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When in‐plant and college‐based courses are run for supervisors and managers, it is conventional to use a U‐shaped seating arrangement in the training room to promote participation and discussion. However, at each class session, people will tend to sit with the same companions habitually, which may be more comfortable, but less productive than if they sat with different people each time.

Describes the development and use of a modified SERVQUAL research instrument for measuring the service quality of a leading Cancer Information Support Service from the perspective of their “customers”. The evaluation findings were also used to inform the organisation to help it to improve its services. In order to identify the appropriate dimensions of service quality, a series of focus group meetings were run with providers of the Information Support Services and also with the users of the service. The meetings enabled the identification of six different dimensions of service quality which neatly mapped onto the new P‐C‐P attributes model, which was developed after extensive research of existing models such as SERVQUAL. Based on these dimensions, a questionnaire was then developed to assess service quality of the service. The main outcome from the research was the development of a research instrument suitable for measuring the service quality of a Cancer Information Support Service. This instrument can be adapted to assess the quality of any other service.

This paper aims to focus on contextualized features for mobile language learning apps. The scope of this paper is to explore students’ perceptions of contextualized mobile language learning.

An extended Technology Acceptance Model was developed to analyze the effect of contextual app features on students’ usage intention. The suggested app concept applies context-triggered push notifications to initiate learning sessions based on a location-aware vocabulary. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for an empirical validation of the proposed research model.

The results of the analysis revealed, that students perceived the proposed app as beneficial for their learning endeavors. The location-aware feature is essentially relevant to improve the perceived usefulness of the system, as it may increase the learning effectiveness of the app in their everyday life.

The study was conducted in quite a homogenous population. The sample size of the survey was rather small (n = 45). Further research is necessary to confirm the promising results of the research.

The results give some first evidence that the integration of innovative contextual features in mobile language learning apps may increase the usage intention and motivation to engage in a learning activity.

[There are thousands of lists of books on special subjects, and nothing more is attempted here than to indicate the most useful. For other lists and bibliographies, reference must be made to the works in Section I. The catalogues of special libraries and the numerous lists of books on special subjects contributed to professional magazines must also be sought for there.]

THE title of this short paper is somewhat of a misnomer, as the German Volks bibliothek is not the same as an English Public Library. As Dr. Schultze says: “When we speak of an English Public Library we know exactly what is meant, but the German Volks bibliothek does not convey any definite impression. Too often it still means a very small collection of books, probably gifts which are accessible to borrowers at certain hours each week. As a rule, the revenue is so trifling that after paying the small working costs there is little or nothing left for buying books.” Taking, therefore, the term Public Library for the sake of convenience, we may assume that the first Public Library in Germany was opened in Hamburg, in 1529, as the result of Luther's recommendation (1524) “that good libraries, especially in the large towns, should be established.” At the beginning of the 18th century, a number of free libraries were established, these were usually connected with churches and schools, yet their very name “free” seemed an invitation to everyone to share the treasures they contained. These libraries were principally in central Germany and Saxony.

Aslib is most fortunate this year to have secured the services as President of Sir Lindor Brown, Waynflete Professor of Physiology in the University of Oxford and Biological Secretary of the Royal Society. It will be remembered that Sir Lindor gave the opening address at the International Conference on Scientific Information held in Washington in November 1958, and that he has been Chairman of the Consultative Committee for the National Lending Library for Science and Technology since its formation.

A real potential exists for library use of voice technologies: as aids to the disabled or illiterate library user, as front‐ends for general library help systems, in online systems for commands or control words, and in many of the hands‐busy‐eyes‐busy activities that are common in libraries. Initially, these applications would be small, limited processes that would not require the more fluent human‐machine communication that we might hope for in the future. Voice technologies will depend on and benefit from new computer systems, advances in artificial intelligence and expert systems to facilitate their use and enable them to better circumvent present input and output problems. These voice systems will gradually assume more importance, improving access to information and complementing existing systems, but they will not likely revolutionize or dominate human‐machine communications or library services in the near future.

AS Canadians themselves will quickly inform you, this is a big, young country—Great Britain would fit into a small part of Alberta, large stretches of which are still not accurately recorded on large scale maps. Indeed, I listened to radio reports of a search for two aircraft on the first morning we were there. One aircraft (a helicopter) had been missing in the North Western Territories with a Calgary man aboard for two weeks and was eventually found crashed; the other, missing for two days, was a Cessna seaplane which had run out of fuel and punctured a float as it landed close to the shore of the Great Slave Lake. The occupants were rescued by air from this largely uncharted waste.

There are over six million disabled adults in this country. This was the principal finding of the recent OPCS survey into disability — a finding which surprised many people. Given that disability is more prevalent among the elderly, our ageing population profile means that the number of disabled people is going to increase rather than decrease over the next decade. This, coupled with the greater marketing orientation of major charities and pressure groups representing disabled people, will mean that market research among disabled people will increasingly be in demand, and researchers will have to address the methodological issues that are involved. This paper seeks to examine some of these issues by sharing BMRB's recent experiences on two projects among people with disabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and use of a modified SERVQUAL research instrument for measuring the service quality of a leading mental health service provider from the perspective of their “customers”. The evaluation focused on the day‐care services provided by the voluntary organisation. In order to identify the appropriate dimensions of service quality, a series of focus group meetings were run with providers of the mental health day‐care service and also with users of the service. These were structured group meetings led by the research team addressing set questions. The meetings enabled the identification of six different dimensions of service quality neatly mapping onto the new P‐C‐P attributes model, which was developed after extensive research of existing models such as SERVQUAL. A questionnaire was then developed to assess the service quality of the service. The main outcome from the research was the development of a research instrument suitable for measuring the service quality of a mental health day‐care service. This instrument can also be adapted to assess the quality of any other service. Implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.