Managing Business Periodicals Collections

This paper reviews general evaluation methods useful in managing collections of business periodicals. These methods include citation analysis, use surveys, user surveys, studies of uses, interlibrary loan, and indexing. Examples of each method are provided. The paper concludes wlth a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each evaluation method for the three most common collection management decisions: selection, storage, and cancellation.     

Using artificial intelligence to identify administrative errors in unemployment insurance

Administrative errors in unemployment insurance (UI) decisions give rise to a public values conflict between efficiency and efficacy. We analyze whether artificial intelligence (AI) – in particular, methods in machine learning (ML) – can be used to detect administrative errors in UI claims decisions, both in terms of accuracy and normative tradeoffs. We use 16 years of US Department of Labor audit and policy data on UI claims to analyze the accuracy of 7 different random forest and deep learning models. We further test weighting schemas and synthetic data approaches to correcting imbalances in the training data. A random forest model using gradient descent boosting is more accurate, along several measures, and preferable in terms of public values, than every deep learning model tested. Adjusting model weights produces significant recall improvements for low-n outcomes, at the expense of precision. Synthetic data produces attenuated improvements and drawbacks relative to weights.     

Analyzing Critical Incidents Stories to Understand Change Management Process in the Adoption of e-Resources at the University of Botswana Library

This study used the critical incidents technique to gather the University Botswana Library staff's stories relating to the change management process during the implementation of e-resources projects. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 13 individuals who were involved in the implementation of various projects at the library. Data was analyzed using grounded theory techniques of open coding, selective coding, and axial coding. The results of the study showed that communication, investing in resources, capacity building, team building, garnering external support through collaboration, and users' involvement were key change management strategies used. The library staff were involved in the coordination of projects, systems selection, liaising with stakeholders and consultants, benchmarking, and conducting in-house training. The findings also showed some challenges encountered, which included staff ignorance, reluctance, and fear to take decisions, and inadequate training facilities. The study recommends dedicated project team members with reduced workload and having knowledge and skills to lead the teams to fully participate and engage in the project process.     

高校图书馆学科馆员培训的设计与实施-CALIS三期学科馆员培训的实践与特色

立足上海交通大学图书馆所负责的CALIS三期"馆员素养培训与资质认证"项目实践,从培训目标、培训方式、课程内容、考核办法与组织管理机制5个方面,重点阐述学科馆员培训体系的设计思路与主要内容。结合CALIS学科馆员培训的实施情况,分析、总结学科馆员培训的特色以及需要注意的问题。     

Evaluating Factor Analysis Decisions for Scale Design in Communication Research

Factor analysis techniques offer the communication researcher a set of important tools for the development and substantiation of attitude and opinion scales. Often, however, crucial factoring decisions are based on convention or misunderstanding, leading to questionable conclusions. The purpose of this article is to offer the nontechnical communication researcher a foundation for making and defending rational factoring decisions that can lead to quality scales. Basic concepts and recommendations are discussed regarding scale design, sample size and selection, number of variables, reduction and rotation methods, and factor retention criteria. A content analysis of 184 communication research studies from 51 communication journals that reported the use of exploratory factor analysis is included in order to determine common factoring methods and evidence of factoring decision rationales. Extending previous research that found inappropriate decisions or nonreporting of factoring decisions within studies in communication research and psychological research journals, this study demonstrates that factoring decisions in the broad community of communication journals is even less rigorous in these regards.     

Delivery of health informatics education and training

An overview is provided of education and training in health information management in the context of national information strategies. Although the article focuses upon British programmes, there are examples from North America, Australasia and other countries. Reference is made to international activities in the development of generic courses for education and training, the need for education and training, the content of courses, and methods of delivery, including Internet‐based training and education. Governments and health authorities in many countries have recognized the urgent need for a highly educated and trained workforce in information management, but universities have been slow to respond, until the last few years. However, there is now a plethora of education and training programmes in North America, most European countries, and Australasia.     

