Emergent digital services in public libraries : a domain study

Purpose: This paper explores the emergence of digital services in the public library domain via an extensive study of the websites of all Scottish public library services Design/methodology/approach: In a 4 month period all 32 of Scotland’s public library authority websites were visited by a researcher. The goal of the researcher was to record the options available from the library homepages in the following way: •Role of library in providing page content: content provider or access provider? •Was the page providing a digital service? •What was the audience for the page? Adult, child, or not specified? •Description of page content •Any noted usability issues Each site was only visited to three levels below that of the initial homepage. Findings: The study found a good standard of innovation in digital services around LMS functions, offering users the ability to keep in control of their borrowing and reserving. In addition there was a consistent set of electronic reference resources subscribed to by multiple libraries, offering high quality information both within the library and for library members from their home or workplace. Problems were found with regards to guidance on the usage of these resources, as well as confusion and inconsistency in terminology usage across different library services. Research limitations/implications: The paper examines only Scottish public library sites, thus can only claim to be representative of that country. It also can only represent the sites at the time they were examined. Practical implications: The paper should be of interest to public and other librarians interested in patterns across web sites in their sector. Originality/value: This is the first national study of Scottish public library websites and its findings should be of value as a result

Planning strategically, designing architecturally : a framework for digital library services

In an era of unprecedented technological innovation and evolving user expectations and information seeking behaviour, we are arguably now an online society, with digital services increasingly common and increasingly preferred. As a trusted information provider, libraries are in an advantageous position to respond, but this requires integrated strategic and enterprise architecture planning, for information technology (IT) has evolved from a support role to a strategic role, providing the core management systems, communication networks, and delivery channels of the modern library. Further, IT components do not function in isolation from one another, but are interdependent elements of distributed and multidimensional systems encompassing people, processes, and technologies, which must consider social, economic, legal, organisational, and ergonomic requirements and relationships, as well as being logically sound from a technical perspective. Strategic planning provides direction, while enterprise architecture strategically aligns and holistically integrates business and information system architectures. While challenging, such integrated planning should be regarded as an opportunity for the library to evolve as an enterprise in the digital age, or at minimum, to simply keep pace with societal change and alternative service providers. Without strategy, a library risks being directed by outside forces with independent motivations and inadequate understanding of its broader societal role. Without enterprise architecture, it risks technological disparity, redundancy, and obsolescence. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this conceptual paper provides an integrated framework for strategic and architectural planning of digital library services. The concept of the library as an enterprise is also introduced

The experience of information literacy in nursing practice

Information Literacy (IL) plays a key role in nursing, especially in the context of evidence-based practice (EBP), the initiative within health and social care in which clinical practice is informed by research evidence. However there is currently little evidence to show how being information literate is actually experienced by nurses and therefore whether information literacy educational interventions are promoting appropriate knowledge and skills. A research project has been designed to investigate how nurses experience information literacy using phenomenography, an interview-based methodology which allows experiences to be categorised and put into a descriptive structure for use in the development of educational interventions. Insights from the findings will be used to map out the parameters of information literacy and to put forward a theoretical model of a module to successfully develop it. This paper discusses the context of the research and the findings from a pilot study

Pokyčių vadyba Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekoje: naujos partnerystės ir inovatyvios paslaugos

The objective of this article is to ascertain most significant fields of the academic library activities, which have an impact on strengthening the library’s role as a partner in academic community, as well as to assess VUL capacities to see what kind of current or future activities may contribute to the building-up of such role in VU community. Analysis of recent LI S literature reveals the key trends in development of academic libraries, their innovative change and challenges – open access, managing of research data; research support; research assessment, scientific research; allows to analyse one particular library in order to see if and at what scale these trends can be traced in VUL . It was established that VUL contributes to practical implementation of open access, collaborates with VU and academic community in the projects of research data management, carries out bibliometric research, helps to form research support services, promotes the Library’s scholarly research and contributes to formation of the institution’s research potential. Description of new activities is important for the management of change. Adjustment of organizational structure, introduction of new positions and their description facilitate achievement of this purpose. It allows informing academic and library community about new activities and functions of the library; the Library assumes obligation to develop these activities, and employees are encouraged to meet high qualification requirements, whereas the Library looks for the ways to improve competencies of the personnel.Pastarųjų penkerių metų bibliotekininkystės ir informacijos mokslų profesinės literatūros analizė leidžia identifikuoti tokias akademinės bibliotekos inovatyvių pokyčių tendencijas ir iššūkius: atviros prieigos plėtra; mokslo duomenų „suvaldymo“ poreikis; pagalba mokslininkams aprūpinant informacija mokslinius tyrimus; akademinės bendruomenės mokslo produkcijos vertinimas, bibliotekinių mokslinių tyrimų organizavimas ir kt. Straipsnyje siekiama išsiaiškinti, ar ir kokiu mastu identifikuotos tendencijos yra būdingos Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekai, todėl apsiribojama vienos akademinės bibliotekos – VUB identifikuotų veiklų analize. Sąmoningai eliminuotos tokios temos, kaip antai studijų aprūpinimas, informacinio ir media raštingumo ugdymas ir kt. Nustatyta, kad VUB prisideda prie atviros prieigos idėjų praktinio įgyvendinimo, bendradarbiauja su VU ir Lietuvos mokslo bendruomene mokslo duomenų vadybos projektuose, aktyviai vykdo bibliometrinius tyrimus, pradeda formuoti mokslo pagalbinių paslaugų bloką, aktyvina bibliotekinius mokslinius tyrimus ir prisideda formuojant institucijos mokslinį potencialą. Identifikuotos bendros tendencijos ir pristatytos jų praktinio įgyvendinimo konkrečioje institucijoje priemonės gali būti naudingos kitoms bibliotekoms, kuriančioms kaitos strategijas ir įgyvendinančioms pasirinktus sprendimus

