The productivity of main services of city libraries: Using the example from the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

The evaluation of productivity of main services of city libraries using the example of 48 large public libraries and 44 small public libraries from the Czech and the Slovak Republic was performed according to the decomposition of the input-oriented Malmquist index (MI). The results of MI achieved are evaluated using a confidence interval and the bootstrap method. The productivity of main services of public libraries was studied for the year 2016 in comparison with the year 2012. On average, small as well as large libraries exhibit a statistically significant decline in productivity. The average value of the MI of small libraries is 1.29. The average value of the MI of large libraries is 1.16. The deterioration of productivity was caused by lower efficiency of the inputs. The small as well as the large libraries on average exhibit a comparable level of productivity in both studied years. This conclusion is the same for the Czech and for the Slovak libraries as well as for all libraries together. The Czech libraries, when compared with the Slovak ones, achieve better results in terms of productivity. The higher productivity of the Czech libraries in comparison with the Slovak ones is caused by the improvement of efficiency of the inputs, not by the technological changes.     

Digital Access to Cultural Heritage and Scholarship in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT. This article looks at selected digital library projects in the Czech Republic, with a focus on two main domains of activity: digital preservation of cultural heritage, and providing digital access to scholarship through institutional repositories. With regard to digitization of national cultural heritage, the Czech Republic, largely through the leadership of the National Library, has established itself as one of the most active countries in the region. With regard to providing access to Czech research and scholarship, although there is quite a bit of interest among research institutions and universities, institutional repositories are currently in the exploratory stage and have not yet been widely implemented. Copyright laws are repeatedly cited by Czech librarians as one obstacle to improving access to digital resources in both spheres of activity.     

略论公共图书馆建设的当务之急

本文针对当前公共图书馆建设所面临的问题,提出了应采取的相关对策.     

Bibliometric methods in libraries of the Republic of Belarus: History and contemporary state

This paper considers the use of bibliometric methods in library and information activities, as well as the role of libraries of the Republic of Belarus in increasing the publication activities of researchers and the promotion of scientific journals.     

美国公共图书馆游戏服务探微

[目的/意义]美国公共图书馆开展游戏服务已历160余年,游戏已然成为实现图书馆改良社会、教育教化职能的有效手段和转型融入社区的重要工具.分析其发展模式及成败得失,对我国公共图书馆开展游戏服务有借鉴作用.[方法/过程]采用文献研究法,通过对1915年至今100余年来200余篇图书馆游戏相关学术文献的分析和梳理、总结美国公共图书馆游戏服务的发展脉络、服务模式和重要推手. [结果/结论]图书馆的自拓展努力,各级协会的引导,公司、基金会等平行机构的合作,教育机构的智力支持,社会力量的参与等合力是美国公共图书馆游戏服务开展的重要支撑体系.     

美国公共图书馆游戏服务调查与思考

通过网络调查,总结出美国公共图书馆游戏服务的方式,分析了美国公共图书馆开展游戏服务的原因.在此基础上对我国公共图书馆开展游戏服务提出了几点建议.     

The economic value of library services for children: The case of the Czech public libraries

Public support of library services must be targeted towards children because these services play a key role in their development. However, no prior research has investigated the value of public library services for children. Specifically, earlier studies evaluated the value of public libraries as a whole, without considering library services for different stakeholders. The fact that children are not autonomous economic agents is another problem to address. These barriers can be overcome by using the contingent valuation method with parents/caregivers as the subjects queried and children used as the objects in this study. Thus, the economic value of library services for children can be obtained to support managerial decisions on services specifically designed for children. More precisely, this study is unique in that it develops a contingent valuation methodology for estimating the value of children's library services based on adults' willingness to allocate a proportion of municipal budgets. Both users and non-users were surveyed to verify the proposed methodology empirically. The results show that the perceived effectiveness (ratio between perceived benefits and costs) of children's library services is 11.2 (11.2 units of benefits for each unit invested) in Czech public libraries compared with 4.3 for a library as a whole. This finding confirms the essential role of children's library services, implying that public libraries should offer a broader selection of children's books and other services. The study also shows that the value of children's library services depends on the age, education and economic structure of the adults queried. In addition, their satisfaction with library services is another important determinant, indicating that public libraries can influence the perceived benefits of children's library services.     

"积极老龄化"与公共图书馆

针对席卷全球的人口老龄化浪潮，就公共图书馆如何开展老年读者服务工作。以配合联合国第二届世界老龄大会提出的“积极老龄化”战略的实施，提出对策。     

Public libraries embrace citizen science: Strengths and challenges

Can public libraries become hubs for citizen science? In line with the principles of citizen science, this question was answered collaboratively with librarians from the Barcelona Network of Public Libraries who performed two hands-on activities. One activity was a training course taken by 30 librarians from 24 different libraries which enabled them to envisage citizen science implementation at each library. The other activity consisted of co-creating a citizen social science project and involved 40 library users, seven librarians from three different cities, and professional scientists. The analysis considers the perspectives of both librarians and users, through participant observation, surveys, and a focus group to identify strengths and challenges. The overall results suggest that public libraries can offer leadership in the promotion of citizen science and contribute to the mission of public libraries to act as local community hubs. The main challenges identified were related to the complexity of collaboration, uncertainty regarding research co-creation, and participant retention strategies.