1

Contribution of Information Professionals in the Multidisciplinary World of Web Information Systems (WIS)***

Christine Dufour

École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information (EBSI), Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Qc), Canada H3C 3J7. Email: .

Pierrette Bergeron

École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information (EBSI), Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Qc), Canada H3C 3J7. Email: .

1

This paper presents the results from an analysis of the tasks of information professionals pertaining to Web information systems (WIS). This research was based on information professionals working in seven departments of the Canadian federal government. This study offers a better understanding of the information professionals' role in WIS, in the context of an organization heading toward becoming "digital". A qualitative content analysis was completed on the basis of 32 interviews conducted with information professionals involved in WIS. The results indicate that information professionals are performing tasks that can be grouped in four categories – content, technology, users, graphic interface. The predominant tasks are those related to the content, although the technological tasks and the WIS management task are also very present. Three factors were identified that have an impact on the involvement of information professionals in WIS: (1)the types of WIS, (2)the organizational levels represented by WIS, and (3)the types of positions filled by the information professionals.

Background and purpose

On several occasions in the past, information professionals had to rethink their profession, because they were challenged by internal changes, such as the development of new knowledge, as well as external changes, such as the emergence of new types of organization or of new technologies (Abbott, 1988). Nowadays the evolution of networking technologies, such as the Web, induces such another redefinition process (Abbas, 1997; Dolan & Schumacher, 1997; Marfleet & Kelly, 1999; Mount, 1997; Noble, 1998; Rao & Babu, 2001).

*Acknowledgements: Christine Dufour benefited from doctoral grants from the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l'aide à la recherche (FCAR), the Social science and humanities research council (SSHRC), the Fondation J.A. DeSève and the EBSI. This work was part of a projectthat benefits from a grant from the SSHRC – standard research grant.

Web information systems (WIS) are information systems based on Web technologies and falling under four general categories (intranet, external Web site, extranet, e-commerce system) (Isakowitz et al., 1998). These are some of the technologies currently challenging the information professionals. WIS are increasingly adopted by organizations (Lamb, 1999), such as governments who are gradually evolving into e-governments. The Canadian government is recognized as one of the most innovative in terms of WIS (Accenture, 2003) and has clearly stated its objective to become one of the most connected governments in the world.

However, no reference models exist either for the many involved in WIS nor for the related organizational units and competencies. Without guidelines, organizations have to proceed by trial and error with the costs and problems that can arise in terms of the WIS quality and of the optimal use of the organizational competencies available. The role of information professionals in WIS, in particular, is not well known and, when it is documented, no consensus arises. But, as players in information and knowledge management in organizations, the information professionals should be involved in WIS.

This paper presents the results of a study that aims at gaining a better understanding of the tasks of information professionals pertaining to Canadian federal government WIS.

Methodology

This research is a descriptive and exploratory study that uses a qualitative approach. Two different means of collecting data were used: (1) in-depth, face-to-face interviews with information professionals involved in WIS, and (2)the relevant documentation contained within their working environment. The interviews were conducted either in English or in French and were of an average length of one hour. A semi-structured interview guide was designed and the same person conducted all the interviews. The data collection extended from Fall 2001 to Winter 2003.

A qualitative content analysis of the transcription of the interviews was completed using both deductive categories built from the conceptual framework and the research questions, and inductive categories emerging from the data. The analysis was achieved in two main steps. A first analysis was completed on the basis of half the interviews and a second one after the completion of all the interviews, at the end of the data gathering process. The qualitative content analysis was performed using Nud*ist.

The respondents were information professionals1 working at the head offices of seven departments of the Canadian federal government. These departments were chosen for the extent of their involvement in WIS. The evaluation of their involvement in WIS was based on two criteria: (1)the presence of WIS-related units and positions as reflected by the electronic directory of the Canadian government on the Web, authenticated through a search of WIS-related keywords, such as "Internet", "Web", "intranet", "extranet", and "electronic commerce" (both in English and French), in units names and positions titles, and (2) the departments' reputation in terms of WIS as shown by awards, such as the Agatha-Bystram Award, as well as well-known projects. A senior officer involved in the Government On-Line initiative at the Chief Information Office of the Treasury Board Secretariat validated the list of departments chosen. The information professionals were identified by way of telephone interviews with persons in charge of WIS-related units as well as from the snowball technique.

Few documents were collected from the information professionals interviewed. In particular, flowcharts and tasks descriptions were difficult to obtain, as they often appeared to be outdated. The few relevant documents obtained were added to the content analysis.

Findings

The results are presented in the following order: (1)profile of the information professionals involved in WIS, (2) description of the WIS in which the information professionals interviewed are involved, (3)information professionals' WIS-related tasks, (4)analysis of the information professionals' WIS-related tasks, and (5)respondents' perception of the place information professionals should have in WIS.

