Student veterans in the academic library

Enrollment increases in the number of veterans returning from service in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars offer an opportunity for academic librarians to craft outreach programs that address their unique needs as they transition from military to academic life. Library information and research services can be highlighted and integrated into the support services for student veterans already in place at most academic institutions. This article provides a case study of the design and development of services and facilities to support student veterans, and it describes the evolution of library outreach to student veterans through direct campus collaborations.     

How students use their libraries: A case study of four academic libraries

The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences in student behavior in or uses of four academic libraries in the greater New York City area. Using on-site observations and semistructured interviews, the authors collected data about resources and tools used by students as well as their academic and nonacademic activities and contributing factors. Across all four libraries, the study identified that students were actively engaged in academic pursuits utilizing multiple library resources while working with print and digital tools. Students were also observed resting, eating, and engaging in other nonacademic activities. The variations in student behaviors across the four libraries can be explained by contextual variables that influence students' behavior in a library, including student demographics, academic requirements, work habits, and disciplinary affiliations.     

Antecedents and consequences of library service innovation: An investigation into Brazilian academic libraries

This study seeks to examine the relationship between the antecedents and consequences of service innovation in academic libraries. More specifically, the proposed conceptual framework investigates the influence of organizational-related, operational-related, and co-creation-related antecedents in library service innovation and, consequently, in library performance. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed electronically to Brazilian academic library personnel at Brazilian public universities to collect the primary data. The final sample comprised of 151 academic libraries. Results indicate that leadership and culture-climate are essential to foster an atmosphere of innovation in academic libraries. Moreover, employee capabilities promote user and frontline involvement in service innovation. Lastly, user involvement supports both incremental and radical service innovations, whereas frontline involvement only contributes to incremental innovation. The article presents theoretical and managerial implications for academic libraries.     

The X-factor in academic libraries: the demand for soft skills in library employees

Abstract

As the need for employees with technology skills and other expertise has increased within the contemporary academic library environment, so too has the need for employees with “soft skills.” Soft skills refer to personal, learnable attributes, such as emotional intelligence, communication aptitude, persuasion facility, storytelling ability, collegiality, and even woo. While academic libraries are ever-changing, it is critical to bear in mind the importance of the human component. This article considers the need for soft skills within the contemporary academic library environment. It will draw upon successful instances of soft skills development from outside the academic library environment to synthesize new ways of enhancing library employees’ soft skills.     

构建高校图书馆创新教育的潜课程体系

高校图书馆是高校教育的组成部分,是大学生潜在的课堂,有着潜课程的巨大能量。这是学校任何部门所不能替代的。文章从潜课程的角度出发,对图书馆创新教育进行调查研究,分析研究结果,提出图书馆创新教育的潜课程设计与构建。对提高教育资源的利用率,发挥图书馆的教育优势,推进高校创新教育,具有重要的现实意义。     

Fragmentation of academic library resources in Thai university libraries

Abstract

Survey works, carried out by 15 MSc (Information Science) students of the School of Information Studies for Africa (SISA) in the course of their dissertation work, reveal some important facts related to information systems and services in the countries studied. This paper analyses the student dissertations in order to present an overview of the library and information systems and services available in seven eastern and southern African countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. It is noted that the state of library and information services needs to be improved in all respects; and there is a trend towards introduction of IT, albeit quite slow, in university, special and research, and national libraries and documentation centres. The condition of public, school and college libraries is very poor in all the countries concerned. Lack of a national policy on information systems and services in the countries concerned results in the inconsistent and insufficient growth of information services in different sectors. Major problems in the area are: lack of resources, particularly foreign currencies, lack of awareness on the part of planners and policy makers, lack of trained manpower, lack of adequate servicing facilities for IT equipment, and the continuing political, social, and natural problems that prevail in most African countries.     

Organizational aspects of the virtual library: A survey of academic libraries

The virtual library is presently being investigated across disciplines, often with a strong technological emphasis. The present study takes an organizational approach by placing the virtual library in the context of the academic library, and focusing on opinions of the library directors concerning the virtual library. The problem investigated refers to the propensity of academic libraries to become organized as a virtual library, which is conceptualized in terms of four general models. Directors of academic libraries were surveyed, and the literature on changes in the library organization was reviewed. It has been found that academic libraries exhibit visible organizational changes. When the virtual library is concerned, however, library directors tend to understand it just as digital technology, are mainly supportive of such library, and demonstrate a number of limitations that prevent them from thinking of virtual libraries in more radical terms.     

Analysis of the SEO visibility of university libraries and how they impact the web visibility of their universities

This article comparatively analyzes the web visibility of 20 libraries corresponding to the top 10 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the 10 largest Spanish universities, and explores whether a correlation exists between the web visibility of libraries and of their respective universities. To study web visibility, a search engine optimization (SEO) tool called Sistrix Toolbox was used. It analyzes a large amount of data, the most notable of which is the visibility index, which combines different data indicators to analyze web visibility. The results are checked with Xovi, another SEO tool that offers its own visibility index. Both tools allow us to observe similar trends in the visibility of library websites.The results show that university library visibility is generally low and that there is no direct correlation between the visibility index of libraries and that of their universities. Some revealing exceptions were identified, in which libraries have made significant contributions to the web visibility of their universities. The results would suggest that higher education institutions need to implement SEO strategies in order to increase their visibility more effectively.     

Analysis of the use of reference services in an academic health sciences library

In 1991, the Reference and Information Services staff of the Alfred Taubman Medical Library at the University of Michigan gathered data on the use of the reference desk, including the frequency and types of assistance requested by different user groups throughout the year. Recommendations based on the results of this study led to improved service as well as more efficient use of staff resources.     

