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Social media have become increasingly popular among different user groups. Although used for social purposes, some social media platforms (such as Wikipedia) have been emerging as important information sources. Focusing on undergraduate students, a survey was conducted to investigate the following: (1) which social media platforms are used as information sources; (2) what are the main reasons for using these social media platforms for information seeking; and (3) what kinds of actions are taken to evaluate the quality of the information gained from such sources. The study provides a snapshot of current trends in terms of the use of social media as information sources. It also sheds lights on the actions that the undergraduate students took to evaluate information from social media, including social networking and video sharing sites that have rarely been studied previously. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for information literacy programs and roles of librarians and educators.

In libraries and other related organizations, information professionals with subject and cultural/ language expertise are invaluable as they can contribute to the provision of better service for users who are becoming increasingly diverse. Recent statistics indicate that there is a great need to recruit more librarians with subject specialties and with diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds, especially in academic libraries. Two separate studies were conducted to examine career decisions of such individuals who are already working, or likely to work, in academic libraries. Suggestions are made to develop effective recruitment strategies and to ensure that the supply of the two special groups of the library profession will effectively meet the demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]