Future-proofing the public library

To help guide the public library into the future, architectural design stands as a linchpin that bridges between vast amounts of proliferating information, the librarians who make sense of that information, and the library goers who engage and activate with that information. Future-proofing the public library calls for its evolution, where library buildings grow into new roles that serve as sensorial “idea gardens,” where the presence of virtual and augmented mediums complement the physical book, instead of displacing or replacing its many benefits. To create this type of bridge, it is the architectural design of the public library that can lead the way.     

公共图书馆公益性服务功能浅析

“图书馆是指收集、整理、保管、流通各类出版物和文献资料 ,以供读者使用的一种文化教育机构”(新华词典 ,商务印书馆 1988年修订版 )。按照传统和有关要求 ,公共图书馆主要承担着保存人类文化遗产、开展社会教育、开发文献资源、传递知识信息等主要功能。随着社会的发展、时代的进步、事业单位机构改革的进一步深入 ,包括各级公共图书馆在内的公益性事业单位都面临着如何发展 ,尤其是如何与时俱进 ,在新形势下“在其位 ,谋其政” ,充分发挥各种资源优势 ,拓展服务功能 ,为社会提供更好的服务 ,从而“有为有位” ,巩固自身地位等迫切的问题…     

The Texas public library trustee

Public Library trustees in Texas resemble trustees nationally in that they are appointed primarily by a public official or governing body; they see their major duties connected with decisions on policies, funding, and librarian employment; their tenures are short (the majority five years or less); and they attend monthly meetings. Differences from the national scene exist in the areas of sex distribution (the majority are women); membership in national and state trustee organizations (very low for Texas); presence of formal bylaws (94–5 percent of libraries); and education (lightly regarded for both new and continuing trustees).     

User categorization of public library collections

To help users find their way around the large number of titles available, public libraries organize the collection by placing titles on shelves by genre, by adding classification codes in their online catalogs, and by pictograms on book covers. However, users may have different perceptions of how titles are to be grouped in genres or categories. Public library collections will be more accessible when the way their collection is organized matches these users' perceptions. The authors show how user perceptions can be derived from library loan transaction data. To overcome the particular methodological issues in using such data, a method of ultrametric trees and latent class analysis is developed to determine segments of users and how they categorize the collection. Results show clear user categorizations that in particular respects differ from conventional public library categorizations.     

为公共图书馆的失当辩护

本文评论了<为公共图书馆辩护>一文的一些失当参考文献9.种     

公共图书馆面对市场经济的思考

论述了公共图书馆如何面对市场经济所带来的新问题，并就公共图书馆如何在市场经济中生存和发展提出了一些看法。     

信息公平与公共图书馆制度

文章阐述了公共图书馆作为保障公民信息权利、维护信息公平制度的法理依据；结合构建和谐社会的时代背景，论述了公共图书馆制度在构建和谐社会中的作用；号召国家、图书馆界及社会各界为发展公共图书馆事业共同努力。     

An open source library system and public library users: Finding and using library collections

Large scale open-source library automation systems can increase efficiencies in bibliographic production. The implementation of such a system, Evergreen, was examined in order to ascertain whether it facilitated detection and use of library collections in Indiana public libraries. Three hundred forty-nine participants recruited from nine public libraries completed user surveys. Additionally, library server data about interlibrary loan (ILL) statistics were collected from participating libraries on a monthly basis. The self-reported user survey included questions about patron history at local public libraries, use of the previous Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs), and use of the Evergreen OPAC for finding and accessing multiple library collections since library users could directly request interlibrary loans via the Evergreen OPAC. The findings indicate that the implementation of the Indiana Evergreen system received moderately positive ratings from the participants; the positive evaluation was primarily related to the use of the ILL function. The ILL service satisfied the participants' needs and motivated them to use the Evergreen OPAC. Benefits for Evergreen users were confirmed.     

User wayfinding strategies in public library facilities

An experiment in a public library demonstrates that Passini's conceptual framework of wayfinding can be applied to public library patron wayfinding behavior. Participants were asked to think aloud while completing prescribed wayfinding tasks. Findings indicate that library patrons use all five of Passini's strategies to varying degrees, supporting the need for further research testing this framework with library patrons. Participants were given varying level of details on Passini's strategies prior to completing the wayfinding tasks, and that intervention had no significant effect on the results.     

Households' public library use across the school calendar

When schools are on break, some households may be constrained to provide educational resources to their children. Public libraries could be low-cost providers of materials and services that foster educational investment. This research extends existing literature by combining household-level data (public library checkout counts, residential property tax assessment values, student enrollment rosters, and distance to public library measures) to conduct a panel analysis of public library use across the public school calendar. The empirical analyses find that public- school breaks generally impact library use for households with children in public school, but not for households without children in public school or for the lowest socioeconomic status households with children in public school. Distance to library is found to be negatively correlated with public library use for all households, but differentially and dependent on households' socioeconomic status and structure. Lastly, community events and weather are identified to impact use.     

关于公共图书馆网站结构和交互性的探讨

本文对网站建设中的内容结构、目录结构、链接结构作了具体的分析，并提出了实现公共图书馆网站交互性的具体方案。     

公共图书馆读者阅览准入制度批判

本对公共图书馆读阅览准入制度作了初步调查，分析了这一制度的形成原因与危害，认为读阅览准入并非必要措施，并认为公共图书馆即使短时间内难以做到免费办证，也应当做到免证准入或至少凭有效证件而不是凭借阅证准入。     

我国公共图书馆管理中的几个误区

本文论述了我国公共图书馆管理中存在的一些误区：管理视野上的重内轻外，服务活动中的重书轻人，人员培训中的重技能轻人文，制度建设中的重他律轻自律和评估活动中的重外延轻内涵。     

关于公共图书馆核心价值的思考

目前图书馆学界关于“图书馆核心价值”的讨论方兴未艾,表面上看似乎气氛热烈,观点纷呈,但事实上未能触及到图书馆价值本体层面,更遑论“图书馆核心价值”。通过价值理论正本清源之廓清,运用该理论对桑良至先生《核心价值观与图书馆学基础理论》一文所述IFLA“图书馆核心价值观”的剖析,对其论及“图书馆核心价值观”时出现逻辑悖论进行探因,以及对嬗变中公共图书馆“核心价值”的思考。     

基层图书馆公共服务体系建设

文章阐述了基层图书馆公共服务体系的社会责任、构建要素,以示范区创建背景下的都市模式和基层模式为借鉴,针对基层图书馆公共服务体系建设的困境,对基层图书馆的社会责任、资源整合、联盟机制和资源管理平台等进行思考.     

The use of public library roles for effectiveness evaluation

This article examines the roles from the Public Library Association planning and measurement tools for their usefulness in evaluating public library effectiveness. It addresses four questions: What roles are chosen most often?, Can we distinguish among libraries based on their role choices?, Do libraries with different role choices perform differently?, and, Can performance differences form an empirical basis for role definitions? Data for this study came from the Public Library Effectiveness Study (PLES), a survey of 2,418 stakeholders in 84 public libraries nationwide. Respondents from the sampled libraries evidenced both uniformity and diversity in their choice of roles; the favorite roles were those historically associated with public libraries. The libraries could be divided into one group serving smaller populations and focusing on the more popular roles and another serving larger populations and aspiring to fulfill a greater variety of roles. The cluster with a greater variety of roles also performed better than did the other group on more than half of the effectiveness indicators tested. This study has implications for future revisions in standardized role statements and for future research Unking performance to organizational goals.