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Library Workstation and PC Report, founded in 1984 as M300 and PC Report, was the brainchild of Allan Pratt, then at the University of Arizona. Pratt, the founding editor of Small…
Abstract
Library Workstation and PC Report, founded in 1984 as M300 and PC Report, was the brainchild of Allan Pratt, then at the University of Arizona. Pratt, the founding editor of Small Computers in Libraries, had a hunch that OCLC's introduction of the M300 workstation was going to call for much hand‐holding and specialist advice and information for librarians. He was right. M300 and PC Report had a subscribership well before the first issue was mailed to readers. And it remains a growing publication to this day.
Nathalie Lozano-Neira and Jen Marchbank
To explore the intersecting dynamics of gender, ethnicity, age, safety, power and sexuality in two cases of qualitative research
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the intersecting dynamics of gender, ethnicity, age, safety, power and sexuality in two cases of qualitative research
Methodology/approach
Reflexive analysis of community participatory action research.
Findings
Being an ‘insider’ is a nuanced and complex identity in social research leading to power flows that are not unidirectional. In addition, not only is gender not the only difference that makes a difference, but it is also important to consider the importance of difference within ‘sameness’.
Originality/value
In considering intersecting identities, difference and sameness this chapter adds to the assertion that research is never ‘hygienic’ and the role of self and research participants are vital considerations at all stages from design to dissemination.
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study about how academic librarians can contribute to the interdisciplinary research endeavors of professors and students…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study about how academic librarians can contribute to the interdisciplinary research endeavors of professors and students, especially doctoral candidates, through an intellectualized approach to collection development.
Design/methodology/approach
In the wake of protest movements such as the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, colleges and universities have begun to develop courses about these events, and it is anticipated that there will be much research conducted about their respective histories. Academic librarians can participate in those research efforts by developing interdisciplinary collections about protest movements and by referring researchers to those collections.
Findings
Through a case‐study approach, this paper provides a narrative bibliography about Southern Agrarianism that can help professors and students interested in the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street movements to see their research endeavors from a new interdisciplinary perspective.
Originality/value
The value of this paper lies in presenting a concrete example of the way in which academic librarians can become active research partners through the work of building collections and recommending sources in areas that professors and students may not have previously considered.
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FINANCIAL fears are only less cruel than those of war, and lead men into extravagances which they would repudiate indignantly in their cooler moments. If the doings of the Economy…
Abstract
FINANCIAL fears are only less cruel than those of war, and lead men into extravagances which they would repudiate indignantly in their cooler moments. If the doings of the Economy Committee at Manchester in relation to children's libraries, as described in the article by Mr. Lamb in our last issue, are true, we have in them an example of a kind of retrenchment at the expense of the young which we hope is without parallel and will have no imitators. Some reduc‐tion of estimates we hear of from this or that place, but in few has the stupid policy which urges that if we spend nothing we shall all become rich been carried into full effect. Libraries always have suffered in times of crisis, whatever they are; we accept that, though doubtfully; but we do know that the people need libraries.
RECENT investigation has led us to wonder if the remuneration of librarians has made anything like the progress which sanguine people are wont to say it has. Or, since it is…
Abstract
RECENT investigation has led us to wonder if the remuneration of librarians has made anything like the progress which sanguine people are wont to say it has. Or, since it is always distasteful to harp on payment for work, we ask: has librarianship advanced, as shown in the salaries paid, in a manner commensurate with the services rendered? If the librarian were receiving the acknowledgment that his position, from its nature, ought to command, his salary should compare in some way with the salaries of his municipal colleagues. Does it? It is true the salaries of librarians have advanced, but does not the pre‐war ratio of difference between them and the salaries of the borough accountant, the medical officer, the borough engineer, remain constant? We believe it does. An example occurs to us, where the pre‐war salary of the town clerk was £1,000 and the borough engineer's was the same, while the medical officer received £800. The librarian had £400. To‐day the town clerk has £2,000, the doctor £1,300, and the engineer £1,750, but the librarian has £750. He is still in the same, if not in a worse, position, relatively, than he was before the war. And £750 is not a low salary, as library appointments go now‐a‐days. The simple truth is that municipalities do not, and frankly say they do not, regard librarians as professional men. So, in this line alone, much remains to be done.
Caroline Jackson, James Morgan and Chantal Laws
The purpose of this paper is to report on untold stories that not only illustrate the creativity but also complexity of working in outdoor events. There has been global interest…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on untold stories that not only illustrate the creativity but also complexity of working in outdoor events. There has been global interest in the creative industries and the creative economy more generally. Events have not been identified or categorised as part of this. Experiences have been identified as part of the creative sectors (NESTA, 2006) and events are seen as experiences (Jackson, 2006; Berridge 2007). There has been little research undertaken about the creative nature of event experiences, especially in how they are created.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical framework was created from literature on creativity more generally to inform the Creativity in Events research project. Interviews with those working in the outdoor events sector were the basis of the qualitative stage of the research project investigating the phenomenon of creativity in events.
Findings
This paper identifies the core facets of creativity in the management of outdoor events. These were fluency, originality, imagination, elaboration, environment and complexity. A vignette is used to illustrate the intricacy of the nature of creativity in the production of outdoor event experiences. The overall findings were that event management was both creative and pragmatic and that both are necessary. There was a need for a creative environment with processes and familiarity that aided inspiration and originality.
