EBSCO and Summon Discovery Generator Tools: How Accurate Are They?

Most college and university libraries in British Columbia are using either EBSCO or Summon Discovery search services as a “one stop shop” for users to find, save, and cite resources for their projects. The citation generators that both EBSCO and Summon offer simplify the process of inserting citations into essays, however the citations need to be accurate for users to be able to submit citations that are error free. Considering this, this article looks at the accuracy of the citation generators each service offers. A total of twenty resources were picked from student library assignments for print books, eBooks, and articles in APA, Chicago, and MLA styles to determine the number and types of errors that occur for EBSCO and Summon Discovery. The error rate was substantial enough that caution must be used when creating citations using these tools and librarians should advise users that Discovery citation generators cannot be relied upon to provide accurate citations.     

Library lists: core or apple?

Core lists for medical libraries are intended to offer a minimal coverage of the medical literature. But they have grave drawbacks: (1) The coverage of some specialties is so minimal in several well-known lists as to be misleading. (2) A small hospital lacking a specialist in a particular branch of medicine does not need a specialist journal in that branch. Such a journal is better borrowed from a neighbouring hospital where the appropriate specialist can also be consulted. (3) Many hospitals will stick only to the core list, leading to excessive uniformity across the country.What librarians should be offered is a list of about 300-400 journals from which to make a selection on the following criteria: (1) The preference of the doctors who use the library. (2) The availability of journals in neighbouring libraries. (3) The budget.     

Online Finding Aids: Are They Practical?

ABSTRACT

This article explores the uses, practicality, and problems involved in creating online finding aids by state-funded university archivists across the nation. It examines various aspects of online finding aids such as financial considerations, its importance as a research tool, timelines, demographics, and use. The more technical side is also explored by inquiring how finding aids are created (e.g., EAD/XML, HTML), whether they have been reformatted before appearing on the web, and what archivists believe are the best methods for their creation. Finally, problems that the participants have encountered along the way are reviewed as well as how archivists dealt with them. The study involved 16 university archivists from state-supported institutions and one from a private university. The research for this article is based on the responses to a 20-question survey that was administered by the author by telephone or e-mail. The research was further supported by an examination of the recent literature that has appeared in archival journals as well as contacting archivists who are working on large online projects. The goal of this article is to assist archivists in identifying potential problems in the development of online finding aids while promoting their presence on the Internet as an important research tool.     

Discovery systems: Are they now the library?

Key points

• Library discovery systems have become successfully embedded in many academic and specialist libraries.
• Such systems require excellent metadata to ensure discoverability of content and increasingly publishers are charged with delivering that.
• Libraries’ traditional role in organizing their collections for effective discovery is being usurped by these outsourced systems.

     

Full-Text Database Dependency: An Emerging Trend Among Undergraduate Library Users?

The ever-growing number of full-text electronic databases and their increasing availability has helped to create greater expectations among the undergraduate students who use them in their research. A study was made of nearly three hundred students enrolled in composition classes to determine the indexes and databases most commonly used for assignments and whether having the full text of journal articles online played a role in shaping the nature of their research. The survey results confirmed the authors' belief from encounters at the reference desk that students are becoming dependent on the availability of full-text databases and are using them in some cases to the exclusion of all other information sources.     

A Survey of Cataloging Education: Are Library Schools Listening?

ABSTRACT

In recent years a number of surveys of cataloging education have been conducted, and each of those surveys has suggested changes in library education. This survey reviews the current state of cataloging education by evaluating courses taught by 47 ALA accredited programs and compares the results to previous studies. This study examined the types of cataloging courses offered in LIS programs to determine if the type of course taught has changed over time. Additionally, this study examined course offering frequencies to determine if LIS programs are making the kind of courses needed to train cataloging librarians available to their students. It is concluded that although LIS programs are continuing to offer and require introductory courses in cataloging and bibliographic control, they are relying more heavily on these introductory courses to provide the bulk of cataloging education.     

