Beyond Satisfaction: Understanding and Promoting the Instructor-Librarian Relationship

This article reports upon the assessment and research activities undertaken by a research group of faculty librarians at Hunter College regarding the perceptions, awareness, and usage of library services by non-librarian faculty members. Given the initial directive to measure faculty satisfaction with library services, the research group developed an ongoing action-research protocol to pursue more meaningful assessments of faculty awareness and use of library services and resources. The researchers employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, gathering data through informal information groups with faculty members and through an online survey measuring faculty awareness of library resources and services (Faculty Awareness of Library Services (FALS)). The findings show that while Hunter faculty value relational engagement with the library, they are more frequently aware of non-relational, self-service library resources. Further, the data suggest that tenured faculty members are aware of library services at a higher rate than tenure-track faculty. This data forms the foundation of an on-going action-research protocol to assess long-term trends, the products of which will continue to inform faculty services, outreach, and programming.     

Another Look at Bibliographic Instruction for Business Students

Business faculty, as with faculty campus-wide, are often unaware of the advantages of bibliographic instruction for their students. The author advances methods, some of which draw upon new technologies, for encouraging faculty interest in BI, and discusses various teaching techniques which will stimulate student learning and interest during an instruction session.     

Implementation of promotion standards to discourage publishing in questionable journals: the role of the library

To discourage faculty members from publishing in questionable journals, tenure and promotion standards in which the librarians play an active role can been developed. These standards have been effective in terms of identifying publications in questionable outlets. However, we need to explore how these systems are perceived by the main actors in research, which are the researchers. This study explores the perception of the researchers at a university in Ghana who have been evaluated by a system implemented to discourage publishing in questionable publication outlets. We collected data using an online, largely qualitative questionnaire distributed to all faculty members that had applied for promotion since the implementation of the verification process. The results show that the majority of the faculty members are satisfied or very satisfied with the new tenure and promotion standards. There are differences across faculties, and this seems to be tied to concerns about the choice of publication outlets. Furthermore, the dissatisfied faculty members are concerned with the role of the library in the verification process whereas the satisfied trust the judgement of the librarians. We discuss implications of the results as well as future development of the standards.     

The relationships between work roles and information gathering of the faculty at SUNY,college at Fredonia

A survey of the faculty at the State University of New York (SUNY), College at Fredonia provided data for an investigation into the effect of faculty work roles upon information gathering. Faculty roles of teaching, research, and service are the key components of academic work. The extent to which these roles influence the faculty member's use of six categories of information sources forms the basis of this investigation. The findings indicate that there are discernible patterns in the faculty's use of various sources of information and that one's commitment to teaching, research, and service are factors that influence information gathering, although not always in the manner that had been predicted. Additional investigation of the research role reveals that the faculty member's age, possession of a doctoral degree, and quality of the doctoral degree have a relationship with commitment to research.     

Faculty input in book selection: a comparison of alternative methods

In an era of tight funding, academic medical center libraries need to determine their users' needs in order to provide cost-effective resource collections. Although faculty input is valuable, it is impractical to impose such ongoing responsibility on faculty members. This study tested an alternative method by comparing faculty preferences in discipline-specific subjects with faculty choices on corresponding discipline-specific, new-book approval slips from a vendor. Collection development librarian selections, based on formal selection criteria, were evaluated against both measures of faculty preferences. It was found that faculty members' subject ratings did not accurately predict their book choices. Implications of this and the other findings are discussed.     

Leading campus OER initiatives through library–faculty collaboration

With the rising costs of tuition and textbooks, Open Educational Resources (OERs) are becoming increasingly important. The university library, in collaboration with faculty, is a natural leader of OER initiatives at institutions of higher education. Cleveland State University's Michael Schwartz Library embraced this leadership role by assisting a faculty member with developing an OER, which involved balancing the workload between librarians and the faculty member, determining successful modes of communication, taking advantage of graphic design skills, and more. The success of this initial collaboration has led the Library to expand its support of OER initiatives on campus.     

