LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

Application of JOHARI Communication Awareness Model to Special Libraries Management

Michael Afolabi

One of the most emphasized issues in the literature of special librarianship is information service. Several writers, including Baer, Bauer, Drake, Garvin, Kramer and Raburn, have discussed the central role occupied by information service in the operation of the special library and information centre[1-6]. They have suggested useful strategies for improving the provision of information services in special libraries. One model that has useful application to special library practice is the JOHARI Communication Awareness Model, which is a model of communication theory designed to enhance interpersonal communications. It is easy to understand and apply in improving the special librarian's strategies to provide an effective information service. With this model, the special librarian operates the library from a theoretical perspective. The model assists the special librarian in applying the useful ideas suggested in special library literature to manage the services provided by the special library effectively.

THE JOHARI MODEL A graphic model developed by Joe Luft and Harry Ingram (hence the name Johari, from their first names) of behaviour in groups is popularly known as the Johari Window[7]. The Johari window consists of four quadrants as shown in Figure 1. The four represent the total person in relation to other persons. The rationale for the division into quadrants is the awareness of behaviour, feeling and motivation. An act, a feeling, or a motive is assigned to a particular quadrant based on who knows about it. As awareness changes, the quadrant to which the psychological state is assigned changes.

Library Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, 1993. pp. 24-27, MCB University Press, 0143-5124

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VOLUME 14 NUMBER 1 1993

Quadrant 1 is the open quadrant: behaviours, feelings and motivation known to self and others. It is the window raised on the world, the area of free activity, our public self. Quadrant 1 behaviour is how we present ourselves. We are fully aware of how we present ourselves and others know it too. Quadrant 2, the blind quadrant, refers to the behaviour, feelings and motivation known to others but not known to one's self. Quadrant 3, the hidden quadrant, refers to behaviour, feelings and motivation known to self but not known to others. It is often known as the "secret" area. It is often the information about us that we are not telling the group. It is our private information. Quadrant 4, the unknown quadrant, refers to behaviour, feelings and motivation known neither to ourselves nor to others. It is the area of "unconscious" activity that is least accessible to us or to others. According to the model, communication within a group moves according to certain principles for a change in any quadrant will affect all other quadrants. At the initial stage in any group situation, people are reticent to answer questions or hardly speak. The smaller quadrant 1, the more limited the participation and the poorer the communication. As time goes on, members of the group begin to disclose more and more of themselves by revealing some of their secret areas. Their private information now becomes public information. Other members of the group provide feedback which decreases the blind area and this gradually enlarges quadrant 1. With time, the more the group members reveal themselves to one another, the more quadrant 1 increases or enlarges. This may consequently lead to some of the behaviours in quadrant 4 becoming known and quadrant I being further enlarged. According to the JOHARI Communication Awareness model, miscommunication frequently occurs because our open window is so limited that we are not in touch with what we feel and cannot respond to what we hear.

the public image of the special library in the organization it is serving. The more the library communicates to members of the organization about the library's information service activities, the wider the open window, while the lesser the library's communication in the organization, the narrower the open window in the model. The "blind" area in the JOHARI Model could be described as the communication service strategies which the special librarian could usefully employ to achieve the library's objectives, but which he or she is not aware of. He may not be aware that lack of communication or not providing a functional information service to members of the organization, particularly management members, may result in them not being aware of the library's activities. It is important for the special librarian to read literature on special library management in order to be familiar with strategies of communicating and providing a dynamic information service.

LIBRARY PUBLICITY LEADS TO BETTER SERVICE

The amount of information held by many special libraries is vast. Members of the organization may not be aware of the existence of such information which could have been used in taking management decisions for research purpose. Similarly, the library may be offering some services that members of the organization may not be aware of. The "hidden" area quadrant in the JOHARI Model therefore represents the information services offered by the library of which members of the organization may not be aware. Through frequent user communication, publicity about the library collection and the provision of good information services, the "hidden" area is likely to be reduced. This consequently leads to the enlargement of the "open" area. The more the special library works towards reducing its "hidden" area, the higher the level of awareness of the value of the library among members of the organization. Stressing the need for more publicity and the need to communicate in the special library, Spindler observed that "management is often not aware of some hidden library assets. New
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Significance of Model
The model has significant implications for the management of libaries in general and special libraries in particular, with specific reference to the provision of information. The "open" area in the JOHARI model is

