PROCEDIMIENTOS GENERALES Metodología de calificación:

Students are more digitally-oriented 7 2 2 Increase in library loaned laptops, netbooks, e-book readers 5 2 3

Students are keen to receive library notifications by text

2 3 5

Where obvious change had occurred, categories such as ‘Library is no longer seen as just a place for books but also technology’, ‘Different student demographics have different expectations of library services’ and ‘Increase in technology-related questions from students’ emerged. Some participants observed the positive aspect of student behaviour, from a library perspective, ‘Increased numbers of students are using the library’, ‘Library is beginning to provide services that actually meet student expectations’, ‘Library is seen as being responsive to students’. It also emerged that ‘The library is becoming a more social space’ and included ‘More immediacy in interactions between the library and students’ in relation to texting to students generating much faster responses and more resulting interactions. Participants also expressed the belief that library staff needed to be aware of what technologies students were using, in order to assist their queries at the service desk, and also to be aware of trends in student information accessing behaviour, including difficulties, such as:

It is hard to keep current, to know what trends to follow, what will be adopted and used by the students, to keep current, and what trends to follow, for example,

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FaceBook as learning space as opposed to a social presence. We had a library presence on FaceBook but no-one used it [B2].

Not all changes in student experience were noted as being positive. Some categories contained comments indicating problems, such as the obvious ‘Not all students have technology’ and ‘Institution network problems can affect students’ laptop connectivity’. Others revealed ‘Student uptake of some library services has been insignificant’ where analytics and surveys had shown students not engaging with library social media sites, or situations such as, “texting for reference work hasn't been big, but students do sign up for library notices. But the uptake hasn’t been that huge. … students thought they might be spammed” [B3]. The implications of technologically-competent students meant expectations of library services had changed. The category ‘Students expect faster response’ contained comments such as:

Students are expecting a faster, more instantaneous response. They also experience frustration if they don't find library resources fairly quickly and easily [F1],

They want a quick fix, with databases. The library needs to make sure they are getting the very best of help the library can provide for them. A lot of students won't ask, they will just carry on [G1].

Finally, some staff believed the student library experience had not changed as a result of technologies being implemented, shown in such categories as ‘Student behaviour has not changed much’ or ‘Students continue to value personal contact’. The personal contact aspect arose predominantly from the perception that not all students were comfortable with using technology, and also from one librarian who believed she added value to the student experience of library services through direct personal assistance rather than technology- mediated contact.

The intermediate, focused coding phase of data analysis generated three conceptual themes. Again, these are defined below, in the manner described previously:

1. Service expectations – defined as receiving the quality of service required to satisfy particular needs

2. Interactions – defined as student interactivity with library facilities and services, both physically and digitally

3. Technology usage – defined as student engagement with computing hardware/devices and software within the information environment

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The 39 categories that emerged in the initial analysis contributed 15 categories each to the first two themes formed during the intermediate coding stage, with the remainder comprising the technology usage theme.

The themes indicate that the VET library staff sample were conscious of a change in student behaviour and experience of the library. This finding corroborates the beliefs and opinions exhibited in the earlier discussion, that the implementation of new technologies was not undertaken as an end in itself, but rather for the purpose of improving service delivery to library users. Staff identified three crucial aspects that assist planning for technology implementation; how, within the changed environment, students are interacting with library services and facilities, how they are engaging with technology and what their service expectations are. These themes form an additional component of the environment with which the investigation was concerned and are included within the observed consequences by staff of technology implementation.

In comparing the conceptual themes that emerged from the intermediate, focused coding stage, more abstract concepts emerged, which further contributed towards the formation of overarching theories encompassing the focus of the original interview questions. As outlined below, questions 1-4 comprised the background to the investigation and form the abstract concepts of context, consequences (immediate) and consequences (observed). The conceptual themes defined above that comprise each abstract concept are included. Each of these abstract concepts has been subjected to a unique impact, as illustrated below. The impacts were identified as influencing the conceptual themes, each containing potential for disruption and uncertainty within the affected area/theme under consideration. They could be regarded in the light of catalysts. They are not random, however, and appear to be sequential, in that each impact has elements of the previous abstract concept contained within it. As analysis of the abstract concepts proceeded it became evident that management of the impacts was central to explaining the individual and organisational responses that were occurring. The abstract concepts and impacts are combined within the three overarching umbrella themes.

Environment impact Q 1 – Context

Q 2 – Consequences (immediate) Q 3/4 – Consequences (observed)

135 Impact - new technologies

Context

Augmented delivery of service, information Workplace infrastructure

Impact – personnel Consequences (immediate) Staff attitude

Immediate and wider workplace support

Impact – attitudes Consequences (observed)

Focus on skills, technology and workplace change Altered student expectations and interactions

The overarching umbrella theories will be presented at the conclusion of each section and subsequently combined in Section 5.6 to enable reference to the resulting integrated theory that emerged during the advanced coding stage of grounded theory analysis.

