Harnessing Yik Yak for Good: A Study of Students’ Anonymous Library Feedback

This study explores academic libraries’ potential uses of the mobile application Yik Yak, with particular focus on patrons’ anonymous feedback about library services and spaces. Over a 232-day period, the authors observed the Yik Yak feed for their university and recorded all yaks related to the library. A content analysis of the 249 library-related yaks found six distinct purposes that these library-related yaks served, from the perspective of the patron, which are of interest to the library: asking questions about library services; reporting problems with library spaces; reprimanding violations of and encouraging adherence to library policies; sharing compliments about library services; demons-trating need for improved library services; and discussing and offering feedback about library programs. This study reveals several opportunities for academic libraries to engage with Yik Yak in order to serve their patrons better, including providing virtual reference services, monitoring problems within the building, developing proactive approaches to policy enforce-ment, gathering honest and continuous feedback about the library's strengths, and identifying opportunities to improve and expand services. Implications for practice are discussed.     

ABD or EdD? A Model of Library Training for Distance Doctoral Students

ABSTRACT

Libraries have been struggling for years to move beyond 1-shot library training. In spite of efforts in the last decade to promote information literacy for undergraduate and graduate students alike, libraries more often than not are still not reaching the goals articulated in the Association of College & Research Libraries's information literacy standards. The problems are compounded when institutions serve students who also happen to be taking part or all of their classes online or at field-based sites. The model for providing a library training program for students in the Doctor of Education (EdD) program in a distance program focuses on providing students with training that builds sequentially and developmentally at the points of need for students in the 1st year of classes and provides additional support for students once they have completed their course work. This multistepped approach is designed to help doctoral students throughout the doctoral process.     

How Can the University Library Better Meet the Information Needs of Research Students? Experiences From Ulster University

This article investigates academic library needs of doctoral students. The study identifies PhD students' information literacy training needs and explores current levels of library engagement, barriers to use, and gaps in existing services. First-year PhD students at Ulster University (UU) were surveyed and interviews were undertaken with three students. Findings show that just over half the respondents start their research from the Library's e-journal interface or library databases and these resources are also their main research tools. Minimal use was made of social media or apps. Students' ability to correctly identify different source types within a reference did not match the confidence they expressed in their own abilities, and two thirds were not aware of basic e-book capabilities. However, over 90% of the respondents strongly agreed that the university library service was essential for their research. The article concludes with a number of recommendations on improving library services for PhD students.     

Off-Campus Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions About Distance Library Support Services: A Case Study of Allama Iqbal Open University Libraries Network

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to assess distance learning students’ perceptions about location and physical set up of libraries, collections, resources, and services rendered at thirty-four regional campuses as well as main campus libraries network of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) all over Pakistan. During the spring semester of 2007, a questionnaire was mailed to 250 randomly selected students enrolled in eleven postgraduate programs throughout the country. The response rate was 61.2%, which was made up of 43.1% females and 56.9% males. A majority of the respondents were dissatisfied with the virtual reference services, online database facilities, interlibrary loan, library membership, and borrowing of library material from the AIOU libraries. They were satisfied with the location and physical setup of the libraries, the collections, and the resources of the libraries. The study revealed that most of the respondents used the libraries during workshops as well as for research purposes. The statistical analysis (t = 0.550, Sig. = 0.970) showed that there was no significant difference between the opinion of females and males. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 10.0.     

Interlibrary Loan's Efficacy in Meeting Students’ Expectations to Acquire Textbooks: Results From a Study Conducted in a Large Research Library

Students look to interlibrary loan (ILL) as a mechanism for acquiring textbooks. What are the students’ expectations of ILL and can ILL meet those expectations, especially given that textbooks are perceived as difficult to borrow? This article reports the findings of a survey designed to determine the expectations of students who had placed ILL requests for textbooks. By analyzing the records for those students’ requests using data from ILLiad, the degree to which students’ expectations can be met was determined. Students’ flexibility with editions provides ILL staff methods to increase fill rates and improve service.     

