Search results
1 – 10 of 218Elisa Banfi and Arnaud Gaudinat
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Swiss public libraries are experiencing a normative revolution connected to new cataloging standards, such as RDA and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Swiss public libraries are experiencing a normative revolution connected to new cataloging standards, such as RDA and the FRBRization of catalogs.
Design/methodology/approach
Thanks to semi-structured interviews, the paper analyzes the current positioning of Swiss public libraries on the “bibliographic transition” issue by using a case study of the network of municipal libraries in Geneva.
Findings
In Switzerland, the federal and multi-linguistic structure of the library networks increases the organizational obstacles to the adoption of new cataloging principles and formats. At the local level, the Swiss municipal libraries have to cope with this complexity to transform their structures and continue to offer competitive and effective services to their users.
Practical implications
The paper proposes six scenarios of technology watershed for the analyzed case study and their consequences for cataloging standards and rules.
Social implications
The paper shows how the adoption of technological and conceptual innovations has to be done in the face of real organizational and administrative constraints, especially in the case of public lending libraries.
Originality/value
The paper analyzes at the empirical and theoretical levels how, especially in Switzerland, the variety of governance levels and linguistic areas have made strategizing more complex for public lending libraries.
Details
Keywords
Pertti Vakkari and Anna Mikkonen
The purpose of this paper is to study what extent readers’ socio-demographic characteristics, literary preferences and search behavior predict success in fiction search in library…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study what extent readers’ socio-demographic characteristics, literary preferences and search behavior predict success in fiction search in library catalogs.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 80 readers searched for interesting novels in four differing search tasks. Their search actions were recorded with a Morae Recorder. Pre- and post-questionnaires elicited information about their background, literary preferences and search experience. Readers’ literary preferences were grouped into four orientations by a factor analysis. Linear regression analysis was applied for predicting search success as measured by books’ interest scores.
Findings
Most literary orientations contributed to search success, but in differing search tasks. The role of result examination was greater compared to querying in contributing search success almost in each task. The proportion of variance explained in books’ interest scores varied between 5 (open-ended browsing) and 50 percent (analogy search).
Research limitations/implications
The distribution of participants was biased toward females, and the results are aggregated within search session, both reducing the variation of the phenomenon observed.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to explore how readers’ literary preferences and searching are associated with finding interesting novels, i.e. search success, in library catalogs. The results expand and support the findings in Mikkonen and Vakkari (2017) concerning associations between reader characteristics and fiction search success.
Details
Keywords
Chunlai Yan, Hongxia Li, Ruihui Pu, Jirawan Deeprasert and Nuttapong Jotikasthira
This study aims to provide a systematic and complete knowledge map for use by researchers working in the field of research data. Additionally, the aim is to help them quickly…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a systematic and complete knowledge map for use by researchers working in the field of research data. Additionally, the aim is to help them quickly understand the authors' collaboration characteristics, institutional collaboration characteristics, trending research topics, evolutionary trends and research frontiers of scholars from the perspective of library informatics.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt the bibliometric method, and with the help of bibliometric analysis software CiteSpace and VOSviewer, quantitatively analyze the retrieved literature data. The analysis results are presented in the form of tables and visualization maps in this paper.
Findings
The research results from this study show that collaboration between scholars and institutions is weak. It also identified the current hotspots in the field of research data, these being: data literacy education, research data sharing, data integration management and joint library cataloguing and data research support services, among others. The important dimensions to consider for future research are the library's participation in a trans-organizational and trans-stage integration of research data, functional improvement of a research data sharing platform, practice of data literacy education methods and models, and improvement of research data service quality.
Originality/value
Previous literature reviews on research data are qualitative studies, while few are quantitative studies. Therefore, this paper uses quantitative research methods, such as bibliometrics, data mining and knowledge map, to reveal the research progress and trend systematically and intuitively on the research data topic based on published literature, and to provide a reference for the further study of this topic in the future.
Details
Keywords
Timo Laine and Markku Antero Laitinen
In the transformed information environment, the impact and value of the services are not adequately shown using the traditional library metrics. It needs to be supplemented with…
Abstract
Purpose
In the transformed information environment, the impact and value of the services are not adequately shown using the traditional library metrics. It needs to be supplemented with user-centered ways of measurement. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a case study of the new Finna service and the measurement challenges it presents.
