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This paper aims to examine rural tourism preferences as an alternative niche market to mass tourism destinations. The analysis discusses the differences in perceptions and willingness to pay (WTP) for various packages of rural tourism activities in Gran Canaria Island among residents and non-residents.

The analysis is based on a convenience sample of potential young customers who are familiar with outdoor recreational activities in nature. This study considers a discrete choice experiment that includes the type of accommodation as well as four types of rural tourism activities: active, passive, cultural and aquatic. The degree of preference for the considered attributes is obtained from the estimation of different discrete choice models.

Results reveal that the inclusion of the investigated attributes in holiday packages increases tourists’ utility, which motivates the promotion of rural tourism for young residents and non-residents. The most significant differences in perceptions of attributes between residents and non-residents were found in the activities of diving/snorkelling and stargazing, as well as the type of accommodation and package price.

This study will contribute to a better understanding of an alternative tourism market which will help key stakeholders in the tourism sector to better serve this important segment of the industry and to encourage more sustainable tourism in the future.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the WTP for rural tourism packages as a more sustainable alternative in mass tourism destinations and taking into account resident vs non-resident perceptions.

本文将乡村旅游偏好视为大众旅游目的地的替代利基市场。该分析讨论了居民和非居民对大加那利岛各种乡村旅游活动的看法和支付意愿的差异。

该分析基于熟悉户外休闲活动的潜在年轻客户的便利样本。该研究考虑了一个离散选择实验, 包括住宿类型以及四种类型的乡村旅游活动：积极、消极、文化和水上活动。所考虑属性的偏好程度是从不同离散选择模型的估计中获得的。

结果表明, 度假套餐中包含调查的属性增加了游客的效用, 从而促进了年轻居民和非居民的乡村旅游。在潜水/浮潜和观星活动, 以及住宿类型和套餐价格方面, 居民和非居民对属性的认知差异最显着。

据作者所知, 这是第一项评估农村旅游套餐的支付意愿作为大众旅游目的地更可持续的替代方案的研究, 并考虑了居民与非居民的看法。

该研究将有助于更好地了解替代旅游市场, 这将有助于旅游业的主要利益相关者更好地服务于该行业的这一重要部分, 并鼓励未来更可持续的旅游业。

Este trabajo examina las preferencias del turismo rural como nicho de mercado alternativo a los destinos turísticos de masas. El análisis discute las diferencias en las percepciones y la disposición a pagar por varios paquetes de actividades de turismo rural en la isla de Gran Canaria entre residentes y no residentes.

El análisis se basa en una muestra de conveniencia de potenciales clientes jóvenes que están familiarizados con las actividades recreativas al aire libre en la naturaleza. El estudio considera un experimento de elección discreta que incluye el tipo de alojamiento, así como cuatro tipos de actividades de turismo rural: activo, pasivo, cultural y acuático. El grado de preferencia por los atributos considerados se obtiene a partir de la estimación de diferentes modelos de elección discreta.

Los resultados revelan que la inclusión de los atributos investigados en los paquetes vacacionales aumenta la utilidad de los turistas, lo que motiva la promoción del turismo rural para jóvenes residentes y no residentes. Las diferencias más significativas en las percepciones de los atributos entre residentes y no residentes se encontraron en las actividades de buceo/snorkel y observación de estrellas, así como en el tipo de alojamiento y el precio del paquete.

Hasta donde los autores saben, este es el primer estudio que evalúa la disposición a pagar por paquetes de turismo rural como una alternativa más sostenible en destinos de turismo masivo y que tiene en cuenta las percepciones de los residentes frente a los no residentes.

El estudio contribuirá a una mejor comprensión de un mercado turístico alternativo que ayudará a los principales agentes del sector turístico a atender mejor este importante segmento de la industria y a fomentar un turismo más sostenible en el futuro.

The purpose of this paper is to debate the evolving relationship between libraries and users, and to justify the idea of participatory library and the use of the “participatory library” term. The paper also discusses the development trend of the participatory library and calls for empirical research on this area.

Various sources of literature are collected and examined. Together with the inclusion of personal ideas and experience, a wide range of opinions on the contemporary library is compared and synthesised.

The paper presents changes in the relationship between libraries and users in various periods of library development. It indicates an excessive attention on Library 2.0 while neglecting the participatory nature of the contemporary library. It also suggests that the term “participatory library” should be used as this term reflects the true nature of the contemporary library, and calls for empirical work on participatory library.

This discussion is moving forward and challenging our thinking about the participatory library. It provides librarians, library managers, scholars, and the library community with a fresh perspective on the contemporary library.

The paper aims to report the level of awareness, ownership and use of weblogs by librarians in Nigeria.

The study adopts a survey research approach using online survey software to elicit information on issues relating to librarians' awareness, knowledge, ownership and use of weblogs.

Data analysis shows that librarians demonstrate remarkable level of awareness and knowledge about weblogs and their benefits to professional practice and services but they neither own nor use the technology.

The study was limited by a low response rate to the survey. Less than 7 per cent of the members of the online NLA forum used for the data collection responded. This implies that internet culture is still in its formative stage among librarians in Nigeria.

The paper concludes by enunciating the need for awareness creation, training and re‐training programmes for librarians to start creating and maintaining personal and institutional weblogs and other social networking media that could enhance professional practice and services.

The study promises to sensitize librarians and other information professionals in Nigeria and other developing countries to the social values of weblogs and similar technologies in terms of communication, networking, knowledge sharing and other usefulness.

The paper contributes to empirical research on library use of Web 2.0 technologies in Nigeria and literature in the field of library and information science.

