Towards Sustainable Partnership: Examining Cross Perceptions of Public and Technical Services Academic Librarians

Abstract

Public services (PS) and technical services (TS) librarians play equally crucial roles in providing library services to meet user needs to support institutional goals. For PS and TS librarians to develop effective workplace collaborations, both groups must have a better understanding of the other side’s perspectives, values, and concerns. This paper sought to learn how librarians in the two areas currently perceive and/or stereotype each other. The authors conducted a survey on cross perceptions of public and technical services academic librarians. The study tested and confirmed assumptions that previous papers have made about the negative perceptions of TS librarians held by PS librarians. Analysis of survey results, however, found that TS respondents expected to be viewed more negatively than was evidenced by the PS responses. Nonetheless, both PS and TS respondents recognized and agreed on the important role that library technical services play within the larger context.