A medical society trustee looks at his library

Speculative expression has been given to the idea that physicians should prove their continuing education by periodic examinations. With this thought in mind, it was decided that the Denver Medical Society Library should be continued and supported for at least ten years and, that at the end of this time, the entire situation would be re-evaluated in connection with the changing trends in medicine.     

Future-proofing the public library

To help guide the public library into the future, architectural design stands as a linchpin that bridges between vast amounts of proliferating information, the librarians who make sense of that information, and the library goers who engage and activate with that information. Future-proofing the public library calls for its evolution, where library buildings grow into new roles that serve as sensorial “idea gardens,” where the presence of virtual and augmented mediums complement the physical book, instead of displacing or replacing its many benefits. To create this type of bridge, it is the architectural design of the public library that can lead the way.     

公共图书馆公益性服务功能浅析

“图书馆是指收集、整理、保管、流通各类出版物和文献资料 ,以供读者使用的一种文化教育机构”(新华词典 ,商务印书馆 1988年修订版 )。按照传统和有关要求 ,公共图书馆主要承担着保存人类文化遗产、开展社会教育、开发文献资源、传递知识信息等主要功能。随着社会的发展、时代的进步、事业单位机构改革的进一步深入 ,包括各级公共图书馆在内的公益性事业单位都面临着如何发展 ,尤其是如何与时俱进 ,在新形势下“在其位 ,谋其政” ,充分发挥各种资源优势 ,拓展服务功能 ,为社会提供更好的服务 ,从而“有为有位” ,巩固自身地位等迫切的问题…     

The new central public library for Veria,Greece

A new central public library is being planned for the town of Veria, Greece, to open in 1995. The building, funded by the Ministry of Education, will have its design selected as the result of a limited architectural competition. In addition to the library benefits for Veria, it is hoped that the building and the planning process related to it, will serve as a model for other Greek public library building projects.The article describes the author's involvement as consultant to the Veria project, working with the librarian on the preparation of the brief. Following short accounts of the Greek public library scene; the community to be served by the Veria library; the drawbacks of the present building; the site for the new library, and aspects of the brief, the writer ends with a discussion of the difficulties and constraints faced by the consultant advising on an overseas project.     

关于我国基层公共图书馆的现状与思考

文章具体阐述了我国基层图书馆服务存在的问题,分析了这些问题产生的原因,并提出了解决问题的对策与建议。     

The new central public library for Veria,Greece

A new central public library is being planned for the town of Veria, Greece, to open in 1995. The building, funded by the Ministry of Education, will have its design selected as the result of a limited architectural competition. In addition to the library benefits for Veria, it is hoped that the building and the planning process related to it, will serve as a model for other Greek public library building projects.

The article describes the author’s involvement as consultant to the Veria project, working with the librarian on the preparation of the brief. Following short accounts of the Greek public library scene; the community to be served by the Veria library; the drawbacks of the present building; the site for the new library, and aspects of the brief, the writer ends with a discussion of the difficulties and constraints faced by the consultant advising on an overseas project.     

The use of public library roles for effectiveness evaluation

This article examines the roles from the Public Library Association planning and measurement tools for their usefulness in evaluating public library effectiveness. It addresses four questions: What roles are chosen most often?, Can we distinguish among libraries based on their role choices?, Do libraries with different role choices perform differently?, and, Can performance differences form an empirical basis for role definitions? Data for this study came from the Public Library Effectiveness Study (PLES), a survey of 2,418 stakeholders in 84 public libraries nationwide. Respondents from the sampled libraries evidenced both uniformity and diversity in their choice of roles; the favorite roles were those historically associated with public libraries. The libraries could be divided into one group serving smaller populations and focusing on the more popular roles and another serving larger populations and aspiring to fulfill a greater variety of roles. The cluster with a greater variety of roles also performed better than did the other group on more than half of the effectiveness indicators tested. This study has implications for future revisions in standardized role statements and for future research Unking performance to organizational goals.     