The concept of collection development in the digital world

Examines definitions of the library as a collection to demonstrate the centrality of collection development to library and information professionals, before moving on to the issue of collection development as a concept, showing how professional discourse on the subject has suffered from confused terminology. Uses a four-phase framework to review the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on libraries, concentrating on its effects on collections and their development. The final part of the chapter returns to academic and practitioner conceptions of collection development in digital environments, concluding with a set of questions for reflection on the future of collection development

Roles and responsibilities: Libraries, librarians and data.

Reviews opportunities and challenges for libraries and librarians in the research data arena, with reference to published reports and case studies of emerging practice, supplemented by evidence from university and library websites. Looks at connections between research data management (RDM) and established library roles and responsibilities to explore whether RDM represents an incremental step in professional practice or a paradigm shift in collection development and service delivery requiring fundamental rethinking of roles, responsibilities, and competencies to create “next-generation librarianship,” drawing on experiences and opinions of practitioners in the field. Also discusses professional education and continuing development needs for library engagement with research data, referring particularly to initiatives in the USA

The Future of Knowledge Sharing in a Digital Age: Exploring Impacts and Policy Implications for Development

We live in a Digital Age that gives us instant access to information at greater and greater volumes. The rapid growth of digital content and tools is already changing how we create, consume and distribute knowledge. Even though globally participation in the Digital Age remains uneven, more and more people are accessing and contributing digital content every day. Over the next 15 years, developing countries are likely to experience sweeping changes in how states and societies engage with knowledge. These changes hold the potential to improve people’s lives by making information more available, increasing avenues for political and economic engagement, and making government more transparent and responsive. But they also carry dangers of a growing knowledge divide influenced by technology access, threats to privacy, and the potential loss of diversity of knowledge. Our research sets out with a 15-year horizon to look at the possible ways in which digital technologies might contribute to or damage development agendas, and how development practitioners and policymakers might best respond.UK Department for International Developmen

The great public libraries debate - do bricks and mortar still matter? A case study of Canada Water Library, Southwark, London examining current attitudes to a modern library space.

This study aimed to examine in depth a newly-built modern public library to gain insight into attitudes to and perceptions of a modern library space in 2014. It used as a starting point a previous study carried out in 2005 and published by Black (2011) which gathered Mass Observation Archive data on public perceptions of public library buildings at the start of the 21st century. This study aimed to evaluate attitudes a decade on to determine if physical public library spaces still matter. A single case study methodology was used to add detail to the extant general literature on public libraries and provide insight into current attitudes to a purpose-built library in the heart of a community and how it meets users’ needs and expectations. A printed questionnaire looking at the library’s location, design and use of space was handed out to a sample of users. The results show that the physical library is still important to users who are proud of how it looks and the contribution it makes to their local community and area. The findings also show that the case study library is meeting the needs of its diverse user groups very well by providing access to resources, support, IT and space

An ethnographic case study of the role of public libraries in facilitating lifelong learning activities in the North of England

This ethnographic study examines the role of public libraries in supporting lifelong learning (LLL) activities. It was undertaken in a library in the North of England. This study adopted the community of practice (CoP) as a conceptual framework to highlight the importance of the public library as a lifelong learning institution and to explore the significance of the knowledge and skills that are developed through social interaction with learners (users of the library) and librarians and the effects of that on users’ learning and identity. Fieldwork was conducted in the library during a period of nine months. Participant observation and unstructured interviews with 11 librarians, semi-structured interviews with 48 users, along with documentary analysis, were used to generate qualitative data on the library as a lifelong learning institution and the role of librarians in supporting lifelong learning activities. The findings reveal the potential for the public library to be a lifelong learning institution which are: the stimulating learning environment of the library; diversity in the library; a variety of learning resources and accessible facilities as well as cooperation with other organisations in the community. The findings also suggest that the library has integrated social, economic and educational effects on both individuals and communities. The library offers equal and free learning opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background, which provides learners with on-going skills. In this sense, the library is considered as key to unlocking inequality. The findings reveal that the library achieves social justice, fosters social cohesion and prevents social isolation. In addition, the public library plays a vital role in promoting individuals’ health and well-being through bibliotherapy sessions. The findings also show that the library constructs learners’ identities as they become confident, independent learners, critical thinkers and active citizens. On an economic level, the library has a direct and indirect economic impact on individuals, as well as on the whole community. The direct role has been demonstrated by saving users money and supporting people to find jobs as well as starting up their own businesses. Its indirect role is demonstrated though saving money for the public Exchequer, such as the NHS. However, the library faces challenges which affect the quality of delivering those services such as funding cuts, leading to the closure of library buildings, lack of public perception of the library’s value and misunderstanding the rules by the users. The study also highlights that the librarians play a significant role in supporting lifelong learning activities. The librarians deliver the learning sessions as proficient teachers. They also support library users by guiding them to access the valuable information resources and learning sessions which meet their needs. This study shows that there are criteria for librarians to be able to support LLL activities. However, the data indicates that the librarians face challenges such as replacing them with volunteers to run the library services. In addition, there is a lack of public awareness about their significant role in the community