Editorial

Citation

Baker, D. (2014), "Editorial", New Library World, Vol. 115 No. 3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-03-2014-0025

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: New Library World, Volume 115, Issue 3/4

Welcome to the latest double issue of New Library World. I have been appointed Interim Editor of the journal for the next 12 months while the editorial board, the publisher and I determine the future direction of NLW in the context of a broader strategic review of Emerald’s library and information science portfolio.

The papers presented here reflect the very many changes in society the world over and the ways in which the world of libraries is being transformed as a result. We really are moving toward a “new library world”.

Juliet Hardesty talks of the importance of high quality online access to collections that are digital as much as hard copy. Amanda Nichols Hess’s paper stresses the never-ending need for effective, benchmarked, widely-used tutorials to enable users to make the best use of all this digital content. Li Fu and Cynthia Thomes describe one university college’s approach to enhancing discipline-specific discovery.

A significant driver of change in recent years has been the adoption and use of open access (OA). Edda Lwoga and Frederik Questier investigate the factors that affect the implementation and use of OA with special reference to Tanzanian health sciences universities in one of the first comprehensive studies of the area. Take-up is affected by a complex and interrelated series of conditions – as is the case with much new technology. The model adopted by the authors should prove invaluable in accessing adoption and usage of OA in academic institutions.

Do we need libraries? Andrew Shenton quizzed some of the users of tomorrow in his study of the purposes of school libraries as they are viewed by teenagers attending a high school in the north of England. While there were many positives emerging from the research, judging by Shenton’s work, librarians have much to do to ensure that student users are fully aware of the value of libraries. In this context, Daniella Smith suggests that collaboration between rural school and public youth services librarians in the US needs improvement and suggests ways in which this might be achieved. As noted in a number of the papers in this issue, training of the trainers is crucial to success. May Chua’s case study of Singapore’s National Institute of Education (NIE) Library examines the unrecognized importance of libraries and librarians in developing information literacy in trainee teachers and hence their eventual students.

Anytime, anywhere access to the internet and all the content and services that it offers has been much improved by the development of mobile technologies. This in turn has changed and raised user expectations of digital providers. Laura Palumbo reviews the position of mobile technology penetration and usage in Africa and considers how third world countries can innovate to ensure best possible access.

All this in one double issue of NLW. There is much to investigate and analyze, research and disseminate over the coming years and I look forward to focusing the journal’s role in the development of library and information services. To this end the next issues will look at key aspects of the strategic future for libraries.

David Baker