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

book and periodical lists, book reviews, circulation of pertinent information, search capabilities and so on should be publicized"[8]. In the same vein, Kok observed that special library users' level of awareness would continue to be low until the information services offered are made to create an impact in their working lives[9]. An important management expectation of the special library staff is that they should be knowledgeable in the available literature relating to the organization's interests. In a situation where the librarian may not be aware of the existence of certain information in the library collection, or if he or she lacks sufficient knowledge in the subjects of the library collection to enable a more effective informal retrieval device to be created to facilitate the subject access to the collection, it becomes obvious that the available information in the library remains unknown to both the librarian and library users. This situation is known as the "unknown" area in the JOHARI Model. It is a situation in which information is sometimes available in the library but cannot be retrieved. The information may be discovered through serendipity when it is no longer needed. To reduce the "unknown" area requires a number of things to be done, such as: continuing education in the subjects of the library collection; studying reference sources and other databanks to determine where information could be found in the library; accurate indexing and subject cataloguing; and systematic arrangement of the library collection.

where the library has a weak collection. This information provides a basis for developing a user-centred collection. It is clear from the above discussion that a change in one area in the JOHARI Awareness Model obviously affects another area. As communication increases, the "open" area gets wider while other areas get narrower. This in fact should be the goal of all special libraries that is, ensuring that their communication window (open quadrant) gets larger and larger in the organization they serve.

SPECIAL LIBRARIES SHOULD INCREASE COMMUNICATION

This could be achieved in the following ways: (1) Details of the special library's information service activities should be communicated to members of management as well as users by such means as annual reports, quarterly reports, exceptional reports, memoranda, bulletin boards, library bulletins, telephone, personal contacts, correspondences, the organization's bulletin, exhibitions, displays and leaflets. (2) Unsolicited information, through the use of selective dissemination of information, should be provided to users who may need it but have not requested it. Services such as photocopying, indexing, abstracting, bibliographic and information analysis should be provided. (3) The special librarian should be part of the research team in the organization by being involved in researches carried out through the provision of useful information and information sources to researchers. He or she should be proactive rather than reactive, assertive rather than passive, and aggressive rather than passive. The special librarian should be able to convert information into working knowledge. By this is meant processed information through information analysis rather than providing raw data. Finally, the special librarian should manage the library in

The way in which library materials are arranged in the library could result in a situation where many information sources are hidden from the librarian and users. Since the special librarian is the primary user of the library collection, he or she should regularly examine it to uncover useful information and to be aware of available information that is likely to relate to the subject interest of the users. The librarian would discover that a systematic effort to find out the kinds of information contained in the library collection would certainly minimize the library's "unknown" area. By discovering what the library has, it becomes obvious as to what the library lacks, or areas

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such a way that his or her impact as a professional is felt. This is what White called "ingratiated irreplaceability"[10, p. 144].
CONCLUSION

4. Garvin, D., "The Information Analysis Center and the Library", Special Libraries, Vol. 62 No. 1, 1971, pp. 17-23. 5. Kramer, J., "How to Survive in Industry: Cost Justifying Library Services", Special Libraries, Vol. 62 No. 11, 1971, pp. 487-9. 6. Raburn, J., "Public Relations for a Special Public", Special Libraries, Vol. 60, No. 10, 1969, pp. 647-50. 7. Nappier, R.W. and Gershenfeld, M.K., Groups: Theory and Practice, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, 1981. 8. Spindler, D.C., "Management Looks at the Corporate Library", Special Libraries, Vol. 73 No 4, 1982, pp. 251-3. 9. Kok, J., "Now That I'm in Charge, What Do I Do?", Special Libraries, Vol. 71 No. 12, 1980, pp. 523-8. 10. White, H.S., "Organizational Placement of the Industrial Special Library: Its Relationship to Success and Survival", Special Libraries, Vol. 64 No. 3, 1973, pp. 141-4.

This article has shown that the application of the JOHARI Communication Awareness Model to special library management will improve the communication dimension of special library management and consequently lead to the provision of improved information service.

References
1. Baer, M., "Achieving Failure in the Company Environment", Special Libraries, Vol. 73 No. 4, 1982, pp. 245-50. 2. Bauer, C.K., "Managing Management", Special Libraries, Vol. 71 No. 4, 1980, pp. 204-16. 3. Drake, M., "Information Management and Special Librarianship", Special Libraries, Vol. 73 No. 4, 1982, pp. 225-37.

Michael Afolabi is at the Faculty of Information Sciences, Moi University, Kenya.

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