Staff/user interaction in public libraries: A non-participation observation study

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a method to study the interpersonal and professional aspects of responses to users' enquiries in public libraries. It was decided that an observational methodology was needed: the design of the schedule used to record observations and the practical problems associated with observation in a natural setting are described. The issue of possible observer bias and the necessity for describing behaviour without inferring meaning at the time of observation are considered. The paper also describes the type of analysis carried out on the observation data. It concludes with a consideration of the usefulness of this method and of possible ways of increasing the sophistication of recording and analysis.