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Reference librarians—apsychological profileDesmond B. Hatchard Senior Lecturera & ChristineCrocker Reader Services Librarianb

a Faculty of Arts, Bendigo College of AdvancedEducationb Deakin University LibraryPublished online: 28 Oct 2013.

To cite this article: Desmond B. Hatchard Senior Lecturer & Christine Crocker ReaderServices Librarian (1988) Reference librarians—a psychological profile, AustralianAcademic & Research Libraries, 19:1, 15-24, DOI: 10.1080/00048623.1988.10754609

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Reference librarians- a psychological profile

DESMOND B. HATCHARD Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Arts, Bendigo College of Advanced Education CHRISTINE CROCKER Reader Services Librarian, Deakin University Library

ABSTRACT

Earlier studies indicated that personality variables of both library users and librarians may well constitute major determinants in the "barriers" problems. To identify the librarian "personality", Fitts' Tennessee Self Concept Scale, Witkin's Embedded Figures Test and Rotter's Locus of Control Scale together with a largely open-ended questionnaire were given to a sample (N = 58) of reference/user librarians in Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

This study1 reports a further stage in the authors' current investigations into what has, for the want of a better term, become known as the "psychological barriers" problem. In its broadest sense, the item may be used to help explain the discord which exists between library users and library staff. Expressions of this conflict range from the melodramatic assertion that "the librarian and the scholar are eternal enemies"2

, through Line's more moderate "Much 'user education' conceals a certain contempt of users"3

, to the simple statement of fact: "antagonism undeniably exists". 4

More specifically the problem, defined by Kosa "as a psychological barrier between the college student and the librarian"5

, is often expressed in terms of the high proportion of tertiary students reluctant to ask any library personnel for help even when it is required. As such, the problem seems widespread, persistent over time and shows little sign of abating despite user education programmes designed specifically for that purpose.

While it is more accurate to speak of barriers or dimensions of the problem rather than of a single barrier, very little research work has been directed towards discovering what precisely constitutes the major determinants of the so-called psychological barriers. The recent work of the present researchers6

has explored some of the dimensions which go to make up the complex notion of psychological barriers. Many users, it was found, do not know how to frame the questions they want to ask. Some, both users and librarians, have expressed a generalized anxiety in approaching people, especially authority figures, while others feel that unfamiliar persons or places inhibit their need to seek help. Such results as these, when taken in conjunction with the other well-documented findings indicating that users often admit the "reference librarian is intimidating"7

, and that they do not "want to bother a busy librarian"8

, led to the examination of some personality-related variables, which may be operative as determinants of the psychological barriers problem. This article reports the findings of a sample of user/reference librarians on the following personality measures: the Tennessee Self-Concept scale, the Embedded Figures Test and the Locus of Control scale. A largely open-ended questionnaire was also administered to the sample. The same battery of tests (the Embedded Figures Test excluded) was given to a sample of library users; the results of these tests will be reported at a later date. Edited version of a paper presented at the HERDSA Conference, Perth, September 1987.

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The Sample The sample consisted of 58 user/reference librarians (40 female, 18 male) from Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. The institutions which agreed to participate in this study are given below:

Victoria: University of Melbourne, La Trobe Univer­sity, Deakin University, Footscray Institute of Technology, and the Bendigo College of Advanced Education.

South Australia: University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the South Australian College of Advanced Education.

Australian Capital Territory: The Australian National University and the Canberra College of Advanced Education.

The Instruments The researchers constructed a 22-item largely open-ended questionnaire which was given to the sample. Apart from the usual demographic data, respondents were asked questions related to their career path in librarianship, their satisfaction/dissatisfaction with it, their future in the profession and other related issues.