Findings
The standards guiding the measurement and evaluation of libraries cannot offer a “cook-book” for the organizations to follow. The paper suggests that as a one possible response to this, the Net Promoter Score can be used as one indicator in measuring the impact of new services.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the paper are preliminary, because so far there is not a wide experience of the use of NPS in libraries. This calls for further study. The results are encouraging, but more testing is needed with different services.
Originality/value
NPS has not been widely used in libraries before.
Details
Keywords
Koraljka Golub, Jenny Bergenmar and Siska Humlesjö
The purpose of this study is to investigate the needs of potential end-users of a database dedicated to Swedish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the needs of potential end-users of a database dedicated to Swedish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) literature (e.g. prose, poetry, drama, graphic novels/comics, and illustrated books), in order to inform the development of a database, search interface functionalities, and an LGBTQI thesaurus for fiction.
Design/methodology/approach
A web questionnaire was distributed in autumn 2021 to potential end-users. The questions covered people's reasons for reading LGBTQI fiction, ways of finding LGBTQI fiction, experience of searching for LGBTQI fiction, usual search elements applied, latest search for LGBTQI fiction, desired subjects to search for, and ideal search functionalities.
Findings
The 101 completed questionnaires showed that most respondents found relevant literature through social media or friends and that most obtained copies of literature from a library. Regarding desirable search functionalities, most respondents would like to see suggestions for related terms to support broader search results (i.e. higher recall). Many also wanted search support that would enable retrieving more specific results based on narrower terms when too many results are retrieved (i.e. higher precision). Over half would also appreciate the option to browse by hierarchically arranged subjects.
Originality/value
This study is the first to show how readers of LGBTQI fiction in Sweden search for and obtain relevant literature. The authors have identified end-user needs that can inform the development of a new database and a thesaurus dedicated to LGBTQI fiction.
Details
Keywords
Luke Bacon, Kathleen Azali, Alexandra Lara Crosby and Benjamin Forster
The purpose of this study is to identify shared themes and concerns of two local and critical archives by comparing their design and day-to-day practice.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify shared themes and concerns of two local and critical archives by comparing their design and day-to-day practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The action research has drawn on the experience of collaboration between a Sydney-based community space (Frontyard) and the Surabaya-based co-working community (C2O) over one year. Each space houses a small physical library of books, which is the focus of this analysis.
Findings
Hacking has emerged as a key value of both archives. A hacking approach has shaped the design of each space and the organisation each archive. Hacking frames the analysis of each collection in this study.
Practical implications
Pragmatic and political understanding of such archives have implications for better quality and more authentic exchange between the communities that make use of these libraries in Indonesia and Australia.
Originality/value
While some work on local critical archives has been done in Indonesia and Australia, no research to date has made specific comparisons with the aim of sharing knowledge. Because these archives are often temporary and ephemeral, documenting the work that goes into them, and their practitioners’ perspectives, is urgent, making possible shared knowledge that can inform the ways communities make decisions about their own heritage.
Details
Keywords
The subject of this paper is the idea of Brain–Computer Interface (BCI). The main goal is to assess the potential impact of BCI on the design, use and evaluation of information…
Abstract
Purpose
The subject of this paper is the idea of Brain–Computer Interface (BCI). The main goal is to assess the potential impact of BCI on the design, use and evaluation of information retrieval systems operating in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The method of literature review was used to establish the state of research. The search according to accepted queries was carried out in the Scopus database and complementary in Google Scholar. To determine the state of research on BCI on the basis of library and information science, a specialist LISTA abstract database was also searched. The most current papers published in the years 2015–2019 in the English language or having at least an abstract in this language were taken into account.
Findings
The analysis showed that BCI issues are extremely popular in subject literature from various fields, mainly computer science, but practically does not occur in the context of using this technology in information retrieval systems.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the fact that BCI solutions are not yet implemented in libraries and are rarely the subject of scientific considerations in the field of library and information science, this article is mainly based on literature from other disciplines. The goal was to consider how much BCI solutions can affect library information retrieval systems. The considerations presented in this article are theoretical in nature due to the lack of empirical materials on which to base. The author's assumption was to initiate a discussion about BCI on the basis of library and information science, not to propose final solutions.
Practical implications
The results can be widely used in practice as a framework for the implementation of BCI in libraries.
