scholarly journals Birds of a Feather Flock Together: The Congruence of Personality Types within Librarians’ Subject Specialties

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
John Loy
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Service Orientation ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Work Style ◽  
Reference Librarians ◽  
Information Professionals ◽  
Work Drive ◽  
E Mail

A Review of: Williamson, J.M., A.E. Pemberton, and J.W. Lounsbury. “Personality Traits of Individuals in Different Specialties of Librarianship.” Journal of Documentation 64.2 (2008): 273-86. Objectives – To investigate the personality traits of a range of librarians and information professionals using the Personal Style Inventory (PSI), and to investigate whether the personality traits of those in person-orientated library specialties differ from those in technique-orientated specialties. Design – Self-selecting survey. Setting – Solicitations to complete the survey were sent out via 10 e-mail discussion lists, and paper copies were made available at the annual American Library Association conference in 2002. Subjects – 2,075 librarians and information science professionals. Methods – Participants completed the survey either in print format, as an e-mail attachment or a Web form. The survey format was an adaptation of the PSI scale using 13 of the accepted 16 scales, namely: • adaptability • assertiveness • autonomy • conscientiousness • customer service orientation • emotional resilience • extraversion • openness • optimism • teamwork • tough-mindedness • visionary-operational work style • work drive Responses were analysed using a two-step cluster analysis technique, and participants were grouped into seven clusters. Main Results – The largest group of respondents was cataloguers at 23.7%, followed by other (health or law) 19.1%, academic reference librarians 13.2%, special librarians 12.3% with all other groups in single figures. Respondents were divided up into the following seven clusters. • Cluster 1, the “unadaptive” group -- so labelled because several unadaptive traits such as low emotional resilience, low optimism, low teamwork, and low work drive are included. • Cluster 2, “adaptive academic reference librarians” -- high on customer service orientation, extraversion and teamwork, and low on tough-mindedness. • Cluster 3, “adaptive cataloguers” -- low on customer service orientation and possessing a more operational work style. • Cluster 4, “adaptive special librarians” -- high on autonomy, customer service orientation and extraversion. • Cluster 5, “adaptive distance education librarians, public librarians, records managers, and school librarians” -- possessing a visionary work style and scoring high on adaptability, assertiveness, customer service orientation, emotional resilience, high extraversion, openness, optimism, and teamwork; scoring low on tough-mindedness. • Cluster 6, “adaptive other information professionals” -- also possessing a visionary work style and with high scores on adaptability, assertiveness, autonomy, customer service orientation, emotional resilience, extraversion, openness, optimism, teamwork, and work drive. • Cluster 7, “adaptive archivists and systems librarians” scoring high on assertiveness, openness, and tough-mindedness. Most clusters were comprised of a single occupational group, with only Clusters 1 and 5 made up of individuals from more than one group. Conclusion – The results indicate that different librarianship subspecialties can be differentiated by personality traits, and that individuals are likely to be drawn to either person-orientated or technique-orientated library specialties depending on their personality traits.

Holland's Vocational Theory and Personality Traits of Information Technology Professionals

2010 ◽  
pp. 529-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Lounsbury ◽  
R. Scott Studham ◽  
Robert P. Steel ◽  
Lucy W. Gibson ◽  
Adam W. Drost
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Career Satisfaction ◽  
Career Planning ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Vocational Theory ◽  
Management Functions ◽  
Training Professional

Drawing on Holland’s (1985, 1996) vocational theory and based on a sample of 9,011 IT professionals, two research questions were investigated. On what personality traits do IT professionals differ from other occupations and which of these are also related to their career satisfaction? Five traits met both these criteria—Emotional Resilience, Openness, Tough-Mindedness, and Customer Service—for which IT professionals had higher scores, and conscientiousness, for which they had lower scores. IT career satisfaction was also positively related to E xtraversion, Agreeableness/Teamwork, Assertiveness, Optimism, Tough-Mindedness, Work Drive, and Visionary Style. Results are discussed in terms of the fit of these traits with IT work and the value of these insights for personnel-management functions like selection, training, professional development, and career planning.

