Acceptance of digital library among female students and effects of limited access of digital library on their performance in research work: A case of International Islamic University

This study investigates the acceptance and importance of digital library among female students of International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. The study also highlights the problems that are confronted by the female students in completing their research work after limited access to digital library in the female campus of the University.

Survey was administered personally to collect data from 315 female students of eight faculties of the female campus of the university. The convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from the subjects of the study.

The access to digital library is indispensable to the students to complete their research work. With limited access to the digital library the students were unable to meet their information needs from the Internet and the libraries of other universities. The quantity as well as quality of their research work were affected due the restriction of digital resources. Also the limited access affected adversely to improve insight of the respondents regarding technological developments in their respective area of research. The lack of informational literacy program, IT training workshops, IT literate staff and the electricity failure were the main hindrance to access digital library as well as Internet.

This study was limited only to female students of the International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan.     

What leadership qualities are necessary for productive librarianship? Explore coaxial traits of academic librarians in the twin cities of Pakistan

Academic libraries are experiencing significant changes, and leadership plays an essential role in successfully implementing those changes. The study analyzed the leadership practices in academic libraries in Pakistan's twin cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi). Another important purpose of the study was to shed light on the adopted practices in decision-making and motivating staff. The qualitative research approach was used to achieve the objectives. A structured interview method was employed to collect data from twenty chief librarians or directors of university libraries in Rawalpindi and Islamabad (twin cities). A purposive sampling technique was used. Open-ended questions were used to collect the data by considering the research objectives. The consent was taken from the selected LIS professionals as prior permission for the interview. NVivo was used to analyze the data, which was then presented using thematic content analysis. The findings revealed that most university library leaders were practising and following the participatory leadership style, also known as democratic leadership.The study will create awareness among academic professionals about the adopted leadership styles and practices and the benefits that can be obtained by implementing them. It will also attract the attention of associated bodies towards this dilemma and result in a positive initiative to build leadership skills in LIS professionals. To our knowledge, no prior study has been conducted to analyze the leadership practices in academic libraries in the Twin Cities, Pakistan. This study will fill that niche.     

The Effects of Mass Media Use and Social Capital on Civic and Political Participation

More recently, many scholars have lamented the decline of social capital, civic and political participation in American society. This study attempts to clarify the concept of social capital and its major components. We differentiate two dimensions of social capital: trust and social connectedness. In addition, we investigate the differential effects of a full range of media use on civic and political participation.

Analysis of data from a telephone survey in Clarksville, Tennessee in 2002 showed that people's social connectedness enhances both civic and political participation. Time spent in reading newspaper and watching public affairs on television was positively correlated with political participation whereas frequency of Internet use and entertainment TV viewing was not. The results also showed no correlation between media use and civic participation. Implications of the findings for future research on democratic citizenship were discussed.     

Status of Public Libraries in Rawalpindi District,Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to assess the status of public libraries located in Rawalpindi District, Pakistan, in terms of administrative setup, collection, staff, resources, and services. The article is derived from evidence obtained through a questionnaire-based survey carried out in December 2013. This survey was conducted for the preparation of “Directory of Public Library Project” a joint venture of Punjab Library Foundation and Department of Library and Information Science, University of the Punjab. The survey found eleven public libraries in the District of Rawalpindi. Only three of these have professional staff. Overall, libraries have poor and outdated book collections that are not properly classified and cataloged. Information Communication Technology infrastructure exists in libraries with some exceptions. Most of the libraries are facing constraints (e.g., low number of hours, too small in size, and too many users for size of collections) that result in inadequate services. Most of the libraries are facing similar problems, which are being faced by other public libraries of Pakistan (e.g., shortage of professional staff, lack of modern facilities, and insufficient funds). Practical recommendations are made at the end of study.     

Did Social Media Really Matter? College Students' Use of Online Media and Political Decision Making in the 2008 Election

This study examined college students' use of online media for political purposes in the 2008 election. Social media attention, online expression, and traditional Internet attention were assessed in relation to political self-efficacy and situational political involvement. Data from a Web survey of college students showed significant positive relationships between attention to traditional Internet sources and political self-efficacy and situational political involvement. Attention to social media was not significantly related to political self-efficacy or involvement. Online expression was significantly related to situational political involvement but not political self-efficacy. Implications are discussed for political use of online media for young adults.     

A survey of Internet access and usage among undergraduates in an African university

Abstract

The study surveyed the use of Internet among undergraduate students at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed using a stratified sampling method to select the respondents. Ten faculties were covered. A total of 664 questionnaires were returned and all were usable. The findings revealed a high percentage use of the Internet. The access point for them is cyber cafes. The university library though linked to the Internet is yet to provide access to students. Respondents pay for the access time through their pocket money for food, books and assistance from friends. Their use of the Internet has not affected their use of the library. Some problems they face in their use of the Internet include slowness of the server and payment for the access time. The study recommends that the university should provide access points for students. The university library also should continue to aim at ensuring that it gets enough funds from the government and sponsors to be able to provide access points in the library for use by students and include the use of Internet in its library instruction course.     