公共图书馆面对市场经济的思考

论述了公共图书馆如何面对市场经济所带来的新问题，并就公共图书馆如何在市场经济中生存和发展提出了一些看法。     

为公共图书馆的失当辩护

本文评论了<为公共图书馆辩护>一文的一些失当参考文献9.种     

信息公平与公共图书馆制度

文章阐述了公共图书馆作为保障公民信息权利、维护信息公平制度的法理依据；结合构建和谐社会的时代背景，论述了公共图书馆制度在构建和谐社会中的作用；号召国家、图书馆界及社会各界为发展公共图书馆事业共同努力。     

User categorization of public library collections

To help users find their way around the large number of titles available, public libraries organize the collection by placing titles on shelves by genre, by adding classification codes in their online catalogs, and by pictograms on book covers. However, users may have different perceptions of how titles are to be grouped in genres or categories. Public library collections will be more accessible when the way their collection is organized matches these users' perceptions. The authors show how user perceptions can be derived from library loan transaction data. To overcome the particular methodological issues in using such data, a method of ultrametric trees and latent class analysis is developed to determine segments of users and how they categorize the collection. Results show clear user categorizations that in particular respects differ from conventional public library categorizations.     

从高校图书馆与公共图书馆的差异看高校图书馆的社会化简

高校图书馆与公共图书馆从区分至今就在社会功能定位上有显著的差异,这一系列差异,不仅造成了两种图书馆不同的发展模式,也使得高校图书馆在对外开放的过程中面临效果不明显的尴尬。文章针对两类图书馆的差异,对现阶段高校图书馆开展社会化服务工作提出若干建议。     

An open source library system and public library users: Finding and using library collections

Large scale open-source library automation systems can increase efficiencies in bibliographic production. The implementation of such a system, Evergreen, was examined in order to ascertain whether it facilitated detection and use of library collections in Indiana public libraries. Three hundred forty-nine participants recruited from nine public libraries completed user surveys. Additionally, library server data about interlibrary loan (ILL) statistics were collected from participating libraries on a monthly basis. The self-reported user survey included questions about patron history at local public libraries, use of the previous Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs), and use of the Evergreen OPAC for finding and accessing multiple library collections since library users could directly request interlibrary loans via the Evergreen OPAC. The findings indicate that the implementation of the Indiana Evergreen system received moderately positive ratings from the participants; the positive evaluation was primarily related to the use of the ILL function. The ILL service satisfied the participants' needs and motivated them to use the Evergreen OPAC. Benefits for Evergreen users were confirmed.     

论公共图书馆绩效评价的主体、内容与方法

当前我国公共图书馆由于缺乏有效的评价机制,不仅导致公共图书馆自身运营效率低下,而且造成了公共图书馆功能萎缩以及社会公信力的下降。针对现实中存在的问题,主要从评价的功能及意义、评价主体、评价客体、评价方法四个方面对我国公共图书馆评价展开探讨,旨在通过加强公共图书馆评价,改善公共图书馆经营现状,提高其社会公信力,进而吸引政府、社会公众对公共图书馆的关注与全方位支持。     

Agent-based geographical modeling of public library locations

Public libraries play a vital role in providing information, education, and cultural activities to local populations. Digitization and the Internet have changed the traditional functions of public libraries and caused them to become more community-centered and offer more diverse services. Agent-based geographical modeling is a method for simulating complex urban environments using heuristic and approximated algorithms. The agent model for public libraries developed for this study demonstrates the possibilities for analyzing accessibility, exploring demographic data of potential users, finding underserved areas, and searching for the best locations or relocation sites for libraries. This model has been implemented and tested using the entire public library network of Slovenia. Results suggest that agent-based geographical modeling is a promising method for research in the field of library and information science.     

User wayfinding strategies in public library facilities

An experiment in a public library demonstrates that Passini's conceptual framework of wayfinding can be applied to public library patron wayfinding behavior. Participants were asked to think aloud while completing prescribed wayfinding tasks. Findings indicate that library patrons use all five of Passini's strategies to varying degrees, supporting the need for further research testing this framework with library patrons. Participants were given varying level of details on Passini's strategies prior to completing the wayfinding tasks, and that intervention had no significant effect on the results.