The Impact of Implementing Electronic Reserves on Staffing and Service

ABSTRACT

Electronic Reserves provides new opportunities for collaboration between libraries, new staffing challenges, and new methods for assessing library services. This article examines the impact on staffing and services of implementing Electronic Reserves in several libraries on the campus of a major midwestern research institution. Results of a staff survey and use studies are incorporated. The benefits and difficulties of centralizing the management and workflow between libraries of Electronic Reserves are analyzed, as well as other related staffing issues such as processing time, space, training, etc.     

数据挖掘在针灸临床治疗方案决策中的应用研究

为了提高针灸临床医生的医疗水平,促进针灸临床实践的发展,提出了将数据挖掘技术应用于针灸临床治疗方案决策中。结合针灸学科特点和临床诊治规律,运用数据挖掘方法对名老针灸处方进行数据分析比较,获取有益临床治疗方案决策的结果信息。     

近20年国外参考咨询服务评价研究综述

本文对近20年国外参考咨询服务评价,包括评价方法,如干扰性评价法、非干扰性评价法、观察法、WOREP调查法以及参考咨询馆员技能调查、成本-效益分析等进行总结和归纳,认为我国图书馆参考咨询评价研究应多借鉴国外的各种参考咨询服务评价与实证研究方法,为参考咨询服务评价及管理决策提供科学依据.     

Building a Foundation for Collection Management Decisions

Salisbury University and the University of Maryland, College Park, both undertook projects to evaluate the effectiveness of EBSCO Information Service’s EBSCONET® Usage Consolidation product and the usefulness of the extracted data for collection development decisions. The goals of implementation were to centralize the collection and analysis of e-resource usage data and to allow collection management librarians easy access to usage and cost per use data to aid in their decision making. The presenters discussed how staff at each institution populated Usage Consolidation and presented usage reports to collection managers; how collection managers responded to the data; and how they used the data to inform collection management decisions.     

Public health practitioners' information access and use patterns in the Maryland (USA) public health departments of Anne Arundel and Wicomico Counties

PURPOSE: To increase understanding of the information needs and use of public health practitioners. SETTING: From June 2005 to May 2006, the library offered a course in public health information resources to eighteen practitioners in two counties, access to the library's licensed electronic resources through a tailored web portal, and consulting services. EVALUATION METHOD: We combined usage statistics from the web portal, self-report and observational data collected during training and shadowing of participants. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this project indicate that usage of licensed information resources and services is infrequent but broad ranging. A few users register at the high end of the usage range, but one use of one high quality article can have a significant impact on policy decisions. Time and competing responsibilities often constrain the retrieval and use of resources for evidence-based decision making and an informationist or power-user model may be more appropriate than training all practitioners to integrate searching into their workflow. This study indicates (i) that evidence-based public health practice requires seamless and broadly based information access; and (ii) that the currently existing patchwork does not support the level of use or take into account the time constraints of information needs for public health practice.     

Uncertainty and previvors’ cancer risk management: understanding the decision-making process

Women who test positive for a BRCA genetic mutation, but who have not been diagnosed, or 'previvors,' experience intense, chronological risk-related uncertainty. Women’s risk management medical decisions can be a way to manage their uncertainty, but little is known about how uncertainty informs their decision or how uncertainty is impacted by these medical decisions. Using an uncertainty management theoretical lens, we interviewed 46 previvors about their decision-making process. A thematic analysis revealed two uncertainty management (i.e., risk-reducing) decision-making pathways (preventive surgery and increased surveillance) with each pathway encompassing a three-part process of 1) uncertainty appraisal, 2) medical decision (i.e., uncertainty management strategy), and 3) outcomes. The findings advance theoretical thinking about uncertainty and risk management as an ongoing, distressful chronic experience, and highlight the importance of life-span phenomena in women’s decision-making process. Based on the findings, we constructed a translational tool to aid genetic counselors and previvors facing these medical decisions.     