Challenges of getting faculty status: Perception of university librarians in Pakistan

Abstract

Objective:To find out the university head librarians’ perceptions about the issues in getting faculty status.

Methodology:A qualitative research design was used to explore the issue through personal and telephonic interviews with 15 chief librarians of 18 university libraries located in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The textual data was content-analyzed and coded. The emerged themes and subthemes have been presented with the frequency of their occurrences. The findings have been supported by the selected quotations of the interviewees.

Findings:A majority of the librarians had vague understanding of the notion of faculty status. Almost all of them desired for granting faculty status to the university librarians. However, their opinion was divided on the prerequisites for faculty status. Most of them supported the same criteria for employment and promotion of faculty librarians, as is used in case of their teaching faculty counterparts. The study has identified that the main barriers in getting faculty status are the librarians themselves, lacking preparedness in terms of qualifications and research output.

Implications:The study brings into light both the possibilities of granting faculty status to the university librarians and barriers in this regard. Besides, the findings though extracted from a small number of respondents, may be of interest to other countries in the region.

Originality/value:This exploratory investigation identifies barriers in getting faculty status and is the first ever study on the subject in the local literature.

Conclusion:Faculty status will help in improving visibility, image and respect of librarians. Therefore, there is a need to prepare university librarians for faculty status, and to struggle for getting it.     

Meta-analysis of the relationship between Internet use and political participation: examining main and moderating effects

Although a growing number of studies are examining the relationship between Internet use and political participation, varying study characteristics make the overall effect size difficult to estimate. Using a meta-analysis, we estimated the mean effect size and tested whether the effect size was influenced by study characteristics. Data for this meta-analysis were derived from 56 papers reporting 63 independent studies. Results revealed that Internet use had a weak relationship with political participation (r_c?=?.22). Moderator analyses demonstrated that type of Internet use, Internet use measure, Internet use for news, type of political participation, sample origin, and survey year significantly moderated the relationship between Internet use and political participation. For instance, Internet use including news (r_c?=?.27) had a significantly stronger relationship with political participation than did Internet use excluding news (r_c?=?.19). European samples (r_c?=?.27) had the largest mean correlation followed by North American samples (r_c?=?.23) and Asian samples (r_c?=?.18) in decreasing order of strength of relationship. The theoretical and methodological implications of the findings are discussed.     

FROM THE LITERATURE: Terry Henner,Column Editor

ABSTRACT

In spring 2015, a 45-question survey was e-mailed to 585 medical students at the University at Buffalo (UB) in order to gauge their use of library spaces, resources, equipment, and services at UB’s Health Sciences Library and plan for a library space located within a new medical school building. Students’ self-reported use of the library during the academic year is presented along with the features they would like to see in their ideal library space. The responses generated in the survey are a barometer of current use and will be used in the planning process.     

Knowing your users and what they want

Abstract

In order to have a successful library program for offcampus students, librarians must understand who their students are and what they want. This paper will address the issues involved in conducting a user survey for off-campus students. The paper will cover details on developing a survey; it will discuss the logistics of sending and receiving; and it will examine one method of evaluation. This work is based on a student survey conducted by the University of Iowa Libraries during November 1998 and March 1999.     

Providing Off-Campus Library Services by “Team”

Abstract

In contrast to many large academic libraries, Kansas State University (K-State) does not have a distance librarian. As a result, the Library Services Project Team (Team) was formed to take a fresh look at current library services for distance learners. Although the Team has been in place for over two years, and has implemented many changes, there was no mechanism for receiving formal feedback from students and faculty about these services. Because it is important to know whether services are being used, two librarians on the Team developed a Web-based survey targeted at distance faculty and students. This paper discusses the assessment project including development of the survey, the university approval process, use of an electronic in-house survey system, administration of the survey, and compilation and analysis of results.     

No Phone Zone

Abstract

This article reports the results of a survey of cell phone policies in university libraries conducted over a three-month period in 2005. The authors sought information about the libraries' problems regarding cell phone use and attendant noise by students and other library users. The authors began with an 18-question survey of one hundred libraries, with at least one library from every state. When the response was low, the authors expanded their research by looking at every library Web page that had the word “University” in its title. Finally, they contacted several larger libraries that had policies banning cell phone use altogether to see whether they worked. Most respondents found cell phone noise a problem. Most respondents indicated that public service staff and security officers enforced the policies; comments from the original survey were insightful concerning compliance solutions.     

Internet Resources for Politics,Political Science,and Political Scientists

Summary

A typology of information needs for political science allows academic librarians to match local and Internet resources with materials relevant to public users, non-major undergraduates, political science majors, graduate students, and professional political scientists. Recognizing public and non-specialist users, we may distinguish needs for information about politics from that which is specifically political science information. Second, the needs of majors, graduate students, and political science professionals often fall within the bounds created by the discipline's generally recognized subfields. Finally, as academics, graduate students and professionals have functional needs for information that helps them teach, publish, and participate in professional affairs. Because the number of potentially relevant topics is singularly broad and the literature of the discipline spans two and a half millennia, this article emphasizes gateway or directory Web sites appropriate to each type of information need.     

