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The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of female employees regarding workplace empowerment. The study also emphasized the alleged advantages of employee empowerment in the workplace and pinpointed the barriers to empowerment. This paper is based on qualitative data collected, through the semi-structured interview with female library professionals working in the higher education commission's recognized universities of Punjab- Pakistan, as a part of doctoral studies. According to the study, respondents most frequently defined "workplace empowerment" as having the freedom to do duties as they see fit. They also emphasized the benefits of workplace empowerment on both the personal and professional levels. Three categories—managerial, organizational, and individual factors—are used to categorize the obstacles cited by the participants. Although there is no study of this kind on the topic of workplace empowerment of female employees in the local context of Pakistan, this work adds significantly to the paucity of literature on the subject. This study is extracted from the Ph.D. thesis of the researcher. This study is limited in terms of its population as the data was collected from female library professionals in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The results may aid stakeholders and higher authorities in eradicating workplace empowerment concerns and in formulating evidence-based strategies or policies to enable women to execute their jobs more effectively. This qualitative study adds value to the literature by showing the actual situation of female employee empowerment in a developing country like Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the influence of demographic characteristics, research productivity, Internet use, and digital literacy skills on academics' e-journals use behavior. Design: The design of the study was quantitative, and a survey method was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The University of the Punjab was chosen as a setting of the study because of its high ranking in academic and research output among public sector universities of Pakistan. The targeted population of the study was academics working on contractual and regular basis in Lahore based campuses of University of the Punjab. The questionnaire was distributed to 949 academics, out of which 108 academics were on leave and 457 questionnaires were returned back with a response rate of 54 %. Findings: The findings of the study indicated that demographic characteristics, research productivity, and digital literacy skills significantly affect academics e-journals use behavior. Originality: Previous researchers mostly focused on investigating academic scientists' scholarly information seeking behavior and their relationship with demographic variables. This is a unique study and fills the gap in literature by examining influence of demographic factors, Internet use, research productivity and digital literacy skills on academics' ejournals use behavior. Implications: The findings might be helpful for University of the Punjab departmental librarians to make strategies to improve academics digital literacy skills in relation to the use of advanced searching techniques and evaluation of the quality of e-journals. The results could also be beneficial for public universities with similar population, disciplines and academic programs of University of the Punjab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uncovers the reading trends of Millennials living in Pakistan by investigating their reading behavior within the digital paradigm. A cross-sectional survey-based quantitative research design was adopted. Masters students (16 years education) from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognized universities of Lahore, Pakistan was the study population. A total of 515 masters' level students from 7 universities participated in the survey. The participants were recruited by employing a two-stage stratified purposive total population sampling technique. The study findings confirmed that despite their preferences for print material, Millennials were using electronic material for reading more frequently. However, the study showed that the reading purpose influences the choice of the reading format. Furthermore, the availability of electronic reading content in the public domain and open access contents may be a reason for increased use of e-content, as free websites were the preferred method of millennials for obtaining reading material. Social networking websites and intelligent search engines like "Google" were also in use and play a role in finding the relevant information and reading e-content. The study shows that the digital environment has a significant impact on the reading behavior of individuals, a fact which needs to be considered by academics, practitioners, and the individuals themselves. It is considered a baseline study that opens various potential directions and avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate university library directors' perceived importance of antiplagiarism practices through plagiarism software and guidance-based programs. The study also qualitatively explores the barriers faced by university librarians in combating plagiarism practices. The authors used a mixed-method research design to examine their research questions. The findings showed that the library directors placed equal importance on both types of antiplagiarism practices, that is, software-based and guidance-based antiplagiarism practices and that libraries should provide both of these services effectively. The library directors indicated a lack of awareness regarding plagiarism issues, lack of motivation among librarians, lack of information literacy training programs, and administrative issues as the key barriers. This study fills the gap in the existing literature by exploring university library directors' perceptions of antiplagiarism practices and barriers in combating plagiarism practices, particularly in the South Asian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the information services provided by public libraries to information-poor in the most populous province of Punjab. In addition, the challenges faced by public libraries in providing desired information services to information-poor were reviewed. The study was quantitative in nature. The survey research method was used. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire. The results indicated that public libraries were struggling to provide the required information services to information poor. Lack of government funding was one of the biggest challenges in providing required services, as reported by public libraries. Further lack of information policy and inadequate information and communication technology infrastructure were identified as key challenges in providing required information services to information poor. The present study addressed the information services of public libraries to information-poor which is unique in its nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of inclusivity for women in the nation's progress cannot be questioned. It is evident from the past literature that women face multiple types of issues at their workplaces. This systematic literature review-based study was planned to explore the issues, challenges, or hindrances faced by women in their workplaces. The literature was searched, and applying inclusive and exclusive criteria, thirteen articles were shortlisted for review. PRISMA guidelines were applied to perform the selection and analysis of the studies. The results indicated that females faced the issues such as; gender stereotypes, work-home balance, social problems, lack of basic needs, individual problems, and administrative/organizational problems, male chauvinism and negative attitudes toward female work performance. This study would be a good addition to the literature as it threw light upon the workplace related issues of females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is aimed at determining the future role of libraries in Pakistan as perceived by the Millennials (people born during the 1980's and late 1990's) considering the current ongoing digital development. The quantitative research design, based on survey has been used for the study. The population consisted of students from large and medium sized general universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Stratified purposive sampling technique was carried out to select the pool of the subjects e. A self-constructed and validated instrument was used to collect data. