Librarians and their distinctive personality traits in the 21st century digital era

While there is a fair extension of literature in terms of core skills required by librarians but there is rareness of research on competencies that librarians should possess in terms of their personality traits that distinguish them from the rest of the professions. The role of librarians in the 21st century has migrated from information disseminators to the talent searchers, technological experts, innovators, strategy makers, and entrepreneur. Accordingly, they cannot rely on so-called soft skills of primitive nature; their skills must have a touch of dynamism. The study being theoretical type describes the personality based traits of the librarians on source of 16 Personality Factor (16PF), a widely researched normal personality inventory i.e., Reasoning, Dominance, Emotionally Stable, Liveliness, Social Boldness, Self-reliance, Vigilance, Privateness, Warmth, Tension Free, Rule-Consciousness, Perfectionism, Sensitiveness, Abstractedness, Apprehensive and Openness to Change

Distinctive 16 PF Personality Traits of Librarians

While there is a fairly extensive literature on core competencies of librarians, there is a paucity of research on personality traits that distinguish them from those in other occupations. The present study compared the personality traits of 88 librarians with a general norm group using the 16 PF, a widely researched normal-personality inventory. We found that librarians are more apprehensive, cautious, flexible, focused, imaginative, open-minded, respectful, self-reliant, serious, tender-minded, and trusting as well as higher on general reasoning skills than those in the norm group. Findings are discussed in terms of consistency with core competences of librarians. Practical implications were noted, including recruitment and coaching of job incumbents

At the Corner of Personality and Competencies: Exploring Professional Personas for Librarians

Cultural representations of the profession are familiar to librarians. Stereotypes are common, and when librarians appear in the media—whether in song, television, or film—there are certain assumptions about what librarians should look like (e.g., cardigans, buns, and glasses) as well as how they should act (e.g., timidity, rigid adherence to rules). One common theme is the personalities of library workers, and this chapter will examine how assumptions and stereotypes about personality do not necessarily hold true in the field—and even across specialties within it. This discussion will also provide an explanation and exploration of a library worker’s “professional persona,” which is defined as the intersection of an individual’s personality, competencies, and professional interests. An individual’s persona is a complex system that might include some traits, perspectives, and tendencies that align with librarian stereotypes and some that are at odds with those stereotypes. This chapter will situate the concept of persona in the existing literature on core competencies and career selection and then examine the implications of personas in the profession with a specific eye toward organizational design

The Male Librarian and the Feminine Image: A Survey of Stereotype, Status, and Gender Perceptions

Although the literature of librarianship is replete with personality studies, which purport to link the psychological characteristics of librarians with problems of stereotype, professional image, professional status, and occupational prestige, most assume that the only negative Image is that associated with the female stereotype. Only rarely have feminist studies challenged the assumptions upon which such claims are based, due to the fact that men's studies in the field have been virtually nonexistent. This article reports the results of a survey of male librarians relating to the existence and nature of the male professional stereotype, and the impact of social expectations and gender-related work issues on the attitudes of male library and information professionals. Because male librarians are rarely studied as men, it was necessary to design an exploratory instrument. Although categorically ranked responses provided indicators of general attitudes towards gender-status issues, open-ended comments revealed a greater diversity of attitudes than had been previously supposed. The study illumines an unexplored area of research in the field, and establishes the need for further qualitative research in the area of gender studies in librarianship

Gender and organizational citizenship behavior in library technology: Mixed methods study

Academic librarianship continues to be a feminized profession, yet there are specializations within the profession that tend to be gender segregated, such as library technology. In this mixed methods study, women technology librarians\u27 behaviors are examined through the gendered lens of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), which are discretionary, voluntary acts that are outside an employee\u27s job description (Organ, 1988), but help shape the organizational culture and facilitate organizational functioning (Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997). This mixed methods study uses a survey to inform the extent of differences in organizational citizenship behaviors between men and women, and interviews to provide new insight on how women technology librarians describe their organizational citizenship behaviors. Acker\u27s (1990) gender processing and Greenberg\u27s (1996) organizational justice theories will be applied to their described organizational citizenship behaviors to reveal institutional barriers that creates a lack of perceived fairness within the organization. Finally, this mixed methods study assists in filling the void in research regarding gender and library technology, as well as gender, organizational citizenship behaviors, and library technology

