Using volunteers in Ontario hospital libraries: views of library managers.

BACKGROUND: Volunteers have been a resource for all types of libraries for many years. Little research has been done to describe the attitudes librarians have toward library volunteers. More specifically, the attitudes of hospital librarians toward volunteers have never been studied. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore and describe the extent of volunteer use and to determine library managers' attitudes toward volunteers. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: An anonymous, self-report 38-item questionnaire was mailed to the target population of 89 hospital library managers in Ontario. Seventy-nine useable questionnaires were analyzed from an adjusted sample of 86 eligible respondents, resulting in a response rate of 92%. SPSS 11.5 was used to analyze the data. FINDINGS: The data revealed the attitudes of managers using volunteers did not differ significantly from the attitudes of managers not using volunteers. The findings showed that a majority of managers did not believe their libraries were adequately staffed with paid employees. Sufficient evidence was found of an association between a manager's belief in the adequacy of staffing in the library and the use of volunteers in the library (chi2(1, N=76)=4.11, P=0.043). Specifically, volunteers were more likely to be used by managers who did not believe their libraries were adequately staffed. The presence of a union in the library and the use of volunteers were also associated (chi2(1, N=77)=4.77, P=0.029). When unions were present in the library, volunteers were less likely to be used. IMPLICATIONS: This research has implications for hospital library managers in the management of volunteers. Volunteers should not be viewed as a quick fix or as a long-term solution for a library's understaffing problem.     

Academic Librarianship Without the Degree: Examining the Characteristics and Motivations of Academic Library Professionals

Studies exploring librarians' backgrounds and career motivations frequently focus on all types of librarians or on students seeking degrees in librarianship. Investigating particular subsets of librarians is a field ripe for study. Here, we employed a survey of 193 academic library professionals, who are defined as those employed in professional positions in academic libraries but not possessing a graduate degree in librarianship. We found prior work in an academic library is a substantial motivating factor for entry into the field, as is also the case for traditional academic librarians who choose to attain a graduate degree in library science prior to obtaining a position in the library. The data also suggests that there are two main streams of entry for academic library professionals: those who are hired into functional positions that do not require a graduate degree in librarianship and those who hold paraprofessional titles that have taken on professional-level work. Finally, we found a majority of academic library professionals have no intention of, and do not see the value in, pursuing a graduate degree in librarianship.     

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.     

The Effect of Information Brokers on Reference Services:

Twenty-four public and academic reference librarians were surveyed for the purpose of obtaining information about the services if any, that they currently provide for information brokers, the appropriateness of providing reference services for those who market the information obtained, and whether or not reference departments of public and academic libraries should provide competing fee based reference services. Few public or academic librarians objected to providing reference services for information brokers. Academic reference librarians expressed the view that service should not interfere with services for their primary clientele. Public reference librarians generally held the opinion that their services should be available to all and had already been provided for with public funds. Both public and academic reference librarians expressed concern about qualifications of some commercial suppliers of information as this effected their relationship with them. Public reference librarians were of the opinion that information brokers did not compete with the library and the library should be hesitant about providing fee based reference services. Academic reference librarians were divided in their opinoins about the latter.     

Serials standards work: the next frontier

Serials, one of the more complicated areas of library technical endeavors, has lacked the benefit of standards for a long time. Even now, with standards beginning to be available, the majority of institutions are not working within standard serials formats. A survey to determine the use of serials standards in libraries was conducted in 1988 by the American Library Association, Resources and Technical Services Division, Serials Section, Committee to Study Serials Standards. In the spring of 1988 a survey was sent to a group encompassing the Association of Research Libraries members, CONSER participants, United States Newspaper Program participants, Microform Project libraries, and some vendors and librarians who attended the Committee meetings on a regular basis. The survey questionnaire assessed the current level of serials standards awareness of librarians and vendors. Topics included the type of serials systems used, standards relevant to serials control and union listing and whether or not they are implemented, types and levels of training staff received in the application of standards, benefits of the standards, and areas where standards are most needed.     