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (16.0). The results revealed that Millennials want future libraries to allow easy access to a wide range of reading material in both print and digital form. They want to be able to round the clock access to electronic and print resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methodological pluralism or plurality is considered as the employment of more than one method in an inquiry. Methodological pluralism can be categorised into mixed methods and multi-method. The current study explored the use of methodological pluralism in Library and Information Science (LIS) research produced by Pakistani authors. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore latent and manifest use of methodologies in research articles authored by Pakistani published between 2001 and 2016 in national and international journals. Multiple searching strategies were used to identify the articles published in international journals. Findings show that high majority of Pakistani authors did not use the terms mixed methods and multi-method in the description of methodology. Nearly one third (30%) research articles used more than one method. The share of multi-method research (16%) is slightly higher than mixed methods research (14%). In multi-methods articles, combining of quantitative methods was less prevalent as compared to qualitative methods. Multi-method quantitative was used in only six articles. In case of multi-method qualitative design, interviews, personal communication and discussion with experts, literature review and content analysis are the most popular methods. In mixed methods research, interview and questionnaire are the most used methods. Growth in methodological pluralism is half than growth of articles with single method. Knowing and elaboration of the differentiation in mixed methods and multi-method can help in the education and use of methodological pluralism among LIS researchers. Authors should use and explore methodological plurality by treating multi-method designs as separate from mixed method designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Statistical methods are important for meaningful analysis, critique and interpretation of results. The current study aims to investigate the use of statistical methods used in LIS research articles produced by Pakistani authors during 2001–2016. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis method with both the qualitative and quantitative components was used. LIS articles published by Pakistani authors in national and international journals from 2001 to 2016 were selected. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the usage of statistical techniques. Findings: The findings show that use of descriptive statistics remained higher as compared to inferential statistics in the LIS research produced by Pakistani authors. However, a visible growth trend in the use of inferential statistical techniques is found. Males are two times more likely to use inferential statistics as compared to female authors. Articles published in foreign journals and impact factor journals used more inferential statistics as compared to local and nonimpact factor journals. Parametric inferential statistics is more popular among Pakistani authors as compared to nonparametric. Faculty was more inclined toward using parametric statistic. The percentage of collaboration was higher in the papers using parametric statistics. Few articles reported the tests to fulfill the assumptions of parametric and nonparametric statistics. Originality/value: This study can be used to better understand the trends of statistical techniques used in LIS research and authors' orientation in this regard. It will be helpful for future researchers in the selection of appropriate statistical techniques to be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated personal knowledge and information management (PKIM) practices of life sciences research students and also compared their PKIM practices based on gender and research programme. The study employed survey reserach design in which questionnaire was used to collect data. All MPhil. and PhD. life sciences research students at the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan were sampled. Altogether 196 questionnaires were distributed and 114 were successfully returned with a response rate of 58 percent. The findings are presented based on the five aspects of PKIM practices of research students: (a) gathering and searching; (b) organising, keeping and securing; (c) selecting and evaluating; and (d) spreading and sharing; and (e) creating, analyzing, and presenting. The findings revealed that research student were exceptionally confident about their PKIM practices. The research students also acclaimed that they were gaining information literacy skills in practising PKIM. The PKIM practices validated in the study may help educators to design training programmes for research students in Pakistan. This study recommends library and information science researchers to investigate PKIM practices on larger scales with different populations as the idea needs more exploration to thoroughly understand the academic research environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During recent times, there is much discussion about the challenges associated with the present and future of library and information science (LIS) education in Pakistan. The present study is aimed to explore the current status, issues and challenges of LIS faculty member who are considered the pillar of academic programs. It develops our understanding of LIS educators' characteristics by presenting key findings with regard to their designation, gender, academic qualification, teaching strategies and work activities. Various issues and challenges along with faculty development strategies were also explored. Data were collected by employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A profile of LIS educators (i.e. budgeted positions for faculty members in different cadres and number of actual incumbents, gender wise distribution and academic qualification) was made by collecting quantitative data through questionnaire. Whilst interviews were conducted with17 faculty members about their teaching strategies, work activities and the overall challenges confronted to LIS educators in the country. Various faculty development strategies suggested by the respondents are also reported. The findings presented in the paper provide a unique insight into the characteristics and challenges of Pakistani library and information educators and will help to understand the needs of this workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to explore the perception of public information officers (PIOs) toward the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013. For the said purpose the researchers explored: (a) perception of PIOs toward usefillness of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013; (b) level of satisfaction of public information officers toward implementation of this Act; and (c) perception of PIOs toward constraints in implementation of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013. The paper used quantitative approach and questionnaire was source of data collection. All (350) public information officers designated in the Lahore district were the targeted sample of this study. Response rate was 63٠/o (221/350). The study established that public information officers (PIOs) perceived the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act as a useful tool for transparency, openness, and