5.4

Knowledge Generation

Having gathered information on the changing environment of VET library staff, from both a technology and a technology impact perspective, the investigation next sought to establish what types of library services could most appropriately be delivered within the mobile environment discussed in the previous sections. From this understanding, the knowledge and skills required of VET library staff in order to work effectively in this environment and methods by which they could identify any gaps existing between their current knowledge and skills and the required levels were examined. The second part of the investigation focused on the new knowledge that would be generated as a response to mobile technology- enhanced environment.

5.4.1 Respondents’ Perceptions of Potential Mobile Service Delivery

The investigation now focused specifically on the impact of the mobile technology environment. Participants were asked to consider what library services they believed could be most effectively and appropriately delivered within a mobile environment. Fifty-five categories relating to mobile library service emerged, again a considerable number of possible services. Some services were common to many of the participants and these tended

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to be already established services, others were mentioned by a sole participant only. In many cases, the latter represented more innovative aspects of library service delivery. Systems librarians tended to be the participants most likely to offer suggestions for innovative service delivery, such as students using their cell phones to issue a book in the stacks to themselves, or sending information to a patron-established profile. The most frequently-mentioned categories show VET library staff participants believed that services considered important within the ‘traditional’(non-mobile, lacking social media interactivity) library environment would also be important in the mobile library environment. The provision of e-books is one of the more recent services offered by libraries and was the most frequently-cited as being appropriate for the mobile environment. This builds on the earlier comments on recently implemented technologies, where e-book readers and e-books were identified as newly- adopted technologies (the fourth and sixth most-frequently mentioned technology respectively).

The second most frequently mentioned category related to the provision of the ‘Online library catalogue’ (mentioned by nearly a half of the sample) as being appropriate for delivery within a mobile environment. This builds on the responses to the question about newly-implemented technologies, where ‘LMS upgrades’ was identified as a newly adopted technology (the third most-frequently mentioned technology and mentioned by a third of the sample). As shown in Table 5.6 below, systems librarians mentioned the library catalogue as an appropriate service to mobile technologies most frequently. Given the online catalogue is an area of responsibility for most systems librarians this is not surprising. The similar focus by qualified librarians may result from some of the sample being involved in cataloguing activities. The most frequently-mentioned services, shown in the following table, are all examples of services currently being offered by libraries within the online environment. It would appear that the participants were ‘taking the next step’ in their thinking. In other words, they were considering services that had already been proven successful in an online environment and extending them into the mobile environment.

137 Table 5.6

Mobile Library Service Delivery by Category

Category Position Library Manager Systems Librarian Librarian e-book provision 5 6 7 Library catalogue 4 7 6 Electronic database resources 4 6 5 Holds, reserves, recalls, overdues 5 5 4

A range of other services were suggested, including ‘Library hours’, ‘Messages’, ‘New books’, ‘Library information/news’, ‘Library maps’. Three participants suggested that mobile library services should be considered as a subset of general institutional services and that students would not differentiate between library services, the institution’s services and the other range of services already available on a mobile device. In a similar vein, a couple of systems librarians and a qualified librarian felt that mobile service delivery was simply an expansion of what the library was currently offering and not a separate scenario. Conversely, a couple of library managers believed that services should be redeveloped to support mobile devices, for example:

There is an ongoing battle with ITS to shift away from desktop PCs. A survey has revealed the majority of students are moving to Netbooks and iPads, and moving away from PCs. Do we show students how to connect to the wifi network on their phone? [N1].

Some participants considered how emerging trends could be adapted to mobile library service delivery, particularly in relation to social media opportunities, such as ‘Library blog, Web 2.0 services’ and ‘QR codes’. Other areas for service delivery focused on reformatting, for example ‘MP3 music files’ and ‘Foreign language resources’. Instruction to students was seen as a useful area to convert to mobile delivery, as seen in the categories ‘Online tutorials’ and ‘Information Literacy’, illustrated with the comment, “Information Literacy sessions, resources, configured for an iPad or smart phone” [N2] would be useful.

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Several participants urged caution in considering the move to mobile service delivery, their concerns being included in such categories as ‘Not appropriate for all students’ where a participant noted “I am not certain how relevant mobile services would be for hands-on students such as those learning the trades” [J3]. Additionally, ‘Problems with bandwidth/connection/authentication’ where either IP authentication for products was causing ongoing problems or technical issues were involved resulting in “Problems with both laptop and mobile devices are similar with downloading PDFs – the bandwidth required for downloading” [G2] were also matters of concern. The issue of resizing was raised by a number of participants, with small screens causing difficulties with resolution and detail. Also mentioned was the matter of high data charges, particularly in New Zealand, being a concern that could limit usefulness of small screen mobile devices for students.

The intermediate, focused coding phase of data analysis established the emergence of three conceptual themes. Again, these are defined below, in the manner described previously:

1. Study-related – defined as services conveying information supporting the conduct of study

2. Informational – defined as guidance on the operations, functions and purpose of the library

3. Technical issues – defined as service matters relating to hardware, software or telecommunications features

Nearly half the 55 categories that emerged in the initial analysis contributed to the first, study-related theme, the other two themes were comprised of approximately one quarter each of the categories. This grouping indicates that VET library staff participants believed the most effectively delivered library services within a mobile environment were study-related. They identified technology enhanced services closely with contribution to student academic success, as explained by a library manager, “we would need to simplify our web pages, currently they are too text-based. The students want a simple, quick, easy solution. They can then be easily displayed on a mobile device” [N1].

