Table Of ContentLibraries and public perceptions:
A comparative analysis of the
European press.
Methodological insights
AnnaGalluzzi
1 Premise
Measuringandassessingthequalityoflibraryservicesisaninte-
gralpartofthemanagerialapproachtolibraries(Solimine). Asa
consequence,whereapatron-drivenapproachismorerootedand
libraryisconceivedasasocialinstitution(Traniello)andmanaged
asacomplexorganisation,theneedtoadoptassessingtoolsinorder
toexplicittheresultsgainedbylibraryserviceswasfeltearlierand
moreintensely. Inrecenttimes,themainlyquantitativeapproach
hasturnedtoaproperlyqualitativeoneandtoolslikeinterviews
andfocusgroupshavebeenadoptedtoletpatrons’expectationsand
perceptionsaboutlibrariesandtheirservicescomingout(Pickard;
Faggiolani). Asaconsequenceofusingthemethodsofthesocialsci-
ences(Bryman;Corbetta)andmovingfromtherelativeobjectivityof
quantitativedatatothesubstantialsubjectivityofopinions,thelevel
ofcomplexityofevaluationhasgrown, aswellasthecapacityto
understandthephenomenawhichaffectthelibrarylife. Underthis
JLIS.it.Vol.5,n.1(Gennaio/January2014).
DOI:10.4403/jlis.it-8987
A.Galluzzi,Librariesandpublicperceptions
methodologicalframework,libraryqualityinallitsmeaningsand
sideswasfirstemphasised;latertheanalysishasgonebeyondthe
boundariesofthelibraryenvironment. Facedwiththedeepchanges
occurredinthesocial,economicandtechnologicalcontext,libraries
needtoprovetheirusefulnessinincreasingthesocialwealthandbe
surethisisrecognisedbythesocietyasawhole. Overthelastyears
there has been much research and discussion about the future of
libraries(Coffman;Bell;LankesR.;“America’sLibrariesforthe21st
Century: Anannotatedbibliography”; Osif,“W(h)itherlibraries?
Thefutureoflibraries,part1”;“W(h)itherlibraries? Thefutureofli-
braries,part2”),particularlypubliclibraries(DiDomenico;Galluzzi,
“Chenesaràdell’imperobibliotecario?”;“Bibliotechepubblichetra
crisidelwelfareebenicomunidellaconoscenza. Rischieopportu-
nità”;Bibliotecheperlacittà. Nuoveprospettivediunserviziopubblico;
Levien; Salarelli; Conti); the numerous papers and contributions
range from the analysis of new models and new perspectives of
libraryservicesinthedigitaleratotheinvestigationofthecultural,
political and sociological premises libraries are based upon. The
economic crisis has exacerbated this situation as libraries are fac-
ingincreasingbudgetcutsandforcedclosures.1 Consequently,the
issueofthefutureoflibrarieshasgonebeyondtheboundariesof
thelibrarians’playground,floodingthegroundofpublicopinion
bymeansofthemassmedia. Inthesedifficulttimes,manymeth-
ods have been applied to prove the social and economic impact
oflibraries(Poll,“Idaticheabbiamoeidatichepotremmoavere:
nuovisviluppinellavalutazionedellebiblioteche”;Bibliography“Im-
pact and outcome of libraries”; Chiessi; Ventura, La biblioteca rende:
Impatto sociale e economico di un servizio culturale; “La valutazione
1Thefollowingarejustacoupleofexamplesofwebsitesborntodebatethebudget
cutsandthelibraryclosuresintheUK,topublishnewsabouttheseissuesand
toadvocateforlibraries: http://www.publiclibrariesnews.comandhttp://www.