Holland’s Vocational Theory and Personality Traits of Information Technology Professionals

2011 ◽  
pp. 2087-2101
Author(s):  
John W. Lounsbury ◽  
R. Scott Studham ◽  
Robert P. Steel ◽  
Lucy W. Gibson ◽  
Adam W. Drost
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Career Satisfaction ◽  
Career Planning ◽  
Information Technology Professionals ◽  
It Professionals ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Vocational Theory ◽  
Management Functions ◽  
Training Professional

Drawing on Holland’s (1985, 1996) vocational theory and based on a sample of 9,011 IT professionals, two research questions were investigated. On what personality traits do IT professionals differ from other occupations and which of these are also related to their career satisfaction? Five traits met both these criteria—Emotional Resilience, Openness, Tough-Mindedness, and Customer Service—for which IT professionals had higher scores, and conscientiousness, for which they had lower scores. IT career satisfaction was also positively related to E xtraversion, Agreeableness/Teamwork, Assertiveness, Optimism, Tough-Mindedness, Work Drive, and Visionary Style. Results are discussed in terms of the fit of these traits with IT work and the value of these insights for personnel-management functions like selection, training, professional development, and career planning.

scholarly journals Information Professional Job Advertisements in the U.K. Indicate Professional Experience is the Most Required Skill

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Private School ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Web Design ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
Job Advertisements ◽  
Information Professionals

A Review of: Orme, Verity. “You will be…: A Study of Job Advertisements to Determine Employers’ Requirements for LIS Professionals in the UK in 2007.” Library Review 57.8 (2008): 619-33. Objective –To determine what skills employers in the United Kingdom (U.K.) want from information professionals as revealed through their job advertisements. Design – Content analysis, combining elements of both quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Orme describes it as “a descriptive non-experimental approach of content analysis” (62). Setting – Data for this study were obtained from job advertisements in the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professional’s (CILIP) Library and Information Gazette published from June 2006 through May 2007. Subjects – A total of 180 job advertisements. Methods – Job advertisements were selected using a random number generator, purposely selecting only 15 advertisements per first issue of each month of the Library and Information Gazette (published every two weeks). The author used several sources to create an initial list of skills required by information professionals, using such sources as prior studies that examined this topic, the Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) database thesaurus, and personal knowledge. Synonyms for the skills were then added to the framework for coding. Skills that were coded had to be noted in such a way that the employer plainly stated the employee would be a certain skill or attribute or they were seeking a skill or a particular skill was essential or desirable. Skills that were stated in synonymous ways within the same advertisement were counted as two incidences of that skill. Duties for the position were not counted unless they were listed as a specific skill. Data were all coded by hand and then tallied. The author claims to have triangulated the results of this study with the literature review, the synonym ring used to prepare the coding framework, and a few notable studies. Main Results – A wide variety of job titles was observed, including “Copyright Clearance Officer,” “Electronic Resources and Training Librarian,” and “Assistant Information Advisor.” Employers represented private, school, and university libraries, as well as legal firms and prisons. Fifty-nine skills were found a total of 1,021 times across all of the advertisements. Each advertisement averaged 5.67 requirements. These skills were classified in four categories: professional, generic, personal, and experience. The most highly noted requirement was professional experience, noted 129 times, followed by interpersonal/communication skills (94), general computing skills (63), enthusiasm (48), and team-working skills (39). Professional skills were noted just slightly more than generic and personal skills in the top twenty skills found. Other professional skills that were highly noted were customer service skills (34), chartership (30), cataloguing/classification/metadata skills (25), and information retrieval skills (20). Some notable skills that occurred rarely included Web design and development skills (6), application of information technology in the library (5), and knowledge management skills (3). Conclusion – Professional, generic, and personal qualities were all important to employers in the U.K.; however, without experience, possessing these qualities may not be enough for new professionals in the field.