The last 20 years have witnessed a burgeoning of investigations related to the self-concept or self-esteem as it is sometimes called. The term "self­concept" refers to the conceptualization which individuals have of their own person, that is, it relates to the composite picture of what individuals think they are, can accomplish, would like to become, together with what they consider other people think of them. Burns defines the term: "as an abstraction that all humans develop about the attributes, capacities, objects and activities that they possess and pursue, around which, derived from social experiences, values cluster". 9

Burns goes on to mention some 39 different instruments which have been developed over the years to measure different aspects of the self-concept. For the purposes of this study, it was decided to use the 100-item, self-report instrument known as the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, 10 because of the high degree of validity and reliability it has as a measure of 8 dimensions of the construct. These dimensions are identity, self-satisfaction, behaviour, physical self, moral self, personal self, family self and the social self. The scale also has built into it other measures related to consistency of response, social facilitation and defensiveness. High scores on these measures indicate persons have a good self-concept; they like themselves as people, feel that they have much to offer of value and are confident in their approach to life. Low scores designate individuals who have a poor self-concept, that is, persons who are anxious, depressed, unhappy and lacking in confidence.

The Embedded Figures Test (EFT) is one of three instruments which Witkin and his associates have used to explore what they call "psychological diff..:rentiation". 11 For them, the term refers to a construct, "for conceptualizing communality in behaviour in several areas of psychological functioning". 12 Those researchers maintain that tapping a person's experience in any domain - as a perception with the EFT - is likely to reveal that person's general tendency to function at a less differentiated (global) or a more

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differentiated (analytical, structured and articuiated) level. From the personality perspective, differentiation is revealed along a "field dependent -field independent" continuum. A field dependent person has difficulty in separating an item from its context whereas a field-independent person has this facility. Men have consistently been found to be more field independent than women, at least in perceptual and intellectual situations. According to Witkin, field dependent individuals are likely to change their stated views upon particular social issues in the direction of the attitude of authority figures. They recognize people more readily than their opposites, and base their impressions of other people on the physical characteristics these people show, and on the actions in which they engage. On the whole they favour occupations that involve contact with people, and appear to be well-liked within their own group. On the other hand, field independent individuals are less likely to be influenced by authority figures, valuing their own views, standards and needs above all others. They are regarded as socially more independent, show less interest and need for other people and reveal a relatively idiosyncratic approach to problem-solving. Finally, field independent persons seem to have a stable self-concept and are less attentive to subtle social cues given by others. The EFT has been used in exploratory research on information professional students, and on reference librarians by Johnson & White. 13

The Locus of Control (LOC) concept, 14 derived from Rotter's social learning theory, 15 describes control expectancies in both situational and personality trait dimensions. As a personality trait dimension LOC describes individual differences in relatively enduring dispositions to perceive reinforcement contingencies as either under personal control (Internal control) or under the control of luck, chance, fate, powerful others or some other external agency (External control). Considered as a situational variable, LOC is used to describe the amount of control individuals perceive as available to them in any specific situation. The LOC is one of the most frequently used of all personality measures. Rotter estimated that over 600 published articles have appeared in the literature, 16 while Thornhill, Thornhill and Youngman have compiled a bibliography of LOC studies in excess of 1200 references. 11 The LOC is a 29 item, forced-choice schedule. Low scores on the measure indicate that the respondents perceive that they themselves are in control of their destiny; conversely, high scores indicate that individuals perceive that their destiny lies outside their immediate control.

In this present study it was hypothesized that user /reference librarians would be:

I. more likely to be field dependent than field independent; 2. more externally controlled than the general population: 3. more apt to report low levels of self-concept.

Such directional hypotheses must be evaluated by the use of one-tailed probability values in t-test analyses.

The Questionnaire data The Australian Department of Industrial Relations reports that "The active labour force of 5700-6300 librarians has a younger

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than average age profile (150Jo below 35) ... Most librarians are female (800Jo). However, a comparison of inter-censal data indicates a relative increase in the number of male librarians". 18 In the present sample of user/reference librarians (N = 58: 40 females, 18 males) the ratio of female to male is 7:3 while 430Jo were below the age of 35. Thus the findings give support to the Department's recent report.

