Services for Graduate Students: A Review of Academic Library Web Sites

A library's Web site is well recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting to find what works best for their users. As part of a redesign of the Oregon State University Libraries’ Web site, entry points for specific user groups were created. One of these user groups was graduate students. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways other academic libraries design their Web sites for particular user groups, specifically graduate students, in order to determine how the Oregon State University Libraries Web site compared to peer institutions. This study analyzed 112 Association of Research Libraries’ Web sites and 26 Oregon academic libraries’ Web sites to determine the availability of resources and services specifically promoted to graduate students. Since graduate students may view the library Web site through the lens of new student, researcher, or instructor, Web sites were also examined to see if sites were created with any or all of these roles in mind. Nearly a quarter of Association of Research Libraries' Web sites that were examined contained a link on the homepage for graduate students, and another 20 percent provided graduate-student information at a lower level in their site hierarchy. A majority of sites had events, subject guides, or course guides for graduate students. Information for graduate students was typically framed in the context of graduate students as researchers. Ideas and examples are given for ways to improve Web site design to better serve this user group. In order to provide improved services to these students, future studies will explore what graduate students need from academic libraries and the ways these students conduct themselves in their various roles of researchers, instructors, and new students.     

图书馆关联数据：机会与挑战

关联数据在图书馆领域具有广泛的应用前景,通过采用关联数据技术,图书馆有机会在未来语义网建设中发挥主导性作用。图书馆应用关联数据具有潜在的四个基本模式:发布、消费、服务和平台。关联数据的应用会使机器成为图书馆的重要服务对象,图书馆不仅要为人服务,而且也要为机器服务,这将带来一系列的机遇和挑战。     

Social media as a platform in academic library marketing: A comparative study

Social media like Facebook have become popular tools for different organizations like libraries in marketing practice. To build relationships with library users, libraries hope social media can engage its user communities actively with their collections, services, and activities. This paper aims at evaluating the effectiveness of using social media as a platform in marketing through a questionnaire on the Facebook page of the University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL), comparing the perspectives of students and faculty members. Both the current situation of HKUL's Facebook page and the reasons affecting users' interest and participation in the page are evaluated, in order to suggest better strategies for the library to deal with the needs of library users in the future. Other university libraries can also gain new insights from the study.This research has the following key findings: 1. The marketing practices of HKUL's Facebook page generally did not receive adequate attention and reactions from users; 2. Students were more engaged than faculty members in HKUL's Facebook page, as students use more varieties of library services than faculty members; 3. User needs, social media content, and interactions generally affected user acceptance of the library's Facebook marketing.     

信息无障碍，距离还有多远？——对146家美国城市公共图书馆的调查

文章以美国城市公共图书馆协会146家图书馆为调查对象,借助无障碍评估工具WAVE对这些馆的网站主页进行测评,逐一开展网站访查和内容分析,统计为残障用户提供服务的情况。调查发现,美国城市公共图书馆网站达到《康复法案》Section 508中规定的信息无障碍标准的比例只有15%,“缺少表单标签”“链接图像缺少替代文本”等是常见错误;55%的图书馆网站主页有残障用户服务信息。我国公共图书馆应重视信息无障碍建设,遵循信息无障碍标准,定期进行审查与维护,借助信息无障碍技术提供残障服务。     

Where the Cloud Meets the Commons

Changes presented by cloud computing—shared computing services, applications, and storage available to end users via the Internet—have the potential to seriously alter how libraries provide services, not only remotely, but also within the physical library, specifically concerning challenges facing the typical desktop computing experience. Libraries have invested time and money in establishing an infrastructure to support a particular kind of computing experience, and advances in cloud computing may make this type of experience obsolete. One of the ways libraries have added value to their services has been by implementing library commons. A key component to these commons has been desktop computing. Cloud computing offers applications via a Web browser, meaning that the applications can run independently of the local hardware and operating system, calling into question the necessity of traditional desktop computing. As libraries have shown in the past, they have the capability to assess challenging situations and adapt to provide users a beneficial experience.     

Expanding Beyond our Library Walls: Building an Active Online Community through Facebook

This article demonstrates how Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, provides libraries with the opportunity to develop an outreach presence and information portal within an online community. While much of the recent literature examines Facebook and defines its potential use within libraries, this article focuses on the use of Facebook's newest feature: customizable Facebook Pages. In December 2007, librarians at the State University of New York at Buffalo began exploring the use of Facebook Pages to virtually reach out to patrons and market library services. Based on user response and Page statistics, librarians found the use of Facebook Pages provided a welcome extension of services and a unique form of outreach that reached beyond the campus community. Through a University at Buffalo Libraries Page on Facebook, librarians can update and inform students, faculty, and staff of new events, workshops, library services, and resources. Librarians at the University at Buffalo maintain an active online community that reaches more than 300 fans. Fans provide discussion and feedback regarding library services, offering a more interactive extension of the Libraries homepage. This article explains the design process, including the use of third-party and custom applications. Challenges, ideas, and user response in regards to the use of Facebook Pages in a library setting are also presented.     

