Library information

This article introduces researchers in the library and information sciences to indigenous research methods by describing the context of indigenous peoples and how their indigeneity is defined. It also outlines why these methodologies are important and by describing a series of guiding principles, how the methods can be applied in indigenous research settings. An important aspect of the article is the consideration of whether non-indigenous researchers can be effectively users of the methodologies outlined. The use of indigenous research methods in New Zealand through kaupapa Māori methods are provided as a case study.

Innovation and development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and different library software and its application in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) create changes in entire library management system. The present study highlights the present scenarios of LIS profession and the professionals in this changing environment. The new roles of LIS professionals especially as advocate, consortia manager, consultant, content manager, facilitator, guide/teacher, intermediary, knowledge manager, researcher, sifter, web designer are discussed. Roles of government bodies, professional organizations and LIS schools to upgrade the managerial skills of LIS professionals to be fit for the changed situation are discussed. The study reveals the prospects and opportunities to cope with the changes in Library world from traditional to digital environment.

This paper investigates the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism by higher education students in the United Kingdom (UK), examining how they define Internet plagiarism, their perceived role in combating this phenomenon, and the skills and techniques they have or will adopt to achieve this. A Delphi study was undertaken using a sample of 10 respondents. The responses demonstrated that plagiarism is a multifaceted term and not easily definable, however respondents were unanimous in their opinion that the Internet has made it easier to plagiarise. The potential for active collaboration between librarians and academics to jointly address Internet plagiarism was seen as vital by all respondents, although opinion was divided on the role of librarians and academics. A blended approach is recommended, which involves policing and prevention; in addition to ensuring that students are achieving information literacy well before they reach the gates of the University.

Scientific preservation has been recognized as one of the urgent challenges in our modern information society. It is the current trends in all modern libraries and recognized as a vital part of managing information in scientific format. A number of libraries of Bangladesh have ...

This article sets out and discusses the stages in writing an effective research proposal. It covers the when, why and how to aspects of research proposals, and uses examples to illustrate the most effective way to communicate research ideas. It is, in part, designed to support those seeking to submit a proposal for the LIRG Research award, and thus to complement the advice given on the LIRG website, but it also serves as general guidance for anyone wishing to prepare a research proposal for a range of contexts.

The electronic information resources have the effect of democratizing the research community (RC). Researchers in the developing and developed countries can interact with each other on the same footing. The result is that the RC seems to moving towards a greater international homogeneity. However, in developing countries like India the engineering research community (ERC) is not fully utilizing the benefit of the situation because they consider online electronic information resources as a disorganized, unmanaged monster, without a toay to verify on-line information, and without more than elementary search tools. In an electronic environment the studies which focus on how the researchers search information, on the type and sources of information needed, on the nature of information sought, and the services they use are highly relevant, because they provide a basis for reorganizing libraries and information centers and reshaping their information support activities. The present study ...

Library & Information Science Research. ISSN: 0740-8188. Index. Volume 21 Number 2. 1999. Contents. Editorial: Professional Associations and LIS Research. by Candy Schwartz & Peter Hernon page 141. Personalized Knowledge Organization and Access for the Web. by Xia Lin & Lois Mai Chan page 153. Organizational Aspects of the Virtual Library: A Survey of Academic Libraries. by Bob Travica page 173. The Information-seeking Behavior of Pastoral Clergy: A Study of the Interaction of Their Work Worlds and Work Roles. by Donald A. Wicks page ...

This project, conducted by an interdisciplinary team comprising nursing academics and information professionals, focused on nursing students' access to, and use of, learning resources with respect to an evidence-based practice assignment. From the information professionals' ...

Within the last decade, the environment in which university libraries operate has dramatically changed. The rise of Conservative Governments in both Britain and Germany and the resulting shifts in public policy as well as the declining economic situation have led to a drastic decrease in resources. Librarians have had to find ways to cope with fewer funds in an environment which is growing ever more competitive. A useful tool for increasing the effectiveness of a library is marketing management. Marketing management is a means to achieve effective financial management, to use existing resources more efficiently and to create new resources in a customer-centred and market-oriented way.

This paper shares the automation experience of Regent University College in relation to the selection and implementation of Koha library management system. It is a first time automation project which looked at the options available to Regent, a private university in Ghana. The background information and the literature review provide the context for the decision to choose the ‘independent’ route of a wholly in-house solution. Koha as an open source system meets the systems requirements and financial needs of Regent. In addition, it provided the Project team with the ‘sandbox’ in which to try its hands at offering the Koha solution to Regent. Examples from earlier adopters of Koha guided the selection and adoption and the ten-month account gives the detail of events leading to the selection and adoption. Lessons learnt include the development of staff expertise, working strengths of library and IT staff, and project management skills. The benefits are cost savings made for the parent ...

This article briefly evaluates phenomenography as a research approach. Drawing on findings from a recently-completed research project, it explains the phenomenographic approach, outlines how it was used in the research project, and presents the advantages and disadvantages of phenomenography. It identifies three issues with using phenomenography that do not seem to have been raised elsewhere. Two issues apply generally to all such research: the nature of phenomenographic data, and an inconsistency in phenomenography itself. The third is around mental models and phenomenographic conceptions and applicable to this research project, but has wider implications for the concept of mental models in the cognitive viewpoint of library and information studies (LIS) research.

The article discusses proposed standards for Polish research libraries evaluation. At the beginning, the authors present the situation of research libraries in Poland. They write about the effects of the social-political transformation in the 90s, present selected statistical data, and describe the progress in computerisation. The following part of the article relates to the currently applied in Poland standards of library evaluation. Discussed are e.g. the presently applied tools for data collection and analysis. The last part includes proposed methods for the preparation of standards and assessments for Polish research libraries.

