Search

Imagining the World Wide Web as a giant library implies the proficiency of librarians, or at least qualified library services that accomplish the varied tasks assigned to librarians. Existing web search engines are nowhere near fulfilling such tasks and services as cataloguing publications and mediating between library resources and users in a satisfactory manner. Professional librarians could provide much better support especially in long-term and in-depth research projects. This article discusses the advantages and benefits of library services and the assistance of librarians in research, and illustrates how new, decentrally organized web search systems can deal with these complex tasks to provide effective and long-term support for users doing scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to assess the cultural value of the library by performing a perception survey for public library librarians and users. We have undertaken the processes of deriving a preliminary evaluation index based on domestic and foreign research results, determining the final evaluation index, and assessing the library's cultural value within the scope of librarians and users, among others. As a result of conducting this research, we have divided the evaluation areas around cultural values into four areas of development: local culture, succession and promotion of cultural heritage, contribution to local residents' cultural enjoyment, and formation of community culture in general. As a result of analyzing by evaluation area, the area of the formation of community culture turned out to have the highest average of 3.92, followed by an average of 3.84 for the area of contribution to the local residents' cultural enjoyment, 3.82 for the area of development of local culture, and 3.53 for the area of the formation of community culture. Furthermore, respondents demonstrated the highest level of agreement to the evaluation item, stating that libraries contribute to resolving the cultural gap, within the area of formation of community culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, library users have shifted from searching in library catalogs and scholarly databases to searching in library discovery systems. This shift has introduced a fundamental change in the information-seeking process. Discovery systems provide access to a large, diverse information landscape of scholarly materials regardless of where the materials are located, what format they are in, and whether the library owns them or subscribes to them. At the same time, these systems typically offer simple, Google-like searching as the default option, to accommodate the expectations of today's users. With this type of searching, users do not spend much time formulating queries, and their queries often yield large result sets; therefore, discovery systems focus on relevance ranking and on tools that help users easily navigate and refine result sets. Librarians have welcomed the advances in discovery services for their users. However, this new reality poses challenges to the practices that librarians have developed over the years and, in some cases, is at odds with the systematic, controlled approach to searching endorsed by librarians. Examinations of information-seeking and information-searching models together with a review of new technological capabilities of library discovery systems show why such systems help today's searchers and facilitate their research more than the traditional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses hypotheses why women librarians are particularly resistant to and critical of new forms of culture and learning that young visitors of libraries find attractive. Based on several enquiries, the author concludes that libraries in France remain a feminine world which tends to be closed to intermixing sexual, ethnic and social barriers. She describes women's reaction to young people - qualified as 'non-readers', 'visitors', or 'tourists' - who prefer libraries with coffee shops, DVD rentals and internet services. Male teenagers legitimately find traditional libraries gloomy, and female librarians are particularly critical about their behaviour and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posed are the preliminary results of library census in the Russian Federation of 2010 to 2011. Given is the characteristic of the main indicators and problems of such an accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the changes in the role of librarians as information intermediaries due to the introduction of new forms of digital content brought about by modern information and communication technologies. The main focus is on the way in which these changes have affected the moral responsibilities of librarians. Six content trends are identified in support of this claim. These are: the growth in volume; amount of noise; sharing of content and information participation; personal space; collaboration and naive use. The ethical challenges of these six trends are discussed. Because of the unpredictability and uncontrollability of contemporary digital content, a case is made that the traditional model of retrospective responsibility, according to which responsibility is assigned based on causality, should be supplemented with a positive prospective model of responsibility according to which librarians also need to look ''forward'' anticipating possible harmful impacts of modern ICTs. It is also argued, based on the open and interactive nature of new forms of content, that there should be a form of shared and distributed responsibility, which should include not only librarians, but also Internet service providers, library users, and software designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines amateur genealogists' satisfaction with a variety of available resources, ranging from specialized library services to search engines. Surveys were placed in both State Historical Society of Iowa libraries and sent to reading room librarians to uncover what resources users most value and why. Questions were also posed to uncover unmet information needs and determine user suggestions for improvement across resources. Findings indicate that preferences were not only limited to the institution or website accessed, but the type of information and its format, which may help guide library collection development policies to better address user needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, information has become a major economic commodity and citizens need to be educated for productive information use from pre-school through postsecondary education. Libraries and librarians play an important role in the education of people for effective and efficient information use by teaching them information skills at all levels of education. Information literacy is defined and national standards for information skiffs teaching are presented. The standards and their application are discussed. Librarians' new role as instructors and partners in education in the United States is outlined in terms of preparing library users for productive information use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]