Research data management services in academic research libraries and perceptions of librarians

The emergence of data intensive science and the establishment of data management mandates have motivated academic libraries to develop research data services (RDS) for their faculty and students. Here the results of two studies are reported: librarians' RDS practices in U.S. and Canadian academic research libraries, and the RDS-related library policies in those or similar libraries. Results show that RDS are currently not frequently employed in libraries, but many services are in the planning stages. Technical RDS are less common than informational RDS, RDS are performed more often for faculty than for students, and more library directors believe they offer opportunities for staff to develop RDS-related skills than the percentage of librarians who perceive such opportunities to be available. Librarians need opportunities to learn more about these services either on campus or through attendance at workshops and professional conferences.     

Library workers' personal beliefs about childhood vaccination and vaccination information provision

This is a report on the impact of library workers'' personal beliefs on provision of vaccination information. Nine public librarians were interviewed about a hypothetical scenario involving a patron who is concerned about possible vaccination-autism connections. The analysis employed thematic coding. Results suggested that while most participants supported childhood vaccination, tension between their personal views and neutrality impacted their ability to conduct the interaction. The neutrality stance, though consonant with professional guidelines, curtails librarians'' ability to provide accurate health information. Outreach and communication between public and health sciences libraries can help librarians provide resources to address health controversies.     

Attitudinal Correlates of Selected Nigerian Librarians Towards the Use of Information Technology

The explosion of information technology (IT) since the beginning of the 20th century rendered manual-based library systems, in academic, research, special and public libraries, irrelevant. Implementing information technology in the digital age depends largely on librarians' attitudes. This study examines the attitudinal correlates of selected Nigerian librarians towards the use and application of IT in their libraries. Forty-one librarians were surveyed from the four selected automated libraries in state of Oyo in Nigeria form the study's population. Two research questions were developed to guide the study. The results indicate that four out of the five variables age, gender, educational qualifications and prior knowledge of IT significantly correlate with the librarians' attitudes towards IT. The other variable, IT anxiety, correlates negatively with the librarians' attitudes towards IT. Findings further show that all the five variables significantly predict librarian's attitude towards IT with prior IT experience showing the greatest predictive effect. Based on these findings, libraries in the developing countries should consider sending their librarians, who do not have knowledge of IT, to IT training in order to remove fear and anxiety hindering them from developing a better attitude towards the use of IT in their libraries.     

Librarian as Professional

What does it mean to be a professional, and do librarians meet the academic definition of a professional? Professions are strongly related to identity, and stereotypes associated with the culture of a profession are going to have some effect on the public’s perceptions of that profession. The stereotype of the vaguely purposed but somehow controlling older person (who “shushes” patrons to maintain silence) does not contribute positively to the professional image of a librarian. Library users do not even superficially understand what librarians do, and this leads to an undervaluing of the impact and importance of librarians. In the modern environment of budget challenges, it is important to be able to articulate the value of both libraries and particularly librarians. This article explores the sociological academic literature on professions to determine if librarianship meets the requirements to be a profession, if library literature supports librarianship as a profession, and why it matters for librarians to be seen as professionals.     

The Reference Librarian as Audience for NLS Reference Publications

The author describes the collections, roles, and services of the Reference Section of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress. He suggests that there is an audience among reference librarians for the publications produced by the NLS Reference Section. The reference librarians of the NLS network of regional and subregional libraries serving visually impaired and physically disabled readers are, of course, a primary audience for NLS reference publications. However, all items may be used as well by other librarians serving visually impaired and physically disabled people, the majority of whom undoubtedly work in public libraries. The author argues that as reference tools these publications may be used to answer quite specific inquiries and to make sound referrals on a wide range of questions. Librarians may request individual titles or have their libraries placed on a mailing list for any of the cited series.     

