Designing Spaces in Libraries

Many librarians are either in the process of designing new and improved spaces, in the middle of a library renovation, or embarking on assessment studies of existing spaces. Designing new and improved spaces is a process, and space assessment based on a particular library is key to making successful changes. Use these articles as a guide to the type of library space assessment that will work in your library.     

Strategic library and information services models for the visually impaired persons: The South African Library for the Blind perspective

The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) contributes to the quality of life of print-impaired people encouraging independence through access to information, informed decision making, and taking pleasure in the enjoyment of recreational reading. In realizing the vision, SALB implemented two strategic models; agent mini-libraries and comprehensive mini-libraries. Management and administration of the services rendered is covered in detail. The project was pioneered in one of the provinces and has been rolled out to other provinces. The paper highlights how visually impaired people experience in a tangible manner, assistive technologies, training and interaction with community members and use libraries.     

How Age Affects Journalists’ Adoption of Social Media as an Innovation

American newsrooms are adopting social media as an innovation for greater engagement. However, several organizational and individual factors may affect the extent to which news outlets adopt social media innovations. In particular, there is assumed to be a divide among different age groups of journalists in embracing social media. Utilizing a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the study seeks to understand how social media culture in newsrooms affects journalists’ strategies of taking social media as an innovation, and how journalists of different age groups differ in the SEM model fit. The analyses indicated Twitter engagement mediates social media culture and journalists’ attitude toward social media. However, that was not the case with Facebook. Additionally, while younger journalists favored Twitter, older journalists embraced Facebook and middle-aged journalists adopted both Facebook and Twitter. The analyses showed the more that middle-aged journalists interacted on Twitter, the more they tended to have a positive attitude toward social media. However, the more that younger and older journalists engaged on Twitter, the more they tended to have a negative attitude toward social media. Journalists from all three age groups tended to hold a negative attitude toward social media if they engaged more on Facebook.     

移动图书馆情景感知信息推荐服务用户接受行为研究

[目的/意义]基于多理论假设,为移动图书馆平台提供基于情景感知的信息推荐服务提供理论和实证依据,以丰富移动图书馆个性化服务的内容。[方法/过程]结合技术接受行为理论、创新扩散理论和感知风险理论,构建基于情景感知的信息推荐服务用户接受行为影响因素模型,并运用逻辑回归方法进行实证研究。[结果/结论]情景感知信息推荐服务作为移动图书馆信息服务的新方式,有着个性化的显著优势。同时,技术和设备的兼容为移动图书馆情景感知信息推荐服务提供了外部动力和重要保障。     

Public and private value in citizen participation in E-governance: Evidence from a government-sponsored green commuting platform

Citizen participation in E-governance is, essentially, a social exchange between individuals and their government through which the citizen creates public value as well as acquires private value. The direct effects of participation antecedents on participation outcomes have been fully examined, but few researchers have investigated the internal mechanism of citizen participation at the level of psychological value perception. The roles of perceived public and private value between the participation antecedents and outcomes remain unclear. Private value merits careful research in particular as the E-governance environment is being shaped by increasing privatization and continuous IT innovation. Based on the cognitive integration theory and the civic voluntarism model, this paper proposes a theoretical framework to examine the mediating roles of two values. We built a complete research model encompassing ten hypotheses centered on citizen e-participation in the context of green commuting governance. By analyzing survey data on a green commuting platform, we demonstrate the significant mediating effects of these two values and greater effect of private value acquisition on continuous e-participation intentions than public value creation. Our results have important research implications in regards to the roles of perceived values in participation, especially perceived private value.     

