NEWS


Prize winners explore library anxiety and democracy


THE joint winners of the 2020


CILIP Student Prize are Elizabeth Carney for her dissertation on library anxiety in health libraries, and Simon Cloudesley for his work with the ECHO refugee library in Athens and his dissertation about the role of information literacy in citizenship. The prize is awarded for exceptional achievement in the field of LIS studies, which could be in one of three areas: academic achievement; professional potential or sup- port and development of other students.


Library anxiety Elizabeth is a Masters graduate from the University of Strathclyde and now works for the University of Glasgow Library and CILIPS. “My dissertation looked into ‘library anxiety’ which is the feeling of being confused and overwhelmed by using a library, leading to library avoidance. This has been studied extensively in the academic library setting, where research has found that it is common amongst students. I was intrigued by the concept because I remembered feeling that way at the beginning of my undergraduate degree. I also noticed a lack of research into whether library anxiety occurs in library settings other than academic.” After 550 responses to a staff survey


and follow-up interviews Elizabeth said she “was able to see clear patterns in responses about why healthcare profes- sionals may not access their health library as much as they would like to. Positively, library anxiety did not seem to be an issue and other reasons for non-use were much more prominent – such as a lack of time within a busy work schedule.” Elizabeth used the findings to develop recommendations in her final report. While the course looked at how libraries can use technology, it was important not to forget those who use services – with face-to-face services and a sense of com- munity often helping to reduce anxiety. She adds: “During lockdown, it has been


June-July 2020


Information and democracy Simon is a Masters graduate from Uni- versity College London and now works in Reader Services at the Bodleian. He said his dissertation How is informa- tion literacy understood and enacted from the perspective of UK citizenship in 2019? followed his work with the ECHO refugee library and three years of Brexit – which revolved around identity, citizenship, inclusion and participation. He said: “Information literacy and


Elizabeth Carney.


brilliant to see the many ways libraries have increased their online offer in innovative ways in order to continue supporting their patrons, demonstrating the value of digital. However, I think the pandemic has also highlighted how much we all need human connection and how key libraries can be in facilitating this for their communities… it is clear that the human element of libraries is what makes them such special places.”


dem ocracy/citizenship are at the forefront of professional concern at the moment, particularly as we focus on ‘political literacy’ and the handling of political infor- mation/disinformation in today’s world.” “We have sensed an opportunity here. I attended an online conference on these issues and was encouraged by the recognition and awareness of the different social and political contexts information literacy operates in.” “The people I interviewed had a range


of views about citizenship that sometimes upheld and sometimes challenged the aspirations that we may have as a profes- sion,” he said, adding: “As the profession strives to promote certain social values through information literacy, we must also recognise that not everyone lives in the kind of liberal democracy that we do and that within democracy itself we need to be able to make room for a diversity of voices and views.” For all of his interviewees though, “citizenship centred on a strong sense of community” and “as a result, I found that information literacy showed itself to be tied strongly to maintaining this sense of community.” He said: “Working in an academic library


Simon Cloudesley.


we have had to rethink how to support people and to challenge some restrictions that will increasingly be seen as unworka- ble and unfair in a Covid-19 world. I think situations where we have to adapt quickly and rethink our approach will be more frequent now and moving forward we all need to be able to think critically, chal- lenge and not get stuck in the old ways of doing things.


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 5


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