Special Academic Libraries and the Millennial Patron

ABSTRACT

Special academic libraries are in the unique position to blend the innovative and user focused services of academic libraries with the niche collections of special libraries when serving their Millennial student population. Millennials are a highly researched generation, but special libraries may have not updated their services to reflect the needs and expectations of this rising generation. Maine Maritime Academy's Nutting Memorial Library serves as a case study of methods in which special academic libraries can incorporate Millennials' expectations of library spaces, services, and collections in sustainable ways.     

Where the private meets the public: Results of a survey of library professionals’ observed student use of academic library spaces for prayer

Abstract

Reports of college students using the library for spiritual practices, including prayer and meditation, consist mainly of anecdotal observations, news stories, or press releases about the creation of such spaces within academic libraries. Driven by their own experiences with students using library spaces for prayer, the authors examined how prevalent this was across US academic institutions. Using a large-scale national survey, this study found library professionals observe a wide range of student prayer behavior in a variety of library spaces, regardless of institutional or campus demographics. The results provide academic libraries with evidence to support accommodating students’ spiritual needs in library spaces.     

Bridging the Digital and the Physical User Experience: Analysis of Academic Library Floor Plans

Abstract

In library user experience (UX) literature, physical and digital spaces are often studied separately. In academic libraries, different stakeholders often control and operate the logistics of each set of spaces. Additionally, library UX studies seldom consider the physical experiences of users beyond the borders of library websites or buildings. Our survey of 37?U.S. academic library websites found that 97% had some kind of digital representations of physical spaces – predominantly floor plans. A content analysis of those floor plans found that many were poorly designed, and identified two specific themes: non-accessible content and a lack of comprehensive information to facilitate the user journey. This paper offers several recommendations for building more accessible digital representations of physical spaces for the library website. These trends and recommendations are intended to be instructive for managers of library websites and elucidate larger themes about academic libraries.     

Propagating Your Story with Pinterest: Possibilities for Academic Libraries

Abstract

This article explores ways that academic libraries can promote their resources and services, as well as their roles in their communities with the help of Pinterest. It is the first study to examine the usage of Pinterest in an academic library of Bangladesh. Academic libraries have many options for using Pinterest to enhance resources and services. It is a versatile way for academic libraries to connect with patrons as well as reach patrons to enlighten about the significance of the library’s roles in communities. This article provides a literature review giving a special focus on the opportunities of using Pinterest for academic libraries. In addition, the author provides examples of successful ways of using the Pinterest account of East West University library, Dhaka, Bangladesh.     

Surviving to Thriving: Advancing the Institutional Mission

ABSTRACT

Academic research libraries can employ several approaches to advance the institutional mission. First, libraries can shift from goals focused on collections and traditional library services and instead align with their campus academic plan and an emphasis on supporting the institution's strategic initiatives. A second approach is for libraries to modify their organizational structures from being function-based on the tasks that traditional libraries performed (e.g., public services, technical services, collection development) and move instead toward organizational units that directly support their university's missions (e.g., undergraduate education; graduate and professional education; research, scholarship, and creative activity; and public engagement). The key is to have library staff engaged in work that contributes to vital institutional outcomes such as student success and faculty research productivity. Academic research libraries should also continue to work towards an assessment program that demonstrates the value of the academic research library in providing quality services that advance the institutional mission.     

Providing Library Services to Distance Education Students

Abstract

This article documents the development of library services to distance education students in conjunction with the growth of online distance education courses at the University of Scranton. Personal computers and the development of the Internet have had a significant impact on the delivery of library services to patrons and have given academic libraries the ability to provide distance education students with library services and resources equivalent to those provided for campus students.     

Reaccreditation at Nova Southeastern University

Abstract

Reaccreditation offers academic libraries concerned about improving library services to distance students with an important opportunity to obtain support from their academic institutions. Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Libraries provides a case study of how one library has used the reaccreditation process to increase both the administration's cooperation and funding for document delivery, online resources, bibliographic instruction, and local library resources to distance students.     

