Library Conversations : Reclaiming Interpersonal Communication Theory for Understanding Professional Encounters

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ISBN-10:: 0838914845
ISBN-13:: 9780838914847
Pub. Date:: 10/21/2016
Publisher:: Ala/Library Video

Library Conversations : Reclaiming Interpersonal Communication Theory for Understanding Professional Encounters

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ISBN-13:	9780838914847
Publisher:	Ala/Library Video
Publication date:	10/21/2016
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Part 1 Reclaiming Theory for Library Contexts

Chapter 1 Interpersonal Communication as Practical Wisdom: Reclaiming Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics for the Professional Sphere 3

Chapter 2 Interpersonal Communication as Civil Communication: Reclaiming John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding 19

Chapter 3 A Relational View of Interpersonal Communication: Reclaiming Ruesch and Bateson's Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry 39

Chapter 4 An Interactional View of Interpersonal Communication: Reclaiming Watzlawick, Beavin Bavelas, and Jackson's Pragmatics of Human Communication 59

Part 2 Applying Theory to Reference Encounters

Chapter 5 Interpersonal Communication as Face-Work within Reference Encounters: Reclaiming Erving Goffman's "On Face-Work" 75

Chapter 6 A Content/Relational Model of Success in Reference Encounters 103

Chapter 7 Concluding Remarks: What Did We Learn? 147

Appendix: Physics/Bumper Car Transcript 151

About the Authors 155

Index 157

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Editorial Reviews

To be able to better communicate by being “fully present” during face-to-face and virtual interactions is the premise of Radford and Radford’s professional text. Through dissection of theoretical frameworks from powerhouses like Aristotle and contemporaries like Erving Goffman, the aim is that librarians attain successful encounters with the community and colleagues among others by reading the research and applying it with a fresh perspective to refocus our attention on communication. With examples of both face-to-face and virtual interactions in the text, the book does well providing concrete examples of reframing interactions for professional use. Yet, the clearest comment is that interpersonal communication cannot be replicated: examples can be provided, theories tested, research discussed, but it is what the communicants do and how the librarian connects theory and practice that provides the benefit. This caveat saves the text from being ineffectual. The most cited examples are in the public and academic library though the applicability is for any reference encounter and should not be judged as impractical for others. The book is straightforward and delivers on its intended description and for its intended audience though more visuals, text boxes, bullets, or summarization at chapter’s end would have helped readers digest the text-heavy information provided. Reviewer: Alicia Abdul;

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Alicia Abdul

03/01/2017
In scanning the literature pertaining to management, leadership, and professional effectiveness, it is rare to find a publication that does not feature the importance of communication. It is frequently included as a desired skill for job applicants, highlighted as necessary for healthy relationships, and referenced as an essential parenting tool. Marie Radford (library & information science, Rutgers; Leading the Reference Renaissance) and Gary Radford (communication studies, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ., NJ; On the Philosophy of Communication) bring the focus of effective interpersonal communication to bear on the librarian-patron reference encounter. The contents of this book are put together in a particularly interesting way, with the authors structuring the first half as a presentation on some of the foundational theory of interpersonal communication, then linking that theory to professional practice through examples taken from the library world. In the second half, they demonstrate how the theory introduced in part one can be applied to improve the outcomes of face-to-face and virtual reference interactions. VERDICT A satisfying combination of intellectual and practical, this work will appeal to librarians in public service positions and to those teaching or mentoring students preparing to join the profession.--Sara Holder, Univ. of Illinois Libs.

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