Users' information-seeking behavior on a medical library Website

The Central Medical Library (CMK) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, started to build a library Website that included a guide to library services and resources in 1997. The evaluation of Website usage plays an important role in its maintenance and development. Analyzing and exploring regularities in the visitors'' behavior can be used to enhance the quality and facilitate delivery of information services, identify visitors'' interests, and improve the server''s performance. The analysis of the CMK Website users'' navigational behavior was carried out by analyzing the Web server log files. These files contained information on all user accesses to the Website and provided a great opportunity to learn more about the behavior of visitors to the Website. The majority of the available tools for Web log file analysis provide a predefined set of reports showing the access count and the transferred bytes grouped along several dimensions. In addition to the reports mentioned above, the authors wanted to be able to perform interactive exploration and ad hoc analysis and discover trends in a user-friendly way. Because of that, we developed our own solution for exploring and analyzing the Web logs based on data warehousing and online analytical processing technologies. The analytical solution we developed proved successful, so it may find further application in the field of Web log file analysis. We will apply the findings of the analysis to restructuring the CMK Website.     

Ethnographic study of business students' information-seeking behavior: Implications for improved library practices

This study aim to gain insight into the information-seeking habits of upper-division business students. While studying information-seeking habits is a large subcategory of information literacy, not much has been published on the information-seeking habits of business students. The majority of studies conducted in this area use the survey as the data-collection instrument. This study uses ethnographic research methods such as journaling to collect data on this unique user group. Ethnographic methods allow the researcher to capture rich qualitative information that will yield a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the user group's needs. Findings are examined by using thematic qualitative analysis techniques. Information gathered for this study will be used to develop new services and information literacy components for business students.     

The application of the radio frequency identification technology at libraries: The Russian experience

This paper presents the main stages of the emergence and development of the radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) at Russian libraries and analyzes the current state of library RFID systems, as well as considering the basic tendencies of the development of radio-frequency identification in the integration with the modern library technologies.     

RFID技术对图书馆的可能性影响

RFID的整体性应用会对图书馆的内部业务变革、学科发展产生影响,并可能推进图书馆与其他行业的融合,从而进一步强化图书馆的服务功能。     

Electronic resources at the University of Sharjah medical library: an investigation of students' information-seeking behavior

Electronic information is becoming prevalent worldwide, and its use is growing exponentially as more and more users are recognizing the potential that it offers in terms of access and delivery. However, with the introduction of new tools for e-information searching and retrieval, users have to readjust their information-seeking behavior to cope with the corresponding changes. The University of Sharjah library is steadily increasing its investment in e-resources to offer ubiquitous access to the growing body of literature in areas that interest the community it serves. This study reports the findings of a survey conducted to investigate the information-seeking behavior of medical students at the medical library. Results showed evidence of use of e-resources, but they did not explicitly establish that some of the major problems mentioned by participants did hinder the information searches of the respondents. An extensive literature review sets the background for the study.     

Epistemological beliefs and the information-seeking behavior of undergraduates

This study explores the relationship between undergraduates' epistemological beliefs and their information-seeking behavior. Kuhlthau's (1993) information search process (ISP) model and four models of epistemological development from educational psychology formed the theoretical foundation of this investigation. Twenty undergraduates attending an Ivy League university were interviewed about their search process as they completed a major research paper during their senior year. Epistemological beliefs affected topic, the use of mediators, search techniques, the evaluation of information, and the ability to recognize authority. Epistemological beliefs also affected several stages of the ISP model: topic selection, prefocus formulation, focus formulation, and collection. These findings provide a rich theoretical foundation for future information-seeking behavior research and will assist academic reference librarians by providing insights into the impact of undergraduates' epistemological beliefs on their information-seeking behavior.     

国外高校群体信息查寻行为研究综述

查寻信息已经成为人们日常生活、工作、学习中不可缺少的行为,本文从信息查寻行为的研究方法、影响因素、研究结果应用等三方面对国外高校群体信息查寻行为研究进行综述.     

Library use and information-seeking behavior of veterinary medical students

Veterinary medical students at Iowa State University were assessed for general use of the veterinary library and for their information-seeking behavior. The library was most frequently used for studying and for making photocopies of materials. The typical respondent relied on course textbooks and handouts for current information on unfamiliar topics, instead of using indexes or abstracts for guidance to recent literature. Light use of library information resources raises the concern that students are developing an inadequate base of retrieval skills for finding information on new procedures, diseases and drugs. No differences were found between students with and without formal bibliographic instruction in their approaches to seeking information or in library use.     

