Information literacy instruction in public libraries

Extending from existing research on how public libraries offer information literacy (IL) instruction through classes or programs, the purpose of this research was to explore how public librarians provide IL instruction through individual interactions with patrons. US public librarians recorded their impressions of instructional interactions over a five-day period using an online diary instrument. Key findings were that public librarians incorporate a range of IL concepts in their interactions with patrons, across a wide variety of expressed information needs, with most of the instruction directed toward helping patrons plan their information tasks, access information, and judge information. Secondary themes showed that although librarians believed strongly in the value and importance of providing instruction, individual and situational factors presented barriers to effective instruction. This research contributes to an understanding of how IL instruction in public library settings differs from school and academic library settings and raises some questions around the need for instructional resources focused more specifically around the needs of the public library to facilitate effective instruction

An Investigation of Digital Reference Interviews: A Dialogue Act Approach

The rapid increase of computer-mediated communications (CMCs) in various forms such as micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter), online chatting (e.g. digital reference) and community- based question-answering services (e.g. Yahoo! Answers) characterizes a recent trend in web technologies, often referred to as the social web. This trend highlights the importance of supporting linguistic interactions in people\u27s online information-seeking activities in daily life - something that the web search engines still lack because of the complexity of this hu- man behavior. The presented research consists of an investigation of the information-seeking behavior of digital reference services through analysis of discourse semantics, called dialogue acts, and experimentation of automatic identification of dialogue acts using machine-learning techniques. The data was an online chat reference transaction archive, provided by the Online Computing Library Center (OCLC). Findings of the discourse analysis include supporting evidence of some of the existing theories of the information-seeking behavior. They also suggest a new way of analyzing the progress of information-seeking interactions using dia- logue act analysis. The machine learning experimentation produced promising results and demonstrated the possibility of practical applications of the DA analysis for further research across disciplines

Public Librarians\u27 Adoption of Technology in Two Southeastern States

Public libraries have become community hubs of technology, changing the responsibilities of public librarians. The problem is a gap between public library technology needs, the skills librarians have with technologies, and the strategies they use to acquire skills. The purpose of this predictive, sequential, explanatory mixed method study was to examine public librarians\u27 attitudes about learning new technology and their behavioral intention to adopt it. Two frameworks guided this study: the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model and the diffusion of innovations theory. Quantitative data (N= 202) were collected by survey and analyzed through multiple linear regression analysis, which determined predictive relationships between determinants of technology use and moderating variables. Findings revealed that the performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions significantly affected the behavioral intention to use technology. The moderating variables of age, gender, experience, and voluntariness did not have significant impact. Twelve qualitative interviews inductively analyzed produced 4 themes of learning needs, learning strategies, barriers, and motivation. Findings have implications for social change because library stakeholders can have access to more knowledgeable and skilled staff, which will allow them to better serve the public, many of whom rely on library services for accessing social services, acquiring new skills, and locating information

The Impact of Individual Employee Differences on Information Seeking in Today’s Information Rich Work Environment

Recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT) such as video conferencing, email, instant messaging, and Intranets have dramatically changed the landscape of communication in most organizations. The objective of this study is to gain an understanding of how different types of organizational members seek information. This is necessary ifor the management to provide the right infrastructure and processes to support such information needs. This study adds to the body of literature on information seeking behavior by incorporating gender, and cultural variables as well as the organizational variables of organizational status (salary or wage) and newcomer status. The findings will help management in assessing what ICT should be installed in order to provide the appropriate support to facilitate information and knowledge dissemination and sharing in organizations

Information Outlook, October 2008

Volume 12, Issue 10https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2008/1009/thumbnail.jp

Towards a framework of literature review process in support of information systems research

This paper introduces an initial effort towards developing a framework for writing an effective literature review. The target audience for the framework are novice IS researchers or other researchers who are constantly struggling with the development of an effective literature-based foundation for the proposed research. The proposed framework follows the systematic data processing approach comprised of three major stages: 1) inputs (literature gathering and screening), 2) processing (Blooms Taxonomy), and 3) outputs (writing the review). This paper provides the rationale for developing a solid literature review and addresses the central stage, processing the literature. The paper concludes by providing arguments for the value of an effective literature review as well as implications for future work in this proposed framework

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 2 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division 9 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 12 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 14 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 16 Advertisements IEEE

Information Outlook, September 2010

Volume 14, Issue 6https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2010/1005/thumbnail.jp