Exploring Internal Communication in Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities for Library Leaders

Effective internal communication is essential to library staff being able to fulfill their duties, work together as a cohesive unit, and carry out the library’s mission. However, there is often a lack of coordinated focus on clear internal communication that includes all staff members in libraries. This can create environments where there is disconnect among staff and library departments leading to rumor mills and lowering morale. This exploratory study looked at the current state of internal library communications in public libraries and ideas to improve internal communications. Library leadership has the potential to create environments and cultures where internal communication is effective and supports library staff, their work, and the effective functioning of the library as a whole.

communication has been linked to organizational success and employee engagement (Men, 2014), which should be important to all leaders, regardless of their field.
Leadership can have an outsized effect on the effectiveness and employee satisfaction with internal communications (Men, 2014;Telling, 1987). In fact, the literature states that the responsibility for internal communication is dependent on the top leaders of an organization, including libraries (Raymond, 1991). Men (2014) showed that leaders, specifically transformational leaders, have an impact on positive employee-organization relationships, employee advocacy, and symmetrical communication. Furthermore, to be effective communicators, leaders must understand employees' preferred communication channels (Verčič and Špoljarić, 2020) as well as what employees want to know (i.e. the content of the communications) (Ruck and Welch, 2012). Through transformational leadership-leadership that creates a joint sense of purpose and motivates employees via this vision to high performanceleaders can invite dialog and create positive relationships that will benefit the employees and organization (Men, 2014). In the business world, this usually translates into focusing on how employee advocacy can increase sales or how improved relations can increase employee productivity (Men, 2014). While libraries are not businesses that seek to create a monetary profit as their primary focus, creating positive relationships among employees is important for employee well-being and the productivity and effectiveness of serving the library's communities.
Library and information science (LIS) literature has also shown the importance of management and leadership on improving communications and affecting change, which has been consistent over the decades (Chambers, Liedtka, and Bednar, 2006;Euster, 1981;Haycock, 2011;Raymond, 1991). Effective internal communication, within a functional communication system, can be used to balance the concerns and goals of frontline library staff and administration.
And, library leadership can have a large impact on creating functional systems of communication and library managers and leaders themselves need to have superb communication skills to be effective in their work (Euster, 1981;Haycock, 2011;Jordan, 2015). Unfortunately, the research about internal communications in LIS has not shown the broadening and deepening of the scholarship that has been shown in public relations.
In the field of library and information science, much of the literature on internal communication focused heavily on the technology used, especially on intranets in the first decade of this century. Dahl (2010) wrote a case study on using Microsoft SharePoint to create a departmental intranet. While intranets have appeared to go out of favor in the research, their function-to collect, maintain, and share information among employees-is still necessary in libraries today, regardless of what technology is used. And, while some libraries may choose a Volume 3 5 , number 2 different platform to create an intranet now, his conclusions about the need for transparency in implementing change, as well as the importance of training to increase comfortability with a new system, are still relevant today. Chu (2012) and Battles (2010) also noted that time for training and support for new communication technologies is imperative for the success of new intranets.
Envisioning the changes in workflows and tools used for internal communication as a longterm process rather than a one-time project is critical for success. Dahl (2010) and Etches-Johnson and Baird (2010) noted the importance of maintenance and promotion of a new intranet, which is crucial for the success of any internal communication channel or technology change. To ensure that new communication channels do not go dormant, integrating them into daily workflows is essential (Battles, 2010;Etches-Johnson and Baird, 2010). Creating a new intranet or other communication channel has to be seen as a process and not a one-time project (Bottazzo, 2005).
If seen as a one-time project, then interest and effort in maintaining such a channel will inevitably wane with time. However, if changes in communication channels are seen as an ongoing process and integrated into daily workflow, then there is a better chance that the changes will be sustainable and contribute to improved communication. Other technologies, such as blogs and various social media platforms, have also been used to improve internal communications within libraries to varying levels of success (Costello and Del Bosque, 2010;Haya, Lind, and Janzen, 2020;Rodriguez, 2010). Interestingly, Costello and Del Bosque (2010) noted that even with introduction of a staff wiki and blogs, library staff still preferred email for communication as it was seen as the easiest to access and post information and most effective method of communication.
Before changing internal communication strategies and tools, it is necessary to get a baseline of current communication practices. This can be accomplished through a communications audit which enables a library, or any organization, to collect this information and determine data-driven recommendations for improvement. Chalmers, Liedtka, and Bednar (2006) published a case study of developing, implementing, analyzing, and reporting out of an internal communications audit at their library. Perhaps unsurprisingly, email was the most common form of communication found in their study. More concerning for library leadership is the finding that many library employees felt they could do their work better if they understood the priorities of the library better (Chalmers, Liedtka, and Bednar, 2006). This is clearly a situation where library leadership needs to communicate priorities better to all levels of the organization.
As Euster (1981) noted, studying internal communication in a library can have a positive effect on morale, in and of itself, but that if the report was "shelved" it was devasting to staff and the loss of trust and willingness to do subsequent studies in this area were diminished. This means that administration needs to follow through on using these self-studies rather than only doing them as a "one-off" project. This is also supported by Chalmers, Liedtka, and Bednar (2006). The literature review shows agreement with Chu (2012), who noted that there is both an absence of and a desire for "open communication in the workplace" (p. 136). There is also an overall absence of studies on internal communication within the research literature, as well as a lack of reporting on internal communication ideas and projects in non-research periodicals and monographs in the LIS field.
It is therefore possible to argue that this is a gap in the research literature that should be filled. Communication is always an issue, but it does not appear to be a current focus of study in Participants were recruited from the Publib listserv at the end of January 2020. The last question of the survey asked if participants would be willing to be contacted for a follow-up phone interview. The interview was semi-structured and more detailed information about internal communication procedures, strengths, weaknesses, and ideas for improvement were discussed (see Appendix B for phone interview questions).
After data collection was completed, the author analyzed the data from the surveys and the phone interview recordings to determine recurring themes. The recordings and qualitative survey data were reviewed several times to increase familiarity before coding was completed, as is standard practice for qualitative coding. The qualitative survey data and the interview transcripts were analyzed using structural coding (Saldaña, 2009). This type of coding allowed the author to Volume 3 5 , number 2 determine recurring themes, also known as categories, from the data and determine frequency counts for recurring themes among the respondents. This then allowed for discussion of how these recurring themes could be addressed by library leadership in order to improve internal communication.

