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In order to encourage customers to try experience virtual tourism, researchers and practitioners pay more attention on how to improve customers' perception of authenticity.

Using the theory of cross-sensory compensation, through 4 experiments, this study examines the impact of social interaction and cross-sensory strategies on the relationship between virtual reality (VR) and improving customers' perception of authenticity and customer experience.

Through experimental research, this paper finds that (1) VR immersion has a significant positive impact on perception of authenticity, which in turn acts on customers' virtual tourism experience. (2) In addition, social interaction strengthens the relationship between VR immersion and customers' perception of authenticity. (3) The cross-sensory compensation has a positive effect on VR immersion to enhance customers' perception of authenticity.

The research conclusion provides a direction for further discussion on how to improve customers' perception of authenticity and provides theoretical guidance and reference for the virtual tourism industry.

The aim of this paper is to look at the changes to library services that arose from the institutional adoption of virtual learning environments and discusses how these may influence the development of user facing information services for researchers using similar virtual research environments.

The paper reviews the impact of institutional VLEs on the provision of added value library services to learners and discusses the potential for these developments to influence the librarian‐researcher relationship and the information services provided to the research community using an institutional VRE.

The wide‐scale introduction of institutional VREs provides librarians with an opportunity to establish closer working relationships with academic researchers to support the development of a number of information discovery and management tools and services that are embedded in the workflows and virtual research workspace of the research community.

This provides a useful resource for librarians, academic researchers and university research policy makers who are engaged in the support of academic research.

The paper reviews the provision of information services to researchers and learners using virtual community environments in a contemporary context.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze factors influencing the mutual relationship between patients and medical units in the virtual environment. Since introduction of the internet and other electronic tools for medical services provision is at the very initial stage, it is necessary to examine factors which condition engagement of patients and medical units in building bilateral relations in a new virtual environment and to develop relationship models on the health services market. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents findings of the field study conducted in Poland, being a representative market under transition. Surveys were conducted among patients and medical units by means of structured questionnaires. The identification of relationship factors was based on the approach used in consumer behavior models, where the method of the so‐called summary of variables is left behind. Findings – According to research results, the most important factors affecting relationships between patients and medical units in the virtual environment include: the motivation, ability and market opportunity. With respect to patients, the most powerful factor is represented by the ability, whereas with respect to medical units by the market opportunity. Practical implications – Identified factors and developed models may be widely applied in practical operation of medical units, particularly in developing marketing programs for introduction of virtual service and communication tools, as well as in building patient loyalty programs. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first to have defined factors determining relationships on the virtual healthcare market and to have provided useful insights into the subject. Moreover, it constitutes a basis for future studies. The findings can greatly contribute to development of customer behavior and partnership marketing theories.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the emergence of virtual research environments (VREs) and related e‐research tools for scholarly work and communications processes.

The concepts of VREs and of e‐research more generally are introduced and relevant literature is reviewed. On this basis, the authors discuss the developing role they play in research practices across a number of disciplines and how scholarly communication is beginning to evolve in response to the opportunities these new tools open up and the challenges they raise.

Virtual research environments are beginning to change the ways in which researchers go about their work and how they communicate with each other and with other stakeholders such as publishers and service providers. The changes are driven by the changing landscape of data production, curation and (re‐)use, by new scientific methods, by changes in technology supply and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of research in many domains.

The paper is based on observations drawn from a number of projects in which the authors are investigating the uptake of advanced ICT in research. The paper describes the role of VREs as enablers of changing research practices and the ways in which they engender changes in scholarly work and communications.

Librarians and other information professionals need to be aware of how advanced ICTs are being used by researchers to change the ways they work and communicate. Through their experiences with the integration of virtual learning environments within library information services, they are well placed to inform developments that may well change scholarly communications fundamentally.

The paper contributes to emerging discussions about the likely trajectory and impact of advanced ICTs on research and their implications for those, such as librarians and other information professionals, who occupy important support roles.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the implicit and explicit attitudes of Generation Z (Gen Z) individuals toward the experience of visiting and getting to know traditional or virtual museums.

Two studies were conducted. The first study assesses the implicit attitudes of Gen Z individuals through Implicit Association Tests (IAT) toward the experience of visiting traditional versus virtual museums. Considering the results of the study one, the second study proposes and validates a conceptual model through PLS-SEM approach about the explicit attitudes of this generation toward virtual museums.

In the first study, it was found that virtual museums are more successful at engaging and immersing participants than traditional museums for Gen Z. The second study emphasized the significance of meeting Gen Z expectations and ensuring effortless access to information in virtual experiences as this can lead to increased satisfaction and inspiration among this generation.

The originality of this study lies in its focus on Gen Z's attitudes toward virtual museums and the use of both implicit and explicit attitude measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of these attitudes. An interesting aspect emerges from the implicit attitudes displayed by Gen Z, indicating their preference for virtual museums as more captivating compared to traditional ones.

