"Is This a Chapter Book?": Parent-Involved Categorization in a Kindergarten Classroom Book Collection

Abstract

Many primary school classrooms have book collections. Most teachers organize and maintain these collections by themselves, although some involve students in the processes. This qualitative study considers a third approach, parent-involved categorization, to understand how people without library or education training categorize books. We observed and interviewed parents and a teacher who worked together to categorize books in a kindergarten classroom. They employed multiple orthogonal organizing principles, felt that working collaboratively made the task less overwhelming, solved difficult problems pragmatically, organized books primarily to facilitate retrieval by the teacher, and left lumping and splitting decisions to the teacher.     

Panel 2: The Implications of Digital Scholarship for Research Libraries: Challenges of Access and Preservation

ABSTRACT

The panelists present observations on the impact of digital scholarship for library goals related to information access and preservation based on their experiences in a variety of Web-influenced environments. The advent of digital forms of publishing and information retrieval signal significant changes in our understanding of library business models, user services, and the role of special collections.     

Purposeful Mentoring in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

This article offers statistical information about the future of our profession and the role that mentoring may play in retaining and promoting academic librarians into leadership positions within an organization. An overview of the history and definition of the word mentor and current terminology is offered to provide the reader with understanding of the complexity surrounding the concept of mentoring. Mentoring as process is explained, and both formal and informal mentoring processes are discussed and examples provided. The benefits of mentoring are detailed and include the benefits for mentors, mentees, and academic libraries, with a special focus on minorities and generational considerations now prevalent in libraries. Qualitative methodologies are examined to determine relationships, and the methods used include interviews, questionnaires, and print and online surveys. Case studies from across the nation are analyzed and offered as evidence that mentoring does in fact work well in many academic libraries, but librarians should be mindful that these mentoring processes must be evaluated periodically to remain viable. A brief discussion and future considerations section offer helpful information on gaps in the literature and the challenges that academic libraries face as they create and implement mentoring processes in their respective academic organizations.     

A Strategic Planning Process for the Multi-Campus University System:

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the strategic planning process as it was adapted by the multi-campus system of the University of Colorado with a close look at its application at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus and the campus library. This overview will provide a picture of the application of planning techniques through the various administrative tiers of the university. And will place library strategic planning in its proper perspective: planning for a subunit of a multi-part organization responding to an external environment.     

国外高校图书馆对学生学业影响的评估研究

高校图书馆对学生学业影响的评估,是确定图书馆利用与学生学业成效之间关系的研究,是高校图书馆成效评估的重要组成部分。国外高校图书馆对学生学业影响评估的实践受高等教育评估的影响,起步较早。随着图书馆成效评估相关概念的明确,图书馆利用对学生学业影响的研究成果日益丰富,主要内容包括考察高校图书馆资源水平与学生学业之间的关系以及图书馆资源利用与学生最终学位水平之间的关系、高校图书馆利用对本科生教育成果的贡献等。尽管研究的具体结论对于其相关关系呈现规律性特征的佐证较为有限,但为下一步进行更深入和完善的评估提供了丰富的可借鉴的方法。     

Modelling the lifetime of colour photographs in archival collections

Abstract

Colour photographs are among the most vulnerable materials in archival collections, making the development of tools for assessment of their lifetime in storage of particular interest. However, for this to be possible it is necessary to have a holistic understanding of what affects the lifetime of an object. Based on the existing knowledge of the effect of environmental conditions and material properties on lifetime of prints, this work focuses on the determination of end-of-lifetime using a value-based psychophysical approach. This research, carried out using a series of stakeholder workshops, showed that while assessor background does not significantly affect the end-of-lifetime determination, the nature of the images does. Isochrones, curves linking points of equal lifetime at paired environmental conditions, are defined. Based on these, a practical photographic lifetime calculator is presented, integrating dose-response functions with end-of-lifetime considerations. This tool, based on stock modelling principles, allows collection managers to input material stability data about the chromogenic prints in their collection and then investigate the effect of environmental scenarios on the collection. A case study of a collection at The National Archives, UK is also presented.     

Recent Citation Practices of the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana Court of Appeals

Abstract

This study provides an empirical, practical measure of the citation practices of the two highest courts in the state of Indiana during a recent ten-year span (1994-2003). It focuses on the type of legal materials most frequently cited as authority, examining the importance of both primary and secondary sources. It also demonstrates the importance of housing and maintaining complete appellate briefs from the two highest courts in the state of Indiana.     

What Students Really do in the Library: An Observational Study

The authors observed 730 collegiate students in the library and recorded their study (or non-study) activities. Approximately 60% of behaviors were study related. The most commonly observed behavior was reading print material (18.8%). The second most common behavior was the use of social media (11.4%). These results have implications for understanding how students learn and study in the pervasive digital world.