Editorial: Transition and reinvention

The rapid development of information technology has dramatically changed the basic paradigm of access in libraries, as well as librarian's roles and responsibilities. In order to remain abreast with these changes, instruction on intellectual freedom in Library and Information Science education needs to be reexamined and revamped. There have been few studies which examined the state of intellectual freedom education in library science programs, and even fewer examined from an international or comparative approach. The present study is an examination of the state of intellectual freedom education in Japan. Interviews and a survey were applied to five Library and Information Science educators in Japan. The findings were analyzed in comparison with the results of Bruce Shuman's survey (1977). The University of Hawaii Library and Information Science curriculum was also used as a reference for comparison. Other recent smaller-scale survey studies are supplemented to illustrate American practice as well. Two findings of this study merit further investigation. First, the Japanese approach to and perspective on teaching intellectual freedom are more theoretical while the American counterpart attempts to be both theoretical and practical. The differences are attributed to their social cultural environment in libraries, higher education, and society at large. The study also found differences in how intellectual freedom education is perceived in relation to the other subjects in the curriculum. Some of the Japanese respondents in this study see it as a specific subject matter to be taught in designated courses. On the contrary, American subjects argued it should be taught throughout the curriculum.     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

Determining the Key Dimensions for Evaluating Service Quality and Satisfaction in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Offering quality services and evaluating the rate of success in providing users with target services is the pervasive importance of academic libraries. The central purpose of this study is to determine key dimensions of service quality and satisfaction through developing a new item-scale for evaluating service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries. For primary data collection the study used a 28-item instrument based on five dimensional modified version of SERVQUAL. Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of opinions in the three-columns format: desired service expectation, minimum service expectation, and perception of service performance on a 7-point Likert-type scale. The researcher initially conducted a pilot survey to clarify the overall structure of the questionnaire items to be accepted and used. The reliability of the analysis of data with distinct service attributes were taken from ten public and private university libraries in Bangladesh. Subjecting data obtained to exploratory factor analysis shows that academic library service quality and satisfaction is related to four basic dimensions: caring, competence, resources, and library as a place. Twenty-six service items were identified after extraction through exploratory factor analysis, where nine items were shown before “caring,” five items for “competence,” seven items for “resources,” and five items for “library as a place.” The result in fact provides a generic and robust instrument and recognizes a new item-scale, namely “real service expectation” for the librarians and information science practitioners in the assessment of service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries and in the related fields.     

Integrating Assessment into Recurring Information Literacy Instruction

SUMMARY

Information literacy instruction is integrated into the distance education program in library and information science (LEEP) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This article describes the LEEP program and the library services provided to its students. Published research on LEEP and related topics in librarianship is reviewed. Student evaluations of library instructional sessions have been gathered since 2002, shared with teaching faculty and administrators, and used to improve and promote information literacy instruction within LEEP. In the fall of 2005, the instructional model for LEEP was adapted to the on-campus environment. Preliminary analysis of the on-campus student evaluations suggests that modifications are needed to deliver an equivalent learning experience to all LIS students at UIUC, whether on-campus or off.     

Thwarted Innovation in Context

Abstract

In June 2004, Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to e-learning and Why, a report by Robert Zemsky and William F. Massy, created a minor stir among many professionals associated with distance learning. This article addresses many of the issues arising from the publication of Thwarted Innovation, and in addition, it borrows several concepts from C. P. Snow's The Two Cultures in order to place the issues within a broader context. Changes created by the reconfiguration of distance learning opportunities are presenting serious challenges to those responsible for distance learning programs, and the author warns that ignoring the infrastructure of e-learning during the reconfiguration may result in distance learning students being divided into two distinct culturesseparate and unequal.     

The State of Cataloging Research: An Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journal Literature, 2010–2014

The importance of cataloging research was highlighted by a resolution declaring 2010 as “The Year of Cataloging Research.” This study of the peer-reviewed journal literature from 2010 to 2014 examined the state of cataloging literature since this proclamation. The goals were to determine the percentage of cataloging literature that can be classified as research, what research methods were used, and whether the articles contributed to the library assessment conversation. Nearly a quarter of the cataloging literature qualifies as research; however, a majority of researchers fail to make explicit connections between their work and the missions of their libraries.     

Striving for Success in the Reference Interview: A Case Study

The reference interview is integral to the success of the reference transaction. Thus, learning to conduct an effective reference interview is essential for library and information science students. Despite abundant literature on how to conduct the interview, little research exists on how well library and information science students are applying competencies associated with the reference interview, and how successful their reference interactions are. Through a survey reflection on a course-embedded assignment, this study examines reference success from the point of view of the library and information science student and their patrons. The results of the study have implications for library faculty and employers and reference managers.     

图情档学科发展的数据化趋向解析——基于2019年度学术热点的系统性文献调查

[目的/意义]本文立足于2019年的学术热点,对图情档在泛在数据环境下的理论创新、学科转型和教育变革趋向进行了分析和预判。[方法/过程]作者在对2019年发表于图情档领域重要期刊并以“数据(数字化、电子化、智慧化)”为主题的学术论文进行系统性文献调查的基础上,提取并总结了与研究主题相关的观点和发现。[结果/结论]研究发现,(1)图情档领域的理论发展趋向可归结为“立足于泛在数据环境的理论创新”;(2)图情档的学科转型趋向可归结为“基于数据科学和数字人文的学科转型”;(3)图情档教育变革趋向可归结为“以新型数据素养培育为中心的教育变革”;(4)图情档职业的特征可归结为“以智慧化服务为基础的图情档新业态”。     

Enlightenments and Study of the iSchool Graduates＇ Career Development in the Information Field

调查分析iSehool院校的毕业生就业率、就业领域、影响求职的因素、求职时长、对职业的满意程度等情况,认为它带给LIS教育的思考是：LIS教育要面向更宽广的信息职业,要以提升职业竞争力为导向改革LIS教育的教学方式,要在融入信息科学的同时保持学科原有的特色。