Zero-based budgeting: Does it make sense for universal service reform?

The FCC's proposal for Universal Service Fund (USF) reform proposes to replace current universal service funding programs with the Connect America Fund (CAF), a fund devoted to using government support to make broadband service available in un-served or under-served geographical locations. The goal is to maximize the bang-per-buck from available funds by looking at incremental upgrades to existing infrastructure in under-served areas and incremental infrastructure build-outs in un-served areas. The strategy is to encourage competition between broadband providers whether they are wireless providers or wireline providers.     

What's at stake? A reply to Bineham

The author responds to Bineham's article, arguing that rhetoricians need to (1) examine the world views and more particularly the views of human nature which are presumed by rhetorical theories and (2) come to a better understanding of what is entailed by a spiritual dimension to reality and being human.     

Snakes or Ladders? Evaluating a LibGuides Pilot at UCD Library

Online subject guides are commonly used by libraries to provide information support to students. LibGuides (a cloud-based commercial product launched in 2007) represents one of the latest incarnations of the traditional subject guide or portal, and are widely used across American academic libraries. In Ireland however, library subject guides of entirely local design and hosted on a local web server still dominate.This paper outlines the project management process involved in implementing a LibGuides pilot at University College Dublin Library, including the planning, design and implementation of a new range of subject-related guides. The pilot nature of the project necessitated a strong focus on evaluation, particularly in assessing the effectiveness and suitability of LibGuides as a platform for delivering information literacy support, both from an administrative and end-user perspective. A two-stranded approach was used in this review process, incorporating quantitative web statistics and analytics alongside qualitative feedback from students, academic staff and Library staff.Feedback that was gathered suggested that the LibGuides subject guides were generally viewed very positively by both staff and students. Notwithstanding this, awareness (as indicated through usage statistics) remained moderate during the pilot, pointing to the importance of the visibility, positioning and promotion of guides.     

Changing partnerships? Government documents departments at the turn of the millennium

During the 1990s the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has undergone a transition from collections comprised exclusively of tangible print on paper or fiche publications to a mix of print and electronic materials. This article examines the impact of this transition on depository library operations—both collections and services—at the turn of the millennium. The discussion of reference service on depository materials is considered within the context of G. K. Zipf’s law, that is, people will tend to seek the path of least effort in gathering information. Given this tendency, the extensive use of the Web to deliver electronic depository materials redirects depository library users away from depository shelves to Web workstations, and leads depository librarians to build Web pages to direct their patrons. The conclusion is that for depository libraries the new collection mix poses a management paradox—the FDLP receives thousands of tangible documents each year, yet it must maintain new services for patrons turning increasingly to Web-based resources.     

Why Do They Come? Listening to Visitors at a Decorative Arts Museum

This article presents the background, methodology, and results of a yearlong study of visitor motivation conducted by the Visitor Research Team (VRT) of Winterthur, a Delaware decorative arts museum. The article details the VRT's use of focus groups to determine what really motivates visitors to attend museums. Study results are consistent with recent work in the field showing that learning and recreation are the primary motivations behind museum visitation. Visitors valued museums as places for active, personal learning through the observation of objects and as outlets for physical and mental relaxation and escapism. Results also show that Winterthur visitors ascribe meanings to the words learning and recreation that are different from education and entertainment. The author calls on museums to discover the needs of their audiences and to design marketing and programming using visitors' vocabularies to promote and provide meaningful museum experiences.     

Why are there virtually no mandatory open access policies at American universities?

Key points

• U.S. university OA policies are far less mandatory than those in the U.K.
• The waiver clauses in U.S. university policies make it easy for authors to decline making their articles OA.
• The relative autonomy – and competitiveness – of U.S. universities may be the reason for weaker OA policies.
• OA in the U.S. is likely to be driven by government funding agency policies rather than by academia.

     

Are Information Seekers and Users Among the General Public at a Crossroads?

Abstract

Presently, eating disorders affect millions of people. Today, the media and the Internet are major publishing channels for consumer health information. Much research has found that the media may offer insufficient information on eating disorders. This research examines the quantity of adult consumer health publications on eating disorders in magazine articles and on the Internet in 1998 and investigates the effectiveness of Internet search engines. The results indicate that the resources found in popular magazines and on the Internet are not adequate, and that the Internet search engines are not effective in searching for information.     

Social media adoption at the American grass roots: Web 2.0 or 1.5?

In this paper, we examine data from a 2011 survey of grassroots (or local) governments in the United States with respect to their adoption of social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and Flickr) especially to ascertain the drivers of local government social media adoption and whether the drivers are similar to or different from the drivers of e-government adoption. We also address whether the adoption of social media portends a move by local governments from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.     

Is everything all right at night? Measuring user response to overnight library services

A multiple methods study was conducted over three academic terms during the 2015 fiscal year at Santa Clara University Library to assess the impact and value of overnight library hours. A survey was conducted after midnight during times the Library was open 24 hours, five days a week (24/5), the last two weeks of the quarter. The survey was further informed by patron counts conducted hourly by library floor and type of activity. Survey questions were based on Sowell and Nutefall's study (2014 Sowell, S. L., &; Nutefall, J. E. (2014). Mysteries in the night: An exploratory study of student use and perceptions of 24/5 hours. Public Services Quarterly, 10(2), 96–114. [Google Scholar]); activity counts used categories similar to Johnson and McCallister's overnight study (2015 Johnson, K., &; McCallister, K. (2015). Assessing the 24/5 library: A case study in data and perspectives. Journal of Access Services, 12(3–4), 75–90. [Google Scholar]). This SCU research queried service needs in overnight hours, finding, as others studies have, that late-night users are primarily seeking a quiet space with comfortable amenities conducive to concentrated study. This conclusion was supported by patron count data that documented user activity between midnight and 7 a.m. showing patrons overwhelmingly working on personal laptops (53%) or library PCs (14%). Over 90% of respondents strongly agreed (66%) or agreed (27%) with the statement that “having the ability to use the Learning Commons/Library during the overnight hours (midnight-7 a.m.) has made a positive difference for me academically.”     

If a Mouse Clicks at Home,Will the Library Hear the Sound?

ABSTRACT

As the online public library becomes a creation of the Internet, will taxpayers continue to support an institution that is potentially “just another address”? And will the public library have to compete in the image and likeness of Barnes and Noble.com?     

Popular with whom? Usage demographics of popular science nonfiction at an academic library

Abstract

There is a large body of nonfiction written for a general audience which is infrequently promoted in popular reading collections at academic libraries. The aim of this research is to look at the usage of nonfiction science literature at a large university library in comparison to the science collection as a whole. This information can help librarians to not only determine how best to prioritize the collection of nonfiction science literature, but it can also be used to provide insight into how popular nonfiction science books can be most effectively promoted to library patrons.     

What Drives Attendance at Informal Learning Activities? A Study of Two Art Programs

Multiple reasons shape how young people and families choose to participate in informal learning programs at museums and other settings. Youth interest is likely a factor, but so might be geographic proximity, institutional affiliation, household income, and race/ethnicity. We examined the relative impact of these factors through a comparative study of two art programs; one a small, neighborhood‐based organization focused on art and STEM, and the other a program in a well‐established art museum. The smaller program tended to draw youth from closer geographic proximity. Interest in art drove attendance at both programs, but institutional membership was also important. Demographic factors also were a factor, and race/ethnicity was more strongly associated with program placement than household income. We discuss the importance of better understanding of such factors as museums and other programs continue to grow as important sites for learning.