Virtually the Same: Comparing the Effectiveness of Online Versus In-Person Library Tours

ABSTRACT

The use of virtual or Web-based tours is on the rise in academic libraries, but with the loss of face-to-face contact and direct experience with the library's physical spaces, questions abound about this format's efficacy. Do online tour experiences measure up to those of a guided, face-to-face tour? Do online tours help mold students' perceptions of the library, while imparting important practical knowledge about the library's resources and services? Librarians at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, recently confronted these questions, as they added an option for an online library tour to a large library tour program for freshman that had previously been offered strictly through guided, librarian-led tours. This paper presents the results of a preliminary study comparing the efficacy of learning and affective outcomes between face-to-face library tours and online library tours at Kent State University.     

Using & Re-using Archive Information for Multimedia Applications: The Virtual Museum of Italian Computer Science History

The quality of content is a key attribute for assessing the globalquality of a museum application. Unfortunately, producing good content,especially in multimedia digital form, is expensive and time-consuming.One way to reduce the costs without sacrificing quality is to exploitthe concept of information reuse. The idea is to use (portions of) thesame multimedia material in different applications, possibly adapting itfor different contexts, for different categories of users, and fordifferent delivery channels (e.g., on-line and off-line). Informationreuse does not come free. To be effective, it requires a well-organizedenvironment in which information can be easily stored, inspected,retrieved, and adapted for different purposes. This paper describes theapproach adopted in the project ``The Virtual Museum of Italian ComputerScience History', funded by the Italian National Council of Research(CNR). In this project, all the digital material (documents, images,video interviews, etc.) is stored in a digital archive based on amultimedia database with a WWW front-end. The archive is designed forspecialists only: members of the editorial board of the project;researchers in the history of science; application developers (whoare looking for interesting content to include in their CD-ROMs or Websites). Each research group involved in the project extracted andadapted from the digital archive the multimedia material needed to builda different hypermedia application in two ``versions' – WWW andCD-ROM. These applications, both on-line and off-line, strongly reuse(portions of) the digital archive content, but organize and present itwith a totally different style, to address the needs of non-specialists(e.g., people who have some interest, or curiosity, in the history ofItalian computer science).     

优化我国联合参考咨询知识库的策略研究

文章指出目前不同联合参考咨询知识库中信息的分类标准、检索途径的设置存在的差别很大,造成用户使用困难。提出合作开发联合参考咨询软件、优化知识库检索界面、统一标准加强知识库的检索功能、增强知识库检索的智能性和互动性等策略,以优化我国联合参考咨询知识库性能及提高其使用效率。     

关于吉林省图书馆联盟开展网上联合参考咨询服务的思考

从吉林省图书馆联盟联合网上参考咨询服务的提出,到构建省内三大系统图书馆网上参考咨询服务系统的过程作了阐述,并对未来工作进行了展望。     

Situated Knowledge and the Virtual Science and Industry Museum: Problems in the Social-Technical Interface

The Museum is a perspicuous site for analysing the complex interplay between social, organisational, cultural and political factors which have relevance to the design and use of virtual technologies. Specifically, the introduction of virtual technologies in museums runs up against the issue of the situated character of information use. Across a number of disciplines (anthropology, sociology, psychology, cognitive science) there is growing recognition of the situatedness of knowledge and its importance for the design and use of technology. This awareness is fostered by the fact that technological developments are often associated with disappointing gains for users. The effective use of technology relies on the degree to which it can be embedded in or congruent with the local practices of museum users. Drawing upon field research in two museums of science and technology, both of which are in the process of introducing virtual technologies and exploring the possibilities of on-line access, findings are presented which suggest that the success of such developments will depend on the extent to which they are informed by detailed understanding of practice-practices that are essentially socially constituted in the activities of museum visitors and the daily work of museum professionals.     

上海市高校虚拟图书馆的建设

本文介绍了上海市高校虚拟图书馆建设的概况。阐述了虚拟图书馆的定义、设计目标、系统功能、技术要求、数据流图、运行环境、数据处理、系统测试等技术问题     

从实体服务迈向网上虚拟参考服务

图书馆参考服务自提出至今已过去了一个多世纪,参考服务的理论与实践在图书馆的工作中得到不断的提高和发展.     

虚拟存储技术及其在数字图书馆中的应用

数字图书馆的发展使馆藏数字化资源急剧增长，图书馆对存储的需求激增。文章在介绍虚拟存储技术原理、优势、实现方法的基础上，阐述了虚拟存储技术在数字图书馆建设中的应用。     

大学图书馆：实体与虚拟结合

21世纪的大学图书馆应该是实体图书馆与虚拟图书馆相结合的新型图书馆。本文从实体图书馆、虚拟图书馆以及两者的结合上讨论了大学图书馆的建设。     

Building a Better M.I.C.E. Trap: Using Virtual Focus Groups to Assess Subject Guides for Distance Education Students

ABSTRACT

Subject guides are often used as an alternative to in-person library instruction for distance education students. However, when students are not on-campus, it can be difficult to assess if they are getting all of the relevant information they need. In an organization that serves students located across the United States and even outside of the country, a method was needed to assess the effectiveness of library information provided to distance learners on specific topics. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration (Hotel College) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), offers a number of on-campus and distance education courses, including classes taught at a satellite campus in Singapore. With diverse course offerings via distance education, the conventions and exhibitions subject area was chosen as a case study. Often referred to as M.I.C.E., the study of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions in a hospitality context is a major subdiscipline within the Hotel College. After researching different approaches to studying the effectiveness of subject guides, a virtual focus group was chosen to gather feedback from students. This paper will demonstrate how focus groups can be created and how the information gathered can be used to increase effectiveness of subject guides. Readers will discover effective techniques and pitfalls for using virtual focus groups in conjunction with subject guides assessment.     

