Turning the library upside down: Reorganization using total quality management principles

Professional staff at Samford University's Davis Library began to plan for vast organizational changes in the summer of 1990. This article describes their application of TQM principles to preparing for and implementing a restructuring of the Library and discusses the results of this reorganization.     

Towards better information services: A framework for immigrant information needs and library services

Immigrants are among the populations in modern society that libraries are striving to serve. This study aims to develop a framework on immigrants, their information needs, and library services. Using a systematic literature review based on the grounded theory approach, 28 related articles were reviewed to identify the causes, characteristics, and the content of the information needs of immigrants. Also explored were the possible sources to satisfy these information needs and the barriers to accessing needed information. Findings indicate that personal social networks, the Internet, media sources, and institutions are the main information sources for immigrants; language, cultural differences, the digital divide, unfamiliar information systems, and psychological factors are the five major challenges for immigrants obtaining information. Based on the findings, a unified framework about immigrants, their information needs, sources to satisfy those needs, and library information services is, therefore, proposed. This framework may provide guidance for libraries and other information service agencies to better develop services and information systems for immigrants.     

User needs: the key to changing library services and policies.

A user survey and a series of faculty interviews are discussed as methods that can be used by a public relations librarian to change library policies and services in the direction of patrons' needs.     

Textbook access and affordability through academic library services: A department develops strategies to meet the needs of students

In the spring of 2015, the University of Minnesota Libraries formed the Content Services department, which is comprised of Interlibrary Loan, Publishing Services, and the Copyright Permissions Service. These three service points, as well as additional Library units, work together with campus partners to save students money on their course materials through a variety of programs and pilot projects. By employing multiple avenues to help faculty and students put affordable content into their existing workflows for providing and accessing required readings, the University of Minnesota Libraries are ensuring that there are many options available that support coursework and ultimately student success.     

大学图书馆实施全面质量管理的步骤与关键环节

本文将大学图书馆实施全面质量管理的过程划分为六个主要阶段,分析了质量改进各个阶段的主要工作内容,着重探讨了教师在图书馆建设中的作用。     

Measuring the quality of reference services provided by paraprofessionals at an academic library

The goals of this research study are: 1) to investigate the level of complexity of chat reference questions; 2) to measure the performance of paraprofessional reference staff based on answer correctness and patron interactions; and 3) to use this data to assess the overall effectiveness of the triage reference-services model currently used by all three campus libraries of MCPHS University. A team of five reference librarians conducted a retrospective two-year evaluation of live-chat reference transactions. The questions' complexity was evaluated using the Reference Effort Assessment Data (READ) scale, while the answer correctness and patron interactions were scored using a rubric. The study provides data in support of the triage reference-services model and evidence that, with proper training, paraprofessional reference assistants can offer high-quality reference services for academic libraries' patrons.     

论图书馆形象力资源开发

本在阐述了图书馆形象力资源这一全新概念的基础上，分析了影响图书馆形象力资源开发的因素，并指出图书馆形象力资源的开发，应该主要从形象意识、战略规划、管理创新等方面着手，然后再向其他方面扩展。     

Measuring patrons' technology habits: an evidence-based approach to tailoring library services

Librarians continually integrate new technologies into library services for health sciences students. Recently published data are lacking about student ownership of technological devices, awareness of new technologies, and interest in using devices and technologies to interact with the library. A survey was implemented at seven health sciences libraries to help answer these questions. Results show that librarian assumptions about awareness of technologies are not supported, and student interest in using new technologies to interact with the library varies widely. Collecting this evidence provides useful information for successfully integrating technologies into library services.     

Eliminating traditional reference services in an academic health sciences library: a case study

Question:

How were traditional librarian reference desk services successfully eliminated at one health sciences library?

Setting:

The analysis was done at an academic health sciences library at a major research university.

Method:

A gap analysis was performed, evaluating changes in the first eleven months through analysis of reference transaction and instructional session data.

Main Results:

Substantial increases were seen in the overall number of specialized reference transactions and those conducted by librarians lasting more than thirty minutes. The number of reference transactions overall increased after implementing the new model. Several new small-scale instructional initiatives began, though perhaps not directly related to the new model.