移动图书馆场景化服务模式及其应用

文章结合国内移动图书馆开展服务的实际,对移动图书馆场景化服务进行了梳理,指出目前移动图书馆在开展场景化服务方面具体存在的不足,提出移动图书馆场景化服务需要改变现有以用户为中心的落地应用模式。研究结果表明移动图书馆应以场景作为用户信息接受的触点,通过场景化信息接受情境的适配,找到用户信息接受体验的痒点,发掘用户信息接受的痛点,制造用户信息接受的爽点,形成移动图书馆场景化服务的卖点。     

“双一流”高校图书馆组织机构设置特点与启示

对我国“双一流”建设高校图书馆组织机构设置现状及其改革实践情况进行调查分析发现,“一流大学”建设高校图书馆敢于创新,积极应对内外部环境变化;相比之下,“一流学科”建设高校图书馆更趋于保守。基于当前“双一流”建设高校图书馆呈现出管理架构多元化、内部管理弹性化、传统部门集成化而新型业务不断涌现等特点,在组织机构改革时,需要进行图书馆内外部环境扫描,制定合理的战略规划;以用户需求为导向进行机构设置,拓展业务范围与外延;打破行政壁垒,优化组织结构设计;紧密围绕高校发展战略与目标进行改革,切实服务于学校的学科建设与发展。     

用户需求导向的图书馆在线学习支持服务研究

用户需求是图书馆提供学习支持服务的基础。由于用户需求的复杂性、动态性、零散性、多样性和即时性等原因,图书馆很难及时捕捉、了解和回应用户需求,导致图书馆在线学习支持服务难以令用户满意。本文基于需求管理理论,在结合图书馆实践的基础上,构建了用户学习需求管理概念框架和用户在线学习需求管理体系,分析了该体系对原有图书馆学习支持服务的改进之处,并提出了基于该体系优化图书馆在线学习支持服务的策略。     

Faculty Perception of Information Control Using LibQUAL+™ Indicators

The LibQUAL+? survey was used in 2006 to assess library service quality at the University of Notre Dame. While results showed that the Libraries were meeting users’ expectations for service in most areas, a closer examination of the data revealed dissatisfaction from a subgroup of users in one particular dimension of library services. This study focuses on the deficient area, information control, and the dissatisfied group, faculty, by comparing local results with results from other ARL libraries that also participated in the 2006 survey. In addition, an analysis was conducted to determine the relationships between selected institutional characteristics and LibQUAL+? scores for the service quality dimension of information control at the University of Notre Dame and other ARL Libraries. This analysis, with a narrowed focus on faculty and information control, increased the library’s awareness about which library services were most important to faculty and clearly identified areas needing improvement.     

“三网融合”环境下我国图书馆面临的挑战与对策

电信网、计算机网、广播电视网的"三网融合"已成为必然趋势。"三网融合"所具有的覆盖范围广、终端可移动、内容大众化等诸多优势,将改变图书馆的社会信息中心地位,分流图书馆的传统用户,减弱图书馆免费服务优势,降低用户对图书馆的依赖性。我国图书馆应利用政策机遇拓展图书馆发展空间,利用平台融合机遇促进图书馆大众化,利用技术机遇提升图书馆数字化水平,利用内容机遇发展图书馆资源,利用用户机遇延伸图书馆服务。     

基于用户画像的高校图书馆个性化资源推荐服务设计

用户画像作为大数据分析背景下个性化推荐服务的设计工具,为高校图书馆领域个性化阅读资源推荐服务提供解决思路。本研究在分析目前个性化推荐和用户画像研究的基础上,引入用户画像技术,从数据基础层、数据处理层、画像构建层、画像服务层设计探讨用户画像的构建流程,重点在用户画像构建和画像服务层面进行阐述,同时从用户基本属性、阅读状态、学习风格、阅读偏好四个维度构建用户多维画像模型,并提出基于冷启动和用户阅读学习过程画像的个性化推荐服务策略,以期为后疫情教育环境下高校图书馆开展个性化资源推荐服务和满足用户多维度阅读学习需求提供参考。     

Promoting Library Visibility Through Creative Programing

Abstract

Digital libraries and their librarians face a challenge to remain visible to users since almost all their resources can be accessed without having to visit the library space. Libraries with a primarily electronic collection can promote their visibility through creative programing that draws people into the library space or provides opportunities for users to engage with librarians. A new, primarily digital academic health sciences library shares its experiences with developing creative user events and programs to promote the library’s visibility.     

