Modelling advances in gatekeeping theory for academic libraries
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2019-0051 |
| Date | 11 September 2019 |
| Published date | 11 September 2019 |
| Pages | 389-408 |
| Author | Paul Ojennus |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Modelling advances in
gatekeeping theory for
academic libraries
Paul Ojennus
Library Department, Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the appropriateness of gatekeeping theory, particularly
its recent elaboration in journalism and communication studies for the investigation of information flows in
academic libraries.
Design/methodo logy/approach –This paper uses the methods of conceptual analysis and
thought experiment.
Findings –This paper finds that current elaborations of gatekeeping theory are useful for modeling
library information flows, particularly identifying and evaluating influences on those flows. It is able to
reframe intransigent issues around library neutrality and open access so that more nuanced approaches can
be constructed.
Originality/value –Gatekeeping theory as elaborated by Shoemaker and Vos for journalism and
communication studies, while occasionally referenced the library and information science (LIS) literature, has
not been previously evaluated as a framework for library information flows. This is the first paper to assess
the potential of aspects of the theory such as levels of analysis and multiplicity of channels to reframe issues
in LIS.
Keywords Selection, Information management, Theory, Modelling, Academic libraries,
Gatekeeping theory
Paper type Research paper
Gatekeeping is a well-developed theory in the field of journalism and communications, and
scholars of Library and Information Science (LIS) have long recognized its potential to
model information flow in libraries. However, although terms like “gatekeeping”and
“gatekeeper”are readily recognized in LIS discourse, that discourse has not yet exploited
recent developments of the theory in journalism and communications, sometimes employing
them detached from the theory or cursorily referencing foundational studies such as Lewin
(1947, 1951). Gatekeeping theory within journalism and communications has become more
sophisticated, especially in the last 15 years, so a reexamination of gatekeeping as a model
for information flows in libraries promises to provide a useful framework for understanding
the increasingly fluid information landscape of twenty-first century libraries. The purpose
of this study, then, is to identify a current sophisticated instance of gatekeeping theory
within the field of journalism and communication, and model how it could be a useful
framework for understanding information flows in libraries. First, the background literature
will be reviewed, particularly to exemplify the current uses of gatekeeping concepts in LIS
discourse and their limitations, to identify an appropriate formulation of gatekeeping theory
in the literature of journalism and communications to serve as the basis to update the LIS
model of gatekeeping, and to identify topics in the LIS literature where gatekeeping theory
could elucidate problems or suggest solutions. Next, research questions that arise from this
review will be identified. Further, the method of conceptual analysis is introduced and its
appropriateness to the application of gatekeeping theory to LIS is explained. Then the model
available in journalism and communications is examined in detail and its applicability to the
library environment is explored. Finally, the gains of applying the model and avenues for
future research are discussed.
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 76 No. 2, 2020
pp. 389-408
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-03-2019-0051
Received 20 March 2019
Revised 6 August 2019
Accepted 7 August 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
389
Modelling
advances in
gatekeeping
Problem statement
Several applications of gatekeeping theory have arisen in LIS, particularly examining the
information behavior of ethnic groups from a sociological viewpoint, and in online
communities.These studies are firmlygrounded in particular instancesof gatekeeping theory.
However, the broader discourse in LIS sometimes uses concepts from gatekeeping theory,
particularly the terms “gatekeeper”and “gatekeeping function”without reference to the
theoretical background. This usage points to an opportunity to extend the framework
provided by gatekeeping theory to libraryinformation flows and to exploit the fullerrange of
concepts in gatekeeping theory, such as channels, forces at the gates and feedback loops.
Further, studiesthat do situate their usage of concepts from gatekeeping theory tend to look
to early statements of the theoryin journalism and communications, and have notalways kept
abreast of the development of gatekeeping theory in that field. In particular, gatekeeping
theory in journalism and communications has developed substantially since the early 2000s,
especially in response to developments in internet media and social media; since parallel
developments impact library information flows, LIS wouldbenefit by revisiting the discourse
of gatekeeping in journalism and communications. Finally, while being able to frame how
information passes through libraries with greater theoretical sophistication is satisfying in
itself, a renewed investigation of gatekeeping theory seems likely to provide a frame within
which it will be possible to approach issues such as open access and library neutrality with
greater sophistication.
Literature review
In reviewing the literature, three broad areas appear as relevant: previous applications of
gatekeeping theory within LIS, the synthesis of gatekeeping theory and its recent development
in journalism and communication, and identification of current issues in LIS that a revised
application of gatekeeping theory could help explicate.
Preliminary overview of gatekeeping theory
Before the literature review proper, it will be useful to provide an overview of the main
elements of gatekeeping theory that will be referenced in the review; a fuller analysis of the
theory itself will be given later. Gatekeeping theory in journalism and communications
describes the process by which a very large number of information items is narrowed to a
manageable number of news stories. Such information items must pass through various
“gates,”such as being selected by an editor. The person who controls such a gate, deciding
what is accepted or rejected for the next step is the “gatekeeper.”Naturally, news is not
controlled centrally, but passes through different “channels,”for example, different
newspapers or a newspaper in contrast to television news. Information may come from
different “sources,”for example a press-release as opposed to a reporter’s own investigation.
News stories, then arrive at “recipients,”for whose information needs and preferences the
gatekeepers may employ research or their professional judgment. One of the major recent
developments in gatekeeping theory looks at how recipients are able to participate in
“feedback loops”to news agencies through web pages and social media.
Gatekeeping in LIS literature
First, then, in the LIS literature, there appear two specific and theoretically grounded
applications of gatekeeping theory, relating to information flows in ethnic and online
communities, and, in addition, a diffuse, less grounded usage relating to library information
flows. Addressing the third usage,writers in LIS tend to assumea general familiarity with the
terms “gatekeeper”and “gatekeeping”as being conceptstaken from gatekeeping theory.Most
commonly these are used to express ideas along the lines that the gatekeeping function of
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