Originality/value
The background and findings are relevant to recognising events as part of the wider creative economy. A greater understanding of the nature of creativity in events informs both education and practice.
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Keywords
Caroline D Bergeron and Daniela B Friedman
Risk communication is a critical component of individual health decision making and behavior. In disaster situations, it is crucial that risk-related messages are communicated…
Abstract
Purpose
Risk communication is a critical component of individual health decision making and behavior. In disaster situations, it is crucial that risk-related messages are communicated accurately and that they reach and inform target audiences about the steps they can take to protect their health. Despite a global recognition of the importance of risk communication in responding to disasters, there remains a dearth of evidence on how to evaluate the effectiveness of risk communication messages. The purpose of this paper is to develop and assess a pilot tool to evaluate the effectiveness of disaster risk messages.
Design/methodology/approach
A pilot evaluation tool was developed using the existing risk communication literature. An expert assessment of the tool was conducted using an open-ended survey and a focus group discussion with 18 experts at the Public Health Agency of Canada in February 2013.
Findings
The tool measures content, reach, and comprehension of the message. It is intended to be a quick, internal evaluation tool for use during a disaster or emergency. The experts acknowledged the practicality of the tool, while also recognizing evaluation challenges.
Research limitations/implications
This pilot exploratory tool was assessed using a relatively small sample of experts.
Practical implications
This tool offers public health and disaster preparedness practitioners a promising approach for evaluating and improving the communication and management of future public health emergencies.
Originality/value
This is the first practical tool developed to evaluate risk communication messages in disaster situations.
Details
Keywords
The series of articles on the reform of the British Museum Library, which began to appear, of all places in the world, in the columns of The Morning Post, on January 19th, 1912…
Abstract
The series of articles on the reform of the British Museum Library, which began to appear, of all places in the world, in the columns of The Morning Post, on January 19th, 1912, should have the effect of informing the public on certain defects in the administration of that institution which are known to many who, unfortunately, remain silent. Among the alleged blemishes pointed out are the bad method of appointing the staff by a narrow and unsatisfactory system of nomination, which does not always succeed in procuring properly qualified men; the absence of a fairly complete subject catalogue; the tendency to give special attention to favourites among the readers by certain members of the staff; and the hopeless jumble of the classification in the reading room, and in the library generally. Other serious defects have been pointed out, such as the official insistence on limitations of various kinds both in the collecting and cataloguing of books; and, above all, the delays which occur in the delivery of requisitioned books to readers. The library is, bluntly speaking, a thoroughly stagnant place, which has only changed slightly for the better during the past thirty years. Although supported by the contributions of publishers, who are compelled to deposit copies of their publications, and by the people at large through the Civil Service Estimates of the Government, the library remains a kind of close corporation, swathed in red‐tape convention and official traditions to such an extent that it is of much use only to a handful of authors, antiquarian grubbers of various kinds, and the officials. It has done little for the man of business or the general student, or for the national education of the country, and the time has come when this great public library should be democratised and made useful and valuable to the many instead of to the pampered few. The army of effete literary hacks who haunt the reading room, without a perceptible infusion of fresh young life, and the lack of business‐like purpose in more than a third of the number, is probably unique. Why should such a group of ordinary individuals have practically the monopoly of a great publicly‐supported library, to the exclusion of the aspiring young, the practical man of affairs, and the citizens of the country in general? Why should such exclusion be brought about by impossible conditions, hours, regulations, and imperfect cataloguing, not to mention other defects? And why should a body of trustees (responsible to no one) and officials have power to perpetrate with impunity such injustice upon the general public of the country? These are questions which must now be threshed out in the open, and all professional men should applaud the Morning Post for its public‐spirited action.
The article sets out primarily to fill in some of the gaps in the biography of Lucy Arabella Stocks Garvin (1851–1938), first principal of Sydney Girls High School. As a reflexive…
Abstract
Purpose
The article sets out primarily to fill in some of the gaps in the biography of Lucy Arabella Stocks Garvin (1851–1938), first principal of Sydney Girls High School. As a reflexive exercise stimulated by this biographical research, the second aim is to explore the transformative work of digital sources on the researcher's research processes that in turn generate possibilities for expanded biographical studies in the history of education.
Design/methodology/approach
This article encompasses two approaches: the first uses traditional historical methods in the digital sources to provide an expanded biography of Lucy Garvin. The second is a reflexive investigation of the effects of digitisation of sources on the historian's research processes.
Findings
The advent of digital technologies has opened up more evidence on the life of Lucy Garvin which enables a fuller account both within and beyond the school gate. Digital sources have helped to address important gaps in her life story that challenge current historiographical understandings about her: for example, regarding her initial travel to Australia; her previous career as a teacher in Australia and the circumstances of her appointment as principal; her private and family life; and her involvement in extra school activities. In the process of exploring Garvin's life, the researcher reflected on the work of digital sources and argues that such sources transform the research process by speeding up and de-situating the collection and selection of evidence, while at the same time expanding and slowing the scrutiny of evidence. The ever-expanding array of digital sources, despite its patchiness, can lead to finer grained expanded biographical studies while increasing the provisionality of historical accounts.
Originality/value
The article presents new biographical information about an important early female educational leader in Australia and discusses the impact of digital sources on archival and research processes in the history of women's education.
Details