good governance in public fonctionaries. The study found low level of satisfaction of public irrformation officers toward the implementation of this Act in Punjab, Pakistan. The study highlighted that the key constraint in implementation of PTRIA, 2013 was unawareness about the RTI Act among citizens. The study also found that usefolness of the Freedom of Information Act and satisfaction toward implementation of this Act is diverged with different salary scales of public information officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing has become widely applicable in libraries and information services (LIS), it revolves around client satisfaction. The present study aims to explore the perception of the University of Punjab (PU) librarians about LIS marketing and to explore the status of application of extended 3ps of service marketing mix i.e. people, process and physical evidence in the University of Punjab's departmental libraries (PULs). The population consisted of in charge Librarians of the University of Punjab. Survey research based mainly on questionnaires along with observation record sheets, and discussion was used. The instruments were developed based on previously published literature and were reviewed by LIS experts. Data collected through questionnaires and observations were analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics i.e. Frequency, Percentage, and Mean were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that most of the librarians have an idea of applying marketing techniques for promotion purposes. There was a communication gap between in charge librarians and their heads. Furthermore, little attention has been paid towards the interior of libraries to make them attractive and alive. The findings of this study will be helpfull for planning and design client-centered library environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the availability of digital content in abundance, academic libraries still maintain print collections and books. This study aimed at bringing into light the print book collection development practices (mainly focusing on acquisition and selection) in college libraries and use patterns of the print book collection. A quantitative research method following a questionnaire-based survey was used to conduct the study. All thirty-eight public sector women colleges of Lahore were the sample to collect data. Key findings of the study showed that the principal of college was the final authority to finalize selection for purchase. Librarians selected books through teachers' recommendations, publishers' catalog, and by visiting book shops. The majority of the libraries had subject books and a few libraries also added fiction, magazines, and newspapers. Libraries got small budgets and few were still deprived of any grants to buy books. There was a little effort in getting books through donations. Users' need assessment regarding book selection was conducted in the majority of colleges through a suggestion box, reviewing educational programs and subjects being taught. The findings depicted that literature, arts and humanities, and religion books were the most used books within and outside the walls of college libraries. The study findings imply that there should be a defined collection development policy in the college libraries and budget allocation should be according to that defined policy. Librarians should build book collections that meet the needs as well as refines the taste of the youth. The findings of the study may help policy makers in terms of budget allocation and planning the strategies for developing a collection for librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to examine the usage patterns of print books in terms of checked-out by subject, publication date, faculty, user categories, and months using the transaction logmethod. Checked-out books log data for one year was collected through library information system (MLIMS) taking the University of the Punjab's central library as a sample. The findings depict that undergraduate and graduate students checked-out most of the books, while academic and administrative staff checked out the least number of books. The library users from the faculty of education, science, and law checked out most of the books. The results also showed that literature, social science, and religion books were mostly checked-out as compared to natural science and technology books. The study is unique in the Pakistani scenario as no previous study investigated the usage patterns of print books in a university setting using log data of the checked-out books. The findings are consistent with other studies of the developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Literature divides information behaviours into two forms: first, interacting information with a purpose in mind and second, encountering accidently in three environments including person to person, analogue and online environment. However, the unique information encountering and encountered information keeping behaviour of social sciences research students of Asian culture in an online environment remained unexplored. Therefore, the present study is designed to investigate the research information encountering and encountered information keeping behaviour of the students of social sciences in an online environment. Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative approach and survey technique were used for the study. The research students were approached using a multi-stage total population sampling technique. In total, 233 returned questionnaires were entered and analysed in SPSS (version 22). Descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistical techniques (t-tests, one-way ANOVA, effect sizes, correlations and regression) were applied to meet the objectives of the study. Findings: The results of the study indicate that the respondents whether male or female, of MPhil or PhD, whichever frequency to use the Internet, often encounter research information. However, those who use the Internet for general browsing encounter more than those who purposively. This makes a change to the model of information encountering that the users encounter information while generally browsing and not only while actively working on foreground information searching. Moreover, the research students prefer to use simple tools on complex software based for keeping the encountered research information. The information if kept properly for use, may be useful in the course of research, ease its tasks and result in increasing the speed of research productivity. Practical implications: The present study has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically first, it fills the literature gap regarding research information encountering and its keeping and second, it came up with a proof that the researcher not only encounter research information while foreground information searching but while generally browsing also. Hence, information encountering model is equally applicable to research students who generally browse. Regarding practical implications, the study identifies that the research students prefer to keep using simple tools. Hence, information literacy instructors, either librarians or continuous education program designers are advised to incorporate instructional programs on the use of complex software-based tools for keeping information. Originality/value: This is the first study in non-Western countries which investigated the research information encountering behaviour of social sciences MPhil and PhD students. The preferred tools to keep the encountered research information are first time identified in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Library is the heart of an academic institution. It plays a vital role in fulfilling academic needs of their users'. Through this research work we assessed the satisfaction of library users from current available services in the GCU, libraries. It further explored awareness strategies to improve the library services to fulfill users' needs. Methodology: The study was conducted through survey method. SERVQUAL