Abstract:
This case study is exploratory as it seeks to determine how Serbian librarians self-report
their involvement in the global network society as defined by Castells and how they
report this interaction as influencing their view of Serbian professional librarianship.
The researcher took 2 study trips to Serbia to obtain background information on this
topic. This qualitative study design used semi-structured questions to interview 13
informants via Skype about their experiences as a practicing librarian in Serbia. These
informants included individuals that were males and females; that had varied
educational backgrounds; varied job titles and experiences; and those who were just
beginning their career; those that were mid-career; and those that were later career.
Content analysis was utilized to connect themes found in interviews and themes
suggested by the theory base. This study found that Serbian librarians communicate
locally, regionally, and globally, both passively and actively, and also with varying
degrees of collaboration. Informants shared many spheres of influence that helped them
define their roles and goals in their professional practice. In many ways, informants
indicated identity building that extends Castell’s concepts of legitimizing identity;
resistance identity; and project identity. Likewise, the informants’ focus on professional
practice suggests similarities to Hicks’ (2014) concepts of librarian professional identity.