Toward assessing in-house use of print resources in the undergraduate academic library: an inter-institutional study

This article is an inter-institutional study of patrons’ browsing behavior in two university libraries. We tested an unobtrusive method of measuring browsing over one semester and provided comparative data for the two institutions during the same time period. Data were based on pre-selected samples of prominent monographs and representative serials in several disciplines. By design, a substantial portion of each corresponding sample overlapped between the two institutions. The results revealed extremely low frequencies of browsing in both institutions. This conclusion was supported in all disciplines, both for works shared in the corresponding samples and unique selections. The study combined methodological refinement with an extension beyond our previous research. Although presenting a method for discerning trends in student behavior, in the broadest terms the study has direct bearing on the uses of print resources and collection development assessment during a time of unprecedented expansion of information technology.     

高校图书馆电子阅览室有效利用之探讨

高校图书馆电子阅览室的蓬勃发展,为全校师生和教职员工提供了一个先进、快捷的网络环境,促进了学校的全面提高与发展.但读者对电子阅览室的利用状况并不令人乐观.文章从高校图书馆电子阅览室的利用现状入手,分析现状形成的原因,提出如何有效利用电子阅览室的对策.     

Monograph use at an academic health sciences library: the first three years of shelf life

OBJECTIVE: To study the circulation of monographs during the first three years of shelf life at an academic health sciences library. METHOD: A record was kept of monographs added to the circulating collection from mid-1994 to mid-1995. After three years, each monograph was located and the number of times it circulated during the first, second, and third year of shelf life determined by counting checkout stamps on the circulation slip. RESULTS: Of the 1,958 monographs studied, 1,674 had complete data for the first three years of shelf life. Of those 1,674 titles, 81.48% circulated at least once. A total of 7,659 circulations were recorded; 38.69% occurred in the first year of shelf life, 32.37% in the second year, and 28.95% in the third year. The data did not fit the well-known 80/20 rule. Instead, approximately 38% of monographs accounted for 80% of circulation. A small percentage, 2.21%, of monographs accounted for a substantial percentage of circulation, 21.84%. CONCLUSIONS: A large percentage of the monographs circulated and use did not decline sharply with age within the first three years of shelf life, indicating a high demand for monographs at this academic health sciences library. These results, combined with the findings of earlier studies, suggested two possibilities. First, academic health sciences libraries might exhibit use of a higher percentage of monograph acquisitions than other types of libraries; or, second, a low monograph-to-user ratio might result in a higher percentage of monographs being used. Perhaps both factors contributed to the results found in this study. Further investigation would be needed to determine the extent to which library type and monograph-to-user ratio influenced monograph use.     

高校图书馆科研产出及影响力分析

采用《中文核心期刊要目总览（2008）》“图书馆学、情报学类核心期刊表”中的19种核心期刊的资料数据,统计2006-2009年由高校图书馆的作者为第一作者发表的论文数及被引数等,对高校图书馆科研产出及影响力进行分析,并与已有研究成果作对比。     

我国高校图书馆编目工作价值的调查研究

文章在对当前我国高校图书馆编目人员的基本情况、编目工作内容及工作方式、编目业务外包情况、编目信息的价值及编目人员在图书馆工作中的作用等进行调查分析的基础上,分析了我国高校图书馆编目工作的发展现状、存在问题,进而提出相应的对策。     

An investigation of the educational needs of health sciences library manpower. 3. Manpower supply and demand in health sciences libraries

An investigation of the manpower requirements of health sciences libraries and of educational programs appropriate to these manpower needs was begun in March 1968. To date, 4,727 libraries have been identified as being used by 14,000 health sciences institutions and programs. Of this total, 2,628 are hospital libraries; 1,328 are health sciences libraries and collections located outside of hospitals; and 771 are academic or public libraries.Within these libraries some 14,938 persons are directly involved, either full- or part-time, in the delivery of health sciences library services. Of the total work force, 5,861 persons are employed in hospital libraries and 9,077 are employed in health sciences libraries and collections. The ratio between professional and nonprofessional employees is 1:2; professional and nonprofessional status was assigned by the chief librarian. Survey data indicate a 7 percent manpower shortage in positions classified as professional, and a 3 percent shortage in positions classified as nonprofessional.     

Trends in academic health sciences libraries and their emergence as the "knowledge nexus" for their academic health centers.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to identify trends in academic health sciences libraries (AHSLs) as they adapt to the shift from a print knowledgebase to an increasingly digital knowledgebase. This research was funded by the 2003 David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship. METHODS: The author spent a day and a half interviewing professional staff at each library. The questionnaire used was sent to the directors of each library in advance of the visit, and the directors picked the staff to be interviewed and set up the schedule. RESULTS: Seven significant trends were identified. These trends are part of the shift of AHSLs from being facility and print oriented with a primary focus on their role as repositories of a print-based knowledgebase to a new focus on their role as the center or "nexus" for the organization, access, and use of an increasingly digital-based knowledgebase. CONCLUSION: This paper calls for a national effort to develop a new model or structure for health sciences libraries to more effectively respond to the challenges of access and use of a digital knowledgebase, much the same way the National Library of Medicine did in the 1960s and 1970s in developing and implementing the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The paper then concludes with some examples or ideas for research to assist in this process.     

Volunteers in the medical library: issues and suggestions for their use

The implementation of the use of volunteers in a medical library poses a unique challenge to the library administrator who must effectively utilize individuals who are often inexperienced with the highly technical informational needs of medical clientele. The benefits and difficulties of volunteer use are discussed along with specific issues that may occur--legal issues, the issue of volunteer use vs. paid employee, and the determination of the value of volunteers. A checklist of suggested uses of volunteers is included as well as an evaluation form that can be used to aid the library administrator and volunteer in evaluating the volunteer's performance and job satisfaction.