Argus, 1 janvier 1982, Mai - Août

[" Volume 11, numéro 3-4/mai-juin-juillet-août 1982/ISSN 0315-9930 Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec Corporation of Professional Librarians of Québec ARGUS Comité de rédaction Editorial committee Suzanne Ledoux.présidente Marc-André Ledoux Marlene O Hare Giguere Louise Pelletier Maryse Pterrard-Bmiek Sharon Ptpon Correcteur Corrector Maryse Pierrard-Bimek Impression Printing Ateliers des Sourds Montréal (1978) me Traductrice Translator Sonia Ojevalikian Marlene O'Hare Giguère Nadia Olynyk Publicité Advertising Agence Marsy 440 ouest Boulevard Dorchester Suite 1101 Montréal.Que H2Z 1V7 (514)871-1757 Dépôt légal Legal deposit Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Argus est une revue bimestrielle publiée par la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Quebec Elle vise à ( information et a l ôducation de la profession La rédaction laisse aux auteurs l entiére responsabilité de leurs textes L'abonnement annuel est de 18$ (4$ le numéro) au Quebec 20$ (4.50$ le numéro) au Canada et 20$ U S (4.50$ U S le numéro) pour I extérieur du Canada Toute demande concernant les numéros manquants doit être envoyée au plus tard un mois suivant la date de parution, à l adresse suivante Argus Secrétariat de la CBPQ 360.rue Le Moyne Montréal.Québec H2Y 1Y3 Les articles de la revue sont indexés dans le Bulletin signalétique section 101.Sciences de l'information - documentation.Information Science Abstracts.Library Information Science Abstracts (LISA).Library Literature et dans RADAR répertoire analytique d articles de revues du Québec Argus is a bimonthly journal sponsored by the Corporation of Professional Librarians of Quebec Its aim is to publish original papers for the information and education of the profession Articles are the entire responsibility of the authors The yearly subscription is 18$ (4$ an issue) in Quebec.20$ (4 50$ an issue) in Canada and 20$ U S (4 50$ U S an issue) outside Canada Any request concerning missing issues should be sent, no later than a month after date of publication, to the following address Argus Secretariat of the CPLQ 360 Le Moyne Street Montréal.Québec, H2Y 1Y3 Articles are indexed in Bulletin Signalétique section 101 Sciences de / information - documentation.Information Science Abstracts.Library Information Science Abstracts (LISA).Library Literature and in RADAR répertoire analytique d articles de revues du Québec ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 49 ^^1 ' o?c >v if * v Hi Boites pour brochures II Ces boites Equipement Biblio Québec Inc.sont maintenant disponibles dans les couleurs attrayantes 25 par boite 42 516 10 1/4 42 517 11\" 42 518 14\" H x\t4\"\tx\t7 3/8\"\tP H x\t4\"\tx\t9\"\tP H x\t3-1/2\"\tx\t11\"\tP 5^; 'Sfr, *es * X K {Jlhj U * ^ (5 * i vr ^\t^ 4w A>«v i 1 vert rouge bleu 50 Equipement !-Biblio Québec |nc.1635, rue Begin.Montréal (Québec) H4R 1W9 Xé\u2019 : (514) 336 4340 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 Le Comité de rédaction d\u2019Argus est heureux d'offrir ce numéro à tous les délégués(es) au 48e congrès international de l\u2019IFLA; tous les membres de la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec se joignent à nous pour souhaiter à tous un congrès fructueux et un séjour agréable parmi nous.Un congrès d'une telle envergure témoigne de la vitalité de notre profession et le thème: les réseaux, de notre maturité.Argus est une revue qui, depuis plus de dix ans, offre aux membres de la CBPQ un service d'information sur le développement de la profession, elle fait le point sur les principales recherches effectuées au Québec et invite à l\u2019occasion des collègues de d'autres pays à rendre compte de ce qui se passe chez eux; Argus vise en définitive à l'information et à l'éducation de la profession.La CBPQ existe depuis plus de dix ans, mais c\u2019est depuis plus longtemps encore qu'on s'interroge sur la notion de professionnalisme.Sommes-nous des professionnels?La question ne se pose plus.Il existe une base théorique reconnue en bibliothéconomie, l'usager est au centre de nos préoccupations, la notion de senice est donc inhérente à nos activités que nous avons encadrées de codes d'éthique.Mais qu'elle sorte de professionnels sommes-nous?La question en est maintenant à ce stade.Ce numéro d\u2019Argus consacré au professionnalisme montre à quel point la notion de service est importante et que de plus en plus le bibliothécaire s'interroge sur son rôle social.Au sortir de la lecture des articles de William F.Birdsall, Réjean Savard, Laurent-G.Denis, Florence Mackesy et Alain Perrier, nous nous rendons compte que la notion de service est à se concrétiser autant dans notre discipline que chez les travailleurs sociaux ou chez les professionnels de la santé par exemple, qui comme nous dispensent des services personnalisés à toute la population.L\"n cadre théorique reste à établir et des modèles à se construire.Ces recherches, même si leurs auteurs les qualifient d'exploratoires, sont de bonne augure et ne cesseront, nous l'espérons, de se développer.Selon John Wilkinson, elles sont essentielles puisque nous entrerons bientôt dans l'ère de l'information.Nous avons voulu terminer ce numéro sur une note un peu plus pragmatique mais combien importante dans notre vie de tous les jours et qui bien sur influe sur la qualité des services offerts aux usagers.Helen Howard et Charlotte R.Mudge font le point sur l'administration du personnel dans les bibliothèques et sur la syndicalisation de ce même personnel.Le comité de rédaction ARGUS MAI JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 51 / -I^VVVI bibliofiches case postale EJ5 succursale St-Laurent Montréal, PQ.HAL AVA (514) 331-1022 in w - \u2022 gg ¦ W' M Fermée Utilise comm* fibèr» formal Boîte à filière No 469 Faite de carton ondulé de couleur naturelle et éprouvé à 90 k Ces boîtes peuvent servir au rangement et au transport a l'intérieur d'une bibliothèque et entre les bibliothèques pour livres, films, rubans, disques etc S'emploie aussi dans un sens comme filière format lettre et dans l\u2019autre sens comme filière format légal I onaueur 38 7 cm, largeur 31 1 cm.hauteur 26 0cm Boîte à journaux No 470 Boite pour journaux, cartes Faite de carton ondulé blanc éprouvé à 90 k Longueur 63 5 cm.largeur 43 1 cm.hauteur: 7 6 cm.Le fond peut recevoir un journal grand format ou tabloïd K \u2022 Bibliofiches souhaite la bienvenue aux membres de l\u2019I.F.L.A.J 52 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET -AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3-4 Librarianship, A Personal Service Profession?bv William F.Birdsall* I Rather than comparing librarianship with the traditional, established profes sions, the author presents the thesis that librarianship is a different type of profession.It is a personal service profession fundamentally distinct from the typical model of the traditional professions.Librarianship is described in terms of the major characteristics of this type of profession: relation to the client.professional knou'ledge and bureaucracy and politics.These characteristics make this occupation different from the traditional ones in its objectives, methods and development.On a trop comparé la bibliothéconomie avec les professions traditionnelles et établies, comme le droit et la médecine Selon l'auteur, la bibliolhéionomie est une profession de type différent.Orientée vers le sen ice personnel, son modèle serait plutôt à chercher du côté de renseignement et du travail social.La bibliothéconomie est décrite en fonction des caractéristiques principales de ce type de professions: relation à l'usager.connaissances professionnelles, place dans Torgamsation bureaucratique et aspect politique de la tâche.Par ces traits, elle se distingue des professions traditionnelles dans ses objectifs, ses méthodes et son développement.A common North American approach to analyzing the professional status of a specific occupation is to compare it to attributes derived from such traditional professions as law and medic ine.With this approach, occupations such as nursing, social work, teaching, and librarianship are often relegated to the categories of either non-, semi-, or emerging professions.Rarely is the idea advanced that these occupations are a distinct tvpe of profession, that to assess their professional status and objectives on models of the older professions is irrelevant.Drawing on the ideas of sociologists William S.Bennett.Jr , and Merl C.Hokenstad, Jr .it is the thesis of this essay that North American librarianship, in common with other occupations such as teachers and social workers, is a personal service profession fundamentally distinct from traditional professions such as medicine and law 1 The objectives of this approach is not to prove that librarianship is, or is not.a profession.The concept of the personal service profession is used here for analytical, descriptive purposes to illustrate that librarianship as a profession can be looked at in a more accurate, positive, and constructive wav than the usual negative assessments made using models derived from traditional pro- fessions Taking this approach may provide a better understanding of the unique role librarianship can plav in meeting the informational needs of societv To describe librarianship as a personal service profession, the professional's relation to the client, professional knowledge, bureaucracy anci politics will lx* examined.Relation to the Client In outlining his conception of an emerging personal service societv, British sociologist Paul Halmos makes a convincing distinction between personal service professionals and impersonal serv ice professionals - The personal service professional attempts to change the body or personalitv of the client; the physician is a personal service professional in contrast to the engineer, an impersonal professional concerned with things.Drawing on Halmos, Bennett and Hokenstad make a liner distinction in their definition of \u201cpeople workers.\u201d For them, \"People working professions.are workers who deal with clients' personalities\"* Phis definition excludes manv medical practitioners because they deal prj-marilv with parts of the body as an object or intellectual problem The I definition dcx*s include teachers, social workers and the mental health professions because their objective is to achieve a change in the behaviour or development of the client.There is another consideration in the client professional relationship.The doctor, lawyer, architect or engineer prescribes a solution to a client's problem.In contrast, personal service professionals \"function as catalysts who, through the communication of information and sharing of insights, attempt to help the client help himself.\u201d4 The personal professional helps the client grow or change through their encounter so that in the future the client can handle the problem, if encountered again, on his or her own; the client is expected to become self-sufficient.This is in marked contrast to impersonal service professionals who expect the client to return for further consultation for anv recurring problem; the lawver or engineer tvpi-callv do not expect the client to become self-sufficient Librarianship is usuallv given a low score on professionalism because librarians normally do not prescribe* \u2022 William F Rirusall is University Librarian at the Dalhousie University Library.Halifax.Nova Scotia 53 ARGUS MAi-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 solutions tor the client in the wav the doc tor or lawyer is perceived as doing.Librarians may guide clients hut.critics note, it is the clients who determine their informational needs Librarians are described as unassertive in dealing with clients, unwilling to strongly recommend specific sources or directions to librarv users, and incapable of taking the initiative bv providing clients the information they need.Instead, the client is directed to a range of printed sources from which the client, based on his or her own judgement, extracts the required information L'nfortu-natelv.critics arrive at these assertions bv using models based on the traditional professions and by failing to recognize that librarianship belongs to those occupations that strive to encourage client self-sufficiency l>ester Ashiem rightly observes that \u201cthe tendencv to instruct patrons in the skill with which they help themselves instead of turning always to us, may be* a desirable aspect of our social contribution that we do not wish to change.It is this commitment to client self-sufficiency that is the foundation of librarianship's approach to reference service, user instruction.the functional planning of libraries, and the development of bibliographic tools.It is also one of librarianship's greatest contributions to an open society.If we are experiencing the emergence of an information society, as is so often predicted, then it is increasinglv essential that everyone has the opportunity to become as knowledgeable as possible in the techniques of gaining access to information.Librarians are correct in being facilitators w ho share their tec finical know-how in accessing information rather than intermediaries monopolizing channels to information.Professional Knowledge The professional client relationship is also related to the concept of professional know ledge.The possession of a body of spec ialized know ledge is commonly seen as a crucial attribute of a recognized profession The exclusive right to applv this knowledge is the basis for the profession's autonomy and for the practitioner's authority in prescribing solutions to the client's problems.The failure to develop a substantive corpus of knowledge upon which to base their practice is ascribed to many of the personal service professions that have emerged during the past one hundred years including librarianship However, this is a narrow view of w hat constitutes know ledge, it excludes \u201cintuitive knowledge, rule making knowledge e concept traditionnel du professionnalisme a d'ailleurs toujours fait une place de choix à la notion de service.Ainsi, Wilensky écrivait que l'orientation service chez le profession- \u2022 Rétean Savard est professeur adjoint à l\u2019École de bibliothéconomie de l\u2019Université de Montréal ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET -AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 57 nel «is the pivot around which the normal claim to professional status revolves* Pour nous démontrer cette importance, il compare la profession à la science les deux concepts recouvrent des réalités fort différentes, et c\u2019est justement la notion de senice qui les différencie En effet, toutes les deux doivent indéniablement posséder une base théorique salable, des lois spécifiques qui, chez les professionnels par exemple, dictent la pratique quotidienne L'illustration la plus intéressante est peut-être celle de la médecine, profession «par excellence» sans cette base théorique qui lui est propre, qui s'est développée et qui continue de se développer au cours des ans, les taux de mortalité et de souffrance humaine seraient beaucoup plus élevés qu'ils ne le sont aujourd'hui.D'où l importance de la recherche pour une profession.H Mais cette base théorique n'a plus la même signification «morale» si elle n'est pas reliée à la notion de service, à un idéal de service envers la communauté.Or, la science n'a pas cette orientation service qui est propre à la profession, puisque, comme le dit Wi-lensky, elle n'a pas de clientèle propre, sauf peut-être la société au sens large, ce qui n'a pas la même incidence.De là, la grande différence entre une sc ience et une profession, et la primauté de l\u2019orientation service pour cette dernière I^a notion de service est donc essentielle dans la compréhension sociale du professionnalisme, beaucoup plus essentielle en fait que tous les autres aspects du professionnalisme, comme par exemple l'idée de «contrôle social» ou de «corporatisme* qui a souvent été associée au concept de professionnalisme, voire même assimilée à ce concept, la plupart du temps à tort d'ailleurs7.3.La notion de service Malgré l'accord de tous les spét lalistes sur l'importance de la notion de service chez le professionnel, il existe très peu de définitions de ce concept et à vrai dire, aucune n'est vraiment satisfaisante, opérationnellement parlant.YVilensky nous indique qu'un comportement orienté vers le service implique ceci «devotion to the client s interests more than personal or commercial profit should guide decisions when the two are in conflict.»