ldentifying the barriers to Libraries as agents of Lifelong Learning: a research project.

Abstract

Students in Further Education and in Higher Education
 were surveyed on the extent and frequency of their use
 of institutional library resource centres and public
 libraries and on their attitudes to them. Among some
 significant differences identified were: Females report
 greater barriers to accessing information than males;
 those from "blue collar" backgrounds rely more heavily
 than others on institutional provision materials; those
 aged under 21 demand increased electronic access and
 those over 21 more provision of paper-based materials;
 non-white ethnic groups report more misgivings. There
 is a mismatch between students' perception of their own
 information retrieval skills and their reported difficulties.
 Support from staff is seen as high in quality but
 insufficient in availability.

Breaking down the library walls: responding to the needs of the Google generation

“…Although the actual time librarians were available in the foyer was short, it sent out a clear message about our role. It is vital that we continue to explore ways to break down barriers and to create services that actively invite enquiries as without our support some learners may simply give up (Hull, 2000).…”

Staff development

“…I think a qualifi cation for being a librarian must be to be miserable!' (Hull, 2000). The paramount importance of the staff/customer interface is also recognised by MillsonMartula and Menon (1995) who make the recommendation that: 'Hiring offi cials should make a concerted effort to employ frontline staff who possess excellent interpersonal skills together with a strong service orientation.…”

“…The Barriers to Libraries research sample (Hull, 2000), while generally not critical of staff, did express a perception that their availability was insuffi cient and that they were frequently working under pressure. As one mature student summed up, 'It seemed there were never enough staff.…”

“…If you wanted to take a book out it was like you had committed a mortal sin! (Hull, 2000) We should remind counter staff that it is largely they who set the initial tone of the customer interface. Referring to counter staff in a university library, a female undergraduate reported: 'I've worked in the shop industry for 4 years and I know how to treat a customer.…”

Images of librarians

“…The old dragons still have a lot to answer for. In the interests of eliminating any professional bias, I employed a non-librarian research assistant for the 'Barriers to Libraries Project' (Hull, 2000). She reported back that participants in focus groups, who had been interested enough in the project to take part, breathed a visible sigh of relief and became franker about gaps in their knowledge of things library-related as soon as she said that she wasn't a librarian herself.…”