Self-Efficacy of Academic Librarians: Implications for Public Services Managers

The question of academic librarian status has resulted in academic librarians approaching relationships with faculty as one of deference, where they cede power to disciplinary faculty regardless of their own expertise. To date, no research has explored why academic librarians engage in deference behavior when working with disciplinary faculty. Self-efficacy, a person's beliefs in their ability to perform a task, may be an appropriate theoretical framework to begin exploring this behavior. This pilot study explores the perceived self-efficacy of Colorado academic librarians holding an instruction and/or liaison role (n = 68) in order to examine academic librarians' levels of perceived self-efficacy and its relationship to faculty status and years in profession. Results indicate that there is not a significant relationship between perceived self-efficacy and faculty status or years in profession but that gender is significantly associated with perceived self-efficacy. Results also indicate a change in self-efficacy as library faculty progress between faculty ranks. Avenues for future research on academic librarian self-efficacy are suggested and implications for public services managers are discussed.     

Business Faculty's Attitudes: Open Access,Disciplinary Repositories,and Institutional Repositories

Business faculty were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and open access journals. The majority of faculty was unaware of institutional repositories at their local institutions. However, approximately one third are using disciplinary repositories and are receiving encouragement from their departments to do so. Likewise, many faculty are unaware of open access journals. Open access journals are seen as lacking prestige and being lower quality publications in the business field due to the lack of prestigious publishers and editors. Many faculty believe their prestige would fall if they published in an open access journal.     

Academic status for medical school librarians

Results of a survey conducted indicate that most medical schools grant academic status in some degree to their professional librarians. Faculty appointments and benefits are not always awarded. In order to upgrade the stature and effectiveness of the medical school librarian in relation to his institution and to the teaching faculty, his having faculty status is desirable. It is the medical school's responsibility to grant faculty status to librarians who possess necessary qualifications; likewise, it is the responsibility of the medical school librarian to merit faculty rank on a basis with other teaching faculty. In three new medical schools, the library is considered an academic department, and other schools are considering such designation.     

Law Library Faculty Services Web Sites: Effectively Communicating Services Provided for Faculty

This article contains the results of an empirical analysis and review of 199 American Bar Association-accredited law school library Web pages to identify the law library services for faculty that are advertised or promoted on law library Web sites. The analysis ranked the Web sites based on how thoroughly a law library communicates, or promotes on its Web site, the services it offers to faculty. The analysis also identified the percentage of law libraries advertising specific services for faculty, such as those related to library staffing, publishing support, teaching support, and research services. Suggestions are included for the promotion of the law library to faculty, including services some libraries are uniquely offering.     

To Infinity and Beyond: Reducing Textbook Costs Through Librarian/Faculty Collaborations

As subject and distance learning librarians, we have a special interest in supporting our faculty and their needs as they explore alternative and more affordable textbook options for their students. In an increasingly digital environment, there are a wealth of resources available at little or no cost to students. Unfortunately, finding these resources can be challenging and time consuming for faculty. This is where librarians step in. Through careful planning and collaboration with faculty, we can help transition course reading to online and open resources. Librarians can assist in this process by helping faculty identify appropriate resources, helping integrate resources into online learning environments, and providing support for student access to materials. This paper will describe this process from start to finish, utilizing our experience supporting a faculty member with an Ethnobotany course textbook as it was transitioned to an online textbook option.     

Are we represented as who we are? An assessment of library faculty online profiles within the City University of New York

Academic librarians have been wrestling with faculty status and rank for many decades and their dual identities as professionals and faculty made their identity representations in the online profile environment designed by colleges and universities even more complicated. Misrepresentation or insufficient representation of academic librarians' identities could lead to jeopardy of their public images within colleges and universities, or even trigger suspicion that academic librarians bring an impediment to academic standards by achieving less or none. Therefore, this study surveyed library faculty's online profiles within the libraries of the City University of New York and tried to assess whether library faculty are represented as who they are. The results revealed three categories of profiles: Business-Card Profiles, Quasi-Faculty Profiles, and Full-Level Faculty Profiles, which brought out the discussion about business identification, the creative Me, and the collective We, as well as their relations to institutional culture.     

Book Budget Formula Allocations

This essay attempts to organize the periodical literature of book budget formula allocations in the academic library setting. Topics covered include; studies in which the impact of faculty book selection, in terms of circulation, and faculty selection behavior are examined; theoretical literature in terms of issues and formula development; and studies in which actual practices are reported.     