The Aesthetics of the Internet in St. Petersburg: Why Metaphor Matters

This article proposes that the metaphors with which people imagine the Internet are more central to its political constitution than might at first be supposed. Instead of focusing on discourses of whether the Internet is a progressive force, a capitalist or anticapitalist space, digital commons or artifact of controlled interests, this article shows that metaphors of social relations themselves frame the politicization of the Internet. The way social actors are conceptualized in turn informs the senses in which a technology could be considered an object of political constitution, and the senses in which policy is a relevant mode of social engagement. An ethnographic account of uses of the Internet in St. Petersburg, Russia is presented with a view to framing Western metaphors of sociality.     

Student Satisfaction with Electronic Library Resources at Wayne State University

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the results of a survey of student satisfaction with electronic library resources other than the online catalog at Wayne State University. Undertaken in Fall Term 2000 as a class project for a marketing course, a student team designed, administered, and analyzed a survey of a random sample of students. Almost 40% of the responding students said that they were unaware of electronic resources though 53.8% of these same students answered subsequent questions about use of these resources. Students aware of electronic resources learned about them much more from their professors (38.3%) than from library efforts to publicize them (18.5%). Students were generally satisfied (68%) except when things went wrong. A high percentage of all students (92.4%) answered that the library should continue to expand electronic resources.     

The prediction of Internet utilization behavior of undergraduate agricultural students: An application of the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

The theory of planned behavior has received significant attention more recently. This study used a survey to apply the theory of planned behavior to predict the Internet utilization behavior among 214 undergraduate agricultural students in Iran. Coefficient correlations and linear regressions were employed to analyze relationships among constructs. Results revealed that subjective norm and intention were the strongest predictors of the Internet utilization behavior, which explained 57% of the variance. Perceived behavioral control was the most significant predictor of the Internet use intentions. Subjective norms, to a lesser degree also had important influences on intention. Attitude did not surface as an effective direct predictor of the Internet utilization behavior. Finally, the theory of planned behavior was supported as an effective model explaining the Internet utilization behavior. The most prevalent reason to stop using the Internet was that they were experiencing problems getting access to the Internet.     

We Won't Be Fooled Again: Teaching Critical Thinking via Evaluation of Hoax and Historical Revisionist Websites in a Library Credit Course

ABSTRACT

At Central Michigan University, librarians teach multiple sections of an eight-week, one-credit research skills class to hundreds of undergraduate students each semester. While the main focus of the course is to teach students how to find, use, and properly cite library resources, librarians also address critical thinking skills by designing lessons to teach World Wide Web organization and how to analyze the information found via search engines. Showing student's obvious hoax sites about “tree octopi” and “male pregnancy” introduces the concepts of critical thinking and Website analysis. Most students quickly refute the information on such sites. However, students have a more difficult time assessing social, historical, or political revisionist Web sites' validity. Contrasting those claims with evidence accepted by international courts, historians, and scientists is useful in pointing out the flaws of seemingly well documented but one-sided revisionist sites. There are dangers in exposing students to these groups via their Websites. Yet, it is important to do so in order to convey the importance of critical analysis of information. The authors discuss students' pre- and post-test (CMU's online assessment tool, the “research readiness self-assessment” [RRSA]) scores to determine whether critical thinking skills have improved.     

Dual Screening: Examining Social Predictors and Impact on Online and Offline Political Participation Among Taiwanese Internet Users

This study investigates how social factors affect Taiwanese Internet users’ dual screening use and its impact on online and offline political participation. The Web survey recruits 961 dual screen users. Structural equation modeling results show that bridging social capital and perceived social presence are significantly associated with dual screening use. Dual screening is positively related to online and offline political participation. Dual screening use strongly influences offline political participation when mediated by online political participation. Moreover, alternative media trust is positively related to online political participation, whereas mainstream media trust shows a negative association.     

Higher Education and Emerging Technologies: Shifting Trends in Student Usage

This study serves as an update to a previous study by Sam Houston State University librarians about the use and preferences of Internet, communication, and educational technologies among students. Since the previous study was initiated in 2010, the iPad has made its debut and significantly altered the educational technology landscape. In this new landscape, this study investigates student usage of such technologies as instant messaging, cell phones, e-readers, social networking, RSS feeds, podcasts, and tablets. In addition, this study aims to determine which technologies students prefer the library to utilize for a variety of services, such as reference assistance or book renewals, and which technologies may not be worth the investment, such as geosocial networking. The information gained from this survey is intended to provide guidance for libraries looking to provide services utilizing the most popular technologies with the most efficient use of resources. Survey results show an increasing use and dependence on educational technologies and a desire for basic library services to be available on a variety of platforms and technologies.