Pricing and Licensing for Museum Digital Content

Museums' rights and reproduction departments are overwhelmed by and underprepared for requests for image use in electronic media. This article will evaluate related models for pricing and fees used by non-art industries, and provide some interim guidelines for museums while they make the transition to supplying requests for electronic media.     

图书馆服务器虚拟化技术可行性分析

服务器虚拟化技术作为目前最值得关注的十项IT技术之一,国外已被广泛应用,国内才刚刚起步。文章通过实例对图书馆服务器虚拟化前后进行比较和应用后取得的效果,指出在图书馆应用种类不断增加情况下,控制服务器数量增长是可行的。     

从古物陈列所到国立博古院——中国的第一座国家博物馆

古物陈列所是我国的第一座国立博物馆,建成之后在北洋政府统治时间一直发挥着国家博物馆的作用,因而古物陈列所也是我国的第一座国家博物馆。它的建立是中国博物馆事业发展的一座里程碑,是国家博物馆在中国诞生的标志。     

探讨虚拟图书馆人力资源的几个问题

虚拟图书馆是伴随信息化和全球化的发展应运而生的一种新的图书馆存在形式,而且必将是未来图书馆发展的趋势之一。而在虚拟环境下的图书馆的人力资源管理必然不同于传统意义上的图书馆的人力资源管理。虚拟图书馆的人力资源问题是图书馆为了保持竞争优势对人力资源部门不断提出新要求的结果,虚拟图书馆人力资源实践有自己明显的特点。文章探讨了虚拟图书馆的人力资源问题。     

传播新景:论建立网上虚拟博览会的必要性和可行性

本文根据网络技术和虚拟技术的发展状况以及会展业发展的现实需要,认为有必要建立网上虚拟博览会,并提出了具有可操作性的一些开办构想.从会展主办方、参展企业和观众三方分析了网上虚拟会展的优越性,并依据网络技术、时代要求、市场驱动、会展特色等要求,对虚拟会展系统的设计提出具体设想.文章最后指出现实会展不会因虚拟会展的出现而受到冲击,但是,针对网上虚拟会展出现以后的新情况做出必要的调整是在所难免的.     

上海博物馆的社会教育：理念与实践

上海博物馆在教育工作方面 ,一直有着自己的风格和特色 ,同时 ,也存在着广阔的发展空间。在 2 1世纪到来的时候 ,社会教育将以何种姿态 ,承前启后、继往开来 ,如何更加深入地开发教育功能、拓展博物馆教育的领域 ,更好地发挥博物馆的社会效益 ,是放在每一个上博人 ,特别是上博教育工作者面前的重大课题。　　一、树立“以人为本”、为观众服务的博物馆教育理念　　 2 0世纪 90年代以来 ,随着计划经济向市场经济的转轨 ,人们的观念出现了巨大的变化。在经济领域里 ,我国结束了长期以来物资供应的不足 ,由卖方市场逐步进入买方市场 ,人们有了…     

网上参考咨询服务活动与知识库建设

论述了图书馆网上参考咨询的特点及其网上参考咨询知识库建设的重要性,阐释了网上参考咨询知识库建设和网上参考咨询服务活动之间的关系。结合目前通行的网上知识导航等各种服务模式,与建立网上知识库的实践需求等进行了比较分析。     

从社区到社会网络——一种互联网研究视野与方法的拓展

随着互联网技术的发展,传统的BBS等虚拟社区的影响有所减弱,而由SNS、即时通信、博客等应用构建的新兴社区的影响正在上升,这些新的应用也促进了人们的社会网络的形成与拓展。借鉴社会学的社会网络理论来研究这些新的应用及其影响,是十分必要的。人们从传统虚拟社区向以自我为中心的社会网络的迁移,体现了网络使用者从社会归属需求向社会资本需求的升级,而印象管理、自我表达、情绪调节、社会交往、社会分享、社会参与等其他层面需求则与社会资本需求相辅相成。互联网上的社会网络对于个体的影响,目前主要在两个方面表现出来:一方面是一对一的互动对个体的态度、行为的影响(这些影响可以从社会心理学的一些传统理论中得到解释),而这种一对一的影响还可能通过社会网络来传递,从而形成一种社会性影响;另一方面是社会网络的结构对个体所施加的影响,例如,社会网络中的权力关系的影响、社会网络中的派系的影响等。