Storage of Legacy Print Collections: The Views of Australasian University Librarians

This article reports on the results of a qualitative survey conducted with seven managers of university libraries from Australia and New Zealand. The purpose of the survey was to explore both library responses to, and librarians’ attitudes toward, issues related to the long-term storage and management of legacy print collections. There is a focus on issues related to future planning for print storage, including the prospects for collaborative storage; the balance between on-site and off-site storage; the impact of mass-digitization programs; and the desirability of collaboration outside the university library sector.     

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Initiatives: A Survey of University Libraries in Nigeria

The study investigated the extent of adoption of electronic theses and dissertations in university libraries in Nigeria. Data collection for the study was via online questionnaire. The study revealed that digitization of theses and dissertations started between 1980 and 1995. It was found that only a few university libraries have embraced digitization of theses and dissertations in Nigeria. Benefits of electronic theses and dissertations were identified as improving university ranking and visibility, increasing access to the theses and dissertations, saving space in the library, enabling others link to the work with persistent URLs, preserving the work for future generations, and saving costs for students. Challenges such as unstable internet connectivity, lack of funding, irregular power supply, lack of information technology personnel, absence of electronic theses and dissertations submission policy, and copyright issues were identified. It is hoped that the study might provide insights useful for librarians planning to embark on the digitization of theses and dissertations project.     

Article Delivery Services at Penn State and Partner Libraries in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation Consortium

To meet rising patron expectations and to promote library collections and services, libraries are contemplating or implementing article delivery services to same-campus patrons from journal articles held locally. This article describes The Pennsylvania State University Libraries’ electronic delivery of articles from in-house print collections. It also summarizes a survey of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation interlibrary loan directors about the article delivery services at their institutions.     

Transcribing and Digitizing Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Letters for a Historical Digital Repository

In fall 2011, the Scott Memorial Library purchased 53 letters belonging to an 1841 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, John Plimpton Green. The library staff transcribed and digitized the letters, creating an online collection in the university's institutional repository, Jefferson Digital Commons. This article will detail the process of transcribing and digitizing the collection along with sharing statistics and the benefits of this project to global researchers.     

e-Science and Data Management Resources on the Web

The way research is conducted has changed over time, from simple experiments to computer modeling and simulation, from individuals working in isolated laboratories to global networks of researchers collaborating on a single topic. Often, this new paradigm results in the generation of staggering amounts of data. The intensive use of data and the existence of networks of researchers characterize e-Science. The role of libraries and librarians in e-Science has been a topic of interest for some time now. This column looks at tools, resources, and projects that demonstrate successful collaborations between libraries and researchers in e-Science.     

CALIS机构知识库：建设与推广、反思与展望

CALIS三期“机构知识库建设及推广项目”,旨在揭示和推广我国高校的学术资源和学术成果,帮助高校发布、共享和保护已形成的知识、科学和文化遗产的数字化资源,并通过聚集和开放获取增加其附加值,进一步促进学术交流.项目建设的目标是建立“分散部署、集中揭示”的全国高校机构知识库.本文从三个方面介绍项目建设情况:①调研、准备和启动等组织实施工作;②技术路线,IR系统功能和服务方式等建设方案;③系统开发,应用部署,标准规范制定,机构知识库资源建设以及机构知识库推广宣传等建设成果.最后就政策支持、模式定位、内容甄选、宣传推广、技术平台等方面提出问题并进行反思和展望.     

The Availability of Faculty Publication Databases from Library Web Pages

Abstract

Faculty publication databases or author bibliographies offer libraries an opportunity to provide services to users. Initially, these databases remained initiatives of special libraries in the health-sciences fields. Librarians used the publication information derived from these databases to compile lists for annual reports. However, the advent of new technologies, especially the Web, prompted numerous libraries to develop faculty publication databases for their institutions. The author conducted a survey of various listservs to discover the history and development of these databases. The results illustrate the popularity of Web-based faculty publication databases. The motivation for their creation varied, but most respondents emphasized the desire to highlight the research activities of their institutions. In addition, the content of materials included in the databases and the definition of faculty also varied, depending on the type of library. Librarians reported a wide range of software employed in the development of these databases highlighting their creation by librarians with various levels of programming skills. Moreover, additional features included in these projects underscore the potential for librarians to provide added value from this service. Finally, while institutional repositories seemingly present similar content, publication databases differ in their focus on a citation format that offers a solution to items without copyright permission for full-text accessibility.     

The Bologna Process in Italy

Italy was among the promoters of the Bologna Process and the early adopters of the reform. If one looks at its impact on the formal structure of curricula and study programmes, the reform undertaken under the Bologna banner seems to have been one of the major educational reforms ever achieved in Italy. This article describes how the Bologna Process has unfolded in Italy, looking at the reasons why a reform that for long eluded Italian policymakers and higher education managers finally succeeded. The theme is approached from the point of view of the contemporary theories of institutional change, looking at the actors and interactions that made this reform possible despite strong opposition. In fact, it was a series of contingent events that weakened the balance of powers governing Italian HE, thus making institutional change possible.     

Student Research Projects and the Institutional Review Board

Graduate social work students often are required to complete an evaluation or research project. Research instructors work with their students to assure that these projects are rigorous as well as ethical. This study focuses upon the relationship of student projects and the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB aims to strengthen research ethics and to assure that study participants are not exploited. Sixteen MSW research instructors' shared their experiences guiding students through the IRB. Study participants identified benefits and challenges of having students experience the IRB, as well as recommendations on how to facilitate the review process. Additionally participants reflected upon how they determine IRB review requirements.     

Women teachers in Liberia: Social and institutional forces accounting for their underrepresentation

This study focuses on cultural and institutional factors that affect women's decision to become primary school teachers in Liberia. It exposes current dynamics that account for the male-dominated primary school teaching force and the barriers that dissuade women from becoming teachers. Based on semistructured interviews with pre-service and practicing teachers, school administrators, faculty at teacher training institutions, and Ministry of Education officials, the research findings indicate that women face several cultural barriers to receiving an education: patrilineal assumptions that daughters are destined to become resources for their husbands’ families (and thus a poor investment), early onset of sexual activity and teenage pregnancy, and social expectations about early family formation. Women who enter teacher training programs receive no recognition for their children and family responsibilities and are given insufficient financial support. When women do become teachers, they face difficult working conditions such as distant schools, poor housing facilities, late payments, and large classes filled with overage students. The probability of rural assignment brings additional dissuading factors: poor quality roads and few transportation options, a dearth of safe housing, and lack of childcare services. The study offers several policy options for increasing female teachers in the workforce.