The use of information and communication technologies in public libraries in South Africa as tools for bridging the digital divide: the case of the Kempton Park public library

ABSTRACT

The information and knowledge society has resulted in the exponential growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs), thus creating a gap between those who use ICTs and those who do not; hence the emergence of the term “digital divide” in the 1990s. One of the milestones of South Africa’s National Development Plan, a policy that charts the country’s development up until 2030, is to ensure that high-speed broadband internet is universally available at competitive prices. Notwithstanding the importance of ICTs in public libraries, the provision of such is still taking place on a limited scale in South Africa. This article investigates the use of ICTs in public libraries in South Africa as a tool in bridging the digital divide. It also examines the inequalities in access and use and suggests ways in which ICTs may be used to reduce the digital divide. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. In order for public libraries to function as an important tool in bridging the digital divide, there is a need to standardize the provision of public library services with regard to the digital divide.     

网络舆情场中信息受众观点测度的机理及路径分析

[目的/意义]整合定性与定量的舆情研究视角,统一多模态研究对象,实现网络舆情信息受众的观点测度,可修复网络舆情分析与治理的理论与实践裂痕。[方法/过程]通过引入网络舆情场的概念,对网络舆情信息受众、受众观点测度的内涵进行诠释,就网络舆情场与信息受众观点测度的逻辑关系加以辩证讨论。[结果/结论]提出网络舆情场内舆情受众观点测度机理和具体测度路径,为后续网络舆情场中的网络舆情信息分析、多维度信息受众观点测度,受众认知规律发现,网络舆情监督和管控限制等层面的研究做相应铺垫。     

公共档案馆微信公众平台服务质量影响因素研究

[目的/意义] 从用户感知的角度,构建公共档案馆微信公众平台服务质量影响因素模型,为公共档案馆服务质量优化奠定基础。[方法/过程] 通过问卷调查构建公共档案馆微信公众平台服务质量影响因素模型,使用SPSS软件,用探索性因子分析方法对假设模型进行检验,根据结果对假设模型进行修正,并对修正后的影响因素模型进行讨论。[结果/结论] 从用户感知角度全面综合分析微信公众平台上公共档案馆服务质量影响因素的构成,主要包括服务过程与系统运行、用户特征与费用、档案内容的内部特征、档案内容的外部特征和公众平台界面设计5个维度以及服务交互性等25个影响因素。     

基于知识治理的公共档案馆服务质量优化机制研究

[目的/意义] 在公共档案馆服务质量优化中引入知识治理理论,使得复杂的服务质量优化问题获得更本质的理解和更有效的解决途径,为公共档案馆服务质量和服务能力提升提供参考。[方法/过程] 以知识治理理论为支撑,对公共档案馆服务质量优化进行分析与探讨,设计公共档案馆服务质量优化机制。[结果/结论] 通过借鉴和探析知识治理机制,构建公共档案馆服务质量影响因素优化机制,主要包括优化的环境、优化的目标、优化内部动能（治理机制）、优化外部动力和优化过程五个部分。     

Reinventing the public value of libraries

ABSTRACT

Libraries worldwide have had to re-think their purpose and adapt to changing community needs and expectations. They are no longer simply repositories for old books. Rather, they are vital components of a community’s social and economic infrastructure that connects communities and fosters creativity and innovation. This paper explores the changing role of libraries—and public value organizations more broadly—in creating positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for individuals and communities.     

公共图书馆转型背景下的噪音问题——基于微博的调查

文章以用户在微博上发表的对公共图书馆噪音的看法为数据来源,使用内容分析和情感分析方法研究用户对噪音的认知,分析噪音的来源。研究发现:用户对公共图书馆的噪音问题表示关注和不满;大城市公共图书馆被用户提及最多;用户认为安静才是公共图书馆的应有之义;在用户认为的噪音来源中,用户因素远高于其他因素,最主要的噪音源是少年儿童吵闹。对策包括:转变用户对公共图书馆严肃安静的刻板印象;依据用户需求合理规划空间;改进馆内管理工作。     

Spaces of emergent memory: Detroit’s 8 Mile wall and public memories of civil rights injustice

This article introduces emergent memory, a conceptual extension to rhetorics of public memory, to describe memory’s genesis in sites built without commemorative commitments. Examining Detroit’s “8 Mile Wall,” a site built to reinforce segregated housing, this project argues the rhetorical tenets of emergent memory present in this space. As a relic of segregated history, the wall symbolically recalls the city’s controversial past, but has recently been the subject of a local mural project to redefine the wall’s purpose. Some consider this a step toward reclamation, as it visually repositions the disturbing remnant. For others, the murals simply cannot overwrite troubling memories of the city’s discriminatory history. This essay uses emergent memory to describe how the wall’s complicated mnemonic legacy simultaneously harkens to a difficult history and how the mural additions use that same legacy to convey an optimistic future for Detroit and those marked by this urban space.     

On the same page: Improving the connection between public services units in academic libraries

Communication quality between public service units in academic libraries can make the difference between mediocre and exceptional service. If units do not communicate well, patrons may receive inaccurate information and experience short-term frustration, leading to long-term damage to the library's reputation. Poor communication creates adverse effects on employees through decreased productivity, negative work culture, and low morale. This article explores the importance of quality communication through a review of the literature and a case study at one academic library. The authors share practical communication improvement strategies for libraries of every size and fiscal ability.     

美国科技博物馆展览开发中公众参与的研究及启示

展览开发是博物馆展览的基础问题,随着公众参与逐渐被提上研究议程,也促使我们去思考展览开发过程中如何引入公众参与。美国的科技博物馆展览开发已经建立了较为完善的公众参与体系:明确的参与者角色、系统的参与理念和阶段式的参与行为,已经获得了普遍的应用。借鉴美国博物馆的经验,我国博物馆展览的开发,应在构建展览评估体系的基础上,进一步了解和认识公众,拓展公众参与的方式,并不断寻求公众的声音。