Introduction

Visual observation is an invaluable method in ethnography. The study of human culture through observation of the participants allows the researcher to get first-hand insights into the behavior and traceable patterns for analysis. Visual observation is a methodology that was developed to study human culture and social interactions to identify behavioral patterns, norms, habits, and practices among others (Spradley, 2016). However, the observation has become a multi-disciplinary research methodology for primary data collection in many fields. Ethnographers seek to understand what happens in a particular setting and during the observation the may or may not constitute the participants’ setting depending on the type and the subject of the research (Li, 2008). All in all, the observer is expected to adhere to the accepted codes and conducts of the research to avoid interfering with the study or introducing bias. This research employed ethnographic visual observation to investigate the behavior of people in the library setting.

Research objective

The main research objective was to determine the behavior patterns of people using the library. The practice was carried out using the art of visual observation as a method of study.

Location

The study was conducted within the library setting. The observer is a university student who conducted the observation in the university library. The library is not only used by the students as the local community also manages to have access. Hence young children and the old generation too manage to use the library. However, the library is divided into two sections. There is a section specified for university students, and there is the other one which is free.  In the free section, most people use it during weekends. It’s because the children and most adults are free during weekends. Hence the research was conducted during the weekend, and it was conducted in the free section of the library. The observer sought permission from the relevant staff to conduct the observation flawlessly. An agreement was reached as the observer promised not to interfere with the normal activities in the library. The observer was allowed to visit any section within the library including the university students’ section. In the university section, there were few people since it was on the weekend. Most people were found in the free section. Hence the research was conducted on the free section.

The participants

The participants were the library users and library technicians. The participants who were present during the procedure were:

• Library technicians
• Random library users

Observation

The observation began in the morning hours before people had started flocking into the library. The observer had no clue in mind on what activities would take place. It was just mere imagination of how the people would come and start using the library. The observer was free to walk around the library and even use the resources. The observer was in the library early enough to get to see how the day to day activities are run in the library. There are no people allowed to get into the library before 9 AM during the weekends according to the schedule seen by the observer. Before the people get into the library, the librarians and other technicians arrive earlier and arrange the subsections within the library. Since the library is huge and vast, the technicians have specific sections where they are scheduled to run. The observer decided to go to the widest section which has almost of all kinds of books. The section mostly consisted of magazines and novels. It also had a significant number of storybooks. The library technicians were all dressed in blue attire. The librarians were dressed in white. The technicians were observed to be busy arranging the books accordingly. Some of them were busy cleaning the library sections. However, two technicians were noted to be using the computers. It was not clear what they were doing. Hence the observer walked to question them. It was noted that they are in charge of ensuring the online catalog and internet were working perfectly. Since the library was vast, there was the presence of an online catalog which gave one access to a significant number of books and where they are situated within the library. The technicians ensured everything was functioning effectively including water availability and internet connectivity.

It took approximately 20-30 minutes for the technicians and librarians to be ready for clients. At a quarter past nine, the people were allowed to start getting into the library. The observer was in the reception section and observed that some users issued cash while others gave out library smartcards for swiping. The amount the users paid per session was not disclosed as the information was meant to be confidential. After paying the required funds, the users matched towards their preferred sections. After going through reception, the users get a large wall banner which directs them to different sections within the library. The banner acts a map which directs the library users. The observer then moved to various subsections to observe the activities. It was noted that the users remained calm after getting into the library, there was minimal noise as silence was to be maintained. The users were observed to go through the catalog to find out the books they preferred. Then they went ahead to pick the books from the sections specified. Users who had laptops didn’t necessarily have to get the physical books as they were given access to the library online database for books. Hence they accessed the books in the online platform. The people were observed to be silent and calm as they were not supposed to distract other users. There was movement from section to section as one used any sections they would prefer. After finishing up, the users left the books on the tables. Immediately the technicians collected the books and put them back to the relevant shelves. The movement was observed to be minimal, and children were monitored effectively in their section by the technicians.

Findings

• There were observable patterns during the procedure. The movements were observed to be systematic and purposeful. The users only stood to change the books or go to the washrooms. Apart from that they hardly stood until it was time to leave. The activities were calm as there was no rush observed within the library facility.
• The participants were all active during the procedure. The technicians’ actions were well seen, and their facial expressions were quickly noted. Body movement and use of gestures were noted too. The technicians and users used gestures a lot to avoid verbal communication which would interrupt other users in the facility.
• Since the library setting requires minimum noise, most users and technicians hardly uttered a word once they were in the library. The facility was quiet and was convenient for observation. Everybody was busy with their business hence it was easy for the observer to conduct the research flawlessly.
• The behavioral pattern was not easy to be observed on a significant number of users as they remained calm. They were not so free to let one observe their behavior effectively.
• All the library personnel and the users were active hence making it easy for one to make conservative observations.

Conclusion

Virtual observation was a suitable method for studying the behavior of library users and technicians. There were minimal challenges since the library setting makes it easy for one to conduct observation effectively. Hence its prudent to use virtual observation in studying behavior as it has minimal limitations.

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