Leadership styles and personality traits as predictors of employee engagement of selected customer service representatives

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslee G. Arididon ◽  
Yzabel Louise S. Bueser ◽  
Danielle Denise D. Pau ◽  
Raiza Elaine P. Ramirez ◽  
Krizia Jane V. Soriano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Customer Service Representatives

scholarly journals The Initial Training of Librarians and Curators in France: A National Mission

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79
Author(s):  
Nathalie Marcerou-Ramel
Keyword(s):  
European Country ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Professional Communities ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Initial Training ◽  
National Library ◽  
National School ◽  
Science School ◽  
Information Professionals

AbstractFrance is probably the only European country to have today a national school for training of library and information professionals: Enssib, National Library and Information Science School. An atypical situation, as some countries decided to close their schools of librarianship and entrust the training of their professionals to universities only. How does Enssib train its library executives? The article first describes the recruitment, training and exercise framework for French library and information professionals. Then it focuses on the vast renovation project that Enssib has been launching for four years in order to adapt its training processes to the needs and expectations of the professional communities.

Leading with love and hospitality: applying a radical pedagogy to LIS

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole A. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Radical Pedagogy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Professionals ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to suggest that classroom instructors should reflect and revise their pedagogy to lead a classroom designed to produce future information professionals who will be prepared to serve their communities in a radical way. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the literature related to radical and humanizing pedagogies and then features an auto ethnographic case study which details how the author implemented some of the strategies. Findings Formal study of pedagogy can improve the library and information science (LIS) teaching and learning process. Practical implications Examining pedagogy in a formal way yields concrete suggestions for improving classroom management and content delivery. Social implications Using a radical pedagogy can improve relationships between teachers and learners, and learners will be able to model the classroom strategies in their own professional practice. Originality/value The study builds upon current examples of radical practice in the field and examines how such practices can be instilled even earlier in LIS graduate classrooms.

Key personality traits and career satisfaction of customer service workers

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 517-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Lounsbury ◽  
Nancy Foster ◽  
Patrick C. Carmody ◽  
Ji Young Kim ◽  
Lucy W. Gibson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Career Satisfaction ◽  
Service Workers

The use of bibliographic management software by Indian library and information science professionals

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shri Ram ◽  
John Paul Anbu K.
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Management Software ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dissemination Of Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Information Professionals ◽  
Library Professionals

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to have a closer look at the awareness of referencing utilities among the library professionals in India. In a research environment, referencing and bibliography play an important role in the dissemination of research findings through scholarly writings. Citing references while writing scholarly articles has become more eloquent mainly due to the availability of a range of bibliography management utilities. Currently, there are various types of Bibliography Management Software (BMS) available for the management of the citation, referencing and compiling bibliographies. Librarians have a crucial role to play in helping the faculty, students and research scholars in the process of writing their scholarly articles and theses, especially in the area of referencing. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted through an online survey with an aim to assess the perception, awareness and use of BMS by the Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals in India. Findings – In the academic environment, published results of research findings are crucial for the advancement of knowledge. The published research findings are often supported and disputed using the citation of previous studies. There are a number of supporting technologies that are intended to help in procuring needed citations and streamlining them for better research output. The role of the librarian in this endeavor is undisputed. This study shows that there is a need for strengthening the awareness of BMS at the institutional level and also hands-on experience is needed for library professionals to help in the process of research writing and advocate for adopting correct referencing style (citation style) while writing scholarly articles. Practical implications – The increased use of information and communication technology in the process of scholarly writing, especially in the search and retrieval of relevant articles and the availability of electronic journals and books, have resulted in an increased number of research articles being written by research scholars. The downside to this overflow of scholarly and creative writing is the incorrect way of using referencing style in the dissemination of research and the possibilities of malpractice and plagiarism. This study will help in creating awareness of the utility of citation and BMS in content writing, especially among library and information professionals, as they play an important role in facilitating research. Social implications – This study will be beneficial for the LIS professionals in understanding the effectiveness of their services when complemented by the use of technology-powered tools. Creating awareness of the use of BMS in content development in scholarly communication promises to create a flawless scholarly output as library professionals will help researchers in guiding research writings with correct referencing and citation. Originality/value – Use of BMS helps in the development of content in an organized, methodical and scientific way. The role of library and information professionals working with different researchers and scholars in advocating and practicing the use of BMS will go a long way in creating more streamlined content.

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