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This text is a guest editorial that reflects on the influence and mentorship of Michael Buckland, a prominent figure in the field of library and information science. The author shares their personal experience of discovering Buckland's work and how it shaped their own research and career. They highlight Buckland's humility, curiosity, and willingness to take chances on others. The text also includes a brief mention of Buckland's concept of "information as thing" and its impact on the author's understanding of museum objects as documents. Overall, the text serves as a tribute to Buckland's mentorship and the lasting impact he has had on the field. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The use of mobile technologies and learning devices has been increasing in every field of life, and library and information sciences are no exception. This study aims to explore the perceptions of library and information science (LIS) students regarding mobile learning (m-learning) along with their primary purposes, social media applications, advantages, disadvantages, barriers, impact and overall satisfaction with using these devices. Design/methodology/approach: A survey method was used, and data was collected from the students of 12 library schools in Pakistan for a total sample of 250 students. Findings: Their main purposes of usage, their needs, advantages, disadvantages, barriers, impacts and the level of overall satisfaction were also identified. The inferential statistics (t-test and ANOVA) also identified the difference of opinion on the basis of gender, programs, types and number of m-learning devices. Overall, the findings highlight the need for academic libraries to give mobile access (launching mobile applications) to better use library services. To ensure this, libraries must keep an eye on new advances in mobile technology, researchers' needs and related electronic library services and observe how these services are being used. Practical implications: Theoretical and practical implications have been highlighted to understand the perceptions of LIS students about m-learning devices. Originality/value: The mobile library service providers and management need to improve their services by offering services that fit the diverse needs of their users and should know how to attract modern library users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Libraries constitute a highly developing area as they always enrich their offered services in order to satisfy users' expectations. One of the most important factors in customization strategies and improvement of individual services must be user preferences. However, customization requires an in-depth analysis of user preferences and an evaluation of future behavior. The main objective of this paper is to present a framework for analyzing changes of user preferences in a library. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents detailed results of two independent user satisfaction surveys conducted in an interval of five years in the Library of the Technical University of Crete and analyzes them using a proposed framework. However, the framework can be applied in every modern library. The analyses are based on non-parametric statistical techniques and a multicriteria satisfaction analysis method, which is a multicriteria preference disaggregation approach. Findings - Overall, user judgments for both surveys show that 50-70 percent of users are "very satisfied" or "satisfied". The percentage of "satisfied" users increased from 2005 to 2010 (almost 18 percent) and "very satisfied" remained almost the same. Practical implications - Results are mainly focused on the evaluation of potential trends of user preferences. Furthermore, results of a benchmarking analysis are also presented, based on the evolution of satisfaction levels for the quality characteristics of the offered services. Originality/value - The goal of the presented study and proposed framework and methodology is to help library decision makers track changes to user preferences and improve the provided services according to those preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to report the results of a project incorporating metadata analysis for the creation of curated guides to a digital library of historic photographic images. Design/methodology/approach – The general format and scope of the curated guides was determined by members of the project team. Automated processing was developed to analyze subject terms in metadata of digital images submitted to the digital library collection. The results of the metadata processing were used to narrow the themes of the curated guides, and to help create canned searches that would expose representative collection content The curated guides were created and made available to users of the digital image collection. Findings – Processing and analyzing metadata can be a useful tool in the creation of digital library collection guides. However, the usefulness of this method is highly dependent upon consistency and accuracy of the source metadata records. Practical implications – Creators of digital library collections are shown a method of using existing resources to create collection guides. The value of metadata demonstrated by this application may affect considerations of the cost of metadata creation. Originality/value – This activity discussed in this paper addresses an established need among digital library practitioners – the need to provide users with guided access to the content of their collections. The method discussed for creating curated guides is repeatable, and could be improved in further applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The literature on collection development largely discusses all kinds of managerial and practical issues. There appears to be a noteworthy gap in LIS literature regarding the philosophical and conceptual underpinning of the subject. The paper aims to attempt to explore the developments in the theoretical foundations of collection management practices in libraries. Design/methodology/approach - An extensive review of the available literature was made to synthesise the study. It illustrates the impacts of the developments in civilization, from ancient times to modern, on the collection management services of libraries. Findings - It was found that the philosophy underlying collection management work has expanded through the ages due to various factors. Originality/value - The paper provides an overview of social and technological changes on the philosophy of managing collections through the ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The conception, planning and implementation of digital libraries, in any area of knowledge, demand innumerable studies in order to verify and guarantee their adequacy to the users' necessities. Such studies find methodological, conceptual and theoretical support in some areas of knowledge, such as human-computer-interaction (HCI) (usability studies, in particular) and information science (IS) (especially studies about users' necessities and behavior in information search and use). This research, therefore, intends to integrate concepts and techniques from these two areas, that is, to analyze the usability of the InfoHab digital library, having as theoretical base the constructivist model of user study proposed by Carol Kuhlthau and the criteria of usability established by Jacob Nielsen. Design/methodology/approach - In order to do so, a qualitative study with six users with different levels of academic formation and experience in the use of recovery systems was developed. Data were collected through personal interviews, prototype of the library, direct observation, image and sound records. The variables of this study included the following criteria: learnability, efficiency and effectiveness of the digital library, management of errors, memorability and the user's satisfaction from the perspective of cognitive and affective aspects and the actions taken by the users during the information search process. Findings - The aspects identified in the collected data are discussed and the results are evidence of the possible synergy between the HCI and IS fields. Originality/value - The authors expect to contribute conceptually for a discussion about a model of usability study that can be more inclusive and incorporate the aspects pointed by the constructivist model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]