questionnaire was modified to collect data from the participants. A seven point Likert scale was used to assess the students' perceived and desired services. A sample of 100 students of the Government College University, Lahore was selected for the study through convenience sampling. Findings: The research assessed current services offered in the GCU, Libraries. On the basis of the assessment, the gap was identified between the users perceived library services and expected library services. Awareness strategies were proposed to improve the current available library services. Research Implications: On successful execution of the research study, the effectiveness of library services was assessed. It identified the gap and proposed strategies to overcome the gap between the perceived library services and expected library services by library users. Originality/value: The data was collected from the library users. The results were helpful to provide the evaluation of effectiveness of library services in fulfilling the library users' needs. It suggested new library services demanded by library users. Paper type: Case Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There appears a change in reading trends in the growing digital culture around the globe. The current research intended to identify the influence of this culture on the reading behaviour of young adults. A survey of final year Masters students from public and private sector universities in various knowledge domains (sciences and technology, social sciences, and arts and humanities) was conducted. The findings revealed a number of significant differences in both reading patterns and preferred reading formats among students of three knowledge domains. The findings suggest that all subjects should be treated separately when deciding on collection development and library services. This exploratory study proves that the digital environment creates a significant impact on individuals' reading behaviour which needs to be considered by academics and library practitioners. It is a baseline study and opens many potential directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the issue of quality assurance (QA) in library and information science (LIS) education in Pakistan. It identifies the practices of quality assessment prevalent in Pakistani LIS schools and examines the perceptions of faculty members concerning the accreditation of LIS programs. A questionnaire sent to heads of departments and semi-structured interviews with faculty were employed to collect data. The findings of the study identify human, physical, procedural, and behavioral hindrances to imparting quality education. The study revealed a need for developing and implementing robust internal and external quality assurance mechanisms. The findings may lead to the development of policy guidelines for quality assurance in Pakistan and other countries with a similar context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper is the second part of a two phase, sequential mixed method study. Objectives: To get the views of medical librarians in Pakistan regarding information literacy (IL) skills of medical students and how to teach them IL skills. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with 20 medical librarians in Pakistan. We audio recorded, transcribed all the interviews and performed content analysis and coding of the textual data. We presented the emerging themes with the frequency of their appearance. Results: Interviewees agreed that the IL skills of their students were inadequate. Participants suggested that librarians should train students through mandatory IL instruction programmes, designed in coordination with medical faculty. However, workshops/seminars were considered the most effective IL delivery methods for medical faculty and clinicians. The majority of respondents supported the integration of IL instruction into the curriculum as an independent and credit course. Discussion: Teaching IL skills to medical students requires proper planning. Therefore, librarians have to prove their place within the curricular structure of the institution and develop understanding of the pedagogy of instruction. Conclusion: Librarians must collaborate with faculty to train students in advanced information skills. There is a need to integrate IL instruction into the curriculum at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate Social Science academics' scholarly use of information sources with particular focus on use patterns of e-journals. In this quantitative study, a questionnaire was distributed to 228 faculty members of various disciplines, that include the faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Management Sciences, Education, Law and Commerce in University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan. Out of 228 participants, 118 respondents returned the questionnaire and the response rate of the survey was 52%. The results of the study showed that most of the faculty from the Social Science disciplines used e-journals, online reference sources, e-reports and print information sources to meet their academic and research needs. The least used sources were e-books, online indexing and abstracting services and e-theses. They accessed articles through General search engines, Google Scholar and Open Access e-journal websites more than subscribed sources of e-journals. They identified e-journal articles through chaining, searching and browsing method. Previous researchers also conducted studies to examine the Social Science faculty scholarly use of information sources and information-seeking habits; however, there were few studies examining Social Scientists use patterns of e-journals. In this backdrop, this study fills the gap by examining Social Science faculty patterns of using e-journals in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Information behaviour exists in two forms: first when information is sought with a clear purpose and second, when we encounter it accidentally or serendipitiously. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the information encountering (IE) and encountered information sharing (EIS) behaviour of research students in an online environment. Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative research approach was applied to carry out this research. The authors selected 120 MPhil and PhD research students (who research information as a part of their assignments) from six departments as sample for the study. Out of 120 research students, 93 returned the filled questionnaires. The collected data were analysed in SPSS version 22. First, descriptive statistics to estimate the IE and sharing behaviour; and later one-way ANOVA and post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD tests were applied to investigate the EIS based on the frequency of internet usage. Findings: The findings indicate that the mean scores of the responses remain between "sometimes" and "often", in all the behavioural sub-constructs of the model of IE, i.e. noticing, stopping, examining, capturing, storing (keeping), sharing and returning. The extended model proved to be valid in an online environment in the context of Pakistani culture. While estimating EIS, the results indicated significantly higher sharing and large effect size among the research students who used the internet from 11 to 15 h a week than those who used it between 6 and 10 h. Practical implications: Keeping in view the results the research students and parent organisations (universities) working for the improvement of research ranking and research students' better performance, should know that research information is not only actively acquired but also huge amount of information is accidentally encountered and shared. Therefore, the universities should train their research students to enhance the information sharing of encountered information. That will promote the research culture and may enhance the speed of learning, research work and ultimately result in competitive advantage, without any extra effort. Originality/value: This is the first study of its type in Pakistan to measure the