LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research
ISSN 1058-6768
1995 Volume 5 Issue 3-4; December 31.
Quarterly LIBRE5N3 CALVERT
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RESEARCH IN LIS IN NEW ZEALAND
Philip J. Calvert and Rowena J. Cullen.
There are two main centres of library and information science (LIS)
research in New Zealand, the Department of Library and Information
Studies,
at Victoria University of Wellington, and the National Library of New
Zealand (NLNZ). They each have a different purpose, but each in its way
contributes to a growing body of New Zealand LIS research which is
available to inform managers and policy makers locally, and which is
finding a wider audience in the international literature. This brief
overview of LIS research in New Zealand discusses early difficulties in
developing a research base in New Zealand, recent and current projects in
both institutions, and some of the unique features of New Zealand
research.
The Department of Library and Information Studies at Victoria
University
>From 1946 onwards a professional postgraduate qualification for
librarians, the DipNZLS was offered by the New Zealand Library School,
administered by the National Library Service, later to become part of the
National Library of New Zealand, founded in 1966. In 1980 the
qualification was transferred to the newly established Department of
Librarianship at Victoria University of Wellington partly in order to
foster the development of a research base for professional LIS education
in
New Zealand. (The department became the Department of Library and
Information Studies in 1992.) From its inception the department offered a
research-based MA in Librarianship as well as the postgraduate Diploma in
Librarianship which it had taken over as the standard professional
graduate
qualification for LIS in New Zealand.
It is not that there had been no previous research in New Zealand; the
Munn-Barr report [1] and the two McEldowney reports of 1973 and 1983 [2,
3]
had attempted to canvass libraries concerning their collection strengths
and the views of their managers and added considerably to knowledge of
professional practice in New Zealand. Senior members of the profession
were known authors and contributors to the international literature, and
some continue to publish. But it would be true to say that the
appointment of Professor Roderick Cave to the foundation chair of
Librarianship in a New Zealand university was made with the purpose of
awakening New Zealand librarians, both in training and in the profession
at
large, to the possibility that their own environment was a suitable field
of research and study. In its early years, as well as encouraging staff to
engage in their own research, the department fostered joint projects with
some more able students, and founded the series of Occasional Papers in
Bibliography and Librarianship, still published today, in order to provide
a vehicle for the publication of serious research in New Zealand. The MA
programme slowly prospered, and for many years now there have been
approximately a dozen students enrolled for the MA at any one time. Many
of their theses have resulted in publications in the serious international
literature and most result in at least one article in 'New Zealand
Libraries', the official journal of the New Zealand Library Association
(now the New Zealand Library and Information Association.)
A review of the department by Emeritus Professor Wilf Saunders in 1987 [4]
which pointed out the continuing lack of relevant research by members of
the department might be regarded as a setback. The comment was taken to
heart, but in a small community it proved to be an uphill battle to bring
the profession around to the view that there was value to themselves in
New
Zealand based research and that staff wishing to undertake research should
be encouraged and supported. A further study conducted by Professor Rod
Cave in 1989, published in the Department's series of Occasional Papers as
number 17 (the growing series in itself a mark of the increase of
scholarship and publication by staff and students) reported a number of
applied and policy based research projects being undertaken in a number of
New Zealand libraries (mainly user studies, and evaluation/need analyses
in
preparation for automation). Most of this, however, remained unpublished
and unavailable to a wider audience than the institution for which it was
carried out. Professor Cave still found a lack of support for research
focusing on the practices and needs of New Zealand libraries and
librarians, and commented that: "The younger generation of professionals
is not being encouraged sufficiently to embark on programmes of further
study [involving research] as their contemporaries in Britain and
Australia
are." [5]
He concluded that what was needed was more encouragement and funding
from
libraries in their own practices, greater recognition of a research track
record in library recruitment and promotion procedures, joint research
programmes between the profession and the teaching faculty, more effective
means of dissemination of research results, and the inclusion of teaching
programmes on research skills in the graduate programme and the
non-graduate course taught at the Wellington College of Education. A
subsequent review of the department, the Barron report [6] continued to
stress the need for the development of a strong research base for the
department, and an increase in scholarly productivity as essential to the
Department's international recognition.