Most of the respondents were Australian (47 of the 58) with Australian parents, but 16 other nationalities were represented in the remaining 11 (and their parents). Again this finding supports the researchers' earlier comment that "Any psychological barrier study must ... consider the multi-cultural language/communication barrier so clearly identified by the sample of reference". 19

Most of the respondents had attended a State high school (34) though 28 had attended independent high schools (19 Protestant and 9 Catholic).

One item of the questionnaire asked respondents to state their birth order in the family. Eight were singletons and 23 of the sample were the first born in their respective families. Birth order is related to self-concept: Sears found that singletons and first-born children had more positive self-concepts than second or later born children. 20 He also found that academic competence was also clearly related to self-concept, hence the greater the self-concept the greater the academic competence of his subjects. Rosenberg and Coopersmith also demonstrated the significance of birth order on self concept. 21 However, Nystul and Stotland and Dunn failed to support this association, 22 thus Burns writes: "In view of such inconsistent results it would be that a clearer understanding of birth-order effects would emerge if other family structure variables such as sex of siblings, number of siblings and closeness of age of siblings were taken into account". 23 In the instrument used to measure self-concept in this project, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Total Positive score is the most important as it reflects the overall level of respondents' self esteem. The sample of user librarians score (X = 360.086; S.D. = 34.81) was higher than the scores given in the normative data (X = 345.57; S.D. = 30. 70). The scores are statistically significant at P <0.01. This means user/reference librarians have a better self concept than comparison groups. As such the findings of this research tend to support the work of Rosenberg and Coopersmith mentioned above.

Some 39 of the respondents held degree/ diploma level qualifications over and above their library qualifications. The actual library qualifications held by the sample are given below (see Table I).

Table 1-Library Qualifications Held

Higher degree (Masters or PhD) Diploma (Post-graduate) Bachelor degree in librarianship Diploma (Not post-graduate) LAA Registration examination Other

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2 27 8 2

15 3

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Of the 58 in the sample, only 15 were engaged in further study at the time the data were collected. While most (45) respondents spent from 5-20 hours on duty at the reference/information/inquiries desk, they seemed to enjoy that portion of their work. Thirty-one said they enjoyed their desk roster "very much", while 23 reported that they enjoyed it "quite a lot". When asked in what part of the library they would prefer work if they were given a free choice, 47 replied that they would opt for the user/reference section. The same number (47) maintained this preference had not changed during their careers because they liked working with people. Some respondents did comment upon the challenging nature of the work in this area.

The sample was asked how much status/prestige it considered librarians have with a number of groups (see Table 2).

Table 2-Status Librarians Perceive They Have With Other Groups

Groups Very high High Moderate Low

Other librarians you work with 10 30(40) 18 - (18) Other library staff 1 34(35) 19 4(23) Academic staff 1 14 (15) 38 5 (43) Students 2 13 (15) 38 4 (42) Other library users 4 15 (19) 35 3(38)

The number in brackets indicate the Very High/High versus Moderate/Low dichotomy

The respondents certainly seem to perceive that library users, of whatever sort, do not, generally speaking, hold librarians in very high regard, especially when compared with how librarians themselves see their status/prestige, at least when the data are considered dichotomously.

When asked to state the three most important attributes required of user/reference librarians, in order of preference, the following data were obtained (see Table 3).

Table 3-Attrlbutes User/Reference Librarians Shvuld Possess

1st 2nd 3rd Attributes Preference Preference Preference

Approachable, friendly, likes users 23 10 6 Enthusiasm/willingness to help users in a

positive way 11 10 24 Expert knowledge re library resources, so can

help 8 18 15 Be a good communicator 8 9 4 Ability to interpret and grasp written and verbal

requests 7 10 8

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The order of preference is almost the same as the researchers found in their earlier study of Victorian academic libraries. It is pleasing to see that the same priorities persist over state borders.