IE behaviour of research students in an online environment. Moreover, it is the first study which investigates the extended model of IE using a quantitative approach in the Pakistani research environment, which originated in Japan via qualitative research approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to assess the policy framework and planning regarding research data management (RDM) in university libraries of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 30 Higher Education Commission high ranking university libraries by using mixed method explanatory sequential design.Findings The results indicate that library heads just heard about RDM, but there was lack of knowledge and awareness. Few libraries were at the planning stage. Other major challenges including lack of willingness, motivation and coordination with researchers, non-availability of skillful professional and support staff, poor infrastructure and networking were found in this regard.Originality/value This is the first study of its kind that explores the planning and policy development regarding RDM in university libraries of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the scholarly information-seeking behavior of academic engineers and technologists working at the University of the Punjab. The purpose of the study was to investigate the various information sources being used by academic engineers and technologists for their scholarly tasks, with a focus on use patterns of e-journals. A quantitative study employing "survey" method was conducted to achieve the research objectives. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all regular and contractual academic engineers and technologists working at the university and a response rate of 61% was achieved. The study findings showed that the respondents' most-used information sources were e-journals, e-books, discussion with colleagues, and electronic research reports. They accessed e-journal articles through general search engines, Google Scholar, and open access e-journal websites. Majority of the respondents used e-journals for keeping themselves up-to-date and supervising researchers. While previous studies have investigated academic and practitioner engineers' information-seeking habits, this study is valuable as it investigated academic engineers' and technologists' scholarly information-seeking behavior in relation to their e-journals use patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate academic scientists, social scientists and humanists' scholarly use of information sources, self-reported digital literacy skills, use patterns of e-journals and differences in scholarly information seeking habits of academics at the University of the Punjab. The design of the study was quantitative, and survey method was employed to achieve objectives of the study. Self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 841 regular and contractual academics. The findings of the study showed that e-journals, discussion with colleagues and e-reports were frequently used by scientists and social scientists and occasionally used by humanists. Scientists and social scientists exhibited good digital literacy skills as compared to academic humanists. Significant variations were found among respondents of three disciplines in their digital literacy skills, scholarly use of information sources and use patterns of e-journals. The findings of the study provide insights into university librarians to plan training programs keeping in view disciplinary differences of academics e-journals use and their self-reported digital literacy skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate academic staff's perceived usefulness and expectations regarding accessibility of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) consortium of ejournals at the University of the Punjab. The oldest and largest university in Pakistan, the University of the Punjab was selected as a sample for a self-administered questionnaire-based survey. The results of the study indicated that the majority of the academic staff found HEC ejournals useful for their research tasks; these resources also improved their teaching experience. Academic staff (47%) also found core ejournals relevant to their subject through the consortium. Academic staff, mostly from the disciplines of life sciences, sciences, and engineering and technology, expressed their wish to expand subscription to even more ejournals specific to their discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to explore the Research Data Management (RDM) practices of university faculty members through qualitative research design. The data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews from purposively selected ten faculty members from the University of Punjab (PU). The study discovered some significant factors including RDM and curation practices, the amount of research data produced, the support needed for data curation and their willingness to share it. In addition, the study explored issues the researchers face with regards to RDM. The findings reveal that respondents need assistance regarding storage and security of data, improving the quality of backup, support for storage and preservation. They agreed with a need for a central repository of the University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of appropriate methodology is a necessary component of reliable and valid research. A comprehensive account of methods used in library and information science (LIS) research was conducted using quantitative systematic review. Exhaustive searching techniques were employed to gather relevant literature. Of this body of work, more than half did not develop or apply a taxonomy of methods. By contrast, this review used three taxonomies to categorize methods. The findings reveal that empirical, descriptive, and quantitative research methodologies were used in that majority of LIS research. Survey was the most widely research method and descriptive statistics were used by majority of LIS authors for data analysis. This review contributes a comprehensive list of methodologies and methods used in LIS research and can help to identify strengths and gaps in the use of methodology. Documentation of methods used in LIS research can help the research community make decisions about future practice in the areas of methods, measures, and reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the psychometric properties of Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS) using postgraduate students in a Pakistani university. A 47-item ISAS was administered to 297 students, selected through stratified convenient sampling procedure, by visiting each department at the university. An eighty-five percent response rate was achieved through usable returned questionnaires. The principal component analysis (PCA) using varimax rotation yielded six-factor solution to the Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS), namely, (1) Resource Anxiety; (2) ICT Anxiety; (3) Library Anxiety; (4) Search Anxiety; (5) Mechanical Anxiety; and, (6) Thematic Anxiety. This six factors corresponded to those of Erfanmanesh, Abrizah, and Karim (2012) but differed somewhat with regard to the statements loaded on each factor. Moreover, these six-factors combined together accounted for 52.7 percent of the total variance explained. Seven item were dropped as a result of reliability analysis resulting 40-item instrument. Also, the values of Cronbach’s internal reliability coefficient alpha for overall ISAS and its sub-scales were found satisfactory as recommended by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994). These results demonstrated the psychometric soundness and stability of ISAS when tested with Pakistani postgraduate students recruited from a research-intensive university. More psychometric studies are required before drawing any sound conclusions regarding adequacy of ISAS in assessing information seeking anxiety in Pakistani information users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the prevalence and correlatives of information seeking anxiety in postgraduate