Mission Statement and Consolidation of the Efforts of Its Staff

ABSTRACT

Crafting the mission statements of organizations, enterprises, etc., is a regular part of the management policy in a number of Western countries (especially the USA, Canada and UK) nowadays. Many American and British readers know what an important role the mission statements play in the activity of libraries and information centers. In the Republic of Belarus, the very first mission statement appeared in a library, in 1996. Designing and creating a mission statement is explored.     

Academic Library Mission Statements,Web Sites,and Communicating Purpose

Continual changes in information technologies over the past three decades have wrought substantial changes in library services and in information-seeking behavior among the general public. Thus the necessity for libraries to utilize the internet to communicate with stakeholders is even more important for academic libraries, as the rate of internet usage among those with college degrees continues to outpace that of the general population. The online availability of a well-crafted mission statement is therefore crucial. This analysis of the web sites of 113 ARL academic libraries—an update of Kuchi's (2006) study—considers the inclusion (availability) and placement (accessibility) of mission statements on library web sites and provides insights into the academic library's use of such statements for communicating mission and purpose to different stakeholders.     

大学图书馆使命声明与组织形象再塑

通过对美、加八所大学图书馆的使命声明进行解读,找出可资借鉴之处,并提出大学图书馆使命声明应该包含的重要内容。     

Populist Twitter Posts in News Stories

Research in information processing suggests that the journalistic practice of embedding right-wing populist Twitter posts in news may stimulate political polarization. To test this notion, we conducted an online experiment (N?=?379). We investigated how highlighted right-wing populist statements affected individuals from different ideological stances and whether potential effects were determined by Twitter-specific characteristics (Twitter frame, profile picture). We exposed participants to two articles, each including a statement by a politician of the Austrian Freedom Party. In the first group, the statements were not highlighted (control group). In the second and third group, the statements appeared as conventional block quotes either without (G2) or with (G3) a picture of the politician. In the fourth and fifth group, the statements were highlighted as Twitter posts, again either without (G4) or with (G5) a picture of the politician. Results revealed that all highlighting conditions increased statement recognition among left-wing individuals. However, the full Twitter post condition exerted the strongest effect. Higher recognition then decreased left-wing individuals’ anti-immigrant attitudes and sympathy toward the right-wing populist candidate. Thus, embedding right-wing populists’ Twitter posts may induce disconfirmation bias among left-wing voters and trigger a process in which they strengthen their initial attitudes.     

Is It Necessary to be Clear? An Examination of Strategic Ambiguity in Family Business Mission Statements

Family businesses comprise the largest portion of organizations in the United States. Although much is known about how individuals interact in these businesses, little is known about how family businesses function at an organizational level. Family businesses are likely to use strategic ambiguity in their mission statements to allow for multiple interpretations of the same message by their stakeholders. This study analyzed the mission statements of the 20 largest family businesses in the United States to explore their use of strategic ambiguity. Family businesses used strategic ambiguity for the purposes of unified diversity, promoting varied understandings of goals, and for facilitating organizational change, but not for the purposes of deniability. This research begins to provide an explanation of the potential driving factors of family business mission statements.     

A qualitative content analysis of watchlists vs safelists: How do they address the issue of predatory publishing?

Predatory journals and publishers are a growing concern in the scholarly publishing arena. As one type of attempt to address this increasingly important issue, numerous individuals, associations, and companies have begun curating journal watchlists or journal safelists. This study uses a qualitative content analysis to explore the inclusion/exclusion criteria stated by scholarly publishing journal watchlists and safelists to better understand the content of these lists, as well as the larger controversies that continue to surround the phenomenon that has come to be known as predatory publishing. Four watchlists and ten safelists were analyzed through an examination of their published mission statements and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Notable differences that emerged include the remaining influence of librarian Jeffrey Beall in the watchlists, and the explicit disavowal of his methods for the safelists, along with a growing recognition that the “list” approach may not fully address systemic aspects of predatory publishing that go beyond the individual author's ethical decision-making agency.     

New York State Public Library Systems and Their Services

This research revisited the conditions for establishing and funding public library systems in New York State Education Law and the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, examined public library systems' organizational mission statements, and analyzed the public library systems' 2007–2011 five-year Plans of Service and 2008–2009 annual reports. The study found that public library systems in New York State generally provide services following the instructions in the state law and regulations and in their mission statements, although there are wide-ranging variations of actual service activities among public library systems based on their organizational and demographic characteristics.     

Service Philosophy Statements in Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Some academic libraries use service philosophy statements to strengthen the quality of their service culture. A service philosophy statement communicates directly to users what they can—and should—expect from the library. This article describes a study in which the authors applied qualitative content analysis to service philosophy statements. The objective was to examine the form and content of these statements and identify themes, trends, and ideas in order to determine how and what they communicate about a library’s commitment to service. The results of the study found that statements in the sample varied significantly in strength and purpose.     