基于领先用户的图书馆服务创新机制研究

新信息环境下图书馆服务面临着重大的挑战,亟需进行创新和变革。领先用户的参与是服务创新的重要动力,图书馆应重新审视与用户之间的关系,引入领先用户的概念,充分发挥领先用户在图书馆服务创新中的关键作用。图书馆可以构建领先用户的识别机制、培养机制、参与机制及评估和奖励机制,以实现服务创新。     

From Facebook to Instagram: Exploring user engagement in an academic library

It is trendy for university libraries to offer services on social media (SM) platforms. As many millennials prefer to use apps of photo-snapping, libraries unavoidably start to use Instagram to connect with users. This study examines the effectiveness of the use of Facebook and Instagram in The University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL), by a mixed-method approach to analyze the posts on the two SM sites of HKUL and user feedback collected from interviews on campus. The content analysis surprisingly revealed that both Facebook and Instagram received very low user engagement, and the most frequently posted contents were library operational news and library events. The interviewees opined that they welcomed HKUL's use of Facebook and Instagram, but they urged HKUL to change its uninteresting style on the SM sites and make better use of the SM features to attract users' attention. This study provides insights for librarians for their effective management and adoption of SM, especially for content design and management.     

Bringing public services experience to technical services: Improvements in practice

Service to our users is the principal basis for a library's existence and as users' expectations increase, libraries must continually change their organization's policies, procedures and workflows to meet these expectations. In order to achieve this in the Acquisitions Monographs Unit at Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries, Library Administration utilized a public service librarian who has a strong user oriented background to provide a fresh look at established procedures. This librarian examined TAMU Libraries Acquisition Monographic policies, procedures and workflows from a user perspective and found some of them to be out of date. Then the librarian researched other businesses and libraries best practices which she then adopted and modified to fit the needs of her unit. These “New Best Practices” could be transferable to any library facing similar organizational needs.     

Integrating the imposed query into the evaluation of reference service: A dichotomous analysis of user ratings

A secondary analysis of a user survey administered in 13 public libraries examined user ratings of reference services by transaction type. Transaction type is defined dichotomously as self-generated (users transacting questions they have determined for themselves) or imposed (agent users in the library seeking information on behalf of someone else). Users with self-generated questions rated library services lower than did users with imposed questions. Both groups rated the library experience lower than their reference desk experience, and imposed queries were responsible for proportionately higher “first time” use of the reference desk. No significant difference existed between groups for ratings of finding useful information in the library, finding everything wanted in the library visit, frequency of library use, or levels of attained formal education. There were significant differences found for ratings of the reference librarian's service behaviors, user satisfaction with reference service, and frequency of reference desk use.     

New Zealand University libraries effectivenss project: Dimensions and concepts of organizational effectiveness

The two stages of the New Zealand University Libraries Effectiveness Study explore Cameron's models of organizational effectiveness. In the second stage (reported here) the objective was to identify dimensions of effectiveness in New Zealand university libraries, and to examine parallels with dimensions of effectiveness revealed in a similar study of New Zealand public libraries. All library staff in all New Zealand university libraries were asked to rate their library's performance against 99 indicators of effectiveness. They rated performance highest in areas where library staff performance was under question, lowest where resource inputs and organizational support affected library performance. Factor analysis was used to derive 13 dimensions of performance. Six of the dimensions closely paralleled dimensions revealed in the New Zealand Pubic Libraries Effectiveness Study. The 13 dimensions were seen to reflect four models of organizational effectiveness, and to provide parallels with some U.S. studies.     

非用户视角下的研究型图书馆变革路径探析

[目的/意义]从非用户视角思考研究型图书馆创新改革问题,为研究型图书馆确立适应发展要求的战略、选择合理的变革路径提供参考。[方法/过程]通过对大量文献的调研,对主要用户大量流失的原因进行系统的分析,在此基础上提出可以供研究型图书馆选择的几种变革路径。[结果/结论]基本观点:用户与非用户之间可以相互转化,当前传统用户的大量流失需要引起学术界和图书馆界的高度重视,加大这方面的研究。对于非用户的研究需要与图书馆战略研究相配合,因此,图书馆战略研究成为解决此问题的关键点。图书馆必须提供与主要用户需求相匹配的服务,而不是期待用户改变以适应图书馆。通过加大对用户与非用户的研究,可以使决策者们对图书馆转型与变革的方向更加明晰;同样对非用户和用户的研究是图书馆战略研究不可或缺的组成部分,甚至是特别重要的关键点。因此,通过对非用户的研究,提供图书馆的变革路径,将具有重要的学术价值和现实意义。