Is It Good to Share? An Effectiveness Study of the Indiana Share Program

This article reports the results of an effectiveness study conducted on the Indiana Share Program, a collective interlibrary loan borrowing program managed by the Indiana State Library. A subset of interlibrary loan departments in Indiana was surveyed regarding satisfaction with the interlibrary loan process. Filled request and turnaround time statistics for the year 2010 were also collected. These were compared with the same survey and statistics gathered from the Share Program group. The study found that Share fared well in the statistics. The survey answers were also very similar, showing no statistically significant difference.     

What Motivates Parents to Mediate Children’s Use of Smartphones? An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines parents’ attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy, and intentions regarding parental mediation of children’s smartphone use. A survey conducted with parents of young smartphone users aged 10–17 shows that parents tend to perceive discussion-based active mediation to be more desirable, as compared to rule-making restrictive mediation. Findings also indicate that the extent to which parents believe that they have control over their parental mediation practices plays an important role in forming positive intentions to practice parental mediation, regardless of the mediation domain.     

What Happened to Colonial Statutes?

Abstract

The legislature of the Province of New York, like other pre-revolutionary colonial legislatures, enacted a large number of statutes. No one, however, has systematically examined how the post-revolutionary states dealt with their inheritance of colonial legislation.In New York State, colonial statutes remained in effect after the Revolution, but they were, to a large extent, gradually subsumed into the State's statute law by a process of enacting superseding legislation that carried forward the substance of the colonial enactments.     

What happens to medical library interns?

Results are reported of a questionnaire survey on medical library interns who had participated in MLA-approved internship programs. Forty of forty-five interns to whom the questionnaire was sent responded.     

Is What’s “Trending” What’s Worth Purchasing? Insights from a National Study of Collection Development Librarians

ABSTRACT

New forms of data like altmetrics are helping librarians to make smarter decisions about their collections. A recent nationwide study administered to librarians at R1 universities shines light on exactly how these metrics are being applied in academia. This article is based on a presentation from the NASIG 31st Annual Conference. It includes survey results addressing previously unknown rates of technology and metrics uptake among collection development librarians, the most popular citation databases and altmetrics services being used to make decisions, and surprising factors that affect attitudes toward the use of metrics.     

How Much Do Librarians Know About Stress Management?

The purpose of this study is to attempt to determine how much librarians know about stress management and how they handle stress. The needs of the individual librarian are highlighted, and stress management training is recommended as a response to these needs. An increasing number of articles is appearing in library literature on the topic of stress/burnout and librarianship. However, only a few are empirically based, and still fewer report efforts made by libraries to address the issue. The survey found that 28 percent of responding librarians know little or nothing about stress management and that 82 percent think it would be beneficial to learn about it. Reinforcing the need to learn about it are the results of the present survey. These indicate that only 11.1 percent of the respondents practice stress management preventively at this time. While 60 percent do not think that stress management is a necessary part of librarianship training, an overwhelming 88.8 percent feel it should be part of one the job in-service training or of staff development programs. Supporting this indication of desire for such training is the finding that the subjects' responses to how they presently react or respond to stress indicate that 72 percent of the behaviors and feelings engaged in or experienced are destructive in nature.     

Classifying Librarians: Cataloger,Taxonomist, Metadatician?

ABSTRACT

A study of job advertisements for technical services librarian positions provided insight into critical aspects of the library profession, issues that affect the work life of academic librarians. A review of several hundred job ads with a focus on job titles revealed problems with the use of terminology and the actual conceptualization of positions. Based on the ads reviewed, libraries also appear to be raising their expectations for types of knowledge and skills required and personal qualities desired.     

How Are Medical Librarians Addressing Health Literacy Barriers?

The purpose of this literature review was exploring how medical librarians are addressing health literacy barriers, with an emphasis on enhancing the patient care experience. This literature review contributes up-to-date information related to health literacy barriers, with a specific focus on medical librarianship and enhancing the patient care experience. Medical librarians can positively impact health literacy barriers. By partnering with other healthcare professionals, medical librarians are in a position to ensure health information can be understood, which will ultimately improve health literacy and enhance the patient care experience. Improving health literacy rates may improve health outcomes and decrease healthcare costs.     

