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1 – 10 of over 12000Khurram Shahzad and Shakeel Ahmad Khan
The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of online learning on university librarians’ professional development and library services.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of online learning on university librarians’ professional development and library services.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods study through an explanatory research design was applied to address the study’s objectives. Quantitative data were gathered from 341 librarians working in 221 universities, while qualitative data were gathered from 27 experts working in 21 different universities of Pakistan.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that online learning has a significant positive impact on the professional development of university librarians. Results revealed that online learning assists in the provision of sustainable, innovative library services in university libraries.
Originality/value
The study has offered a model in light of the study's quantitative and qualitative findings. It contributes to theoretical understanding by expanding the existing knowledge base. It offers managerial insights, enabling the development of policies that foster the professional development of library personnel and the implementation of smart library services.
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Carolyn Caffrey, Hannah Lee, Tessa Withorn, Maggie Clarke, Amalia Castañeda, Kendra Macomber, Kimberly M. Jackson, Jillian Eslami, Aric Haas, Thomas Philo, Elizabeth Galoozis, Wendolyn Vermeer, Anthony Andora and Katie Paris Kohn
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for busy practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This article annotates 424 English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2021. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science, and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and WorldCat, published in 2021 that included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, abstract or keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations summarize the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was categorized into one of seven pre-determined categories: K-12 Education, Children and Adolescents; Academic and Professional Programs; Everyday Life, Community, and the Workplace; Libraries and Health Information Literacy; Multiple Library Types; and Other Information Literacy Research and Theory.
Findings
The paper provides a brief description of 424 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy within 2021.
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University libraries have traditionally been the primary caretaker of scholarly resources. However, as electronic modes of information delivery replace print materials…
Abstract
University libraries have traditionally been the primary caretaker of scholarly resources. However, as electronic modes of information delivery replace print materials, expectations of academic libraries have evolved rapidly. In this environment, academic libraries need to be adaptable organizations. Librarianship, though, is deeply rooted in strong values and beliefs which inherently limit receptivity to change and innovation, but these constraints are not absolute. Social network research indicates that professional advice networks play a significant role in how one thinks about and performs work and that individual perspectives are broadened when diverse input is received. Based on social network analysis methods, this study explored the relationship between individual receptivity to innovation and the composition of a person's professional advice network through a purposive sample of academic librarians in Illinois. The group completed a survey that explored two dimensions: (1) the nature of relationships within their professional advice network and (2) the individual's personal receptivity to innovation. Analysis of the nature of relationships within the professional advice networks was based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, in contrast to the analysis of the respondents’ receptivity to innovation which was based on quantitative measures. Based on the information from the 440 respondents, the results of this research indicate that there is a relationship between the size of the professional advice networks and individual's receptivity to innovation, but additional aspects of the professional advice network may play a role in an individual's overall receptivity to innovation.
While not dismissing the raging debate on whether quantitative measures are more efficacious than qualitative in collection analysis, this paper posits that a mix of the measures…
Abstract
While not dismissing the raging debate on whether quantitative measures are more efficacious than qualitative in collection analysis, this paper posits that a mix of the measures is safer ground, such that the strengths of one approach will level out the weaknesses of the other. Consequently, the paper is almost exclusively devoted to considering cases where a combination of these measures was profitably applied. There is also a discussion of a wide range of versa tile software packages with broad appeal which are available on the market today for purposes of data manipulation.
Małgorzata Fedorowicz-Kruszewska
The objective of the article is to determine the numerical increase in publications on green libraries and the dynamics of its development as well as to determine the thematic…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the article is to determine the numerical increase in publications on green libraries and the dynamics of its development as well as to determine the thematic structure of the scientific literature in the field of green libraries and its changes as a representation of research in this area.
Design/methodology/approach
The research material consisted of publications on green libraries published between 1991 and 2020, indexed in the Web of Science database. The bibliometric method was used to determine the numerical increase in publications on green libraries and the dynamics of its development. In order to characterize the thematic structure of publications representing research in this area, content analysis was performed.
Findings
Quantitative analysis of the literature on green libraries has shown that this is a new area of research not explored with constant intensity. The time of publishing materials on green libraries can be divided into two periods: the so-called period of first publications between 1991 and 2006, and the period between 2007 and 2020, when the number of publications increased relatively systematically. The content analysis confirmed the hypothesis that the most frequent theme is the issue of a green building and its management. It showed that the period after 2010 is the time of building a theoretical framework for a new research field, i.e. green libraries.