* Il ajoute également que, conséquemment à cet idéal de service, le travail du professionnel doit être reconnu et apprécié de ses clients et que celui-ci doit aimer travailler avec le public9.En ce qui concerne Moore, l'orientation service doit se manifester ainsi: «to perceive the needs of individual or collective clients that are relevant to his competence and to attend to those needs bv competent performance»1\" L'idée de besoin qui est apportée dans cet énoncé enrichit quelque peu le concept en ajoutant une dvnamique qui nous semble essentielle à l'orientation service telle que nous la verrons plus loin il s'agit de l'idée d'échange et de relations entre le professionnel et son client usager.Quant à William Goode, sa définition est quelque peu limitative: The ideal of service, sometimes called a collectivity orientation, rnav Ik* defined in this context as the norm that the technical solutions which the professional arrives at should be based on the client\u2019s needs, not nec essarilv the best material interest or needs of the professional himself or.for that matter, those of society.11 L\u2019n an plus tard, dans un autre* article, il ajoutait: \u201cService orientation\u201d means that the professional decision is not properly to be based on the self-interest of the professional, but on the need of the client The prac titioner defines, of course, what the client \"needs\u201d.it mav not ai wavs be what the client wants 12 RENAUD BRAY La librairie d\u2019avant-garde \u2022\t.\t,\tc\t* Service aux collectivités: \u2022\tdes envois d'office aux bibliothèques; /\t\u2022 des listes de nouveautés répertoriées par auteurs, par titres ou par sujets; \u2022\tune comptabilité établie par ordinateur; \u2022\tun inventaire permanent informatisé; \u2022\tpjys de 30000 titres à notre catalogue.Librairie Renaud-Bray (1981) Inc.\u2014 Librairie générale et universitaire 5219, chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal H3T 1Y1 \u2014 Tél.: (514) 342-1515 58 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 Somme toute, peu d\u2019éléments qui nous permettent d'analyser vraiment le comportement professionnel d'un individu ou d'une collectivité et d\u2019améliorer ainsi son utilité et son impact social.Par contre, si les sociologues sont relativement muets sur cette notion de service, quelques recherches ont été poursuivies sur ce concept, notamment en service soc ial et en sciences infirmières.Ces explorations sont intéressantes et pourraient être adaptées à toute autre discipline professionnelle, notamment la bibliothéconomie ou information documentaire 4.L\u2019approche Service social Dans un article publié en 1966.et qui faisait suite à sa thèse de doctorat1*, Barbara Yarley s'interrogeait sur l'orientation service des travailleurs sociaux14.Pour répondre à sa question (Are Social Workers dedicated to Service?), elle avait mis au point un questionnaire de type échelles Likert lui permettant de mesurer ces valeurs ou attitudes envers ce service.Pour ce faire, elle a évidemment établi au préalable des définitions opérationnelles qui nous aideront à mieux saisir cette notion de service.Sa définition du «service professionnel», que nous retrouvons dans un autre de ses articles1\u2019, situe le concept en entier à l'intérieur de l'environnement particulier qui intéresse l'auteur, soit la profession de travailleur social.En lisant cet énoncé, il est relativement facile de faire le lien avec la bibliothéconomie qui finalement, est une profession qui sous plusieurs aspects, s'apparente au travail social: Social work is primarily a helping profession dedicated to the welfare of clients before consideration of the worker's personal gain or benefit This implies an other rather than self-orientation a willingness bv the social worker to make personal sacrifices of comfort and convenience for the client's benefit, to subordinate other areas of his life for the welfare of others, to waive bureaucratic rules or provisions set up for his benefit when the interests of the clients impose on these, to accept that the clients\u2019 needs take precedence over his own personal aspirations The commitment of the helping service is based on the assumption of the interdependence of all individuals and their consequent responsabilités toward each other The foregoing is an obligation of the social worker resulting from his becoming a member of a profession whose societal responsabilitv is to render service within the structure of a social agency Ensuite, s'inspirant entre autres du sociologue Talcot Parsons16, Yarley ajoute ceci: Associated with the service norm are several additional values that govern professional relationships, that is in rendering service, the professional person must be impersonal and objec tive, limiting the relationship to the technical task needed (UNIVERSALISA! .impartial in giving equal service to clients regardless of personal sentiment EQUAL RIGHTS ,i.and consistent in using a bodv of know ledge which accounts for the problems presented by the clients and the interaction between the professional and the «lient PSYCHODY.N WlIC MINDEDNESS).»7 Elle identifie donc assez formellement trois éléments supplémentaires de l'orientation service: le caractère universel du service, l'égalité des droits pour tous face au service, et une certaine sensibilisation au caractère psychodynamique de l\u2019intervention en service social.Sa théorie comporte également des définitions de ces trois éléments additionnels1*.'Fous ces éléments, sauf le dernier, sont applicables à l'analyse de la notion service dans toutes les disciplines professionnelles, puisqu'ils sont tirés de la littérature générale sur les professions, celle de Parsons notamment Quant au dernier élément retenu par Yarley (psychodynamic-min-dedness».il s'agit d'une caractéristique propre à la base théorique du service social en tant que profession, mais auquel il serait certainement possible de trouver un élément correspondant chez toute autre profession.A partir de ces définitions, Yarley produisit une série d énoncés qui servirent à bâtir le test d'attitudes selon Likert.Elle se servit d'une liste finale de 32 caractéristiques (huit pour chaque élément).Après l'administration des tests, l'analyse démontra un haut niveau de validité1^ de contenu (déterminée selon la méthode des juges), ainsi qu'un niveau de fiabilité-\" particulièrement élevé (déterminé par la méthode «split-half»).D'ailleurs, l'approche de Yarley fut utilisée par plusieurs autres chercheurs par la suite-1 et s\u2019est avéré fournir un instrument d'analyse valable.Il serait certainement possible d'adapter cette échelle de Yarley pour mesurer l'orientation service chez les professionnels de l\u2019information documentaire.Cette adaptation nécessiterait évidemment une nouvelle validation, ainsi que l'application de nouveaux tests de habilité.L'instrument pourrait alors s'avérer très utile, notamment dans la sélection de personnel pour reconnaître les candidats particulièrement orientés vers le service, voire même dans la sélection des candidats à l'admission en bibliothéconomie.5.L\u2019approche Sciences infirmières Dans un milieu tout à fait particulier, Danielle D'Amour- s'est intéressée à l'idéologie de service dans les centres hospitaliers pour personnes âgées.Son approche est intéressante puisqu'elle identifie une série de «pôles idéologiques» par rapport au service du personnel (hg.1), qui peuvent également être transposés en information documentaire/bibliothéconomie.Son argumentation est tirée de la littérature professionnelle en sciences infirmières- *, selon laquelle deux tv pes principaux d'attitudes par rapport au service prévalent chez les agents de soin.Un premier type se définit comme l'idéologie d'entretien; selon ce tvpe, le service offert est «dépersonnalisant», «axé sur la maladie» plutôt que sur les possibilités de réadaptation et imprégné de «fatalisme», l^e second type se définit comme l'idéologie de réadaptation: selon ce type, le service offert vise à «conserver l'individualité du malade», à «maintenir et à améliorer son niveau de fonctionnement» et se veut beaucoup plus «positif» que le premier tvpe.A l'aide de ce cadre théorique, D'Amour a pu élaborer, tout comme Fig.1 Continuum des idéologies de soins dans les établissements (D'Amour 1980) Idéologie d'entretien Fataliste 4- attitude Dépersonnalisante 4- Biologiques «- Déficits 4- approche besoins \u2014 cible- Idéologie de réadaptation de confiance -* individualisée De maintien Instrumentale «- soins \u2014 relation -?psycho-sociaux -?capacités -?de réadaptation -?d'aide Rôle de malade «- renforcement rôle de personne indépendante ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 59 Yarley, une échelle de tvpe Likert qu elle a intitulée: Attitude envers le potentiel de réadaptation iAEPR Elle procéda également à l'établissement de la validité du test validité de contenu, validité nominale et validité des concepts), ainsi qu'à des tests de habilité (méthode test-retest).L'instrument ainsi proposé est peut-être plus difficile à adapter à l'information documentaire en raison du caractère trop spécialisé de celui-ci (milieux hospitaliers et personnes âgées).Cependant, le cadre théorique utilisé, lui.peut certes servir de base à une définition plus structurée de la notion de service en information documentaire bibliothéconomie 6.Adaptation a l'information documentaire/bibliothéconomie Nous proposons à partir des définitions qui précèdent un nouveau cadre théorique pour l'étude de la notion de service en information documentaire bibliothéconomie.Ce cadre théorique ou conceptuel intègre des éléments provenant des travaux cités de même que des résultats d\u2019observations personnelles.Il se compose de cinq pôles idéologiques formant chacun un continuum.entre deux idéologies opposées (fig.2).Ix* premier pôle ou continuum est inspiré à la fois de Varies i droits égaux et universalisme) et de D'Amour (attitude générale), en même temps qu\u2019il découle d\u2019idéoiogies déjà discutées dans la littérature en bibliothéconomie-4.C\u2019est ce traditionnel conflit entre la vision restrictive de la bibliothèque, avec entre autres aspects un f ig.2 Les 5 pôles idéologiques de la notion documentaire bibliothéconomie nombre d\u2019usagers restreint, une «portée éducative» ou une «mission culturelle», et la vision plus populaire de la bibliothèque, davantage axée par exemple sur la «rentabilisation» de celle-ci.une documentation «facile» et la «vente» de la bibliothèque.Evidemment, il s'agit d\u2019un continuum donc une personne ou une institution peut se situer à n\u2019importe quel niveau sur ce continuum, et pas nécessairement à une extrémité ou à une autre.\\jv deuxième pôle est essentiellement une transposition du continuum «Approche» de D\u2019Amour C\u2019est l\u2019attitude du bibliothécaire qui attend l\u2019usager, par opposition à celui qui va au devant de celui-ci.C\u2019est Yattente par rapport à la prévoyance.l*a formation documentaire.par exemple, est un indice c ertain de prévoyance.\\jc troisième pôle a trait à l\u2019évaluation des besoins communautaires.I) un côté, l'évaluation se fait à partir du document imprimé {le livre surtout), et strictement en fonction de la collection locale de la bibliothèque où les besoins sont exprimés.D'un autre côté, l\u2019évaluation se fait non pas en fonction d'un support d\u2019information mais en fonction du besoin d'information comme tel, et la satisfaction de ce besoin est perdue en fonction d'un système documentaire ou d'un réseau.Dans ce dernier cas, cela signifie que la consultation documentaire ne s'arrêtera pas au lieu phvsique où elle se fait.Le quatrième pôle concerne la relation directe avec l\u2019usager lors de la consultation.Dans un cas elle est impersonnelle, instrumentale et froide: on de service en information Vision élitiste é 62 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÙT 1982 ! VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 / / / Personality and Professionalism?Bv Laurent-G.Denis* and Florence Mackesv** The paper puis together personality traits identified as belonging to various occupational groups in order to see whether a relationship exists and can be measured between personality characteristics of practitioners and the degree of service orientation of an occupation It is an attempt to extract from the literature some data and some indication of direction for further research.The occupations dealt with are library and information service, nursing, teaching, social work, law and medicine.Cette étude exploratoire juxtapose des traits de caractère identifiés comme caractéristiques de différents groupes professionnels afin de vérifier si un rapport peut être établi entre les traits psychologiques des praticiens et l'importance de l'orientation sendee pour une profession.Le but visé est de fournir des données en vue de tracer des vous pour des recherches ultérieures.Les professions considérées sont la bibliothéconomie et les services d'information, le nursing, l'enseignement, le travail social, le droit et la médecine.This paper seeks to examine librarians' personality characteristics with the purpose of relating them to professionalism.Since few would dispute that professionalism is a continuous variable, it is legitimate to examine any and all independent variables capable of affecting the place of an occupation on this dependent continuous variable.V arious occupational groups manifest certain attributes which typify them and identify their members as belonging to the group The image which occupations project in society is a clear indication that certain traits in occupational groups are so predominant as to become in the collective consciousness the reality of the occupation even though the image may be a gross distortion of the reality.It is difficult to think of any occupational group which has been more characterized, if not caricatured, than that of librarians.With various degrees of scientific objectivity, observers have from time to time confirmed or refuted the prevailing stereotypes of librarians.What is less sure is whether certain types of people are attracted to a particular occupation or whether the occupation imposes constraints which develop into characteristics in successful practitioners.Some researchers have argued that personalitv styles such as risk-taking are more important than individual traits because a style is a central theme about which the personality of an individual revolves.1 Whether dominant characteristics or individual personal traits affect occupations or are affected by occupations matters little here.What does matter is that there is a perceived relationship between psychological characteristics and occupations In this paper we will juxtapose personality traits identified as belonging to various occupational groups with the intent to see whether a relationship exists and can be measured between personality and the degree of professionalism of an occupation.This paper is exploratory ; it is an attempt to extract from the literature some data and some indication of direction for further research.We make no claim to an exhaustive bibliographic search, nor do we assume that we have identified all the variables which could lead to fruitful investigation.We have conducted on-line and manual searches of Psychological Abstracts and of Sociological Abstracts and manual searches of LISA, of Dissertation Abstracts and of The Eighth Mental Measurements Yearbook.We have not attempted to obtain all the works w hich might have had a bearing on the question nor can we claim to have read all the works deemed pertinent.We have assumed that librari-anship, or its more modern designation library and information service, is an occupation tending toward professionalism, defined very broadly as a dvnamic process which involves an occupation in the acquisition of various attributes constituting a profession.These attributes can be: service orientation, theoretical knowledge, self-regulation, code of ethics, and lengthy specialized training.Likewise, personality characteristics have been considered in their broadest definitions.We have included personal values, needs, interests, and personality-traits w henever they were measured on standard instruments.We have not considered studies based solely on an author\u2019s own questionnaire or interview schedule even though these instruments purported to measure personalitv traits.