The themes indicate that the VET library staff sample saw potential for a wide range of existing and new library services to be developed and delivered within the mobile environment. They were aware of benefits and problems involved in developing these types of services and content having, in many cases, familiarity with proceeding down the track of developing online library services and making the necessary judgements required in that undertaking. A positive, sometimes enthusiastic, attitude pervaded responses and echoes the

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findings noted earlier in the chapter where staff demonstrated a positive attitude towards the impact of the new technologies.

5.4.2 Workforce Knowledge and Competencies Required in the Mobile Environment Having established the types of services that could usefully be delivered within a mobile environment, the investigation moved on to examine the skills, knowledge and competencies participants believed were required of library staff in order to work effectively within that environment. Forty-two skills, competencies and knowledge categories emerged from the interview data. The categories containing the most frequently-mentioned skills and knowledge covered two quite different types of competencies, the technical skills required to work with the new technologies and also the more soft skills relating to attitude, an area of response to change that participants had already discussed at some length earlier in the interview. For example, of the five categories containing the most data segments, or comments, three focused on skills and knowledge of mobile devices, the other two related to staff attitude (see Table 5.7 following). Nearly half the sample believed library staff required competence in a range of mobile devices in order to work effectively in the mobile environment. This constitutes a practical, performance-related skill as do the categories, ‘Being able to create accessibility to resources via mobile devices’ and ‘Knowledge of devices students are using’. These types of competencies and knowledge support the findings reported earlier in this chapter where staff identified the need to be familiar with the devices students were bringing into the library. The other categories focused on attitude, such as willingness to try things out, and recognising opportunities.

The category ‘Competence in using different mobile devices’, indicated the need for all staff to have physical access to a range of mobile devices and to trial them in order to build their levels of knowledge and competence. Participants felt strongly about the opportunity to learn on their own devices and virtually every comment stressed this in terms of need, “They need to know how to navigate on these different devices” [B3], “They need familiarity with the devices available. Access to these devices to see what is possible [E3], and “They would actually need to have their own so they could learn how to use them and learn how to programme” [J2]. The strength of the language indicates the importance participants placed on this precursor to knowledge and competency acquisition. This issue emerged strongly again when participants were subsequently asked about acquiring skills through capability development opportunities. As one librarian indicated, the institution could provide mobile devices to students and the environment within which to use them, if staff were excluded from contributing to this environment it would work, however, with properly skilled staff it would work more effectively for students.

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Qualified librarians and systems librarians identified competence in using mobile devices as important to working effectively in the mobile environment. Library managers did not rate this competence as highly, their focus on knowledge acquisition lay in a slightly different area, as will be discussed shortly.

A ‘Willingness to try things out’ (mentioned by nearly a quarter of the sample) is an attitude and it is interesting to note that participants regarded attitude as a competency, for example:

The biggest competency is acceptance of trying things out, being more experimental and curious about trying things out, that is a state of mind not a skill [C1],

The skills area is easily taught, this is not a problem. More important is interest, enthusiasm; the ability to embrace change and curiosity about new technology, how the tools can be used … If the interest, passion and curiosity is there, then the skills and the usefulness will follow [D1].

A willingness to jump in and get one’s feet wet summed up the opinion of some participants, reflecting Rogers’ (1962) early adopters, where leading the way and influencing the opinions of others was in evidence, for example, “It is interesting to see how the staff will take devices, have a play, become excited and show others how to do things” [J3]. In some ways, as with the previous competency, attitude can be viewed as a precursor to the acquisition of knowledge and competencies. What has emerged from the responses is an awareness that, in moving into new manifestations of the known work environment, certain facilitators for change need to be in place before any progress can be made with the development or identification of specific skill requirements. As the following table shows, all three position types noted attitude was critical in moving into a new environment, with qualified librarians placing more emphasis on a willing attitude than either of the other positions.

141 Table 5.7

Mobile Technology Skills, Knowledge, Competencies Required by Category

Category Position Library Manager Systems Librarian Librarian Competence in using different mobile devices 4 8 7 Willingness to try things out 3 3 5 Knowledge of devices students are using 4 4 2 Skills to enable library resources /services to be accessible on mobile devices 2 4 3

Ability to link new technologies with new opportunities

1 3 5

The category ‘Skills to enable library resources/services to be accessible on mobile devices” contained some opposing views. Some staff took a pragmatic approach, believing mobile devices to be another iteration of the continually changing information environment, one that would be assimilated, in the same way that other challenges to the library profession had previously been. For example, a qualified librarian believed that the skills necessary to provide library service in the mobile environment were already in evidence:

It is an extension of current competencies that the library staff have, tailored to mobile devices. Library users are coming in, they are trying to find information, mobile technologies are just a tool, the aim is still the same of delivering information to users. Essentially it is almost the same, just how we are doing it [I3].