Search results

This study aims to explore the perceptions and expectations of graduate research students regarding reference and information services. The purpose was also to determine the information seeking and library usage patterns of the respondents.

The qualitative research design was used to conduct this study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 18 research scholars enrolled at the University of the Punjab in three main domains of knowledge: sciences, social sciences and humanities. The interviews were verbatim transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach.

The findings revealed that the graduate research students had hardly any idea of reference and information services. Their perceptions of the services were vague. Due to this lack of understanding, they would not expect an important role of the library professionals in their research activities except providing access to physical or online information sources. The study recommends redesigning of reference and information services, as well as their promotion among communities.

Being qualitative in approach, the findings are based on the perceptions and expectations of a limited number of researchers. However, libraries and institutions may use the findings for assessment of their services.

Public and university libraries in the developing countries like Pakistan can use the insight for developing user-focused reference and information services and create aggressive awareness strategies about the services offered. The research-related information services can enhance the quality of research output.

The public image of information professionals can be enhanced by meeting the expectations of modern information seekers.

The paper is the first one in the context of a developing country on the subject of reference and information services. The users' perspectives have hardly been addressed in a qualitative manner. The findings reveal interesting aspects of reference and information services.

Considering the significant difference between the discipline reference librarians graduate in and how reference services are offered, this paper aims to test such a hypothesis by focusing on reference services offered by central libraries of Islamic Azad Universities (IAU) distributed in different regions and provinces of Iran. A second purpose of this paper is to suggest an independent organizational structure for reference departments of Iranian academic libraries.

Research population is composed of 75 reference librarians working in central libraries of 33 IAU branches. To collect data a researcher‐made questionnaire including 82 items is posted to mentioned libraries.

There is a significant difference between reference librarians' discipline and how reference services are offered in IAU central libraries.

Iranian academic authorities are advised to take the suggested organizational structure into consideration and meet Lewis's five strategies. In particular, reference librarians based on their discipline and education level should be brought together and not isolated in small departments. Additionally, for reference services to keep pace with users' needs academic libraries should employ expert and skilled reference librarians who hold library and information science academic degrees and can provide user education.

This paper describes an organizational structure for Iranian reference librarians that is based on their educational background and training.

Academic libraries are experiencing numerous changes in their services due to high demands for digital resources and changes in users’ information needs and expectations. Many academic library users give preferences to Google, Google Scholar and other search engines on the internet when they search for information. As reference transactions are decreasing in many academic institutions, this paper aims to investigate the continuing need for mediated reference services in the technology-driven environment in academic libraries.

The authors have conducted a literature review to document and analyze the current trends in reference services in academic libraries. They have examined the relevant published literature through a series of reflective questions to determine whether the demise of mediated reference services is imminent in academic libraries. While this literature review is by no means an exhaustive one, the authors have provided a fairly comprehensive representation of articles to synthesize an overview of the history, evolution, and current trends of reference services in academic libraries.

This paper clearly demonstrates the importance of human-mediated reference services in academic libraries. It reinforces the need for skilled, knowledgeable professional librarians to provide effective and efficient reference services in a digital environment.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of current trends in reference services in academic libraries and analyzes the merits and demerits of these trends to establish the need for mediated reference services in academic libraries. The arguments used in this paper will be useful for library and informational professionals as validation for the need to hire skilled, knowledgeable reference librarians to provide reference services in a digital environment.

This paper critically looks at the current trends and practices in reference services through the published literature to determine the future need for mediated reference services in academic libraries. It offers important insights to demonstrate why professional librarians’ skills, knowledge and expertise are essential to provide efficient reference services in the digital age.

The development of reference services in public libraries is described and the importance of standards accentuated. The need for proper marketing and systematic evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative, is explained. An unobtrusive telephone test of 15 libraries is analysed and the results of interviews with 455 users of 13 public reference libraries given. Satisfactory results were obtained for straightforward questions but an occasional tendency towards flippancy by staff was highlighted. A further disquieting feature which came to light was the number of people who did not approach staff for help.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2016.

The paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Reference services have taken a central place in library and information services. They are also regarded as personalised services since in most cases a personal discussion takes place between a user and a reference librarian. Based on this, the librarian points to the sources that are considered to be most appropriate to meet the specific information need(s) of the user. Since the Web and digital libraries are meant for providing direct access to information sources and services without the intervention of human intermediaries, the pertinent question that appears is whether we need reference services in digital libraries, and, if so, how best to offer such services. Current digital libraries focus more on access to, and retrieval of, digital information, and hardly lay emphasis on the service aspects. This may have been caused by the narrower definitions of digital libraries formulated by digital library researchers. This paper looks at the current state of research in personalised information services in digital libraries. It first analyses some representative definitions of digital libraries in order to establish the need for personalised services. It then provides a brief overview of the various online reference and information services currently available on the Web. The paper also briefly reviews digital library research that specifically focuses on the personalisation of digital libraries and the provision of digital reference and information services. Finally, the paper proposes some new areas of research that may be undertaken to improve the provision of personalised information services in digital libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory practice‐based framework that identifies strategic goals, objectives, and activities for each of the five areas of modern‐day reference, namely – access to electronic resources, user instruction, library commons, outreach liaison, and virtual reference – with a focus on meeting the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals during the coming out process.

The paper highlights findings for progressive reference services in the twenty‐first century based on qualitative studies and action research conducted by two openly gay library and information science professionals in the University of Tennessee‐Knoxville during the period 2005‐2011.

Findings reveal elements of the proposed framework geared towards meeting the needs of LGBTQ patrons during the five phases of coming out – self‐recognition, sharing with other LGBTQ people, telling close friends/family, positive self‐identification, and integration of LGBTQ identity.

Minimal research has been done involving reference services for LGBTQ patrons. This paper's original value is in its extended vision of traditional reference that focused solely on information provision to a more encompassing conceptualization and implementation that designs, delivers, and assesses reference services in a community engagement context to develop fair and equitable services for LGBTQ patrons.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which digital library projects incorporated reference services to increase the value of the collections and support the use of information.

After defining digital library service types, the study surveyed 60 digital collections/projects from the Digital Initiatives Database (DID) and analyzed what types of services have been offered and how they varied.

Findings showed that digital collections scored high marks in offering services in two areas – search and digital reference; however, the findings also revealed that they have been limited in giving valuable information services in other areas.

The study shows that the current practice of digital initiatives needs to integrate various services not only to help users find information, but also to instruct users to better utilize the library and its other services.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.