Reducing Patron Information Overload in Academic Libraries

Information overload interferes with our abilities to use information effectively. It represents a challenge in searching print as well as online collections. Academic librarians have developed strategies to help their patrons reduce the effects of information overload. This article provides best practices employed by academic librarians to reduce their users’ information overload. Five themes emerged in a review of the literature: information presentation, library instruction, user strategies, librarian roles, and software technologies. Information literacy instruction remains particularly important in combating information overload since the promotion of users’ research skills facilitates their search competencies. Research on information problem solving that focuses on metacognitive strategies may help decrease information overload among users searching digital libraries.     

Re-framing information literacy: Problem-based learning as informed learning

This study explores an online information literacy module that uses problem-based learning (PBL). The goal was to enable students to experience information literacy in a richer way, by moving away from a focus on locating information sources to one of information use in the construction of knowledge. A content analysis of the research journals and reflection papers of students (N = 15) in a distance education school library media administration endorsement program suggests that PBL was an effective approach for some students, but not others. Some students were motivated by working on authentic problems, and at least half the students engaged deeply with information and discovered new questions and angles for research during the process. These students applied more sophisticated evaluation strategies and were more metacognitive in their thinking, assessing their progress and shifting strategies as they progressed through the module.     

A social media strategy for academic libraries

This study was carried out to analyse strategies regarding the use of social media for academic library services in Ghana. The research design was quantitative and adopted the survey approach. Questionnaires served as the main data collection instrument. The study population comprised of one hundred and ten library staff from public and private universities in Ghana. As indicated by the study results, the library staff agreed that there was a need for a well-formulated social media strategy to help academic libraries identify the most appropriate social media tools, establish contact with targeted audience, and increase engagement rates to enable an effective and efficient distribution of its resources and services. The results also indicated that the academic libraries, however, seem to neglect these strategies which could drive patrons' use of such platforms. Recommendations therefore suggest the need to implement social media plans and policies, user engagement, social media update, and dedicated staff with the requisite skills in the use of social media platforms for library services delivery.     

E-service quality in libraries: Exploring its features and dimensions

Although the digital environment has played an important role in the transformation of more library services into e-services, no published survey instrument focuses exclusively on examining library e-service quality. This article presents such an instrument and reports on a pilot study that applied it to university students. The primary objective is the development of an instrument that will enable libraries to investigate e-service quality locally. Active listening to customers, as this study emphasizes, provides two-way communication between the library and its users. Further research needs to explore the features and dimensions identified in e-SERVQUAL for libraries.     

Library anxiety among Polish students: Development and validation of the Polish Library Anxiety Scale

The Polish Library Anxiety Scale (P-LAS) was developed and validated using as bases Bostick's Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) and three other scales: Multidimensional LAS (MLAS), Hebrew-LAS (H-LAS), and Kuwait-LAS (K-LAS). P-LAS consists of six components: barriers related to staff, personal affect, technology, library knowledge, library comfort, and resources. The research to develop this instrument took place in two empirical stages. Initial research using P-LAS concluded that about 40% of surveyed Polish students may be affected by some form of library anxiety. The general level of library anxiety among Polish respondents was relatively low.     

天津市高校复合图书馆信息资源建设优化配置研究

本文以天津市高校图书馆联盟为基础,根据对天津市高校复合图书馆信息资源评价得到的结果,提出了天津市高校复合图书馆信息资源建设优化配置的原则、策略和措施,以期对复合图书馆信息资源建设提供参考和借鉴。     

基于元认知的网络阅读研究

从网络阅读和元认知的相关定义出发,阐述网络阅读与元认知的关系。通过对元认知策略的分析,利用元认知知识及其三个范畴,即个人因素、阅读任务以及阅读策略,来把握网络阅读,理解元认知检测和自我调节,从而提升网络阅读层次。最后阐明网络阅读中元认知技能的训练内容以及训练方法。     

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.     

本体论视域下的图书馆学研究内容和研究方法:兼与工具论比较

图书馆兼具本体性和工具性。在图书馆的本体性日益为工具性所遮蔽的今天,强调和重视图书馆的本体性内涵,能够为图书馆学研究敞开一个全新领域,思考诸如图书馆是如何必然地反作用于它所依归的文化的、图书馆反作用于文化的可能路径是什么等问题。研究内容的变化必将导致研究方法的相应性转型,理性逻辑将不再是图书馆学研究中唯一性的独白话语,共时性的结构规律也将被基于现实主体(馆员和用户)之文献表达和文化理解的鲜活的历时领域所取代。     

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。     

现象学研究方法在图书馆工作中的应用

[目的/意义]以现象学研究方法在图书馆工作中的应用为主题,对国内外代表性文献进行整理和分析,以加深对此方法的认识,为后续图书馆学者开展现象学及其他定性研究提供有益的启示。[方法/过程]通过广泛的检索策略得到国内外相关研究文献,探讨基于图书馆工作的现象学及现象学方法、现象学与扎根理论研究法、民族志方法的比较、在图书馆中的应用实践等内容,最后提出具体的应用策略。[结果/结论]研究认为现象学方法目前应用范畴主要包括用户信息素养中的现象学;图书馆人员信息服务工作中的相关实践经历;知识管理、知识创造过程中的互动研究;人的信息行为与技术的交互研究等方面,最后总结出其在图书馆中的应用方式、应用步骤、难点与挑战及策略建议,以丰富图书馆工作研究的方法体系。     

