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The aim of this study was to evaluate the service quality of Pakistani university libraries in the context of the user satisfaction. A quantitative survey was conducted to collect data from postgraduate students. The multi-dimensional modified SERVQUAL structured questionnaire consisting of 23 statements was used as a data collection instrument. The results revealed that users were satisfied with the "Empathy" dimension, showing that users were satisfied with the behavior of library staff and the friendly environment between the users and the library personnel. However, there was a gap in the expected service quality and perceived service quality in the four dimensions of SERVQUAL ("Tangible," "Reliability," "Responsiveness," and "Assurance"). The findings of the study would support university library professionals to improve web-based library services. The study would be a useful addition to the body of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are more than 12 library schools in Pakistan producing around 1.000 graduates every year. These graduates hold 16-year BS or MLIS professional qualifications. There is no calculated estimate available concerning the number of related jobs and the vacant ones in the country. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the number of LIS graduates required in the country within a particular span. The academic libraries especially in the public sector accommodate most of such graduates. The current job market has become oversaturated as we carefully observe around five candidates against one entry-level position in the public sector on average. Entry-level positions are those where the basic professional qualification (BS or MLIS) is required without any experience, for example, recruitment through public service commissions. In such a scenario where joblessness is increasing owing to fewer job openings and more candidates, one cannot wait for years for a job to earn a livelihood. Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan has designed a new BS curriculum in almost every discipline including LIS, which aims to promote entrepreneurship as well. The researchers of this paper interpret entrepreneurship as an activity for creative individuals to independently secure one’s livelihood while creating jobs for others. With a comprehensive literature review, this paper aims to propose a model of entrepreneurship opportunities based on LIS professional qualifications that can be opted by the LIS graduates to become self-reliant. The proposed model is then qualitatively validated by select, senior employers/librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the published literature on digital library resources and the users' experiences (i.e. satisfaction level, motivating factors, and major challenges) with these resources in Pakistan. Several e-databases were consulted including Research Gate', ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant literature. The study adopted a systematic literature review approach followed by PRISMA guidelines. Out of 323 articles, a total of 22 relevant studies were included based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings of this study reveal that most of the endusers are satisfied with the digital library resources, and they consulted these resources for academic and research endeavors. The authenticity and accuracy of the DLRs were the main motivating factors in the effective use of DLRs. Furthermore, this study consolidated several factors faced by end-users while using DLRs. The results of this study could help the policymakers, HEC authority, LIS professionals to further improve access to DLRs and resolve the problems facing end-users in the country. Moreover, the findings of this study will help the university administration and library authority to plan the subscription of resources keeping in view the associated barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An information retrieval system is widely usedtolocate the information for academic, research and reference purposes by the internet users in a library or Information services department. Aims of Study: This study aims to analyze the search engine's behavior on a given query and results for scholarly information, followed by examining precision and recall. Design/Method: The present study was conducted in a controlled environment where three search engines were selected to examine its recall and precision against 50 queries with basic and advance searching queries. The queries were executed in all search engines. This quantitative study was used on the General, and Subject focus search engines. Finding(s): The finding of study shows that the precision and recall of FindLaw, was highly followed by Lycos with medium and Yandex the low. Further study can explorethe precision and recall of other searching engines with different subject. Research Limitation(s): The study highlights the retrieval effectiveness of three search engines in a specific subject. Originality/value: The research work is authentic and does not contain any plagiarized work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic significance of bioengineering proteins has increased dramatically as a new generation of pharmacological drug with a great potential in medical treatment. Protein engineering has improved the use of new non immunoglobulin affinity proteins. The designed ankyrin repeat proteins abbreviated as DARPins is a classical example. These molecules have smaller structural size, unlike immunoglobulins, but similar target affinity is of great significance. Such molecules get more binding specificity and greater thermodynamic stability. These attributes made DARPins a favorite player in diagnostics and therapeutics of cancer. How DARPins are improved into vigorous and versatile scaffold for binding protein and selected by ribosome and phage display along with related aspects is discussed in this review., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)