students of the University of the Punjab, Lahore using Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS). The participants' selection was made using a stratified convenient sampling due to non-availability through random process. Postgraduate students were approached through a questionnaire, containing ISAS and demographic variables, with descriptive and inferential statistics used for data analysis. Results indicated the prevalence of information seeking anxiety among postgraduates as a large majority of the sample did face more than low anxiety for overall ISAS and all its sub-scales. Participants' age, gender, faculty, program of study, study stage, computer proficiency, and research experience also appeared to be correlatives to the information seeking anxiety. These useful insights had serious implications to viable information literacy (IL) programs and could be used as a guide by academic information professionals managing information services, especially those engaged in IL instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to explore the perception of academic librarians about LIS marketing, and to explore the status of its application in the University of the Punjab, departmental libraries (PULs). Survey method, based mainly on questionnaire along with discussion notes, was used. Marketing applications were examined about 3 Ps of marketing mix. The findings revealed that most of the librarians have an idea of applying marketing techniques for promotion purpose, but in practice they were not applying these tactics at the required level. They perceived promotion as the whole of marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let's face it, these days leading and managing a library workforce is a complex task, as many competing factors influence the values, behaviors, and culture of library workplaces. This feature column, written by Nosheen Fatima Warraich and Kanwai Ameen, focuses on academic libraries in Pakistan, as the workplace setting; but the research also has implication for the management of library human resources in other contexts and in other countries. Reading this contribution caused me to think about the issues relating to human resource management in a broader global context. This article is a timely reminder that library workplaces are pretty much the same across the world—something I was reminded of recently when I spent some time at an academic library in Malaysia. Local context and issues are important in any consideration of library human resource challenges and opportunities with local factors (such as enterprise agreements, workforce composition, etc.) never far from the focus of library leaders. However, leaving aside local context, library workplaces are also impacted by global factors (including information and communications technologies, global economic conditions, etc.). More so than ever before, the challenges and opportunities playing out when it comes to leadership and management of library human resources, have many things in common. This feature column highlights this point well as it brings a nice mix of applied research and professional practice experience. Based on some large scale research, its findings may be helpful to library leaders in contexts beyond Pakistan. I am pleased to feature this contribution to help highlight the global nature of our practice of professional skills in librarianship and the leadership of library human resources. As always, I invite contributions to the column on topics broadly addressing themes or issues for library workers throughout their career lifecycle. Please submit articles for this column to the editor atvicki.williamson@usask.ca. Please mark the subject line of your submission “IILR contribution.” This research aimed to investigate the issues relating to personnel's management in university libraries of Pakistan. It specifically focused on recruitment, continuous professional development, performance evaluation, and maintenance of professional staff in university libraries. To meet the objectives of the study, a multi-method survey was conducted. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data from heads of the university libraries (N= 36). Twenty interviews were also conducted with purposively selected senior professionals from 16 institutes. This article provides a selected summary of a study carried out to complete the PhD degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Universities across the globe are spending an increasing amount of their budgets to offer web-based services to cater information need especially off-campus students. However, the success of web-based services depends on how well the target users are satisfied with the use of the web services. The purpose of this paper is to assess students’ satisfaction with the use of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) web-based services.Design/methodology/approach Pilot tested questionnaire-based survey was administered to collect data from a sample of 388; selected through systematic sampling technique from the study’s population consisted of master level students belonged to 11 different academic departments of the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the AIOU from all over Pakistan.Findings Based on 318 useful questionnaires, response rate 82 percent, the results show that majority of the students were satisfied with the use of at the AIOU web-based services except for online mailing books tracking system, library web OPAC and web radio service. However, t-test analysis shows that no difference was found in the opinion of male and female respondents in terms of their satisfaction with the use of the web services. ANOVA results indicate that there was no significant difference depicted in satisfaction with the use of the web services among the respondents enrolled in different disciplines of the faculty. Similarly, no significant difference was found among different age groups. Moreover, the respondents belonging to all five provinces; Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Federal Capital territory showed the same level of satisfaction with the use of the services. The results of regression analysis (R2=0.226) denote that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly predicted, 22.6 percent, in students’ satisfaction with the use the web services.Practical implications The study provides valuable recommendations which may be helpful for web administration of the university to improve AIOU web-based services.Originality/value To the best knowledge, this is the first study conducted to investigate the satisfaction with the use of the university web-based services in distance education’s perspective of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the students' use of AIOU web based services. The study also explored the difference in use of the web based services with respect to the respondents' subject. The descriptive survey research method was employed to conduct this study. To collect data, questionnaire based survey was administered on 388 randomly selected students. The findings of the study showed that 318 (82%) responded the survey comprising 154 (48.4%) male and 164 (51.6%) female students. All the responded students were Internet literate and able to use AIOU web based services. Majority of the students were using AIOU web based services except web radio service. The statistical analysis of ANOVA also revealed that the students belong to different disciplines used the web services with different frequency. The results of this study will provide guidelines to AIOU website designer to improve the web based services for distance learning students, teachers and administrative staff of the regional campuses as well as main campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a content analysis on the subject matter of five leading research journals of Library and Information Science (LIS) published during 2011-12. Authors of the journals, professional affiliation and geographical positions, authorship trends, subject categories, major research areas, key words and research grounds are discussed and