The meaning of brand in scholarly publishing and academic librarianship

Hazel WoodwardUniversity Librarian Cranfield University

Presentation to the Charleston Conference, November 2010

Who do we trust?The librarian’s perspective

Academics and brand trust

• Academics contribute to the brand trust of journals by writing articles which are original, ethical and truthful

• They undertake peer review (although there are no peer review standards)

• They act as editors and editorial board members of journals and ensure that only high quality content is accepted for publication

• High quality content is a pre-requisite of a trusted journal brand

Academics, students and brand trust

• Academics contribute to the brand trust of the library by recommending quality information resources for our collections

• They also influence students perceptions of trusted information brands:

“Doctoral supervisors exert a powerful influence over many aspects of our research, including identifying and choosing our resources and how we use technology to do our research”

Researchers of Tomorrow Study, 2010

(JISC & BL)

Doctoral students and brand trust

• We readily embrace technology and new applications. However, we are sceptical about the inherent merits of technology and do not equate ease of access with quality of resource.”

• “We are willing to put in effort to learn to use new technology tools providing the tools complement existing ways of working, there are clear impacts on our research, and support is readily available”

Librarians and brand trust

• When it comes to scholarly publishing, librarians are “piggy in the middle”

• We are the purchasers of scholarly publications, but not the consumers

• We have to rely on, and trust, both academics & researchers and scholarly publishers, to ensure that we are acquiring top quality content for our libraries

• The libraries brand trust is dependent upon us providing relevant, high quality content which is easy to find and use

Librarians and brand trust

• “Trust plays a vital role in the behaviour of users when interacting with web-based resources”

• Librarians can help by understanding, and responding to, user behaviours• “A key message for librarians is the desirability of a trusted portal that

provides the ease of use associated with commercial search engines”• Our users “need critical evaluation skills in information literacy – skills that

respond to current web-based information delivery mechanisms”• Pickard, A.J. et al., Users’ trust in information resources in the web

environment, JISC, 2010

Publishers and brand trust

• “There is a clear message for publishers that much of their current credibility is rooted in their ‘offline’ presence”

• “Trust is engendered by such attributes as the peer review process, visible and credible editorial boards with a clear identity and the visual recognition users feel when reading an article”

• “All of these attributes create a brand that users trust and recognise – it is vital that publishers retain this brand as we move more and more towards an online only presence”

Trusted sources of information

• Edelman Annual Trust Barometer

• Investigates trust across institutions, companies and sources of information

• Largest study of credibility and trust known to date

• 3,100 opinion leaders from 18 countries

Collins, D. & Thompson,

David, “Trust

unwrapped”, Fresh

Publishing, 2008

Key findings

• In 11 of the 18 countries business magazines are the most trusted sources of information about a company

• Conversations with friends and peers

• Traditional media sources such as newspapers, TV and radio remain more credible than new media sources such as websites and blogs

Use your head and don’t always trust technology

• Bus driver taking bus full of fans to a Chelsea football match

• As Chelsea’s home ground is Stanford Bridge Stadium he types ‘Stanford Bridge’ into his satnav

• Chelsea play their match• Football fans miss match –

ending up in Stanford Bridge in Worcester

• You’d think the penny might have dropped sooner!

TRUST

The smallest word that makes the biggest

difference