Competency or Capacity: Measuring Librarians’ Potential for Success

Abstract

Core competencies have long been established in the competitive world of business and industry. These tenants lend themselves to individualization and branding, being exclusionary tools by their very nature. So how do core competencies fit in the world of libraries and information centers, particularly when considering potential employees? The concept of individual capacity is a better fit for information fields, being more inclusive and reflective of diverse knowledge bases and skillsets that working in this field requires. Juxtaposing the two, core competencies and individual capacity, will help us re-focus our efforts on user-centered information work rather than business rhetoric and conformity.     

Librarians’ perceptions of knowledge management in developing countries: A case with Indian academic libraries

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine librarians' perceptions of knowledge management, including its concept, potential applications, benefits and major challenges of its applications in Indian academic libraries. A structured questionnaire, containing both open and close-ended questions, was sent by postal mail to 30 librarians of academic libraries in India of which 15 questionnaires were returned. Respondents were asked to define knowledge management and answer questions on its potential applications, benefits and major challenges of implementation in academic libraries. Respondents were also allowed to specify their own views on the subject. The findings of the study show that the levels of understanding of KM concepts among librarians are varied and most of them view KM as the management of information resources, services and systems using technology or specific processes for the capture and use of explicit knowledge, rather sharing and using tacit knowledge. They have positive attitudes towards the applications of knowledge management into academic library practice, and not only because this can bring academic libraries closer to their parent organization, but also because it may help them to survive in an increasingly challenging environment. Although, librarians in the present study acknowledged that they are involved in the practices of knowledge management but these were perceived as basic information management activities. Lack of understanding of knowledge management concepts and its benefits, knowledge sharing culture, top management commitment, incentives and rewards, financial resources and information technology infrastructure are perceived as the major barriers for incorporating knowledge management into academic library practice.     

German Book Publishers’ Barriers to Disruptive Innovations: The Case of E-Book Adoption

To succeed in a period of change, German book publishers need to adopt innovations, e.g., implement e-books into their product portfolio. Yet, in the book industry, the adoption of new technologies is not commonplace: Despite being the second biggest book market worldwide, only 1.2 % of all published books in Germany are available as e-books. This problem leads us to investigate the factors that determine whether publishing companies decide in favor or against entering the e-book market. Based on a standardized survey of more than 240 German publishing houses, barriers to innovation adoption are examined from a micro, meso and macro perspective. Our main findings show that individual characteristics of management and the company’s corporate culture strongly predict adoption. Also, organizational communication seems to be critical. Taking this into account, the key resource to enable innovation seems to be information underlining the necessity of communities of practice.     

Listen to the Music: Lessons for Publishers from Record Labels’ Digital Debut Decade

Multimedia EBooks present a tremendous growth opportunity for publishers. Yet, industry executives might be cautious after witnessing the astounding collapse of the record business during its digital transition over the last 10 years. This article looks at what went wrong for Big Music, what lessons book publishers can learn from the recording industry’s mistakes and also some visions of the future. And why digitally, for books—at least—it can’t get here fast enough.     

Data Privacy and Academic Libraries: Non-PII,PII, and Librarians’ Reflections (Part 2)

Abstract

Using personally identifiable information (PII) (patron data) to make informed decisions in academic libraries through learning analytics programs has increasingly become more commonplace. In this column, we discuss how libraries around the world have used PII to make informed decisions about hours (gate count), electronic resources (collection usage and authentication), and research assistance (virtual reference). In addition, we discuss the use of learning analytics in library environments including the benefits and concerns associated with its use. Finally, we discuss how we have used PII at our institution’s library and the data metrics we plan utilize at some point in the future.     

Data Privacy and Academic Libraries: Non-PII,PII, and Librarians’ Reflections (Part 1)

In this editorial, we discuss the benefits and challenges of working with library data that contains non-Personally Identifiable Information. Despite not containing identifiable information, non-PII data can still be analyzed and used to inform decision making. We are presently using several non-PII data points to inform decision-making in our library: Gate Count, Book Checkouts, Customer Searches, Search Terms Reports, Article and Abstract Downloads, Customer Service Interactions, and One Question Surveys. While non-PII data can inform decision-making in libraries, we have found this type of data to be limited in the ways we outline in this editorial.     

“This Actually Happened”: An Analysis of Librarians’ Responses to a Survey about Racial Microaggressions

Racial microaggressions are subtle, derogatory messages conveyed to people of color. While often delivered unconsciously, these persistent and pervasive negative messages can have devastating effects on individuals and organizations. In an effort to investigate academic librarians’ experiences and observations of racial microaggressions, a survey was sent to three ACRL listservs in the spring of 2012. In a preliminary analysis of the 129 comments left by survey participants, seven themes were identified: microassaults, microinsults, microinvalidations, environmental microaggressions, uncertainty or racism not observed, being excluded or isolated, and implications for recruitment and retention.     

Instructional Feedback II: How Do Instructor Immediacy Cues and Facework Tactics Interact to Predict Student Motivation and Fairness Perceptions?

During feedback interventions (FIs), instructors may feel torn between directing students’ learning or maintaining productive rapport with them. Existing research suggests how instructional communication can achieve both outcomes. This study examined how students’ motivation to learn and perceptions of fairness were enhanced or eroded via particular instructional behaviors. Actual face-threat mitigation (FTM) tactics and teacher nonverbal immediacy (TNI) cues were manipulated in differing combinations to manage an FI situation, with varying effects on the outcome variables. Multivariate analysis detected main effects and a significant interaction effect between FTM and TNI regarding students’ motivation to learn, but main effects only for their perceptions of interactional fairness. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed in light of self-determination, facework, approach-avoidance, and feedback intervention theories.     