compared with the LIS scholarly articles of the past. The study illustrates that most of the research articles are single authored. American and European authors contributed most of the articles, and majority contributors are faculty members of LIS. The barriers that hinder the quality research in developing countries have also been discussed in this paper. Promising domains of LIS research includes library instructions, information literacy training, librarians as instructors and educators, blog analysis, assessment of digital communication and digital preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to assess the self-perceptions of university information professionals regarding the status of their soft skills. The survey method, using a questionnaire as data collection instrument, was employed to achieve the objectives of this study. The population was information professionals working in all the central libraries of the public sector general universities in Pakistan. The findings, based on 372 responses, revealed that information professional perceived themselves 'competent' in overall soft skills. The values of mean score further revealed that they considered themselves 'competent' enough in performance management skills, interpersonal skills, and political/cultural skills, while 'moderately competent' in communication/persuasion skills and self-management skills. The findings established need for training in this regard. To improve various soft skills, Library and Information Management education at Master level should include courses on soft skills. Moreover, training on soft skills is also required for in-service information professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of academic plagiarism is not something new in the world and the easy access to information with 'copy and paste' technology has caused a rapid increase in the practice in recent years. Hence, academic institutions are taking strict measures to combat plagiarism. Universities of developed regions are using anti plagiarism software to detect plagiarism and are putting substantial efforts to create anti plagiarism awareness and guidance among researchers. In addition, the scholarly literature shows that their libraries are also working in the promotion of fair use of information and plagiarism free research culture on campuses. This study investigates the case of current anti plagiarism practices of the universities and their libraries in Pakistan as a developing country of South Asian region. A questionnaire was designed and sent to the head librarians of the central university libraries (ULs) of all HEC recognized universities to collect data on the anti plagiarism practices of the universities and their libraries. The findings indicate that while universities of Pakistan are determined to control plagiarism; they are more focused on the use of anti plagiarism software as compared to creating awareness and guidance about avoiding plagiarism among researchers. ULs are also participating to combat plagiarism with an informal status in software base plagiarism detection service and irregular practice of different anti plagiarism guidance activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate information seeking anxiety in postgraduate students. Data were collected using questionnaire containing Information Seeking Anxiety Scale (Erfanmanesh, Abrizah & Karim, 2012) and demographic information. The sample comprised of 297 students from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Behavioural Science of one university in Pakistan. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for data analysis. The results indicated that a large majority of the postgraduate students experienced anxiety in the information seeking process. Moreover, no significant relationship was found in age, gender, faculty, publishing experience and information seeking anxiety in students. Conversely, there were significant differences in anxiety scores of students based on the program of study, stage of study, and computer proficiency. The results provide useful insights that could be used as a guide by the information professionals dealing with reference and research services, especially those engaged in designing information literacy curricula and managing information literacy instructions in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the forthcoming 2015 centenary celebration of the formal library science and information management education in the Asian Region.

This study aims to identify the factors which hinder the implementation of IL instructions programmes or prevent their systematic development in Pakistani medical institutions. This study adopted a two-phase, sequential mixed method research design. In first phase, head librarians of all (114) academic medical institutions in Pakistan were surveyed. Response rate was 61.5 %. In second phase, 20 purposively selected head librarians were interviewed. There was a consensus between the head librarians employed at public and private sector medical institutions that out of 12 barriers identified in this study, "lack of training opportunities for IL instruction for librarians" and "lack of policy regarding IL instruction in the medical institutions" were the two most significant barriers to IL instruction programmes in medical institutions. These findings suggest future direction for pre- and in-service education of librarians to prepare themselves to provide IL instruction. A clearly stipulated IL policy may be formulated and implemented in all medical institutions. The findings of this study are expected to enable medical librarians to be more aware of the barriers while planning and providing IL instruction in medical institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study, a part of researcher's Ph.D. project, aimed at exploring the reading trends of young Pakistani students (i.e., Generation Y: born during the 1980s and early 1990s, also known as internet generation), and the impact of digital media on their reading behavior. It was conducted as a pilot study on final year's master level students of the University of the Punjab. Quantitative research design, based on a survey was used. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from 50 students through questionnaire survey. It revealed that the students' reading behavior has been significantly changed during the last five years. Their overall reading time and digital reading time has been increased due to the availability of digital devices and digital reading material. The findings of this study are helpful in identifying the trends of reading behavior as well as in planning and designing library services with regard to the considerion of the behavior of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measured information seeking anxiety among postgraduate students of the University of the Punjab, Lahore. Survey method using questionnaire was employed to conduct this investigation. The questionnaire consisting of an Information Seeking Anxiety Scale and demographic variables was administered in students, selected through convenient sampling procedure, for data collection. The results indicated that a large majority (n=207, 82.4%) of the respondents experienced more than low anxiety in the information seeking process. No significant relationship was found between age, gender, faculty and information seeing anxiety scores of these students. Conversely, there were significant differences in anxiety scores of students based on the program of study, stage of study, and computer proficiency. The results provide useful insights for guidance of information professionals dealing with reference and research services, especially those engaged in designing information literacy curricula and managing information literacy instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the personal information management (PIM) behavior of university students under the backdrop of development of information and digital technology infrastructure in Pakistan. The PIM field has been explored through various perspectives in the developed world, but hardly