What happens to medical library interns?

Results are reported of a questionnaire survey on medical library interns who had participated in MLA-approved internship programs. Forty of forty-five interns to whom the questionnaire was sent responded.     

Can't get to the library? Then we’ll come to you. A survey of library services to people in their own homes in the United Kingdom

Abstract Aims: To determine the current level of library service to people in their own homes in the United Kingdom and to compare it with results from previous surveys. It is many years since a similar survey has been undertaken or guidelines produced and it is hoped that this work will help fill the gap. Methods: A questionnaire was sent in January 2004 to all public library authorities in the UK, a total of 208; 72% (149) were returned in the timescale allowed. The questionnaire covered the criteria for eligibility to receive a home library service; service structure and delivery: who delivers the service (specialist librarians or specialist non‐professional staff, branch library staff or volunteers); training; range of material and services provided; reading aids; materials for reminiscence; information provision; transporting people to the library; services to people in residential homes, sheltered accommodation, nursing homes and day centres; reader development; lifelong learning; and publicity and promotion. The focus of the survey was on quality issues and good practice wherever possible. Results: The number of customers receiving a service to ‘housebound’ readers in the UK in 2001/2 was 123 407. In 1984 it was 43 807 people in England. This still bears little relation to the number of people who should be receiving the service. The majority used paid staff (88%). Volunteers supported 52% of the services, with most having links with staff. There were opportunities to improve and develop services under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The service was publicized and promoted by only 62% of the respondents. Of those that use paid staff and that answered this question, 73% provide disability equality training for staff. Only 21% provide disability equality training for volunteers. Only 36% are involved in reader development or lifelong learning and only 23% provide a newsletter in print, 11% on tape and 3% in Braille; 12% take laptops into people's homes. Conclusions: Many authorities were still providing a tokenistic service and were reluctant to publicize for fear of not coping with demand, which makes them vulnerable legally under the DDA. However, there were some excellent examples of good practice where the full range of services are provided to a high standard.     

Weed to achieve: a fundamental part of the public library mission?

Weeding or deselection of materials has become an integral part of library management. Based on a nineteen-question survey about weeding practices in public libraries, this article discusses the personal perspectives of public librarians on weeding as well as the weeding practices of their institutions. The three most common criteria for weeding are circulation, physical condition, and accuracy of information. Librarians overwhelmingly believe that weeding increases use of books and patron satisfaction. In addition, the public library was framed as a venue that offers safe, clean, and fresh “product lines” with various natural life cycles and expiry dates. This discursive formation raises questions about the extent to which public libraries and their collections are becoming commodified, homogenized, and ephemeral, and whether such ephemeralness and homogenization serve the interests of all community members.     

“We want to do more,but…”: New Jersey public library approaches to misinformation

External disciplinary fields and popular discourse have called upon libraries to explain and address the phenomena related to the prevalence of false and misleading information. The authors provide a critique of this call based in primary research on public libraries in the state of New Jersey during the COVID-19 pandemic. To compliment reviews of public library websites across the state of New Jersey for listed tactics to address misinformation, library staff were surveyed and interviewed on strategies they employ to stem the tide of misinformation and what they might need to work more effectively in the context. The findings reveal tactics employed by the libraries, ranging from active to passive interventions, and literacy-driven to topic-driven tactics, as well as what library staff articulated as impediments to their ability to address misinformation, including the lack of resources, the perception that the library should be a neutral arbiter in these discussions, and that they are “speaking to the choir” with their efforts. The findings can be useful in evaluating existing methods of addressing misinformation within public libraries and developing new tactics and partnerships that can be leveraged to achieve these goals.     

Is everything all right at night? Measuring user response to overnight library services