The Application of Learning Theory to Information Literacy

ABSTRACT

Many colleges and universities are advocating information literacy within their mission statements. To this end, many librarians are offering for-credit courses that incorporate the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards in their instructional programs. In their role as instructors, librarians should be familiar with learning theory, in particular behaviorism and constructivism. The application of a particular learning theory dictates the structure of the course and reinforces the role of librarian as educator.     

When the bureaucrat promises to safeguard your online privacy: Dissecting the contents of privacy statements on Dutch municipal websites

Various studies show that the display of a privacy statement on an organization's website can be a potent, but simple way of acquiring clients' and users' trust, which results in the completion of transactions with the organization through its website. Empirical studies that analyze the contents of privacy statements on commercial websites are profuse, while privacy statements posted on the websites of non-commercial organizations have been largely ignored by researchers. In this study, the contents of privacy statements on Dutch municipal websites are analyzed. Using the important provisions of the Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (WBP) or the Dutch Personal Data Protection Act, the study also looked into the conformity of the contents of privacy statements with the existing law on privacy protection in the Netherlands. We also looked into the availability and findability of privacy statements on Dutch municipal websites. Three important findings resulted from this study: first, not all municipal websites bother to post privacy statements on their websites; second, most municipalities do not ensure that their online privacy statements are findable; and third, privacy statements on Dutch municipal websites emphasize diverging assurances and promises—with some privacy policies containing all the important provisions of the WBP, and others offering only general, and sometimes rather vague, guarantees.     

Reading the least read? Indicators of users' intention to consult privacy statements on municipal websites

Though seldom read or consulted, privacy statements are often the only means for users to know how their personal data will be used by collecting organizations. While the length and the legalistic nature of most privacy statements are often blamed for people's reluctance to consult such documents, studies on the factors that influence users' intention to read privacy statements are still non-existent. For this survey, respondents from the Netherlands were presented with the situation of registering a child for a basic school through their municipalities' websites. The scenario was selected since it was assumed that it would be one that would require a significant amount of personal data from registrants, and not just the usual contact information. Results of the conducted online survey reveal that although not all users consult a privacy statement on a municipal website before they would disclose personal data, the availability and the ease of finding them on a municipal website strongly contribute to users' belief that a municipality can be trusted with their personal data whenever they are shared for a particular online transaction. This study also shows that users' perceptions of the risks involved in the online disclosure of their personal data influenced their intention to read online privacy statements on municipal websites. Older users were also more likely to consult privacy statements than their younger counterparts, while those with lower levels of education and internet experience expressed a higher tendency to read such online documents than those with higher levels of education and internet experience.     

Presidential signing statements: Executive aggrandizement,judicial ambivalence and congressional vituperation

This paper provides an overview of the ongoing controversy pertaining to the issuance of presidential signing statements, with a focus on the constitutional basis for, and historical usage of, these instruments. In addition to evaluating the nature and substance of signing statements that have been issued by presidents since the Reagan Administration, this review will address the issue of judicial reliance on signing statements in statutory interpretation, as well as the potential for signing statements to alter the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch. The ultimate goal of this review is to illustrate that the current political controversy surrounding the signing statement as a presidential instrument is almost entirely misplaced and has largely drawn attention away from substantive consideration of the expansive view of executive authority that characterizes the signing statements of President George W. Bush.     

工程类期刊更正声明的分析

在中国知网上检索2006-2015年工程类期刊有关自身更正声明的文献,分析我国期刊更正声明的现状:数量逐年增多,但是与国际期刊相比,差距尚较大;各个期刊更正声明的撰写各有其特色,但部分期刊的更正声明不规范;更正被检索与被利用的程度较低.建议:期刊应增强更正的理念;从题名、关键词以及期刊数据库等方面提高更正的可检索性;在题名、正文和落款上规范更正声明的撰写.     

大学图书馆战略计划与使命管理

大学图书馆必须制定自己的战略计划,重视对大学图书馆使命的陈述,来证明自身存在的价值。使命管理是一种人本主义管理理论,它为大学图书馆战略实施提供了一种全新的管理模式。     

Communicating spirit in a collaborative alliance

This case study identified communicative practices that supported “collaborative spirit”; in a collaborative alliance. Two components of collaborative spirit previously identified in the literature were examined: shared mission and shared power. Communication practices associated with the shared mission principle included discussion of the mission, reaffirmation, testimony, and pride statements. Communication practices associated with the shared power principle included use of a consent process, barter and negotiating behavior, provision of equal opportunity, soliciting others’ input, and the rotating chairperson.     