Some of these observations might be regarded as a little harsh when we
stop
to look at advances that were being made in increasing research output in
the department and in encouraging a research mentality in the profession.
>From 1992 the Diploma programme in the department has included a course on
research methods, and with the introduction of the MLIS programme in 1996,
a substantial research project will be required of all students.
Members of the department played a leading role in the creation of the
Research Special Interest Group (Research SIG) of the NZLIA; this SIG has
several objectives:
* to create a pool of research animators
* to stimulate the publication of research
* to create a climate in which research flourishes
* to identify a research agenda for New Zealand
* to promote co-operation in research [7]
The Research SIG often conducts sessions at the national conference of the
NZLIA. At these sessions members are invited to present research
findings, and discuss methodologies. Workshops on cross cultural research
have also been held; this is an issue of critical importance in New
Zealand
in view of the official standing of the Treaty of Waitangi as a statement
of partnership between the New Zealand government and the indigenous
Maori people, and the library profession's strong adherence to bicultural
policies.
>From the early nineteen nineties there was a steady increase in research
as
additional staff positions were added to the department and appointments
made of faculty with an existing research record and an ability to embark
on further research programmes. Several major projects were brought to
successful completion. Philip Calvert and Rowena Cullen conducted two
studies of library effectiveness and performance measurement, in public
libraries and academic libraries in New Zealand which have been published
so far in 'Library and Information Science Research', the 'Journal of
Academic Librarianship' and other sources [8, 9, 10, 11]. Both these
studies were modelled on the methodology of the Public Libraries
Effectiveness Study of Thomas Childers and Nancy Van House. This
methodology, as applied to the New Zealand context, explored the concepts
of effectiveness held by various stakeholder groups; in public libraries
this consisted of the users, funders and staff; in academic libraries a
more extensive group comprising academics, undergraduate, and graduate
students, funders and staff were polled. In the second part of each study
assessments of actual performance by library staff were used to ascertain
the broader dimensions of library effectiveness in each of the kinds of
library studied. A comparison of the dimensions derived from the New
Zealand Public Libraries Effectiveness Study and the New Zealand
University
Libraries Effectiveness Study shows a certain commonality of the
dimensions
of effectiveness in both types of libraries. (The final report of the New
Zealand University Libraries Effectiveness Study, drawing attention to
some
of these common factors, is at present under review for publication.) The
authors intend to carry out a further analysis of the impact of these
studies on the question of library effectiveness and the appropriate use
of
performance measures in the next year, comparing their findings with some
recently developed sets of measures in the UK and the USA. One of the
more encouraging features of this research is the interest taken in it by
senior members of the profession. A working party of public library
managers has been attempting to implement library performance measures
developed through this research and will contribute in this way to the
furtherance of the work.
Rowena Cullen works also in the field of health information. She is
currently engaged in a study of the information sources used by family
practitioners to support clinical decision-making, and the characteristics
of the information seeking behaviour of this group. The study is a
triangulated qualitative investigation by means of extensive interviews
with a wide range of practitioners in the Wellington area. The data is
being analysed using techniques of grounded theory and some simple
correlation analysis. The project has received extensive co-operation
from
the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, which expects to
use some of the findings to help them develop their programmes of
Continuing Medical Education. Findings are also expected to provide
information to medical libraries wishing to offer information services to
this client group.
Distinguished US author and researcher Peter Hernon is currently part way
through a one year appointment as Visiting Professor in the Department of
Library and Information Studies. He brings his extensive research
experience to the post, and a desire to further develop LIS research in
New
Zealand. Peter has commenced two research projects with his colleague
Philip Calvert. The first is an extension of research into Service
Quality
begun in the United States with Ellen Altman, in which the intention is to
refine the instrument so far developed by Hernon and Altman, then produce
an instrument that New Zealand university libraries can use to measure
service quality. The second project will examine the implications of
intellectual fraud on the academic community by hypothesising a case in
which deliberate falsification is made (i) in the printed medium (a
scholarly journal) and (ii) on the Internet.
