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This paper reports on a study that explores the requirements and level of acceptance for the Koha open source software implementation in Malaysian academic libraries. This is a qualitative study based on interviews with system librarians from library application and system divisions in 5 Malaysian universities. The interviews were conducted to understand the technology acceptance, system quality and system information, beliefs and attitude of librarians and to provide insight into a user and open system relations. These factors can be critical in order to understand what may hinder the acceptance of open source systems in Malaysia academic libraries. The findings disclose that the level of acceptance of the Koha open source system among Malaysian librarians is high as they are satisfied with the information quality, system quality and system platform. They have positive intentions to use this system and believe it meets their current and future information needs. The requirements of its implementation are focused on perceived usefulness (technology), attitude toward using (users), and perceived ease of use (system). The subsequent influencing factors are a reflection of Koha system stability and users' acceptance of this system's information quality, system quality, librarians' awareness, satisfaction, user confidence level, support for library standards, highly integrated modules, a web-based solution, intention to use a system, and actual usage of an open-source system. Practical implications include cost savings, outsourced system maintenance, and accessibility of the system after office hours. The Koha open-source system is a new paradigm in system solutions for libraries in Malaysia. The results of the current study are applicable to other library settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries and technology can be said to be intertwined in the 21st century. The application of technologies in libraries and their attendant benefits has pushed libraries to become almost dependent on these technologies in order to achieve their objectives. This accounted for the overwhelming literature bound in the area. However, while libraries are so consumed in their efforts to automate, they seem to neglect users' perception, attitude, and opinions towards these technologies. This study is an assessment of the Self-check system at IIUM Library. A survey of 50 respondents was undertaken and the results revealed that generally, users had positive attitude towards Self-check system; satisfied with the services provided by the Self-check system; and that the Self-check system have been costbeneficial to IIUM Library. The study however found out that users were often frustrated as a result of inadequate self-check stations and malfunction due to old age. Recommendations are provided towards improving the self-check system and the circulation services of IIUM Library in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, including Malaysia, school librarians are entrusted with the delivery of information literacy education to both teachers and students. However, the extent of school librarians' own information literacy skills and capabilities is not well understood. Accordingly, this paper examines (1) the level of self-assessed information literacy skills among school librarians and (2) the perceived need for these school librarians to have information literacy skills. Employing a self-administered postal survey of school librarians in two Malaysian states (Selangor and Pahang), the study indicates that urban school librarians are better trained than their rural counterparts. The urban respondents also self-assessed their information literacy skills at a higher level than the rural respondents. There was some variation in responses depending on in-service training and length of professional experience. The results reveal that the respondents are information literate, but need further training and exposure to information literacy. However, there is presently little encouragement for them to acquire additional skills training in information literacy or other areas of school librarianship. This research is limited to school librarians in two districts and may not be generalisable to all school librarians in Malaysia. As the study relies on self-assessment and reporting regarding information literacy skills, future research could seek to test librarians' information literacy skills by means of external evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to examine the factors affecting library use amongst university students. Logistic regression analysis is applied on data collected using stratified random questionnaire-based interviews of 388 students of a public university in Malaysia. Results of the marginal effects indicate that students of Indian and other descent are more likely to use the library than their Malay cohorts. In addition, those who have attended library induction sessions, those who believe that the library provides a useful avenue for them to achieve their academic goals, and frequent online users are more likely to utilize the library than their cohorts, all else equal. Students in their third/fourth/final year of studies have a lower propensity for library visits than their second year counterparts, ceteris paribus. Meanwhile, factors such as gender, parental education, campus residence, field of study, and job status do not affect library utilization in a statistically significant manner. Based on these results, several observations are noted vis-à-vis the determinants of library use amongst university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of digital reference services in academic libraries in Malaysia. It focuses on the awareness, usage, users' perception, library's performance, perceived needs, issues, and problems faced by students. The research methodology employed was a case study approach that combined three data collection methods: questionnaires, interviews, and content analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharon L Bostick's (1992) Library Anxiety Scale has been widely used to assess library anxiety among library users. Little psychometric effort was undertaken to assess the scale's psychometric properties in an environment where English is not the native language of the library users. This study was an attempt to cross-culturally validate the scale in a Malaysian university library environment where the population's native language is not English. A 49-item modified version of Bostick's (1992) Library Anxiety Scale was tested among 367 students drawn randomly from a population of 8,432 undergraduate students. The instruments were administered during classroom hours using a self-reported questionnaire. An 84% return rate was achieved in which the questionnaires that were returned were found to be usable. The findings revealed that a 5-factor solution was found which corresponded to the five factors as found by Bostick's (1992) pioneering psychometric effort on library anxiety. The factor "barriers with staff" explained the greatest proportion of variance in the library anxiety construct which is consistent with previous studies on library anxiety. The overall scale as well as each of the five sub-scales was submitted to an internal reliability assessment using Cronbach's internal reliability coefficient alpha. With the exception of the modified sub-scale "comfort with library technology" all the four sub-scales as well as the overall scale were found to have satisfied the 0.70 criteria as recommended by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994). As such the findings were found to be consistent with previous studies that found the scale to be valid as well as internally reliable. More psychometric efforts are needed before the scale can be said to be a useful instrument in assessing library anxiety among Malaysian university library users. A Malay version of Bostick's (1992) scale would have to be tested before any sound conclusions can be made about the scale's psychometric soundness and stability in an environment where English is not the native language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a part of a quantitative study that aims to evaluate the library's performance by measuring the users' satisfaction with (a) library services, (b) infrastructure/place/space and (c) collection/information provided by an academic library in Malaysia. A self-developed questionnaire was used to gauge the respondents' opinions on their satisfaction level on the statements regarding the three dimensions. The instrument was distributed to a sample of 650 final year students from three faculties of the university. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of data using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions. A parametric test using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean satisfaction scores among the respondents from the three faculties. The results of the study revealed that on the average, the respondents were only quite satisfied with the library services, infrastructure/place/space, collection/information of the library as a whole. The respondents were relatively most satisfied with infrastructure/place/space (M= 3.41), followed by collection/information (M= 3.27), and library services to users (M= 3.18) in that order. The results also showed significant differences on the satisfaction on services, infrastructure/place/space, and libraries' collection/information among the respondents of the three faculties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an exploratory attempt to use a modified version of SERVPERF to assess user's satisfaction with the services provided by an ISO9000:2000 certified library at a private university in Malaysia where measuring performance would be an integral part to continuously improve quality of services. The services being measured are grouped as frontline, core and peripheral where staff and facilities interact with users directly and where user's opinions and expectations could be extracted. The clients are undergraduates and postgraduates who use these services and facilities. The results identify services deem important to users of the library as well as the problem areas which need improvements. A total of 274 students comprising 250 undergraduates and 24 postgraduates form the sample. The respondents' ratings range on average between 3.13 and 4.36 on a 5-point scale, implying that the library is performing at an above average level. From 59 service attributes, 2 are perceived as excellent, 20 attributes are considered good, 31 are average and 4 services are rated as poor. A total of 16 services are rated below 50%, which form the priority list of services given priority in the library's proposed action plan. The good and excellent services would continue to be monitored to maintain their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]