Profile of the WIS-involved information professionals who were interviewed

Thirty-two information professionals from the seven departments were interviewed. Two thirds of the respondents (n=22) are women, and the majority of the interviews (n=25) were conducted in English. Approximately one third of the respondents (n=11) were in their positions for less than one year, approximately another third (n=13) for between one and five years and the others (n=8) for more than six years. Slightly more than 56% of the respondents were working with WIS for more than six years (Table 1).

Table 1. Number of respondents by number of years in their actual position and by number of years working with WIS (N=32).

NUMBER OF YEARS
/ NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
Actual position / Work with WIS
<1 year / 11 (34%) / 1 (%)
1-5 years / 13 (41%) / 13 (41%)
6-10 years / 7 (22%) / 18 (56%)
16-20 years / 1 (3%) / 0 (0%)

The information professionals interviewed come from many disciplinary fields, in addition to librarianship and information sciences: linguistic and literature, social sciences and sciences (including information technologies (n=2), multimedia (n=2) and computer science (n=1)). Very few have an initial training related to technology. Approximately 63% (n=20) of the respondents belonged to information services (Table 2). Near 85% (n=27) of the respondents had a classification code for their position related to teaching and librarianship (LS) (Table 2).

Description of the WIS in which the information professionals interviewed are involved

The information professionals interviewed were involved (1) in specific WIS, such as the intranet of an information service, and (2) in more global tasks affecting the overall WIS of an organizational level, such as developing policies for all the WIS of a department. In terms of the general characterization of the specific WIS in which the respondents were directly involved, the WIS under investigation represented three organizational levels: departments, divisions and information services (Figure 1). The information services were the most represented (slightly more than 50% of the WIS analyzed). In terms of general types, an almost equal number of intranets and external Web sites were found (respectively 11 and 10) but no extranets or e-commerce systems.

Number of WIS by organizational level and general type

Figure 1: General characterization of the specific WIS in which the respondents are directly involved (N=21).

Information professionals' WIS-related tasks

Among their tasks, the information professionals identified 24 WIS tasks. Almost all of those tasks can be grouped in four categories (Table 3) while others belong to multiple categories (Table 4). The predominant tasks were those related to content, but technological tasks, as well as the WIS management task, were also very present. The less frequent tasks were those related to graphic interface, users and policies. The definitions of the tasks as well as examples can be found in Appendix 1.

Analysis of the information professionals' WIS-related tasks

Different factors were identified that suggest variation in the WIS-related tasks executed by the respondents: namely, the general types of WIS, the organizational levels represented by WIS, and the types of positions filled by the information professionals.

The first factor is the general types of WIS in which the respondents are involved, that is, intranets or external Web sites. The WIS-related tasks executed by the respondents for these two types of WIS were quite similar, and thus, the same categories of WIS-related tasks were found. The only difference concerned the task of developing electronic collections, which appeared only in the controlled environment of intranets, as those collections are usually subject to fees.

The second factor is the organizational levels represented by WIS. The information professionals were involved in WIS representing four organizational levels: the government, departments, divisions and information services. The emphasis on the different categories of tasks varied with the scope of the systems, going from a more global intervention on the departmental WIS with the WIS management and the management of WIS content, to an involvement in all the tasks for the WIS representing information services.

Finally the WIS-related tasks executed by the respondents varied also with the types of positions they fill (Figure 2). The information professionals working in a manager position were mostly involved in the overall WIS management and planning. The webmasters, also involved in the WIS management, were strongly working on the WIS content. The system librarians were mainly involved in technological tasks with the management and operation of the library-related technologies integrated in WIS. Finally, the other types of information professionals (for example reference librarians) had tasks related to different aspects of the WIS, such as content, WIS management and policies.

Figure 2: Particularities of the intervention in WIS of the respondents in terms of the types of position they fill.

Respondents' perception of the place information professionals should have in WIS

The respondents were asked about their perception of the place information professionals should have in WIS. They identified the same categories of tasks as those for their WIS-related tasks (Table 5).

Table Respondents' perception of the categories of tasks in which information professionals should be involved.

CATEGORIES OF TASKS / NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS (N=31)
Content / 25 (81%)
Users / 11 (35%)
Multiple categories tasks / 9 (29%)
Technologies / 2 (6%)
Graphic interface / 1 (3%)

The "content" and "users" categories of tasks were the most identified by the respondents. The "content" category was the one that seemed to be the most natural for information professionals, particularly for the organization of content. The added-value of information professionals in terms of their knowledge of the users and of how they search for information was also frequently mentioned. In addition, the respondents identified attention to details and the global vision of the information professionals as an added-value.

