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1 – 10 of over 36000
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2021

Paula R. Dempsey

The purpose of this study is to learn what factors liaison librarians in academic research libraries consider in determining whether to refer chat reference patrons to subject

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to learn what factors liaison librarians in academic research libraries consider in determining whether to refer chat reference patrons to subject specialists.

Design/methodology/approach

Subject specialists were asked what policies guided their decisions to refer to a specialist and then assessed unreferred chat session transcripts both within and outside their specializations to determine need for a referral.

Findings

Few respondents were guided by formal policies. Contrary to an initial hypothesis, subject area was not a key factor in referring chat. A broader set of criteria included reference interviewing, provision of relevant resources and information literacy instruction. Respondents valued both the depth that subject specialists can provide to reference interactions and the ability of a skilled generalist to support information literacy.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are most applicable to large, public doctoral universities with liaison librarian programs. Assignment of respondents to subject specialist categories was complicated by their broad range of background and expertise.

Practical implications

The study contributes new understanding of referrals to subject specialists who have potential to guide development of formal referral policies in academic library virtual reference services.

Originality/value

The study is the first empirical examination of chat reference referral decisions.

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2011

Sheila Corrall and James O'Brien

Legal information work has expanded with the growth in knowledge management and emergence of a new type of knowledge/information manager, the professional support lawyer. This…

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Abstract

Purpose

Legal information work has expanded with the growth in knowledge management and emergence of a new type of knowledge/information manager, the professional support lawyer. This study aims to investigate competency requirements for library‐based information work in UK law firms, including the specialist subject knowledge required, methods of development and the impact on information professionals of professional support lawyers.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation used a pragmatic mixed‐methods approach, including a mainly quantitative questionnaire, administered online to 64 legal information professionals, followed by eight semi‐structured interviews and a focus group with four participants. A literature review informed the questionnaire design and contextualised the findings.

Findings

The survey confirmed a broad range of competency requirements and clarified the specific subject knowledge needed. Participants favoured a varied combination of formal, and informal learning. Most participants also wanted specialised professional education for the sector.

Research limitations/implications

The nature of the sample and use of categorised questions were limiting factors, partly compensated by inviting open‐ended comments and follow‐up interviews. A larger study using qualitative methods with professional support lawyers and fee‐earners would provide a fuller more rounded picture.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that the subject knowledge needed for legal information work in law firms is more extensive than for other sectors and suggest that information science departments should strengthen and extend curriculum content to reflect this need.

Originality/value

The study has advanced the understanding of the competency, education and training needs of UK legal information professionals, challenging assumptions about academic/professional qualifications and illuminating the blend of competencies needed.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 63 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1973

James Bannister and David Jobber

This conspectus attempts to achieve three objectives:

Abstract

This conspectus attempts to achieve three objectives:

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1958

A.G. READETT

The subject on which I have been asked to speak is ‘The training of translators”. This is not an easy matter, particularly as there can, in the nature of things, be no golden rule…

Abstract

The subject on which I have been asked to speak is ‘The training of translators”. This is not an easy matter, particularly as there can, in the nature of things, be no golden rule for training for a task so complex and varied as that of the translator, especially in technical or scientific matters. I shall make no apology for approaching this subject from a very practical point of view.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 10 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1978

Gordon Wills

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is…

Abstract

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is documented in a whimsical fashion that makes it highly readable. Gordon Wills has been on the inside throughout the decade and has played a leading role in two of the major Schools. Rather than presuming to present anything as pompous as a complete history of what has happened, he recalls his reactions to problems, issues and events as they confronted him and his colleagues. Lord Franks lit a fuse which set a score of Universities and even more Polytechnics alight. There was to be a bold attempt to produce the management talent that the pundits of the mid‐sixties so clearly felt was needed. Buildings, books, teachers who could teach it all, and students to listen and learn were all required for the boom to happen. The decade saw great progress, but also a rapid decline in the relevancy ethic. It saw a rapid withering of interest by many businessmen more accustomed to and certainly desirous of quick results. University Vice Chancellors, theologians and engineers all had to learn to live with the new and often wealthier if less scholarly faculty members who arrived on campus. The Research Councils had to decide how much cake to allow the Business Schools to eat. Most importantly, the author describes the process of search he went through as an individual in evolving a definition of his own subject and how it can best be forwarded in a University environment. It was a process that carried him from Technical College student in Slough to a position as one of the authorities on his subject today.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

Stefanie Wittenbach

This article proposes describing the restructuring of collection development at the University of California Riverside University Libraries.

