Distance Learners' Self-efficacy and Information Literacy Skills

This study investigates distance learners' information literacy skills in using digital library resources and the factors (online learning and information manipulation) that correlate with learners' information seeking self-efficacy. In addition, distance learners' preferences with regard to digital resources selection and interests of developing information seeking skills were examined. 3517 students enrolled in one or more distance education courses were invited to participate in the online survey; 219 students completed the survey, for a response rate of 6.2%. The results revealed that distance learners who have higher self-efficacy for information seeking and proficiency in information manipulation exhibited higher self-efficacy for online learning. Moreover, students with high self-efficacy demonstrated superior knowledge of digital resources selection. Students who have low self-efficacy with regard to information seeking were more likely to express interest in learning how to use the library resources, although learning techniques for database searching was the exception.     

Interactive Kiosk at the Texas Tech University Libraries

The academic library, given its often privileged position on campus, is the information source that can include directional as well as general campus facts among the myriad of print and e-resources for reference. Also, an academic library's audiences can be quite varied and include prospective students or parents seeking more general knowledge of the building and the campus. Many times this need for information drives patrons to the library service desks. Sometimes, especially during the high-demand seasons of new student orientation and beginning of the fall semesters, the desk is so busy that many patrons will leave because they don't have the time to wait. To address this immediate need for information, Texas Tech University Libraries developed an interactive kiosk to provide general information for frequently asked questions in a more efficient, creative, and interactive way. The kiosk provides a fun method of satisfying a patron's information needs without the requirement of a staff member or the need to wait in line for help. The kiosk is available as long as the Library is open and provides a variety of useful answers to general questions, as well as facts about the Library.     

Can you see me now?: Engaging distance learners through virtual reference consultations

Research consultations continue to be a valuable service offered by academic libraries for students who are able to visit the library, however, most students enrolled in online degree programs or considering enrollment have limited access to campus services. To address this, the authors designed and tested a virtual reference consultation service in their library for distance learners and graduate students. This article outlines a practical approach for designing and initiating a virtual research consultation service pilot, providing equitable access to library services and a positive user experience for distance learners.     

How Do I Get a Campus ID? The Other Role of the Academic Library in Student Retention and Success

Academic libraries have long gathered data at the reference desk to facilitate informed development of services and collections, and have long known that regardless of whether questions are related to doing research, the library is a safe place a student may go to find answers. This article highlights the role of the library and information commons service desks as valuable windows into the student experience. The authors suggest that librarians share with campus stakeholders information about students’ non-research-related questions to aid in the development of programs and services designed to help students adjust to campus life and, ultimately, succeed.     

University of Central Florida Librarians on Location

Abstract

Librarians on Location is an innovative project implemented at the University of Central Florida and is designed to move reference service out of the library to meet the needs of students. At two campus locations outside of the library, librarians use a wireless laptop to provide reference service and demonstrate library resources. The intent is to proactively meet the information needs of those students and faculty who might otherwise remain unaware of the extensive resources provided by the library. The nature of the project also addresses differing information-seeking styles in an informal setting. Because of the location in different buildings on campus, the project enhances the library's visibility to faculty, administrators, and students. Librarians on Location is one part of an ongoing and innovative outreach program at the University of Central Florida Library.     

Collaboration: The Key to Unlocking the Dilemma of Distance Reference Services

SUMMARY

Distant education offerings are growing at a phenomenal rate for academic institutions, creating new groups of library users that are remote from the main campus with unique library and research needs. Recent studies examining the needs of this unique and growing population note that reference and research assistance are key services needed. Many institutions have appointed or hired distance education librarians to help provide services to distant learners. They are often, however, one-person operations that function more as coordinators rather than full-service providers. Since the coordinator cannot provide all of the reference services alone, the key to providing these services for distant education students is to create and sustain good working relationships both in the library and with external entities. Offerings to distance students include phone reference and accessibility to online resources, plus virtual reference and often 24/7 services. This article will examine issues and experiences in bringing together different groups to provide reference services to distant learning communities. It will also describe key relationships necessary for keeping distance reference services at an optimal level.     

Voter Registration Services at an Academic Library: A Non-Traditional Reference Service

Academic library reference services are ideally suited to register students to vote. Voter registration services may be more commonly associated with public library settings, but experiences in an academic library at Illinois State University in the autumn of 2004, 2008, and 2012 indicate that we provided a valuable service to our campus community—one that filled a need for the library’s primary clientele of undergraduate students, most ranging in age from 18 to 24 years and eligible to vote for the first time. Aspects of voter registration are similar in style to reference interviews. Providing a non-traditional service is also an effective avenue for outreach to students and community organizations, as well as to state and municipal agencies.     