What’s in a Word: Coming to Terms with Reference,Part Two

The reference librarian aims to know the reference collection like the back of his or her hand. This knowledge of knowledge can be characterized as encyclopedic, in that it enables the reference librarian to comprehend the unity that exists within the branches of knowledge—the subject categories as outlined in the Library of Congress (LC) classification and represented in the reference collection. Comprehending this unity further enables the reference librarian to make those intelligent leaps, uncanny connections, and creative combinations between subject categories, whether closely or distantly related or even entirely unrelated. This metaknowledge and the fluency with the collection it supports define at its most fundamental level what reference is and what reference does. Despite its ease, speed, and convenience, the algorithm is no replacement for the mind of the reference librarian. Critical acceptance of this fact is in evidence when the simple, spontaneous one-on-one encounter at the reference desk rather than the preplanned, required session in information literacy is understood as the primary locus of learning in the library. Reference librarianship with its modest accoutrements—the reference desk, the reference interview, the reference collection—is still most suitable to provide the kind of guidance every thinking student needs to rightly read and engage the authoritative works that make up the main collection.     

How ‘free distribution’ impacts your business model: is it really free?

The widespread perceptions associated with digital technology and the internet are forcing publishers to look to ways to shift the balance of the burden of cost away from the user. We describe seven examples of ‘free’ distribution and discuss how they impact publishing business models.     

Only with your permission: how rights holders respond (or don’t respond) to requests to display archival materials online

Archival repositories are increasingly considering mass digitization as a means of meeting user expectations that materials be available online, remotely. Copyright is frequently noted as a significant obstacle to these efforts, but little empirical data exist on the copyright permissions process in archives. This article reports the findings of a study of the copyright permissions process for the Jon Cohen AIDS Research Collection at the University of Michigan. Specifically, the study sought to reveal how much effort is required to seek copyright permissions, what the results of those efforts would be, and whether or not there were traits of documents or copyright holders that were associated with accept or denial status. The study found that significant time is required to contact and negotiate with rights holders and that the biggest obstacle to getting permission is non-response. Of those requests that get a response, the vast majority are to grant permission. While few of the requests were met with denial, the data suggest that commercial copyright holders are much more likely to deny permission than other types of copyright holders. The data also show that adherence to the common policy of only displaying online those documents with explicit permission will likely result in substantially incomplete online collections.     

A Review of “How to Create and Manage a Mutual Fund or Exchanged Traded Fund: A Professional’s Guide”

Business students comprise a significant proportion of the Library's reference workload at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). A literature review on business students and their use of libraries provided limited, dated material which indicated that business students are infrequent users of libraries and possessed minimal research skills. CSULB business faculty were surveyed to determine attitudes on student library use and learning. Students were surveyed to determine library attitudes, use, and skills. While library use has increased dramatically over the years, skills needed for independent research have not. Suggested solutions include the targeting of core business courses for instruction and increasing involvement of the faculty.     

Producing Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose: How Libertarian Ideology Became Broadcasting Balance

In the first weeks of 1980, Public Broadcasting Service affiliates across the United States aired Free to Choose, a television series featuring the economist Milton Friedman. This article focuses on the production team, which brought Friedman’s small-government, market-focused perspective via privatizing the production of public television. Specifically, executive producer Robert Chitester’s success in bringing the series to air stemmed from two factors: first, he expressed social imaginaries that helped coordinate funding relationships with underwriters; and second, he drew on his institutional knowledge of public television production to navigate zones of regulatory ambiguity without running afoul of broadcast rules and regulations.     

Where in the World Is My Librarian? Creating Cross-Campus Collaborations to Seamlessly Connect with Students When Librarians,Students, and Faculty Are in Different Locations

Research librarians often have a specialty in certain discipline, and many academic libraries thrive on this type of arrangement to support their researchers. But more often, new interdisciplinary programs are developed that require the expertise of more than one subject expert for support. In particular, students in a Master of Education in the Health Professions (MEHP) program have unique, complicated research challenges that can only be addressed with careful collaboration amongst multiple subject experts. However, this program and the library saw the need for additional expertise to support their students, and began a collaboration with the medical library, bringing a clinical informationist onto the library support team. Together, the education librarian, clinical informationist, and program faculty collaborate to provide excellent services to help students in their research throughout the program.     

The International Standard Text Code: Call to Action, or Distraction?

Book publishers now have more products to keep track of than ever before: books, eBooks, apps, online products, and the list goes on. Traditionally publishers have used the ISBN to track products in the supply chain. But with as many as 24 ISBNs now associated with a bestselling title, the publishing industry looks to a new identifier, the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), to keep ISBNs in check. In a sea of data, will the ISTC help keep publishers afloat, or weigh them down?     

How food ads communicate ‘health’ with children: a content analysis of Korean television commercials

In the past decades, the rates of childhood obesity have increased rapidly in Asian countries, where an increase in Westernization of behavioral and dietary lifestyle is evident. Although causes of childhood obesity have raised an issue about the direct influence of food advertising on children, little has been known about what kinds of health relevant content are provided and how they are presented. The present study explores the current practice of television food advertising targeted at children in Korea and extends previous content analyses by examining the content and presentation manner of health-related claims as well as persuasive appeals and food types. The results of the analysis of 403 television commercials show children in Korea are still mainly targeted with advertising messages that urge the consumption of unhealthy foods heavily emphasizing sensory and emotional appeals, while food marketers have not utilized health information enough and put an emphasis on ‘health’ in advertising without making substantial claims explicitly. This study also reveals that some presentation manners of health-related claims are identified as potentially misleading with child audiences.