* I^iurent-G Denis is Professor of Library Science at the University of Toronto ** Florence Mackesv is a professional librarian.at present enrolled in the MLS program at the Faculty of Library Science, University of Toronto ARGUS MAi-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 63 Research into the Personality of Librarians McDcrmoth has reviewed much of the literature mentioned below in her paper relating the personality of librarians to Adorno's hypothesized authoritarian or antidemocratic personality- As part of the Public Library Inquiry, Dr.Alice Brvan, a trained psychologist with experience in earning out a similar studs of her own professional group, examined the post-World War II library personnel in the Lnited States A One thousand eight hundred and eight librarians in the Inquin sample were asked to complete a personality test, \u201cThe Guilford-Nlar-tin Inventors of Factors GAMIN The traits measured by this scale are as follows: G General pressure for overt activity A Ascendancy in social situations as opposed to submissiveness; leadership qualities M Masculinity of attitudes and interests as opposed to femininity I Lack of inferiority feelings; self-confidence N Lack of nervous tenseness and irritability.The median scores of the librarians were used to construct a personality profile of the \u201ctypical\" librarian.As compared with the average male university student, the typical male librarian is rather submissive in social situations and less likelv to show qualities of leadership He is within the normal range of masculinity in his attitudes and interests, but he tends to lack confidence in himself and to feel somewhat inferior His feelings of inferiority, however, seem not to worry him excessively, for he experiences less than average nervous tension and irritability He shows no great drive for overt activity, but is normally sedentary for his age On the whole, he seems to have made a reasonably gcx»d adjustment to life, and one might guess that stomach ulcers would not be his occ upational disease The typical female librarian has a personality profile that is remarkably similar to that of her male colleague As compared with the average woman university student, she is submissive in social situations, lacks self-confidence.feels inferior, has an average amount of drive for overt activity , and feels a normal degree of nervous tension and irritability She is normally feminine in her attitudes and interests lake the typical male librarian, she seems reasonably well adjusted 4 In the mid-1950s Robert Douglass studied 544 students enrolled in various American library schools Although he used five personality inventories, * .the two upon which chief reliance has been placed in the study are the \u201cMinnesota Multiphasic Per- sonality Inventory\u201d, commonly referred to as the MM PI.\" and * The All port-Vernon Lind/ev Study of Values.\" Douglass provides the reader w ith a detailed analysis of his findings and w ith a very guarded set of conclusions which he summarizes as follows: If the* findings of this investigation have validity , the traits that seem to desc ribe the model librarian assuming a reasonably high level of intelligence on his part1 would appear to equip him well for the type of work he will most likely find himself engaged in.that is.work that requires close and persistent attention to details, regular, regulated and systematic performance, conscientiousness.dependability , and a strong sense of responsibility Mans of the traits which characterize the model librarian, however, are not those most closely associated with or predictive of forceful leadership, distinguished scholarship, imaginative research, or other highly creative attainments In 1960, Pcrr\\ Morrison completed a doctoral dissertation which was later revised, condensed and published as The Car err of the Academic Librarian.7 The population studies covered seven hundred and seven librarians working in libraries reporting to the Association of College and Research Libraries w ho had been in service for at least five years.The instrument used was the \u201cSelf-Description Inventory\" developed by Edwin E.Ghiselli and his associates at the University of California, Berkeley.The six traits measured by the Ghiselli instrument are intelligence, supervisory qualities, initiative, self-assurance, occupational level,h and decision-making power.Morrison divided his population into three subgroups which he called Major executives, Minor executives, and Others and he concluded: As a group, academic librarians can be described as cultured and intelligent, but.like the library science students studied by Douglass, lacking in the traits \"which are most closely associated with forceful leadership In cme trait, self-assurance, college and university librarians appear to be stronger than librarians in other tvpes of libraries [ Those who have the scarce dy namic qualities of initiative and self-assurance tend to rise in the ranks of the profession Both male and female librarians in major-executive positions tend to score rather well on the traits studied, but in the middle management and non-executive groups a greater proportion of women than of men made high scores on the more dynamic personality attributes (.) Many academic librarians have an outlook on life similar to that of people in clerical, rather than professional, occupations (.) As position in the hierarchy of the profession increases, the self-descriptions given by academic librarians resemble more and more those of other professional and managerial people and less and less those of clerical workers * In a 1969 studv of the factors w hic h influenced the decision of Canadian librarians to begin their career in an academic or a public library, LG.Denis examined the personality traits of some 400 respondents using the Allport-Vernon Lindzev \"Study of Values\" and the \u201cEdward Personal Preference Schedule\" EPPS)1*' The \u201cStudy of V alues\" measures six basic interests or motives in personality .the Theoretical, Economic, Aesthetic, Social, Political, and Religious.The EPPS provides measures for fifteen personality variables: Achievement, Deference, Order.Exhibition.Autonomy.Affiliation, Intraception, Suc-corance.Dominance, Abasement, Nurturance, Change.Endurance, Heterosexuality , and Aggression.T he author describes the academic librarian as \u201ca pleasant type of person, although perhaps somewhat dull and unimaginative, but reliable.in short, he is like his reasons for becoming an academic librarian: serious, selfless, and a little pompous.\"11 The public librarians' profile drafted by Denis shows some differences between men and women librarians.The malr public librarian resembles Mister Average in his personality, except that he is perhaps a little shyer and somewhat less garrulous than most people The female public librarian differs from the women-in-general in that she has more drive for achievement and more endurance and is more orderly and better organized On the other hand, she is a loner, a follower rather than a leader, and she is also more independent than most women, although she tends to treat others with kindness and to be generous In short, the Canadian male public librarian is not a particularly noticeable person, but his female counterpart shows distinguishing features which make her pleasant, unassuming.kind.reliable.and dependable \u2019- In the mid-1960s, McMahon investigated the personality characteristics of thirty professional librarians working in public, university and special libraries in Tasmania.13 Among the test measures used were the Allport-Vernon Lindzev \u201cStudy of V alues\u201d and the \u201cMMPI.\" T he author found that her results were in substantial agreement w ith those of Douglass and Morrison and that the librarians in her sample lack the traits most closely associated with forceful leadership.More specifically, McMahon found Male librarians (.) to be sensitive, sociable.prone to worry, self-dissatisfied, idealistic.and insecure, as well as having general aesthetic interests Female librarians expressed a well-defined feminine interest pat- 64 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 trm which showed them to be sensitive and idealistic The\\ were somewhat withdrawn kih talk, as well as being insecure There was evidence of depression and feelings of inadequacy in their makeup, as well as lack of self-confidence 14 In order to illustrate a talk given to a number of librarians.Sladen used Cattell's \u201c16PF Questionnaire\u201d on eight women librarians.1 \u2019 His subjects scored below normal on the outgoing and venturesome factors and above normal on the self-sufficiency factor, leading the author to conclude that the librarians tested were introverted.In another studv, the \u201cBrook Reaction Test\u201d was administered to 103 students at I>eeds Polytechnics Department of Librarianship.T his test consists of the reading of a list of verbal cues and the recording of the words which spontaneously occur to subjects in response to each.Analysis of responses produces a profile of interest in 22 categories.The three researchers reported that \u201cThe profiles (.) show a clear distinction between men and women and the general tendency is to suggest that the women are more orderly and single-minded than the men.who have a greater variety of more positive interests/\u201910 A 1975 doctoral dissertation was devoted to the examination of two dominant personality\u2019 traits among 272 librarians, then active, who held doctorates in library science or whose doctoral dissertations were on a library science topic.17 The traits examined were conservatism and rigidity The \"Attitude Toward Change Scale\u201d by Matthews and Prothro and items selected from Rokeach's \u201cDogmatism Scale\u201d were administered to the subjects.who were mostly library administrators or library educators (ten percent were in other positions).18 The author found that attitudes of conservatism and rigidity were not predominant among the members of the doctoral group and that the personality profile outlined by earlier researchers, Douglass ft al, was not supported by his data.11* Schmidt noted that \"mean scores on the conservatism and rigidity scales tended to be- lower for female and younger respondents than for male and other respondents.\u201d-0 More recently Frankie studied the characteristics of university library cataloguers and reference librarians.-1 Among the variables analysed are the values, attitudes, behavioural styles and work preferences of these librarians.The researcher used the \u201cJob Analysis and Interest Measurement\u201d iJAIM She summarizes her findings as follows l-a< king in an inclination for leadership, assertivenesv s\tBem-Sex Role Inventors\tM librarians are not different from men in general in their sex loie orientation.F librarians are not different from women in general in their sex r0'** orientation ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 69 INVESTIGATOR\tSUBJECTS\tMETHOD\tFINDINGS Davis 1981 »\t7b graduate students in library science 9 M , 33 F educational technology 8 M .8 F .and unified library science education technology 4M 14 F\tCattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire : Form B\tlibrary school graduate students outgoing, emotionally stable, venturesome, imaginative, experimenting.self-assured, tense unified library science educational technology graduate students outgoing, emotionally stable, sober, venturesome, tender-minded, trusting, imaginative, self-assured, experimenting, controlled and relaxed all groups scored above average in the outgoing, venturesome, imaginative, experimenting and controlled scales all groups scored below average on the apprehension scale all groups stored average on the conscientious and self-sufficiency scales MINOLTA VOICI L'AGENCEMENT INÉGALÉ POUR LES BESOINS DES BIBLIOTHÈQUES Un lecteur* reproducteur automatique avec gobe-sous LA MINOLTA RP407E EXPOSITION DE L'IMAGE ENTIÈREMENT AUTOMATIQUE ACCOMODE TOUS LES FORMATS: FICHES, JAQUETTES, Fl LM 16mm ET 35mm CHOIX DE 13 LENTILLES INTERCHANGEABLES COPIES 8 1/2\" x 11\" JUSQU'À 11\" x 17 TABLE DE TRAVAIL GOBE SOUS ELECTRONIQUE - FONCTIONNE AVEC PIÈCES DE 5c, 10c ou 25c TARIFICATION DE 5c a 1,50$ MONNAIE EN PIÈCES DE 5C ET 10c Nous participons à IFLA 1982.Venez nous rencontrer aux kiosques 76 et 77 Egalement à Toronto, Edmonton et Vancouver 70 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 TABLE II PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF OTHER OCCUPATIONS INVESTIGATOR\tSUBJECTS\tMETHOD\t\t\tFINDINGS Physicians\t\t\t\t\t Johnson & Campbe (1974) [report on studies)\t1 1 of 62 male occupational groups tested in 1968-1969\tS\\IB\t\t\tPreferred activities *medical struct, sotnet, mathematics, nature, music, teaching Rejected activities: salts, business management, merchandising \u2022 underlining indicates that at least 50% of the items in that basic interest area differentiated between men in the occupation and men-in-general in the same direction Gough (1975) [report on studies)\t51 first vear female medical students studied by Cartwright in the early \u201870\u2019s\tSMB (male form)\t\t\tCompared to other female professionals high on scales on osteopath, physician, physical therapist and diversity of interests; low on scales on printer, senior CPA, accountant and president manufacturing concern Juan et al ( 1974)\toriginal test: 514 students entering medical schools in 1966; follow-up test 81 of those students just before graduation in 1970 (i.e.part of those with the 15% highest and lowest dogmatism scores from 1966)\tRokeach\tDogmatism\tScale (Form E); AVL Study of Values; Gordon Survey of Interpersonal Values; Cancer Attitude Survey\t\t\tDogmatism decreased overall; benevolence and theoretical values remained high Students who remained high in dogmatism over the three vears became more pragmatic; persistently low dogmatics remained idealistic High dogmatism was associated with emphasis on conformity and religious values.Morgan ( 1973)\t12 F physicians.11 F attorneys, and 11 F professional athletes under 41\t16FF\t\t\tNo significant difference among the 3 groups Physicians were more intelligent, experimenting and analytical, controlled, and independent, emotionally stable and apprehensive but less anxious and had more tough poise than the normal population Lasser ( 1976)\t60 male medical students and 60 male chiropractic students\t16PF\t\t\tMD group was significantly more intelligent, experimenting.creative, introverted, anxious and neurotic than chiropractic students.Chiropractor group was more outgoing, emotionally stable, venturesome, forthright and self-assured than MD students Detailed relationship to general population norms was not given in the abstract Lauyers\t\t\t\t\t Johnson & Campbel (1974) (report on studies]\t1 1 of 62 male occupational groups test ed in 1968-1969\tSMB\t\t\tPreferred activities: *lau politics, public speaking, writing, social service, teaching Rejected activities mechanical activities, agriculture \u2022 underlining indicates that at least 50% of the items in that basic interest area differentiated between men in the occupation and men-in-general in the same direction Gough (1975) [report on studies]\t40 female law students tested in 1968-1969\tSMB i male form i\t\t\tCompared to other female professions high on scales on public administrator, social worker, law yer and specialization level; how on scales on dentists, veterinarian, physicist and carpenter Morgan ( 1973 )\t11 F attorneys, 12 F physicians, and Il F professional athletes under 41\t16PF\t\t\tNo significant differences among the 3 groups lawyers were more intelligent, experimenting and analytical, controlled, independent, imaginative, tough-minded, suspicious, assertive and competitive and self-sufficient and had more tough poise than the normal population.Chope ( 1974)\t235 female and 177 male lawyers tested in 1967 and 1968, follow-up test in 1974\tSMB\t\t\tHigh scoring M.were confident of their verbal abilities and attracted to positions of power High scoring F rejected feminine interests; low scoring F had a neutral or favourable attitude to feminine interests High scorers had clearly directed interests within a narrow range; low scorers were more diffuse in occupational interests and orientation Extreme scores on \u201clawyer\u201d scale remained stable over time ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 71 INVESTIGATOR\tSUBJECTS\tMETHOD\tFINDINGS Krrman 1976\tlawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists\tRotter Internal-External Control Scale.AVL Study of Values\tMl 1 groups were biased toward free w ill Lawyers had higher economic and political values scores and lower theoretical values scores than the other 2 groups Soc ml Workers\t\t\t Johnson & Campbrl i1974; [report on studies]\t1 of 62 male occupational groups tested in 1968 and 1969\tSVIB\tPreferred activities * social tenue, writing, lau politics, public speaking, business management, teaching Rejected activities mathematics, agriculture \u2022 underlining indicates that at least >'7 of the items in that basic interest area differentiated between men in the occupation and men-in-general in the same direction Trojanowicz i1971)\t1ÜÜ social workers and 100 policemen\tJob Analysis and Interest Management (JAIM\tSocial worker preferences working independently, directing his own activity, utilizing group» for decision-making, work that involves social interaction and congenial co-workers and approval from others, work that permits him to be helpful to others S W wishes to be considered understanding and charitable, feels he can influence future events, values his intellec tual ac hievement; and believes pieople are motivated bv intrinsic-motivation and knowledge of results Pihl and Spiers (1977)\t8\tpsychologists, 14 physical therapists, 9\tsocial workers, 1 1 occupational therapists.10-13 final-year students in eac h of the four fields\tKokeach Dogmatism Scale.Jack-son Personality Researc h Form\tPractitioners were signifie antlv less dogmatic than the norm but the students were not so Sex lal workers displayed the lowest achievement and endurance scores, were most concerned about the helplevsness of mankind, uncertain about the future, affiliative.harm-avoiding and succorant.tended toward being the least intolerant, reliant on authority and authoritarian Sursts\t\t\t Kelly ( 1974\t646 nurses newlv employed between 1966 and 1971 in a large eastern U S hospital 120 were evaluated for promotion 42 were promoted\tM MPI 16 PF EPPS.California Psychological