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Lessons from Collaborative Library Ethnographies
Celia Emmelhainz @celiemme Qualitative Research Librarian
IFLA 2016 * Columbus, Ohio
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Ethnography as Method
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International Ethnography• Ex: anthropologists and librarians collaborated to study libraries and the information economy in rural Romania (Klimaszewski, Whipple, Nyce, etc)
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Ethnographic Toolkit•Spatial observation•Usability testing (web)• Informal observations / fieldnotes•Web survey•Mapping Exercises•Diaries / Photo Diaries•Participant Observation• Interviews / Focus Groups•Digital Observation (Social Media)
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Tools: Fieldnotes
(Image: Dunne 2016, dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2016.1168747)
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Tools: Cognitive Mapping
(Image: Donna Lanclos, http://www.donnalanclos.com/?p=21 )
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Tools: Photo Diaries
(Image from Judi Briden, “Photo Surveys,” (p. 40-47), in Foster & Gibbons 2007, Studying Students)
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Caveat – Why Bother?
• Choosing a “cool” method isn’t useful• Ask good questions that aren’t answered by existing literature
• Then, pick a method from your toolkit appropriate to what you want to learn
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Example: Web Survey of Study Abroad Students
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Workplace Observation
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Interviews
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Focus Groups with Library Workers
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Example: Digital ethnography
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Questionnaires and Observation at a National Library
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Challenges of Collaborative Ethnography• Inequality
• Lack of time, money, resources
• Different priorities, different rewards
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Ethnography to Anthropology
Need to move beyond observation to why and in what context (McCracken)
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Strengths of Collaborative Ethnography
• Positionality / complementing each other
• Catching errors and spurious interpretation
• Capacity building among young librarians
• Move beyond surveys to discuss and understand wider cultural shifts in libraries
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Further Reading:Read this full paper: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4z38w8q1
Related work:
Andrew Asher and Lynda Duke. 2012. College Libraries and Student Culture.
Nancy Foster and Susan Gibbons. 2007. Studying Students.
Mindy Whipple and James Nyce. 2007. “Community analysis needs ethnography: an example from Romania.”
Andrew Asher, at AndrewAsher.net
Donna Lanclos, at DonnaLanclos.com
Grant McCracken, at cultureby.com