5.4.5 Asking a librarian for help

Being able to assess the level of independence of library customers, whakapapa researchers in particular, has implications for staffing in public libraries. If particular segments of library users are especially independent, or more reliant on librarian assistance this could have effects on allocations of staff time and staffing levels. For this reason respondents were asked how often per research visit they asked for a librarian’s assistance (Appendix 2, Question 13). Again whakapapa researchers seem to be more dependent on librarian assistance than those genealogists surveyed in Kuglin’s (2004) study, with 25% reporting that they asked for assistance more than once per visit (Chart 13). Kuglin’s research found that less than 10% of genealogists made multiple requests per visit and in fact over 60% of genealogists needed help less than once per visit, indicating that genealogists are reasonably independent researchers.
Chart 13.Respondents were also asked what they asked for librarian assistance with (Appendix 2, Question 14). They were asked to identify 4 reasons that they asked for help but many respondents did not choose 4 options and 2 respondents ticked the “I have never asked a librarian for help” option, in addition to 3 other options. As these answers contradicted themselves these 2 questionnaires were not included in the analysed data for this question (Table 5).
Table 5. Reasons for asking a librarian for help Although in both this and Kuglin’s study, finding a source that the respondent already knew the name of was the most often selected option, differences emerge beyond this point. Of note is that finding a whānau/family name was the second equal most selected option in this study but was the least often selected option in Kuglin’s study. This may be due to the fact that in New Zealand Māori surnames are often less common than European names and are often linked to particular geographical or tribal areas. This also has resonance with the research carried out by Duff & Johnson (2003) who found that genealogists using archival material would be greatly helped by indexing or finding aids that focused on personal names. Names are clearly an important entry point for whakapapa researchers also. On the whole technical problems to do with the use of machines and other technology did not rank as highly as requests for help in accessing information. Whakapapa researchers are reasonably likely to ask about how to use a source they have already found, with this option coming third. This is not surprising given their underuse of the instructions and introductions of specific sources as discussed earlier (see 5.4.3 Using sources of information effectively).