The results showed that there are similarities between the place that information professionals should have in WIS and the place they really occupy. Firstly, the same categories of tasks were identified. Secondly, the tasks related to the content were the most predominant and the tasks related to the graphic interface were the less evident. However, a different emphasis is placed on the tasks related to technologies and to users. As observed, the technological tasks were more likely to be present than in the "ideal" described by the respondents. Although the technological tasks were part of the daily work of many respondents, they seemed not to perceive them as specific to information professionals, but instead as an effect of the decentralization of those tasks in some environments. There is also a different emphasis put on the "users" category. The interaction with users was more evident in the "ideal" description than is observed, maybe because the respondents did not consider them as specific to WIS in their daily work.

As found by other researchers (Adourian & Schweyer, 1997; Balas, 2001; Crosby 2000-2001; Longo, 2001; Matson & Bonski, 1997; Weir, 2000), some respondents described the involvement of information professionals in WIS as an extension of their classical tasks (n=10), the WIS being a new information media (n=6). Even though some respondents perceived their place in WIS as important (n=4) and increasingly recognized (n=2), some obstacles exist that may inhibit their involvement. The respondents identified seven obstacles to the involvement of information professionals in WIS (Table 6).

Table 6: Respondents' perception of the obstacles to the involvement of information professionals in WIS.

OBSTACLES
/ NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS (N=30)
Characteristics of the information professional profession: not a well known profession, feminization of the profession / 23 (77%)
Other groups involved / competition / 17 (57%)
Individual characteristics: bad "sellers", passiveness, lack of confidence in their capacities / 16 (53%)
WIS characteristics: partial understanding of the WIS, technologies in perpetual evolution / 11 (37%)
Incomplete training and competencies / 6 (20%)
Lack of resources / 5 (17%)
Culture: Web and information considered as source of power / 4 (13%)

The main four obstacles concern information professionals, the WIS and the other key-players involved in WIS. The respondents indirectly suggested some factors that can facilitate the integration of information professionals in WIS, such as:

  • Information professionals' involvement in some WIS-related project to reinforce the recognition of their professional competencies;
  • Participation of information professionals in WIS-related committees;
  • Adequate WIS-related training of information professionals;
  • Emergence of WIS-related information problems as, for example, information overload or difficulties of finding information in a WIS because of an inadequate organization of the information.

Discussion

The categories of WIS-related tasks preformed by the respondents correspond to those identified in the literature (Dufour, 2003). Some respondents said that the "multidisciplinarity" of information professionals predisposes them to manage and coordinate WIS, as well as to act as intermediaries. However, this research revealed new tasks (Table 7): namely, the compliance with policies, the management of technologies, the design management, the updating of knowledge and the evaluation of the WIS performance.

With regard to the "content" and "graphic interface" categories, our research corresponds to the literature. In both, the content tasks are predominant and the graphic interface tasks are practically absent. However, this is not the case for the "technologies" category and the policies-related tasks. This study found that the technological tasks were more evident than in the literature. It also revealed a greater variety in the policies' scope as well as in the decisional power of information professionals in the development of policies.

This study has some theoretical and methodological limitations. The main limitation consists in the application domain of the study. This study examined the Canadian federal government, more specifically seven departments where WIS are present. The qualitative approach used does not permit statistical generalization but does enable analytical generalization of the results, i.e., an in-depth understanding of a complex phenomenon, leading to the elaboration of new models or to the completion of existing theories (Babbie, 1990; Mucchielli, 1996; Yin, 2003). In other words, the actual results were obtained from the Canadian federal government context, but they suggest new models that may be validated in other contexts. Different means were used to assure the confirmability of the results as well as the credibility, the reliability and the transferability of the conclusions, such as data triangulation, presentation of the results to colleagues and peers, detailed documentation of the methods and processes used, and development of a database of the cases. Furthermore, the research gains additional credibility and reliability from the fact that the Canadian government is considered as one of the most innovative governments in terms of WIS. Thus the results should be transferable to similar contexts, for example, to other departments of the Canadian government and to other levels of governments.

Conclusions

The results of this study show that information professionals are involved in many different ways in WIS through tasks related to content, technologies, users, and graphic interface. The observations are somewhat similar to those discussed by the literature, but there are numerous differences, notably in the field of the technological tasks, which are more evident than expected. The results suggest that some factors changed the nature of information professionals' involvement in WIS: namely, the general types of WIS, the organizational levels represented by WIS, and the types of positions filled by the information professionals.

This study has theoretical, methodological and practical implications. One of its theoretical implications is that it contributes to our knowledge about the roles of information professionals in WIS. This research also illustrates that a qualitative approach is appropriate to study this phenomenon. Moreover, it contributes to our field by the development of a validated framework for information professionals' WIS-related tasks (see Appendix 1). Finally, this research has practical implications in the form of recommendations for (1)institutions and associations that train information professionals in WIS-related context, and (2)organizations to better understand the WIS and the roles played by information professionals in WIS.