Search results
1 – 10 of 73
The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Design/methodology/approach
The review first examines the methods used in the Rochester study, and then considers the conclusions for their local implications as well as their meaning for the library profession.
Findings
The Rochester study should serve as a wake‐up call for librarians that imagine they understand their user‐base. Over and over again in this book the authors note how much they learned about the students after studying them systematically and how surprising they found the results. It seems unlikely that the Rochester experience is unique.
Originality/value
The transformation that took place at the University of Rochester Libraries should serve as an example for the profession as a whole.
Details
Keywords
Suzanne Bell, Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons
The purpose of this paper is to review the purpose, methods, and selected results of a study of faculty work practices, especially as they bear on the creation, location, and use…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the purpose, methods, and selected results of a study of faculty work practices, especially as they bear on the creation, location, and use of grey literature and the design and use of institutional repositories.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a work‐practice study of faculty members and researchers at the University of Rochester. The methodology used videotaped interviews to record and analyze how participants accomplish such tasks as using web‐based research and writing tools, organizing books and papers, and staying current.
Findings
Reviews six key research findings related to the understandings and attitudes faculty members hold regarding institutional repositories and the role of librarians in developing institutional repository collections. Explains why librarians have found it difficult to attract faculty participation from the perspective of user needs and work practices.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on field research with a small number of participants in six departments across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Access to faculty participants was limited.
Practical implications
Recommends new strategies for institutional repository design, recruitment of content, and outreach by librarians based on the six key research findings. Proposes an expanded role for librarians as liaisons to faculty who wish to share their work using the library's repository system.
Originality/value
The paper presents original research that addresses a current problem in the area of institutional repositories: why faculty members have not taken full advantage of new technologies that help them share their work. It lists the practical steps that librarians can take to improve faculty participation in repository projects and to increase access to grey literature for all scholars.
Details
Keywords
Stephanie Walker, Sara Marcus, Rita Ormsby, Karen Mason, Monica Berger, Anamika Dasgupta, Catherine Stern, Ellen Sexton, Roman A. Santillan and Mitchell Brown
To report on keynote presentations at the 44th Annual LACUNY Institute held on May 18, 2007 in New York City, New York.
Abstract
Purpose
To report on keynote presentations at the 44th Annual LACUNY Institute held on May 18, 2007 in New York City, New York.
Design/methodology/approach
Conference report. Findings: The annual conference aims to provide attendees continuing professional education, invited papers and social events.
Originality value
Provides a review of some of the events of the conference.
Details
Keywords
In its simplest form, community engagement is a process whereby an organization works with the groups and individuals it serves to transform a shared vision into actions that…
Abstract
In its simplest form, community engagement is a process whereby an organization works with the groups and individuals it serves to transform a shared vision into actions that ultimately benefit them. This chapter presents a framework to assist library managers and administrators in reimagining their outreach efforts from a community engagement perspective where users actively shape their shared experiences with the library. Although there are resources that discuss how libraries can structure these initiatives through the ACRL Library Marketing and Outreach Interest Group, the Public Library Association, and publications such as Marketing Libraries Journal, some of the literature surrounding community-based work is not as directly tied to outreach. By reading this chapter, libraries will find information related to defining their role within their communities, outlining strategies for collaboration, conducting needs assessment, gap analysis, asset mapping, and identifying a variety of outreach activities and their accompanying assessment strategies.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to highlight sessions and themes of the annual Society of Scholarly Publishing conference.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight sessions and themes of the annual Society of Scholarly Publishing conference.
Design/methodology/approach
Conference report Building on Technology 2.0 and Library 2.0, this theme was on Scholarly Communication 2.0 and even though there was some obvious overlap well known by librarians, there was plenty of creative and new ideas that were shared.
Findings
The role of the reader and library user are of more importance than in the past and new products and services now cater to that increasingly emphasized role.
Originality value
Change in readership, product development, marketing, branding, and nearly everything in the scholarly publishing marketplace has determined that new partnerships and interests are evolving.
Details
Keywords
This paper proposes to present preliminary findings from a larger study which examine and describe five issues of undergraduates' academic information and library behaviors: where…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper proposes to present preliminary findings from a larger study which examine and describe five issues of undergraduates' academic information and library behaviors: where students begin their research; how they evaluate online sources; what library resources they use; what formats they prefer for reading academic material; and specific laptop behaviors. Student perspectives on these issues and their impact on libraries and information literacy outreach and instruction are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
Three ethnographic methods were used to triangulate the data: tours of students' work areas in their dormitories, semi‐structured interviews, and free‐write essays about their information management systems. During October and November 2009, 41 participants were interviewed.
Findings
Undergraduates displayed a broad diversity of behaviors that reach beyond the stereotypical lifestyles of this age group as presented in popular media. Behavioral tendencies showed more of a hybridity of high‐tech and traditional formats and tools than a rush towards total embracement of the newest gadgets and applications. Students also showed an understanding of the need to create strategies that help them to lessen the ubiquitous distractions when trying to focus on their academic tasks.
Originality/value
Listening to students discuss their library and academic information behaviors and preferences can help librarians and educators to become more aware of their unique perspectives as one strives to create more student‐centered services and environments that incorporate the best of emerging technologies and the traditional academic library.
Details
Keywords
Eleanor Mattern, Wei Jeng, Daqing He, Liz Lyon and Aaron Brenner
The purpose of this paper is to report on an information gathering study on users’ research data-related challenges and proposals for library research data services (RDS). This…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on an information gathering study on users’ research data-related challenges and proposals for library research data services (RDS). This study probes how early career researchers visually conceptualize the research process in their disciplines, their self-reported research data challenges, and their recommendations for library RDS.
Design/methodology/approach
Two focus group sessions were undertaken with a total of eight early career researchers. Adopting the visual narrative inquiry method, the participants were asked to sketch the general research process in their domain. The individuals’ illustrations of the research process were then used as the basis for reflecting on their data-related needs and potential RDS that would assist them during the research process.
Findings
Participants presented a research process that was more personal and, in most cases, more imperfect than the research lifecycle models that academic libraries are increasingly using for RDS development and communication. The authors present their data-related challenges, which included data access barriers, low knowledge of best practices for research data management, the need for a deeper understanding of post-publication impact, and inconsistent awareness of existing library and institution RDS. The authors outline RDS recommendations that participants proposed, which included a web-based tools, customized training sessions, and “distilled” guides to research data best practices.
Practical implications
The study flagged users’ gaps in understandings of existing library and institutional RDS, suggesting that there may be an opportunity to engage users in the design of communications plans for services. The findings from this user study will inform the development of RDS at the institution.
Originality/value
This paper puts forth a methodological approach that academic libraries can adapt for understanding users’ needs and user-generated design solutions.
Details