Content and Design Features of Academic Health Sciences Libraries’ Home Pages

The goal of this content analysis was to identify commonly used content and design features of academic health sciences library home pages. After developing a checklist, data were collected from 135 academic health sciences library home pages. The core components of these library home pages included a contact phone number, a contact email address, an Ask-a-Librarian feature, the physical address listed, a feedback/suggestions link, subject guides, a discovery tool or database-specific search box, multimedia, social media, a site search option, a responsive web design, and a copyright year or update date.     

Academic Libraries: “Social” or “Communal?” The Nature and Future of Academic Libraries

The apparent death of academic libraries, as measured by declining circulation of print materials, reduced use of reference services, and falling gate counts, has led to calls for a more “social” approach to academic libraries: installing cafés, expanding group study spaces, and developing “information commons.” This study compares these social models with the traditional academic library, whose spirit is best understood as “communal.” It argues that this communal spirit is unique and greatly valued by academic library users. Efforts to create a more social academic library threaten this communal spirit and may do more harm than good.     

Visiting Libraries in Central Asia: An Academic Librarian’s Research Experience

ABSTRACT

In May 2017, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks visiting several libraries in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as part of my research project on international student services and information literacy. I visited these countries to conduct fieldwork research on American University of Central Asia’s information literacy program, library services for international and first year students, and more broadly to build exchanges and partnerships with Fresno State and these universities. In this travel report, I briefly cover my experiences conducting research and training at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and my shorter trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.     

From Paper to Internet: Academic Libraries in Transition

This paper examines the current trends, challenges, and issues facing all libraries, and discusses the strategies that academic libraries, in particular, are taking to transform their services, manage their organizations, and preserve their digital assets. It demonstrates how a network of distributed services, resource sharing, co-investment, and access integration contributes to sustainable library development.     

Comparing Advertising Agencies’ Resources to Academic Libraries’ Collections

Abstract

Collection development analysis in academic libraries typically involves collection-centered and user-centered methods. These approaches focus on building collections that help students with their academic needs but may overlook resources that students need experience with when employed. To address this gap, the authors analyzed early-career advertising agency positions to identify a list of information resources that advertising agencies expect employees to use. This list was then compared against the library websites of 158 universities with advertising programs to see how sufficiently libraries are fulfilling these resource needs. The authors found that overall, university libraries only subscribe to a small number of resources used by advertising agencies.     

What Qualifications and Skills are Important for Digital Librarian Positions in Academic Libraries? A Job Advertisement Analysis

As academic library functions and activities continue to evolve, libraries have broadened the traditional library model, which focuses on management of physical resources and activities, to include a digital library model, transforming resources and services into digital formats to support teaching, learning, and research. This transition has affected professionals' roles and activities due to new required skills. This study examines qualifications and skills required of professional positions involved in digital resources, services, and technologies as changing aspects in academic libraries. Data was collected from job advertisements for digital library positions posted in College and Research Libraries News during the nine years from 1999 to 2007. The study verifies shifts in staffing needs and required qualifications with digital focus on collections, services, and technology applications in academic libraries. The results confirm that a digital librarian is an emerging position in academic libraries. LIS educational implications and further investigations to validate the results are suggested.     

Connecting Past to Future Needs: Nursing Faculty and Librarian Collaboration to Support Students’ Academic Success

The article illustrates the evolution of a research assignment in an undergraduate nursing course and the development of the information literacy session. The authors show how, through a variety of strategies, they were able to retain research and writing rigor and at the same time, decrease research stress in the students. Through feedback from students, observations, and analysis of the research articles, the authors were able to think critically on how and what to teach the students. The article supports the existing literature on research stress in nursing students and offers a model on how nursing faculty and librarians can collaborate to support students’ academic success.     

Should There Be “Privilege” in the Relationship Between Reference Librarian and Patron?

SUMMARY

Certain professional-client relationships fall under the legal umbrella of “privilege,” an evidentiary rule which protects the client from unauthorized disclosure of confidential information by the professional, and which shields the professional from demands to reveal such information in court. The reference librarian-patron relationship does not currently enjoy any such protection, although it shares many characteristics with those professional relationships which do. Some of the possible reasons for this exclusion are explored, and the question of whether or not privilege should be extended to the reference librarian-patron relationship is considered.     