It is also of interest to note that one half of the respondents did not decide upon librarianship as a career until some years in the workforce working with people, while at University, or soon afterward as a result of dissatisfaction with their first job(s). A few entered the profession after their family was complete, while a few admitted that they "fell into it" by default. Of those for whom librarianship was not their first choice, 17 had tried other jobs, 7 could not get their first choice of position, 4 found it a convenient way of becoming employed while 3 remained unsure of their career plans for a long time. The respondents reported a total of 22 different occupations in which they were employed before entering librarianship. Most of these relate to teaching in one form or another (8) or work as a researcher (5); secretarial/ clerical work and parenthood were the other most frequently mentioned occupations (3 each).

The final questions probed the respondent's future in the profession. Those who could see themselves still working as librarians in 10 years' time said this would be the case because they thoroughly enjoyed working with people and were good at their jobs. Others maintained that the range of alternatives was unattractive, while a few emphasized that they needed the money to support their families. Most of those who replied that they would not be working in libraries in the next decade, stressed the fact that they would be retired by then. Some confessed to the need for a definitive career change, while others were eagerly awaiting the freedom to do things they have been wanting to do for ages-in fact, some 15 activities were listed by those who responded to the question.

In the final free response question, many useful issues were raised. The most frequent response related to the respondents' dislike of the instruments chosen in the project, especially the forced-choice LOC scale and the religious items in some of the other instruments. The comments will be considered when the next stage of the project is planned.

The Personality data The analyses of the personality measures used in this research are summarized in the table below (see Table 4). The sample's score on the measures is compared to the appropriate normative data, where given, in the test manuals. The males and females in the research sample were also compared on the tasks given in order to explore any sex differences which may be operative. ,

The EFT manual24 contains no composite normative data. However, when the male librarians were compared with the given data, they were found to score significantly higher. While the female librarians scored slightly higher than their comparison group, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. These findings are consistent with other research in the area. 25 In short, the male librarians are more field independent than both their reference group and their female counterparts. This means that the male user/reference librarians must be perceived as being less people-oriented, but

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Table 4-Summary of Results on the Personality Instruments Used

Instrument used

EFT LOC scs

Self-criticism Identity Self-satisfaction Behaviour Physical Self Moral/Ethical Self Personal Self Family Self Social Self Total Positive Total Variability Distribution

Legend

V1 V2 V3 V4 VS V6 V7 VB V9

V10 V11 V12

EFT: Embedded Figures Test LOC: Locus of Control SCS: Self Concept Scale

(A) (B) (C) (D)

NA P<0.01 NS P<0.01 P<0.05 P<0.001 P<0.001 P<0.01

is measured along 12 Variables (below) NS NA NA NS NS NA NA NS NS NA NA NS* NS NA NA NS NS NA NA NS

P<0.001 NA NA NS P<0.001 NA NA NS P<0.001 NA NA NS P<0.001 NA NA NS P<0.01 NA NA NS P<0.001 NA NA NS

NS NA NA NS

(A) Combined male and female versus combined normative data. (B) Males of the sample versus male norms. (C) Females of the sample versus female norms. (D) Males of the sample versus females of the sample. NA: No normative data available in the manuals. P: Probability level of statistically significant results e.g. P < 0.01 (indicates the result was

significant at below the 0.01 level of significance for one-tailed t-tests). NS: Denotes that the"test results were not significant, that statistically there is no difference

between the groups under consideration. V: Variable investigated. *: Indicates a trend in the expected direction.

more able to work independently than their female counterparts. The finding that both female and male librarians score higher than their reference group must be viewed with caution as the literature does not contain a direct comparison group for librarians. The normative data for the EFT was a group at 397 (Male= 155, Female= 242) students from an American liberal arts college.

On the LOC measure the composite score for the sample was significantly different from the most apposite reference group, a national American stratified sample N = 1000. When considered separately, both male and female librarians scored significantly higher than their respective normative groups. Likewise, when the male subgroup was compared with the female subgroup, male librarians scored higher than their female colleagues. In the LOC measure, the higher the score, the more externally controlled the respondents perceive themselves to be. Thus user/reference librarians perceive themselves to be more externally influenced than do their reference groups, while males

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in the sample score themselves as more controlled by external forces than do their female counterparts.

