Reading by Russian-speaking immigrants in Toronto: use of public libraries, bookstores, and home book collections

This article reports the results of a survey of the reading habits and interests of immigrants in Toronto who speak Russian as their first language, including their use of Canadian public libraries, ethnic and English-language bookstores, and their attitudes toward collecting books at home. The survey results show that Russian Canadians use the public library system extensively and for diverse purposes. They also make use of ethnic and English-language bookstores, purchasing materials in both Russian and English for leisure reading, educational and professional development, and expansion of their highly valued home collections. The peculiarities of the demands and behavior of first generation Russian-speaking immigrants are also discussed, especially with regard to changes in reading interests and attitudes associated with immigration, as well as the problems experienced by public libraries in meeting the needs of this clientele. Finally, recommendations for the improvement of public library services and collections for this linguistic group are provided.     

Providing access to local government information: The nature of public library activity

This article focuses on the problems associated with providing access to local government information. The research on which it is based is from a 1986 survey conducted by the author of 265 public libraries in six library systems in northern Illinois, the largest comparative study of public library providers of local government information conducted to date. Fifty-five active providers of local government information (those that received requests for this information at least every two weeks) were identified: the findings are based on telephone and group interviews with key staff of those libraries. The article examines a variety of methods that might be used to increase access to local government information. It analyzes the nature of requests received and the types of responses given by these libraries. It examines the major problems associated with providing access to local government information and discusses the reasons given by librarians for providing access to local government information sources. The article concludes that a serious local government information gap exists and that librarians who seek to over-come it must articulate a role that addresses the serious barriers that must be overcome before a library can provide meaningful access to local government information.     

Are online tutorials effective? A comparison of online and classroom library instruction methods

Librarians are conducting instruction sessions outside the traditional classroom setting using online tutorials with increasing frequency. Online tutorials seem like an obvious solution to meet the growing need for instruction to users in a time when resources are shrinking. Can librarians effectively teach library skills using an online tutorial? Approximately 300 students enrolled in an undergraduate psychology course at the University of South Florida Tampa Campus attended either a library research class or completed an online tutorial as part of their coursework. Participants were given a post-test and were surveyed about their confidence levels and preferred method of library instruction. Analysis of the test scores indicated that there was no significant difference in the learning outcomes between in-person and online library instruction. The majority of students indicated a preference for online instruction over classroom instruction. A rise in confidence levels was noted across both groups.     

信息能力平等、信息公平与公共图书馆制度

主体的信息能力平等是实现信息平等的基本条件，从而也是实现信息公平的基本条件。公共图书馆制度为人们实现信息能力平等提供了制度保障。     

Information access company: The evolution of InfoTrac multi-source databases and their importance to library end-users

Throughout the last twenty years, Information Access Company has partnered with libraries to develop a wide range of electronic databases for patron reference needs. The multi-source database, one which incorporates several different source types, has emerged as the premiere reference tool in assisting patrons with research projects from start to finish, from the general idea to precise detail. Information Access Company is organized into three separate divisions, serving library, corporate, and home users. This article will focus on Information Access Company’s multi-source databases for libraries, and includes coverage on the rationale behind development to production and usage in the library setting.     

Equitable access: Information seeking behavior,information needs,and necessary library accommodations for transgender patrons

This study highlights the unique accommodations integral to welcoming transgender library patrons. Research shows transgender people have unique needs which differ from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) individuals, and experience substantial barriers to obtaining quality library service. Most studies in the past exploring the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender library users focused exclusively on LGBQ users. This study surveyed adult transgender individuals (n = 102) with an online questionnaire. The majority of participants were white, designated female at birth, and under 40 years old. Survey respondents needed libraries to make accommodations for them to feel safe (p < 0.001). The top 5 accommodations needed were recent transgender literature, gender identity or expression as part of library nondiscrimination policy, gender neutral, single-stall bathrooms where a key did not need to be requested, recent LGBQ literature), and an established remote process for name change.     