Faculty citations: An approach to assessing the impact of diminishing resources on scientific research

In an effort to assess the impact of diminished library resources on scientific research, the Georgia Institute of Technology library collection was evaluated by analyzing the sources cited in the publications of faculty in the applied and physical sciences for 1989. This study indicates that even with substantial periodical cancellations, the periodical collection supports the majority of faculty needs since they rely primarily on core journals in their disciplines. Other materials cited less frequently in published faculty research — monographs, proceedings, technical reports, other serials, and government documents — are examined. The limitations of this method, its institutionally specific results, and the need to learn more about the information-seeking behaviors of research science faculty are also discussed.     

A Study of Humanities Faculty Library Information Seeking Behavior

The purpose of this study is to obtain information which would help planners of the online catalog design a catalog which would be relevant to the needs of university faculty. Data was obtained by means of a questionnaire mailed to the faculty, College of Humanities, University of Utah. It was found that (1) references in books or articles they read; (2) the Subject Catalog; and (3) printed indexes, bibliographies and research guides in that order were the three most utilized information sources. Browsing was an important fourth. The faculty would like more in-depth coverage of the local library collection rather than access to other library catalogs or online databases from the catalog terminal. Feedback and comments in response to an open-ended question varied.     

Scholarly productivity of U.S. LIS faculty

One aspect of faculty effectiveness can be measured through research productivity, and publication and citation rates can serve as an indicator of that productivity. This study, the fourth in a series to examine LIS faculty and program productivity as measured by publication and citation, uses the same methodology as the previous investigations. A consistent data instrument (the Social Science Citation Index) provided publication and citation data for LIS faculty, covering the years 1999 to 2004. Tables show the faculty and programs with the highest publication and citation rates, both overall and per capita, as well as a cumulative ranking of LIS programs based on faculty research productivity. This study, in conjunction with the three previous, documents an increase in LIS research productivity, suggesting an increase in faculty effectiveness.     

Faculty perceptions of librarians and library services: Exploring the impact of librarian faculty status and beyond

ACRL recommends that librarians with faculty status have the same privileges and responsibilities as other faculty on campus. A recent study revealed librarians feel that being on an equal footing with other faculty improves the relationship. It is not clear whether disciplinary faculty feel the same way. This paper presents a study investigating faculty perceptions of librarians in two types of institutions: those granting and not granting librarians faculty status. The study found no noticeable differences in perceptions of librarians and library services. However, the authors identified variables other than librarian-faculty-status as important in affecting the relationship between librarians and teaching faculty. These factors can help better understand faculty needs. Effective strategies can be established to meet those needs.     

Discriminative graphical models for faculty homepage discovery

Faculty homepage discovery is an important step toward building an academic portal. Although the general homepage finding tasks have been well studied (e.g., TREC-2001 Web Track), faculty homepage discovery has its own special characteristics and not much focused research has been conducted for this task. In this paper, we view faculty homepage discovery as text categorization problems by utilizing Yahoo BOSS API to generate a small list of high-quality candidate homepages. Because the labels of these pages are not independent, standard text categorization methods such as logistic regression, which classify each page separately, are not well suited for this task. By defining homepage dependence graph, we propose a conditional undirected graphical model to make joint predictions by capturing the dependence of the decisions on all the candidate pages. Three cases of dependencies among faculty candidate homepages are considered for constructing the graphical model. Our model utilizes a discriminative approach so that any informative features can be used conveniently. Learning and inference can be done relatively efficiently for the joint prediction model because the homepage dependence graphs resulting from the three cases of dependencies are not densely connected. An extensive set of experiments have been conducted on two testbeds to show the effectiveness of the proposed discriminative graphical model.     

Assessment of Marketing Faculty Publications at a Major Research University to Satisfy Information Needs

This paper provides an evidence-based assessment of the University of Arkansas Libraries' collections to determine whether they are adequate to support the research and teaching needs of the marketing department. Specifically, it determined where the marketing faculty published, the characteristics of their publications, and the characteristics of their cited references. The study found that the faculty cited more recent literature and a prevalence of journal articles in their cited references. The results also demonstrate the preference of marketing faculty to work in small groups consisting of two to four collaborators.