Results and Discussion
The responses to the survey and follow-up interviews allow for an initial understanding about the current state of internal communications in public libraries in the United States. Survey respondents who noted that they did not work in a public library were excluded from this study. The survey also asked for respondents to record the number of library employees at their library.
While the number of employees ranged from a low of six employees to a high of 600 employees, the same themes appeared regardless of size. Therefore, as with the job duties, the results are discussed in the aggregate. may be useful for library administrators and leaders to consider as they begin their own processes to improve internal communication. To protect confidentiality, quotes from survey respondents and interviewees are followed by a number in parentheses.

Preferred Communication Channels
By far the preferred communication channel from the survey respondents was email followed distantly by meetings, and face-to-face conversations (see Table 1). This finding is similar to previous studies such as Verčič and Špoljarić (2020). One respondent noted that their preferred channel depended on what was being communicated and if discussion was needed.
This follows the idea that communication cannot be only top-down or bottom-up or only in one channel, but should be tailored to the message and goals of the communication and that preferences can change depending on the type of needed information (Verčič and Špoljarić, 2020). As noted by one survey respondent it is best to have a "multi-prong approach; not all employees have organization emails" (21).

Communication Channels Used
While there was a clear preference on using email to communicate information, survey respondents used a variety of channels to communicate information within their libraries. Email was used by all respondents to communicate internally. All but one of the respondents noted that they used word-of-mouth (i.e. grapevine) to transmit information. These results are similar to those by Chalmers, Liedtka, and Bednar (2006). The next most common channels were department meetings and all-staff meetings. The other communication channels such as an online newsletter, Slack, and printed newsletter were much less commonly used. Two respondents noted they used an internal website or portal, one noted the use of a place to check for written information, similar to a bulletin board, and one used Yammer (see Table 2).

Most Effective Channels for Distributing Information
For distribution of information, email was seen as the most effective way to convey information by 12 respondents (54.5%). One respondent noted that written communication, like email, was necessary to prevent gaslighting. This suggests far greater issues than simply a need to improve internal communication, though having written communication is always useful as a reference tool. Staff and department meetings were also seen to be effective channels by seven respondents as there could be discussion and everyone receives the information at the same time. This difference in distributing information or needing to have a dialogue shows that the communication channels should be tailored to the message. Also using multiple channels of communication to ensure that all library staff receive the information in a timely manner is important, even critical, during times of emergencies. As one survey respondent noted "We were closed because of snow yesterday. Email, text and phone were used to notify all staff. Not everyone checks their work email when they are off work, so that could cause trouble" (1).

Effective Internal Communication
The survey respondents had many ideas about what constitutes effective communication and there were some recurring themes. Clarity was the characteristic that came up most often on the respondents' free text responses. They also noted the need for openness when asking for clarification and sharing of ideas. Timely, respectful, accurate, and concise information were also recurring in the responses. As one survey respondent wrote, "Respectful, clear, concise for instruction and policy. Two-way dialogue for communication requiring decision making" (5). This quote demonstrates that effective internal communication always should be clear, but that the most effective mode for communication may differ, as noted previously. Some communication is simply information distribution, such as sharing policy documents. Other communication requires dialogue, such as a process of collective decision-making. While some of the characteristics of effective communication noted by respondents would need to be more defined to make them actionable, these recurring themes provide a type of checklist that library leaders can begin to use to create more effective communication.
As seen in the literature, the leader is a weathervane for the rest of the organization's communication and the success of any change initiatives (Euster, 1981;Men, 2014).
Communicating in multiple ways, consistently over time, especially for large projects like strategic planning, is important. As one interviewee said, "They [library administration] have asked for our input. They have in every email that they've sent out, in every staff newsletter they have explained how this applies to us and have made it so we know how we can implement this plan on a dayto-day basis" (24). Making communication timely, relevant, and welcoming, as well as using feedback are crucial for effective communication.

