Communication in Library Service Areas of Consideration

What is communication?

• "Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."

(National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities, 1992)

Why study communication to diagnose user needs?

• “One of the most important tasks of a librarian who acts as an intermediary between the inquirer and the system is query negotiation – determining what the inquirer really wants to know…[T]here appears to be no systematic approach to teaching librarians how to conduct the reference interview.” (Dervin and Dewdney, 1986)

Major Issues

• Gender

• Technology

• Non-Verbal Communication

• Diffusing Situations

• Education Level

• Special Populations

Gender Issues

• Management and Authority– Transactional vs. Interactional Leadership

• “She concludes from her studies that organizations run by women tend to be "webs of inclusion." [T]hey rely heavily on distributed responsibility and authority, instead of on a command and control model. Women's communicative styles and greater interest in human motivation and individual needs give them further advantages…The men…tended to…see their relations with subordinates as a series of exchanges: rewards for service; punishments for poor performance.” (Euster, 1994)

Gender Issues (cont’d)

• Employee Interaction– Men generally need more personal space than

women.– Men are more goal-oriented and are more

comfortable being approached with problems that need solutions, rather than opportunities to express empathy.

• Emotional responses– Juliet Funt:

“Cross Gender Communication”

• Changing language– Textual shortcuts

• Are = r• B4 = before• U = you, etc.

– LolCatz • An internet created language• A guide to grammar exists• Common words include:

– Pwn3d– Kthxbai– Srsly– Ohai– yr doin it rong

Technology

Technology (cont’d)

• A new web vocabulary – Most of us now take our expanded vocabulary for

granted, but some patrons may need help communicating on the web

– Internet vocabulary quiz

• Other technologies with new vocabularies:– MP3 Players– Bluetooth– Cell Phones

Non-Verbal Communication

• Body language– “Learn to Speak Body: Tape 5”– Rules of body language

• Rule 1: Read Gestures in Clusters.• Rule 2: Look for Congruence.• Rule 3: Read Gestures in Context. (Pease 2004)

Non-Verbal Communication (con’t)

• Smiling, light laughter, and frequent eye contact = friendliness and courtesy.

• Head nodding by service providers = empathy, courtesy, and trust.

• Frequent eye contact by service providers = credibility.• Hand shaking = friendliness and courtesy.• Slower speech rate, lower pitch, moderate pauses, and less

inflection = friendliness and credibility.• Faster speech rate, higher pitch, high vocal intensity, and

higher inflection = competence, but reduces friendliness.• Touch = friendliness and empathy.• Physical attractiveness = friendliness, credibility,

competence, empathy, and courtesy.• Attire color and intensity = friendliness, competence, and

credibility.

Diffusing Situations

• The frustrated user– Let the user express their frustration– Offer a compromise within library protocol– Stick to your guns!– Unshelved comic strip:

www.unshelved.com

Diffusing Situations (cont’d)

Diffusing Situations (cont’d)

Diffusing Situations (cont’d)

• The frustrated librarian– Remember you are the professional– Assume every patron needs some amount

of library education until proven otherwise– Find an associate or superior to help with

or handle the situation if necessary– “Cookie Monster”, “Librarian”

Education Level

• Differences in librarian response– Should you offer college textbooks or Dr. Seuss?

• Differences in user’s queries– “I need a book on dogs.” vs. “Do you have a how-

to manual for raising and training Turkish Livestock Guardian Dogs?”

VS.VS.

Special Populations

• Mentally disabled– Offer services, materials on their

level• Developmental age vs. actual age• Avoid being the teacher, case worker,

or parent• Know your library’s limitations

– Some come in with a case worker• This person may know their charge’s

limitations• Identify the case worker quickly if you

can, and develop a good relationship with them and their clients.

Special Populations (cont’d)

• Different cultures– A humorous story (early native New Zealanders

encounter Europeans):• “Because they wore lap laps and trousers … the people

said, ‘We think they have no wastes in them. How could they when they were rapped up so neatly and completely?’ We wondered how the excreta could be passed. We wondered much about that. … ‘One of the people hid’, recalls Kirupano, ‘and watched them going to excrete over there.’ He came back and said, ‘Those men from heaven went to excrete over there.’ Once they had left many men went to have a look. When they saw that it smelt bad, they said, ‘Their skin might be different, but their shit smells bad like ours.” (Connolly & Anderson 1988: 43-44)

Special Populations (cont’d)

– “Innumerable interpretations and judgments are made of the other persons long before one word is understood or even uttered.”

– “As we have argued, matters are not that simple, and it is precisely the acknowledgement of this vagueness and complexity of what it is to be ‘a member of one’s community’ which can (or should) enhance successful interchange. Only if ‘we’ are ready to acknowledge the temporariness, flexibility and dynamics of many different forms of life, will we be able to avoid this ethnocentric point of view which inevitably hinders fruitful interchange with people from different cultures.”

(Previous three quotes from Vandenebeele, ?)

Special Populations (cont’d)

• When encountering different cultures, remember:– Be sensitive to read the other person’s

non-verbal body language– If possible, educate yourself on important

cultural differences– Try learning a few words in their language

relevant to the library– Be understanding and give them time to

learn your culture too

Bibliography

• National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (1992). Accessed on website: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_definition_of_communication_disorder

• Dervin & Dewdney• Euster, Joane E. (1994, September) “What’s the Difference Between Men and Women Leaders?” Wilson

Library Bulletin, 69: 66-67• Funt, Juliet. (2007, September) “Cross Gender Communication” Accessed on website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AogNOIZRzCE • LolCatz. Accessed on website: http://icanhascheezburger.com • Alderman, Jim. (2001, March). A Concise Web Vocabulary. Accessed on website:

http://www.unf.edu/~alderman/Workshop/vocabulary.html • Mitchellrose.com, BodyVox Dance Company. (2006, June). “Learn to Speak Body: Tape 5.” Accessed on

website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9YTxff3pHU • Sundaram, D. S. and Webster, C. (2000). “The Role of Nonverbal Communication in a Service Setting.”

MCB UP Limited.• Pease, Barbara and Allen. (2004). The Definitive Body Language. New York: Bantam Press.• Barnes, B. and Ambaum, G. (2008, April 14, 15, 17, 19). Unshelved Comic Strip. Accessed on website:

www.unshelved.com • Children’s Television Workshop. (2006 June). “No Cookies in the Library.” Accessed on website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA • HauntedLove. (2007 April). “Librarian” Accessed on website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Ne_WXP7lUWM • Vandenabeele, B. (?) The Importance of non verbal communication in first contacts between different

cultures.