Work in Motion / Assessment at Rest: An Attitudinal Study of Academic Reference Librarians A Case Study At Mid-Size University (MSU A)

It is reasonable to assume the existence of a new "dynamic" that influences how to measure reference services in libraries and how we evaluate the reference librarians who provide those services. Traditional, face-to-face delivery of reference services is reported to be declining, and there is myriad evidence, albeit largely uncollated and little evaluated, that suggests reference librarians are delivering significant and increasing amounts of the services they render in network environments. These trends raise questions, in turn, about how well we understand the current state of affairs in reference services, particularly where the management and evaluation of reference services in network environments are concerned. The purpose of this study is to investigate relevant circumstances and conditions bearing -- directly and indirectly -- on changes in the nature, form, substance, and effects of reference services -- through the reference librarian experience. Specifically, this attitudinal study will account for and assess changes in reference services (in the context of a medium-sized private university with a national reputation for successfully integrating information technologies into the educational process), with the further aim of developing an understanding of how to capture statistics and evaluate reference services and personnel in this dynamic environment. Reference librarians at a second mid-sized public university library were also interviewed for comparative data analysis in this study

Does Gender Matter in the Evaluation of Successful Physicians? Examining How Evaluators Use Stereotype-Based Attributions in Determining Outcomes at Work

The purpose of this study was to understand whether physician leaders are subject to gender bias in the form of differential work outcomes. Specifically, the primary goal was to examine whether the gender of a successful physician leader, the medical specialty in which he or she works (surgery or pediatrics), and participant level of social dominance orientation (SDO; level of egalitarianism) influenced the allocation of workplace outcomes (i.e., evaluations of performance, promotion recommendations, and characterizations of ability and effort). This study further explored if ability and effort characterizations mediated the relationship between gender, specialty, and participant SDO on evaluations of performance and promotion recommendations. Attempting to elucidate the atypical but increasing phenomenon in which successful female leaders in male-typed jobs receive higher performance evaluations, but lower rates of promotion as compared to equivalent males; this study drew on attribution theory to explain that characterizations of successful women as “hard workers” (effort) may be seen as deserving of high evaluations of performance but not promotions, while being “brilliant” (ability) may be seen as deserving of promotions and reserved for successful men. Results revealed an unexpected overall boost for female surgeons, awarded especially by participants low in SDO (those most egalitarian) such that female surgeons received significantly better outcomes as compared to female pediatricians and equivalent outcomes as compared to male physicians. Male surgeons and pediatricians were largely awarded equivalent outcomes across all levels of participant SDO. Further, mediation was supported only for female surgeons, such that higher characterizations of effort explained higher evaluations of performance, particularly by those low in SDO. Further research is required to understand why successful women receive higher evaluations of performance, but not promotions

Strategically creative: A case of the library planning process

Best planning day ever, green, fun, play, flexible ... are terms not usually associated with strategic planning. At the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), plans to open a new library building in 2016 have ignited discussions about the library of the future, its meaning and role in a digital world, and the implications of further rapid changes. The Library's strategic planning process in 2010 was an opportunity to take the collective energy further by involving library staff in the strategic thinking and planning. The process aimed to provide conditions for open conversation through Gadamerian play, and creative modelling based on ideas of revealing and imagineering. The planning started with a playful engagement to generate ideas and promote divergent thinking, and moved through several stages of increasingly convergent thinking to arrive at strategic actions, which were created and supported by all participants. The formal goals of strategic planning were maintained throughout the process and resulted in a client-focused annual plan. This article considers issues of organizational creativity and strategic planning, and relates them to experiences with the strategic planning at the UTS Library. It argues for a systematic approach to fostering creativity and innovation in libraries

Special Libraries, January 1967

Volume 58, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1967/1000/thumbnail.jp