Low-Effort Information Searching: The Heuristic Information-Seeking Toolkit

ABSTRACT

How do academic library users search for scholarly information? While there are many possible ways, research from several scholarly fields offers a useful perspective; studies from social psychology, economics, and library and information science suggest that users will often favor “low-effort” information-seeking approaches. Though many academic librarians undoubtedly advocate efficient information-seeking strategies, we argue that development of a more systematic and coordinated low-effort approach would be beneficial. Accordingly, this article offers an organized “toolkit” of low-effort information-seeking strategies suitable for self-use by library patrons or inclusion in library instruction programs.     

物竞天择，适者生存——图书馆新消亡论论辩

针对国内外新一轮关于图书馆消亡的讨论,结合笔者的微博调查,从达尔文“适者生存”的理论,阐述图书馆,特别是研究图书馆面对的挑战与应对策略。主张以理性的思维看待图书馆的生存问题,客观地认知环境的变化,直面图书馆转型变革的挑战,积极地树立自身的忧患意识,进一步增强职业的危机感,前瞻性地洞察发展趋势,能动地增强适变能力。提出必须通过确立融入数字化战略、嵌入教学科研过程、提供移动服务、创新学科服务,重新定义图书馆的发展战略,重新确立图书馆的职业特征,将知识管理与知识服务置于图书馆的核心业务,构建真正的以用户为中心的业务模式与管理机制,重构适应数字环境的新型图书馆范式。     

图书馆核心价值研究综述

通过大量的文献调查分析,从研究背景、概念研究、内容体系研究、存在的困难与挑战、实现策略五大方面对我国图书馆核心价值的研究状况作了系统性的综述.     

基于战略管理的图书馆战略研究

在现今可持续发展和核心竞争提升的新环境下,战略管理在图书馆的研究和应用变得尤为重要。本文以战略管理理论为基础探讨了图书馆战略的定义,还讨论了图书馆战略的类型。图书馆战略被划分为两大层次：图书馆组织战略和图书馆事业战略。作者还提出了一个新领域图书馆战略管理,它包括图书馆战略定位、图书馆战略选择和图书馆战略实施。     

公共图书馆科研管理策略研究——以湖南图书馆为例

论文以湖南图书馆开展科研管理工作的实例为切入点,探讨公共图书馆开展科研管理工作的支撑点,指出公共图书馆开展科研管理工作的策略有：机构建设、制度建设、项目建设和人才建设。     

Assessment of customer knowledge management in academic libraries: Design and validation of a checklist

A review of the research background shows that despite the usability of customer knowledge for libraries, the concept of Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) in libraries is rarely addressed. The purpose of this study was to identify the indicators, operational instances as well as the design and validation of an all-inclusive CKM implementation instrument in academic libraries. The study was conducted in two quantitative and qualitative phases. The final instrument was a CKM strategy that consisted of various indicators preliminary designed by drawing on literature review, and operational instances identified by qualitative interviews with 12 academic library managers. A Delphi study with 20 experts was used to assess the experts’ degrees of agreement on the retrieved indicators and instances. The result was a reliable and valid checklist consisting of 67 instances under 6 major and 12 minor indicators. This instrument would allow managers to assess the state of CKM in their academic libraries, improve their library performance by checking the strengths and weaknesses against the indicators, and also serve as a basis for training the academic library staff on how to successfully implement CKM. With objective instances, the instrument is expected to improve the quality of customer services, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.     

Bilingual Outreach

Abstract

The bilingual “Research for Teens” Web site was developed by academic research librarians as an outreach tool that teaches library research skills to teens. Connecting with a teenage audience can be difficult. Universities and businesses with Web sites should not ignore this difficult to please population and potential audience. The site's emphasis is on practicality and evaluation, and the research strategies apply to any library. This article will discuss the creation of “Research for Teens” and the surprising problems and unexpected rewards.     

论我国图书馆学发展的数据化趋势

[目的/意义]图书馆学发展的数据化势不可挡,探索、发现、掌握和适应其中规律将对图书馆学基础理论研究产生重要影响。[方法/过程]本文使用CiteSpace工具,以近五年国内图书馆学关于数据的文献为研究对象,得出图书馆学发展数据化的三个热点研究领域。采用问卷调查和访谈的方法讨论图书馆学发展数据化的趋势、成因和策略。[结果/结论]图书馆学发展的确存在数据化趋势并且集中在五个方面,呈现四个梯度。在此基础上,发现图书馆信息资源深度开发的需要、量化研究方法对图书馆学研究的影响和图书馆学学科边界的拓展是图书馆学发展数据化的重要成因,并提出应对策略。