The right 'man' for the job? The role of empathy in community librarianship

AHRC Research Grant, March 2006-February 2008
Centre for the Public Library and Information in Society
Project contact: Briony Birdi (Principal Investigator) b.birdi@sheffield.ac.uk

Introduction to the project

A project investigating public library staff attitudes towards social inclusion policy and disadvantaged groups in society.
It explores the relationship between the ethnic, social, cultural and professional backgrounds of library staff, and their capacity to make an effective, empathic contribution to social inclusion objectives. The extent, range and effectiveness of existing social inclusion initiatives are key aspects of our investigation.

Methodology
The following research methods have been used throughout the project:
1. Cross-disciplinary literature review (material consulted from library and information management, politics, social policy and social sciences, cultural studies, psychology, management and organizational theory).
2. National quantitative survey (1100 questionnaires distributed to a stratified sample of 90 PLAs in total, within and across the nine English regions; 41% response rate)
3. Focus groups and interviews (qualitative fieldwork to build upon the inferences drawn from statistical data)
4. Job vacancy profiling (to investigate the range of skills, competencies and experiences expected of candidates for posts with specific social inclusion and community-based responsibilities)
5. Case studies (to profile examples of existing - or recent - social inclusion initiatives within the public library sector in England)
6. Research workshop (to disseminate preliminary findings to participants, and to gather feedback and responses to the research via in-depth structured discussion groups).

The final report is now complete (see Downloads box), and contains a series of recommendations concerning the following areas: redefining public library roles and services, external partners and service networks, staff recruitment and selection, internal communication and staff support systems, and staff training and development.

Project outcomes and dissemination

Publications

Birdi, B., Wilson, K. & Mansoor, S. (2012). ‘What we should strive for is Britishness’: an attitudinal investigation of ethnic diversity and the public library. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 44(2), 118-128.

Birdi, B., Wilson, K. and Tso, H.M. (2009) 'The nature and role of empathy in Librarianship', Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 41(2), 81-89.

Birdi, B. and Wilson, K. (2008) 'How empathic are we?' Library and Information Update 7(6), 32-34.

Wilson, K. and Birdi, B. (2008) The right 'man' for the job? The role of empathy in community librarianship. Final project report. University of Sheffield. (see Downloads box)

Wilson, K. , Birdi, B., and Cocker, J. (2008) 'The public library, exclusion and empathy: a literature review', Library Review, 57(8), 576-592. Outstanding Paper Award Winner, Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009.

Wilson, K. and Birdi, B. (2007) Summary of selected preliminary findings. Interim report, University of Sheffield.

Further refereed publications are currently under review, and will be cited here when available.

Research Workshop, October 2007

Selected participants, stakeholders and the research team discussed findings to date, and developed ideas for the remaining period, the dissemination process and the overall sustainability of the project. Related documents are available from the Downloads box to the right.

Wider project dissemination

Birdi, B. (2010) 'Empathy and community librarianship: a focus on ethnicity'. Workshop delivered at the CILIP Diversity Group Conference, London, 2010. Birdi, B. (2006-7, 2007-8) Inclusion of project literature, research methods and findings within MA Librarianship programme curriculum ('Libraries, Information and Society' and 'Public Libraries' modules).

Mansoor, S. (2006) An investigation into the provision of ethnic minority library services in predominantly White areas. MA in Librarianship, University of Sheffield. Dissertation related to project, supervised by B.Birdi. (see Downloads box)

Tso, Hin Man (2007) Social inclusion and public libraries: is the ability to empathise an essential attribute for community librarians to better serve their ethnic minority users? MA in Librarianship, University of Sheffield. Dissertation related to project, supervised by B.Birdi. (see Downloads box)

Wilson, K. (2007) The right 'man' for the job? The role of empathy in community librarianship. DIS Research Seminar Series 2006-7, May 15. Research seminar given in the Department of Information Studies. (see Downloads box)