“Ask a Librarian” Pages as Reference Gateways to Academic Libraries

A library's web site is a virtual “front door” to its services and collections. Libraries can use their “Ask a Librarian” pages to promote reference services and to inform patrons about the different options available. Much variation is found in the naming of those pages and the number and type of reference contact options they include. This article reports the results of an examination of the reference assistance pages of libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries. In particular, the study attempted to determine whether virtual modes of reference service are being promoted at the expense of traditional options.     

Development of the research lifecycle model for library services

Question:

Can the niche services of individual librarians across multiple libraries be developed into a suite of standard services available to all scientists that support the entire research lifecycle?

Setting:

Services at a large, research-intensive state university campus are described.

Method:

Initial data were collected via concept mapping by librarians. Additional data were collected at conferences and meetings through interactive poster presentations.

Main Results:

Services of interest to scientists for each of the stages in the research lifecycle were developed by the team to reflect the wide range of strengths of team members in aggregate.

Conclusion:

Input from researchers was the most effective tool for developing the model. A flexible research lifecycle model can be developed to match the needs of different service groups and the skills of different librarians.     

Developing a Sustainable Educational Process in Indonesia: A Project of the Global Dialogue Institute

This article describes the happy intersection of a philosophy of life and its recommended approach to teaching and learning and the need for educational reform in Indonesia. The philosophy is called Deep-Dialogue/Critical-Thinking and is the fruit of two professors, Ashok Gangadean and Leonard Swidler, who have set up the Global Dialogue Institute in Philadelphia to teach and to propagate the philosophy. In collaboration with UNICEF, this Institute is working with the Indonesian government to develop a programme whereby primary school teachers will learn to apply the principles of Deep-Dialogue/Critical-Thinking to their work. Given the cultural and religious diversity of this country, this approach to teaching will serve the aims of non-coercive national unity.     

Characteristics of Children with Moderate Mathematics Deficiencies: A Longitudinal Perspective

The reading and mathematics achievement and specific mathematical competencies of 74 children were followed over four time points during second and third grades. At the beginning of the study, children were classified into one of four groups: moderate mathematics deficiencies but normal reading (MMD‐only); moderate mathematics and reading deficiencies (MMD/MRD); moderate reading deficiencies but normal mathematics (MRD‐only); and normal achievement in reading and mathematics (NA). Although the MMD‐only and the MMD/MRD groups started out at the same level in mathematics, the MMD‐only group surpassed the MMD/MRD group over time. A parallel pattern in reading was not observed for the MRD‐only and MMD/MRD groups, with children in both groups performing at consistently low levels. Weaknesses in fact retrieval and estimation characterized children with MMD, with or without RD. The MMD‐only group showed an advantage over the MMD/MRD group in problem solving. Reading and language strengths help children compensate for deficiencies in selected areas of mathematics.     

A Library Perspective: Data Wranglers in LibraryLand: Finding Opportunities in the Changing Policy Landscape

T. Scott Plutchak, director of Digital Data Curation Strategies, gave a talk about managing data, managing expectations, and opportunities to manage your institution in the move to make research data accessible. An historic view of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the funder’s mandates, and other policy formations set the stage for the discussion of the role of the library in this institutional challenge. In his new role at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Plutchak operates at The Edge of Chaos, with “data wranglers”— concerned parties from a variety of disciplines who all have an interest in data management and who come together to share ideas and move closer to an innovative solution.     

Assessing the value of action learning for social enterprises and charities

In this paper we evaluate action learning for leaders of social enterprises and charities. Based on ethnographic research including participant observation, facilitator reflective diary notes and in-depth, qualitative interviews with participants of two action learning sets undertaken over eight months, analysed using Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat [2011, “Promoting and Assessing Value Creation in Communities and Networks: A Conceptual Framework.” Open universiteit, Ruud de Moor Centrum. http://www.ou.nl/documents/14300/23cd8044-ce98-48d3-8733-8fa0404380ab.] value creation framework, we show how the current and future value of action learning is perceived by the participants. We seek to give a deeper understanding of the perceived value of action learning in the context of the not-for-profit sector. We discuss how the value creation framework can be used to think about learning interventions such as action learning, the value of which is notoriously challenging to articulate both in terms of evaluating action learning and forward planning value.     

Early Childhood Educators’ Self-Efficacy in Science,Math, and Literacy Instruction and Science Practice in the Classroom

Research Findings: Quality early science education is important for addressing the low science achievement, compared to international peers, of elementary students in the United States. Teachers’ beliefs about their skills in a content area, that is, their content self-efficacy is important because it has implications for teaching practice and child outcomes. However, little is known about how teachers’ self-efficacy for literacy, math and science compare and how domain-specific self-efficacy relates to teachers’ practice in the area of science. Analysis of survey and observation data from 67 Head Start classrooms across eight programs indicated that domain-specific self-efficacy was highest for literacy, significantly lower for science, and lowest for math. Classrooms varied, but in general, engaged in literacy far more than science, contained a modest amount of science materials, and their instructional support of science was low. Importantly, self-efficacy for science, but not literacy or math, related to teachers frequency of engaging children in science instruction. Teachers’ education and experience did not predict self-efficacy for science. Practice or Policy: To enhance the science opportunities provided in early childhood classrooms, pre-service and in-service education programs should provide teachers with content and practices for science rather than focusing exclusively on literacy.     

Similarities and differences in views of ageing and learning in Hong Kong and Australia

This article is an overview and summary of the findings from a General Research Fund project funded (2012–2014) by the Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong to investigate cross cultural understanding of ageing and learning by seniors in Hong Kong and Australia. Results have been published separately in Boulton-Lewis, & Buys (2015), Boulton-Lewis, Aird, & Buys (2016), Boulton-Lewis, Tam, Buys, & Chui (2016), Tam (2016), Tam & Chui (2016) and Tam, Aird, Boulton-Lewis & Buys (2016). These articles have dealt separately and variously with either a qualitative or quantitative analysis of learning choices in Australia, structural barriers to learning in Australia, a comparison of views of and ageing and learning in both cultures, Chinese views of later life learning, the meaning of ageing and learning to Chinese elders and an analysis and comparison of results in both places. The focus of this article is a summative discussion based mainly on the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the main themes of ageing and learning. It intends to provide an overview of the findings in some of the publications above. Other details can be found in the publications listed.