Jim Traue, former Librarian at the Alexander Turnbull Library and now
Teaching Fellow in the Department, has a long-standing interest in
libraries as social and cultural institutions and has published
considerably on related topics in the past. He is currently working on a
history of libraries in New Zealand. This endeavour is supported by a
grant from the Arts Council of New Zealand/Creative New Zealand. One
article based on this research has already been published as "Once Upon a
Time in New Zealand: Library Aspirations and Colonial reality in the early
years of New Zealand settlement [12]. A second article "Legislating for
unfree public libraries: the paradox of New Zealand library legislation
1869-1877" is expected to be published shortly. Jim has also been
working
on a book-length study of the theory and principles of book and manuscript
exhibitions, but lack of funding has held this up. In the meantime his
experience in the background scholarship and preparation of exhibitions
has
been shown in three well-researched exhibitions at the National Library of
New Zealand:
The Czech Book Beautiful: Creating Ikons for a New Nation (1992)
That Serpent Milton: A Radical View of John Milton from the
Collections
of the Alexander Turnbull Library (1994)
Behind the Printed Page: An Exhibition of Writers' Papers from the
Collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library (1996)
Alastair Smith made a local reputation, and contributed to several
international publications with his work on expert systems and with his
own
system NZRef which continues to attract attention from those who are
interested in this field. Alastair has moved on to the Internet for his
current research. His current projects are concerned with Maori
electronic information sources, mainly on the Net, and methods of
evaluating Internet information resources.
The National Library of New Zealand
The National Library has a Research Unit within its organisational
structure. The role of the Research Unit is threefold: to undertake
social
science research to support the National Library's policy work; to
undertake evaluation research for the programmes and services in support
of
the Library's strategic directions; to contribute to the body of
research-based knowledge in library and information science, both within
New Zealand and overseas, through the publication and presentation of
research reports for communities of interest. It is the first of those
roles (support of policy work) which sets this Unit aside from academic
research groups, because it will frequently be assigned research in
accordance with the National Library's overall policy directions, which in
turn is often dependent upon government direction as set by the
politicians. As an example, if government decrees that it will support
business, then the National Library will embark on policy formulation for
the support of business information.
The current research programme includes an evaluation of the Focus
Programme component of the School Library Development Programme for
year
two. (The Focus Programme involves National Library advisers working
intensively with schools to develop their school library). A second
programme is an investigation into public access to government information
in an age of increasing electronic transfer of information, with
particular
reference to the Depository Library Scheme. The Unit is also conducting
research for the National Library's programme of client satisfaction
surveys. Sometimes the Unit conducts research purely for the benefit of
the organisation itself, and an example is the current qualitative study of
strategic management in National Libraries.
Previous studies conducted by the NLNZ's Research Unit have led to
significant publications. One such study surveyed the levels of inputs
and
services offered by public libraries (which are all operated by local
government) in 1994 and where possible compared the data obtained with
corresponding data from a similar study conducted in 1991. The study
found
that between 1991 and 1994 services offered by local authority libraries
had generally increased. New services were offered by two thirds of the
libraries and new client groups were being served by one third [13].
The Unit has recently conducted a large project into school libraries in
New Zealand in which over 2,000 school principals, teachers, and public
librarians were surveyed. The resulting report provided information on
New
Zealand school library resourcing and use to support learning and
teaching;
an indication of trends to support information skills and information
technology developments; the contribution which the NLNZ's School Library
Service makes to learning and teaching, and public libraries' support for
the school related needs of students and teachers [14].
"Teachers with library responsibility/school library networks" refers to
groups of teachers with library responsibility and library staff from
neighbouring schools who meet regularly for ongoing support, training,
information and resource sharing. Teachers and National Library advisers
were surveyed by the Unit to assess the effectiveness of such networks.
The
final report described the objectives, operation and outcomes of the
networks [15].
The report 'Finding Out: case studies of New Zealand managers and business
information' [16] presented findings on the needs for, and uses of,
published information by 27 managers in eight New Zealand companies
involved in exporting or tourism. It also covered the use of information
obtained from personal contacts.
