Delphi investigation into the research needs in Swedish librarianship

• Introduction. Reports the conduct of a national survey in Sweden to establish the desired research priorities for libraries. The research sought to establish what evidence-base is needed for evidence-based practice. Method. The Delphi method was employed to solicit opinions on the kinds of research needed by libraries of all kinds in Sweden. Research topics were obtained from practising librarians and identified in the professional literature and discussion lists. Two rounds of questionnaire survey using the sixty-four themes extracted were followed by an interactive workshop. Panel members were nominated by the practitioners themselves. Analysis. Standard statistical methods were employed to derive means and standard deviations and the Spearman rank correlation statistic was used to compare the results from different library sectors. Results. Consensus among panel members was not achieved during the survey rounds, but the workshop resulted in the identification of the ten highest priority themes. The public, regional and school libraries are more concerned with relation of libraries to education and society at large, while academic and special libraries emphasize the changes in scholarly and business communication and the impact of new technologies. Conclusions. The consensus among different Swedish library sectors regarding the top research agenda can be reached only conditionally. Strong differences between them remain and have to be taken into account when implementing the agenda. The panel members regard the library future as uncertain and prioritize the topics that can help to foster readers and library users and strengthen strategic positions of libraries.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Information Studies (hsv//eng)

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