iCaucus院校LIS教育发展动向与启示

[目的/意义] 归纳、总结当前高水平LIS教育的发展状况,为推动LIS教育的改革和创新提供借鉴和参考。[方法/过程] 通过网络调查法获取36所iCaucus院校关于LIS教育的相关信息,采用定性与定量相结合的研究方法深入分析这些院校在LIS教育方面的主要特点,并挖掘当前环境下LIS教育的发展动向,具体分析维度包括教育项目、课程设置和师资队伍。[结果/结论] iCaucus院校开设多领域、多层次、多途径的学位教育和非学位教育,注重从LIS基础知识、核心能力及实践应用等方面进行模块化和个性化的人才培养;且其课程体系全面,主题分类明晰;师资结构合理,学科背景多元,内部流动频繁。     

欧洲PATLIB中心项目对我国高校图书馆专利信息服务的启示

[目的/意义] 欧洲专利局与欧盟成员国合作成立了330多个PATLIB项目中心,其中约37%的主办机构设立在大学。深入分析欧洲PATLIB中心项目的服务运行实践,对于推进我国高校图书馆的专利信息服务具有重要的借鉴意义。[方法/过程] 采用文献调研和网络调研方法,对欧洲PATLIB中心项目的开展情况进行分析,以设立在大学中的PATLIB项目中心为研究对象,对其所开展的专利信息服务进行研究。[结果/结论] 借鉴欧洲PATLIB中心项目的实践经验,得到对我国高校图书馆开展信息服务工作的启示,并进一步指出构建具有反馈机制的高校图书馆专利信息服务体系势在必行。     

Scholarly Information Seeking of Academic Engineers and Technologists

This study aimed to investigate the scholarly information-seeking behavior of academic engineers and technologists working at the University of the Punjab. The purpose of the study was to investigate the various information sources being used by academic engineers and technologists for their scholarly tasks, with a focus on use patterns of e-journals. A quantitative study employing “survey” method was conducted to achieve the research objectives. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all regular and contractual academic engineers and technologists working at the university and a response rate of 61% was achieved. The study findings showed that the respondents' most-used information sources were e-journals, e-books, discussion with colleagues, and electronic research reports. They accessed e-journal articles through general search engines, Google Scholar, and open access e-journal websites. Majority of the respondents used e-journals for keeping themselves up-to-date and supervising researchers. While previous studies have investigated academic and practitioner engineers' information-seeking habits, this study is valuable as it investigated academic engineers' and technologists' scholarly information-seeking behavior in relation to their e-journals use patterns.     

Behavioral Intention to Adopt Digital Library by the Undergraduates

The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that affect undergraduates' behavioral intention to use digital library among the private universities in Malaysia. The target respondents are undergraduates from Malaysian private universities. Questionnaires were distributed among 500 undergraduates through either online or face-to-face method. Reliability test, normality test, Pearson Correlation Coefficient analysis, and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) were carried out for data analysis. Performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, habit, and information quality had a positive and significant association with behavioral intention to adopt a digital library except for effort expectancy. This research successfully reinforced that the inspiration to ameliorate Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT 2) by synthesis of Information Systems Success Model (ISSM). This proposed framework with a combination of ISSM and UTAUT 2 has enhanced the fitness of UTAUT 2. Universities that have yet to implement digital library can comprehend undergraduates' needs better by considering all the significant factors to develop a digital library. The universities with the digital library may also notice the important features of the existing digital library that should be maintained and upgraded constantly so that they can fulfil undergraduates' requirements.     

Health information seeking behaviour: the librarian's role in supporting digital and health literacy

This paper is based on Rachel Butler's dissertation carried out at the University of Sheffield as part of the MA Library and Information Services Management. The study examines people's online health information seeking skills, with the specific aim to identify how libraries and health services can work together in supporting digital and health literacy. A survey approach is used to explore online searching habits as well as librarian and health professionals’ views on health literacy. The key findings indicate that whilst the majority of respondents consider themselves to be health literate, there was an overall agreement that effective education and support could be achieved through the collaboration between libraries and health services, and specifically to signpost information and to provide targeted education. The limitations of the research for dissertation are recognised leading to recommendations that further study focuses on the impact of signposting and education on health literacy.F.J.