Other Research
In 1991 the NZLIA and the NLNZ launched a joint project called the 'N
Strategy'. It was basically a large-scale strategic planning exercise in
which all members of the library profession were asked to identify major
themes for the future. This was done by conducting a series of postal
questionnaires, then codifying the results which were in turn analysed in
workshops during NZLIA conferences. The outcome was a set of 11 'actions'
to be pursued by the profession during the course of the N Strategy. LIS
researchers realised that the N Strategy had done them a great favour. It
had, by default, gone a long way toward identifying the essentials of a
'research agenda', and it was, just as satisfyingly, an agenda which was
'owned' by all members of the profession. Some of the actions have
produced more research than others. The Resource Sharing action, for
example, sought funds for a major project, 'Valuing the economic costs and
benefits of libraries' which was launched at the NZLIA conference in 1995.
The sponsorship raised has been used to pay a firm of consultants to work
on the project in liaison with a team of librarians who are mostly from
Christchurch. The methodology is designed in six phases; the first will
identify library types and services, the second will include a literature
search, the development of a questionnaire which will be designed to show
what libraries do, what they attempt to achieve, and then define library
costs, functions, processes and benefits based on the existing data. In
the third phase a series of templates will be developed into which a
sample
of 25 libraries will input data. The next phase will collate results to
that point, then further develop the templates for the input of case study
library data. In the final two phases the data will be analysed and then
written up in a single report. The stated intention is that the final
report will be a recipe book for libraries and their funders to set-up
their own processes for measuring the economic costs and benefits of
libraries.
Another joint project which spanned a number of libraries, groups and
agencies was the research which led to the publication of 'Te Ara Tika"
[17]. Funding for the project was raised from many different sources,
including libraries and SIGs of the Association, and even some individual
donors. The result was a largely descriptive work on the place of Maori
in
libraries. It was envisaged primarily as an issues report which would
provide an overview of the current situation in New Zealand librarianship
and some library services in relation to biculturalism. It quantified the
extent of participation by Maori people in the library profession, their
recruitment, training and qualifications. It attempted to ascertain the
level of use of libraries by Maori clients, their needs, and the degree to
which they are met, and the reasons for non-use. Finally, the report
attempted to show the NZLIA how it could continue to evolve as a
bicultural
organisation. Although the first report was very welcome, it could not
hope to deal with all the issues connected to Maori and libraries.
Further
research has to be done, especially on Maori information needs and library
use.
Te Ara Tika II has been a major activity in of the NZLIA in 1995 and will
continue to be a major focus in 1996. The project has been entitled Te
Ara
Tika: Meeting Maori Information Needs. The project has received
sponsorship from the Lottery Grants Board and the Trustees of the National
Library. Further funding is being sought from NZLIA SIGs and regions.
Since November 1994 the Te Ara Tika Management Committee has been
meeting
every 6 weeks to map out the project. Most of the time so far has
concentrated on the funding issue and developing a research methodology.
In late 1995 a Research Co-ordinator's position was advertised. The
person
appointed to this position will implement the research methodology and
co-ordinate and facilitate hui in the regions. It is envisaged that the
co-ordinator will be assisted by voluntary labour. Te Ara Tika II will be
a major focus at the NZLIA Conference in Queenstown in Sept/Oct 1996.
Conclusion
It is clear that in the 1960s and 1970s LIS research in New Zealand had
been left a long way behind North America, Western Europe and Australia,
so
by the time Roderick Cave was appointed Professor at Victoria University
in
1979 the situation was bleak. His attempts to lift the status of research
have slowly and steadily started to bear fruit. Some high profile
projects
have caught the imagination of ordinary members of the profession. A
Research SIG provides a meeting point for interested people and holds
regular sessions at NZLIA conferences. Perhaps the most significant
development for the future is the recent addition of Research methods and
Research project to the curriculum of the Master of Library and
Information
Studies at Victoria University which will result in many tyro-researchers
entering the profession.
New Zealand's LIS researchers should read the report of a symposium of
four
LIS researchers from the United States of America and one from New Zealand
(Alastair Smith). Whereas the Americans are looking back to a 'golden
age'
of research, it is clear that New Zealand's time in the sunlit uplands is
yet to come [18] and they can look forward to a steady increase in LIS
research productivity and a higher standing for research among the
profession.
