Understanding Librarians: Communication is the Issue

By Barbara Hull

Aimed at professionals and trainee professionals within the library and information service (LIS) fields, this book reminds the reader of the frequently ignored communication-gulf between the professional and the layman, and in particular the lack of true communication between LIS professionals and the user. It focuses especially on ‘non-standard’ users, such as non-native speakers or those with some disability. The author provides accessible examples of good practice, assesses their degree of success and suggests further ways to improve performance in information provision.

• Written by a “poacher turned gamekeeper – an information professional who is also an experienced adult educator
• Jargon-free and accessible style of delivery
• Highlights the human aspects of using libraries, even if this is in a virtual environment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Aug 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781780632698

Barbara Hull

Dr Barbara Hull is the author of the British Library-commissioned report, Barriers to Libraries as agents of lifelong learning. Hull has published widely in both the information profession literature and to a wider audience, she has delivered numerous international conference papers on overcoming barriers to accessing libraries, a number having come by invitation. As a lifelong practitioner in Adult and Community Education, Hull focussed her PhD. research on the changes in the self-esteem of students from previous educational disadvantages. With 27 years’ experience in management of libraries in Special, College, Further and Higher Education, she has always had a special interest in empowering the end-user. For 13 years Hull was Social Sciences Librarian with special responsibility for library research at Teesside University, where she currently teaches English for Learning to Speakers of Other Languages.

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Defining the problem

Abstract:

This chapter explains the ideas behind the impetus to write this book. It considers the concern regarding communication failure in general, the traditional mismatch between expert and layman and some observations on ameliorating the problems. It contains a brief synopsis of the book as a whole.

Key words

communication failure

libraries

expert and layman

Rationale for this book

Many useful and erudite books have been written by librarians, to advise and guide librarians. Many have been written by librarians as guides to non-librarians in their quests for information. Understandably, however clearly expressed, these books are written primarily from a librarian’s perspective. Our view of the world is formed by our experience. As a practising librarian of many years standing, with qualifications and extensive experience in other areas of endeavour (schoolteacher, adult educator, tax officer, to name some) I believe that I may be in the privileged position of having access to a variety of perspectives which have informed the writing of this book, which is written with the intention of improving understanding and communication between librarians and others.

Broad overview of failure in communication

Over the last half century there has been much discussion on the concept of communication, or rather of non-communication: in 1950s and 1960s Europe, the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ promoted to the intelligentsia the idea that, as human existence has no purpose, all communication has no meaning, breaks down, and results finally in silence. From a less extreme perspective, social commentators have more recently lamented the lack of ‘connectedness’ in developed societies, particularly the USA: people are communicating less via groups and societies, resulting in a reduction in trust, and a loss of what is termed social-capital. According to Putnam (1995), ‘There is reason to believe that deep-seated technological trends are radically privatizing or individualizing our use of leisure time and thus disrupting many opportunities for social-capital formation.’ It is a paradox that we have a media-saturated society where people no longer speak to each other. The problem is clearly of concern to some. At the last New Year, instead of the usual health wealth and happiness, I was wished ‘A year of communication’!

However, the human failure to communicate has a much longer pedigree than the 21st century. Witnessing people talking at cross purposes has long been a traditional source of comedy: I have only to think of my mother and mother-in-law, enjoying a ‘conversation’ at total cross purposes at a family get together, to raise a smile; theatre plays as far back as Shakespeare’s and beyond are full of examples of communication failure. It has evidently long been present in society so we may conclude that it is endemic. This book aims to highlight some of the factors contributing to the communication problems in the library setting and suggest ways of alleviating them.

In everyday interactions, most of us would recognise that there often exists a gulf between expert and layman which can make communication problematical. How many of us have been ‘blinded with science’ by the diagnosis of an expert doctor who describes our condition in arcane medical jargon? Or the utterances of a car mechanic whose description of why our car engine is no longer working leaves us none the wiser? Usually the ‘expert’ is quite unaware of the consternation he is causing, although it is not unknown for someone ‘in the know’ to enjoy the discomfort of the nonexpert: an often portrayed example of this behaviour is the waiter in a pricey restaurant with the menu written in French, who sometimes sneers at a customer for being unable to decipher the menu or corrects their poor pronunciation (a well-loved source of comedy for script writers).

Professionals frequently make unwitting assumptions about other people’s pre-existing knowledge in their own particular subject area, and this includes information professionals. However, in common with other caring professions, those organising and ostensibly facilitating access to information must never lose sight of the fact that the rest of the world is not composed of information experts with the same values as ourselves. Walter and Mediavilla (2005) remind us of ‘the seemingly galactic gaps in communication that can occur when people with different values and worldviews try to have a dialogue’.

Each and every individual has a unique Weltanschauung, ¹ resulting from his life experiences, that acts as a filter through which he views the world, and is frequently unaware that others may not share this same view. It can cause problems when expert professionals fail to recognise the phenomenon when interacting with non-experts. Thankfully in recent years there has been recognition of the problem in some areas, and, in UK medical consultations for example, there is usually a genuine attempt to offer explanations in layman’s terms. As information professionals, often working with the latest information and communication technologies, we need to remember that what is commonplace and normal for us can be totally alien and cause consternation to nonprofessionals.

Many other factors conspire to block communication. Differences in national culture can be a source of barriers – this is becoming more relevant for everyone, including information providers, as more people move around the globe for the purposes of study or employment. According to Prof. Geert Hofstede, Emeritus Professor, Maastricht University, ‘Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster’ (ITIM International website, 2010).

The term ‘nonstandard user’ has sometimes been used by librarians to indicate those users who may require extra help. What is a ‘nonstandard user’? We might well try to define a standard user! A truly standard user does not exist, any more than the average man does; it would feel extremely unnerving to meet someone completely average in every respect, without any peculiarities or idiosyncrasies. However, on a less philosophical note, it is recognised that there are some areas where differences, personal and perceptual, can generate communication problems which we may be able to predict and therefore partially circumvent.

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