SOLINET's Gulf Coast Libraries Recovery Projects for Public and Academic Libraries

SUMMARY

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged many libraries along the Gulf Coast. Due to widespread destruction in communities, library recovery has been slow. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, SOLINET implemented two projects in 2006 to insure that library services remain available in the region. The projects provide temporary public library facilities in communities where libraries were destroyed, distribute grants to restore services at academic libraries and support planning in public libraries, and provide education to facilitate recovery. The projects also address planning for long-term recovery and improved preparedness for future disasters.     

Harnessing Yik Yak for Good: A Study of Students’ Anonymous Library Feedback

This study explores academic libraries’ potential uses of the mobile application Yik Yak, with particular focus on patrons’ anonymous feedback about library services and spaces. Over a 232-day period, the authors observed the Yik Yak feed for their university and recorded all yaks related to the library. A content analysis of the 249 library-related yaks found six distinct purposes that these library-related yaks served, from the perspective of the patron, which are of interest to the library: asking questions about library services; reporting problems with library spaces; reprimanding violations of and encouraging adherence to library policies; sharing compliments about library services; demons-trating need for improved library services; and discussing and offering feedback about library programs. This study reveals several opportunities for academic libraries to engage with Yik Yak in order to serve their patrons better, including providing virtual reference services, monitoring problems within the building, developing proactive approaches to policy enforce-ment, gathering honest and continuous feedback about the library's strengths, and identifying opportunities to improve and expand services. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Taking Assessment on the Road

Abstract

This paper presents the results of focus groups conducted by Utah academic librarians at branch campuses in Utah. Librarians met with distance learners on-site to gain insights into their informationseeking behavior and to learn if they are using library services. Students rely heavily on the Web for information and also utilize known resources in friends and family. Marketing and publicizing library services through classes and at the delivery sites is vital. Students appreciate the services libraries offer and strongly prefer face-to-face instruction and direct assistance from a librarian.     

The Integration of Libraries and Academic Computing at Columbia: New Opportunities for Internal and External Collaboration

ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, the libraries and academic computing units at Columbia have been brought together to form a new information services organization. This article will trace the history and current state of IT and library relationships at Columbia University. The expanding collaboration among academic computing services, their deeper partnership and integration with library programs, the working relationship with campus administrative computing, and participation in national and international projects will be described and evaluated.     

Library Partnerships and Organizational Culture: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Uncovered in the course of a 2011 study looking at partnerships between academic and public libraries in Canada was a unique series of partnerships among a college library, public library, regional library system, and school district library system in Medicine Hat, Alberta. With little or no additional funding, these libraries have partnered to deliver library services beneficial to both their primary clients and the broader community. Through a case study of the libraries, it is possible to determine the value and the challenges of partnerships and the elements of organizational culture necessary for successful partnerships.     

Virtually the Same: Comparing the Effectiveness of Online Versus In-Person Library Tours

ABSTRACT

The use of virtual or Web-based tours is on the rise in academic libraries, but with the loss of face-to-face contact and direct experience with the library's physical spaces, questions abound about this format's efficacy. Do online tour experiences measure up to those of a guided, face-to-face tour? Do online tours help mold students' perceptions of the library, while imparting important practical knowledge about the library's resources and services? Librarians at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, recently confronted these questions, as they added an option for an online library tour to a large library tour program for freshman that had previously been offered strictly through guided, librarian-led tours. This paper presents the results of a preliminary study comparing the efficacy of learning and affective outcomes between face-to-face library tours and online library tours at Kent State University.     

Chinese students in American academic libraries: A survey of Chinese user satisfaction with U.S. library experience

Abstract

While scholarship has addressed issues around serving international students in U.S. libraries, until recently, relatively little attention has been directly focused upon the library needs of specific ethnic groups. This study surveys 83 Chinese students and scholars after they returned from studying at universities in the United States to measure and document their satisfaction with the academic library services and resources they used during their study abroad. Results of the survey are analyzed with the goal of benchmarking and improving services for this growing academic library user population in the United States.     

