Telecommuting for library and information science workers

Abstract

Telecommuting, teleworking, flexitime... alternative work options are gaining in popularity in the business world. Well-known firms such as Ernst & Young, AT&T and Microsoft are all advocates of telecommuting. Yet a review of the literature reveals that few LIS workers appear to telecommute. Why is this so? This essay explores the various issues involved in telecommuting, such as how office communications are affected by having workers at different locations. Telecommuting appears to offer a great many benefits to both organisations and their workers. Organisations benefit from the greater productivity of telecommuters and can achieve significant savings in office space when a large proportion of workers is able to work from a location outside of the main office. Workers benefit by savings in time that is no longer used commuting to work, the costs associated with working at the office (petrol, clothing, food), and greater flexibility in when their work is performed. So why is there so little telecommuting amongst LIS workers? Typical LIS work is examined in light of case studies of some telecommuting LIS workers. This shows that many LIS tasks can successfully be performed form home. Given the changes that libraries are currently facing telecommuting may be one way that libraries can find the money and space to meet the demand for more computers in the library; provide a better service to users, many of whom now require library services outside of traditional work hours; and allow librarians to gain the training that they need to stay on top of new technologies.