防火墙技术在高校图书馆网络中的应用

阐述了高校图书馆建设防火墙的必要性,通过具体介绍防火墙在图书馆网络中的应用实例,分析了图书馆网络的现状和问题,提出了解决方案。     

Prior knowledge and information-seeking behavior of PhD and MA students

Information seeking and its dimensions have been analyzed and measured in different disciplines and contexts and the relationships to other variables, such as gender, task, knowledge, personality, experience, and expertise, have been measured by researchers and have yielded helpful results. In this study, the relationships between information-seeking behavior and prior knowledge of graduate (MA and PhD) students at Tehran University were tested and analyzed. Results show positive and strong relationships between these two variables. Moreover, some dimensions of information-seeking behavior and some aspects of prior knowledge (expertise, familiarity, and past experience) had positive and significant relationships.     

用户信息需求与优化图书馆数字参考咨询服务的思考

文章在分析数字参考咨询服务构成系统要素的基础上,探讨了网络环境下用户信息需求、心理特征和行为障碍,并就如何发挥用户的积极因素,优化图书馆数字参考咨询服务提出了建议。     

Health literacy and health information-seeking behavior of immigrants in South Korea

Health disparities are a significant source of inequity between immigrants and native people in South Korea. The present study investigated how immigrants seek health information for their different purposes according to their health literacy ability and sociodemographic backgrounds. The study assessed immigrants' health literacy skills with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and conducted surveys (N = 310) in districts with high immigrant populations. Overall, there were significant associations between health literacy ability, sociodemographic characteristics, and health information-seeking behavior among participants. The findings of the study extend the literature by addressing the association between health literacy and health information-seeking behavior in diverse sociodemographic contexts. Understanding the dynamics between the three factors provides insights for developing effective health information services and public policies to mitigate health disparities experienced by immigrants, ensuring the critical roles of online health information and health professionals as preferred or credible sources.     

RSS技术在图书馆信息推送服务中的应用

介绍信息推送服务的概念和特点,以及RSS技术的基本原理,简单探讨了RSS信息推送服务在图书馆中的应用.     

电子阅览室读者上网行为调查与分析

根据抽样数据统计,对图书馆电子阅览室读者上网行为进行了分析,通过采取区分服务,整合资源,人性化的发展方式提高电子阅览室的服务质量。     

Application of systems analysis to depository library decision making regarding the use of new technology

This article, the first in a series of four, views the application of systems anal ysis and design as a method of problem solving for documents librarians. Par ticular emphasis is placed on the use of systems analysis as a major, first step in applying computer based technology to problem areas common to U.S. government publication collections. The specific problem areas amenable to the application of this methodology include (1) bibliographic control, (2) col lection development, (3) collection integration, and (4) improved documents reference service. The steps required for its application to these problem areas are described in sequential fashion, and are augumented by actual examples. Several sources of supplementary information are noted for further references.     

The information-seeking behavior of pastoral clergy: A study of the interaction of their work worlds and work roles

This study asked whether the information-seeking behavior of pastoral clergy was governed by the interaction of their work worlds and work roles. It was proposed that the pastor operates in a closed system when world and role are significantly dependent upon each other and in an open system of information-seeking when world and role are less dependent upon each other. The study was grounded in the sense-making theory of information seeking developed by Dervin and colleagues, and in a combining of social network theory and role theory. The investigator employed a mailed survey with a large stratified random sample of 378 pastoral clergy from six religious groups and structured interviews with 20 practicing clergy and qualitative techniques to analyze the content.Findings indicate that pastoral clergy tended to use different types of sources in different roles and that certain combinations of pastoral worlds and pastoral roles influenced whether the information-seeking behavior would be open or closed. The theological world contributed to a closed pattern in all three roles, while the denominational and congregational worlds helped produce this effect in only the administrative role.     

人工智能技术在图书馆中的应用前景与风险分析

文章介绍了人工智能技术在图书馆中的应用现状,指出了人工智能技术应用于图书馆的必要性,并对人工智能技术在图书馆用户管理、资源建设、空间规划和馆员教育等领域的应用前景进行了展望,最后指出了人工智能技术在图书馆应用中存在的风险,以期为图书馆服务效能的提升提供理论支持。