He Asked Me What!?—Using Shared Online Accounts as Training Tools for Distance Learning Librarians

ABSTRACT

This study explores the idea of creating a knowledge base from shared online accounts to use in training librarians who perform distance reference services. Through a survey, follow-up interviews and a case study, the investigators explored current and potential use of shared online accounts as training tools. This study revealed that the participants viewed the concept positively, but many encountered barriers to effectively employing a local knowledge base as a training tool.     

Are Librarians Equipped to Teach International Students? A Survey of Current Practices and Recommendations for Training

Past studies of international students and academic libraries have often focused on students' own characteristics and experiences. Using an online survey, this study instead investigated librarians' teaching skills for serving this population. The analysis reveals that participants perceived an importance in developing skills specifically for international students. They tried to accommodate students' unique needs and optimize teaching approaches using their own experience working with the students. Although they reported having obtained knowledge of students' backgrounds as well as communication and teaching techniques, they showed strong interest in having further training opportunities to improve their teaching. The survey results thus give insight into recommendations for the provision of training to improve teaching in the context of serving international students.     

What Would You Like Earth's Largest Library to Be?

Abstract

A college librarian reflects on the role of libraries and how they address local needs in the age of electronic library collections. He explores the question of whether a conglomeration of all books ever published can replace collections developed by librarians who know their patron base.     

What Does It Take to Make a Great Library?

No abstract available for this article.     

Using a Blended Group Learning Approach to Increase Librarians’ Motivation and Skills to Publish

While there is considerable research on interventions to support academic staff in writing for publication, there is limited literature on writing interventions for librarians. This article explores the potential of a blended learning approach to support librarians to develop the motivation and skills to write for publication. The program combines three elements: a formal writing seminar; a structured series of online exercises and mentoring support; and two peer-feedback days. The article suggests that the combination of online and face-to-face activities has the potential to be a sustainable model for helping to develop librarians as academic writers. It suggests that this type of model could provide a context, which is currently lacking, for librarians to develop their identity and skills as academic writers.     

Benefits to Collection Development Librarians from Collaborating with “Community-Embedded” Librarians-In-Training

The 21st century collection manager encounters serious challenges in collection development (e.g., budget shortages, lack of skilled personnel, lower agency prioritization, and reduced available staff time). This article explores a practical, low-cost solution to these challenges that prevent collection developers from regularly creating/managing adequately balanced collections. It discusses the role of 93 “community-embedded” librarians-in-training to develop contextually situated collections in a graduate course taught seven times in an information sciences program in a southern land grant university. Findings of collection management activity tasks completed during the course provide evidence of accrued tangible outcomes/benefits to motivate collection development librarians and their information agencies collaborate with librarians-in-training in future initiatives.     

What Structures?

This article examines how the topic of an ethnically diverse workforce can become an organizational problem (or not) in private media companies. The study is based on interviews with Human Resources managers and persons responsible for diversity issues at these companies. This article favors a communicative approach by relating structures to agency through the concept of expectation. This is in contrast to the bulk of media research, which considers structures as something fixed and objective in determining organizational action. By exploring the expectations structures we can see which expectation patterns condition organizational communication. As a result, the main pattern of migrant background as adding value to the organization (or not) could be revealed as a guiding distinction in organizational communication about diverse workforces.     

Now What?

Abstract

Moving from graduate school into an academic reference position can be a difficult transition. A new environment, a variety of new people and the challenge of meeting expectations can quickly become overwhelming. This article reviews the pertinent literature and relates the relevant experiences of two reference librarians during their first three years in professional positions. Topics addressed include: reference service, collection development, committee work, relating to faculty and colleagues, professional development and understanding set procedures while striving to be innovative in the workplace.