Search

The purpose of this study was to investigate barriers faced by Pakistani university libraries to implement digital preservation programs. A questionnaire was developed and pilot tested before being sent to 70 libraries of the public sector universities and degree awarding institutions to measure the phenomena. Out of the targeted 70 libraries, 63 responded to the survey (90 % response rate). The results highlighted that a lack of institutional/national policies, financial and technological resources, and administrative support are key barriers that hinder the implementation of digital preservation practices in Pakistani university libraries. The findings of this novel study emphasize devising a national policy for digital preservation in Pakistan. Results point out key barriers to digital preservation and help designing knowledge-based systems in order to meet information and knowledge needs of library users around the clock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the complaints made on the sikayetvar.com portal about libraries and library services in Turkey from different aspects, taking into account the complaint mechanism, which is becoming more important every day in determining customer perception in almost all sectors. Method: Content analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The data of the study were collected through the sikayetvar.com portal. In this context, 1,256 entries with the expression "library" on the portal between June 2017 and May 2022 were examined. As a result of the preliminary evaluation, 493 entries that were determined to be suitable for the research scope were included. Data analysis was done with the MAXQDA qualitative research program. Findings: As a result of the data analysis, it was determined that most of the complaints were made to the municipal libraries. The complaints were then categorized under the headings of "others", "university library", "public library", "school library" and "national library." Complaints are classified under the title of each library type, with sub-themes under the main themes created as personnel, services, management, physical conditions, and external factors. Implications: While the intensity of the complaints about the libraries reveals some negativities towards the services more clearly, it also points to the existence of the user group who have expectations from the library management, who are interested and demand improvement in services. As a result of the research, it was determined that most of the complaints were about the attitudes and behaviors of the library staff (%16). The complaint texts also reveal the conclusion that users turn to the online platform because they could not get any results because of the complaints they made directly to the relevant institution before filing a complaint online. In addition, a limited number of new service requests and the feedback of institutions in the form of information and response to complaints were determined in the research. Originality: There are various studies on user satisfaction in the literature. The most basic feature that makes this research different from previous studies is that all the complaints examined are based on real events experienced by library users and conveyed by their own words, and complaints made in the online environment, which is becoming more effective and a priority in the complaint mechanism day by day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steven Bell's "Academic Librarians' C-Word Problem" recommends that to improve customer service academic librarians like public librarians call their users "customers." This column argues that academic library users should not be called customers for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the goals of public and academic libraries differ. Public libraries seek to discover their users' wants and meet them. Academic libraries, in contrast, aim to teach and support their users' educational growth. Calling an academic library patron a customer implies that individual wants can take precedence over educational needs and that students should have influence over classroom instruction and curricular content. Steven Bell and I agree on the importance of customer service, but I believe that it is defined differently in public and academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is discussing on the social media contributions toward service quality of the academic libraries. Everyone aware that social media has become an operative information distribution tool which involves minimal effort in order to be operated by libraries for marketing their informational resources and cultural efforts. Social media is now considered as an emerging occurrence in giving overview about a product. Not only to business, but librarians nowadays recognized the significance of social media in the libraries and information centres. Despite of lack of allocation on budget and resources, librarians still need to strive to meet up with the anticipation of their users in terms of providing their ever-changing needs. With the fact that there are abundances of information which is easily accessible on the internet, libraries should optimize the power of social media in order to give room for interactive communication with the library users and public in an online environment. Furthermore, social media has the potential of improving the image of the library and improving the users experience. The use of social media in library address greater library promotion programs, engaging and increased involvement of the users in library activities besides enhancing the library community building. The objective of this study is mainly to determine the reliability of social media toward service quality in libraries. A quantitative approach was employed in both data collection and data analysis. The study population is made up of the students of the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information services offered by academic libraries increasingly rely on assistive technologies (AT) to facilitate disabled patrons' retrieval and use of information for learning and teaching. However, disabled patrons' access to AT might not always lead to their use, resulting in the underutilization of information