Transformation of libraries during Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review

PurposeThis study analyze academic library services during Covid-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), as well as the challenges they face, emerging library roles, and the most effective communication tools.MethodA systematic review of the relevant literature was undertaken following PRISMA guidelines. The relevant literature was retrieved from four major scholarly databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA)). The relevant 23 studies were included fulfilling inclusion criteria. A quality assessment of the included studies was also performed.FindingsThe findings revealed that Covid-19 pandemic is certainly effecting and transforming libraries, their services and management. The library services during Covid-19 pandemic, their fundamental challenges, emerging roles, and available preferable communications tools are the categories in this study to better understand the pandemic-transformation.ImplicationsThe practical and policy implications are that libraries must establish infrastructure and improve accessibility in order to provide the best possible support to modern library users who access resources remotely in this rapidly evolving digital environment. Organizational policymakers and library directors should prepare emergency and disaster management plans. The libraries should ensure their presence on social media and make use of their library websites.     

Leadership or Management

Abstract

This paper considers leadership and management issues affecting libraries in general. Specific attention is devoted to academic libraries and their reference departments. It focuses on the dynamics of leadership and management of academic library reference services and what is expected of the reference department head of the 21st century. It explores the changing roles of reference librarians and those of their leaders or department heads. It examines the leadership skills, traits, and competencies and attributes expected of the department head of reference in the new millennium. The paper also examines the paradox of leadership and management and draws distinction between the two terms. It finally looks into whether it is appropriate to have a manager from outside the library profession to be the head of an academic library reference department.     

高校图书馆空间经济价值评估研究——以华东师范大学闵行校区图书馆为例

[目的/意义]图书馆价值评估已成为图书馆学界的研究热点,通过评估图书馆空间产生的经济价值,用数据验证图书馆空间为高校师生科研与学习做出的重要贡献,可为高校图书馆空间改造提供决策依据。[方法/过程]结合文献调研法和消费者剩余法,对图书馆不同类型空间及服务产生的经济价值进行计算和评估。[结果/结论]以本文方法估算的华东师范大学闵行校区图书馆空间每年产生的经济价值达2519万元;在开展空间经济价值评估时,要注意仔细梳理空间类型及服务,选择恰当的市场替代品。     

Determining the Key Dimensions for Evaluating Service Quality and Satisfaction in Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

Offering quality services and evaluating the rate of success in providing users with target services is the pervasive importance of academic libraries. The central purpose of this study is to determine key dimensions of service quality and satisfaction through developing a new item-scale for evaluating service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries. For primary data collection the study used a 28-item instrument based on five dimensional modified version of SERVQUAL. Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of opinions in the three-columns format: desired service expectation, minimum service expectation, and perception of service performance on a 7-point Likert-type scale. The researcher initially conducted a pilot survey to clarify the overall structure of the questionnaire items to be accepted and used. The reliability of the analysis of data with distinct service attributes were taken from ten public and private university libraries in Bangladesh. Subjecting data obtained to exploratory factor analysis shows that academic library service quality and satisfaction is related to four basic dimensions: caring, competence, resources, and library as a place. Twenty-six service items were identified after extraction through exploratory factor analysis, where nine items were shown before “caring,” five items for “competence,” seven items for “resources,” and five items for “library as a place.” The result in fact provides a generic and robust instrument and recognizes a new item-scale, namely “real service expectation” for the librarians and information science practitioners in the assessment of service quality and satisfaction in academic libraries and in the related fields.     

User Fees in Academic Law Libraries

Summary

Fees for services in 58 academic law libraries are reviewed using results from a national questionnaire and interviews with law library staff. Five fee-based services were investigated: printing, document delivery, reference services, unaftiliatcd borrowing, and library access. The primary factors intluencing tees include: the reason for the fee, the type of services, geographic location, and whether the law school is private or public. Additional factors include the receptiveness of the student body to the fees and the impact the fee may have on fund-raising. Libraries should consider reevaluating fee policies based on the data presented.     

From Novelty to Necessity

Abstract

Handheld computers are quickly becoming a ubiquitous tool in medicine. Factors that have spurred the rapid adoption of this technology in medicine include convenience and ease of use, mobility, and the enormous library of medical applications now available. Health sciences libraries in both hospitals and academic medical centers are actively promoting and supporting PDAs as a natural extension of their services. Medical libraries have quickly adopted this technology to deliver medical information in a non-traditional way. This paper discusses approaches being used to incorporate PDAs into library services and examines the impact of those approaches on the medical reference librarian.