Decision making in Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is difficult because of their high complexity level. The operational level of FMS is concerned with the detailed decision making required for real‐time operation. This applies to various control problems such as selection of a transportation path to move parts between stations. Describes a prototype knowledge‐based system for selection of a transport path in real‐time control of FMS. The knowledge‐based system is evaluated with an empirical approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the application of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 features as exemplified through university library web sites around the world.

The top 100 universities from the ranked list of 200 provided on the Times Higher Education web site were considered for collection of data and from this list a selection was made of 57 of these universities. This selection was based on whether the site was in English and whether it had at least one Web 2.0 feature. For each of these universities their web sites were visited and data on their Web 2.0 features (such as Blogs, RSS, Instant Messaging, Wikis and the like) were collected and analyzed.

Results reveal that 37 university libraries use RSS feeds for dissemination of library news, events and announcements and 15 university libraries provide blog space for users. Whereas wiki is the least applied Web 2.0 technology, with only one university using it, Instant Messaging is another most widely applied feature with 37 libraries already providing reference service through it. Podcast (used in three libraries) and Vidcast (used in six libraries) are yet to become popular facilities to be offered in university library web sites.

The study is based on the university ranking for 2007, as the World Top 200 Universities 2008 was not published until October 2008 when this article was being finalized. However, this does not affect the outcome of the Web 2.0 features being utilized by the universities.

Most of the earlier studies on the subject deal with Web 2.0 tools and how they could be used in the library context. The present paper, however, provides concrete evidence of the application of Web 2.0 in university libraries. As such it should prove of interest to all types of libraries, even though its context is university libraries.

The number of library‐related RSS and Atom applications is increasing daily. But, as yet, the formats and technology involved are far from stable. This article looks at the current state of the field, discusses future developments and considers implications for the library.

The purpose of this paper is to provide awareness of various copyright concerns that may arise by the usage of web 2.0 technology and some answers to possible concerns.

The paper looks at web 2.0 technology which is currently used in libraries against a backdrop of the US Copyright statute, CONTU guidelines, and copyright concerns mentioned in library literature and law reviews.

For libraries to build a community of users, they will need to make their services more interactive. Interactive services increase the chance of patrons violating copyright law. Copyright guidelines need to be developed to assist the patron in avoiding copyright infringement.

This paper looks at library services, such as RSS feeds, wikis, social networking, tagging, and patron reviews, and explores the legal ramifications to making these services more interactive.

Almost two decades after diagnosing the link rot phenomenon, and in spite of the universal character of the bit rot phenomenon, the need for reminding about these is still valid. This is because it appears that digital device users have become accustomed to them. The bit rot and link rot phenomena describe the inability to access specific contents or the inability to use specific digital resources. This paper aims to answer the question as to whether it is possible to eliminate the link rot and bit rot phenomena from the internet space.

The link rot and bit rot phenomena were characterised based on a review of various source materials, including the academic literature and internet materials.

The phenomena known as bit rot and link rot have already been well researched and described. Research has revealed the reasons for their occurrence, and also offered recommendations on how to minimise their occurrence. In the current digital ecosystem, however, it is not possible to completely eliminate the link rot and bit rot phenomena.

One can forecast that the link rot phenomenon will intensify and the internet resources will be even more unstable, because more and more new, highest-level domains which are purchased are emerging.

The study compares the phenomena of bit rot and link rot, even though they are usually considered separately. Moreover, it presents the terms of “digital bumps”, which cause “digital tsunami”.

The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the use of, and perception of, weblogs in the Irish library and information profession, in order to ascertain the extent weblog technology is used by Irish librarians, and what factors promote or discourage the use of weblogs.

The research questions answered in the study were: “What types of library/librarian weblogs exist in the Irish library community?”; “Does the Irish librarian community use weblogs and other social communication technologies?”; “What factors affect the uptake of blogging technologies by Irish librarians?”. The methodology employed in the study combined quantitative and qualitative techniques, and involved content analysis of existing Irish library and librarian weblogs; a survey of Irish librarians concerning weblogs and other social communication technologies; and interviews with Irish librarians who maintain weblogs.

The study found that a high proportion of Irish librarians read weblogs, but weblogs are not extensively used as an information resource or communication method, and e‐mail and websites are preferred. The professional use of weblogs was found to be associated with simplicity of use, and a proactive attitude to technology and to library users. Constraining factors included time concerns, fear of misuse of the weblog, the limitations of the linear nature of weblogs and the newness of the technology. Interest in weblog technology is growing and its uptake will ultimately depend on the interest of the librarian and the perceived and actual needs of the library users.

This study analyzes, for the first time, the Irish biblioblogosphere and contributes to the emergent body of knowledge concerning librarians' use of weblogs.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) offers guidelines by which libraries can design content for social shareability through social networking services (SNSs). The purpose of this paper is to introduce SMO and discuss its effects and benefits for libraries.

Researchers identified and applied five principles of SMO. Web analytics software provides data on web site traffic and user engagement before and after the application of SMO.

By intentionally applying a program of SMO, the library increased content shareability, increased user engagement, and built community.

Increasing use of SNSs may influence the study results, independent of SMO application. Limitations inherent to web analytics software may affect results. Further study could expand analysis beyond web analytics to include comments on SNS posts, SNS shares from library pages, and a qualitative analysis of user behaviors and attitudes regarding library web content and SNSs.

This research offers an intentional approach for libraries to optimize their online resources sharing through SNSs.

Previous research has examined the role of community building and social connectedness for SNS users, but none have discussed using SMO to encourage user engagement and interactivity through increased SNS traffic into library web pages.