issues, both from the participants point of view and the organisation where the research was conducted.


The classification of stories into different types was one of the hardest part of the research. Some stories were easily classi- fiable, for example tragic, epic, or comic. Others, not so easy as they contained what Gabriel (2000) refers to as proto stories. In my research, types of organisational stories collected included comic, epic, tragic and romantic.


I was able to resolve, to some extent some of the of the above challenges through several pilot studies. Initial dis- cussions with the participants led to the creation of the right environment which inevitably encouraged active participation in the storytelling activity.


Some noted benefits of storytelling as a research method


Storytelling can be regarded as important sources of tacit knowledge, which can help an organisation to manage individuals as knowledge creators. It can also help “members make sense of their individual memories with institutional memory.” Evidential benefits of stories and story- telling include the availability of rich information worthy of scholarship. In the study I found that the participants were not only inveterate storytellers, but they possessed huge amount of tacit knowledge. It is important to point out that the important characteristic of tacit knowledge is the belief that tacit knowl- edge is essentially personal in nature and therefore, difficult to extract from the heads of those who possess it. Nevertheless, several advantages of tacit knowledge abound in management studies. While listening to participants’ stories, I witnessed how relatively easy it was to manage knowledge, the ability of the organisation to identify what everyone in the organisation (library) believes is the specific kinds of knowledge he or she possesses. Indeed, some of the stories provided instances where the organisation used this knowledge to improve perfor- mance or create new knowledge in the organisation.


Secondly, I found out that storytelling was often seen as an opportunity to share and transfer knowledge. As one partici- pant pointed out: “We learn a lot from telling each other our stories.” The research concurs with the observa- tion made by Swap et al., (2001) namely that storytelling in the context of organ- isations helps people to learn from each other. It also, allows people to affirm or question identities (van Hulst and Ybema, 2020). These are indeed valuable lessons for those interested in storytelling as a research method.


With regard to the research study, 26 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL December 2023


storytelling as a research method was adopted because of the identified meth- odological gap in similar research studies and to complement data obtained via a more conventional, empirical qualitative research method. Crucially, quantitative analysis could not have given an accurate reflection of the strength and weakness of the complex structure of the organisa- tion where the study was located and the people who work in them.


Happily, Ever After …


My foray into storytelling as a research method ended well!


It is probably better to describe what emerged from my doctoral research study as more in the nature of a research strategy than a comprehensive approach to research methodology. As a method for future information seeking behaviour, I regard it as being insightful.


Two central benefits emerged from the research. Firstly, a novel methodology such as storytelling through the mediation process lends itself to creative thinking and scholarship.


Secondly, the doctoral research from which this brief communications emanates found that storytelling as a research method, provided me with a qualitative rich information. In his book Tell Everyone: Why We


Share and Why It Matters, Alfred Hermida (2014) states: “People are not hooked on YouTube, Twitter, (X) or Facebook but each other. Tools and Services come and go what is constant is our human urge to share.” Storytelling does this well through the role of mediation by a librarian or related professionals. There is the tendency (the italics are


Bibliography Adeloye A. (2023) An Exploratory Study of the Role of Mediation in Library and Information Services and Resources. PhD Thesis, University of Aberystwyth, UK.


Boje D.M. (1991) ‘The Storytelling Organisation: study of performance in an office supply firm’. Administrative Science quarterly 36 (1): 106-126


Gabriel, Y. 1998. Same old story or changing stories: Folkloric, modern, and postmodern mutations. In D. Grant, T. Keenoy, & C. Oswick (Eds.), Discourse and Organization: 84-103. London: Sage.”)


Gabriel Y. (2000) Storytelling in Organizations, Facts, Fictions, and fantasies Oxford University Press.


Kuhlthau, C.C. (2005). Information Search Process. Available at www.scils.rutgers.edu/-Kuhlthau/News/ISPchapter.htm. Accessed 21 June 2017.


Miles D.A. (2017) A Taxonomy of Research Gaps: Identi- fying and Defining the Seven Research Gaps, Doctoral Student Workshop: Finding – Research Methods and Strategies, Dallas: Texas,2017.


Moore, S.G. (2012) ‘Some things are better left unsaid: how word of mouth influences the storyteller.’ Journal of Consumer Research, Vol.38,No .6, pp1140-1154


Moustakas,C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


Rodney, I (2022) ‘The real reason you may miss working in a building’. Information Professional (The magazine of CILIP – January-February 2022, pp28-31


Rooney T., Lawlor K, Rohan E (2016) ‘Telling Tales; Storytelling as a methodological approach in research’. The Electronical Journal of Business Research Methods. 14 Issue 2, p147-156


Swap W. Leonard, Shields M. and Abrams L. (2001) ‘Using mentoring and storytelling to transfer knowledge in the workplace’. (“Swap, W., Leonard, D., Shields, M., & Abrams, L. (2001). Using ...”) Management Information Systems 18(1):95-114.


Van Hulst M. and Ybema S (2020) ‘From what to where: a setting-sensitive approach to organisational storytelling’ Organization Studies, 4 (3):365-391.


Van Manen M. (1990) Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. (“Teaching Phenomenological Research and Writing”) New York: State University of New York Press.


mine) for academics and practitioners to rely on “tried and trusted” methodol- ogies. My novel methodology of story- telling in the context of information seeking behaviour of library patrons has hopefully, paved the way for other novel methodologies.


Storytelling as a research method is an interdisciplinary and interculture practice. It is to be hoped that this over- looked research method in library and information science disciplines would attract further research interest. Finally, the processing of telling a story is episodic, cathartic, and pleasur- able for both the teller and the listener. Stories, how they are told and how they are transmitted during the mediation process, are pivotal to understanding the information seeking behaviour. For those interested in this area of research, may wish to consult Yiannis Gabriel’s book which is mentioned below. IP


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