Customer satisfaction and service quality have so far been evaluated mostly from a local perspective although the quality element has been firmly established in academic library management for at least a decade. Critics of inter-institutional comparisons often object that different preconditions are not considered adequately. Examples from a joint user satisfaction survey conducted by 15 German university libraries in 2001 suggest that comparative data are a suitable means to identify cases of "best practice" and can effectively initialize processes of customer-focussed improvement. Furthermore, if compared with corresponding statistical data or performance measures, satisfaction ratings can reveal possible structural strengths and deficits relative to other libraries. On the other hand, follow-up telephone interviews with participating libraries showed that the survey results substantially challenged the institutions' internal communication and public relations organi...

The iKnow (Information and Knowledge at Work) project at The Open University (OU) set out to explore and articulate the information skills requirements of the 21st century workplace. Although some existing research had highlighted the costs of ineffective information searching in the workplace, there appeared to be little online material to remedy this. The project was run in three phases, which involved identifying the key competencies, developing some prototype ‘bite-size’ materials and piloting them for their effectiveness in a variety of workplaces. The results of the study show that participants not only perceived the skills as relevant and useful, but also found that the bite-size model made training easier to schedule into a working day. The project team found that these materials could potentially be an important link between informal and formal learning, of particular relevance in the current economic climate.

This paper describes the process model used in the Impact Implementation Programme and its origins in earlier research and development conducted in the schools, further education and public libraries domains. The choice of an action research methodology is discussed. The facilitation process undertaken through the first annual cycle of the Programme is described and various lessons learnt are reported. Conclusions are offered on the success of the Programme so far and on some factors likely to influence success if this model is adopted elsewhere.

This paper describes a piece of research intended to establish user preferences for the design of virtual worlds for information retrieval, and reflects critically on the methodology adopted. Over 100 students and staff at Robert Gordon University were interviewed, in three cycles of literature review, interview, development and testing. A grounded theory approach was taken, in order to reach conclusions based on user experiences, rather than on the literature. Findings were that preferences appear to be based on affective, rather than structural, criteria, the most influential being familiarity, quality, representation, mediation, etc. The effectiveness of the grounded theory approach in this piece of research is evaluated, with particular regard to the typical criticisms to which such an approach is subject. It is concluded that there is value in the approach, but the limitations of the approach are acknowledged, and strategies to reduce the effect of these are discussed.

This article describes a Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded project, conducted by a cross-disciplinary team, examining trust in information resources in the web environment employing a literature review and online Delphi study with follow-up community consultation. The project aimed to try to explain how users assess or assert trust in their use of resources in the web environment; to examine how perceptions of trust influence the behavior of information users; and to consider whether ways of asserting trust in information resources could assist the development of information literacy. A trust model was developed from the analysis of the literature and discussed in the consultation. Elements comprising the i-Trust model include external factors, internal factors and user's cognitive state. This article gives a brief overview of the JISC funded project which has now produced the i-Trust model (Pickard et. al. 2010) and focuses on issues of particular relevance for ...

In a research project undertaken by staff at the University of Sheffield, respondents were asked how they obtain information on major social and political concerns, and to consider the role museums, libraries and archives might play in helping them gain a greater understanding of such issues when compared to their use of other identified information sources. The study revealed a worrying trend amongst the British public to turn to some of the least trusted information sources when seeking information on current concerns, but also indicate that a relatively high value is placed on museums, libraries, and archives in helping respondents to understand social and political issues. They are also perceived as vital sources of informal family learning, and seen to perform an essential role by providing a context to modern life.

This paper investigates the attitudes of academic librarians towards Internet plagiarism by higher education students in the United Kingdom (UK), examining how they define Internet plagiarism, their perceived role in combating this phenomenon, and the skills and techniques they have or will adopt to achieve this. A Delphi study was undertaken using a sample of 10 respondents. The responses demonstrated that plagiarism is a multifaceted term and not easily definable, however respondents were unanimous in their opinion that the Internet has made it easier to plagiarise. The potential for active collaboration between librarians and academics to jointly address Internet plagiarism was seen as vital by all respondents, although opinion was divided on the role of librarians and academics. A blended approach is recommended, which involves involving policing and prevention; in addition to ensuring that students are achieving information literacy well before they reach the gates of the Unive...

The IMPEL Project (IMpact on People of Electronic Libraries) is now into its second year. The project's focus, succinctly expressed by its title, is on the human implications of increased provision of information by electronic means, all too easily neglected at a time when technology is developing faster than it can easily be assimilated. The project grew out of it's leaders' personal and professional interests, those of a Head of Department of Information and Library Management and of a practising academic librarian; it is strengthened by such collaboration. A Steering Group of seven, each with acknowledged special expertise, meets regularly and provides guidance and support; the value of their input cannot be underestimated. This initial stage of IMPEL concentrates on qualified librarians in the UK higher education sector, laying the groundwork for possible future study of other groups and related aspects of the phenomenon commonly referred to as the 'electronic li...

This article describes British Library funded research into the Sheffield libraries strike last year. The aim of the research was to investigate the impact of the temporary closure of public library services on user behaviour and attitudes. It examines the robustness of public library use and how easily previous patterns of use were resumed after the strike. Assertions in previous research about the effect of the public library on the local infrastructure are also tested. The full Report is available from the British Library, (Research and Innovation Report 6224).