Interaction and knowledge exchange among academic business librarians in Ontario

A research project submitted to the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communications and Technology in 2005.

Academic business librarians specialize in the provision of library services to business faculty and students but often assume these roles without an educational background in Business or a familiarity with business information. This study used a two phase multi-method research design (web-based questionnaire followed by interviews) to investigate the communication, information seeking, and continuing professional education (CPE) activities of a population of academic business librarians in Ontario into order to develop a better understanding of how they acquire and share knowledge related to their professional practice and to determine if they constitute a community of practice.