The Impact of the Network Society on the Professional Identity of Serbian Librarians

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.