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Article
Publication date: 4 August 2023

Simon Wakeling, Jane Garner, Mary Anne Kennan, Philip Hider, Hamid R. Jamali, Holly Eva Katherine Randell-Moon and Yazdan Mansourian

The purpose of this research was to investigate how Australian public libraries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of management, planning and communication. The study…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to investigate how Australian public libraries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of management, planning and communication. The study also investigated operational approaches to the development and implementation of new and adapted models of service and resource delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilising a multiple qualitative case study approach, interviews were conducted with 15 Australian public library staff members at three library services – one inner-city, one regional and one remote. Inductive thematic analysis was employed to generate insights into the operations and management strategies employed during the COVID-19 crisis.

Findings

Findings suggest that public library managers performed admirably in the face of significant logistical, budgetary and regulatory challenges. Five key themes emerged to represent the ways in which public library leaders responded effectively to the crisis: resourcefulness, flexibility, presence, sensitivity and communication. Results also demonstrate the importance placed on library users’ welfare.

Originality/value

This research represents the first study to focus on the response of Australian public library managers to the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the strategies employed by library leaders to respond effectively. In doing so this research provides valuable insights into how public library managers can prepare for future crises.

Details

Library Management, vol. 44 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2009

Jane Garner

Older people tend to be viewed negatively ‐ as being needy, dependent and frail. Such assumptions may be reinforced by policies that, despite good intentions, focus on the…

Abstract

Older people tend to be viewed negatively ‐ as being needy, dependent and frail. Such assumptions may be reinforced by policies that, despite good intentions, focus on the consequences of physical and mental decline. This paper argues for a more balanced and positive view. Ageing is associated with increased diversity, creativity and continuing psychological development and sexual activity. The wisdom and experience of older people is a vital, and as yet largely untapped, resource for UK society.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 December 2022

Jane Garner

This paper serves to test the validity of Chatman’s theory of “Life Lived in the Round” within a modern prison context. In particular, it examines Propositions Five and Six of her…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper serves to test the validity of Chatman’s theory of “Life Lived in the Round” within a modern prison context. In particular, it examines Propositions Five and Six of her theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data regarding the information-seeking practices of Australian adult female and male prisoners from maximum-, medium- and minimum-security facilities was gathered through 106 surveys and 27 semi-structured interviews. Participants’ information-seeking from sources internal and external to the “small world” of the prison was described. The information behaviours of the participants were examined against Chatman’s theory of “Life in the Round” to determine its applicability in the prison context.

Findings

The data gathered does not support Chatman’s theory of “Life Lived in the Round”, despite that theory being developed in a prison context. Neither Proposition Five nor Proposition Six of Chatman’s theory can be supported when examined in the light of the current data.

Research limitations/implications

The inability of the data to support Chatman’s theory requires a reassessment of the applicability of the theory, at least to the prison context. As the theory was generated in part from a prison study, the foundational understandings of the theory could be questioned as a result of this current research.

Originality/value

Although Chatman’s theory has been examined against the information behaviours of other “Small World” communities, none of these studies have taken the theory back to the prison context from which the theory was developed. This study is also novel as its findings do not support Chatman’s theory, in contrast to other previously published examinations.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 79 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2020

Jane Garner

The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of books, libraries and reading on the experience of time within the prison environment.

1826

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of books, libraries and reading on the experience of time within the prison environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Using semi-structured interviews with Australian adult prisoners, and a phenomenological data analysis method, the researcher has been able to identify lived experiences that explain how books, libraries and reading influence the experience of time, within a prison environment.

Findings

Prisoners' experience of time differs from the experience of time outside prison. Unlike readers and library users outside prison, prisoners are motivated to use books, libraries and reading to pass time. They are using books, libraries and reading to assist in their struggle to manage the negative effects of excessive quantities of unstructured time.

Research limitations/implications

Research regarding the motivation to read and use libraries in the general population does not identify the desire to pass time as a factor. In contrast, the current study identifies readers and library users in prisons are strongly motivated to read and visit libraries as a means of passing time. This study adds a new understanding of the motivation to read and visit libraries within prison environments and provides insight into the beneficial influence of prison libraries on prisoner wellbeing.

Originality/value

This research contributes valuable new knowledge regarding the experience of time in prison, and the influence of books, libraries and reading on this experience.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 76 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 July 2022

Jane Garner, Simon Wakeling, Philip Hider, Hamid R. Jamali, Mary Anne Kennan, Yazdan Mansourian and Holly Randell-Moon

The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experiences of Australian public library staff during the COVID-19 library closures. The study examines the effect of mandated…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experiences of Australian public library staff during the COVID-19 library closures. The study examines the effect of mandated physical library closures on staff well-being, along with the challenges they faced as library operations moved to a remotely delivered model. The paper includes an examination of staff perceptions of their library's value in the lives of their users.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 Australian library staff from three library networks. A process of inductive coding resulted in a thematic description of the participants' experiences of continuing to work during a period of where their libraries were closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Findings

Australian public library workers experienced many challenges that affected their well-being during the period of library closures. These included challenges relating to moving library programming to a virtual delivery model, managing significant change in their work lives, managing the emotions of self and others, and concern for the well-being of library users. Positive outcomes relating to skill development and innovative thinking were also reported.

Originality/value

The operational responses to the COVID-19 library closures in Australia and elsewhere have been well reported. This paper takes a different approach by examining the emotional and well-being outcomes for public library staff during these periods of closure.

Details

Library Management, vol. 43 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2001

Jane Garner, Lynne Horwood and Shirley Sullivan

The continuing high costs of scholarly information provision have encouraged the proliferation of eprint servers. We have seen the establishment of the Chemistry Preprint Server…

Abstract

The continuing high costs of scholarly information provision have encouraged the proliferation of eprint servers. We have seen the establishment of the Chemistry Preprint Server, PhilSci Archive and ClinMed, to mention just three examples. Both the well‐established and the evolving eprint repositories offer hope that academic libraries can continue to provide access to required scholarly information at reasonable cost. The paper describes the advantages of eprint servers and possible obstacles to their acceptance.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 6 September 2021

Abstract

Details

Exploring the Roles and Practices of Libraries in Prisons: International Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-861-3

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2007

Yong Lock Ong, Susan Benbow, Sarah Black and Jane Garner

The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry, Royal College of Psychiatrists, has been involving users and carers in its work since 2002. The model that has been developed involves regular…

Abstract

The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry, Royal College of Psychiatrists, has been involving users and carers in its work since 2002. The model that has been developed involves regular meetings of a consumer group, which was set up in partnership with the Alzheimer's Society and Age Concern, and which meets with the officers of the faculty. This development is in line with a number of recent policy initiatives and has had considerable influence on the work of the faculty.

Details

Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-7794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

Jane Garner

This paper considers the doctor's role in unravelling the causes of abuse of older people. The author argues that doctors have a responsibility to understand and address the…

Abstract

This paper considers the doctor's role in unravelling the causes of abuse of older people. The author argues that doctors have a responsibility to understand and address the ageism, ignorance and unthinking which lies is at the root of most institutional abuse.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 September 2021

Jane Garner

Abstract

Details

Exploring the Roles and Practices of Libraries in Prisons: International Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-861-3

1 – 10 of 365