Inventors\tPromoted nurses vs non-promoted nurses promoted nurses were more independent, feminine, distant, self-assured and relaxed, had more capacity for status, were less prone to psychological pressures Gardiner ( 1976»\t167 female nursing students were tested in 1976 and compared with a 1969 test of student nurses and a 1974 college women norm which was a revised version of the 1969 norm\tEPPS\t1976 nurses vs 1969 nurses 1976 subjec ts werr significantly higher on Autonomy and Aggression and lower on Deference.Abasement.Order and Fmdurance 1976 nurses vs 1973 college women nurses were significantly higher on Nurturame.Deference.Affiliation and Dominance and lower on Autonomy and Aggression 1969 nurses vs 1969 college women nurses were significantly higher on Order.Succorance.Abasement and Nurturancebut lower on Achievement.Autonomy.Dominance and Aggression Teachers Hummel ( 1972)\t117 U S.classrcx>m high school teachers in language arts, mathematics, social studies and science\t16pf\tTeachers rated most successful bv their pupils were outgoing, assertive, happy-go-lucky, venturesome.tender-minded and high in extraversion and leadership Loyd (1976)\t3 groups of U\u2019 S.women educators 1\t) administrators.2\tteachers who were certified >or seeking certification ) in administration.3) teachers\t16PF\tCompared to the normal population 1 administrators were relatively outgoing, emotionally stable.dominant, serious, conscientious, venturesome.trusting, imaginative, shrewd, self-assured, self-sufficient, controlled and relaxed 2) teachers certified in administration were relatively intelligent.emotionally stable, dominant, serious, conscientious.venturesome, tough-minded, trusting, shrewd, self-assured, self-suffic lent, controlled and relaxed 1) teac hers were relatively reserved, intel ligent, dominant, serious, conscientious, tough-minded, shrewd.self-assurrd.self-sufficient, and 72 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 INVESTIGATOR\tSUBJECTS\tMETHOD\tFINDINGS Dmg ( 1977)\tmale and female elementary school\t16PF\tcontrolled Administrators were more outgoing, venturesome, trusting, self-assured, controlled, and relaxed than teachers Teachers certified in administration were more tough-minded than administrators and more controlled and relaxed than teachers Successful M teachers, as determined by \tteachers from 8 Mississippi public schools\t\tprincipal ratings, were more forthright than less successful M teac hers, successful F teachers were more out-going than less successful F' teachers; M teachers were generally more intelligent, venturesome.controlled and tense than F teachers who were generally more shv.tender-minded, practical and conservative than M teachers.Successful teachers varied little from their male and female counterparts in the general population 1.\tSamuel H Osipow, Theories of Career Development 2d ed (N Y .Appleton-Genturv-Crofts.1973), pp 184-5.2.\tMarilyn MeDrrmoth, «Authoritarian Potential in the Personality of the Librarian* .4rçio.vol 8, n ° I (janvier-février 1979), pp.22-27.3.\tAlice I.Brvan.The Tublu Librarian With a section on the education of librarians, bv Robert I) I^eigh (N.Y , Columbia University Press.1952), 474 p 4\tIbid .p 43.5.\tRobert R Douglass.The Personality of the Librarian ( Ph I) dissertation.University of Chicago.1957), p.35.6.\tIbid .p 125.Perrv I) Morrison.The Career of the Academic Librarian A Study of the Social Origins.Educational Attainments.Vocational Experience and Personality Characteristics of a Group of American Academic Librarians (Chicago.American Librarv Assoc iation, 1969), 165 p 8 The occupational level stale measures psychological traits through the individual's perceptions of his own characteristics The purpose of this is to place an individual at a particular level on the occupational scale bv matching his traits with those of individuals typicallv found at different levels Edwin E.Ghiselli.Self Description Inventory (University of California, 1957), p 3 as cited bv Morrison, p 82 9.\tIbid .pp 93-94 10.\tLaurent-G.Denis.Academic and Public Librarians in Canada .4 Study of the Factors Which Influence Graduates of Canadian Library Schools in Making Their First Career Decision in Faiour of Academic or Public Librarians (Ph.D dissertation.Rutgers University, 1969), 310 p 11\tIbid ,\tp\t121 12\tIbid .\tp\t151 13.\tAnne\tMcMahon, The Personality of the Li- brarian Prevalent Social Values and Attitudes Towards the Profession (Adelaide, Libraries Board of South Australia, 1967 ), 127 p 14\tIbid .\tp\t100 15.\tDavid Sladen.«The Personality of the Librarian An Investigation* Library Association Record, vol 74, n° 7 (July 1972), pp 118-119.16.\tD.F.Kent.E A N Smith and C.Flood Page, «The Brook Reaction Test and Libran- anship Students* Research in l.ibrananship.vol.4.n: 24 (September 1973), p.176.17.\tC James Schmidt, Librarians with the Doctorate A Surrey of Selected Attitudes and Opinions i Ph i) dissertation.Florida State University, 1975), 260 p 18\tIbid\t,\tp\t76.19.\tIbid\t.\tp\t111 20\tIbid\t.\tp\t144 21\tSuzanne O.Frankie.The Behavior Styles, Work Preference and Values of an Occupational Group .4 Study of l diversity Catalog and Reference Librarians (D P A dissertation, George Washington University.1980), 256 p 22.\tIbid\t.\tp\t163.23.\tRobert L Turner.«Femininity and the Librarian Another Test* College & Research Libraries, vol 41, n 1 (May 1980), pp 235-244 24\tIbid\t.\tp\t241.25.\tKatherine Mcfiough Davis, Characteristics of Graduate Students in Library Science.Educational 7echnology.and l mfied Library Science Educational Technology Programs in the In tied States (Ed.D.dissertation, East Texas State, 1981).152 p 26.\tIbid .p 104.27 Ravmond I^eonard Carpenter.The Public Library Executue, .4n Exploration of the Role of an Emerging Profession, final report (Washington.DC., U S.Dept of Health, Education and Welfare.Office of Education.Bureau of Research.1967), 95 columns 28.\tKenneth Harrs Plate, Management Personnel in Libraries a Theoretical Model for Analysis ( Roc k-awav, N.J.American Faculty Press, 1970), 100 p 29.\tWilliam Yerlin Nash.Characteristics of Administrative Heads of Public Libraries in Various Communications Categwies ( Ph.D thesis, l niversi-ty of Illinois, 19641, 225 p 30.\tRichard Alan Farlev, The American Library Executive, an Inquiry into his Concepts of the Functions of his Office (Ph D thesis.University of Illinois, 1967), 189 p 31.\tRobert Nance Presthus, Technological Change and Occupational Response a Study of Librarians (Washington, Dept of Flealth, Education and Welfare, Office of Education.Bureau of Research.1970), 110 p 32.\tMe Dermoth.«Authoritarian.* Martha J Bailey, «Some Effects of Faculty Status on Supervision in Academic Libraries,» College & Research Libraries.vol.37.n° 1 (January 1976), pp 48-52.33.\tAn example of this is Monique Légère.«lx* bibliothécaire et la question de l'information dans les entreprises privées et les organisations gouvernementales* Documentation et bibliothèques, 27 (septembre 1981), pp.103-107.34.\tAmitai Etzioni, The Semi-professions and Their Organization Teachers, Surses, Social Workers New York.Free Press, 1969), p 202.[Fltzioni considers librananship a sem î-profession ] 35.\tOsipow, Theories, pp 173-235.36.\tRichard W Johnson and Dav id P Campbell.«Basic Interests of Men in 62 Occupations» Journal of Vocational Behavior, vol.5, n 3 \u2018 December 1974).pp 173-380 37 Harrison G Gough.«Strong Vocational Interest Blank Profiles of Women in Law, Mathematics.Medic ine and Psychology * Psychological Reports, vol 37, n 1 August 1975), pp 127-1 14 18 Ibid .p 132.19.Isabel R Juan, Rosalia E A Paiva.Harold B Haley and Robert I) O'Keefe.«High and Low levels of Dogmatism in Relation to Personality Characteristics of Medical Students A Follow-up Study* Psychological Reports, vol 14, n 1 (February 1974), p 304.40.Eric S.lesser.4 Study of Body Image.Self Concept, Personality Factors, and Altitudinal Variables in Chiropractor and MD Groups ( Ph D dissertation.New York University, 1976), {DAI vol.17.n 4 (October 1976), 1908-9B).41 Marcia Ruth Morgan.4 Comparison of Selected Personality, Biographical and Motivational Traits among Women Athletes, Physicians, and Attorneys (Ph.D.dissertation, Ohio State University, 1973), 17X4/vol 34, n 8 (February 1974).4842-3 A i.42.\tIbid., p 4843A.43.\tGough.Strong Vocational, p 129.44.\tRobert Crawford Chope Jr.The Vocational Interests of Lawyers (Ph D.dissertation.L niversi-ty of Minnesota, 1974), (DAI vol.35, n 12 (June 1975), 6066-7B).73 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 4Y Arline Sugar Krrman, l'alu* Patterns amonç Lawyers and their Expert Witnesses who are Psychiatrists and Psychologists Ph I) dissertation, United States International University, 1975).DAI vol 46.n t September 1975).1409-10B 46\tRobert C Trojanowicz.«The Contrasting Behavioral Stvles of Policemen and Social Workers» Public Personnel Renew, vol 32, n 4 (October 1971 .p 244» 47\tIbid .pp 246-251 48\tR.O Pihl and Paul Spiers.«Some Person-alitv Differences among the Multidisciplinary Team» Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol 33, n 1 (January 1977).pp 269-272.49\tHarrs W Gardiner.\u2022 Performance of Student Nurses on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule» Journal of Psychology, vol 94.n 2 November 1976).pp 297-300 50\tIbid .p 299 51\tWilliam I- Kellv, «Psychological Prediction of leadership in Nursing» Xursinç Research, vol 23, n 1 Januarv-February 1974 ).pp 38-42 52.Ibid .p 41 53 Harvev Morton Hummel.The Relationships Between Success in Teaching and Certain Personality Factors.Persistence in Teaching, and Educational Attainment of Experienced Secondary Teachers Ph I) dissertation.University of Minnesota.1972 .DAI vol 33, n il (May 1973), 6176-A) 54\tDannve Wayne U>ng.4 Study of Personality Characteristics of Teachers in Selected Public Schools in South Mississippi Ed I) dissertation.University of Southern Mississippi.1977 .DAI vol Î8.n 5 (November 1977), 2457 A 55\tl,a\\'era leverett land.Personality Characteristics of Selected Women Educators Ed I) dissertation, DAI, vol 37, n 2 August 1976).743-4A ».56\t*see above 57.Osipow.Theories p, 226.58\tIt is well to remember that authors frequently base their conclusions on average scores which are central tendencies reflecting a wide range of individual scores 59\tFor example H Wilensky, «The Professionalization of Everyone5» American Journal of Sociology.69 September 1964 .pp 1 37-58 William J (ioode.« Encroachment.Charlatanism, and the Emerging Profession Psychology.Sociology.and Medicine » American Sociological Reneu.6 (Dec ember 1960).pp 902-14 Walbert E Moon* The Professions N Y Russel Sage Foundation.I970i Paul Halmos.The Personal Sen ice Society NY Schocken Books.1970.215 p 60\tW E Smzek.«Hall s Professionalism Scale An Empencal Re-Assessment* American Sociological Reneu, M (February 1972).pp 109-14 61\tIn an unpublished paper prepared for the Faculty of Library Science.Réjean Savard claims that the relationship between professionalism and service orientation has not vet been tested empirically Réjean Savard «A Study of Service Orientation of Library Personnel in Relation to Professionalism Ph D Dissertation Proposal» March 1982.32 p 62\tBarbara K Varies, Socialization in Social Work.Education A Study of the Value Areas of Change and .Yon-Chançe Durtnç Social Work Training I n-published Ph I) thesis.Case Western Research University, 1962/ 63.I^ee W Finks, Measuring the Attitudes of Library School Students Toward Intellectual Freedom, Innoiation and Change.Sen ice.Research, and Administration and Management (Unpublished PhD thesis.Rutgers University, 1973), 115 p MINISIS VOUS PERMET DE FAIRE: .du catalogage contrôle .de l'indexation automatique// .de la recherche en direct de notices .de la production de rapports genre KWIC ou KWOC .du contrôle de circulation et d acquisition .et bien plus MINISIS LE SYSTEME INFORMATIQUE POUR BIBLIOTHECAIRES ET DOCUMENTALISTES \u2014V-v-V\u2014 Les Conseillers Systemhouse Ltée 740 ouest.Notre Dame Suite 860.Montreal Quebec H3C 3X6 (514) 866 2891 NOUS POUVONS VOUS AIDER ROBERT GAGNON JOSEPH VIGNALOU 74 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3- 4 Professionnalisme, communication documentaire et traits culturels: Une trilogie à étudier Par Alain Perrier* Après avotr défini sa conception du professionnalisme, l'auteur, en utilisant la fonction de la communication documentaire comme exemple, démontre l'influence des traits culturels sur le travail de référence, et soutient que la recherche en ce domaine mérite d'être amorcée afin de maintenir ou d'améliorer le niveau de professionnalisme des bibliothécaires québécois.The author describes his definition of professionalism.Using documentary communication as an example, he demonstrates the influence of cultural characteristics on reference work.He states that research in this area should be initiated in order to maintain or improve the level of professionalism of librarians in Quebec.Au Quebec, le statut de bibliothécaire professionnel est assez mal perçu par la population.Il est très fréquent que l'on nous demande: «Qu'est-ce que ça fait au juste un bibliothécaire^ Quelle formation doit-il recevoir?» Bien que la profession de bibliothécaire existe depuis la plus haute antiquité, elle a subi des transformations radicales au cours des âges, transformations causées principalement par les changements sociaux et technologiques.Toutefois, la bibliothéconomie1 a toujours été reconnue comme une profession quoique son exercice ait considérablement changé selon les âges et les pays.Si les modalités ainsi que les conditions d'exercice varient, il en résulte que la perception du rôle et du statut du bibliothécaire varie elle aussi.Différents facteurs influent sur l'exercice: économiques, politiques, sociaux et culturels.11 conviendrait d'ajouter à cette nomenclature, les fonctions spécifiques aux différents types de services documentaires, par exemple conservation pour une bibliothèque nationale.De quelque manière que l'on envisage la chaîne documentaire, que ce soit de façon linéaire ou circulaire, un consensus se dégage: Quelles qur soient ses tâches, la responsabilité première du bibliothécaire, sa raison d'être, c\u2019est d'agir comme intermédiaire entre l'usager quel qu'il soit et l'information ou la documentation sous toutes ses formes - Cette fonction de communication documentaire occupe une place très importante dans la documentation professionnelle.* Il s'agit d'un processus d'une grande complexité, mettant en cause tous les intervenants, administrateurs, usagers, ressources humaines et matérielles Nos connaissances en ce domaine sont très fragmentaires et occuperont nos recherches pour les prochaines décennies.De même, il a toujours paru évident que l'exercice de la bibliothéconomie découle de valeurs culturelles; un service documentaire sera différent selon qu'il s'agit d'une culture orale ou basée sur l'imprimé.4 Cette évidence est telle que l'on oublie systématiquement d'en tenir compte dans l'exercice quotidien de notre profession ou, si nous le faisons, c'est à la façon de monsieur Jourdain.Dans les pages qui vont suivre, nous allons tenter d\u2019examiner les interrelations entre le professionnalisme, la communication documentaire et les valeurs culturelles.Cet exercice se veut plus un effort de systématisation et de sensibilisation que l'exposé scientifique de recherches en préparation.Profession et professionnalisme La notion de profession fait l'objet d'études et de discussions continuelles; on n'a qu\u2019à penser au débat concernant l'entrée des bibliothécaires à l'Office des professions du Québec.Il nous semble utile, pour simplifier, de mentionner les deux définitions suivantes: .tout groupement naturel d'individus ou d'entreprises concourant à la prestation d un même service à la communauté, ou à la production et à la mise sur le marché d'un même bien économique, d'un même produit, ou d\u2019un groupe de produits pouvant faire appel dans leur fabrication à une technologie commune et peut-être à des matières premières identiques \u2019 a profession consists of a number of separate persons who have agreed to set up a svstem of relationships among themselves for the purpose of carrying out activities and achieving objectives which are beyond their powers as separate individuals.