Offering Assistance at the OPACs

Summary

As technology races forward, public library OPACs have established a barrier to access. Computer literacy is required of the patron to access the collection through the OPAC. This barrier may be addressed with more active service. Rather than the librarian at the reference desk waiting to be asked, go to the patron. But will the patron accept? This study looks at who did accept and how often. Patrons heading towards the OPAC were greeted by an individual and offered assistance. Conducted at the Guilderland Public Library, a suburb of Albany, NY, in the fall of 1996, this study compares the responses of these patrons grouped by sex and approximate age. In 20 hours over five consecutive days, 189 patrons were recorded. Additionally the study touches upon other factors such as sex, race, dress, and more effective wording for the approach and offer.     

Analysis of Print Purchase on Demand Titles Ordered via Interlibrary Loan: A Collection Development Perspective

This article examines data from five years of titles ordered as part of an academic research library's purchase on demand program (POD-ILL) for print titles originally requested through interlibrary loan. The study evaluates a variety of factors: patron departments, campus location, and status; the subject areas of the books acquired; cost; and publishers. Assessment of POD-ILL data may assist a collection management librarian to determine the value of having patrons contribute to collection development decisions. In addition, subject librarians can use the data to evaluate approval and demand-driven acquisition profiles.     

Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do (Read Serials)

Ms. Dorothea Salo, Faculty Associate at the School of Library & Information Studies of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, argued passionately and cogently about the obligation of librarians to protect the privacy of patrons using electronic serials and the data generated from that usage. Libraries should forcefully express their concerns to vendors of such resources about their collection and commercialization of user data and should stipulate provisions in their contracts and licensing agreements to prevent such misuse of patron’s personal information.     

The Road Not Taken: SFX,ILLiad, and Interlibrary Loan Submission Methods

In Fall 2008, the interlibrary loan office at the College of Staten Island began to use ILLiad and SFX OpenURL to fulfill borrowing requests. Four years later a review showed that patrons used SFX to submit borrowing requests less than half the time. The majority of patrons’ borrowing request submissions were still being entered manually. We decided to review patron submission methods and see what impact this was having on transactions. We also explored possible patterns in order to encourage SFX usage and improve patron services. Reasons for this behavior are suggested and future solutions are explored.     

Health Sciences Patron Preference for Library Spaces: A Multisite Observational Study

Health sciences libraries are often challenged to make decisions regarding physical space allocation without quantitative data to support specific user preferences. This multisite, longitudinal study sought to answer the following questions related to academic health sciences libraries: (1) Which library spaces are popular with health sciences patrons? (2) How does time of day and allocated seating space affect patron choices? (3) What similarities and differences occur in space usage across four different health sciences libraries? Results suggest health sciences libraries must develop a nuanced understanding of their patrons’ preferences to best serve patrons’ needs regarding space allocation. Libraries can benefit from these types of methodological studies that target specific populations, supporting more informed space allocation decision making.     

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.     

Patron Preferences: Recreational Reading in an Academic Library

In 2014, Sam Houston State University Library librarians distributed a survey to students, faculty and staff to better understand how the university community was using library materials for recreational reading. The survey found that patrons had preference for print materials with a growing interest in other formats. A significant number of respondents did not view the library as a source of recreational reading materials; those who did read across a broad swath of genres. Greater understanding of patron recreational reading preferences empower the library to expand the library collection to meet all patron demands.     

Touring Fantasyland: The “Maps of Imaginary Places” Collection and Exhibit at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives

The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University (TAMU) is a singular collaborative effort between two library departments at creating a collection that not only appeals to a wide range of patrons but shows how maps, fantasy, and popular culture intersect. In 2017, the Cushing Library mounted a popular exhibit showcasing highlights from this collection in order to bring the emotional and imaginative power of maps to a wider audience. This article describes how both the collection and exhibit were developed, as well as how they have been received by different patron groups, and includes as future directions for the collection. The principles and procedures for development of such a collection and exhibit are also described.     