Conclusion:

Traditional reference desk services were eliminated at one academic health sciences library without negative impact on reference and instructional statistics. Eliminating ties to the confines of the physical library due to staffing reference desk hours removed one significant barrier to a more proactive liaison program.     

Faculty perceptions,use, and needs of library resource and services in a public research university

This research aims to examine whether faculty's perceptions of the importance of the library's resources and services for their teaching, clinical practice or research were different based on disciplines, and to explore the degree that faculty's perceptions of the library's importance and its role have changed over time. The findings revealed that online journals, databases, and Interlibrary loan (ILL) were considered by the majority of faculty as the most important for faculty's research. Another key finding indicated that faculty from social sciences perceived assistance from a subject specialist librarian as more important than faculty members from physical sciences. The top three strategies faculty use to obtain articles not available through the university include searching for a freely available online version, using ILL, and obtaining it from Google Scholar. These findings assist the library to better understand our user community's needs. As this survey is regularly deployed, it also allows us to observe potential changes over time, and as necessary, make strategic changes to library resources and services.     

Depository library collections and services in an electronic age: A review of the literature

This article examines the literature that discusses technological applications for the collections and services of GPO depository libraries. It identifies areas treated in the literature and topics for further writing and research. The purpose is to present a collection of basic readings and a framework for viewing a growing body of literature.     

LISTENing to healthcare students: the impact of new library facilities on the quality of services

Following a low assessment of 'Learning resources' provision by the Quality Assurance Agency, the librarian of Homerton College, School of Health Studies commenced the LISTEN Project, a long-term study to monitor the effects of planned interventions on the quality of library provision. Surveys of entry-to-register student nurses & midwives were conducted in 1999 and 2001 by extensive questionnaires, inviting Likert-scaled and free text responses. Following a college relocation, students made greater than expected use of a new health studies library in Cambridge, and significantly less use of the local teaching hospital library. Using both a satisfaction index and a non-parametric test of mean scores, student evaluation of library services in Cambridge significantly improved following relocation. The physical accommodation and location of library services remain important to healthcare students. Identifiable improvements to the quality of services, however, will overcome initial resistance to change. Education providers must ensure the best mix of physical and electronic services for students who spend much of their time on clinical placement.     

BACS: evolution of an integrated library system toward information management

The evolution of the Washington University School of Medicine BACS integrated library system toward information management functions is outlined. The creation of a machine-readable database and its extension through telecommunications have consequences that reach beyond the functions of the library as we have perceived them. It is argued that libraries are flexible institutions that, with automation, are likely to enlarge rather than to diminish.     

Starting the data conversation: informing data services at an academic health sciences library

Objective

The research obtained information to plan data-related products and services.

Methods

Biomedical researchers in an academic medical center were selected using purposive sampling and interviewed using open-ended questions based on a literature review. Interviews were conducted until saturation was achieved.

Results

Interview responses informed library planners about researchers’ key data issues.

Conclusions

This approach proved valuable for planning data management products and services and raising library visibility among clients in the research data realm.     

Total quality management (TQM) in a hospital library: identifying service benchmarks.

Hospitals are turning to total quality management (TQM) to lower costs of providing care. A hospital library in a TQM environment needs to embrace corporate goals while maintaining its accountability as a contributor to quality patient care. Alliant Health System (AHS) Library at Norton Hospital and Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, conducted a study to establish TQM benchmarks and to examine the significance of its role in clinical care. Using a methodology designed to allow both library user and nonuser to respond, 2,091 surveys were distributed to physicians and nursing and allied health personnel. Areas surveyed included frequency of library use, impact of information received on clinical judgments, cognitive value of the information, and satisfaction with library products and services. Results confirm that the library has a substantial clinical role. Eighty-eight percent of reporting physicians agreed that information from the library contributed to higher quality care. Nursing and allied health were less convinced of the importance of the library's clinical role. Sixty-nine percent of nursing personnel and 58% of allied health personnel agreed that the library contributed to higher quality care. Nursing and allied health personnel also used the library less frequently than physicians. With these results as benchmarks, improving the clinical role of the library will take commitment to the TQM process and a willingness to change.