Library User Metaphors and Services

Download or read book Library User Metaphors and Services written by Carl Gustav Johannsen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2015-09-25 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do library professionals talk about and refer to library users, and how is this significant? In recent decades, the library profession has conceived of users in at least five different ways, viewing them alternatively as citizens, clients, customers, guests, or partners. This book argues that these user metaphors crucially inform librarians' interactions with the public, and, by extension, determine the quality and content of the services received. The ultimate aim of this book is to provide library professionals with insights and tools for avoiding common pitfalls associated with false or professionally inadequate conceptions of library users.