Originality/value
The main value of the article is the performance of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the scientific literature indexed in the Web of Science devoted to green libraries, from the moment of the first publications to the present day. The codebook developed for the needs of content analysis can constitute the basis for the development of criteria for the evaluation of green libraries and guidelines for their organization.
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Joyce Chapman and David Woodbury
The purpose of this paper is to encourage administrators of device‐lending programs to leverage existing quantitative data for management purposes by integrating analysis of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to encourage administrators of device‐lending programs to leverage existing quantitative data for management purposes by integrating analysis of quantitative data into the day‐to‐day workflow.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study of NCSU Libraries' efforts to analyze and visualize transactional data to aid in the on‐going management of a device‐lending program.
Findings
Analysis and visualization of qualitative data related to technology lending revealed patterns in lending over the course of the semester, day, and week that had previously gone unrecognized. With more concrete data about trends in wait times, capacity lending, and circulation volume, staff are now able to make more informed purchasing decisions, modify systems and workflows to better meet user needs, and begin to explore new ideas for services and staffing models.
Practical implications
The concepts and processes described here can be replicated by other libraries that wish to leverage transactional data analysis and data visualization to aid in management of a device‐lending program.
Originality/value
Although much literature exists on the implementation and qualitative evaluation of device‐lending programs, this paper is the first to provide librarians with ideas for leveraging analysis of transactional data to improve management of a device‐lending program.
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Mindy Whipple and James M. Nyce
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of using qualitative research methods, such as ethnography, in community analysis within the library and information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of using qualitative research methods, such as ethnography, in community analysis within the library and information science (LIS) community.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the LIS literature on community analysis up to May 2004, critique a representative case study and compare its results to what emerged from the research carried out in rural Romania summer of 2004. Students and faculty from Emporia State University and Ball State University in May 2004 gathered qualitative data on the rural information infrastructure and the information needs and of residents in the Romanian community of Lunca Ilvei. The research team used ethnographic methods to collect data and found this method to be effective in the analysis and understanding of the community's information behavior.
Findings
Community analysis in LIS has relied primarily on quantitative methods. While quantitative methods can give the researcher some information about a given community, these methods cannot always produce community sensitive and appropriate statements. Ethnography can produce this kind of data which can be used to assess and plan library services.
Research limitations/implications
The argument rests on a single village study. However, the paper's review of the literature and its analysis of a key example of community analysis strengthen the argument.
Originality/value
As libraries strive to serve communities and remain relevant to their users research methodologies, like ethnography, that are effective in revealing information needs, wants, behaviors, and fulfillment need be accepted as legitimate and distributed throughout the library community.
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This paper describes quantitative and qualitative research undertaken at the University of Sussex Library. The research was concerned to investigate the behaviour and motivations…
Abstract
This paper describes quantitative and qualitative research undertaken at the University of Sussex Library. The research was concerned to investigate the behaviour and motivations that led Library users to give puzzling responses in a user survey into book availability. The responses concerned the Library's Reserve Collection of key course texts. Hence the paper firstly sets out to describe the user survey, and then goes on to give an account of the qualitative research methodology employed to look beyond the survey results. This methodology involved semi‐structured interviews with students and tutors, which were analysed with the help of the software package QSR NUD*1st. The research uncovered interesting and useful information relating to the way Library users approach the Library service, a summary of which is included in the paper. The research methodology was found to be a valuable addition to the information gathering strategies of Library management, revealing patterns of user attitudes that are difficult if not impossible to access using traditional survey techniques alone.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate current approaches to assessing digitisation activities in memory institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate current approaches to assessing digitisation activities in memory institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of digitisation surveys were performed. Analysis concentrated on several themes: general methodological solutions, digitisation objectives, users and usage of digitised content, budgeting and costs of digitisation, and volume and growth of digitised collections.
Findings
Analysis revealed an absence of sound methodology solutions, issues of constructing a sample, the split between strategic and resource management approaches to digitisation, low visibility of user related evaluation criteria, and problems in developing quantitative measures.
Research limitations/implications
Approaches to evaluating digitisation are not restricted to digitisation surveys and to provide a more comprehensive analysis these should be complemented by other data (e.g. interviews of digitisation experts). The identification of surveys was limited by subjective factors such as knowledge of national experts, visibility of reports on the web, and language of publication.
Practical implications
The paper assists in the development of digitisation surveys by highlighting previous gaps and achievements.
Originality/value
The paper is a first attempt to comprehend approaches to monitoring digitisation internationally. Gaps and issues identified in the research can guide studies on developing indicators and measures for specific digitisation activities.
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