Communication Challenges and Breakdowns
Even within an organization with effective communication, there will be challenges and happens frequently-I'll hear one thing in person from a supervisor or the director and then either someone else will contradict it or there is no follow-through or update" (22). This situation leads to confusion and ultimately to the inability to effectively complete tasks as well as the potential for low morale. Further examples of breakdowns were noted when one department made a change that impacted another library department without any discussion, as well as changes not being communicated that led to issues for library patrons.

Ideas to Improve Internal Communication
The survey respondents and interviewees suggested many ways to improve internal communication among library employees. These ideas fell into the main themes of: increasing the frequency of communications, ensuring that staff read emails, having more interaction and ability to provide feedback, especially around decision-making that impacts a department, and having a centralized location for posting information. These ideas are all ways of breaking down silos and ensuring that there are not information blockages throughout the library's hierarchy. As one respondent wrote, "Don't rely on the 'supervisors list' to disseminate information" (15).
Creating more levels of information filtering than necessary simply creates more work and does nothing to encourage communication across the library and can impede efficient work.
Fortunately, there are many steps library leaders can take to improve internal communication.

Considerations for Library Leaders to Improve Internal Communication
While each library and library staff have a unique context and makeup, there are general themes that appeared in this exploratory research that may help library leaders who want to improve internal communication. As with many aspects of librarianship, the most important aspect of communication is not the technology, but the people-specifically cultivating the relationships and developing the procedures that will allow everyone in the library organization to communicate effectively and efficiently. As one survey respondent wrote, "effective communication comes from the top down" (22 leveraging what is known about change management, library leaders can ensure the changes will be transparent, sustainable, and accepted by the library staff (Euster, 1981;Rodriguez, 2010).
There is not one "silver bullet" to improve communication, but rather multiple information channels that are good for different types of information (Erzinger, 1995) and should all be integrated into a robust communications strategy. Furthermore, library leaders should look outside of LIS literature for ideas to improve internal communication because, as noted previously, there has not been much published on the topic in LIS in recent years while there has been increasing focus on internal communication as a distinct sub-discipline in public relations.
While changes in management or leadership are often a catalyst for change (Euster, 1981), this does not mean that leaders who have been in their position for a number of years should not try to improve their libraries' internal communication. There are a number of actions that may be useful for any library leader looking to improve internal communication.
First, before changing any workflows and procedures, every library employee needs to have an understanding of the current state of communication in the library. A communications audit can assist with this data gathering (Chalmers, Liedtka, and Bednar, 2006). This will allow discovery of preference for communication channels, which should be respected instead of changed when at all possible (Verčič and Špoljarić, 2020 Furthermore, creating a position or reassigning a staff member with relevant skills and talents to lead changes in internal communication can also be an avenue to ensure such changes are integrated into daily workflows (Cunningham, 2016).
Fourth, there should be regular opportunities for library leadership and staff to reflect on and discuss feedback around these new internal communication processes. As improving communication is not a one-time project but an ongoing process, library leaders need to build in opportunities to reflect with all library employees about the process. This reflection can also serve as an opportunity to revise new procedures, as needed. It is important to check in with both managers and frontline staff to ensure everyone is satisfied with the communication (Welch, 2012) or it cannot be considered successful.

Limitations
This study was exploratory and therefore not necessarily generalizable or transferable to the whole of the public library field in the United States. While the sample size was low, as is often the case with online surveys, the themes are worth investigating further. The data collection period for the survey and the interviews were scheduled pre-pandemic; however, in the middle of the interview period, many states came under shelter-in-place orders, which may have decreased the number of interview participants. Because of these issues, it would be useful to repeat the study once the pandemic is over, especially the interviews, to have more robust, generalizable results for the public library community to use. A larger sample size may also surface differences in

Conclusion
Communication is key to library success and effective internal communication is an essential part of any library's communication strategy. Improvements in communication will not happen without concerted effort and the support of library leaders. Good internal communication supports relationships and engagement at work and leaders can ensure that library employees feel like a part of the organization and community (Cunningham, 2016;Karanges, Johnston, Beatson, and Lings, 2015). Library leaders are key to creating expectations and supporting an environment where everyone communicates respectfully and has easy access to the information they need to do their work. This in turn has the potential to improve relationships and engagement of everyone who works in the library.