Difficult Library Patrons in Academe

Summary

Difficult patrons have been considered primarily from the perspective of the problem behaviours they present in libraries. Many have attempted to define the problem patron and to provide advice and develop guidelines for frontline public service staff. To understand the difficult patron in academic libraries we need to answer three questions-How well do we know our patrons? Do we unwittingly create difficult patrons through our failure to appreciate their needs? Do we regard patrons as difficult because the way they use libraries and conduct their information research does not match our idea of how it should be done? The answers to these questions suggest that we need to reconceptualize both our patrons and the services we provide. Library staff need to see difficult patrons not as problems but as challenges to the service ideas and standards we hold. A paradigm shift is necessary if we are to reconstruct our beliefs about our patrons, their information seeking behaviours, and the services we provide to meet their needs. Some strategies for developing the skills of library staff to work effectively with difficult patrons are presented.     

University librarians' perspectives on an importance-performance analysis of authentication system attributes and their attitudes towards authentication log visualization

The means through which the university libraries provide access to electronic resources (e-resources) for their patrons and the way they operate could be enhanced through an authentication system. Such a system can help address the challenges of seamless access to e-resources for patrons, and can also provide information for university librarians to further understand and explore patrons' demands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception gap (i.e., importance and satisfaction) of university librarians regarding authentication services, and their attitudes towards the visualization of online libraries' usage logs. Moreover, this study developed a dashboard platform to visualize readers' behavior when using online resources and to understand university librarians' attitudes towards the library statistics dashboard. As a result, it was found that one system quality attribute and two information quality attributes were identified as high priorities for the intervention. University librarians gave positive feedback on the library statistics dashboard that can present visualizations of the authentication logs to further explore patron behavior of using e-resources. This also shows that the results can help identify strategic focus areas to evaluate authentication systems and library statistics dashboard as alternative technologies to assist university librarians in exploring patrons' e-resource usage behaviors.     

Transitioning Online Reference Staffing Models: Assessing and Balancing Needs of Patrons and Practitioners

ABSTRACT

As staffing models evolve for academic library service points, online chat reference services require strategic analysis to improve efficiency and effectiveness. This paper will examine the perception of chat reference before and after staffing changes from faculty librarians, staff, and graduate assistants to non-MLIS library professionals and graduate assistants at Florida State University’s a large, public research university library. Our survey explores satisfaction levels and perception of both patrons and library personnel before and after the staffing change.

Our analysis of 197 patron survey results determined that patrons are equally satisfied with non-librarian provision of chat reference services and found chat interactions to be comparable in quality and timeliness to chats staffed by librarians. Our research into staffer survey results revealed a slight decrease in satisfaction with operation of the service, notably in terms of confidence after the staffing transition even though this was not reflected in the patron satisfaction levels. This assessment indicates that library workers are equally as competent in staffing chat reference services as librarians from patron perspectives. As academic libraries continue to measure the value of staffing service desks with librarians, this study will provide relevant insight into how patrons and staffers are affected by changes in staffing models.     

Comic Cons and Libraries: Opportunities for Patron Outreach

ABSTRACT

Comic books and graphic novels are a common part of public library collections. This research used quantitative survey methodologies to investigate the library-based behaviors and attitudes of attendees of a large metropolitan comic book convention. The intent is to provide context for librarians interested in patron outreach through comic cons. Results found that comic con attendees are library patrons, and provided clues for other types of outreach to related populations.     

American psycho: A collection management survey in Canadian public libraries

A survey of issues associated with the collection management of American Psycho in Canadian public libraries reveals that selection and circulation of controversial titles remains a difficult task for many librarians. Book reviews, articles in magazines and newspapers, and presence or absence of patron requests were important factors in both positive and negative purchase decisions. Large libraries were more likely than small or medium-sized ones to acquire the title, and very few complaints about the book were received from patrons. Librarians attempted to manage the interplay of the forces of quality, demand, media attention, community needs, and intellectual freedom when deciding whether to order American Psycho and how to circulate it in the collection.     

Supporting Our Troops: Library Services and Support for Veterans

Veterans are a unique population that can be found in libraries across the United States. Libraries of all types are developing new approaches to the veterans in their patron populations in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study identifies several common strategies that libraries, especially public and academic libraries, are employing to support their patrons who are veterans, as well as distinctions in strategy according to library type. It further explores whether libraries are relying upon library staff who are veterans when developing services and programming for patrons who are veterans.     