voicesforthelibrary.org.uk
JLIS.it. Vol.5,n.1(Gennaio/January2014).Art.#8987 p.44
JLIS.it.Vol.5,n.1(Gennaio/January2014)
dellabibliotecapubblica: problematicheestrumentidimisurazione
dell’impattoculturale,socialeeeconomico”;MarklessandStreat-
field)and,inmanycases,theresultingreportshavecontributedto
puttinglibrariesonthepoliticalagenda. Nonetheless,themethods
usedsofararemainlylibrary-centredandnotfarenoughfromthe
libraryworldtocatchontheprevailingandindefinitefeelingsper-
meatingsociety. Thisiswhytheanalysisofnewspapershasbeen
figuredoutasanalternativemethodtomeasuretherelevanceand
thepublicperceptionoflibraries(Thelwall;GiménezGuardiolaand
Pedreño). Lookingatnewspapersisanattempttomoveoutsidethe
specialisedliteratureconcerninglibraries. Approachingnewspapers
for this type of research requires awareness of the strengths and
weaknessesofthismethodwhichareaconsequenceofthespecific
characteristicsnewspapershaveassourcesofinformationandof
theirrelationwiththepublicopinionbuildingprocess(Barsamian
andChomsky;Habermas). Consequently,itisessentialtooutline
hownewspaperswork(Zelizer;Boldrini;LorussoandVioli;Martin
andCopeland;SheridanBurns). Newspapersmaketheirnewsse-
lection starting mainly from the national and international press
agencies. Thismeansthatthedecisiontopublishapieceofnews
dependsonthecharacteristicsandnatureofthenewspaperandis
byitselfanaspecttobeanalysedandinterpreted. Theselectionof
news publishedon newspapers depends onthe issues which are
consideredofparamountinterestfortheirreadershiporthosetobe
puttotheattentionofthepublicopinion. Newspapersarecrucial
indefiningthepoliticalagendaastheyareimportantloudspeakers
ofthemainopinionleaders,groups,lobbiesandmovementsand
deeplyaffectthepublicperception. Ontheotherhand,itisundeni-
ablethatnowadaystraditionalnewspapersarenottheoneandonly
conveyorsofpublicopinions. Theirinitialroleininformingcitizens
andspreadinginformationhasbeencomplementedandpartially
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A.Galluzzi,Librariesandpublicperceptions
replacedbyothercommunicationmedia: firstradioandtelevision,
thentheInternet. Fromthepointsofviewofpromptnessandaudi-
ence,thetraditionalnewspapershavebeencompletelywallopedby
theothermedia. Nonetheless,theyhavereactedreinforcingtheir
roleincommenting,debatingandanalysingthenews,whichhas
beenfurtherboostedbythelaunchofthe2.0newspapers’websites.
In sum, though newspapers are not completely representative of
thepublicopinionanymore,theyareanimportantdetectorofthe
issuesatstakeandtheirnonspecialised-evensometimesinaccurate
- approach is particularly useful in bringing out stereotypes and
generalopinions. Consequently,theycanofferaninterestingpoint
ofview,particularlyonsmallersubjectslikelibraries.
2 Aims and contents of the research
This research aims at quantifying and qualifying the presence of
issuesconcerninglibrariesintheEuropeanpressoverthelastyears
(Faggiolani; Bryman; Pickard) in order to answer the following
researchquestions:
• whicharethemostdiscussedtopicsconcerninglibrariesand
havetheychangedoverthelastyears?
• are there any significant differences between the European
countriesinthedebateaboutlibraries?
• are there any significant differences between the European
newspapersinthedebateaboutlibraries?
