Examining Undergraduate Students' Priorities for Academic Library Services and Social Media Communication

Academic libraries can effectively plan and market their services by identifying the value users perceive in their services and in their social media communications about those services. This study reports on findings of a survey of 104 undergraduate students in information technology courses at a large research university. Results of an ordered logistic regression analysis indicated that students considered access to information and computer resources and study support services as the most important library services offered. Likewise, students perceived library social media postings related to operations updates, study support services, and events as the most useful. Future related research will investigate the needs and priorities for library services of other key user populations of academic libraries, such as graduate students and online students, to assemble service repertoires that are tailored to individual user groups. In addition, future research will examine whether and how libraries can use the analysis of users' engagement with a library's social media postings to inexpensively gauge the value they perceive in library services.     

Information Transfer in Articles About Libraries and Student Success

Connecting academic libraries to the higher education environment is crucial for demonstrating the impact of libraries on student success. The purpose of this study is to examine the information transfer between the disciplines of library and information science (LIS) and higher education in order to evaluate the influence of ideas between the two disciplines. Information transfer was analyzed in 39 articles focused on the library's contributions to student success by examining the cited references, the author and collaborator affiliations, and the forward citations. The findings from the cited reference analysis suggest that LIS is borrowing concepts and methods through citations from the discipline of education. Authorship affiliations showed that some non-LIS authors are publishing in the field of LIS and that LIS authors are collaborating with non-LIS authors. Finally, based on the forward citations, other disciplines are rarely citing LIS research about student success. This article's findings highlight the need to consider research and collaborators outside of the LIS field when researching the library's contribution to student success.     

Using time-driven activity-based costing to improve the managerial activities of academic libraries

Nowadays, Academic libraries are required to provide high quality services despite their limited budget. Library managers should rely on valid information to keep the library's activities, resources and costs under control. In this paper, we present a case study implementation of Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) at the library of the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. The TDABC is a reliable accounting method that considers many aspects that may affect the employees' efficiency and performance. We adopted quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the library's loan and return processes. In particular, we: i) analyzed cost data, ii) interviewed the library's staff, and iii) recorded the duration for all relevant activities with a stopwatch. The activities' duration was recorded via direct observation. The data were collected during the academic year 2017–2018 to cover all the different academic periods. According to our results, the automation of repetitive processes in the circulation department may decrease significantly the operating costs. This may be achieved by reducing the number of staff and replacing them by robotic services. Implementing TDABC in the lending and return processes helped the library managers to determine which activities demand more time and are costly, and to analyze their respective causes.     

Understanding User-Librarian Interaction Types in Academic Library Microblogging: A Comparison Study in Twitter and Weibo

This research examined the ways in which academic librarians and users interact when using social media tools such as Twitter and Weibo as well as end-users' and librarians' perceptions of the types of interaction through social media. The study conducted an analysis of 1600 microblog posts sampled from twenty university library Weibo (Chinese Twitter) sites and twenty library Twitter sites in English-speaking countries. The results were compared using Chi-Square analysis. Results indicated that at present academic librarians in English-speaking countries use post information relevant to the library (news and events) and respond to information/research inquiries. And academic librarians in China are likely to use Weibo to communicate with users and to disseminate library news. Given the lack of previous research on how social media such as micro-blogging in general facilitates communication between librarians and library users in academic libraries between in English-speaking countries and China, this study provides valuable information concerning librarians' and end-users' interactions of information/knowledge sharing activities, which will enable libraries to be better positioned to promote user engagement through SNS usage.     

Home Away from Home: Extending Library Services for International Students in China's Universities

In response to the rapid growth of international students in China's universities, it is important for university libraries to extend their existing services, which were mainly designed for native Chinese students. This paper reports on a research study aimed at extending library services for international students by identifying and understanding their requirements. An exploratory case study research design was adopted. Specifically, the Wuhan University Library was selected as the case study, at which 23 international students were approached and interviewed using semi-structured questions. The analysis of interview data pointed to 14 library service requirements in four main themes: feeling welcomed, convenient accessibility, comfortable learning environment and diverse learning resources. On this basis, five practical strategies were formulated. This study focused on China's university libraries, however, the research findings provide useful implications and insights that can be shared across international borders.     

Ensuring the academic library's relevance to stakeholders: The role of the Library Director

This paper presents a substantive grounded theory about how the Library Director can ensure the library's relevance to university and external stakeholders in the face of rapid changes in technology and higher education. A constructivist grounded theory research approach involved 14 semi-structured interviews with 12 Library Directors of publicly funded university libraries in Australia and the United States. The substantive theory and the conceptual model presented in this paper suggest that the Library Director responds to the problem of rapid change by enacting the following strategies: aligning strategic vision with the university; continuously reinventing the library; engaging with stakeholders; building an agile and engaged culture; and demonstrating value to the university. The strategies interact with each other in a cyclical pattern. This is an original theory that emphasizes the important role of the Library Director as the agent and model for library strategy and culture. The theory requires library leaders to be strategic thinkers and to be engaged in strategic planning processes that aim for continuous improvements that make the library agile and engaged with stakeholders. The theory also has a significant impact upon the behaviours required for all library staff members.     