Attitudes and practices of Canadian academic librarians regarding library and online privacy: A national study

Libraries have always been places where individuals feel free to explore new ideas and seek out information in the pursuit of creative and intellectual growth. Fear of exposure or surveillance could threaten an individual's inclination to search for and access information. Understandably then, privacy is understood to be a core professional responsibility of librarians. This study builds on a national report and a qualitative study, completed in the United States, which explored librarians' attitudes on privacy. Adding a Canadian voice to the literature, this study examines survey results from academic librarians in Canada on their perceptions and attitudes related to library practices and online privacy behaviors. Overall, Canadian academic librarians believe that protecting patron privacy and educating patrons about issues related to online privacy is important. However, many Canadian academic librarians doubt that libraries are doing all they can to protect patron privacy. Academic librarians stand to gain knowledge and understanding of peer attitudes toward online privacy, as well as how patron privacy is being advocated for and protected on university campuses across Canada. The results will guide future library policies and programming aimed at creating an environment where privacy rights are protected and patrons can make informed choices about their online actions.     

Real-Time Chat Reference and the Importance of Text-Chat

Summary

One of real-time chat reference's strengths is the options it gives the librarian in terms of answering questions. Librarians can use text chat, send over a Web page (push pages), or let a patron watch them work over their computers. Options come with a price, though-transaction speed. While most librarians work from a speedy connection, patrons chatting with them are probably using slower dial-up connections. Chat software features are expanding quicker than most patrons can handle, so now it's time to focus on how to best serve the most patrons, instead of inadvertently catering to a select group of technologically savvy patrons with fast computers. Text chat is an excellent way to make sure the most patrons get the best results from real-time reference chats.     

美国公共图书馆建设标准核心要素分析

根据有关标准,美国公共网书馆面积的确定综合考虑了服务人口、馆藏资源、阅览座位数量和非业务功能区所占比例等因素.服务人口指可以直接或间接享受图书馆服务的人口,计算方法因地而异;馆藏资源总目标以及由载体大小、书架类型和资源类型决定的单位面积馆藏量决定了馆藏资源所需的面积空间;阅览座位数的测算依据包括千人拥有座位量、到馆读者座位占用率和馆藏发展目标总量等;单个座位的面积空间要求,美国有较为详细的标准;非业务功能空间一般占图书馆总建筑面积的20%～30%.表9.参考文献11.     

OAI-PMH Harvested Collections and User Engagement

ABSTRACT

Discovery tools are used in libraries to bring together books, articles, and other resources. Research has focused on user and librarian evaluation of these tools, but there are few evaluations of non-book and non-article sources. Discovery tools can also include metadata for local collections harvested through the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Creating these harvests can be time consuming for staff, so it is important for libraries to understand if and how patrons use these records. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries (UNL Libraries) harvests metadata from local collections into the Encore discovery tool. A study was conducted to analyze patron use of OAI-harvested records. This study analyzed usage data for harvested collections obtained from different discovery sources and referrals through Encore. Google Analytics was used to evaluate searcher behavior differences between content referred through Encore and other referrals. Although discovery through Encore did not result in high numbers of traffic, there is evidence that patrons who discover records through Encore take more time looking through records than patrons using other discovery methods. This increase in time is a measure of engagement and may be reason enough for libraries to consider adding OAI-harvested collections to their discovery tool.     

User wayfinding strategies in public library facilities

An experiment in a public library demonstrates that Passini's conceptual framework of wayfinding can be applied to public library patron wayfinding behavior. Participants were asked to think aloud while completing prescribed wayfinding tasks. Findings indicate that library patrons use all five of Passini's strategies to varying degrees, supporting the need for further research testing this framework with library patrons. Participants were given varying level of details on Passini's strategies prior to completing the wayfinding tasks, and that intervention had no significant effect on the results.     

Training engaged student employees: A small college library experience

Student employees are often the first people patrons contact when they enter an academic library, and thus their knowledge level and service skills are crucial to academic library success. This article presents a case study of the job-related knowledge and customer service skills of undergraduate student employees in a small liberal arts college after the implementation of a training program more focused on patron service. Both successes and failures are discussed.