Thechronologicalspancoveredbytheresearchisfiveyears,from
2008to2012. Thischoicewasmadebecause2008isgenerallycon-
sideredthestartingpointoftheeconomiccrisiswhichisstilldeeply
affectingtheWesterneconomiesandpoliticalscenarios. Asforthe
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JLIS.it.Vol.5,n.1(Gennaio/January2014)
geographicalcoverage, thefocushasbeenputonEurope, theso-
called ”old continent”, which is currently observed with special
attentionbytheWesterncountriesandtheothernationsbasedon
capitalisticeconomies,asitisthemaintheatrewheretheeconomic
crisis is deploying its heavy consequences. The countries taken
intoaccountaretheUnitedKingdom,France,SpainandItaly,since
they are considered representative of different areas and cultural
traditionsinEurope,aswellasexpressionofdiverseeconomicand
politicalsituations. Asecondselectionwasmadeamongthenumer-
ousprintnewspaperspublished,withtheobjectiveofchoosingtwo
titlesforeachcountryaccordingtothefollowingbasiccriteria. The
twonewspaperswerepickedamongthoseofnationalrelevance,the
mostwidespreadandtheoldestineachcountry,avoiding-ifpos-
sible-thoseofficiallyrepresentingpoliticalpartiesandtheradical
ones. Attentionwasalsoputincoveringboththecentre-leftarea
and the centre-right, in order to have different points of view on
similarissuesandmoreelementstoexplaintheweighteachnews-
papergivesspecifictopicsinrelationtogovernmentalpolicies. The
economicandsportnewspaperswerenottakenintoaccount. The
selectednewspapersarethefollowing:
• TheUnitedKingdom:TheTimes(centre-right)andTheGuardian
(centre-left)
• France: LeFigaro(centre-right)andLeMonde(centre)
• Spain: ElMundo(centre-right)andElPaís(centre-left)
• Italy: CorrieredellaSera(centre/liberalism)andLaRepubblica
(centre-left)
AsforItaly,whileLaRepubblicaevidentlybelongstothecentre-left
area,IlCorrieredellaSeracannotbeconsideredaright-wingnews-
paper;itratherisanexpressionofliberalismand,fromapolitical
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A.Galluzzi,Librariesandpublicperceptions
point of view, is closer to the centre area. France has a similar
situation,sinceLeMondecanbeclassifiedasbelongingtothecentre-
area, whereas the left is represented by more radical titles. The
databases used to go through the chosen newspapers were Lexis
NexisTM NewsforLeMondeonlyandFactivaTM foralltheothertitles.
For all the newspapers - whenever possible - the source selected
wasthenationalprintedition(withoutthelocaleditions). Thecov-
erage guaranteed by the same database for different newspapers
is not always comparable, depending upon the agreements with
thepublishers. Insum,allthetitlescoverthenationalprintedition
andencompassthesupplements;twoofthem,ElPaìsandCorriere
della Sera, include the regional or local editions too. In one case,
LaRepubblica,thoughthedatabasedeclaresthatregionaleditions
areavailableasseparatesources,thefallinthenumberofarticles
retrievedfrom2011on(seefigure1onpage50)makesclearthat,
forthepreviousperiod(2008-2010)thedatabaseencompassedthe
pagesofthelocaleditionsaswell. Thislackofconsistencycannot
becorrected,asitisnotpossibletoclearlydistinguishthearticles
coming from the national edition and those included in the local
ones. Thisiswhythecomparisonsbetweentheabsolutenumbers
of articles for each country and newspaper were avoided and a
statistical analysis of the data was needed to make the numbers
meaningful. Thekeywordsusedasqueryparametersinthefulltext
searchwere”librar*”and”bibliot*”(accordingtothelanguageof
thenewspaper). FortheFrenchnewspapersonly,asecondquery
wasperformedusing”mediat*”askeywordinthefulltextsearch,in
ordertoavoidlosingthearticlesconcerningpubliclibraries(which
aremainlycalled”médiathèques”inFrance).
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3 The numbers
The articles retrieved using the above-mentioned parameters are
41,611. After the retrieval of the articles responding to the query
parameters, the second step was to select the pertinent ones, i.e.
thosearticleswhichconcernlibrariesinapropersense. Theuses
oftheterms”library”and”librarians”whichwerenotconsidered
pertinentarethefollowing:
• personallibraries;
• housefurniture;
• theplacewhereaneventoranexhibitionisheld;
• theplacewhereamurderoracrimeoccurs;
• thetitleofabookseries;
• abunchofphysicalordigitalobjects(e.g. iTunesasamusic
digitallibrary);
• thenameofsectionsofnewspapers;
• idiomaticexpressionsandfiguresofspeechencompassingthe
term”library”,like”LibraryofBabel”or”bookworm”(which
is”librarymouse”inFrench,ItalianandSpanish);
• librariescitedintenderannouncements;
• librariescitedinbiographiesandstories.