Clinical effectiveness and allied health professionals: an information needs assessment

OBJECTIVE: To determine the information needs and support required by AHPs whilst building services based on clinical effectiveness. METHODS: A qualitative approach using action research in co-operation with a Rehabilitation Department Clinical Effectiveness group, leading to interviews with eight therapists. The sampling strategy was purposive. RESULTS: Therapists have well-developed professional networks, but are unsure how to access traditional library areas. Library training can stop AHPs in asking for help or services, whilst the library is thought to be very different to their everyday work, but confidence in using the library service can be acquired by getting to know a librarian. A departmental-based service was thought to provide better access to, and understanding of, information through mentorship, whilst also providing up-to-date evidence so that clinicians can concentrate on their clinical work whilst being more clinically effective. CONCLUSIONS: When seeking information, AHPs are more likely to use professional networks than libraries. However, when working alongside an AHP, a librarian can upgrade information-seeking skills through mentorship, whilst named library contacts can make it easier to access the library for help.     

Chat It Up! Extending Reference Services to Assist Off-Campus Students

Abstract

A virtual reference service is likely to attract both on-campus and off-campus students and providing one service for all users can extend the hours of availability to all students. The needs of these two student populations may differ and off-campus users may present some specific challenges to the reference staff. While some libraries do have a specified distance education librarian, it is unlikely at many institutions that there will be reference staff dedicated only to answering questions from off-campus students. Reference services for off-campus students do present special issues about which general reference staff may not be aware. With awareness of these challenges and proper training, an existing virtual reference service can be extended (or improved) to help off-campus students, or a new chat service can be developed with the objective to assist all user groups with equal success.     

Quora.com: Another Place for Users to Ask Questions

Anthropology libraries are highly specialized scholarly repositories that provide breadth, depth, and coherence to an expansive, fragmentary literature. This article profiles three types of anthropology library—(1) governmental, (2) private or specialized, and (3) departmental or museum—and examines the needs and information seeking behavior of anthropology library users, most of whom are graduate students and credentialed researchers. Also described are particular versus general reference sources for anthropology, ethical issues, and the service requirements of this user population. The main conclusion of this article is that anthropologists rely heavily on printed books due to the comparative, foreign, rare, and sometimes antiquated nature of the resources they seek. For this reason, brick-and-mortar anthropology libraries continue to play a special role in ensuring the vitality of the profession.     

The relationship of gender and topic intimacy to decisions to seek advice from parents

This study explored the impact that respondent gender, parent gender, and perceptions about a topic's intimacy had upon 311 undergraduate students’ likelihood of seeking advice from their parents. Overall, respondents felt they were more likely to seek advice about low‐ than high‐intimacy topics. Both sons and daughters reported a higher likelihood of seeking maternal than paternal advice. However, respondents did indicate a willingness to seek paternal advice in certain conditions. Sons were more likely than daughters to seek advice from fathers about high‐ intimacy topics; daughters were more likely than sons to seek advice from fathers about topics low in intimacy. Possible explanations for and implications of these findings are discussed.     

From Missionary and Graduate Student to Reference Librarian

Summary

A service orientation strongly rooted both in mission work and in identification with students has firmly undergirded and motivated my reference service. A missionary's familiarity with certain subject areas provides certain ready-response and advisory capabilities. Extending my approach from missionary teaching, I attempt to provide leads to all significant data that are relevant to reference questions. By making the most of fleeting reference opportunities with students, I try to train them as potential peer teachers of library skills to other students. Effective communication with library users can involve adapting to very different ways of conveying messages. Saving face for others and building an inviting public impression can be a key to effective reference communication. Highly committed users, especially graduate and international students, deserve our most skillful, conscientious reference assistance.     

FROM THE EDITOR

Abstract

This paper reports on a survey of faculty perceptions of the role of the library in online distance education. The study is second in a series of related studies exploring The Pennsylvania State University's library services to patrons at a distance. In 2004, faculty of the World Campus (Penn State's online distance education program) were surveyed on their perceptions of e-learners' research needs. The faculty responded to questions on how their students access research information for their courses, whether they require their students to use the library as part of their courses, and their expectations of the library as an academic support service. The survey revealed that 60% of the responding faculty supply all of the required research information to students in their courses, and 62% do not require students to use the library as part of their course(s). The study concludes that online, distance-education faculty members have minimal to moderate expectations of the library in supporting their teaching and their students' research needs. Moreover, the study shows a significant lack of faculty awareness of existing library services and resources available to the e-learning community.     