The SCS is a multi-dimensional measure of self-concept. As such, there can be no overall measure of the construct. Instead, a comparison of the 12 main variables with the most relevant reference group- here a broad-based American national sample of N = 626- must be used.

There were no significant differences between the male and female subgroups of the sample on any of the variables which comprise the SCS. However, it is of some interest to note that there does seem to be a trend in the expected direction. Male librarians scored higher on the self-satisfaction dimension than did females though that difference was not significant. Thus males tended to express more satisfaction when asked to describe how they felt about themselves as people than did the females in the sample.

When the sample was compared to national reference groups, it was found to differ significantly on the following: the total positive score, the personal self, family self, social self, moral self and the total variability score.

The single most important score of the SCS used (the counselling form) is what is called the "Total Positive" score. This measure reflects the overall level of self esteem individuals report. High scores denote that individuals like themselves as people, feel that they are persons of considerable worth, have confidence in their abilities and act accordingly. Low scorers possess low self esteem, see themselves as undesirable persons often troubled by anxiety, depression and unhappiness. They also lack confidence in everyday affairs. The level of self esteem in the sample is significantly higher than that of its normative group; user/reference librarians held themselves in high esteem.

The personal, family and social selves reflect the degree of worth and adequacy which individuals hold about themselves as people, as family members and as members of a wider social circle. What is of great interest here is that the librarians scored higher than their reference group on the personal self, but lower on the family and social self. What this means, in the interpretation of the SCS, is that while librarians have a good perception of themselves per se, they do not see themselves in the same positive light when they evaluate their behaviour in their families and in other social groups. This finding is supported to some extent by the questionnaire data in which librarians reported the low degree of status/prestige in which they perceive persons other than their immediate colleagues hold them.

The moral-ethical measure refers to the way people perceive their moral worth regarding God, religion and ethical conduct. Here, again, the sample scored significantly lower than the general population. The low esteem which the sample demonstrates on this dimension is substantiated by its questionnaire data. The respondents, in their free response question, expressed their concern on the number of questions related to religion in the instruments.

The total variability scores measure the reliability of individuals' responses over the whole test. High scores indicate fragmentation of response, implying that such persons tend to compartmentalize the various dimensions of self. Well integrated persons tend to score low on this measure. The sample scored

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significantly higher than its reference group here thus indicating a lack of consistency in the responses it made to this particular test. As a consequence, the findings of the SCS must be interpreted with more than the usual caution for this sample.

The Hypotheses I. It was predicted that the librarians would be more field dependent than

the general normative group. This hypothesis was not confirmed. In fact, the male subgroup scored significantly higher than their reference group (i.e., was less people oriented than the comparison group). The males were also found to be more field independent (less people oriented) than their female counterparts.

2. It was predicted that the librarians would perceive themselves to be more externally controlled than their reference group. This hypothesis was confirmed. Furthermore, the male subgroup perceived itself to be more externally controlled than the female subgroup.

3. It was predicted that the sample would report lower levels of self esteem than the general populace. Here the findings are ambivalent. This was the case for family self, the social self and the moral self. On the important Total Positive score and the personal self the hypothesis was not confirmed. Given the significant degree of inconsistency in the sample's responses to the items of the SCS, no conclusion may be drawn about this hypothesis. More research is required to resolve the conflicting results found on the measures of this instrument.

Despite the problems engendered by the instruments used to measure personality in the library context, the researchers consider that the search for personality variables has a central place in the search for the major determinant of the "barriers" problem.

Future directions This research has now produced normative data from a sample of user/reference librarians, and other researchers may be prompted to investigate the area and make use of the data generated. Such studies would in turn help to build up the number of reference groups used to validate the measures in the Australian context.

The EFT should be administered to library staff other than user/reference librarians in order to establish the field dependence/field independence of the target group against a sample of colleagues. Likewise, the EFT could be used, along the lines suggested by Johnson and White, to substantiate the appropriateness of the appointment of librarians to manage subject areas.