Parenthood,Professorship, and Librarianship: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

A survey of tenure-track and tenured librarians at ARL libraries provides data on the relationship between parenthood and professorship. Results analyze the impact of the promotion and tenure process on child-bearing and child-rearing decisions. Discrepancies are found based on gender, tenure status, and family status.     

If They Build It Will They Come? Cooperation and Collaboration to Create a Customized Library

SUMMARY

The core mission of Arizona State University (ASU) East Library is electronic delivery of resources and services accompanied by a strong commitment to personalized service and to facilitating the campus educational goals through cooperative and collaborative partnerships with faculty and programs. The Library and the Multimedia Writing and Technical Communication Program (MWTC) have developed and implemented an instructional program in information skills and system design. The MWTC Program emphasizes information access, management, and design as some of the primary skills taught. The Program's applied nature attempts to give students as much practical experience as possible in environments which approximate the workplace. The Library-MWTC partnership combines the expertise of the Library and the faculty to meet the educational goals of the Program in a real-world setting by facilitating the creation and design of a customized MWTC library information system. The faculty and librarian are collaborating to integrate coursework and activities into the new MWTC online degree curriculum to prepare students to take a proactive and decision-making role in information resource and service selection, organization, and system design. The resulting product will be a truly user-centered designed library portal and an educational methodology which may be used for the design of portals for other campus programs.     

The Contemporary Academic Library Resource Sharing Mission: Fragmentation or Evolution?

Academic interlibrary loan practitioners are experiencing changes that can be characterized as either the fragmentation of the resource sharing mission or its evolution into a new form of service routinely making use of new and diverse sources of information outside the scope of past practices. Among these new sources are curated repositories of open access literature, institutional repositories, digital libraries containing scanned public domain literature, and social media article-sharing networking sites. The incorporation of these sources of information into regular workflows presents interlibrary loan practitioners with many challenges. This paper will discuss ways to address these developments.     

Are They Watching? Visitors and Videos in Exhibitions

Abstract Data from the Women's Health summative evaluation video study prompted a comparison with similar data for other videos in exhibitions. Values for attraction power, holding time, and holding power were compiled in a database of 45 video titles. On average, 32 percent of the visitors are attracted to videos, and the average time spent watching is 137 seconds. An attraction power of more than 60 percent was exceptional. On average, people watched more than one‐third of the total length of videos, but less than one half. A holding power of more than .70 was exceptional. Once a video has attracted people's attention, it does not always hold it. Visitors are constantly tempted to move to another exhibit element, looking for what's next. One cannot assume that introductory videos will be watched thoroughly by the majority of visitors. This has implications for introductory videos that are expected to teach visitors concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand the rest of the exhibition or a main message that ties everything together. Using these data as a guideline, we can realistically gauge what levels of use are possible, and what levels of success, as measured by visitors' attention, can be anticipated.     

Clues or Answers? Which Response to Library Users' Questions?

No abstract available for this article.     

“Where Are the Bathrooms?”: Academic Library Restrooms and Student Needs

This article investigates bathrooms, paying specific attention to those in academic libraries. The authors describe how bathrooms have been considered in the library literature for the past century and challenges to changing the status quo. Finally, this work sets the stage for future inquiry. Research materials come from a range of sources: historical library literature, building codes, social science theory and research that address the issues around bathroom taboos, and checklists for assessing bathrooms. The authors propose librarians and library administrators reconsider all aspects of their own bathrooms: location, features, equity/inclusiveness, and maintenance in service to their patrons.     

Print Newspapers: Are They Still Being Used in Academic and Research Libraries?

A six-month print newspaper usage study at the University of Michigan's Hatcher Graduate Library showed a marked decrease in use from a more limited study done four years previously. In general, patrons used only the major national, international, and regional newspapers. Communications with other academic and research libraries confirm these findings.