This paper aims to consider the potential use of Web 2.0 tools as the basis for the creation of a virtual research environment. Specific features of the Web 2.0 world are explored because of their suitability for this purpose.

The concepts of virtual research environment and Web 2.0 are defined and the theoretical merits of using Web 2.0 tools are considered against the key components required for the successful implementation and operation of a VRE in the context of the UK academic sector. The most relevant Web 2.0 tools are considered on a brief, individual basis before being mixed together to construct a desktop‐based VRE based on a web browser. Final sections explore the role for the librarian in this user‐led environment and whether the approach described has global application.

A VRE based on Web 2.0 technology is not only viable but a certainty. However, some desirable features of a VRE may have to wait until Web 3.0 tools become available.

There is very limited literature describing operational applications of a Web 2.0 approach to the development of a VRE. This study is therefore conceptual.

The concepts considered are capable of easy implementation by academic researchers.

A major impact of the “credit‐crunch” will be that research funds become harder to obtain. Systems which enhance the quality of research – as a VRE undoubtedly does – will become even more important. The paper concludes that a VRE based on Web 2.0 tools is totally viable.

This study aims to test the relationship between virtual knowledge sharing (VKS) and team effectiveness (TE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also explores the moderating role of collaborative technologies.

This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the service sector of India. A purposive sample of 321 knowledge workers from National Capital Region of India was used. Questionnaires were distributed to knowledge workers working in a virtual environment. The hypotheses were tested with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) using partial least square-SEM.

The study reveals that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual knowledge sharing (VKS) positively affects team effectiveness (TE). Furthermore, the impact of VKS on TE is contingent upon the utilization of collaborative technologies.

The study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the impact of VKS on TE during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of collaborative technologies in facilitating virtual team collaboration, which has practical implications for organizations seeking to enhance TE in virtual environments.

The paper aims to present a conceptual model for networked academic library services in a research‐intensive university. It also seeks to focus on the potential challenges that the networked library faces in responding to massive needs of the researchers for digital content in different forms and formats.

The author conducted a personal interview (face‐to‐face, and email communication) with 75 research faculties and postgraduate students in the colleges of business, engineering, IT, and sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). The approach to design the conceptual model for the research‐oriented library service was based on the feedback and observations of the interviewees on the pattern of query processing, research consultations (e.g. comprehensive, expert, topical search), e‐resources coverage, and relevance of the returns to their queries and information needs.

The proposed conceptual model demonstrates the virtual reference service, processing of research queries, online information search and retrieval, and data delivery to the researchers within a virtual research environment (VRE) in the UAEU. The study argues that the UAEU library should employ new strategies to meet the arising challenges of digital content and ongoing advances in information and communication technology (ICT), as well as considering how to embed itself within a research‐intensive university.

The personal interview does not claim to be all‐inclusive since the research faculties in the humanities and social studies were not reached. The inference of the study is encouraging the directors of the academic and research libraries to consider new models and strategies for providing reliable research‐oriented information services for supporting the emerging paradigm of e‐research activities.

The study derived research‐oriented service implications for the subject librarians to engage effectively with the research‐devoted community either in the physical or in the virtual sphere, i.e. a two‐faceted sphere.

An extensive literature review revealed that there is a lack of scholarly works on research‐oriented library services that are provided by the academic libraries at the UAE‐based universities. The study is the first in the UAE to provide a broad understanding to an academic library in a research‐intensive environment for adjusting its web‐based information services. It presents also a suitable approach to embed librarians in the activities of the new paradigms of e‐learning and e‐science.

This editorial aims to introduce a special issue of Library Hi Tech on “Virtual research environments: issues and opportunities for librarians”. It defines the concept of the virtual research environment (VRE), describes its relationship both to the virtual learning environment and to Web 2.0, and proposes that librarians play a central role in VRE development and use.

The VRE is likely to have a huge impact on many aspects of research and, thus, on the role of the academic and the research librarian. If VREs are to fulfill their potential as useful and usable artifacts, librarians need to have a central role in their development and application.

Librarians need to be proactive in identifying and advocating for their potential roles in VRE development and use. These roles need to be taken into account in the curricula of schools of library and information studies.

This is an ideal time for librarians to explore the potential of VREs because there is still time to influence their eventual form.

This research is based on the hypothesis that the supply of appropriate perceptual and conceptual information through compensatory sensorial channels may assist people who are blind with anticipatory exploration. The two main goals of the research are: evaluation of different modalities (haptic and audio) and navigation tools; and evaluation of spatial cognitive mapping employed by people who are blind.

In this research the BlindAid system, which allows the user to explore a virtual environment, was developed and tested. The research included four participants who are totally blind.

The preliminary findings confirm that the system enabled participants to develop comprehensive cognitive maps by exploring the virtual environment. The BlindAid system could be used as a training‐simulator for O&M rehabilitation training, as a O&M diagnostic tool, and to support people who are blind in exploring and collecting spatial information in advance.

This preliminary study aims to highlight which VE properties could provide perceptual and conceptual spatial information and allow users who are blind to gather and expand their spatial information.