Social implications
The article can help to facilitate the debate on the role of implementing new technologies in libraries.
Originality/value
The problem of BCI is very rarely addressed in the subject literature in the field of library and information science.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to show how an illegal repository of literature, the Z-library, relates to and influences its users and how this relation is unique due to the illegal nature of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show how an illegal repository of literature, the Z-library, relates to and influences its users and how this relation is unique due to the illegal nature of the platform. The paper utilizes the idea of gamification to exemplify how to motivate users to contribute to a large shadow library in order to create the “world's largest e-book library,” sans “librarians.”
Design/methodology/approach
The study makes use of an ethnographic approach. It interrogates the functions of the website through intensive use—a close reading of sorts. The data provide a foundation for illustrating how illegal text repositories function at a surface level and how their design appeals to their user-base.
Findings
The paper provides a thorough and non-biased overview of how a “black open access” or “shadow library” site provides its users with pirated literature. It suggests that the lynchpin sustaining their functionality is a gamification of piracy designed to motivate a fragmented collective of individuals who work primarily for personal reward, rather than altruistic goals.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the design of the study, the findings are not universal or applicable to all illegal repositories of text. Readers and researchers are encouraged to apply the concept introduced here to other cases.
Social implications
This paper includes implication on the perception of literature piracy, how pirated literature is distributed and who performs the labor required to sustain illicit text repositories.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel conceptual basis to study literature piracy.
Details
Keywords
Bee Leng Chew, Marnisya Abdul Rahim and Vighnarajah Vighnarajah
Recent advancement in technological development has encouraged distance learning institutions to be more productive and creative in effectively utilizing the Learning Management…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent advancement in technological development has encouraged distance learning institutions to be more productive and creative in effectively utilizing the Learning Management System (LMS). Among the many measures employed is the integration of federated search engine into the LMS which allows for a more productive and wider scope of information retrieval through the provisions of library resources and services. The purpose of this paper is to report one such case study in Wawasan Open University exploring the integration of federated search engine (EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) widget) into the learning spaces of LMS. Widgets resemble apps that enable the integration of EDS functionality in providing access for students to retrieve library learning resources from the convenience of the LMS, excluding the need to log onto the library.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a discussion that highlights the development and conjectural implementation of a framework on the integration of the EDS widget into the University’s LMS. Data collection includes meta-analysis data from the micro- and macro-level infrastructure that make up the framework, namely, end-user layer, system layer and data management layer.
Findings
Findings from this study addressed significant importance to the library in promoting effective search and utilization of information needs. The findings will also make clear recommendations in developing effective collaborations between the library and faculties. Although the implementation of this framework is still in a developmental stage, this study still provides pertinent information in validating the integration of EDS into the University’s LMS.
Research limitations/implications
While serious limitations are not anticipated, possible concerns do exist with programming algorithms in the integration of EDS into the LMS. These challenges will be reported in the paper as reference for future replications of study
Practical implications
One key implication is the increase in the usage of the library resources and the potential to reach a larger audience of remote library users.
Originality/value
The primary advantage is to minimize the need for multiple gateway login while ensuring the library to monitor relevant library databases activities throughout the system check of the LMS.
Details
Keywords
Tinyiko Vivian Dube and Lorette Jacobs
This paper aimed to determine the extent to which academic libraries and information services were extended due to the emergence of COVID-19 in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to determine the extent to which academic libraries and information services were extended due to the emergence of COVID-19 in the Gauteng Province, South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
Founded on a pragmatism paradigm, the sequential explanatory research design was adopted to engage with participants and respondents on their experience of library services extensions to support users during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using online questionnaires and interviews. Cluster and purposive sampling were used and data for the quantitative part were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), whilst qualitative data were analyzed manually.
Findings
Findings revealed that academic libraries operating in a higher education environment provided extensive support to remote users during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was done through the utilization of a variety of technology utilization, ranging from traditional e-mail support to the use of technology related to Artificial Intelligence such as the BOTsa, which is a Chatbot aimed to assist users in receiving speedy responses to library-related inquiries.
Originality/value
This study is unique in that it focuses on academic libraries that operate in higher education environments where support for achieving academic endeavors becomes imperative to ensure the smooth execution of teaching and learning activities within the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adaptions and improvements to academic library services during and post-COVID-19 era were successful in ensuring that remote users could obtain similar services and access to information as was the case before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details