A multiple methods study was conducted over three academic terms during the 2015 fiscal year at Santa Clara University Library to assess the impact and value of overnight library hours. A survey was conducted after midnight during times the Library was open 24 hours, five days a week (24/5), the last two weeks of the quarter. The survey was further informed by patron counts conducted hourly by library floor and type of activity. Survey questions were based on Sowell and Nutefall's study (2014 Sowell, S. L., &; Nutefall, J. E. (2014). Mysteries in the night: An exploratory study of student use and perceptions of 24/5 hours. Public Services Quarterly, 10(2), 96–114. [Google Scholar]); activity counts used categories similar to Johnson and McCallister's overnight study (2015 Johnson, K., &; McCallister, K. (2015). Assessing the 24/5 library: A case study in data and perspectives. Journal of Access Services, 12(3–4), 75–90. [Google Scholar]). This SCU research queried service needs in overnight hours, finding, as others studies have, that late-night users are primarily seeking a quiet space with comfortable amenities conducive to concentrated study. This conclusion was supported by patron count data that documented user activity between midnight and 7 a.m. showing patrons overwhelmingly working on personal laptops (53%) or library PCs (14%). Over 90% of respondents strongly agreed (66%) or agreed (27%) with the statement that “having the ability to use the Learning Commons/Library during the overnight hours (midnight-7 a.m.) has made a positive difference for me academically.”     

我国Living library研究述评

Living library(又称为"Human Library""、真人图书馆"和"活体图书馆")自2000年在丹麦产生以来,它以新颖的服务模式创新了图书馆工作,我国图书馆界近年来也对"Living library"在国内外的发展与实践开展做了介绍研究,对Living library在我国的开展意义与发展对策也做了初步的探索。     

Do you Mini-Med School? Leveraging library resources to improve Internet consumer health information literacy

Popular for engaging public interest in medical science while promoting health awareness, Mini-Med School (MMS) programs also afford important if largely unrealized opportunities to improve the health information literacy of attendees. With a growing population using the Internet to make health decisions, needed venues for improving Internet Consumer Health Information (CHI) literacy may be found in the MMS platform. Surveyed directors of MMS programs understand the need to include CHI, and successful programs at SUNY Stony Brook and elsewhere demonstrate the potential for collaboration with affiliated health sciences libraries to integrate CHI instruction into MMS curricula.     

Are library vendors doing enough to protect users? A content analysis of major ILS privacy policies

While privacy is a core value of librarianship, privacy standards differ by library and library vendor. These types of guidelines are necessary and useful, but understanding them can be overwhelming. Academic libraries increasingly rely on third-party, cloudbased vendors to manage their systems and to provide access to their collections. When selecting library systems, library staff must understand privacy issues and be aware of how vendors use data. However, libraries do not always have the staffing, time or knowledge, and vendors are not always interested in upholding library values. The project examines the content of privacy policies for popular library systems used by Canadian academic libraries. The research aims to help librarians better understand the policies, to help them make informed decisions about their own library systems. The process used to code the privacy policies and the results of the coding are included alongside recommendations for vendors and library employees. Building on two seminal privacy studies, the methodology is revised for a Canadian context and updated with today's terminology and context, making it adaptable for other libraries and context around the world.     

How important is software to library and information science research? A content analysis of full-text publications

We investigate the contributions of scientific software to library and information science (LIS) research using a sample of 572 English language articles published in 13 journals in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017. In particular, we examine the use and citation of software freely available for academic use in the LIS literature; we also explore the extent to which researchers follow software citation instructions provided by software developers. Twenty-seven percent of the LIS journal articles in our sample explicitly mention and use software. Yet although LIS researchers are becoming increasingly reliant on software that is freely available for academic use, many still fail to include formal citations of such software in their publications. We also find that a substantial proportion of researchers, when documenting software use, do not cite the software in the manner recommended by its developers.     

Flat or float? a study of vendor discount rates applied to firm orders in a college library

Library book vendors generally provide two types of discount rates to institutions for firm orders: flat—fixed rate for all books, and float—book-by-book discount. A perplexing question for acquisitions departments is which discount scale is better. This article summarizes a study conducted in a medium-sized, public, college library for the purpose of ascertaining if there is a difference in savings between the two schedules. The results indicate that, at Kean College, float rate (0%–33.3%) gains slightly more savings (0.7% of $35,795.84) than flat rate (12%) based on 870 book orders distributed between university presses (38.4%) and nonuniversity presses (61.6%). However, if the flat rate is 13% or higher, for the same distribution, the flat discount is considered monetarily more advantageous. These findings suggest options and flexibility for acquisitions personnel in obtaining the most cost-effective arrangement for the institution.     

Staff involvement — the key to the successful merger of monograph and serial acquisitions functions at Clemson University library

Staff in both the Monographs Acquisitions and Serials Acquisitions units at Clemson University Library participated in planning and designing a combined Acquisitions Department. Focus groups studied functions to determine what could be combined or changed. Goals and guidelines for the merger were developed. Staff utilized information from a change management retreat to successfully implement the new organizational structure.     