Thepertinentarticlesare3,659.
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A.Galluzzi,Librariesandpublicperceptions
Figure1:Overallnumbersofthearticlesexaminedandpertinentones
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4 Processing the articles
Aftertheselection,atextandcontentanalysisofthearticleswascar-
riedout(NeuendorfandCopeland;Krippendorff). Tosupportthis
processmanycomputersoftwareforqualitativedataanalysisare
available,whichhelpinorganizingandanalyzingnon-numerical
andunstructureddata. Asforthisresearch, theprosandconsof
using this type of software were attentively evaluated. Though
aware of the many advantages (speed, completeness, objectivity
and precision) of an automatic processing, the risk to think that
the whole analysis could be delegated to computer software, in-
steadofusingthemtospeedupandenhanceit,wasgivenaspecial
credit. In fact, without a previous coding process, the automatic
searchofkeywordsthroughoutthetextswasdeemedtobepoten-
tiallymisleading. Withouttheappropriatequestioningduringthe
analysis, theriskeithertorunthewrongproceduresandqueries
ortocreatefictitiousrelationshipsamongconceptsanddocuments
wasconsideredhigh. Furthermore,inthiscasetheanalysisofarti-
clesinfourdifferentlanguageswouldhaveincreasedthevariables
and the potential inconsistency of the results. All things consid-
ered, the analysis was carried out manually and no text analysis
software was used, starting from the firm belief that no software
canreplacehumanreasoning. Acertaindegreeofsubjectivitywas
consideredsomewhatinevitableandacceptable,providedthatthe
reasoningislogicalandintelligibleandtheresultsareconsistent.
Firstofall,eacharticlewasidentifiedwithaunivocalnameandan
TM
Excel worksheetwaspreparedtohosttheresultsofthecoding.
Then,thearticleswereanalysedandcoded. Codingwrittentexts
presentsnearlythesameproblemsassubjectindexingandclassifica-
tion,thoughinalessformalisedcontext(NeuendorfandCopeland;
Krippendorff). Inparticular,thefollowingmainaspectsofthetext
andcontentanalysisweretakenintoconsideration:
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A.Galluzzi,Librariesandpublicperceptions
• thedifferentwaysofconveyingthesameconcepts(synonyms
andquasi-synonyms);
• the need to distinguish among different types of concepts
(mainconcepts,theirattributesandsoon);
• theneedtoclarifytherelationshipsamongconcepts(forex-
ample,parent/children).
ThisiswhyTextanalysisisagradualprocess,asaclearermapof
conceptsandtheirrelationshipscanbeapproachedonlybymeans
ofsubsequentattempts.Atthebeginning,thetextswerecarefullyre-
viewedandallconceptsandideaswereannotatedastheyappeared
andthengrouped. Afterwards,thearticleswerecodedaccordingto
thefollowingcategoriesandsub-categories:
• country
• newspapertitle
• yearofpublication
• prevalenceornotoflibrariesassubjectofthearticle
• typeoflibraryconsidered:Public,National,Academic,School,
Special/Specialised,Nospecificationormorethanonetype
• maintopicofthearticle:Mission/Roles,Conservation/Holdings/
Catalogue, Digitisation/Digital libraries, History, Reading/
Marketing,Politics/Strategy/Management,Libraryclosures/
Budget cuts, Internet/E-book/Technology, Services/Users,
Staff/Recruitment, New libraries/New buildings, Acquisi-
tions/Openaccess,Buildings/Architecture.
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