Student Deep Participation in Library Work: A Chinese Academic Library's Experience

Student deep participation in library work allows students to actively participate in library operation and become deeply involved in library service and program development. There are usually two levels of deep participation: level I refers to the employment of student assistants in different areas of library routine work, ranging from shelving to IT support; and level II refers to the engagement of students as library partners or collaborators, working with librarians to complete independent project. Sharing Tsinghua University Library's experiences, we provide a holistic view of how the two levels of student deep participation are implemented at an academic library, with a focus on level II. We seek to generate a thorough understanding of the practices and benefits of student deep participation, and encourage academic libraries to create more opportunities to deeply involve students in library work, and to ultimately demonstrate the value and relevance of the library to the campus community.     

Integrating the imposed query into the evaluation of reference service: A dichotomous analysis of user ratings

A secondary analysis of a user survey administered in 13 public libraries examined user ratings of reference services by transaction type. Transaction type is defined dichotomously as self-generated (users transacting questions they have determined for themselves) or imposed (agent users in the library seeking information on behalf of someone else). Users with self-generated questions rated library services lower than did users with imposed questions. Both groups rated the library experience lower than their reference desk experience, and imposed queries were responsible for proportionately higher “first time” use of the reference desk. No significant difference existed between groups for ratings of finding useful information in the library, finding everything wanted in the library visit, frequency of library use, or levels of attained formal education. There were significant differences found for ratings of the reference librarian's service behaviors, user satisfaction with reference service, and frequency of reference desk use.     

Impacts of Library Space on Learning Satisfaction – An Empirical Study of University Library Design in Guangzhou,China

The current generation of millennial university students is more accustomed to searching reference information online than visiting the physical library facility, compared to the previous generations of students. Studies have shown that the role of the physical library facilities as a mere collection point of reading and reference materials is being threatened by the availability of free and high-speed online search engines. University libraries have always been an integral part in higher education learning activities, and they are not exempted from this threat. Based on a structural equation modelling framework, we analysed empirically the importance of different library design features that help enhance students' learning satisfaction, and found that lighting environment, acoustic environment as well as location of the library building were the main determinants impacting on the use of the university library by students in a major university in China. We conclude the paper with our suggestions in modifying library design to accommodate students' learning needs, and more importantly in recon?uring the spatial and functional role of university libraries in this age of digital information from a mere provider of reference materials to a physical space of learning commons on campus.     

A Pop-up Service Point and Repurposed Study Spaces: Maintaining Market Share During a Renovation

Payson Library, the largest library at Pepperdine, primarily serves undergraduate students. It underwent a renovation between spring 2016 and fall 2017. Payson Library was closed during this renovation, and a Library Hub was established as a temporary service point and library information and teaching center on campus. Maintaining market share led to rolling out new services such as RAPID-ILL, repurposing a graduate campus library for increased study spaces, and reliance on a strong library liaison program. Predictably, there was a sharp reduction in patron visits, but there was success in providing reference, instruction, and access to the collections.     

How They Search,How They Feel,and How to Serve Them? Information Needs and Seeking Behaviors of Chinese Students Using Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

America has become a choice for international students to study abroad because of its advanced education system and environment. Libraries become a way for international students to access resources and experience campus life, while Chinese students are increasing gradually as the biggest component of international students. This article investigates how Chinese students use American academic libraries and their information needs and seeking behaviors, as well as Chinese students' satisfaction with library facilities, resources, and services, and their expectation for other services. The article aims to better understand Chinese students, analyze their search strategies, and better provide relevant library services for them.     

Extending the reference desk experience: Information Resources for the Nursing Care Plan

Both nursing and library science literature discuss the information needs and information-seeking behavior of nurses. Some research has focused on information needs of nursing students, but little research is available regarding information-seeking behavior of nursing students, specifically baccalaureate nursing students. Only a few key references were identified addressing nursing students' information seeking with regard to nurse care planning. At the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, George F. Smith Library, a wide range of nursing students from those in traditional BSN programs, to students in accelerated BSN programs, to masters' nursing students of all types visit the reference desk asking direct and indirect questions involving the nursing care plan. This article highlights repeated categories of information sought by nursing students at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, George F. Smith Library via both formal and informal reference interviews. Information sought most frequently was categorized and formed the basis for a new library workshop entitled "Information Resources for the Nursing Care Plan."