Community Libraries: The Concept and its Application—with Particular Reference to a South African Community Library System

Norms for community libraries were established, focusing specifically on the Pinetown community libraries. The five oldest community libraries in the Pinetown public library system were studied by way of questionnaires, interviews and observation. It was hypothesized that public library systems in South Africa have not yet made the paradigm shift to becoming true community libraries. However, the study proved that certain public library systems, such as Pinetown, have made significant progress towards becoming community libraries in the true sense of the word—moving away from the passive traditional Western public library model towards active service-oriented systems, based on the needs of the community as a whole: be it as agents of upliftment and development, or as sources of information and recreation. It can be concluded that certain adaptations still need to be made to become “true” community libraries. For instance, more community involvement in the running of the libraries, individual funds to purchase specific materials needed by the community, and the development of specific skills that will enable the staff to render a pro-active community library service, but the transitional process is still in progress.     

“I’m a Library Hugger!”: Public Libraries as Valued Community Assets

Public library value is often ascertained by outlining the economic, social, and cultural benefits public libraries generate for the greater community. While researchers have focused on the concepts of social capital, civic engagement, and the role of libraries in promoting democracy, fewer studies have explored the public’s perceptions of libraries in an effort to determine library value. Furthermore, library nonusers are rarely included in these studies. In Alberta, Canada, 1,201 Albertans from across the province, including both urban and rural areas, were asked a series of questions about their perceptions of public libraries and library use. Findings reveal characteristics of library users and nonusers, what services and resources are used most often at public libraries, what value the public places on public libraries, and the role that libraries play in supporting communities.     

A Review of “Bite-Sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian” and “Building a Buzz: Libraries and Word-of-Mouth Marketing”

No abstract available for this article.     

The Impact of First Careers on “Second Career” Academic Reference Librarians

Summary

Librarianship represents a second or even third career for a significant number of professional librarians. What are the backgrounds of these second career librarians? What impact do these first careers have on academic reference librarians entering the profession later in their working lives? Does a candidate's pre-MLS career affect how he or she is evaluated by potential employers? A pilot study of academic librarians in Nevada provides some answers to these questions.     

Reference No Longer Is a “P” Word

Abstract

From the beginning of reference service in archives, the job has been defined as pointing users to potentially useful sources. Changes in the archival environment and in information require that the reference archivist become a front-line marketer of archives. This in turn requires that the reference archivist understand and utilize the concepts of marketing-customer-centered, exchange, and product-which are discussed in this article. Personality traits of archivists mitigate in favor of and against archivists' adoption of marketing as a strategy for advancing the archival service to society, but the reference archivist must use character strengths to overcome the weaknesses.     

The somatic marker as a “short cut” to verbal immediacy

This study examined the relationships between the somatic‐marker hypothesis, developed by Damasio (1994) as it relates to homophily and verbal immediacy in the classroom. Damasio has hypothesized that when particular events occur in one's life, there is a “memory” of that event in the brain. As a result, when a similar event occurs, the somatic marker recreates that first event. Students were provided three different scenarios about the first day of a communication class. In the scenarios, the instructor presented information about himself. One instructor provided only autobiographical, demographic data (the control). Another provided information hozu he had had difficulty with public speaking (the selfish marker). The third provided information about how the instructor had helped someone else who had difficulty in public speaking (the altruistic marker). The results indicated that while homophily differences were not significant, there was a significant difference between the control group and the altruistic marker.     

Balancing Evolving “Real” and “Virtual” Patron Needs: A Challenge for Access Services in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are at a crossroads, facing increasing competition from other student services within their institutions and from commercial entities that duplicate their services. Examining some broader trends in education leads to suggestions as to how libraries might re-examine legacy services and assumptions and consider new directions. Specifically, the contributions that might be made by areas traditionally considered part of access services are considered. An annotated bibliography is included.