MTL 2.0: A Report on the Social Media Usage and User Engagement of the “Big Four” Academic Libraries in Montréal

Although academic libraries continue to use social media to encourage student use of libraries and promote library resources and services, there has not yet been a study of social media use by the academic libraries in Montréal. This paper examines the social media accounts of the four university libraries in Montréal and, based on data gathered over the course of an 8-month period, seeks to determine the influence of each libraries' social media activity. Success was defined by measurable growth in the number of followers during the period studied. For the three universities with Facebook and Twitter accounts, the account considered most successful was the one with the highest engagement rate. The results indicate that all of the libraries were successful on the first measure, and the libraries with the fewest number of posts had higher levels of user engagement.     

Use of Facebook fan pages in Polish academic libraries (2009–2022)

The article presents the results of a quantitative comparative analysis of the activity of 59 Polish public university libraries on the social networking site Facebook (2009–2022). The study aimed to assess the use of Facebook by university libraries of different types and to evaluate the popularity of the content shared by these institutions based on the number of posts shared and the users' reactions to them. Fanpage Karma, a commercial online tool for monitoring social media monitoring was used to collect and statistically analyze the data from individual fan pages. The findings showed that overall, the degree of social media activity was not dependent on the type of library. Although the existence of Facebook is not new in the area of social networking, its use in Polish libraries has not yet become widespread. The phenomenon of the lack of library fan pages on social media is worrying given that several of these tertiary level libraries had no fan pages on any kind of social media. Nevertheless, for those that had a Facebook fan page, it was discovered that it was one of the primary tools for communicating with users, promoting library and information services, and other library activities.     

Seek and You Shall Find? An Observational Study of Music Students' Library Catalog Search Behavior

This observational study examined the strategies that music students used to locate scores and media items in an academic library's online public access catalog (OPAC). During a usability test, investigators tracked students' search strategies and behaviors, and measured their success in identifying appropriate items. Students experienced briefer, less complicated, and more successful queries for media items than for music scores (the latter of which they struggled to find and properly identify). Class standing, library catalog experience, and prior library instruction had no significant effect on positive outcomes. Searches for music scores were highly sensitive to variations in query wording, and students frequently struggled to revise their searches.     

Impacts of Library Space on Learning Satisfaction – An Empirical Study of University Library Design in Guangzhou,China

The current generation of millennial university students is more accustomed to searching reference information online than visiting the physical library facility, compared to the previous generations of students. Studies have shown that the role of the physical library facilities as a mere collection point of reading and reference materials is being threatened by the availability of free and high-speed online search engines. University libraries have always been an integral part in higher education learning activities, and they are not exempted from this threat. Based on a structural equation modelling framework, we analysed empirically the importance of different library design features that help enhance students' learning satisfaction, and found that lighting environment, acoustic environment as well as location of the library building were the main determinants impacting on the use of the university library by students in a major university in China. We conclude the paper with our suggestions in modifying library design to accommodate students' learning needs, and more importantly in recon?uring the spatial and functional role of university libraries in this age of digital information from a mere provider of reference materials to a physical space of learning commons on campus.     

Influential Players in Twitter Networks of Libraries at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

This study presents an analysis of Twitter networks from academic libraries housed in medium-sized, primarily undergraduate universities. Previous investigations on this topic have used networks of followers, i.e. attention, to show that accounts associated with a library's home institution are the prime influencers in library Twitter networks. That is, they are in key positions to disseminate library-related information. The library itself was found to be positioned to contribute to the institution-wide conversation as well. Networks of followers, however, are susceptible to unwanted influence from inactive users. The present study utilizes networks constructed from tweeting behavior to identify influencers. These networks are, thus, insensitive to inactive followers. The results are compared to those of the previously published follower networks. The behavior networks are significantly smaller and contain far fewer interactions than the follower networks; however, institutional accounts are found to be the principal influencers in these networks as well. Additionally, the social network analysis allows for the quantification of relationship strengths. The closest relationships are between library/institutional and library/student accounts. The former demonstrates that the libraries are active participants in the university-wide exchanges on Twitter and the institutional accounts often include the libraries in their messages.     

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.     

Build It and They Will Come? Patron Engagement Via Twitter at Historically Black College and University Libraries

This study is a social media analysis on the use of Twitter at Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) libraries. While information science researchers have begun examining how libraries use social media, the vast majority of these studies are situated at large flagship research-intensive universities. Additionally, there currently exist deficiencies in research on social media deployment at HBCU libraries. We leverage, the IBM Watson's analytic engine, to systemically examine over 23,000, tweets over an eighteen-month period, around a set of objective measures including propagation of retweets and sentiment to assess follower engagement. The analysis found little evidence of follower engagement with library generated content. However, we observed a substantial volume of library tweets coalesced around institutional boosterism, rather than library related phenomena. This non-library related content represented the vast majority of retweets, but paradoxically was propagated by non-followers. Additionally, tweets relating to institutional boosterism produced the most positive sentiment within the data.     

Caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming in public libraries in relation to the National Research Councils' guidelines on quality environments for children

A survey conducted at three Florida library systems examines caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming and how these perceptions compare with the National Research Council's features for quality programs for children. The survey results reveal that caregivers' perceptions of emergent literacy programming align with the National Research Council's features. The data demonstrates that caregivers' perceptions are very positive toward emergent literacy programming in terms of learning and the environment. Caregivers' perceptions of the environment answers were mostly strongly agree. These results were more positive than their perceptions of learning, although they strongly agree that these programs prepare children for school, reading, and social interaction. The survey results will inform public libraries as to how to design, market, and deliver emergent literacy programming to caregivers with very young children.     

借鉴手机报创办高校短信图书馆

在传统图书馆生存受到威胁的大环境下,手机报给高校图书馆的延伸服务以启示。高校图书馆可以利用馆内的馆藏资源和具有各专业背景的人力资源编辑短信,依托通讯运营商,使用SMS技术,通过单向、双向、多向等发送方式发送具有高校特色的专题短信给校园内的手机用户,让学术进驻校园手机。短信图书馆既提升了校园文化建设的品位,又为高校图书馆发展提供了一条崭新的技术思路。     

流媒体信息服务在南京部分高校图书馆应用调查分析

论文对南京地区八所开展流媒体信息服务的高校图书馆开展调查,分析在开展流媒体信息服务过程中,读者对流媒体及其信息服务的认知程度、利用情况及对开展流媒体信息服务的看法,并提出在流媒体环境下提高高校图书馆信息服务的建议.     

“I’m a Library Hugger!”: Public Libraries as Valued Community Assets

Public library value is often ascertained by outlining the economic, social, and cultural benefits public libraries generate for the greater community. While researchers have focused on the concepts of social capital, civic engagement, and the role of libraries in promoting democracy, fewer studies have explored the public’s perceptions of libraries in an effort to determine library value. Furthermore, library nonusers are rarely included in these studies. In Alberta, Canada, 1,201 Albertans from across the province, including both urban and rural areas, were asked a series of questions about their perceptions of public libraries and library use. Findings reveal characteristics of library users and nonusers, what services and resources are used most often at public libraries, what value the public places on public libraries, and the role that libraries play in supporting communities.     

Analysis of Academic Libraries' Facebook Posts: Text and Data Analytics

This research analyzed a dataset of academic libraries' posts on Facebook. It applied a text and data analytics approach to a dataset collected from the Facebook posts of academic libraries at the top 100 English-speaking universities, as listed by the 2014 Shanghai World University Rankings. The dataset is from a two-year posting history of 18,333 unique posts, 113,621 likes, and 3401 comments. Less than a quarter of the libraries had more than 2000 post-related likes, and only seven received more than 100 comments on their postings. Content analysis identified the most prevalent single word (unigrams), bigrams (two-word sequences), and trigrams (three-word sequences) in high and low engagement content. Semantic analysis identified the semantic categories for posts with high and low engagement. The findings can assist academic libraries in their social media strategies for engagement, marketing, and visibility.     

美国高校图书馆社会服务拓展创新实践的调研与思考

[目的/意义]在服务教学与科研的同时,美国高校图书馆还非常重视社会服务,并在"互联网+"时代对社会服务进行了拓展创新与变革。美国高校图书馆社会服务发展时间早、开放程度高、服务对象广、服务内容多元、服务方式多样,逐渐形成了成熟的特色服务模式,这些可为我国高校图书馆的社会服务拓展创新实践提供一定的借鉴。[方法/过程]笔者2016年实地考察美国多所高校图书馆社会服务创新实践活动,走访有关从事过社会服务的图书馆馆员,并在美方馆员的指导下设计基于美高校图书馆联盟的有关社会服务拓展创新实践现状的线上调研问卷。通过分析调查结果,对美国高校图书馆社会服务现状发展、实践创新及运营模式进行总结。[结果/结论]我国高校图书馆社会服务创新发展之路需要关注以下几个方面：注重对不同社会群体的开放;推动图书馆资源开放获取方式的创新;采取多种手段实现资源的共享;拓展图书馆资金的来源渠道;构建适合我国国情的社会服务新模式。     

数据挖掘技术在图书馆读者分析中的应用

使用SOM聚类方法对上海某大学图书馆数据库中的借阅数据进行挖掘分析,对读者进行聚类,用关联规则挖掘方法对某类读者的计算机类图书借阅记录进行挖掘,分析对每一类读者的借阅特征,以找出其借书规则,从而为图书馆管理提出建议。