any studies from the developing countries, specifically from the South Asian Region found. The present, first study from Pakistan, adopted quantitative research design based on a pretested questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 221 students of master programs who were studying in their final semesters in five social sciences disciplines under Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences at the University of the Punjab (PU), Pakistan. The key findings revealed that most frequently used tools for relocating information once found are downloads on personal computers, self-created digital document (e.g. MSWord, Excel, Google Docs, etc.), URLs and hyperlinks. URLs are the most commonly used elements to save online information for future use. The revelation of their practices establishes that they need appropriate training regarding their personal information management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good quantitative survey research is based on valid and reliable instruments. However, when it comes to information encountering (IE) and its keeping (IK) and sharing (IS) behaviours, there was currently no instrument available to accurately measure it. Therefore, this study was designed to prepare a valid and reliable instrument to investigate IE and its subsequent behaviours. This comprised of its preferred keeping tools, communication channels, purposes of sharing, motivators to share and constraints in sharing. Three already available instruments in the information behaviours lacked the distinguished type of information. These instruments were merged after seeking permission from their original authors. The merged instrument was validated for content and reliability. The data for reliability checking were collected twice: first, at the time of the pilot study and second, at the time of the final study. A multi-stage purposive total population sampling technique was used to collect the data from the sample. The subsequent instrument proved to be reliable for the investigation of IE, IK and IS behaviours. The process of making an instrument valid and reliable is complex. Therefore, the steps taken to establish content validity and reliability of the instrument are presented in detail in this article. The instrument is attached in the end for future studies and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate reading habits and behavior of information professionals in Pakistan. Data were collected from 117 respondents, selected through convenient sampling technique, using pre-tested questionnaire which was administered personally and via emails using social contacts of the researchers, friends and colleagues of friends. The results indicated that information professionals adopt mainly utilitarian and self-fulfillment approach towards reading. They are mainly engaged on internet surfing, watching television, reading and using social networking sites during their leisure time. Internet, newspapers, books, and magazines were ranked as the top sources of information acquisition. Majority of these respondents still prefer to read in print format than to read in electronic format. Over all, these respondents showed a positive attitude towards reading. The results provided useful insights into the reading habits and behavior of information professionals. It will also assist in developing useful directions, taking necessary measures for reading promotion, and designing information services not only in Pakistan but also in other countries around the globe especially in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is signatory to the 'Convention on the Right of Person with Disabilities' which reiterates upon equal right of information accessibility. This exploratory study is aimed to investigate the actual situation of information accessibility for students with disabilities (SWDs) in Lahore city of Pakistan. It involves qualitative data gathering techniques using interviews involving six SWDs and reality verifying observations of their school and college library services. Findings indicate that: (a) SWDs rely on only family members and teachers for support in accessing information; (b) both schools and colleges' library services hardly provide required information services to the SWDs. Desired steps have been recommended to enhance information accessibility for SWDs. It is recommended that SWDs be provided with a library is located at accessible places, and equipped with trained staff, as well as reading materials in suitable alternative formats. This study is an effort for generating awareness among all stakeholders providing SWDs for equal information accessibility, such as the government, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals not only in Pakistan but also in other South Asia countries experiencing similar conditions of equality issues in information services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to find out medical librarians' perceptions towards the importance of information literacy (IL) skills. A structured questionnaire, consisting of eight IL skills, was administered to the head librarians of all academic medical institutions in Pakistan. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of IL skills for their users on a 5-point Likert scale (1- Least important to 5-Most important). A total of 69 (60.5%) usable questionnaires were returned out of 114 disseminated to the respondents. The IL skills about "accessing the needed information effectively and efficiently", "identifying relevant, authoritative and reliable information sources", "recognizing the need for information", "verifying the relevance and quality of information sources" and "using information ethically and legally" got mean scores exceeding four from head librarians of both public and private sector medical institutions. However, IL skill "evaluating the information critically" received mean score less than four i.e., 3.94 from public sector medical librarians and IL skills "organizing information collected or generated in a logical way" and "using the selected information effectively to accomplish a specific task" although considered important but got lower mean scores (3.97 each) from private sector medical librarians. Respondents from both public and private sector medical institutions had considered all the eight IL skills important for their library users, meaning that library users must be adequately equipped with information competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The research explored the current practices of information literacy (IL) instruction in medical libraries of Pakistan. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was mailed to the head librarians of all 114 academic medical libraries in Pakistan. It investigated the types of IL instruction provided, topics covered, methods of delivery and assessment, level of integration in the curriculum, and level of collaboration with teaching staff. Results: The study revealed that 74% of the respondents had offered some types of IL instruction in their institutions during the previous year, ranging from library orientation to research-level skills. IL instruction is typically only offered to new students or first-time library users or on demand. A majority of the respondents developed IL instruction programs without faculty involvement. Librarians were primarily responsible for offering IL instruction in medical institutions. Face-to-face instruction in computer labs or lecture halls and individual instruction at reference desks were identified as the most common IL instruction delivery methods. The data indicated that oral feedback, written feedback, and searching in a computer lab were the most popular assessment methods that medical librarians used. Conclusion: IL instruction activities in medical libraries of Pakistan are in their infancy. Medical librarians also lack systematic approaches to IL instruction. Implications: Medical librarians need to develop educational partnerships with faculty for integrating IL instruction into the mainstream curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]