’m going to start in the United States and will, in my next blog entry, explore librarian guidelines in other countries.

The American Library Association, in particular, has been quite active in developing guidelines for librarians. in 1992, ALA formed an ad hoc committee to begin developing a protocol for librarian behavior, specifically in reference work. (It’s shocking that it took the organization that long to come up with something!) From the document on the ALA website:

The committee identified several areas in which behavioral attributes could be directly observed, including visibility/approachability, interest, listening/inquiring, searching, and follow-up activities. These guidelines have been widely used to assist in the training, development, and/or evaluation of librarians and staff who provide information services directly to library users.

A few years later, in 1996, the American Library Association published its first set of behavioral guidelines for librarians, via the organization’s Reference and Adult Services (RUSA) division. The standards were revised in 2013 to address the electronic age, where reference interviews are often conducted over email, chat, and video services (such as Skype).

Rather than spend this entry going line by line through the guidelines, I want to discuss the ways in which RUSA’s reference protocols both benefit the patron and librarian, and reinforce existing power hierarchies within the library.

Benefits of the RUSA guidelines:

• Librarians are patron-centric; by following the guidelines, they place the patron and the patron’s needs/concerns at the center of the interaction 
• Patrons are treated with respect and their interests with curiosity
• Patron-centric interactions reinforce the library as a place of learning, as well as a community hub where librarians are always willing to help direct patrons to resources of all kinds
• Librarians are able to gain valuable experience – professional and personal – if they stay open to patrons and encourage them to take an active role in searches.. reference interviews can be a parallel experience in some ways, providing both sides with newly acquired information and power

Drawbacks of the RUSA guidelines (or at least some problematic areas that need to be addressed):

• Language barriers, even within the US, are not really addressed in the guidelines; there’s an assumption that both parties – patron and librarian – will be able to communicate in the same language with equal understanding
• The guidelines don’t address some patrons’ physical and/or mental limitations; there is no mention of accommodations for such instances
• The protocols also don’t address labor issues, like understaffing and workplace conflict that might prevent the librarian from providing the level of service suggested (e.g. the librarian may not always be available to work a reference desk, because she/he is pulled aside to cover circulation)

Overall, I believe that the ALA/RUSA guidelines are incredibly useful primarily to library students and new librarians. These best practices definitely help usher new librarians into the library environment, teach them the basics of interacting with patrons, and provide a good basis for learning to be more approachable. However, I could see how seasoned librarians would find the guidelines difficult to follow given the limitations and expectations of their libraries. It’s also true that many libraries have their own policies – some match up with this document and others add to or eliminate other standards. (A simple Google search “guidelines for librarians” yields many small and large library systems’ specific guidelines.) It would be great if RUSA would once again update this document to reflect power and labor issues, or at least acknowledge these problematic areas in the introduction to the document. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About this blog…

Hi world. 🙂

As I was doing some research for another course, I came upon an article about librarian approachability. I began to think about how culture can determine how librarians and users interact, especially at initial contact. How do libraries around the globe create community through this contact?

This blog highlights some of the articles I have come across in my research. Disclaimer: my resources will be limited to articles written in English or translated for English speakers, so that does skew my results a bit.

I will focus on:
– points of entry to library spaces and initial reactions from users
– reference interviews
– what role gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and ability play in interactions between librarians and users in different cultural settings
– how librarians perceive their own approachability
– cross-cultural interactions

I will tag my posts for easy reference and indicate the country being discussed in the title of the blog entry.

Feel free to comment and/or point me toward new resources.

Enjoy!