*\u2019 Selon ces deux auteurs, une profession est un groupe d'individus ayant des intérêts communs et des services à offrir à la collectivité nécessitant un certain partage des connaissances ou des ressources entre les membres du groupe.Il n'est pas fait mention du niveau de serv ice offert, du type d'inté- * Alain Perrier est professeur adjoint à l'École de bibliothéconomie de l\u2019Université de Montréal ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 75 rêt commun ni des tâches à accomplir et de la formation nécessaire à cet accomplissement.A ce niveau, la bibliothéconomie est une profession au même titre que la métallurgie comme le souligne l'auteur de la première définition.Cette absence de distinction entre «profession organisée* et «profession libérale» nous entraîne de plein pied à la notion «d\u2019esprit professionnel* \u2014 le «professional behavior* des anglophones \u2014, c'est-à-dire le professionnalisme.Le professionnalisme Qui dit «profession» sous-entend, on l'a vu, un regroupement des personnes exerçant cette profession, c'est-à-dire soit une association, soit une corporation I^e travail spécifique à chaque profession suppose une connaissance et un comportement propres aux divers groupes; il s'agit du professionnalisme.De quoi s'agit-il?Un premier auteur déclare.Il sc définit comme un ensemble de valeurs partagées par des personnes exerçant une même occupation, reliées à la façon dont leur travail devrait être accompli Ces valeurs sont consignées et sanctionnées par les règlements ou le code d'éthique de l'association ' Retenons ici cette notion de «valeurs partagées» que nous réutiliserons plus tard.Il nous faut cependant avoir recours à une autre citation pour expliciter le contenu du travail accompli : Professional behavior mav be defined in terms of four essential attributes a high decree of generalized and systematic knowledge.primarv orientation to the community interest rather than to individual self-interest.a high degree of ethics internalized in the process of w ork socialization and through voluntary associations organized and operated bv the work specialists themselves, and a svstem of rewards (monetary and honorary i that is primarily a set of symbols of work achievement and thus ends in themselves, not means to some end of individual self-interest * Formation professionnelle, protection des intérêts du public, code d'éthique dont l'application est assurée par une association, et reconnaissance professionnelle sont donc les ingrédients principaux du professionnalisme.Si l'on admet ces quatre composantes comme éléments constitutifs, il faudra aussi admettre que tout renouvellement du professionnalisme affectera l'un ou l'autre de ces éléments.Ijt renouvellement du professionnalisme On a vu que le professionnalisme implique les professionnels eux-mêmes, le public, les intervenants au niveau de la formation ainsi que \u2014 et surtout le regroupement de toutes ces forces au niveau des associations.C'est dans celles-ci que, comme dans un goulot d\u2019étranglement, tous les intervenants peuvent agir.Selon les pays et les conditions différentes, les formules retenues varieront considérablement.Il apparaît aussi évident que toute modification substantielle de l'une des composantes entraînera à plus ou moins long terme des changements majeurs des trois autres.Au Québec, à titre d'exemple, l'exigence de la maîtrise pour les bibliothécaires a suivi de près la création de la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec; la parution d'un code de déontologie ainsi qu'une hausse substantielle du traitement moyen des bibliothécaires ne sont certes pas étrangers à cette modification.Les intérêts divergents des intervenants agissent aussi les uns sur les autres et deviennent un facteur permanent de changement.En 1976, les bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec organisaient une marche de protestation dans la capitale provinciale pour obtenir une augmentation de leur traitement; ils partageaient sans doute l'avis de Benge qui soutenait: In some societies even now people mav be respec ted because they are not well paid, and the respect is their only reward Yet sainthood is not a profession\u201d^ Avantages du professionnalisme Quels bénéfices la population et les bibliothécaires retirent-ils d'un professionalisme tel que défini précédemment?Une étude récente d'un collègue en illustre les bienfaits pour la population.Utilisant une mesure appelée l'indice composé de professionnalisme qui «consiste, d'une part, à mesurer et à chiffrer le niveau de formation.du personnel, ainsi que son comportement professionnel (participation aux activités des associations, publications, etc)»10, il en arrive à la conclusion que «nous sommes en droit de penser que le niveau de professionnalisme du personnel contribue à augmenter la performance de la bibliothèque au niveau de l\u2019utilisation de celle-ci par la population».11 En plus des avantages monétaires mentionnés plus haut, les bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec bénéficient d'un Code de déontologie qui détermine leurs obligations envers le public et protège ce dernier d\u2019un mauvais exercice de la profession.Qui plus est, ces mêmes bibliothécaires ont à leur disposition un document intitulé Tâches du bibliothécaire professionnel qui leur permet de renseigner le public sur leurs activités tout en protégeant ce public d\u2019une mauvaise pratique.12 On peut donc affirmer que le professionnalisme bien compris est souhaitable, rentable, socialement bénéfique et renouvelable.Du professionnalisme à la communication documentaire Nous avons jusqu'ici vu que le professionnalisme passe par une formation et une pratique surveillée par un code de déontologie.Mais le contenu de cette pratique n'a pas encore été défini.Au Québec, il existe depuis 1974 une «Liste des tâches professionnelles du bibliothécaire» qui fut amendée en 1982.Faut-il rappeler qu'une telle liste présuppose une philosophie de service, et que, comme le mentionnait Foskett, parlant en général, you will find it very difficult to discover precisely what this philosophy is, for the articles abstracted consist of ponderous plat itudes.pious hopes, complaints and criticisms, and.very occasionally, a quest for normative principles by whose light we can illuminate our practice 11 Il ne faudrait pas non plus oublier la loi de Mooers avant d'étudier cette liste.En effet, «an information system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than not to have it».14 Donc, sans plus élaborer sur la philosophie et la quantité de la clientèle, les bibliothécaires professionnels québécois ont classé les tâches qu'ils accomplissent en quatre catégories: administration, gestion des collections, organisation et traitement des ressources documentaires et diffusion de l'information documentaire.Cette division des tâches se retrouve généralement en bibliothéconomie nord-américaine.l>es quatre catégories de tâches sont intimement reliées entre elles.Il serait oiseux de vouloir établir une hiérarchie entre elles car elles convergent toutes vers un même objectif ultime: transmettre de l'information à qui en a besoin.L\u2019étape où une telle transmission de l'information se produit se nomme, dans le jargon professionnel, la communication documentaire.l*a communication documentaire Il existe une littérature abondante concernant les différentes tâches effectuées au niveau de cette fonction Bien 76\tARGUS/ MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982/VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3/4 / que les situations particulières peuvent influencer l'organisation d'un tel ensemble de services, les auteurs nord-américains s'entendent à y inclure les tâches suivantes: A Information seekers 1\tLibrary nerds and use 2\tLibrary instruction B Reference and information librarians (Central information services 1\tEnquiry work 2.Dissemination of information C.Information sources 1.Library materials availability services 2\tSubject bibliography 11 Cette diversité des tâches entraîne l\u2019utilisation d'un personnel aux qualifications diverses et de différents niveaux de formation; commis, techniciens et bibliothécaires professionnels.Nous allons nous intéresser maintenant à l'une de ces tâches, à savoir le travail de référence.Ix contexte organisationnel Avant de tenter de définir en quoi consiste le travail de la référence, il convient de s'attarder un instant sur le contexte dans lequel il s'effectue.Tout service documentaire dépend d'une organisation plus vaste, dont il est partie et dont les objectifs conditionnent son type de gestion, sa structure, et la qualité de ses serv ices.Cette dimension que l'on oublie trop souvent joue un rôle capital dans l'exécution des tâches de tout service.Douglas J.Foskett mentionne cet impact dans l'un de ses nombreux articles.Mr Raymond Smith did not have his principles upon a mere administrative formula, but upon the function that libraries carry out, the purpose for which they are established, and which he identified as the implementation, through books and data, of the policy of the organisation to which the library belongs 16 Il est à prévoir, à la lumière de cette citation, que la politique de transmission de l'information variera selon que le bibliothécaire de référence œuvre dans une bibliothèque publique ou un centre de documentation du ministère de la Défense nationale! Ix* type de gestion joue aussi un rôle important dans la performance du personnel de la référence.Une étude récente réalisée au Québec démontre que les plus importantes sources de stress chez les bibliothécaires sont d'origine organisationnelle, bien que «la très forte majorité des personnes interrogées ont donc le sentiment de réussir relativement bien à composer avec les situations pouvant engendrer du stress».17 De même, le climat organisationnel influence considérablement la motivation au travail, la satisfaction personnelle, et, par voie de conséquence, la performance.Une autre étude récente réalisée en Ontario cette fois en arrive à la conclusion suivante: Despite bring better trained, having higher status and greater career opportunities and mobility, graduate professional reference librarians did not express greater motivation and job satisfaction (or less job dissatisfaction i than did technicians or other groups doing reference work.1* On voit donc que le contexte organisationnel influence le travail de référence avant même que celui-ci ne s'effectue.La théorie de la référence On entend par théorie de la référence «the formulation of concepts (through the study of ideas, attitudes, and practices), by which reference and information service can be examined and its principles understood».19 En 1973, Shera affirmait à ce sujet: «I would wager that few reference librarians can explain in any precise way their methods of search, or how their decisions are made».-0 Il se fait présentement énormément de recherches à ce sujet.21 Mais il faut bien avouer avec Davinson que «research needs to be carried out in the terminology, the nature and purpose, the scope, branches and content, and finally the relationships of information service both within and without librarianship».22 Selon le schéma des tâches présenté plus haut, le travail de la référence comporte deux volets, c'est-à-dire la négociation de la question et la réponse à cette question par la fourniture de l'information demandée.Dans le premier volet, il s'agit d'établir une forme de communication personnelle avec l'usager afin de cerner toutes les facettes de la demande; dans le deuxième, il s'agit de traduire la question en langage documentaire et d'établir une équation entre ce dernier et le contenu de la documentation.Tout service documentaire bien structuré essaie de prévoir les demandes et de se préparer en conséquence.reference service, at its highest level consists not only of speedy and efficient supply, but also of the antic ipation of readers' needs, so becoming a significant factor in the life of the community 23 l*a négociation de la question C'est au niveau de la négociation que toute l'efficacité du travail de référence se joue; en effet, si l\u2019on a mal compris celle-ci ou si l'usager n'a pas fourni toutes les indications nécessaires, toutes les étapes subséquentes s'avèrent inutiles.Il est donc essentiel d'établir une relation personnelle avec l'usager.Benge prétend même que «the key professional activity is the personal relationship to the reader».24 Mais, avant même qu'une question soit posée à un bibliothécaire de référence interviennent deux facteurs liés à la communication non-verbale: les signaux visibles et la façon utilisée pour dire les choses.Two arras of study with especially important potential for application to the librarian\u2019s relationships with library users are kinr-sics and para-linguistics.Kinesics deals with the visible, unspoken, (or non verbal\" to use the correct jargon) signals which people transmit to, or receive from, each other and interpret as part of an oral communication.Fara-linguistics .involves the analysis not of what is said but of how it is said, or at least how an auditor apprehends something to have been said 25 Une section de la para-linguistique serait d'une grande utilité aux bibliothécaires de référence, la présence («immediacy» en anglais).The study of the immediacy concept is based on the proposition that the use of certain language, perhaps accompanied by bodily non-verbal signals, can convey to an auditor a more or less subconscious feeling of whether the speaker is interested, involved, detached or indifferent about a particular topic under discussion.26 Il arrive quand même qu'une question soit posée! Plusieurs auteurs ont étudié cet aspect de la négociation de la question et ont tenté de le systématiser, les plus connus étant Taylor, Bunge et Jahoda.27 Les techniques d'entrevues proposées sont d'une grande utilité car elles permettent au bibliothécaire de référence de systématiser le deuxième volet dont nous parlions plus haut, soit la recherche de l\u2019information.Il est à prévoir et à espérer que la recherche sur ces techniques continuera et que ses effets atteindront un nombre croissant d'écoles de formation de bibliothécaires.Comme le dit McFadyen: This broader concept of reader inquiry emphasizes question-négociation, suggesting that education for librarianship might well include courses on adult learning and interpersonal communication The need to develop interviewing techniques compatible with experiential inquiries indicates one direction future research might take.28 lx* langage Toute entrevue de référence se déroule entre deux individus utilisant un ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3/4 77 même langage.S'il s\u2019agit d une langue seconde pour l\u2019un des deux intervenants, certains problèmes de compréhension surgiront inévitablement.Since no language can he fullv synchronized with another, it follows that comprehension level for the native and foreign reader will differ since people mostly think in their native language 29 Même si les deux protagonistes de l\u2019entrevue parlent la même langue, il n'est pas certain qu'ils se comprennent car ce sont deux personnes différentes.Helen Gothberg nous le rappelle.There is considerable face-to-face social interaction and non-verbal communication going on in the négociation of the reference question but librarians are unaw are of that fact A good case could be made for the fact that there are more than three and a half billion different languages in the world and each of us talks and listens and thinks on his own special one Our personal language is shaped bv our culture, country, age.sex.education, profession, personality and.sometimes rather significantly, strong emotions'*\u2019 On peut donc conclure avec Davin-son: «Probably the perfect act of communication is an impossibility.There is always a certain amount of what the communication scientists call noise\u2019 in any transaction».11 Malgré ce «bruit», il n\u2019en reste pas moins que les bibliothécaires de référence répondent convenablement à des milliers de questions chaque jour.Toutefois, la citation de Gothberg nous amène à introduire une nouvelle dimension dans ce processus de la référence, à savoir celle de la culture.I.a culture et les biais culturels Définir la notion de culture n\u2019est pas une mince affaire! Milton Singer a tenté de faire une synthèse de la question, synthèse qui en vaut bien d\u2019autres.Benge, dans l\u2019un de ses livres, en a fait une discussion et a retenu les éléments suivants.(Culture is).that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, iaw.custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by men as a member of society.