Search

Practicing librarians, library science researchers, operations researchers, and economists have documented their extensive efforts to ensure that libraries serve users effectively and efficiently. The measures and methods used have, in some ways, grown substantially more complex and sophisticated. Such tools include development of statistical models describing the use, and predicting future use, of resources (largely books and journals), as well as incorporating more variables to better explain the use. The cost-per-use metric, however, has become ubiquitous and nearly universal for evaluating resources, especially renewable resources such as journals and databases. Composed of only two factors, cost and use (and, by implication, time), this measure provides context missing from either metric alone, yet is simple enough for most practicing librarians and the library stakeholders to instantly comprehend. This article provides a background to the forces that led to the development, use, and gradual acceptance of this metric, and concludes with a case study of its application in different collection development decisions at the author's institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and teens are living in an increasingly digital world, and libraries struggle with ways to continue to be relevant to the younger generation. One way libraries can bring children and teen patrons in the doors is by offering gaming programs. These programs appeal to children and teens and can lead those patrons to become steady library users. This article includes information that any librarian can use to set up a gaming program at his or her library, including reviews of current video game systems and suggested video and board game purchases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next-generation catalogues are providing opportunities for library professionals and users to interact, collaborate, and enhance core library functions. Technology, innovation, and creativity are all components that are merging to create a localized, online social space that brings our physical library services and experiences into an online environment. While patrons are comfortable creating user-generated information on commercial Web sites and social media Web sites, library professionals should be exploring alternative methods of use for these tools within the library setting. Can the library catalogue promote remote readers' advisory services and act as a localized "Google"? Will patrons or library professionals be the driving force behind user-generated content within our catalogues? How can cataloguers be sure that the integrity of their bibliographic records is protected while inviting additional data sources to display in our catalogues? As library catalogues bring our physical library services into the online environment, catalogues also begin to encroach or "mash-up" with other areas of librarianship that have not been part of a cataloguer's expertise. Using library catalogues beyond their traditional role as tools for discovery and access raises issues surrounding the expertise of library professionals and the benefits of collaboration between frontline and backroom staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study regarding urban academic libraries. The study aims to identify the various factors influencing the perceptions of students of color regarding the library as a welcoming space. It also discusses the qualitative divergent factors along racial lines concerning the student's use of the library. The research is grounded in the theory of symbolic interactionism and Critical Race Theory to focus on three themes that emerged reflecting racial differences among library users.

The article presents a study that investigates the perspectives of doctoral students toward information. According to the author, the study centers on doctoral-level education candidates in the U.S. and Australia and their realms of engagement with information. The researchers pose a critical reflection upon the two doctoral pedagogies as they related to experiences of doctoral candidates as intentional learners, doctoral students' engagement with information and information literacy learning. The study suggests that librarians should encourage an understanding of information as a process of discovery and constructing meaning rather than a process of accumulating.

For the last decade and a half, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services in academic libraries have been developing, and GIS librarians have been experimenting with different ways to provide these services. However, there has been virtually nothing in the literature with respect to GIS consultation statistics. One goal of this article is to discuss a four-year case study on the use of GIS consultation statistics to give a better understanding of what GIS librarians might typically expect as far as number of patrons, their characteristics, amount of time spent with them, and the amount of data distributed to them while running a GIS service at an academic library. Techniques for reducing the amount of time spent with patrons while developing a higher degree of efficiency and effectiveness in conducting GIS consultations will also be explored. Finally, a juxtaposition of GIS consultations with other types of library reference services will reveal significant differences between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses geographic information systems (GIS) services in libraries. During the 1990's, librarians developed and researched information on how to further incorporate GIS in libraries. While librarians have educated themselves in GIS services, the amount of literature available in libraries remains scarce. The distribution of geospatial data to library users is contingent on various factors that include restrictions, size, and format. Building relationships with data producers can help librarians' further implement GIS services and make them readily available.

The article focuses on the effectiveness of interactive multimedia Web sites for library-user education. The LUMENS Project trains librarians to build interactive multimedia shows using Macromedia Flash and enlists library users in a test of these shows to determine whether interactive multimedia shows are effective vehicles for conveying library-user education content. The LUMENS Project demonstrated that interactive multimedia shows were effective teaching tools for library-user education content. The results of the project shows that users' topic knowledge was significantly greater after visiting the sites than before. Statistical tests failed to find a relationship between demographic variables such as gender or class rank and subjects' knowledge of library resources and services. The class rank result was especially interesting because it meant that upperclassmen and graduate students did not score higher on pre- or post-tests than freshmen and sophomores. Although this project demonstrated that interactive multimedia sites were effective teaching tools, there were major problems with this project's approaches to teaching librarians about multimedia production and developing the Web sites.

The idea that the effectiveness of the reference interview is improved by determining the reason behind the information request is well documented within library literature. This article proposes that within the academic reference interview why-based questions are handled inefficiently. This is a symptom of a larger issue that involves the interaction between fulfillment of the patron request and roles assumed by patron and librarian. Actively envisioning the reference interview on a team model creates roles that are more conducive for both why-based questioning and patron satisfaction.

THE CHANGING INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT and the changing expectations and demands of library users are forcing libraries to reassess their role in the digital age. Amidst this change there is a fundamental constant-the need for access to high-quality research materials. Success in the new environment will require learning much more than we now know about the use of digital resources, their preservation, and the training needed for operating the library of the future. This article examines three essential questions and suggests areas for research in each: 1. How are digital resource users best served: What resources will they want? How will they want to use them? And, what services will most enhance use? 2. What elements are required for a coherent preservation strategy covering resources both digital and traditional? 3. What kinds of education will "librarians" of the future need? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INCREASED RELIANCE ON ELECTRONIC RESOURCES requires examination of the roles of librarians in several key ways. This paper addresses the need for further research into three important areas of electronic publishing. How is the change to digital information sources affecting the scholarly work of college and university students? Previous research shows that students rely on Web and online resources and ask for less help from librarians. We do not know, however, how these changes will affect the learning and scholarly work of college and university students. Research is also needed to determine how the differences between separate article and full journal databases affect the way research is done. What are the implications lot scholarship of decisions being made about what publishers publish and what librarians purchase? Finally, are librarians--as intermediaries to the search process--still necessary in a digital age? Online systems are designed to be used independently but that may not always yield the best results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]