The relationship between readability and scientific impact: Evidence from emerging technology discourses

This study examines how the readability of scientific discourses changes over time and to what extent readability can explain scientific impact in terms of citation counts. The basis are representative datasets of 135,502 abstracts from academic research papers pertaining to twelve technologies of different maturity. Using three different measures of readability, it is found that the language of the abstracts has become more complex over time. Across all technologies, less easily readable texts are more likely to receive at least one citation, while the effects are most pronounced for comparatively immature research streams. Among the more mature or larger discourses, the abstracts of the top 10% and 1% of the most often cited articles are significantly less readable. It remains open to what extent readability actually influences future citations and how much of the relationship is causal. If readability indeed drives citations, the results imply that scientists have an incentive to (artificially) reduce the readability of their abstracts in order to signal quality and competence to readers—both to get noticed at all and to attract more citations. This may mean a prisoner dilemma in academic (abstract) writing, where authors intentionally but unnecessarily complicate the way in which they communicate their work.     

Systematic Marketing Facilitates Optimal Customer Service: The Marketing Audit of a Rural Public Library System

This article presents a case study of a marketing audit of the Lee County Library System, a rural public library system located in southwest Georgia. Marketing audits are an underutilized but needed tool for public libraries. In this audit, the library system’s mission, goals, environments, community and employee demographics, and a strengths/weakness/opportunities/threats (SWOT) analysis were evaluated, resulting in several recommendations. These recommendations include a new mission statement, regular SWOT analyses, and potential market segments for targeted library services. Through this case study, the complexities, challenges, and opportunities unique to rural public libraries can be understood.     

A study of digital curator competences: A survey of experts

Abstract

The aim of this research was to define competences for digital curators, and to validate a Delphi process in the context of Library, Archives, Museum curriculum development. The objective for the study was to obtain consensus regarding competence statements for Library, Archives and Museum digital curators.

The Delphi method, a research technique, typically used to develop a consensus of opinion for topic areas in which there is little previously documented knowledge, was used in specifying the digital curator competences in LAM context. Three rounds of questionnaires with controlled feedback with space for comments and/or suggestions were sent to panel members. Five point Likert scale was employed in the questionnaire. Consensus was determined when a competence statement received a mode higher than 3, an average mean more than 3.5, and a standard deviation smaller than 1.0.

Response rates for rounds I, II and III were: 70% (n = 16), 87.5% (n = 14), and 94% (n = 15) respectively. Of the 18 digital curator competences listed in the first round questionnaire, 13 (70%) achieved consensus as being necessary digital curator competences required of advanced level digital curator. Other inputs of respondents like comments and suggestions were also analyzed. An additional 23 digital curator competence statements were also suggested by the panel in round I and further developed in subsequent rounds. In round II, 12 (30%) competence statements achieved consensus. The final round and editing of competence statements led to 20 statements that describe what a well-prepared digital curator trained to participate in digital curation work should be able to do.     

Reference Collection Development Using the RLG Conspectus

Reference collection development should be seen as an integral part of the overall management of academic research library collections. The reference librarian benefits from participation in the development of collection development policy statements based on a collection evaluation using the Research Libraries Group (RLG) Conspectus. The writing of cormprehensive collection development policy statements using the RLG Conspectus to evaluate subject collections requires that collection management librarians and reference librarians work closely together and integrate the development of the reference collection into overall collection development plans for the library. This article discusses some of the functions of collection management divisions and the potential components of a Conspectus-based comprehensive collection development policy statement. The sharing of the process between the collection management librarian and the reference librarian/selector is described. Benefits the reference librarian gains from the process are discussed.     

国际医学学术期刊撤稿原因的调查分析——以Scopus数据库为例

在国际著名的摘要和引文数据库Scopus中检索2015-2017年医学领域国际期刊的撤稿声明,收集并分析撤稿声明中的相关信息.检索后共获得1 015篇针对已发表正式论文的撤稿声明,声明数量逐年减少.发表撤稿声明较多的期刊,普遍质量不高,撤稿数量和期刊影响因子并没有明显的相关性.从Scopus上可以获得能提供有效撤稿相关信息的声明摘要共409篇,涉及文章419篇,学术不端是撤稿的主要原因,占所有撤稿原因的46.8％.撤稿文章来自38个国家,其中数量最多的为中国(97篇)、美国(95篇)、伊朗(53篇)、日本(28篇)、印度(22篇)、英国(14篇)、韩国(11篇).几乎所有国家的撤稿原因中都包括学术不端或重复发表.撤稿声明时滞为0～26年,中位数2年,平均值3.3年.学术不端的撤稿时滞中位数为3年,重复发表的撤稿时滞中位数为1年.