International trends in health science librarianship part 17: a comparison of health science libraries with academic and research libraries

Over the last 4 years this Regular Feature has looked at trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. Although there are still a few more regions to be covered in this series, this issue explores general trends in academic and research libraries with a view to discovering whether the trends identified for health science libraries are similar. Are health science libraries unique? Or do their experiences mirror those found in the wider world of academic and research libraries? JM     

BiblioFemina: A panel discussion on women in publishing,bookselling, and libraries

A panel discussion was held at the University of Minnesota to explore how librarians, publishers, and booksellers advance access to women's literature. Using the Twin Cities area of Minnesota as a model, the program brought together five professionals representing university and public libraries and socially conscious publishing and bookselling. The group addressed issues associated with the production, selection, and access to women's literature. Three conditions came to light, revealing the complexities of each function, the impact of contemporary trends, and the necessity of cooperation among publishers, booksellers, and librarians.     

《大学图书情报学刊》引文数据比较分析

科学文献的相互引用关系是引文分析的主要依据.引文分析是以文献引用数据为基础,用以揭示其数量特征和规律的一种文献计量分析方法.作者对<大学图书情报学刊>1998年与2004年的引文数量进行了量化分析,指出了刊物在引文数量、引文文献类型、引文语种、引文主题、引文原始来源期刊的发展和变化情况,提出了值得重视的有关问题.     

Academic libraries as learning spaces in Japan: Toward the development of learning commons

Since the beginning of the 1990s, new types of learning spaces at academic libraries have emerged mainly in North America. They are called “information commons” or “learning commons.” They provide various kinds of services, facilities, and materials in one location to support students’ learning. The idea of learning commons has been introduced to colleges and universities in Japan as well. The purpose of this study is to examine the present condition of learning spaces in university libraries in Japan. A questionnaire was sent to 755 main or central libraries at colleges and universities. The response rate was 69.4%. The results of the survey are as follows: (a) simple collaborative learning spaces with desk/desks and chairs have become modestly widespread, while advanced spaces with equipment for information and communication technology, such as computers or projectors, are not common; (b) many libraries provide computer clusters; and (c) cafés and/or beverage vending machines in libraries are still few in number. The survey also reveals that learning commons in Japan are in the early stage of development. Various types of learning spaces are recognized as learning commons. They range from a group learning room with Wi-Fi access to an entire learning commons, where several kinds of facilities, services, and information resources to support students’ learning in one location are provided. This diversification may be based on the confusion caused by the rapid introduction of learning commons in Japan. Many learning spaces may rebuild their own services in the near future because of their students’ needs.     

Historical research as a foundation for teaching applied issues in publishing

Historical research benefits students of publishing in three ways. First, it provides an accurate account of what happened in the past. Second, by setting contemporary issues in a historical context, it helps identify trends. Finally, it encourages curiosity and learning about one’s cultural and intellectual heritage. Parker provides examples of research that serve these purposes. George L. Parker is professor and head of the Department of English and Philosophy at the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario. He teaches Canadian and American literature, has coedited an anthology,The Evolution of Canadian Literature in English: Beginnings to 1970, has contributed to theDictionary of Canadian Biography, and has publishedThe Beginnings of The Book Trade in Canada (1985).     

Visual research in LIS: Complementary and alternative methods

Although visual methods are emerging as a valuable and versatile tool in qualitative social studies research, confusion around terminology, options, and best practices persists. Consequently, LIS scholars who wish to employ innovative visual approaches in their research face barriers to discovering and deciding which visual options best suit their goals. Based on a review of the literature, this article identifies and describes the scope of participatory and non-participatory visual methods currently in use in the social sciences, with particular attention paid to LIS contexts. While visual methods bring clear benefits to qualitative research in terms of data quality, modes of expression, and alternate perspectives, challenges remain, including logistic issues of implementing visual study designs and ethical considerations.     

Academic authors,scholarly publishing,and open access in Australia

This paper briefly describes the rapidly changing research evaluation and funding landscape in Australian universities, specifically in relation to open access and institutional repositories. Recent announcements indicate that funding and evaluation bodies are becoming increasingly concerned that publicly funded research be made publicly available. The paper then reports a survey of all levels of academic staff plus research students at one Australian university, conducted in May 2006, prior to the introduction of an institutional repository. The survey, in line with previously reported surveys, found that while there was a high level of engagement with scholarly publishing, there was a low level of awareness of, or concern with, either open access (‘green’ or ‘gold’) or the roles repositories can play in increasing accessibility of research. Practically, this indicates that much work needs to be done within this university to increase knowledge of, and change behaviours with regard to, open access and repositories if the university and its academics are to make the most of new funding requirements and research evaluation processes.     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

Fabricating and prefabricating language: troubling trends in libraries

Librarians are succumbing to the influence of the easy-to-adopt, prefab, impersonal, ugly, and often impenetrable jargon borrowed from business and computer technology. Thus, they are in danger of beginning to think of libraries as businesses that provide primarily electronic information and facts rather than materials to support humanistic knowledge and insight.     

