Transitioning from Print to Electronic Information Delivery: An Update from the National Research Council Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information

Canada's national science library, the National Research Council Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, is in the process of transforming its traditional document delivery services to meet the emerging needs of users. As such, the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information has developed a suite of Web-based services, partnerships, and collaborations to better serve its users. These components have been brought together to create new service offerings such as Discover, and the National Research Council Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information Standards Store. Quicker, more flexible and convenient access to the world's scientific, technical, and medical information from the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information and from sites where users congregate across the Web is the goal of Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information's new breed of information delivery services.     

Book Discussion Course: Timely Topics for Medical Students

Several library faculty members at the Louisiana State University Health Shreveport Health Sciences Library offered a book discussion course as an elective for first-year medical students. This article provides details on how the librarians developed, taught, and evaluated this elective. The librarians took a team-teaching approach, required the students to read two books, and outlined the criteria for participation. At the end of the course, the students completed an evaluation, commenting on positive and negative aspects of the course. The elective proved to be successful, and the librarians look forward to offering the course again in the spring of 2014.     

Institutional Support for Handheld Computing: Clinical and Educational Lessons Learned

Handheld computing devices, or personal digital assistants (PDAs), are used often in the health care setting. They provide a convenient way to store and carry either personal or reference information and can be used to accomplish other tasks associated with patient care. This article reports clinical and educational lessons learned from a longitudinal institutional initiative designed to provide medical students with PDAs to facilitate patient care and assist with clinical learning.     

Learning to Drive: Developing a Workable Awareness Plan for Monitoring New Technology

Technology is constantly driving forward, and information professionals need to be informed about developments in order to work more effectively, provide new services, understand what users need and want, and to develop professionally. Learning how to monitor these developments in technology is a skill, just like learning to drive. This article provides information about developing a workable awareness plan and provides some suggested sites to monitor and tools to use.     

Evaluation: Theoretical Underpinnings and Web Resources

Librarians may benefit from understanding research theory more fully, looking at the services they offer as a program, and using program evaluation to understand the program value more completely. The process of program evaluation is research, and, as such, it should be situated within theory. This article reviews two of the basic theoretical concepts of research: ontology and epistemology. These concepts work together to help craft the research questions, and the questions drive the selection of methodology. The article also provides a list of web resources useful for understanding research theory in evaluation.     

Interconsortial Cooperation for Resource Sharing: MOBIUS and Prospector

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are desirable work locations for undergraduate students and graduate library science interns alike. However, using undergraduate and graduate library science students only to perform task-oriented work within a traditional, hierarchical supervisory structure does not provide the maximum benefit to the student or the library, as it removes opportunities for students learning from each other. Our model proposes to create a team-based framework that engages students around a project and makes uses of myriad centers of expertise in the library. We employed this framework around the Douglass Alumnae Oral History Project, which provided opportunities for students to build their skills in digital projects, communication, teamwork, and community building.     

The Effects of Labyrinth Walking in an Academic Library

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine if labyrinth walking in an academic library would reduce library user stress and promote relaxation. A non- equivalent control group design was employed. Systolic blood pressure was significant for time effect (effect size of.136, and power.721). Pulse rate was significant for time effect (effect size 0.93, and power.507). Satisfaction survey results demonstrated increased satisfaction after labyrinth walking. Data from this pilot will form the basis of a larger scale study to determine the effect of labyrinth walking on stress particularly in high-stress learning environments.     

Culture shock in the library: Implications for information literacy instruction

A tremendous amount has been written on culture shock experienced by people who leave their own cultures for another. This essay defines and describes culture shock and clash in general, discusses the literature related to different aspects of culture shock as it relates to international students, describes other related library literature, describes the research of several experts in other fields, and discusses some implications, applications, and solutions.     

Equestrian Sport at the Olympic Games from 1900 to 1948

Olympic equestrian sport has to date evolved through three distinct phases of development. The genesis of equestrian sport in the modern Olympics began in 1900 and was predominantly shaped by military influences until 1948. Pre-1900 equestrian sport existed in various forms around the world primarily to develop and practice skills of hunting and warfare. At this time, equestrian sport lacked governance and internationally standardized rules. This paper’s aim is to explore the influence of the military on the first phase of equestrian sport development in the Olympic Games between 1900 and 1948 with regards to their format and rules. Through thematic analysis of the narratives evident in the literature, we highlight influential military developments/changes that occurred outside the confines of sport, and place the sociocultural development of equestrianism within this framework. This reconstructive approach has enabled us to highlight the relevance of the military influence on the development of equestrian sport. Through the identification and analysis of perceptions of Olympic equestrianism, which are centred upon the Eurocentric, military-influenced development of the sport, the paper also discusses implicit and explicit references to, and the relevance of, masculinity elitism and social class, along with issues of amateurism and professionalism.