Greater São Paulo newer library automation

As a follow up to a 1981 on-site sabbatical study, automated projects or activities in academic, public and special libraries or information centers in the Greater Sao Paulo area that developed from 1981 to the end of 1987 are described. Among the 27 Greater Sao Paulo libraries and/or information centers that were surveyed, the Division of Information and Systems of the Institute of Technological Research of Sao Paulo State, the Division of Library, Documentation and Information of São Bernardo do Campo, the Regional Library of Medicine, and the System of Libraries of the University of São Paulo were among those answering the survey questionnaire which indicated having made further advancements in the aspects of functions, processes and/or routines in areas of librarianship. The Library of the Company of Data Processing of the State of Sao Paulo and the Sao Paulo School of Business Administration of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation reported automation in several of their library functions. The Library of the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, a library almost fully automated by the end of the 1970s, reported even newer automated efforts.     

Greater São Paulo newer library automation

As a follow up to a 1981 on-site sabbatical study, automated projects or activities in academic, public and special libraries or information centers in the Greater Sao Paulo area that developed from 1981 to the end of 1987 are described. Among the 27 Greater Sao Paulo libraries and/or information centers that were surveyed, the Division of Information and Systems of the Institute of Technological Research of Sao Paulo State, the Division of Library, Documentation and Information of São Bernardo do Campo, the Regional Library of Medicine, and the System of Libraries of the University of São Paulo were among those answering the survey questionnaire which indicated having made further advancements in the aspects of functions, processes and/or routines in areas of librarianship. The Library of the Company of Data Processing of the State of Sao Paulo and the Sao Paulo School of Business Administration of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation reported automation in several of their library functions. The Library of the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, a library almost fully automated by the end of the 1970s, reported even newer automated efforts.     

The impact of library instruction: do first-year medical students use library resources specifically highlighted during instructional sessions?

Objectives:

The research sought to determine if first-year medical students consulted and cited resources specifically highlighted during library instructional sessions.

Methods:

Students attended a library resources instructional session. Resources that pertained to the students'' assignment were demonstrated and discussed. The students created a report including citations from relevant literature. The citations were analyzed and categorized as: a resource discussed at the instructional session, a resource found on the course LibGuide, a library resource, course material, or some other resource. All citations were subcategorized as print or electronic.

Results:

Three years (2008–2011) of data analyzing 2,983 citations showed that 49.55% of all citations were from resources discussed during library instructional sessions; 21.86% came from resources with links on the course LibGuide; 77.51% were from library resources; and 90.68% came from electronic resources.

Conclusion:

Students cited resources specifically highlighted during library instructional sessions for their assignments. The percentage of all citations coming from resources highlighted during the instructional sessions or found on the course LibGuide indicates that library instruction had an impact on the students'' work.

Highlights

• Review of the literature shows that instruction about library resources accompanied by clear guidelines on scholarly research methods and resources provided by course instructors have the biggest impact on the quality of cited materials in student bibliographies.
• Graduate medical students cited library resources more frequently than nonlibrary resources for their assigned coursework.
• Graduate medical students cited materials and resources specifically highlighted during library instructional sessions for their assigned coursework.

Implications

• Instruction about library resources tailored to medical students'' assignments impacts the resources that the students consult and cite for their assignments.
• Using the information gathered from citation analysis to modify teaching plans can impact the effectiveness of library instructional sessions.

     

Evolution of an academic–public library partnership

A partnership to improve access to health information via an urban public library system was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2011. A multiyear project was outlined that included an information needs assessment, a training class for public library staff, information kiosks at library branches for delivering printed consumer health materials, and a series of health-related programming. The partnership evolved to include social service and community organizations to carry out project goals and establish a sustainable program that met the health and wellness interests of the community.     

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.

     

高校图书馆开展living library的服务创新研究

living library是一种全新的服务模式和阅读方式,读书方式是读者与所借的"真人图书"(livingbook)进行直接的交流。高校图书馆开展living library服务更有其优势,应积极通过广拓采集渠道,储蓄书目资源;筛选活动主题,编排书目资源;制作流通规则,借阅书目资源;引入反馈机制,评估书目资源等创新living library的服务。