高校图书馆科研工作的SWOT分析

利用SWOT分析方法,分析了高校图书馆科研工作的优势、劣势、机遇、挑战,得出高校图书馆科研工作的战略选择：增强图书馆科研意识,提高馆员素质,培养科研带头人,组建科研团队,积极调动各方面的积极因素等。     

高校图书馆数字资源利用周期性研究——以天津市高校馆使用时间分布为例

主要对天津高校图书馆中外文数字期刊资源下载使用时间分布特征进行统计分析,并结合高校科研申报、读者学习、生活规律等因素来探索高校图书馆数字资源利用的时间分布规律,提出高校图书馆应结合用户利用数字资源的时间规律开展数字资源服务,创新服务模式发展方向。     

我国复合图书馆研究之聚类分析

通过对有关复合图书馆研究论文的聚类,把一些特征上类似的信息归并在一起,锁定了复合图书馆研究的主题范围,对我国近十年来复合图书馆研究的进展做了详细介绍和总结.     

Vision,innovation, and leadership in research libraries

This study examined the relationship of research library visions, as embodied in a publicly posted vision statement, and the innovativeness of the library. The literature on organizational vision is abundant and generally reveals a positive relationship between vision, visionary leadership, and a variety of organizational factors. Many researchers state that a vision, communicated throughout the organization, is a critical element of organizational success and those entities without a vision are “stumbling in the dark”. In this study, library professionals rated each research library vision statement based on established attributes and it was found that the resulting vision statement score was positively and significantly related to the innovativeness of the library.     

Politics and publishing in a democratic society: Technical breakthroughs and research agendas

Publishing flourishes best in a democratic society. Technological changes alter the relationship of forces so that opportunities for publishing expand. A broader range of information channels, for example, increases choice and makes authoritarian rule more difficult. Publishing also enhances democracy when decisions are made on the basis of merit rather than top-down legislation. Research should reflect awareness of the interaction of publishing and politics. Such areas as the relationship between public and private sectors, the impact of internationalization, non-U.S. ownership of information, mergers and acquisitions, and conflict between the First Amendment and copyright law, are examples of areas in which democratic outcomes are critical. Decision making in publishing would benefit from heightened awareness of the political consequences of publishers’ activities. Irving Louis Horowithz is the author ofCommunicating Ideas: The Politics of Publishing Mary E. Curtis has written widely on subjects of concern to professional publishing.     

Examining libraries as public sphere institutions: Mapping questions,methods, theories,findings, and research gaps

It is common in the literature to see libraries characterized as public sphere institutions, but the exact processes by which libraries support and engage in the public sphere remain under-explored. Based on a systematic review of the research literature on libraries as public sphere institutions, this study maps the questions, methods, theories, and findings of those scholars and librarians who have examined this topic. This research finds that discussions of libraries as public sphere institutions orient around five themes: Community, management and funding, institutional structures and practices, new tools and services, and knowledge organization. Compared to existing research, more focused and stringent research designs are necessary to enhance the understanding of libraries as public sphere institutions. A focused research program can create theoretical and actionable knowledge for knowledge-based policies, strategies, and activities at the international, federal, state, and community levels.     

Patterns and trends of equity,diversity and inclusion programs in academic libraries

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) have been core values and top priorities for academic institutions in recent decades. This paper presents a review on EDI and their manifestations in strategic planning of academic libraries. Advocating and advancing EDI have been broadly recognized as initiatives that create partnership opportunities and have been supported by various library associations, such as the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the American Library Association (ALA), and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) and Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The first section of this paper presents the initiatives and resources created by these library associations that provide example frameworks, roadmap, and planning for individual libraries to customize. The second section presents cases of EDI programs in the institutions that the author visited or studied for a professional development program in 2021–2022. The conclusion discusses recurring themes and initiatives. The findings outlined in this paper provide references, resources, and contexts for library leaders and the EDI team leaders to embark and sustain the critical journey of incorporating EDI values in their work and culture.