X marks the spot: Creating and managing a single service point to improve customer service and maximize resources

ABSTRACT

This article will describe how merging service points in an academic library is an opportunity to improve customer service and utilize staffing resources more efficiently. Combining service points provides libraries with the ability to create a more positive library experience for patrons by minimizing the ping-pong effect for assistance. The Access Services Department at the University of North Texas Libraries was charged with management of the circulation and reference services offered at the service desk. Streamlined planning and modernized management of the desk and its impact on customer service in a changing library environment will be discussed.     

Fast-Paced,Romantic, Set in Savannah: A Comparison of Results from Readers' Advisory Databases in the Public Library

Readers' advisory databases are used by public librarians to assist patrons in finding books based on the facts of the plot, the factors used to describe the appeal of the book, or read titles similar to another book they have read. Librarians depend on these databases to give a complete view of the titles available given these limiters, and may assume that identical searches in each database would give similar results. This study compares search results from four databases to see the extent of crossover within those results, using fact-based searches, appeal factor searches, and read-alike searches.     

The teacher's role when pupils work on task using ICT in project work

The present study examined possible changes in the computer experience and attitudes of 11-12-year-old and 15-16-year-old students following a period in which ICT has become much more widely used in the school curriculum. In comparison with findings from a similar study undertaken in the early 1990s, there was some evidence of a reduced gender gap, particularly in the use of computers for applications such as word-processing, graphics, programming and maths. In addition, more recently introduced applications such as e-mail, accessing the internet and using CD-ROMs showed no overall gender difference in frequency of use. However, some gender differences remained, particularly in attitudes. Boys still liked computers more, were more self-confident in their use and, unlike previously, sex-typed them less than girls. They also used computers more frequently out of school, particularly for playing games. There was some evidence that, as found previously, older girls held the least positive attitudes, and it is suggested that their approach to computers may be influenced by the cultural pressures of gender stereotyping. More general age differences in use and attitudes were also found, and these may result from the different computing applications used by Year 7 and Year 11 pupils at school. In summary, although we found evidence of some change since the early 1990s, increased exposure to computes has not closed the gender gap.     

Software to Promote Young Children’s Growth in Literacy: A Comparison of Online and Offline Formats

The primary goal of this research was to extend our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in online and offline early literacy software programs designed for young learners. A taxonomy of reading skills was used to contrast online software with offline closed system (compact disc) based programs with respect to number of skills taught, quality of instruction and scaffolding during instruction. Overall, online programs were more comprehensive and provided instruction for more skills than offline software at either the Kindergarten or Grade 1 level. However, offline programs demonstrated some developmentally appropriate selectivity in skills trained. Quality of instruction was variable within and across all programs. Scaffolding of instruction was also variable and surprisingly few programs, either online or offline, provided automatic movement across levels of difficulty. These outcomes have important implications for the selection of instructional materials by parents and educators involved in early literacy instruction and also for future software design.     

Academic staff perspectives on technology for assessment (TfA) in higher education: A systematic literature review

This paper presents a systematic literature review of academic staff experiences and perceptions of adopting Technology for Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning in Higher Education. This paper is a qualitative synthesis of 65 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2012 and 2017 reporting on the use of technology for assessment (TfA). The results suggest that there are some efficiencies for staff in implementing TfA but this can come with a cost at the set-up and maintenance phases. Furthermore, results indicated that assessment design is not of foremost concern to academic staff when introducing TfA, but that a wide variety of pressures and both educational and operational drivers are present. There were inconclusive findings in relation to understandings of appropriate institutional environments and supports for TfA to flourish in higher education. There is a need for empirical research, particularly longitudinal investigations, of academic experiences of implementations of TfA to investigate sustainability of adoption. The imperative of exploring the academic staff perspective as the instigator and manager of both the technology and the student learning experience requires deep consideration as TfA adoption progresses.     

Scholar Commons @ USF: Sharing Knowledge Worldwide

Librarians and faculty members are now working together through Open Access (OA) publishing to make faculty-produced scholarly content available to researchers worldwide. The University of South Florida Tampa Library has been working with the Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) Digital Commons platform to create a substantial institutional repository (IR) that includes OA journals, conference proceedings, and data sets, among other materials. Library staff members are currently involved in a variety of activities, including negotiating memoranda of understanding, loading backfiles, registering Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) with CrossRef, designing layout, doing final publication steps, and assisting with technical issues. In 2011, the IR, Scholar Commons @ USF, went live, allowing the library to pull fragmented collections previously hosted on other platforms into a single system with improved discoverability. This article discusses how the repository was established, what is involved, lessons learned, and plans for future directions.     

What happens to pupils permanently excluded from special schools and pupil referral units in England?

There is widespread consensus in the research and policy‐related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or employment; poor mental and physical health; involvement in crime; and homelessness. This article presents evidence from a small‐scale qualitative study of destinations and outcomes post‐exclusion for a group of young people considered to be at particular risk of such negative outcomes: namely, those who have been permanently excluded from special schools or Pupil Referral Units (now known as short‐stay schools). The specific focus of this paper is on the 24 young people's educational trajectories pre‐ and post‐exclusion; the reasons for their exclusion from school; and on what forms of alternative provision were available to them after their permanent exclusion.