services offered by academic libraries. We adopt an inward-looking, service innovation perspective to improve information services for disabled patrons using AT. The open coding of qualitative responses collected from administrators and librarians in 186 academic libraries in public universities in the United States, reveals 10 mechanisms (i.e. modified work practices), which involve searching, compiling, mixing, framing, sharing, or reusing information, and learning from it. Based on this information-centric reorganisation of work practices, we propose an 'information value chain', like Porter's value chain, for improving information services to disabled patrons using AT in academic libraries, which is the major theoretical contribution of our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese describe themselves as a “nation of readers”. This is not incorrect if you look at the history of reading in Japan, which dates back to the 5th century, when the Chinese writing system arrived in this country. The Japanese gradually adapted it to their own language. The creation of the kana syllabic alphabet enabled the flourishing of literature, and thus the copying activities, especially at the Japanese imperial court. The monks in the temples were also engaged in copying Buddhist texts, but they were the first to accept printing with wooden blocks, which arrived from China. Over time, the printing of books of various genres began. Itinerant merchants and numerous bookstores where books were also rented, tried to satisfy the hunger for reading of all social classes. The book market grew more and more, and the real reading revolution came with the period of intensive modernization of the country in the second half of the 19th century, when Japan made all its efforts to reach and overtake Western models. Publishing, as well as the developed library activity of modern society, rest on such foundations. The reading culture of today’s Japan is reflected in the number of published books, but also in the steady growth of the number of libraries, both public and special, as well as libraries within the educational system in Japan. Today, all segments that form that culture, such as education, printing, publishing and library activities, etc., adapt to the new era defined by globalization and digitalization progress. Although the impressive growth of the figures, which illustrate the size of the book and magazine market, has stopped in recent years, they still prove the fact that the Japanese are truly the “nation of readers”. Libraries also manage to keep up with new trends, so digital libraries appear on the Internet, while all others have available digital catalogs and reading materials. If we look back at the centuries-old attachment of the Japanese to books and reading, and if we look at the technologies we are surrounded by, it is clear to us that librarians are constantly faced with new challenges. Just as the copyist at the Japanese court supplied court ladies with the latest readings, the traveling merchant did his best to make the book reach the most remote mountain villages, the modern librarian also does his best to overcome all obstacles and meet the expectations of increasingly demanding library users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of library service quality dimensions (i.e. service affect, information access, library as place, and personal control) on user satisfaction, as well as user satisfaction on user loyalty. Data were drawn from 349 library users from a public university library in Ghana. The hypothesized relationships were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study revealed that with the exception of library as place all the service quality dimensions had a positive significant relationship with library user satisfaction. The study further established a positive significant relationship between user satisfaction and user loyalty. The practical implication is that the attainment of library user loyalty is possible when the management of libraries improve the level of user satisfaction with services. This study is one of the few on assessing library service quality, customer satisfaction, and user loyalty in a developing country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the menace of ICT induced deviant acts among library users most especially, undergraduates in public university libraries in South-west, Nigeria. The study looked beyond other reasons of deviance among undergraduates to see what libraries have in respect of their security mechanisms and punishment strategies to reduce deviant acts among undergraduates. Control theory was used as an anchor theory for the study because it gave a proper insight to the effectiveness of security and punishment measures on deviance reduction in the library. Survey research design was used for the study with a population of 352 library personnel in the 16 public university libraries in South-west, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used for data collection; analysis was done using percentage, frequency, standard deviant and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results revealed that significant relationship exist between control mechanism and deviant behaviour reduction (N=275, r= -.185, p<0.05). This implies that negative significant relationship exist between control mechanism and deviant behaviour reduction. The result reveals that significant relationship exist between punishment strategies and deviant behaviour reduction (N=275, r= -.124, p<0.05). This implies that with severe punishment strategies, the bate of deviant acts can be adequately and effectively reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption emotions are not always considered when satisfaction with library services is assessed. In this research, consumption emotions perceived by users of eight different libraries of a Mexican higher education institution are identified when using library services. Laros and Steenkamp. 