Something for everyone? A content analysis of provincial library association conference sessions
Date
2010
Authors
Wilson, Virginia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Partnership: Provincial and Territorial Library Associations of Canada
ORCID
Type
Article
Refereed Paper
Refereed Paper
Degree Level
Abstract
Objective:
To determine the breakdown of provincial library association conference sessions by
the following categories: library sector, library group, and topic.
Methods:
A content analysis of five years worth of conference sessions from three western
Canadian provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, using an evidence
based library and information practice framework.
Results:
287 out of the 551 total sessions over the five years analyzed targeted all library
sectors. 194 sessions targeted public libraries, 70 focused on school libraries, 66 were
for academic libraries, and 7 specifically targeted special libraries. 201 out of the 551
total sessions could be of interest to all groups; 334 were of particular interest to
librarians; 122 were targeted towards library technicians, 54 sessions targeted library
workers; and 89 sessions were specifically for trustees. Management was the most
popular session topic, followed by Culture, Information Access and Retrieval,
Collections, Professional Issues, Programming, Reference, and Education.
Conclusions:
Although public library sessions did indeed dominate, when individual sectors were
examined, sessions appropriate for every library sector outnumbered everything else.
The majority of sessions were of particular interest to librarians, and Management was
the most popular session topic.
Description
Virginia Wilson, MA MLIS;
Client Services Librarian, Murray Library;
University of Saskatchewan;
Room 122 Murray Building,
3 Campus Drive,
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4;
Tel: 306-966-1621; virginia.wilson@usask.ca
Keywords
library conferences, conference programs, content analysis, library sectors
Citation
Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, vol. 5, no. 1 (2010)