Current Trends in Research Resources from Russia,Eastern Europe,and Eurasia: Implications for Reference Services and Resource Sharing

ABSTRACT

In the last 20 years, national, regional, and academic libraries and other cultural institutions in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia have introduced subject portals, research databases, journal repositories, digital collections, research guides, and indexing resources, which scholarly communities outside these regions rely on to advance their research portfolios. In order to address the significant developments in scholarly communication and the proliferation of academic content, this article discusses recent trends in online research resources and strategies for incorporating these resources into research consultations. In addition, as these extensive networks of online resources continue to proliferate, possible models for collaboration with national and regional libraries are needed to strengthen existing partnerships with Slavic librarians outside these regions.     

Comparing American and Ukrainian Library and Information Science Education

Ukraine is in the process of modernizing its educational system. This process must incorporate the best foreign practices to support the Ukrainian educational model. Library and information science (LIS) in the United States presents the best example of implementing technologies in the humanities. For that reason, Ukrainian higher educational establishments should pay attention to issues of integrating library science with information science.     

Wolfgang Kasack (1927–2003): A Bio-Bibliography

ABSTRACT

A leading Slavist in Europe and North America, Wolfgang Kasack promoted a unified vision of Russian literature for the twentieth century. In addition to his prolific scholarship, he wrote over eighty reviews of reference works in Russian literature for research libraries for the print and online journal Informationsmittel: IFB between 1996 and 2003. Many of these reviews were published in English in abridged form in the journal Reference Reviews Europe Annual during that same period.     

H-NET Humanities & Social Sciences Online

This case study shares the experience of building an in-house faculty publications database that was spearheaded by the Touro College and University System library in 2010. The project began with the intention of contributing to the college by collecting the research accomplishments of our faculty and staff, thereby also increasing library visibility and faculty interaction. Since then the project has grown immensely and has gained momentum throughout the college. With the endorsement of the Office of the President, the library has started publishing an annual book with the bibliography of its faculty publications. The authors relate their experience so that other libraries can duplicate the success and avoid the problems of their library's venture.     

Reconstructing or Deconstructing Labor Archives? Shaping Labor Collection Development in an Uncertain Future

ABSTRACT

Labor archival programs confront numerous challenges to remain viable in a changing academic environment and institutional culture. The marketing of higher education, the anti-union stance of some university administrations, and the transition of labor studies programs create a less-than-benign environment for labor collection development activities. Labor collection development hinges upon the labor archivist's ability to mediate the often-divergent interests of the academic and labor communities. Contraction of the labor movement and union restructuring also have important repercussions for future labor collections development. This article examines these issues from the perspective of the historical development of Penn State University's labor archives program–focusing on the institutional pressures inherent in serving both academe and labor unions, and prospects for labor collection development in an uncertain future.     

How and Why of User Studies: RLG's RedLightGreen as a Case Study

SUMMARY

This article documents a lifecycle approach to employing user-centered design, covering both qualitative and quantitative data gathering methods in support of using this approach for product design, usability testing, and market research. The author provides specific case studies of usability studies, focus groups, interviews, ethnographic studies, and web log analysis. The article supplies practical advice and tools for those interested in exploring user-centered design concepts for web-based tools and services in archives, libraries, and museums.     

Research on Library Services for Distance Learning

Abstract

This paper examines the research that has been conducted to date on the topic of library support for distance learning programs and identifies some priorities for future research. The two main types of studies prevalent in the literature on this topic are surveys of libraries and user studies. Research findings from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada provide a perspective on the knowledge base in this area and enable some generalizations to be made about service provision and user needs. The results of a recent survey of librarians indicate that the number one research priority in distance learning library services is collaboration with faculty to integrate library and electronic resources into Web-based distance learning courses.     

Privacy Please? A Comparison Between Self-Checkout and Book Checkout Desk Circulation Rates for LGBT and Other Books

ABSTRACT

Improving library technologies allow patrons greater autonomy. One such technology, self-checkout kiosks, puts patrons in virtual control over their circulation experience. Whereas previously patrons had to approach circulation staff to check out, now this can be done privately. The impact self-checkout has on the circulation of potentially embarrassing or controversial materials is unknown. In this study, select lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and non-LGBT materials at Central Michigan University's Park Library were anonymously tracked for one academic year to determine if they circulated via self-check or the traditional circulation desk. LGBT materials circulated twenty percent more via self-check, indicating that patrons appreciated the machines' privacy.     

EBSCO's Communication & Mass Media Complete: An Appreciable Improvement Over Previous Communication Studies Indexing?

ABSTRACT

In a prior edition of this study, we examined whether the established online communication studies indexes—Communication Abstracts, ComIndex, and ComAbstracts—provided a good avenue of access to the journal literature that researchers in the field cite and whether, where the current journal literature was concerned, that avenue of access might be equal or superior to that provided by large, multisubject online indexes. In this iteration of the study, we similarly address EBSCO's new product for communication studies, Communication & Mass Media Complete.