A Review of “Research within the Disciplines: Foundations for Reference and Library Instruction”

Usability testing has become a routine way for many libraries to ensure that their Web presence is user-friendly and accessible. At the same time, popular subject guide creation systems, such as LibGuides, decentralize Web content creation and put authorship into the hands of librarians who may not be trained in user-centered design principles. At Metropolitan State University, researchers performed usability testing on LibGuides in order to see how patrons interact with guides. Researchers completed two rounds of usability testing on a total of ten students, one alumnus, and one community patron. The results indicate that patrons struggled most when encountering jargon, inconsistent language, and visual clutter. Based on their findings, researchers recommend ongoing usability testing of subject guides as well as the creation of a style guide to help librarians create usable, accessible guides.     

A Bibliography of Littleton’s Tenures as an Archetype for the Study of Early English Legal Printing

For hundreds of years, bibliographies have been invaluable tools for researchers, collectors, and institutions, to provide contextual understanding as well as adding depth to collections. In this piece, the author uses his updated bibliography of the first 200 years of Littleton's Tenures to examine many aspects of early English legal printing. These include the development and evolution of the content of early legal materials, as well economic and other factors driving the market for printed law books. Preceding the bibliography is a list of fundamental bibliographic terms concerning early printing, contextually applied to Littleton's Tenures.     

“This Is Our Library,and It’s a Pretty Cool Place”: A User-Centered Study of Public Library YA Spaces

This study sought to collect data from teens and librarians about their preferences and recommendations for the effective design of physical library spaces for teens. Librarians and teens at twenty-two U.S. public libraries filmed narrated video tours of their young adult (YA) public library spaces. The researchers used qualitative content analysis techniques to analyze the video data and to develop a framework for guiding the design of effective YA public library spaces. In addition to providing specific recommendations for user-centered YA library space design, this study highlights the need for continued user input into the design and maintenance of YA public library spaces as teens’ needs evolve and vary across time and from community to community.     

The Influence of E-book Format and Reading Device on Users’ Reading Experience: A Case Study of Graduate Students

To explore the influence of e-book format and reading device on users’ reading experience, this paper studied a group of graduate students’ reading speed and comprehension. The participants were asked to read same length content from the same monograph chapter in both fixed layout format file (PDF) and fluid format file (EPUB) on four different reading devices: laptop, tablet, dedicated e-reader and smart phone. Their reading process, speed and comprehension were recorded and compared. Through the experiment and depth interviews, this study found that e-book format and reading devices have influence on reading speed and reading comprehension level. Generally speaking, people read EPUB files faster than PDF files. For smart phone, dedicated e-reader and tablet, participants’ average reading comprehension is higher when reading EPUB file, while most participants read PDF file faster when they use laptops.     

Socially Responsive Design and Evaluation of a Workers’ Compensation Thesaurus for a Community Organization with Selective Application of Cognitive Work Analysis: A Case Study

This article presents a case study of the evaluation of social responsiveness and relevance of terminology used in a specialized thesaurus constructed for a community legal clinic library. The thesaurus is intended to assist in meeting information discovery and educational needs of a small organization that advocates on behalf of injured workers for legal and social justice within Ontario's workers’ compensation system. The authors include an overview of the thesaurus project and the historical context of workers’ compensation. They discuss the use of Cognitive Work Analysis as an evaluation methodology particularly appropriate to both the material and the clinic's culture of collaboration, with examples of its application in practice and some lessons learned.     

“I’m Really Confident I Can Find the Exact IKEA Pillow”: A Qualitative Look at the Search Self-Efficacy of Graduating MLIS Students

Abstract

There is limited qualitative research on the information-seeking self-efficacy (SE) of library and information science (LIS) graduate students. This study examines graduating LIS students’ experiences with information seeking, including experiences in the LIS program that led to increased levels of information-seeking SE and specific recollections of moments when SE increased. Many students identified similar factors as key to developing SE, including education-related assignments, library work experience, LIS internships, and specific LIS coursework. Because of the small sample size, further research would help to identify additional factors that promote LIS students’ information-seeking SE.     

A Review of: “The Medical Library Association Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher: Proven Techniques,Strategies, and Tips for Finding Health Information. Jankowski,Terry Ann.”

Abstract

The Center for Families Resource Library at St. Louis Children’s Hospital was integrated into the hospital’s new Epic electronic medical records system in June 2018. The new system enables clinicians to request consults from the Center for Families Resource Library. The librarian can participate more actively and collaboratively with patient education by providing reliable health information and charting it as part of the patient’s permanent record. The article reviews improvements over the former system and reveals an enhanced role for the health services librarian.