Reclassification in Academic Research Libraries: Is It Still Relevant in an E-Book World?

This article examines whether academic libraries are still reclassifying materials, how they are doing so, and if the acquisition of electronic materials has an impact on reclassification efforts. An online survey was sent to the heads of cataloging units at libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries to answer these questions. Almost one-third of libraries are currently involved in reclassification projects. Most respondents reported they do not believe that purchasing e-books has affected their decisions about reclassification. The article also examines the faceted search capability of next-generation catalogs and their possible impact on patrons’ use of classification.     

Is Your Academic Library Pinning? Academic Libraries and Pinterest

Academic libraries are flocking to online social networking sites in an effort to meet users where they are. Pinterest is the latest of these rapidly growing online social networking tools. The author of this article reports results from a survey on academic libraries’ presence on Pinterest. The survey found most academic library pinboards are in their infancy. Findings suggest that before establishing a presence on Pinterest, libraries should focus on planning institutional profiles and boards. Example institutions are highlighted, and tips are offered for setting up profiles and pinning, based on information from the survey.     

Visiting Libraries in Central Asia: An Academic Librarian’s Research Experience

ABSTRACT

In May 2017, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks visiting several libraries in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as part of my research project on international student services and information literacy. I visited these countries to conduct fieldwork research on American University of Central Asia’s information literacy program, library services for international and first year students, and more broadly to build exchanges and partnerships with Fresno State and these universities. In this travel report, I briefly cover my experiences conducting research and training at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and my shorter trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.     

Are Social Media Ubiquitous in Academic Libraries? A Longitudinal Study of Adoption and Usage Patterns

A debate has emerged in library literature concerning the advantages and disadvantages of adopting social media applications in academic libraries. This research examines the ubiquity of social media through a longitudinal study of the adoption rates and usage patterns of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr at academic libraries in the Canadian province of Ontario from April 2010 to April 2012. The findings from this study indicate that large discrepancies exist in adoption rates across libraries, with two-thirds of Ontario academic libraries maintaining at least one social media application during the period of examination. Unexpectedly, Twitter and Facebook were equally popular social media tools during the study period. Despite its low adoption rate and usage, YouTube was by far the most effective means of reaching patrons. We conclude by examining the implications of engaging with patrons via social media in ways that are effective, engaging, and meaningful.     

Academic Libraries: “Social” or “Communal?” The Nature and Future of Academic Libraries

The apparent death of academic libraries, as measured by declining circulation of print materials, reduced use of reference services, and falling gate counts, has led to calls for a more “social” approach to academic libraries: installing cafés, expanding group study spaces, and developing “information commons.” This study compares these social models with the traditional academic library, whose spirit is best understood as “communal.” It argues that this communal spirit is unique and greatly valued by academic library users. Efforts to create a more social academic library threaten this communal spirit and may do more harm than good.     

Are MLS Graduates Being Prepared for the Changing and Emerging Roles that Librarians Must Now Assume Within Research Libraries?

ABSTRACT

The focus of research libraries is changing to include digital resources, improving the information literacy level of patrons, and creating new partnerships on and off campus, among other things. This creates a need to recruit librarians trained in these areas and open to these changes. Library science training is a necessary foundation for preparing graduates to qualify for and excel in changing and emerging new roles. This article explores current recruitment efforts to articulate new roles and to successfully hire graduates with the skills and aptitude to fill them.     

Are They Watching? Visitors and Videos in Exhibitions

Abstract Data from the Women's Health summative evaluation video study prompted a comparison with similar data for other videos in exhibitions. Values for attraction power, holding time, and holding power were compiled in a database of 45 video titles. On average, 32 percent of the visitors are attracted to videos, and the average time spent watching is 137 seconds. An attraction power of more than 60 percent was exceptional. On average, people watched more than one‐third of the total length of videos, but less than one half. A holding power of more than .70 was exceptional. Once a video has attracted people's attention, it does not always hold it. Visitors are constantly tempted to move to another exhibit element, looking for what's next. One cannot assume that introductory videos will be watched thoroughly by the majority of visitors. This has implications for introductory videos that are expected to teach visitors concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand the rest of the exhibition or a main message that ties everything together. Using these data as a guideline, we can realistically gauge what levels of use are possible, and what levels of success, as measured by visitors' attention, can be anticipated.     

From Paper to Internet: Academic Libraries in Transition

This paper examines the current trends, challenges, and issues facing all libraries, and discusses the strategies that academic libraries, in particular, are taking to transform their services, manage their organizations, and preserve their digital assets. It demonstrates how a network of distributed services, resource sharing, co-investment, and access integration contributes to sustainable library development.     

Academic Libraries and Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Do We Know?

This paper examines the rising rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children in the United States (1 in 59), and explores the role academic libraries can play in helping college students with ASD. A literature review of how different types of libraries (school, public, academic) support students with ASD indicates research in this area in general is lacking. Findings point to lack of adequate training and awareness for librarians and staff, resources, services and spaces are universal challenges. Several initiatives that academic libraries and librarians may consider in helping students with ASD are identified and described.     

Libraries and museums in the flat world: Are they becoming virtual destinations?