References:
1. Munn, Ralph and John Barr. New Zealand libraries : a survey of
conditions and suggestions for their improvement. Christchurch, N.Z. :
Library Association of New Zealand, 1934.
2. McEldowney, W. J. New Zealand university library resources: report of
a survey carried out in 1972 for the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors'
Committee. Wellington: New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee, 1973.
3. McEldowney, W. J. New Zealand university library resources 1982 :
report of a survey carried out for the Committee of New Zealand
University
Librarians . [Dunedin] : The Committee, 1983.
4. Saunders, W. L. An evaluation of education for librarianship in New
Zealand : a report to the Joint Advisory Committee on Librarianship.
Wellington: Published for the Joint Advisory Committee by
the Dept. of Librarianship, Victoria University of Wellington, 1887.
5. Cave, Roderick. Research in Library and Information Work in New
Zealand: report of an enquiry. Wellington, Department of Library and
Information Studies, 1991. (Occasional Papers in Bibliography and
Librarianship, 17). pp. 27-29.
6. Barron, Daniel. Library and Information Studies Education for the
People of New Zealand: Baskets, Bridges, Gardens. A report to the
Department of Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of
Wellington. Wellington, Department of Library and Information Studies,
1994. (Occasional Papers in Bibliography and Librarianship, 26). p.28.
7. Mythbusters: the Newsletter of the NZLIA Research SIG. Number 1
December 1992.
8. Cullen, Rowena J. and Philip J. Calvert. "Further Dimensions of
Public
Library Effectiveness: Report on a Parallel New Zealand Study" Library
and
Information Science Research 15(2) Spring 1993: 143-164.
9. Calvert, Philip J and Rowena J Cullen. "Further Dimensions of Public
Library Effectiveness II: the Second Stage of the New Zealand Study".
Library and Information Science Research 16(2) Spring 1994: 87-104.
10. Cullen, Rowena and Philip Calvert. "Public Library Effectiveness: a
New Zealand Study". Department of Library and Information Studies.
Occasional Papers in Bibliography and Librarianship: no 22.
11. Calvert, Philip and Rowena Cullen. "Stakeholder Perceptions of
Academic Library Effectiveness" Journal of Academic Libraries 21(6) 1995.
12. Traue, J. E. "Once Upon a Time in New Zealand: Library Aspirations
and Colonial Reality in the Early Years of New Zealand Settlement, or,
'The
Tone and Character to Civilization' " Stout Centre Review 3 (March 1993),
3-8.
13. Chalmers, Anna; Lynch Jo and Slyfield, Helen. "Changes in Public
Libraries: New Zealand Territorial Authority Library Services 1991-1994".
Wellington: National Library, 1995.
14. Chalmers, Anna: and Slyfield, Helen. "Contributions to learning:
libraries and New Zealand schools. The report of the National Library's
research project, "Libraries, learning and teaching in New Zealand
schools". Wellington: National Library, 1993.
15. Slyfield, Helen. "Evaluation of Teacher with Library
Responsibility/School Library Networks". Wellington: National Library,
1995.
16. Chalmers, Anna. "Finding Out: Case Studies of New Zealand Managers
and
Business Information" Wellington: National Library, 1994.
17. MacDonald, Tui. "Te Ara Tika: Maori and Libraries: A Research
report". Wellington: New Zealand Library and information Association: Te
Rau Herenga o Aotearoa, 1993.
18. Hernon, Peter. "Editorial: Serious Stuff to Ponder", Library and
Information Science Research, 16 (4), Fall 1994. 271-277.
Note: The two principal authors thank Anna Chalmers and Spencer Lilley for
their contributions.
________________________________________
This document may be circulated freely
with the following statement included in its entirety:
Copyright Philip Calvert and Rowena Cullen 1995.
This article was originally published in
_LIBRES: Library and Information Science
Electronic Journal_ (ISSN 1058-6768) December 31, 1995
Volume 5 Issue 3-4.
For any commercial use, or publication
(including electronic journals), you must obtain
the permission of the authors:
Philip Calvert, Dept. of Library and Information Studies
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
E-mail: philip.calvert@vuw.ac.nz
and
Rowena Cullen, Department of Library and Information Studies
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Email: rowena.cullen@vuw.ac.nz
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