为公共图书馆辩护——“21世纪新图书馆运动论坛”之我见

中国公共图书馆没有贵族化,对其工作应予公正评价。不要把为大众服务与为生产、科研服务和开展特色服务对立起来。图书馆经费短缺的主要责任在政府。“图书馆精神”是应该永远发扬的。中国图书馆员是发扬了“图书馆精神”的。公共图书馆的工作有缺失,但不是主流。参考文献4。     

Special curricular themes for library education in Nigeria

The Nigerian society has cultural and social differences from those of people in developed countries from which educational programmes and practices have been borrowed. The differences are reflected in the peculiarities in the majority of Nigerian citizens’ need for educational and informational services in libraries. In responding to these peculiar needs of a people whose majority has had no tradition of using books, the librarian who administers their needs may require education and training which must differ in content from the conventional library programmes as currently borrowed from developed countries.

Core courses for the training of librarians who are expected to provide information which may not be recorded in print form, have been suggested for preparing these librarians for the kind of service that would sustain the interest and appreciation of their clientele in the use of libraries. The selected courses, based on the culture and structure of the people, will involve the production of literacy resources, information gathering and dissemination for non-literates, book publishing to conform with local demands and public relations activities which would ensure the social relevance of the library school programmes to the needs of the society.     

OA in the Library Collection: The Challenges of Identifying and Maintaining Open Access Resources

While librarians, researchers, and the general public have embraced the concept of Open Access (OA), librarians still have a difficult time managing OA resources. To find out why, Bulock and Hosburgh surveyed librarians about their experiences managing OA resources and the strengths and weaknesses of management systems. At this session, they shared survey results, reflected on OA workflows at their own libraries, and updated audience members on relevant standards and initiatives. Survey respondents reported challenges related to hybrid OA, inaccurate metadata, and inconsistent communication along the serials supply chain. Recommended solutions included the creation of consistent, centralized article-level metadata and the development of OA collection development principles for libraries.     

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.     

Special curricular themes for library education in Nigeria

The Nigerian society has cultural and social differences from those of people in developed countries from which educational programmes and practices have been borrowed. The differences are reflected in the peculiarities in the majority of Nigerian citizens' need for educational and informational services in libraries. In responding to these peculiar needs of a people whose majority has had no tradition of using books, the librarian who administers their needs may require education and training which must differ in content from the conventional library programmes as currently borrowed from developed countries.Core courses for the training of librarians who are expected to provide information which may not be recorded in print form, have been suggested for preparing these librarians for the kind of service that would sustain the interest and appreciation of their clientele in the use of libraries. The selected courses, based on the culture and structure of the people, will involve the production of literacy resources, information gathering and dissemination for non-literates, book publishing to conform with local demands and public relations activities which would ensure the social relevance of the library school programmes to the needs of the society.     

Strategies for the Development of Public Libraries: A Survey of Selected Public Libraries in Lagos State,Nigeria

Public libraries serve as valuable assets in meeting a community's strategic goals. This article investigates strategies for the development of public libraries in Lagos State, Nigeria. Observation and questionnaire methods were used as research tools. The population of the study consists of librarians and users of public libraries in Lagos State. The eleven public libraries and twenty local government libraries in the state were surveyed. The major findings were that public libraries in Lagos State were not adequately funded and that the parent body has yet to meet the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) standard of public library establishment. The study highlighted the challenges facing public libraries in Lagos and offered some remedies.     

Social capital,trust and social activity among librarians: Results of research conducted in 20 countries across the world

Libraries may stimulate social capital and social integration. They are institutions that enjoy a high level of social trust, which creates many opportunities. In 2018 and 2019, a survey on social capital, trust and social activity of librarians was conducted in 20 countries across the world. The research addresses the question of whether libraries as public institutions may prevent the alarming processes of social alienation of individuals. The findings show that librarians have an average level of individual social capital, but they have a relatively high level of trust in other people and often volunteer for their communities. Nonetheless, librarians tend to not believe in their own impact on the rest of the society/local community. Of most importance for them in their lives are emotional values, attachment and family values; they are less focused on material values, image, etc.