Students' information-seeking intention in academic digital libraries

The purpose of this research is to examine students' information-seeking intention regarding academic digital library services guiding by the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Data was collected among students in a public higher learning institution in Federal Territory of Labuan Malaysia. The empirical result of the hierarchical regression had confirmed that students' intention to seek for information in digital library was influenced mainly by their attitude, implying that, in predicting the information-seeking intention in an academic digital library with TPB was much better than TRA. The findings of the research provide broader insights for the academic digital libraries to be more aware of the important factors that influence library users in seeking for information and fulfil their requirement. A new motion can be developed by using the result of this research, which improve the knowledge from previous studies via the assessment from TPB

The intention to use mobile digital library technology: A focus group study in the United Arab Emirates

IGI Global (“IGI”) granted Brunel University London the permission to archive this article in BURA (http://bura.brunel.ac.uk).This paper presents a qualitative study on student adoption of mobile library technology in a developing world context. The findings support the applicability of a number of existing constructs from the technology acceptance literature, such as perceived ease of use, social influence and trust. However, they also suggest the need to modify some adoption factors previously found in the literature to fit the specific context of mobile library adoption. Perceived value was found to be a more relevant overarching adoption factor than perceived usefulness for this context. Facilitating conditions were identified as important but these differed somewhat from those covered in earlier literature. The research also uncovered the importance of trialability for this type of application. The findings provide a basis for improving theory in the area of mobile library adoption and suggest a number of practical design recommendations to help designers of mobile library technology to create applications that meet user needs

On Birthing Dancing Stars: The Need for Bounded Chaos in Information Interaction

While computers causing chaos is acommon social trope, nearly the entirety of the history of computing is dedicated to generating order. Typical interactive information retrieval tasks ask computers to support the traversal and exploration of large, complex information spaces. The implicit assumption is that they are to support users in simplifying the complexity (i.e. in creating order from chaos). But for some types of task, particularly those that involve the creative application or synthesis of knowledge or the creation of new knowledge, this assumption may be incorrect. It is increasingly evident that perfect order—and the systems we create with it—support highly-structured information tasks well, but provide poor support for less-structured tasks.We need digital information environments that help create a little more chaos from order to spark creative thinking and knowledge creation. This paper argues for the need for information systems that offerwhat we term ‘bounded chaos’, and offers research directions that may support the creation of such interface

Preferring print: The planned behavior and preferences of first-generation college students in the academic library

Background: Academic libraries have been adapting and changing their collections with technology. Often this technology has accompanied a transition from physical collections, such as print books, to electronic collections and electronic books. Understanding how this shift away from print formats might affect certain campus populations is essential as electronic collections continue to grow and expand in various academic institutions. Methods: This mixed methods case study aimed to understand how first-generation college students at a public research university use print books versus electronic books. Data was collected in two phases, with the first phase consisting of a Likert scale survey distributed to 4419 potential participants. The second phase was a qualitative semi-structured interview with 19 self-identified participants from the survey. Results: The survey did not indicate a strong preference for print books over electronic books. However, the qualitative interviews did indicate that first-generation students preferred using print to facilitate their reading styles. Conclusion: The study showed that students prefer to use print books over electronic formats daily at their academic institutions for various factors, including the ability to focus and review information. However, the primary reason first-generation college students prefer print books is that it helps them retain information for classes better than electronic books

Who is Patrick? – Answers from the Saint Patrick's Confessio HyperStack. Supporting Digital Humanities, Copenhagen 17 - 18 November 2011, Conference Proceedings

Not everyone realizes that there are two Latin works, still surviving, that can definitely be attributed to Saint Patrick’s own authorship. On 14th September 2011 the Royal Irish Academy published his writings in a freely accessible form on line, both in the original Latin and in a variety of modern languages (including Irish). Designed to be of interest to the general public as well as to academic researchers, the Saint Patrick’s Confessio Hypertext Stack includes such features as digital images of the medieval manuscripts involved, a specially commissioned historical reconstruction that evocatively describes life in pre-Viking Ireland, articles, audio presentations, and some ten thousand internal and external digital links that make it truly a resource to be explored

Interface characteristics, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and intention to use UUM e-library

An e-library provides highly efficient and consistent methods for search, retrieval of information, and intention to use by the users. Previous literatures and current scenario emphasis the role of interface characteristics of e-library, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use on intention to use of e-library. Therefore, drawing upon TAM model, this study aims to investigate the influence of interface characteristics of e-library namely terminology, screen design and navigation on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use which lead to intention to use of elibrary. The sample consisted of 176 postgraduate students of Universiti Utara Malaysia. All data are analyzed using software of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results indicated that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had significant influence on intention to use UUM e-library. Further, this study empirically supported the influence of interface characteristics (e.g. terminology, screen design and navigation) on perceived usefulness. However, navigation was found to have insignificant influence on perceived ease of use of UUM e-library. Finally, the implications are discussed, and limitations of the study and future directions are briefly outlined

The Attitudes of Princess Nora University Students Towards Using Electronic Information Resources of the Library

This study examined undergraduate students\u27 use of and attitudes towards electronic information resources (EIR). It explored the relationship between the students\u27 attitudes and their use of EIR of the Princess Nora University Library (PNUL). A descriptive as well as correlational survey design was adopted for the study. The findings revealed that the EIR of the academic library are still in the moderate or lower level of utilization, but overall students have shown high acceptance towards using these resources. The study established that there is a positive relationship between students’ attitudes and their use; however, the correlation coefficient is at the moderate level of 0.520

Comparing the Value of Information Services for Providers and Vulnerable Patrons: A Mixed-Methods Study with Academic Libraries and Students with Disabilities

Introduction. This multi-year, mixed-methods study compares (a) the reasons administrators and librarians of academic libraries invest in assistive technology for delivering information services to students with disabilities, with (b) the benefits that influence these students’ intention to use AT. Method. In the first phase, 50 library administrators and 22 librarians from 186 public universities across the US shared their top-three reasons for investing in assistive technology through a qualitative survey. In the second phase, 322 students with disabilities from the same institutions completed a quantitative survey, in which respondents shared individual-level benefits that influence their intention to use assistive technology. Analysis. We utilised thematic analysis and structural equation modelling to analyse data in the first and second phases, respectively. Results. Three individual, three organisational, and three societal benefits prompt academic libraries’ investment in assistive technology. However, only two individual benefits – increasing information literacy and completing academic tasks – significantly influence the intention of students with disabilities to use the technology. In addition, neither academic libraries nor students, perceive the technology to be valuable for enhancing autonomy and the self (i.e., self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-image) of students with disabilities. Conclusion. Implications for academic libraries that provide information services to students with disabilities are discussed at the end

INVESTIGATING INFORMATION LITERACY IN BUSINESS MAJORS

This is a study on information literacy (IL) in Business Majors. A Web-based questionnaire with used to investigate undergraduate Business students on their understanding of IL and assessment of their respective abilities and skills. The study used IL standards adopted by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). The study adopted the UTAUT model’s as a theoretical framework. The findings conveyed that external UTAUT factors (Social Factors and Facilitating Conditions) have positive effect on IL. Moreover, the findings emphasized the importance of the four factors and suggested the IL could be assessed in all contexts. Implications for discipline and practice are shared