The Challenges and Opportunities of Sustaining Volunteer-Based Rural Libraries

ABSTRACT

In an era of rural service decline and population aging, some rural libraries rely on volunteers to keep them open within the community. This paper outlines the challenges of sustaining such volunteer-based rural libraries, drawing on a case study of a volunteer-based library in rural Ontario, Canada. Findings suggest that age of volunteers, volunteer participation, territoriality, branch polarization and the burden of volunteering present challenges in sustaining the volunteer program at the library, yet the library contributes to the community through community engagement, enabling aging in place and through economic development. The paper concludes with recommendations from the case study on how the sustain such a volunteer program.     

Change in Libraries: Directions for the Future

ABSTRACT

Results of two surveys and a study process for public library members of a Kansas regional library system are described. Information and observations are presented from participants who identify seven key areas for development including the library’s (1) relationship with its community, (2) accessibility and services, (3) technology, (4) e-readers and digital collections, (5) physical space, (6) staffing, and (7) funding. Two general themes–re-purposing of existing physical space and increased growth of the virtual library–are identified. Public librarians may frame the areas for change in the context of their own experiences and planning for the future.     

“What Is Bought Is Cheaper Than a Gift”: The Hidden Burdens of Gifts-in-Kind and Policies to Help

Abstract

Accepting donations has been a fundamental aspect of librarianship for years. The world’s greatest collections, from Carnegie Libraries to the Library of Congress, have been built by the generosity of others. Yet, in the modern era, gifts-in-kind are offered more democratically and come with mixed quality. This has led to a shift in how libraries look at gifts-in-kind as often more burdensome than genuinely helpful. This is because gifts come with costs to the library that donors fail to consider, and some gifts are offered with ulterior motives. To navigate these burdens and still encourage a generous public, libraries must have a clear written gift policy to ease stresses and anxieties on both the donor and the institution. In the case of academic law libraries, they often don’t share the exact experience of other libraries; however, they face some of the same challenges and require a written gift policy all the same. Examining the gift policies of other law libraries can establish a framework of essential elements when establishing a new gift policy at an institution.     

Exploring user participation approaches in public e-service development

It has been argued that user participation is important when public authorities develop e-services. At the same time there is limited research on the usefulness of existing user participation approaches in public e-service development. In this paper we, therefore, analyze how the three user participation approaches – participatory design, user-centered design, and user innovation – meet the strategic e-service goals of the EU and the US. In doing so, we identify three challenges that need to be considered when choosing among these approaches: 1) unclear user target segments can impede the fulfillment of usability and relevance goals, 2) the nature of participation can impede the fulfillment of democracy goals, and 3) lack of adequate skills can impede the fulfillment of efficiency goals.     

Gender and digital divide 2000-2008 in two low-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya and Somalia in official statistics

The Beijing World Conference on Women held in 1995 by the United Nations member states, approved strategies for improving women's access to and use of new communication technologies. The aim of this paper is to retrieve official statistics for the years 2000-2008 with regard to sex differences, gender and digital divide (specifically concerning telecommunication technologies) in two low-income economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya and Somalia. This paper reveals that official statistics on sex discrepancies and, the gender divide regarding access, use and benefits of telecommunications are still almost totally lacking for the countries in view. However, the digital divide is successively closing, and the telecommunication process in Kenya was quite rapid at the end of the period. Official statistics from Somalia are difficult to comprehend due to the absence of official data and a lack of evidence-based knowledge. Fifteen years after the Beijing Conference in 1995 there is still a lack of comprehensive statistics regarding new communication technologies for low-income economies such as Kenya and Somalia.     

欠发达地区农家书屋可持续发展问题研究

安康市农家书屋建设发展较快,走在了陕西省的前列,但仍然存在上热下冷、文献资源少、管理员素质不高等诸多问题,折射出欠发达地区农家书屋建设难以持续发展的共性问题。通过对政策的解读和问题的分析,提出应完善农家书屋国家政策,理顺管理体制,将农家书屋纳入到农村图书馆范畴,通过国家立法实现农家书屋人员、经费保障,构建覆盖全县城乡的县、乡(镇)、村三级文化服务网络体系的可持续发展建议。     

图书情报与档案管理学科未来五年重点研究领域与选题——《高校哲学社会科学管理学部图书情报与档案管理学科战略规划研究报告》解读

《高校哲学社会科学管理学部图书情报与档案管理学科战略规划研究报告》的核心内容是五大重点研究领域和26个研究选题。选题的特点是信息资源概念的进一步确认、实践需求性、问题导向性、学科的综合交叉性、视野的宏观战略性和图情档学核心知识的扩展性。根据国民经济和社会发展第十二个五年规划,图书情报与档案管理学科的研究领域面向经济社会发展需要,可适度拓展学科发展空间。     

对中国动漫产业政策的思考

本文试图通过国家近几年对动漫产业政策的制定和政府扶持力度的变化,来诠释国家政策和政府扶持对动漫产业发展过程中的影响和作用及今后须面对的问题。     

我国女性时尚杂志的变迁与社会变革

本文主要从历史和社会发展的角度,在概述我国女性时尚杂志发展变迁的基础之上,充分考察不同时代与社会背景对女性时尚杂志发展的作用与影响。     

推送与抢单:优化审稿的新模式

对于学科或者行业内权威学术期刊,特别是国内SCI期刊,由于其稀缺性,来稿量巨大,稿件优选成为编辑部面临的难题,编审时滞已经成为影响期刊稿源质量和时效的重要因素,特别是稿件的优选和审稿过程的优化是需要持续探索的问题。稿件遴选分类管理是缩短编审时滞的有效方式,能够实现期刊、专家、作者等多赢的效果。通过在录用之前增加专业人士遴选,在浩繁的来稿中划分出不适合发表的稿件、待确定稿件、可发表需修改稿件、可以直接编辑的稿件等4种类型,及时通知作者并转入下个流程,有利于节约审稿专家和编辑资源,更能促进作者论文的评估、发表、转投、完善,并得到作者群的支持。通过随机预审遴选,也有利于规避潜在人情稿的发生,对于能够确定录用的稿件则集中优秀审稿专家和编辑资源,全面提升刊发稿件的质量。在此基础上采用稿件定向推送方式,结合反馈、随机推送和抢审,进一步减少压稿现象。通过遴选分类、批量推送、抢单快审等多种方式能够有效缩短审稿时滞,有望实现期刊编审流程的高效运作。