图书馆管理行为融入投资决策模式的思考

投资决策追求投资回报率,它以资金的盈亏直观评价投资决策的优劣。图书馆管理行为,同样追求以最小的成本付出,取得较大的管理效果。股票投资是常见的一种投资决策行为,本文以股票投资为例,探讨图书馆管理行为的规范化、科学化。     

Methods for training library staff members in the use of CD-ROMs in federal depository libraries in Texas a survey

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey mailed to one contact person in each of the 59 selective depositories in Texas. The purpose of this study was to determine the methods employed to train depository library staff members in the state of Texas to use federal government CD-ROMs. This study examined the types of formal training programs and the informal methods of training used. Informal methods were more commonly employed than formal methods. Almost one-half of the respondents reported that none of the staff members received formal training. A large percentage, however, received informal training. The most common method of formal training was a workshop or conference conducted by an outside expert. The most common types of informal training were self-instruction and one-on-one instruction.     

医学信息管理专业实践教学改革新思路

针对医学信息管理专业教育的现状和存在的不足,提出了一种新的实践教学改革思路,即创建“专业实践技能特训”实践教学环节。最后介绍了“专业实践技能培训”的实现途径。     

From warehouse to gateway: A new university library and a new paradigm

Developing a research library for a new university provides the challenge and the opportunity to test some ideas currently prominent within academic librarianship and to use new information technology in an unprecedented way. A philosophical commitment to building an “electronic library” affects planning and management decisions at every stage. This library is committed to supporting university teaching and research programs by providing access to bibliographical citations, abstracts and full-text material, based on what is available in a discipline, not just what has been acquired by the library; “access over ownership” is not just a current slogan but a basic element in decision-making.     

Meeting the information needs of clinicians for the practice of evidence-based healthcare

This article reports on clinicians’ use of library resources and the competencies they require to access information necessary for the practice of evidence-based healthcare. It is based on the results of a study commissioned by North Thames Region to identify the training needs of clinicians for the adoption and practice of evidence-based healthcare. Participants in this qualitative research study included librarians, clinicians (doctors, nurses and PAMs) and managers from four Acute and Community Trusts in and around London. The research indicates that the majority of clinicians recognize the need to keep up-to-date with changes in their specialty and many visit their libraries on a frequent basis, however, few appear to be searching for information with which to inform their immediate clinical decisions. Our sample acknowledged their low usage of journals such as Bandolier, the Health Effectiveness Bulletin and Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. Similarly, low use of electronic databases, such as Cochrane and Cinahl, were reported. Examination of skill and self-efficacy levels in accessing and using information databases revealed wide variations across professions, specialities and Trusts. Qualitative research methods were employed to elicit the key competencies required to access clinically relevant research evidence, and a framework for integrating these competencies is presented.     

大学生竞争情报教育的现状与对策——基于内江师范学院竞争情报教育的现状分析

竞争情报是关于竞争环境、竞争对手、竞争态势及竞争策略的信息和研究。在全球化竞争条件下,高等院校创新人才的培养,尤其应该增强竞争情报技能的教育,以提升大学生的竞争情报意识和竞争能力。对信息与情报的认知度不高、对竞争情报技能的运用能力较差是目前大学生中存在的主要问题。基于内江师范学院大学生竞争情报能力的现状,影响大学生竞争情报教育的主要因素,一是图书馆与信息技术因素;二是图书馆与情报服务因素;三是大学生自身的因素。具体改进措施是：转变教学模式,增加竞争情报教育内容,开展多层次情报教育;注重实践教学,建立有效的教学评估体系;加强竞争情报学科建设,促进竞争情报教育发展。     

From data to decisions: Using surveys and statistics to make collection management decisions

Librarians are well known as gatherers of statistics and other data. However, we do not always use the information that we gather, preferring instead to point to the numbers themselves as evidence of our work. This presentation attempted both to describe the benefits and drawbacks of numerous ways to accumulate information about our collections and library services and to show how that information can be used to make collection management decisions. The types of data to be described include usage statistics, subject–date analysis, bibliography or peer comparisons, patron input, cost-per-use, wear and tear, and anecdotal evidence. No one method of gathering data will give a complete picture. However, using a combination of data gathering methods can help to give an overall picture of the strengths and weaknesses of a given collection and give clues about what areas may need development—or can be ignored.