2005. "Emotions in Consumer Behavior: A Hierarchical Approach." Journal of Business Research 58: 1437–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2003.09.013 hierarchical scale was used to assess library users' consumption emotions. The relationship between those emotions and the users' satisfaction is then established and analyzed using both descriptive statistics analysis and an entropy-oriented machine learning approach. The first approach suggests that users feel more positive consumption emotions (contentment and happiness) than negative emotions (anger). The entropy analysis shows that the identified consumption emotions have a great prediction power over the satisfaction level that users will manifest. This research contributes to the issue of satisfaction assessment by including library users' consumption emotions in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of publishing distribution has increasingly become an object of interest for both industrial production and the readers. The recent past showed that books must be selected carefully not only by bookshop managers for their buyers, but also by libraries for their users. Libraries themselves are examined in their relation with publishing distribution: the paper presents an initial analysis of the process enacted to pursue the goal that each individual title may fruitfully contribute to the growth of the whole library collection. The research considers only the acquisition of print monographs from some of the most important suppliers of both public and academic libraries; with these vendors it was possible to entertain a crucial and essential direct discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, given the global crisis generated by the new coronavirus COVID-19 that led to the installation of a global pandemic, the role of libraries, regardless of their type (public, academic, university, specialized etc.), is very important, given that they represent the main sources of trust in the distribution of verified information. The way they responded to the challenge was different from case to case. Public libraries were the first to realize that they need to find solutions to stay in touch with their users, using the new media technologies, bringing to them credible and up-to- date information on topics of interest to each citizen or for each institution. Knowing the aspects of information literacy (especially digital literacy) have proved indispensable to be able to relate in this virtual form. In this paper we want to do a research on the mechanisms identified by each type of library to come in real support of users, given that fake news has invaded social media and it has become increasingly difficult for ordinary people to assess the correctness and the veracity of the information. The analysis was performed on all 41 county libraries plus the Metropolitan Library of Bucharest, National Library of Romania, Library of the Romanian Academy, as well as on a number of university and specialized libraries, the aim being to observe their reaction capacity and adaptability in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a growing international focus on open access publishing options and mandates, this paper explores the extent to which the ideals of 'openness' are also being applied to physical knowledge resources and research spaces. This study, which forms part of the larger Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative project, investigates the relationship between academic library access policies and institutional positions on open access or open science publishing. Analysis of library access policies and related documents from twenty academic institutions in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, Africa and the United Kingdom shows that physical access to libraries for members of the public who are not affiliated with a university is often the most restricted category of access. Many libraries impose financial and sometimes security barriers on entry to buildings, limiting access to collections in print and other non-digital formats. The limits placed on physical access to libraries contrast strongly with the central role that these institutions play in facilitating open access in digital form for research outputs through institutional repositories and open access publishing policies. We compared library access policies and practices with open access publishing and research sharing policies for the same institutions and found limited correlation between both sets of policies. Comparing the two assessments using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient confirmed open access policies have a direct association with the narrow aspects of public access provided through online availability of formal publications, but are not necessarily associated (in the universities in this study) with delivering on a broader commitment to public access to knowledge. The results suggest that while institutional mission statements and academic library policies may refer to sharing of knowledge and research and community collaboration, multiple layers of library user categories, levels of privilege and fees charged can inhibit the realisation of these goals. As open access publishing options and mandates expand, physical entry to academic libraries and access to print and electronic resources has contracted. This varies within and across countries, but it conflicts with global library and information commitments to open access to knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New product development is an omnipresent challenge to modern libraries in the information age. Therefore, we present the design and selected results of a comprehensive research project aiming at the systematic and user-oriented planning of academic library services by means of conjoint analysis. The applicability of the analytical framework used and the expressiveness of the attainable results are demonstrated by means of two surveys complementing each other. Both surveys together are representing the opinions of more than 3500 academic library users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) President's Program "Our Values, Ourselves" which highlighted the past, present, and future of libraries and their role in society. Topics include views of Wayne Bivens-Tatum, Philosophy and Religion Librarian at Princeton University, on development of modern academic and public libraries, role of public libraries in providing useful information, and greater use of library by children and young adults.