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Abstract

Purpose

This article proposes describing the restructuring of collection development at the University of California Riverside University Libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the library's experience in changing to fund accounting.

Findings

The author describes the new system that has created more accountability for the materials budget.

Practical implications

As a result of the new system, faculty members are more aware of the budgeted amount for monographic purchases in their own area and whom they can contact with concerns or purchasing requests.

Originality/value

This article provides a model for restructuring collection development that other libraries can adapt.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 June 2020

Gábor Balogh and Norbert Sipos

The purpose of this paper is to add supplement to the theory of human capital with a less researched aspect: diversification possibilities of the professional profile. Our…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to add supplement to the theory of human capital with a less researched aspect: diversification possibilities of the professional profile. Our empirical analysis tested the research question, whether there is a significant difference between diversificational and specialist career strategies in the BA-MA transition based on labour market data on salaries and time of getting employment.

Design/methodology/approach

Present study analyses data from the Graduate Career Tracking System from 2011 to 2015 and the Integrated Administrative Databases from 2017. Graduates of master's courses were divided and compared in three groups: generalists, specialists and field changers. To evaluate career strategies the measurement of success was based on salaries and the time taken to get jobs.

Findings

The analysis showed that there are visible differences between the results of the three groups regarding factors of employment, so at the time of reaching the absolutorium a lower rate of major subject changers are employed, while field changers get jobs significantly faster. Based on net salaries we could not reveal a difference between major subject retainers and changers, while field changers earn significantly more.

Practical implications

Specialists (major subject retainers) have jobs that match with their degree and specialty outstandingly, field changers have notably weaker matches, while major subject changers differ only minimally. Considering this it may be due to distorted perception that specialists think the least that their master's studies are essential for the proper execution of their jobs.

Originality/value

In the literature review we found a research gap: Although there is a large number of excellent works analysing the effects of education on wages (salary curve) and career, but only a few of them investigates the impact of the professional portfolio (diversification or specialisation). The novelty of our research is that we developed a new methodology to test this question on example of the Hungarian students of business and economics focused.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 34 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Abstract

Purpose

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

Scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest concepts. These are presented in an easy‐to‐digest briefing of no more than 1,500 words.

Findings

Continuing professional development is a crucial strategy in all successful organizations. The exponential rate of knowledge generation in the modern world practically ensures that any new graduate's specialist subject knowledge is dated before the ink on the diploma has dried. How then, can employers make sure that their workplace education and training plugs the gaps in the most cost‐effective fashion?

Practical implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Richard Biddiscombe

This article discusses the changing role of librarians in a higher education sector that is having to adapt to a new social and educational agenda. Many converged library and…

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Abstract

This article discusses the changing role of librarians in a higher education sector that is having to adapt to a new social and educational agenda. Many converged library and computing services have been created and this has speeded the process of change for librarians, particularly those who are working as subject specialists. Such librarians, particularly those working in hybrid teams with information professionals from different skill backgrounds are having to acquire expertise and undertake tasks that only tenuously relate to the training they received at the start of their careers. Their work increasingly takes them away from those others in the same profession who undertake more traditional work. A brief list of organisations that can offer training and help for these new professionals is given along with the current UK initiatives for developing support for learning and teaching from the information community.

Details

Program, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2009

Ti Yu

The purpose of this paper is to show how the library at Jinwen University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Taiwan introduced the use of a new model “Faculty member as library…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how the library at Jinwen University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Taiwan introduced the use of a new model “Faculty member as library specialist”. This is done in an attempt to determine the value of a new approach of faculty‐librarian collaboration for promoting the library's resources and services. In addition, some ideas and suggestions are proposed regarding the issue of faculty‐librarian collaboration for library staff around the world.

Design/methodology/approach

After providing some background information regarding the JUST Library, the process of the project implementation and the approaches used are described in detail. In addition, the effectiveness of the project is reviewed based on the results of the interviews with some of the teaching faculty and the statistics reports of the usage of the JUST Library from 2006 to 2008. Finally, some conclusions are drawn and some suggestions are made, proposing that the library staff establish a faculty‐librarian collaborative model.

Findings

After reviewing the effectiveness of the project, it is hard to say whether or not it is the best way to promote the library's services and resources. However, the paper finds that the proposed approach provides a new idea and an example of faculty‐librarian collaboration in promoting the library's resources and services to the students.

Originality/value

Hopefully the model of faculty‐librarian collaboration in the JUST Library in Taiwan will provide some new ideas and inspirations that can be shared with library staff around the world.

Details

New Library World, vol. 110 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

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