A comparison of the currency of secondary information sources in the biochemical literature. II. MEDLINE online and on CD-ROM

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The Bologna reform at the department of library and information science and book studies, university of Ljubljana

Relevance of the new Bologna study programme at the Department of Library and Information Science and Book Studies at University of Ljubljana is demonstrated from different aspects. The example of IS&R themes and topics which are recognized as one of LIS core areas is used to show the differences from the previous study programme in terms of content, together with coverage of Web 2.0 related themes. In regard to teaching and learning methods it is shown how e-learning is used to support the educational process. At the end a few insights into employability of future graduates are added.     

A comparison of political,cultural, and economic indicators of access to information in Arab and non-Arab states

As more and more countries adopt access-to-information (ATI) laws to advance economic development and democratic self-governance, efforts are under way to foster ATI movements in the Arab world. While one nation in that region already has adopted the legislation, the likelihood of adoption in other Arab states is unknown. This comparative study analyzed 12 quantitative indicators measuring political, cultural, and economic factors associated with access to information. Results indicate that Arab countries, as a whole, contrast sharply in nearly all areas with non-Arab countries that have ATI laws and are consistent with non-Arab countries that do not have ATI laws. However, the study also found that the most recent ATI law adopters had weaker political, cultural, and economic enabling environments for government information access, which may portend a global phenomenon that will continue and could explain the interest in adopting the legislation in the Arab world. Findings also suggest that while a handful of Arab countries might have the wealth to effectively implement ATI laws, political and cultural conditions may be substantial obstacles for greater government transparency. Other results regarding the use of quantitative indicators of ATI adoption, particularly structural pluralism, are discussed.     

Ranking of library and information science researchers: Comparison of data sources for correlating citation data,and expert judgments

This paper studies the correlations between peer review and citation indicators when evaluating research quality in library and information science (LIS). Forty-two LIS experts provided judgments on a 5-point scale of the quality of research published by 101 scholars; the median rankings resulting from these judgments were then correlated with h-, g- and H-index values computed using three different sources of citation data: Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Google Scholar (GS). The two variants of the basic h-index correlated more strongly with peer judgment than did the h-index itself; citation data from Scopus was more strongly correlated with the expert judgments than was data from GS, which in turn was more strongly correlated than data from WoS; correlations from a carefully cleaned version of GS data were little different from those obtained using swiftly gathered GS data; the indices from the citation databases resulted in broadly similar rankings of the LIS academics; GS disadvantaged researchers in bibliometrics compared to the other two citation database while WoS disadvantaged researchers in the more technical aspects of information retrieval; and experts from the UK and other European countries rated UK academics with higher scores than did experts from the USA.     

Chemical periodicals of Germany: A comparative analysis across international and Russian databases

A comprehensive analysis of Germany's chemical periodicals included in the databases of the two leading international information-analytical systems Scopus and Web of Science, a bibliographic database Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, as well as in the database of All-Russia Institute for Scientific and Technical Information of Russian Academy of Sciences (VINITI RAS), was performed. An analytical procedure developed made it possible to analyze effectively different domains of publications, both common to the three databases, as well as various combinations of interest, inter alia an array which was not included in any of them. The data covering the ratings of periodicals were presented basing on generally accepted international scientometric indicators and on processing degree value for the VINITI database. Distribution of subject areas, publishing houses, language of editions, internet access availability were determined. The research results allowed to summarize proposals for optimization of VINITI database workflow in the area studied.     

Outside the library: Early career researchers and use of alternative information sources in pandemic times

Presents findings from a study into the attitudes and practices of pandemic-era early career researchers (ECRs) in regard to obtaining access to the formally published scholarly literature, which focused on alternative providers, notably ResearchGate and Sci-Hub. The study is a part of the Harbingers project that has been exploring the work lives and scholarly communication practices of ECRs in pre-pandemic times and during the pandemic, and utilizes data from two rounds of interviews with around 170 ECRs from the sciences and social sciences in eight countries. Findings show that alternative providers, as represented by ResearchGate and Sci-Hub, have become established and appear to be gaining ground. However, there are considerable country- and discipline-associated differences. ECRs' country-specific level of usage of the alternative providers is partly traceable to the adequacy of library provisions, although there are other factors at play in shaping ECRs' attitudes and practices, most notably convenience and time saving, as well as the fact that these platforms have become embedded in the scholarly dashboard. There is a dearth of evidence of the impact of the pandemic on ECRs' ways of obtaining scholarly papers.