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Purpose: Drawing on the survey of Spanish-speaking immigrant and migrant readers in Canada and the US, this study pursues three goals: (1) examine the image of the library held by these readers and trace the change of this image after the international migration; (2) use the study findings to revise and update the currently existing typologies of the image of the library; and (3) understand ethical and effective research practices in the studies of immigrant/migrant communities whereby researchers are external to communities in question. Design/methodology/approach: The data about immigrant/migrant readers were collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire that was available both in print and electronically, both in Spanish and English. The data analysis was guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, as explicated in the article. Theoretical examination of the image of the library relied on the earlier typology developed by V. Stelmakh. Findings: The study elucidates perceptions of libraries and librarians in both North America and countries of origin held by Spanish-speaking immigrant/migrant readers, and highlights changes that occur in the image of the library as readers move across geographic borders. Building on the empirical data, the article develops a new typology of the image of the library. It also offers insight into ethical and effective ways of engaging with immigrant communities that should be upheld by researchers from outside the communities in question. Originality/value: It is the first known study that systematically traces the changes in the image of the library which occur alongside geographic and sociocultural migrations. It is also the first known study that focuses specifically on readers rather than library users in general. The new typology consists of four different elements – the cultural image; the functional image; the humanistic image; and the ideological image of the library – and is accompanied by detailed definitions of each. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past, a member of the public could access an academic library's collection simply by visiting the library in person and browsing the shelves. However, now that online resources are prevalent and represent the majority of collections budgets and current collections, public access has become more complicated. In Canadian academic libraries, licences negotiated for online resources generally allow on-site access for walk-in users; however, access is not granted uniformly across libraries. The goal of this study was to understand whether members of the public are indeed able to access online resources in major Canadian university libraries, whether access to supporting tools is offered, how access is provided, and whether access is monitored or promoted. The study used an online survey that targeted librarians responsible for user services at Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) member libraries. The survey results indicated that some level of free access to digital resources was provided to walk-in users at 90% of libraries for which a survey response was received. However, limitations in methods and modes of access and availability of supporting resources, such as software and printing, varied between the institutions. The study also found that most libraries did not actively promote or monitor non-affiliated user access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Canada's aging population is expected to have an impact on all public institutions; for public libraries, the emergence of a large, multi-generational user group of older adults challenges the current paradigm of services to seniors. The purpose of this paper is to report on the reflections of a small sample of baby boomers and how the public library-as place contributes to their caring relationships with their elders. Design/methodology/approach – This study examined a subset of baby boomer library patrons who are in caring relationships with elders. The study is theoretically framed by the ethic of care and emerging theories of library-as-place grounded in human geography and sociology. An instrumental case study of seven carers in an urban Canadian city was conducted, using long form interviews. Findings – Findings suggest that while these baby boomer respondents value their libraries deeply, there is potential to create services and practices more attuned to the needs of older adults who are in relationships with elders. Research limitations/implications – As a single case of a small sample of baby boomers, this study is limited by its size, scope and geography. The direct voices of the elders could not practically be incorporated into this study and should be considered in future research. Originality/value – This study offers an alternate framework to library-as-place studies based on a specific profile of "older adult" library users. It examines the library needs and uses of a small but rapidly growing sector of many public library communities. Older adults can be seen by libraries as two distinct demographic groups – the very old (elders) and their younger peers (baby boomers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of French School Regulation theory for questions of relevance to researchers and practitioners working in the field of information policy in general and public librarianship in particular. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is divided into two parts. Part one outlines Regulation theory's twin analytic tools of Fordism and post-Fordism and its value for questions about the evolution of the public library. Part two provides an example of the approach's explanatory potential when applied to a series of public library planning documents produced by the Government of Ontario, Canada from the 1950s. Findings – An interpretation of the evolution of the identity of the library user from patron to customer to information producer-consumer is proposed at the intersection of the neoliberal state's austerity in social spending, the ubiquity of the new information and communication technologies, and fundamental changes in libraries as sites of waged-work. Research limitations/implications – The research facilitates the development of a political economy of the contemporary public library of potential value to the international public library community. Also, conceiving of the public library as first and foremost a site of productive work forces one to re-engage with the meaning of shifting relations between the library user and the institution on working conditions. Originality/value – The applicability of a relatively under-utilized theoretical framework is modelled that enables one to ask new questions of relevance to the field of library and information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse and compare the opening hours of 50 randomly selected university libraries in Austria, Germany, Canada and the USA. Thus we want to answer five concrete questions concerning opening hours, such as ''Is there a correlation between opening hours and size of a library?'' The study reveals for example that larger libraries have extended opening hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]