Public libraries: roles in Big Data

Published date05 February 2018
Pages133-145
Date05 February 2018
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2016-0134
AuthorMing Zhan,Gunilla Widén
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet
Public libraries: roles in Big Data
Ming Zhan and Gunilla Widén
Department of Information Studies, Åbo Akademi, Turku, Finland
Abstract
Purpose The purposeof this paper is to explore the roles of public libraries in the contextof Big Data.
Design/methodology/approach A mixed method approach was used and had two main data
collection phases. A survey of publiclibraries was used to generate an overview of which professional roles
connect publiclibraries with Big Data. Eight roles were identied,namely, educator, marketer, data organiser,
data container, advocator, advisor, developer and organisation server. Semi-structured interviews with
library directors and managers werethen conducted to gain a deeper understanding of these roles and how
they connectto the librarys overall functions.
Findings Results of the survey indicatedthat librarians lack a proper comprehension of and a pragmatic
application ofBig Data. Their opinions on the eight roles are slightlystronger than neutral. However, they do
not demonstrate any strong agreement on these eight roles.In the interviews, the eight roles attained more
clear supportand are classied into two groups: service-orientedand system-oriented roles.
Originality/value As an emerging researcheld, Big Data is not widely discussed in the librarycontext,
especially in public libraries.Therefore, this study lls a research gap between public libraries and Big Data.
In addition, Big Data in public libraries could be well managed and readily approached by citizens in
undertakingsuch roles, which entails that public libraries will eventuallybenet from the Big Data era.
Keywords Big Data, Public libraries, Professional roles
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Even though there is no accurate gure for the amount of data created daily, there is no
doubt that we are living in a generation of data explosion. Data is dened as unprocessed
information in information science(Hey, 2004), such as footfall, online browsing history and
trip routes, which are automaticallyrecorded every day. Accordingly, society is faced with,
on the one hand, challenges in handling issues,such as privacy protection and data storage
capabilities, and, on the other hand, opportunities that could and should be realised. As
such, Big Data emerges concomitantly, which changes the way society adapts to manage
and govern the data (Chen and Zhang, 2014).
According to studies by Heidorn (2011) and Gordon-Murnane (2012), libraries are now
reaching a data-richness condition as well, owingto their ease of access to the internet and
the worldwide availability, affordability and applicability of digital devices, the increasing
number of digital resourcetypes and the advanced technology necessary for data collecting,
recording, analysing and aggregating. In other words, libraries are heading towards a
situation where Big Data is continuouslyimportant due to technological developments and
the condition of data-richness. Therefore, the inuencestemming from Big Data is obvious
in the context of libraries. As a knowledge hub, public libraries undertake the role of
supporting citizens in organising their personal information. As Big Data has been
demonstrated to have positive effects on pragmatic processes, such as knowledge
The authors acknowledge the nancial support from Turku City and the help of Kalle Varila from
Turku Main Library. In addition, they are grateful for all the participants in the survey and the
interviews, and comments and suggestions received from scholars and librarians.
Roles in Big
Data
133
Received14 June 2016
Revised30 March 2017
Accepted20 May 2017
TheElectronic Library
Vol.36 No. 1, 2018
pp. 133-145
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-06-2016-0134
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm

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