\u201d33 \u201cOne useful grouping divides culture into three, i e first habits and customs, second belief systems and third tools, machines and constructions or artefacts (technology).34 Tout individu a une identité culturelle et tend à la préserver; s\u2019il ne le fait pas.la société dans laquelle il vit le fait.On n\u2019a qu\u2019à penser aux nombreux livres ( blanc, vert, bleu, etc.) que le gouvernement du Québec a émis ces dernières années.Et.comme le déclare le rapport NlacBride, la chose est souhaitable.Promoting conditions for the preservation of the cultural identity of every society is necessary to enable it to enjoy a harmonious and creative inter-relationship with other cultures We recommend 28 Establishment of national cultural policies.which should foster cultural identity and creativity, and involve the media in these tasks Such policies should also contain guidelines for safeguarding national cultural development while promoting knowledge of other cultures It is in relation to others that each culture enhances its own identity 33 Nation et histoire nationale L\u2019identité culturelle s'incarne dans un groupe d'individus, souvent dans des limites géographiques délimitées.Ces individus parlant une même langue et partageant un même système de valeurs constituent une nation.Parfois, plusieurs nations partagent un même territoire.Et, quand un certain laps de temps s'est écoulé, on assiste à la création d'une histoire nationale.National history only begins when a people is recognizable as a community or group of communities, settled within geographical bounds that can be defined, and distinguished from others bv a rule, a livelihood, and arts of its own 36 Il s'ensuit de ce qui précède que les individus, consciemment ou non.préservent leur identité culturelle, parfois au point d'être xénophobes.Il s'ensuit aussi que le bibliothécaire professionnel, œuvrant dans une société donnée, doit s\u2019écrier avec Foskett: «Our role.to sustain and fortify the concept of nationhood».17 j Le bibliothécaire de référence et la culture Le bibliothécaire de référence est d'abord un individu appartenant à une communauté culturelle et en partageant les valeurs.Simsova le constate quand elle déclare; Culture is a system of values and each librarian incorporates in his personality the value system of his ow n culture Hr is conditioned bv his professional training and experience to accept the institutions both within and outside librananship which fit in the value system ** L'usager qui formule une question de référence possède lui aussi ses valeurs culturelles et professionnelles.Foskett signale cette particularité au niveau des systèmes de classification.Modem retrieval systems, therefore, have already had to deal with subject matter that is emotive in content, vague in definition, and imprecise in terminology ; but does this help when one is confronted by a field of knowledge in which a classification made to the requirements of one set of scholars mav be not only wrong, but actually disgraceful, to another5 A just wage' to the trade unionist mav be scandalous extravagance to the factory owner Quelle attitude le bibliothécaire de référence doit-il adopter?Est-il seulement conscient de l\u2019infiuence de ces valeurs culturelles sur son travail?Il semble que traditionnellement, les bibliothécaires de référence ont résolu d\u2019adopter une attitude objective.Conscients ou non de ces entraves à l\u2019objectivité, ils essaient de se «mettre dans la peau du client».C'est encore Foskett qui soutient.During reference service, the librarian ought virtually to vanish as an individual person, except in so far as his personality sheds light on the working of the library He must be the reader's alter ego.immersed in his politics, his religion, his morals 40 Les associations professionnelles adoptent le même point de vue.On ne saurait dire si elles officialisent une situation de fait ou formulent des souhaits.A titre d'illustration, voici cinq articles extraits du Code de déontologie de la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec.2 \\jc bibliothécaire doit avoir comme objectif de rendre la culture et l\u2019information accessibles à tous les citoyens sans discrimination.4 Le bibliothécaire doit contribuer activement au mieux-être culturel, social et économique de la communauté 7\tl,e bibliothécaire ne peut pas refuser de rendre des services professionnels à un client pour des motifs de discrimination fondée sur la race, l'âge, la condition sociale, les convictions politiques et les mœurs 8\tQuand il agit à titre de conseiller, le bibliothécaire doit éviter de fournir des informations incomplètes, désuètes, non-vén-fiables.inexactes ou partisanes 9\tljr bibliothécaire doit faire preuve d'objectivité et de désintéressement lorsque des personnes susceptibles de devenir ses clients lui demandent conseil 41 Il nous semble que ces articles expriment plus un idéal qu\u2019une réalité quotidienne.Il est beaucoup plus logique de croire avec Anderson que; In anv case, a complete freedom from preconceived ideas is a practical impossibility, and in my experience the unbeliever is just as much conditioned by his unbelief as the believer is bv his faith 12 I^e choc des cultures S\u2019il est vrai que l\u2019objectivité est impossible entre deux individus d une même culture, on peut préjuger que l'incompréhension sera encore plus forte entre deux personnes de culture natio- 78 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 nale différente.I^ance Morrow, dans Time, nous y fait réfléchir.The past is shimmeringlv changeable, always different with every change of angle, of perspective Read the history of the Civil War from the Southern point of view, or of the American Revolution from the standpoint of the English The past has almost as manv possibilities as the future.43 Entre Québécois, nous avons l'impression de bien nous comprendre, d'utiliser les mêmes codes.Jacques Bouchard en constate la complexité tout en reconnaissant: Les publicitaires québécois savent d'instinct que la culture québécoise, comme d'autres, porte en elle ses propres moyens de communication exprimés par des tabous, des statuts sociaux, des barrières sexuelles, religieuses, politiques, qu'il existe tout un code de signaux auxquels les Québécois ont appris à réagir en tant que participants à une culture commune et qui sont autant de clochettes des chiens de Pavlov 44 Si ces Québécois allaient consulter des bibliothécaires de référence en Angleterre, ils auraient affaire à des personnes ayant un système de valeurs bien différent.Un amusant petit livre caractérise ainsi les Britanniques.Alice au pays des men exiles e t A travers le miroir sont les seuls guides dans lesquels les Anglais acceptent sans réticences de se reconnaître lueurs titres indiquent assez qu'il s'agit de guides ésotériques On peut en compléter utilement la lecture par celle du Common Prayer Book de l'Eglise anglicane et des Oeuvres complètes de ces encyclopédistes élisabétains que les glossa-teurs attribuent provisoirement, par simple hypothèse de travail, à un nommé Shakespeare 45 Devant des cultures si différentes, on peut facilement déduire que des imbroglios surviendront inévitablement.Ix*s biais culturels On a constaté que les traits culturels varient de nation en nation, et même d'individu à individu.Or ces caractéristiques jouent un rôle considérable lors de l'entrevue de référence.La bataille des Plaines d'Abraham est une défaite pour les Québécois et une victoire pour les Britanniques.L\u2019Église catholique ne soulèvera pas d'hostilité marquée chez un Québécois, mais ressuscitera un sentiment antipapiste chez un Anglais.De même, tel bibliothécaire ardemment nationaliste aura parfois tendance à ignorer une question justifiant le fédéralisme, ou à y consacrer moins de temps ou d'effort.On peut trouver beaucoup d'informations contradictoires concernant les Iles Falklands ou le Labrador selon que l'on est Argentin ou Britannique, Terre-Neuvien ou Québécois.Les exemples peuvent être retrouvés à l'infini.Ces biais culturels, quand on y réfléchit bien, qu'ils soient personnels ou collectifs, n'agissent pas uniquement au niveau de la référence.Bien sûr, c'est au moment de la communication documentaire qu'ils sont les plus apparents et les plus nocifs car ils peuvent entraîner la transmission de fausses informations.Si l\u2019on revient aux quatre catégories de tâches mentionnées au début de cet article, on constate que ces biais culturels influenceront toutes les activités.Il est vraisemblable qu'un bibliothécaire retiendra les services de gens partageant les mêmes valeurs que lui, qu'il choisira la documentation en fonction des valeurs de la population desservie, et qu'il indexera cette documentation en utilisant des termes qui reflètent les valeurs de cette population.L\u2019impact du culturel sur le professionnel Dans la littérature professionnelle, les questions culturelles sont, à toute fin pratique, inexistantes.On a pourtant constaté quel rôle important ces facteurs culturels jouent dans la pratique quotidienne.Serait-ce que nous n'en sommes pas conscients?Serait-ce plutôt que nous les considérons comme secondaires?Serait-ce enfin que nous voulions à tout prix défendre notre identité culturelle?Quelle que soit la réponse à ces questions, il nous semble important que les bibliothécaires consacrent une partie de leurs recherches à ces questions.Nous avons vu que le professionnalisme implique quatre pôles et que le lieu de rencontre de ces pôles se situe au niveau des associations.Il est symptomatique que ce soit dans la littérature produite par ces dernières que l'on retrouve les notions d'objectivité.Qu'attendons-nous alors pour sensibiliser les bibliothécaires à leurs biais personnels, eux qui se targuent de propager la culture?Qu'attendons-nous pour inclure des cours de civilisation nationale, d'ethnopsychologie dans la formation des bibliothécaiies?Avons-nous l'impression de trahir notre société si on lui offre des choix et des options pluralistes?Peut-être attendons-nous un choix de société.Peut-être nous faut-il encore quelques recherches sur ce sujet.Conclusion I^a recherche relative aux traits culturels dans les sociétés où les bibliothécaires œuvrent est encore à faire.L\u2019impact de ces traits sur la pratique est énorme et méconnu.Les professionnels québécois de la documentation aspirent à l'objectivité.Or, l\u2019objectivité passe par la connaissance de soi.et des autres.Ce type de recherche, pour microcosmique qu\u2019il nous apparaisse, aura des répercussions importantes sur la profession.Un professionnalisme qui se régénère est celui qui favorise la recherche et en absorbe les leçons.Les bibliothécaires professionnels québécois ont un public, reçoivent une formation solide, obéissent à un code d'éthique sérieux, participent à des associations saines et profitent d'une reconnaissance monétaire bien méritée.C'est en renouvelant leur pratique qu'ils maintiendront cette situation.La connaissance des traits culturels de leurs clients et d'eux-mêmes contribuera à cette progression.Qu'ils se disent avec Foskett, que nous citons pour la dernière fois: «.what the world needs now is not so much more information as more wisdom».4H 1 II n\u2019y a qu'au Québec que l'on utilise le terme «bibliothéconomie* Il correspond aux termes «bibliothécariat» ou «library science» Etant québécois, le terme «bibliothéconomie» sera retenu par l'auteur, mais il englobe les deux autres 2.\tCorporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec.Tâches du bibliothécaire professionnel (Montréal.1982).présentation, p n 3.\tA l'appui de cette affirmation, notons la citation suivante: «Les études sur 1rs usagers afin de connaître leurs besoins, leur degré de satisfaction et leurs habitudes de lecture prennent de plus en plus d\u2019importance la* thème de l'usager occupait la première place dans le choix des sujets de thèses de doctorat en bibliothéconomie pour les *nnées 1977-1978 » Madeleine Laliberté.«Etat de la recherche en bibliothéconomie et en science de l'information au Québec résultat d\u2019un sondage (Partie 2)», Arçus, vol 10, no.5 (septembre-octobre 1981 .p 101 4.\tLire à ce sujet le livre de Ronald Charles Benge.Cultural Crisis and Libraries in the Third World (London, Clive Binglev, 1979), 25i p 5.\tJean-Réal Cardin.«Organisation professionnelle et syndicalisme», in Claude D\u2019Aoust, «Professionnalisme, corporatisme, syndicalisme et.snobisme».4r^uj, vol 4.no 3-4 (mai août 197.1), p 60.6.\tDouglasJ Foskett, «Professionalism and the Future», in Joint Conference ASLIB-ILS, Sheffield, 19th September 1980 (Unpublished Paper), p.2.7 Claude D'Aoust, «Professionnalisme, corporatisme.syndicalisme et snobisme».Arçus, vol.4.no 3-4 (mai août 1975), p.61 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMÉROS 3 4 79 8 Bernard Bariier, «Some Problems in the Sociology of the Professions», Daedalus Fall 196 h, p 672 9.Ronald Charles Benge.Libraries and Cultural Change London.Clive Binglev, 1970 p 21* 10\tJean Cobein et Réjean Savard «L'utilisation des bibliothèques publiques au Québec en regard de certaines variables endogènes».Argu> vol 11, no 1 (janvier-février 19821.p V 11\tIdem, p\t7 12\tCorporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec.Tâc hr s du bibliothécaire profe ?¦\u2019.nel (Montréal.1982).5 p 13.Douglas J Foskett.The Creed of a Librarian S'o Politics, So Religion, So Morals (London, The\tLibrarv\tAssociation.1962), p 1 If\tDonald\tDavinson.Reference Sen.'ice\t(Din- don.Clive Binglev.1980 .p 36 15.\tKenneth Whittaker.«Towards a Theorv for Reference and Information Service», Journal of Ltbrananship.vol 9.no 1 January 1977), pp 58-59 16.\tDouglas J Foskett.The Creed .p 5.17\tMaurice Pavctte et Fdith Ciuav.« Le stress comment certains bibliothécaires le vivent».Argus, vol 10, no.6 (novembre-décembre 1981), p 127.18\tPeter F Mc Nallv, « job Motivation and Satisfaction of Reference Staff in Public Libraries», Argus.vol 11.no 1 (janvier-février 1981), p 15.19.Kenneth Whittaker.«Towards.».p.57 20 Jesse H Shera cité dans Donald Davinson Reference .p 51.21.Voici trois de ces auteurs importants Nice M de Figueiredo.A Conceptual Methodology for Error Preientwn in Reference Work (Ann Arbor, Xerox L\u2019mversitv Microfilms.1975), *06 p ( Ph I) .1975.I he Florida State University.Librarv Science- I Xonald Davinson.Reference Sen ue Dindon.Clive Binglev.1980\t235 p (ierald Jahoda and Judith S< hiek Braunagel.I he Librarian and Reference (Queries a Systematic ipproach New York.\\rademic Press I960).175 p 22 Kenneth Whittaker.«Towards ».p 60 23.Douglas J.Foskett, Assistance to Readers in Lending Libraries Dindon.James Clark & Co .1952), p 107 24\tRonald Charles Benge, Libraries p 220 25\tDonald Davinson, Reference pp 53-54 26.Idem, p 62.27\tOn peut lire ces trois classiques dans les références suivantes R S Tavlor.«Question-Négociation and Information Seeking in Libraries».College & Resear, h Libraru veil 29.no.* Mav 1968), pp.178-194 Charles Bunge.fSofessional Education and Reference Efficiency Springfield.III.The State Librarv.1967).Gerald Jahoda et P E Olson.«Analysing the Reference Prcxess».Rif vol.12, no.2 (Winter 1972), pp 148-156 28\tDon McFadyen, «The Psychology of In-quirv Reference Service and the Concept of Information Experience», Journal of Ltbrananship.vol.7.no 1 (Januarv 1975), p 10 29\tS I A Kotei.«Some Variables of Comparison Between Developed and Developing Library Systems», in Douglas J Foskett, ed .Reader in Comparatue Librarianship < Englewcxid.Col.Information Flandling Services.1976), p 151 *0 Helen Gothberg citée dans Donald Davinson.Reference.p.55.31.Idem, p 63 32 Milton Singer.«The Concept of Culture», in David L Sills, ed .International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences New York, Macmillan Com- pany & The Frre Press.19681.vol 3.pp 527-543 ** Edward Tvlor cité dans Ronald Charles Benge.Libraries p 1 1 *4 Idem, p 13 15.Man> I \"ues.t>ne World.I This paper is approached w ith a general systems view of organizations and the application of contemporary behavioral science theory, research, and practice.The impactaof financial constraint, a competitive job market, new technologies, rapid change in the environment, more involvement of staff in decision making, new legislation, and an increased demand for accountability have increased the importance of the effective use of human resources.There is some evidence that greater emphasis is being placed on improved personnel administration.For example, in December 1973 The Svstems and Procedures Exchange Center of the Association of Research Libraries Office of University Librarv Management Studies reported that 30 ARL libraries had appointed or were planning to appoint personnel officers Bv November 1977 some 80 ARL libraries had personnel officers.1 Also, the amount of literature on specific aspects of library personnel administration as well as on the broad topic has increased in the last five years.Phis is reflected in the variety of sources used as background for this paper.A number of factors have been part of an increased and specialized attention to personnel administration.These include an increase in the size and complexity of libraries; a grow ing number of governmental regulations and guidelines; a need for orientation, career counseling, training, and performance appraisal; unionization; attempts to implement a system involving job analysis and evaluation which involve detailed task analysis; new selection practices including the use of search committees; more sophisticated systems for promotion and tenure decisions; changing tvpes and quantity of work to be done; changing \u2022 Helen Howard is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Library Science.McGill University, Montreal ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 85 ratios of professional to other staff; and general concern about the quality of working life.A selec tion of these topics which appear to be key issues for personnel administration and for professionals in the 1980*s is reviewed in the remainder of this paper Staffing \u2018 Staffing*' should be thought of as an integrated system which includes all methods of matching skills available with the tasks to be performed, through hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, job restructuring, and training.4 Library staffing patterns have been shifting as a result of changes such as those in technologv and especially automation, financial constraints, attempts to utilize staff more effectively, and changing forms of governance.The staffing of libraries is becoming more differentiated.Enlightened library administrators are recognizing that several kinds of staff are needed and that the tasks each type of staff performs should be appropriate to the jobs for which they were hired.Library staff may be distributed into three groups.a)\tprofessional: including librarians and other specialists with a graduate level degree b)\tsupportive: including library-technicians with a two-or three-year college degree, and library assistants with a bachelor's degree c)\tclerical: including office staff with high school education-* The ALA policy statement, \u201cLibrary Education and Personnel Utilization'* recommends categories of library personnel and levels of training and education appropriate to preparing personnel for these categories: To meet the goals of library service, both professional and supportive staff are needed in libraries 7'hus the library occupation is much broader than that segment of it which is the library profession, but the library profession has responsibility for defining the training and education required for the preparation of personnel who work in libraries at anv level, supportive or professional Skills other than those of librarianship may also have an important contribution to make to the achievement of superior library service There should be equal recognition in both the professional and supportive ranks for those individuals whose expertise contributes to the effective performance of the librarv 6 There is no comprehensive study to show how many librarians, other professionals, library technicians, library assistants, and clerical staff are currently emploved in Canadian libraries and what their interrelationships are in the work place.However, some scattered data can be assimilated.The ratio of professionals to other library staff has varied through the years.For instance, Canadian academic libraries showed a ratio of one professional to 2.85 other staff in 1969.7 The latest data from Statistics Canada for 1978, although not wholly comparable since part-time equivalents are not included, show a ratio of one to slightly more than three.