An Academic Library Director's Alphabet

This article offers librarians practical insight into a broad range of job-related conditions that affect the academic library director. It discusses the director's professional relationships with employees, colleagues, superiors, and patrons, and it also addresses the director's responsibilities for the quality of library service.     

Content Analysis of Restrictive Publisher Copyright Policies for Electronic Reserves

ABSTRACT

A case study of a large urban academic library with an established electronic reserve system and copyright management database was attempted in order to analyze restrictions in publishers' electronic reserve copyright policies. The researcher proposed that publishers' electronic reserve copyright policies and the treatment of copyright permission requests restrict what and how much can be made available to students on an electronic reserve system. Background research on fair use, copyright laws, and library and publisher policies and positions on electronic reserve copyright issues is presented. The research methodology is outlined and analysis tools are explained. The results of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed. Appendices include samples of the analysis tools.     

Subscribing to Governmental Rationality: HBO and the AIDS Epidemic

Between 1987 and 2013, HBO produced or distributed over twenty HIV/AIDS programs. These films trace a cultural shift from an early focus on AIDS as a public health issue to be dealt with through individual “safe-sex” practices and ethical citizenship to a later focus on AIDS as a global pandemic where the explicit strategy becomes a reliance on non-state actors to combat AIDS. This article argues that HBO's HIV/AIDS films are embedded within a cultural approach to AIDS that relies on governmental logics and neoliberal solutions – not direct action, but directing action.     

The Librarian's Library

Abstract

The breadth and depth of subjects and the size of user population of a major university library demand a well-organized reference service. To manage such diverse disciplines and clientele, librarians rely on each other for shortcuts recorded and saved in a staff-access vertical file. A team approach of sharing useful reference sources helps all reference librarians improve their service to library users. If reference staff can efficiently store and organize fugitive material that can be shared by all staff members, they can use that material to meet immediate ready reference needs, and later develop sophisticated information-access tools such as pathfinders and knowledge bases.     

OpenURL and SFX Linking

Abstract

It is only a few short years since the early academic research led by Herbert Van de Sompel at Ghent University in Belgium that resulted in the formulation of the OpenURL standard and the development of the SFX link server. These complementary components have revolutionized linking for libraries, putting control for linking in the hands of the librarian.

This paper considers briefly the early linking initiatives, explains the purpose and structure of the OpenURL and the role of linking components-the sources, targets, and the link server, with a focus on the SFX link server.     

Product global reach,advertising standardization,and cultural values: an analysis of 2008 Beijing Olympic TV commercials

This study examined the influence of the global reach of the product, multinational vs. domestic, on the degree of standardization of and the use of advertising values in 2008 Beijing Olympic commercials telecasted in China. This study is the first to examine systematically advertising standardization and values within one country in a mega-sporting event context. Overall, the study revealed that multinational product advertisements are more likely to be standardized, and more likely to portray Western-oriented values in their advertisements compared to domestic product advertisements. These findings indicate the importance of considering the global reach of the product in advertising to meet the expectations of the customers, especially during international sporting events such as Olympic Games.     

Formation of a talking space and gender discourses in digital diaspora space: Case of a female Korean im/migrants online community in the USA

This article explores an online community of female Korean im/migrants in the USA in order to investigate the formation of a digital diaspora of women on the web. Employing multiple research methods including in-depth interviews, textual analysis, and participatory observation, this article examines the largest online community of female Korean im/migrants in the USA (www.MissyUSA.com), focusing on how their unique talking space was created on this site and the ways in which the relevant gender discourses are presented and constructed in relation to their diasporic conditions. The findings show that these women's shared identity (i.e. being Korean, married, female, and living in the USA) is an important element in the formation and development of this online community, especially in the creation of a candid talking space – sokpuri – where they vent their innermost feelings about their lives in the USA. The Missy and ajuma are the two salient identity discourses and selective use and flexible appropriation of the terms are found. The ajuma image (less individualistic, more active in sharing information and helping others) is adopted when these women identify their online community as a place where the empowering ajuma spirit is alive; meanwhile, they still adopt the Missy image of a young, independent, and modern woman for their individual identities, despite its consumerist origin. Although the issues of housewifization and having an enhanced gender relationship are quite often discussed, this online community has a limitation in that it does not produce a consistent and systematic challenging voice.     

Cultural differences in cognitive responding to ads: a comparison of young American and Chinese consumers

This study explored the differences in young consumers' cognitive responses to visual ads across two cultures. In an experiment, 120 college students from the USA and 120 college students from China were exposed to different types of visual ads, and subsequently participants were instructed to recall objects from the ads, and to list thoughts regarding the product/brand meanings. It was found that compared with Chinese participants, participants from the USA recalled more salient objects and generated more product/brand thoughts elicited by salient objects from the ads. Moreover, Chinese participants were more likely to assign a social role to a person recalled from the ads than their American counterparts. These findings suggested that young Americans attended more to salient objects in the ads, and therefore are more analytic than their Chinese participants. Implications for international advertising were provided.