The sample expressed strong negative reactions to the LOC instrument. It is the forced-choice nature of the test which generates its unpopularity. Given that the LOC did discriminate between the groups so successfully, it is probably better to continue to use it, but in a more sophisticated form, such as that used by Levenson. 26

The conflicting findings on the SCS measure which resulted, it seems, from the inconsistent response pattern of the sample demand a different approach than the self-report format. Maybe the use of some of the other measures

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mentioned by Burns, such as Osgoods' Semantic Differential, could be employed to this end.

REFERENCES

This project is supported by a research grant from the Bendigo College of Advanced Education. Special thanks go to Ms. Adrienne Campbell, Research Assistant, for her help and unfailing good humour in a difficult task.

2 LOGSDON, R. H. "The librarian and the scholar: eternal enemies". Library journal, 19: 2871-2874, 1970.

3 LINE, M. R. "Thoughts of a non-user, non-educator". In Fox, P. and Malley, I. (eds). Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Library User Education, University of Edinburgh, July 2-9 1983, p. 4.

4 BIGGS, M. "Sources of tension and conflict between librarians and faculty". Journal of higher education, 52: 182-201, 1981.

5 KOSA, G. A. "The psychological barrier between college student and the librarian". Australian academic and research libraries, 13: 107-112, 1982.

6 Upon the retirement of Ms. P. Toy from the Bendigo CAE in 1986, Mrs Christine Crocker of the Deakin University Library agreed to join the research team in its explorations of the psychological barriers problem.

7 KOSA, Op. cit. 8 HATCHARD, D. B. and TOY, P. "The psychological barriers between library users and

library staff -an exploratory investigation". Australian academic and research libraries, 17: 63-69, 1986.

9 BURNS, R. B. The self concept in theory, measurement, development and behaviour. 3rd ed. New York, Longmans, 1984, p. 69.

IO FITTS, W. H. Manual Tennessee Department of Mental Health self concept scale. Nashville, Tennessee, 1984.

11 WITKIN, H. A. et al. Psychological differentiation. New York, Wiley, 1974. 12 Ibid., p. 14. 13 JOHNSON, K. A. and WHITE, M. D. "Field dependence I field independence of information

professional students". Library research 3: 355-369, 1981. 14 ROTTER, J. B. "Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of

reinforcement". Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80 (l),Whole no. 609, 1966. 15 ROTTER, J. B. Social Learning and Clinical Psychology. Engelwood Cliffs, New Jersey,

Prentice Hall, 1954. 16 ROTTER, J. B. "Some problems and misconceptions related to the internal versus external

control of reinforcement". Journal of consulting and clincial psychology, 43: 56-67, 1975. 17 THORNHILL, M.A., THORNHILL, G. J. and YOUNGMAN, M. B. "A computerized

and categorized bibliography on locus of control". Psychological reports, 36: 505-506, 1975. 18 OCCUPATIONAL outlook: the supply and demand for skilled labour. Australian

Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, 213: 1985. 19 HATCHARD, D. B. and TOY, P. "Librarians' views on the psychological barriers problem".

Australian academic and research libraries, 17: 202-206, 1986. 20 SEARS, R. R. "Relation of early socialisations to self concept and gender role in middle

childhood". Child development, 14: 267-289, 1970. 21 ROSENBERG, M. Society and the adolescent self image. Princeton, University Press, 1965;

and COOPERSMITH, S. The antecedents of self esteem. San Francisco, Freeman, 1967. 22 NYSTUL, M. S. "The effect of birth order and sex on self-concept". Journal of individual

psychology, 30: 211-215, 1974; and STOTLAND, E. and DUNN, R. E. "Identifications opposition, authority, self-esteem and birth order". Psychological monographs, 76, Whole No. 609, 1%2.

23 BURNS, Op. cit., p. 213. 24 WITKIN, H. A., et al. A Manual for the Embedded Figures Test. Palo Alto, Consulting

Psychologists Press, 1971. 25 WITKIN et al., 1971 and 1974. 26 LEVENSON, H. "Activism and powerful others". Journal of personality assessment, 38:

377-383, 1974.

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