Over the past two decades, a tremendous gap has emerged between the media experiences delivered by consumer companies like Amazon and Apple and those delivered by the library. The reasons for this are many, including a perception by library vendors that libraries themselves move slowly and feel no sense of urgency to innovate on behalf of patrons. The ever improving consumer media experience is the biggest competitor to the role of the library in the future. There are clear steps both public and academic libraries can take to remediate this, including demanding faster innovation from vendors, finding new roles for themselves in the content value chain and finding balance between the practicalities of 'running a media business' and the larger mission of the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has four major library sectors, public, academic, school and special. All of those sectors have major strengths and rate well by world standards. Many new and redeveloped buildings have been constructed in them. The academic libraries have been strongly focused on the information/learning commons concept, electronic resources and information literacy education. Public libraries are now available to everyone in Australia, and are receiving increasing attention and new buildings as multidimensional centres for community learning capacity growing. School libraries have many new buildings and a strong focus on information literary education but they often now have inadequate teacher librarian and library technician staff and resources. School library needs were reviewed during 2011 by a committee of inquiry of the Australian federal parliament. Special libraries have experienced cutbacks and institutional changes and mergers but the sector continues to innovate and grow in areas such as law libraries. Australia has the benefit of a strong multisectoral professional library association based in the national capital Canberra, and which is helping all sectors to address areas such as the ageing and education of the profession, library education, professional development, and advocacy. Australia also unusually has a national association for Friends of Australian Libraries to focus citizen advocacy for stronger investment in public libraries in particular. A challenge for the Australian library sectors is to become better informed about the issues and many users they have in common, and to collaborate in practice and in advocacy for better, more accessible, libraries for all. Revised version of a paper commissioned by the French 'Bulletin des Bibliotèques de France' and published in its number 6, 2011 pp59-63. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visually impaired users of libraries and information centres have exactly the same rights of independent selection of reading material and also equal access of information as other users. The article is about the historical development of this special service in Turkey. Provement of this special service by assistive technological solution and information technology has removed the barriers to information access for his user group. In Turkey, in recent years, it has been observed that the Departments of Information and Documentation Management, National Library and university libraries are also successfully involved in this special service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to review UK government policy on public libraries since 2003, and to examine its relationship to other forms of demand for public libraries Design/methodology/approach - The published literature from government and professional bodies is reviewed, alongside published statistics on library use. Findings - Since 2003 public libraries have been the subject of sustained interest from UK government, in the form of a range of policy initiatives and incorporation in the Best Value and more recent Common Area Assessment monitoring frameworks. Alongside this, professional bodies and other commentators have put forward views on the role of libraries, but even taken together it is not clear that these represent the needs or aspirations of library service users. Originality/value - This paper provides an overview of the demand for UK public libraries, and its synthesis will be of value to librarians, government departments and professionals in this and related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this document we discuss the current presence of the Portuguese academic and public libraries in the blogosphere and Facebook. The appearance and development of blogs produced by libraries is a relatively new phenomenon in Portugal, currently in competition with the social network Facebook, which now dominates the area of social networks and became the most widely-used network in the world. The implementation of Web 2.0 services for libraries aims to increase the participation, interaction and better communication with their users. What are the strategies used by the libraries to achieve better communication and interaction with their Web users? What are the common uses of these technologies of information and communication in libraries? In this study we analyse the current situation and discuss the current trends in these domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research project, commissioned by Québec's Ministëre de Ia Culture, des Communications et de Ia Condition feminine, is currently underway. A number of results are now available and are presented in this article. Five approaches, mainly quantitative, are used to describe the non-users and the infrequent users of Québec's public libraries. These results echo those in previously published documents. This article establishes links to these documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service to pro se patrons continues to be one of the core issues facing law librarians. The current downturn in the economy makes this issue more critical than ever. This article provides one way to better meet the needs of this growing class of law library patrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1956-57John Metcalfe was seconded from the Public Library of New South Wales to the University of Sydney to report on the needs of the University Library. This is a forgotten chapter in that Library's history, and a hitherto unexamined aspect of Metcalfe's career. Metcalfe was apparently manoeuvering to leave the Public Library, and expected to become the next university librarian, but his motives remain unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article details the results of studies which measures services to library users with disabilities in public and academic libraries in Tennessee. The study revealed little improvement for the past twenty years making it difficult to give any positive credit to the areas of services where libraries have slightly improved. One factor considered to be hindrance of providing quality library services is the source of funding.

This article presents the results of a study in which seventeen college students who use public libraries for their college assignments were interviewed about their reasons for using public libraries rather than academic libraries. Five factors emerged from the students' responses: personal convenience, materials, ease of use and familiarity, staff, and subjective appeal. Many of the students interviewed mentioned children, jobs, and other responsibilities, indicating that students who use public libraries might tend to be nontraditional students. Library anxiety also was identified as a possible contributing factor to students' choice of library. The implications of this study for further research in the area are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on problem library users on public and academic libraries. Definition of a problem patron; Types of harassment against library staff; Differences between past and current problems libraries faced.

This article explores various methods and techniques that can be applied in order to improve the acknowledgement and recognition received by library services. In academic libraries, librarians should maintain Contact File listing fields of interest, specialization and hobbies of teaching staff and researchers. Since this is the age of Information Technology, library materials should represent triumphs of technology. One way to get familiar current technology is to read articles, or attend programmes related to Information Technology. In public libraries newspapers, journals, radio and television should be monitored. There should be a record of persons doing some kind of research or engaged in specific kind of business and trade. Nevertheless, the main idea is to discover and explore different ways and means to attract men and women of the community to utilize library facilities.