\" Informal sources indicate that currently the ratio is closer to 1:4 in large Canadian university libraries.However.staffing ratios seem to be considerably different in public libraries.A recent survey of Canadian public libraries showed a ratio of 1:1.65 for librarians to other library workers.The basic academic qualification for a librarian is an M LS.degree from an accredited library school.There is a trend, however, for employers to seek staff w ith a second masters in a subject area.Priorities of programs and the nature of work in libraries are changing.Thus a staff establishment which was appropriate in the 1970's needs review.The pressure from funding sources to justify programs and staffing has accelerated this activity and is forcing all administrators to look carefully at who is doing what and who could do what.It appears that fewer individuals are doing professional work than previously and there is a proportionately increasing number of library technicians, librarv assistants, and clerical staff.Except in Quebec the library technician programs require two years of post-secondary education with a recommended 40-50 percent of academic courses, and 50-60 percent of technical courses and required field work.1\" In Quebec, library technicians are trained mainly in the three-vear program \u201cTechniques de la documentation Document Technology\u201d in the Collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP's).This program, which began to replace in 1975 the former Library' Technology Program, prepares the student for work not only in libraries but also in archives, records centres, bookstores, and documentation centres.Although the first two-year program for library\u2019 technicians in Canada was launched in 1966 and there are now-some twenty-two programs, data are incomplete for the number of graduates and their placement A survey-conducted in 1981 showed that of the 409 graduates reported, the largest number.122, had found emplovment in special libraries.Of the remainder, 55 were in academic and public libraries respectively, and nine in non-librarv jobs but using librarv skills.11 It appears that the technicians are having considerable success in finding positions,especially in special libraries.Indeed, many businesses and industries which feel that thev can not afford or justify the hiring of a librarian, are turning to librarv technicians to organize their collections and develop services.A serious problem faced by library technicians, however, is that of gaining recognition as a group with specific academic and experiential training.Most large libraries do not have a separate classification for library technicians.Rather they tend to include them in a general category of \u201clibrary assistants.\u201d This is an obvious problem for personnel administrators to tackle.Library assistant positions are usually \u2014 but not always \u2014 similar to the \u201clibrary associate\" advocated in the ALA \u201cLibrary Education and Personnel Utilization\" policy.T his group of personnel is described as having supportive rrsponsi bill tics at hu?h level, normally working within established procedures and techniques, and with some supervision by a professional, but requiring judgment, and subject knowledge such as represented bv a full, four-year college educ ation culminating in the a bachelor\u2019s detjree 12 The third group of library employees, the clerical staff, needs a know ledge of office practices and a capacity to follow repetitive procedures within specified guidelines.Duties * T he issue of what duties should be carried out by professionals and those by other staff is receiving increased attention because of the need to make the most efficient use of staff and also to meet the expectations of young, ambitious professionals.Numerous efforts have been made to distinguish between professional and other tasks For example, the American Library .Association published a list of professional and nonprofessional duties in 1948.11 The Library- .Association undertook to distinguish professional from non professional duties in 1964 and published a second edition in 1974.\u201d14 86 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 A different approach that of applying the tec hniques of func tional job analysis to libraries was begun in 1969 bv the Illinois Task Analysis Project ( ILTAP The objective of Phase I of the project was to provide a realistic description of work actually being done in public, school, spec ial, and academic libraries This phase* identified 1,615 tasks performed bv eighteen libraries.The project culminated in phase III with the publication of a synthesis of the preceding phases and a list of library tasks arranged by eight major subsystems and three performance levels professional, technical, and clerical.1\u2019' Most recently, the consultants for Project Progress used as a starting point the Illinois tasks and functional groupings to find out who does what in a selection of public libraries.The task list they developed contained 787 tasks.An analysis of the task survey shows considerable overlap in performance of tasks by various categories of library workers.The researchers state that \u201cYVe can identify no norms or patterns bv which libraries could assess their own task personnel assignments.Only 9.5 percent of the tasks listed were carried out exclusively by librarians.\u201d16 Ihe consultants conclude that task analysis is not a tool that can enable libraries to rationalize and account for their effectiveness in personnel administration.In addition they conclude that \u201cextrapolating who should do what* in libraries from who is doing what' is neither feasible nor desirable.\u201d17 Rather, they recommend that model job descriptions should be developed to provide guidelines for appropriate task assignment within public libraries.Ihe most recent attempt to identify professional duties has been undertaken by a committee of the Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec.Thev re-worked a list published in 19741H and in April 1982 sent a revised list to the Corporation members for comment.The committee provides a selected list of duties expected to be performed by professionals in four functional areas \u2014 administration, collection management, organization and cataloguing of materials, and dissemination of materials \u2014 and a fifth section connected with teaching, research, and professional development.Support staff, as defined earlier, includes graduates of a library technician program and library assistants with a bachelor's degree.Because of the variability of library size and working conditions and the lack of clarification of what constitutes professional work, it is impossible to state the specific duties which should be assigned to support staff As far as library technicians are concerned, the Canadian Library Association's Guidelines for the Education of Library Technicians does include a list of minimum skills a graduate library\u2019 technician possesses in both public and technical services procedures.1'4 I he Ontario Association of Library Technicians issued a policy statement in 1977 which identifies a library technician as one who has acquired through a two-year program of study \u201cspecialized knowledge of library systems and methods to assist in developing, organizing, and maintaining a collection of library material.\u201d-\u2019\" This document also includes a list of duties in public and technical services.Library assistants are a diverse group whose duties vary considerably.I he main research done on this group is bv Mugnier who investigated \"library associates'' in large public libraries.She found that they not only carried out a wide variety of tasks but also filled jobs which overlapped into the beginning professional level.-1 I he duties of clerical employees also vary\u2019 considerably from library to library.Typical duties are the preparation of materials, basic circulation routines, and typing.Human Resources Planning Kmployment planning is an essential part of managing the staffing process.It should be responsive to general environmental conditions with which the library and its parent organization must cope and reflect the organization's goals and objectives.According to French, it includes a skills inventory', an analysis of current and expected vacancies, an analysis of expected expansions or reductions in operating units, and a systematic plan for recruitment and promotion.It is a comprehensive, on-going process which includes, but is broader than, making projections.- Since most libraries are now subject to severe budget constraints and sometimes a freeze on filling vacancies, human resources planning is more critical than ever It is also more difficult than ever because of rapid change in the environment, factors such as government regulations and unioniza- tion, and the need to create innovative staffing arrangements not only to provide needed services, but also to ensure that librarians continue to develop professionally in spite of being caught in a \u201czero growth\" economic situation.Job Analysis A major component for effective employment planning is job analysis.Strauss and Sayles state that detailed knowledge is required for every-job in an organization in order to know how to recruit and whom to hire, to carry out job evaluation, to design promotional ladders, to set sensible workloads, and to evaluate staff development programs.-3 Job analysis is a major undertaking requiring the specialized knowledge of the personnel administrator and a considerable input of other staff time.An alternative means for carrying out job analysis is using the services of consultants.Consultants do have the advantage of experience and expertise and can approach a study objectively.However, they may have little understanding of library work which can result in misinterpretations and or strained relations with library staff.Job analysis is a very- complex undertaking and often uses a variety of methods.These may include using job descriptions, questionnaires, interviews, observation, and task analysis.Strauss and Sayles state that \u201cjob analysis should go beyond simply recording existing job practices: it should also question whether these practices are appropriate.\"-4 Job descriptions or position descriptions are summaries of basic tasks performed on a job.They may contribute significantly to a job analysis study but often they are not updated frequently enough and there may be a big difference between what the job is supposed to consist of and the actual duties carried out by the encumbent.There is ample literature on creating and using job descriptions and so they will not be treated further here.However, the difference between job descriptions and position classifications should be noted.Position classifications may be referred to as generic descriptions.They group jobs into a number of levels or classes and these are then described to feature gradations of job responsibility, skills required, etc.An example of position classification descriptions are those for general librarian, senior librarian, and principal librarian developed by the ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 87 Canadian Association of College and University Libraries.-*\u2019 Job Evaluation Job evaluation is the process of determining the relative worth of the various jobs within an organization.There are many methods which may be used to enable management to determine how much one job should pav relative to others The point system is the most widelv used though ranking, job classification, and factor-comparison are also w idely used.These methods are well described in personnel texts such as French*6 and Strauss and Sa vies,-7 and are discussed in relation to libraries, for example, bv Creth.2* There are many difficult problems related to job analysis and evaluation, not the least of which are human problems.Excellent communication is needed and it is essential that staff understand that it is the jobs which are being analvzed and evaluated and not the individuals performing the jobs.Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal may be regarded as \u201creferring to a comparativelv formal, systematic program of the evaluation of employee performance, developed to improve the qualitv of judgment applied to that performance and to insure frequent and timelv assessments.\u201d-* The importance of an effective appraisal system can not be overemphasized.However, the difficult of designing such a system, training supervisors, and implementing the system is immense.The subject has been and continues to be discussed at such length in the personnel administration and library literature that no attempt will be* made to cover its various facets here.The student of performance appraisal in libraries would benefit especially from reading Reneker,30 McGregor,31 Rizzo,32 the ARE Spec kit on performance appraisal,33 the Guide issued by the Librarv Administration and Management Association,14 and either French35 or Strauss and Sayles.36 Suffice it to say that new approaches to performance appraisal rather than being judgmental are oriented toward contributing to organizational goals, opening the lines of communication between supervisors and employees, and developing staff members.I^iws Against Discrimination Personnel administrators must be familiar with an increasing number of laws and regulations affecting the work force.Among the newest legislation is that dealing specifically with discrimination The Canadian Human Rights Art, which came into force on March 1, 1978.applies to all federal government departments, agencies, and crown corporations, and to business and industry under federal jurisdiction.i7 In areas not under federal jurisdiction protection is given by provincial human rights laws.Each of the ten provinces has its own anti-discrimination laws which are broadlv similar to the federal law.The main points of the federal law w ill be outlined here The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion.age, sex.marital status, the fact that a person was convicted for an offence for which a pardon has been issued, and the fact that a person has a physical handicap The Act also protects the privacy of personal information stored in government files.It ensures that anv person mav find out if there is personal information on those files, check its accuracy and the use to w hich it is being put.and request that inaccurate information be corrected.Section 1 1 of the Act deals with equal wages: 1 It is a discriminators practice for an employer to establish or maintain differences in wages between male and female employees employed in the same establishment who are performing work of an equal value ( 2 \\ In assessing the value of work performed b% employees employed in the same establishment, the criterion to be applied is the compejsite of the skill, effort and responsibility required in the performance of the work and the conditions under which the work is performed Librarians have particular interest in this section because data continue to indicate that on the average, female librarians\u2019 salaries are lower than those for male librarians.A landmark decision was handed down by the Human Rights Commission in Dec ember 1980 as a result of a complaint from the Library Science Group of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.They complained that their occupational group, which was composed of more than 66 percent women, was paid less than historical researchers \u2014 a predominately male group whose job duties the librarians alleged were of equal value The Canadian Human Rights Commission concluded that the librarians\u2019complaint was justified and awarded some 470 federal government librarians equalization adjustments ranging from $500 to $2,500 annuallv, plus back pav of up to $5,900 each This is the first settlement of a complaint comparing occupational groups whose members perform dissimilar jobs.In Quebec the Charte des droits et libertés de la personne, which became law in June 197b, spells out fundamental rights and freedoms.It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour.sex, civil status, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, or social conditions.