In his recent book, “The World is Flat”, Thomas L. Friedman reviews the impact of networks on globalization. The emergence of the Internet, web browsers, computer applications talking to each other through the Internet, and the open source software, among others, made the world flatter and created an opportunity for individuals to collaborate and compete globally. Friedman predicts that “connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single global network… could usher in an amazing era of prosperity and innovation”. Networking also is changing the ways by which libraries and museums provide access to information sources and services. In the flat world, libraries and museums are no longer a physical “place” only: they are becoming “virtual destinations”. This paper discusses the implications of this transformation for the digitization and preservation of, and access to, cultural heritage resources.     

What Exactly Do You Do Here? Marketing-Related Jobs in Public and Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the presence of marketing-related job duties in public and academic library job listings and the experience required for these positions in order to better understand how libraries currently embrace marketing. A content analysis was performed on job listings from the American Library Association (ALA) JobLIST. The findings revealed 37% of job listings included marketing-related content, while only 11% of those listings also included stated experience or training in the marketing field. The findings will be of interest to library administrators looking to improve marketing strategies within their library without compromising the productivity of other library activities.     

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.     

Academic Libraries’ Outreach Efforts: Identifying Themes in the Literature

Outreach programs remain essential in fostering the use of library collections and services. A review of one hundred seventy-four papers on academic library outreach from 2008 to January 2019 highlighted the popularity of these programs during this period as well as the identification of five themes. These themes point to the importance of library outreach to targeted groups, the popularity of specialized library outreach programs, the need for collaboration in fostering outreach efforts, the benefits of managing these programs and the use of social media for library outreach. Foremost, these materials highlight opportunities and challenges for librarians in providing library outreach in academic institutions.     

Digitally-Wired and Mobile Device-Driven: Are Singapore Teenagers Still Reading?

Singapore teenagers are digitally-wired and mobile device-driven. Growing up digital, the question is how are their reading habits like? To better understand the state of reading for leisure in a highly digitally-wired country, the Singapore’s National Library Board (NLB) conducted the inaugural population-wide National Reading Habits Study in 2016 among Singaporeans aged 13 years and above. A mixed-method research design in the form of a quantitative survey and focus group discussions was employed for the study. This paper focuses on the reading habits of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19. The study ascertained that 71% of Singapore teenagers read any material for leisure frequently, i.e. at least a few times a week. Half of them (51%) indicated reading online articles on social media or websites, with the proportion for social media higher compared to websites. However, few of them had read news (35%) or books (32%) frequently. The study also found that the internet and digital devices are a double-edged sword, as they help them to read more, but at the same time distract them from reading due to their active connection to friends on social media. Strategies to better engage Singapore teenagers are discussed.     

Libraries and Consortia: What Will Libraries Pay For?

This article discusses affordability of member dues in library consortia and what services consortia can provide to increase their value to libraries.     

High Monetary Rewards and High Academic Article Outputs: Are China’s Research Publications Policy Driven?

ABSTRACT

This study compares China’s research article outputs rankings with its innovation rankings in the world, in the perspective of China’s high monetary rewards for research publications. It finds that there is a mismatch between China’s publication outputs and “research quality and broad influence on inventions,” and that the high monetary rewards for publications may have also led to some academic misconduct. This study’s findings also correlate with the findings of studies on China’s patent applications, which were found to be policy driven and to be results of policies which incentivize patenting but decrease patent quality. Some awareness of the issues related to policy-driven publications would help librarians as well as readers in selecting journal articles.     

Online Finding Aids: Are They Practical?

ABSTRACT

This article explores the uses, practicality, and problems involved in creating online finding aids by state-funded university archivists across the nation. It examines various aspects of online finding aids such as financial considerations, its importance as a research tool, timelines, demographics, and use. The more technical side is also explored by inquiring how finding aids are created (e.g., EAD/XML, HTML), whether they have been reformatted before appearing on the web, and what archivists believe are the best methods for their creation. Finally, problems that the participants have encountered along the way are reviewed as well as how archivists dealt with them. The study involved 16 university archivists from state-supported institutions and one from a private university. The research for this article is based on the responses to a 20-question survey that was administered by the author by telephone or e-mail. The research was further supported by an examination of the recent literature that has appeared in archival journals as well as contacting archivists who are working on large online projects. The goal of this article is to assist archivists in identifying potential problems in the development of online finding aids while promoting their presence on the Internet as an important research tool.     

Parenthood,Professorship, and Librarianship: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

A survey of tenure-track and tenured librarians at ARL libraries provides data on the relationship between parenthood and professorship. Results analyze the impact of the promotion and tenure process on child-bearing and child-rearing decisions. Discrepancies are found based on gender, tenure status, and family status.     

EBSCO and Summon Discovery Generator Tools: How Accurate Are They?

Most college and university libraries in British Columbia are using either EBSCO or Summon Discovery search services as a “one stop shop” for users to find, save, and cite resources for their projects. The citation generators that both EBSCO and Summon offer simplify the process of inserting citations into essays, however the citations need to be accurate for users to be able to submit citations that are error free. Considering this, this article looks at the accuracy of the citation generators each service offers. A total of twenty resources were picked from student library assignments for print books, eBooks, and articles in APA, Chicago, and MLA styles to determine the number and types of errors that occur for EBSCO and Summon Discovery. The error rate was substantial enough that caution must be used when creating citations using these tools and librarians should advise users that Discovery citation generators cannot be relied upon to provide accurate citations.