** Another document, Equal Opportunities m Employment Guide for Interpreting the Charter oj Human Rights and Ereedoms If ith Respect to Job Offers, Application Eorms and Interviews with Candidates40 lists and explains which questions are or are not permissible.Anti-discriminatory legislation is also embedded in various other laws such as labour codes.These will not lx* discussed here but one new piece of legislation which may have an impact on personnel practices should be* noted.This is Quebec Hill 15, \u201cAn Act Respecting the Abolition of Compulsory Retirement and Providing Amendments to Certain legislation\u201d, which was passed in April.1982.This is the first act of its kind in Canada, but it is likely similar legislation will follow in other jurisdictions.Although one may sympathize with the* intent of this legislation, it could be another factor inhibiting the opportunities for younger librarians to advance and achieve more responsibility in senior positions.Staff Training and Development As staffing patterns change, new technologies are introduced, and new societal needs are expressed, hbrarv staff have an increased need for opportunities for training and development Dunlap points out that for libraries faced with staff cuts a greater proportion of time will have to be devoted to basic tasks and this leaves less opportunity for extra programs and for staff movement, such as staff rotation.She argues convincingly for making a special effort to provide opportunities for growth for all staff and believes that as a result they will be* more receptive to change because* they will not feel threatened.11 Although train- 88 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 ins; is time-consuming and costlv, cutting the budget for it is short-sighted in the extreme.On the other hand, staff, espec ially professionals, have as much obligation to assume responsibility for development and continuing education as management has for encouraging it.The needs and opportunities for training and development are amply documented in the literature.Creth provides a good overview of the factors to be considered as well as sources of additional information.4- Programs that support the development of the library's human resources are the most rewarding of anv activity for the individual.the library, and the public that the library serves and thev provide the library with an insurance policy on the largest investment it has, its people 43 Quality of Working Life Staff development encompasses aspects of a \"Quality of Working Life\u201d program.This has become an increasingly familiar term that means different things to different people.Explicit in the concept and its application is a system of thought that stresses the humanizing and self-fulfilling potential of work.14 Job design and socio-technical systems are sub-sets of the key issues in the quality of working life.Job design represents an approach to designing spec ific jobs to make them more interesting and rewarding for the individual job holder and more productive for the organization Sociotec hmcal sy stems represents :sic : a more comprehensive approach to designing total work systems as well as individual jobs.4 * Martell provides an excellent review of the topic w hich has been evolving during the seventies but has only recently appeared in the literature of librarianship.4,1 47 4* His view is that \u201cThe tendency to look at tasks and jobs rather than organizational roles is a major factor that constrains efforts to develop more effective organization structures for libraries.\u201d He acknowledges that the implementation of work system design is verv difficult and speculates that \u201cthe perceptual and technical skills required to develop and implement contemporary work system design may not yet exist within librari-anship.\u201d4^* Redesigning work is a broad undertaking which requires a holistic approach to change.It is a long and difficult task which challenges the ingenuity of all professionals and, in particular, those directly responsible for personnel administration.Summary and Conclusion This paper has covered a selected number of kev issues in library personnel administration in the Canadian context.Some topics which are very important, such as unionization, have not been dealt with because it is expected that they will be treated in other papers.The importance of the personnel process has been stressed, including the need for expertise to enable the profession to make good use of technology and research in the behavioral sciences in adapting to change.Library managers are faced with the difficult problem of improving the effectiveness of their staffs while at the same time providing an opportunity for staff development in times of zero growth or retrenchment.There is a real danger of unfulfilled expectations leading to lowered morale and its attendant problems.Some suggestions have been made for improved personnel practices.However, there is no \u201cone right wav.\u201d Each library must devise its own strategy for maximizing the potential of its human resources.1\tWendell L French.7'he Personnel Management Process Human Resources Administration and Development 1th ed (Boston, Hmighton-.Mifffin.1978).p 3.2\tMurray S Martin.Issues m Personnel Management in Academic libraries iGreenwich.Conn.JAI Press.1981 ), p 4 f Association of Research Libraries Systems and Procedures Exchange (\u2019.enter.The Chançtnç Rule of Personnel Officers Washington.DC., 1978).p 1 \\ Margaret Nlvers.«Staffing Patterns in Libraries* In Sheila Creth and Frederick Duda, Personnel Administration in Libraries New York.Neal-Schuman.1981 ».p 34 5.Canadian Association of College and University Libraries Second University Library Standards Committee, Prends for the Sei entier Guidelines for Canadian University Libraries Montreal and Toronto, 1971), p 26.6\tAmerican Library Association, «Library Education and Personnel Utilization: a Statement of Policy Adopted bv the Council of the ALA.June 10, 1970» (Chicago.ALA.1970), p 1 7\t«Salary and Budget Survey », CACl L \\ews-letter, vol 2.no 1 January 1969), p 50.8.\tStatistics Canada Education.Science and Culture Division, Vnuersity and Colleges in Canada 1978-79 (Ottawa, Ministry of Supply.1981 i, p 40 9.\tProject Progress a Study of Canadian fhibhc Libraries, prepared for the Canadian Library Association and its division The Canadian Association of Public Libraries by Urban Dimensions Group.Inc .Toronto.Canada Ottawa.Canadian Library Association, 1981 p M 10.\tJean VVeihs, -Survey of Library Technician Programs in Canada.» Canadian Library Journal, vol 16.no 6 December 1979 .pp 354-61.165-8 11\tJean VVeihs, «Committee Polls Technician Programs Across Canada in 1981.» Fehciter, vol 28.no 4 April 1982), pp 10-11 12\tAmerican Library Association.«Library Education and Personnel Utilization.» p 2.1 V American Library' Association.Board on Personnel Administration, Professional and A 'unprofessional Duties in Libraries (Chicago.ALA, 1948» 14 Library Association Research and Development Committee Professional and Son-Professional Duties in Libraries.2nd ed.(London, Library Association.1974 15.\tMeryl Ricking and Robert E Booth.Personnel Utilization in Libraries: a Systems Approach (Chicago, ALA, 1974).16.\tProject Progress, pp.72-73.17.\tfbid .p.75.18.\tCorporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec, «Liste des tâches professionnelles du bibliothécaire,» Arçus, vol.3, no.6 (novembre-décembre 1974).pp 70-73.19.\tCanadian Library .Association.Committee on Library Technicians Role and Educations, Guidelines for the Education of Library Technicians Ottawa.CLA.1981 20\tOntario Association of Library Technicians Standards Committee, «Statement of the Standards Committee* (Toronto, 1977), p.1 21\tCharlotte Mugnier, Paraprofessionals and the Professional Job Structure (Chicago, ALA.1980 ».22.French, p 199 2 V George Strauss and Leonard Sayles.Personnel the Human Problems of Management 4th ed ( Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall.1980), p.f44 24.\tIbid .p 146 25.\tCanadian Association of College and University Libraries.Positions Classifie at ion and Principles of Academic Status in Canadian University Libraries (Ottawa.Canadian Library Association, 1969).26.\tFrench, pp 191-6 27.\tStrauss and Savles.pp.565-73.28\tSheila Creth.«Personnel Planning and Utilization» In Sheila Creth and Frederick Duda, Personnel Administration in Libraries (New York.Neal-Schuman 1981 i, pp 73-86 29\tMaxime Reneker « Performance Appraisal in Libraries Purposes and Techniques* In Sheila Creth and Frederick Duda.Personnel Administration in I.ibrartrs New York.Neal Schuman.1981 ».p 228.30.Ibid .pp 227-89 11 Douglas McGregor, «.An Uneasy Look at Performance Appraisal.» Harvard Business Re-;ieu, vol 35, no.1 (May-June 1957 ).pp 89-94.42 John R Rizzo, Management for Librarians.Fundamentals and Issues (Westport, Conn .Greenwood Press.1980 i, pp 226-57.13.Association for Research Libraries Systems and Procedures Exchange Center.Performance Appraisal1 Washington, DC.1978 > Spec kit 53).(4 American Library .Association.Library Administration and Management Association.ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 89 Personnel Administration Section Pets nnei Per frrrmarAe Appraisal a Guide for Libraries Chicago, ALA 1979- 45\tFrench, pp 299-4.44 46\tStrauss and Savlcs.pp 519-4\u201c 4\u201c\tCanada l -i w s statutes etc .Canadian Human Rights Ait Ottawa.July 1977) 48 Ibid .p 4 -1971 ) 18\tSurrey of Libraries.Part II Academn Libraries.!(ee,4 fjr)-l9e,7 hS (Ottawa.Dominion Bureau of Statistics.1967-1970) 19 l diversity and College Libraries in Canada.I9~ ' 7J Ottawa.Statistics Canada.1976,.p 15 jit K Pat ker.« \\ Studs of Job ( )pportumties in Canada for Professional librarians» Ontan < Library Re it , vol 6 4.no 1 March l11 (| pp 4-11 21\tB E Adel I.D D Carter .Collective Bargain mg for l diversity Faculty Kingston.Industrial Relations Center.Queen\u2019s University.1972 22\tA Klemgartner.«Collective Bargaining Between Salaried Professionals and Public Sector Management* T*ubln Administration Revieu 33 1973), pp 165-172 23.A Klemgartner.Op cit .p 166 24 A Strauss.L Rainwater.The Professional Scientist iChicago, Aldine Publishing.1962* 23\tE ( )rzac k.«Work as a «(.entrai Elle Interest* of Professionals* Social Problems, 7 (Fall 1959), pp 125-132 26.R Dubm.«Industrial Workers Worlds: a Studs of Central Life Interest of Industrial Workers» Social Problems.3 January 1956), pp 131-142.27\tA Ponak, Registered \\urses and Collectne Bargaining an Analysis oj Job Related Goals Ph D Diss .University of W isconsin, 1977) 28\tH Cluck.«Professional Workers, Managers and Collective Bargaining Whose Moustache Is Bigger'» in F Hmman ed u Professional Workers and Collective Bargaining U>s Angeles.Institute of Industrial Relations.I CIA.19// pp 48- 58 _>b\t\\ Klemgartner M Bickner.«Scope of Bargaining and Participation in Decision Making bv Professionals* in 1 Hinman ed Professional Workers and Collective Bargaining U» Angeles.Institute of Industrial Relations.UCLA.1977 i.pp 24-47 40 Canadian Human Rights Commission.« Federal (government librarians W in $2 *> Million Equal Pav Settlement» Release IV-i ember 17.1980,.p 2 96 ARGUS MAI-JUIN-JUILLET-AOÛT 1982 VOLUME 11 NUMEROS 3 4 PROTOCOLE DE RÉDACTION Argus vise à assurer l'information et le développement professionnel des membres de la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec Les articles publiés traitent de la formation, du rôle et du statut du bibliothécaire dans la société du professionnalisme des nouvelles orientations et de la recherche en bibliothéconomie et en science de ( information.de l\u2019apport des autres disciplines Le comité de rédaction accepte des articles originaux soit en français, soit en anglais À l\u2019occasion il publie des textes de conferences prononcées dans le cadre des activités de la Corporation Les publications peuvent prendre plusieurs formes \u2014\tarticles de fond (de 15 à 25 pages dactylographiées) \u2014\ttextes plus courts rendant compte d\u2019un événement récent \u2014\tentrevues \u2014\tchroniques sur l'audiovisuel, les revues professionnelles, la recherche (de 3 a 6 pages dactylographiées) \u2014\tlettres a ( éditeur paraissant sous le titre Argus commentaires et commentant une question d actualité ou un article récemment paru dans la revue \u2014\tcomptes rendus d'ouvrages sur le professionnalisme ou la recherche Les articles doivent être soumis en quatre exemplaires, dactylographies a interligne double sur papier 21 x 28cm et accompagnes d'un résumé informatif Sur la première page doivent figurer le nom, le titre académique, le statut professionnel et le lieu de travail de l auteur ainsi que le titre et le résume du texte Les notes mfrapaginales doivent être numérotées et tapees sur une feuille a part II appartient aux auteurs de fournir les references bibliographiques completes et présentées de la façon suivante Monographie Herbert Goldhor Introduction to Scientific Research in Librarianship (Urbana III University of Illinois 1972) p 198 Chapitre d un livre William M Potter.History, the Behavioral Studies and the Science of Man In Mary Lee Bundy and Paul Wasserman, Reader in Research Methods for Librarianship (Washington Microcard Editions.1970).p 36 Article de périodique Yves Courrier Analyse et langage documentaires Documentaliste.vol 13 no 5-6 (septembre-decembre 1976).pp 178-189 Les correcteurs se reservent le droit de renvoyer aux auteurs les textes dont les references ne correspondent pas à ces exigences Ils peuvent effectuer des corrections mineures des textes sans en avertir les auteurs Les auteurs sont priés de conserver un double de leur article Aucun manuscrit ne leur sera remis Chaque auteur recevra trois exemplaires du numéro auquel il aura contnbué EDITORIAL STATEMENT Argus aims to inform members of the Corporation of Professional Librarians of Québec and further their profession al development Articles cover the training of librarians and their role and status in society, professionalism, new directions and research in library and information science, and contributions from other fields The Editorial Board accepts original articles written in French or in English Papers delivered at Corporation related functions are published from time to time Published items may take several forms \u2014\tm-depth articles (15 to 25 typed pages) \u2014\tshorter articles covering a recent event \u2014\tinterviews \u2014\tcolumns on audio-visual material, professional journals, research (3 to 6 typed pages) \u2014\tletters to the Editor, under the heading Argus commentaires '.which discuss a topical issue or an article recently published in the journal \u2014\treviews of works about the profession or research Articles should be submitted in quadruplicate and be typed (double-spaced) on sheets 21 by 28 cm An informative résumé should be provided The author's name his/her professional states and place of work, as well as the title and résumé of the article, should appear on the first page Foot-notes should be numbered and typed on a separate sheet The author must provide complete bibliographic references in accordance with the following examples Monograph: Herbert Goldhor.Introduction to Scientific Research in Librarianship (Urbana III University of Illinois 1972).p 198 Chapter of a book William M Potter.History, the Behavioral Studies and the Science of Man In Mary Lee Bundy and Paul Wasserman.Reader in Research Methods for Librarianship (Washington, Microcard Editions, 1970).p 34 Article in a periodical: Yves Courrier Analyse et langage documentaires Documentaliste, vol 13.no 5-6 (septembre-décembre 1976).pp 178-189 Editors reserve the right to return articles if references do net conform to these standards Minor corrections may be made to an article without the author\u2019s prior knowledge We request that the author keeps a copy of his/her article Manuscripts will not be returned Authors receive 3 copies of each issue in which their article appears "]