Turning student assignments into publications: Benefits for librarians and students

This article describes librarian involvement in a graduate student assignment to conduct rapid scoping reviews.  Students had the option to submit a manuscript for publication.  The librarian role through assignment conception to publication is detailed.  The benefits for both students and the librarian are discussed

Developing 21st Century Skills with Online Curation and Social Annotation

Comprend des références bibliographiques

A question of culture for overweight individuals

This qualitative study was designed using flexible research methods to explore the experiences and beliefs of overweight individuals in a cultural context. Two research questions were undertaken: the first being Do overweight individuals experience a subculture?, and the second exploring How do overweight individuals\u27 experiences of oppression relate to whether they have a subculture or not? As an analysis of the literature revealed, the overweight population\u27s oppression and stigmatization is often unrecognized within our greater society. With millions of Americans being classified as overweight this population is increasing in number, warranting further notice within social research. This exploratory study includes findings based on 12 semi-structured interviews with individuals who self identified as overweight. Each participant shared about his/her life experiences and beliefs based on their overweight identity. Questions regarding social relationships and encounters with oppression offered a more complex understanding of their dynamic experiences and were used in analysis to draw conclusions to the research questions. The findings showed the potential for an overweight subculture to exist, however the small sample size lacked in-group participation. These promising findings appear to be linked to internalized oppression, and have set the groundwork for future studies with a larger sample size

Leadership and perceiver cognition: examining the role of self-identity in implicit leadership theories

Bibliography: p. 63-7

Early Childhood Practitioners’ Views on the Use of Technology with Young Children

This thesis examines the attitudes of early childhood practitioners regarding the use of technology with young children. The study utilised qualitative methods to investigate the range of attitudes that exist towards the use of technology with young children, as well as to explore the factors which have led to the practitioners’ attitudes. In phase one of the research, four focus groups with a total of twenty-two participants were held to begin to understand the range of attitudes that exist and to select participants for phase two. In phase two, ten participants were selected from the focus groups who represented the full range of attitudes expressed, from extremely negative at one end to extremely positive at the other. These ten participants engaged in in-depth interviews to explore their attitudes towards the use of technology with young children. Findings suggest that the attitudes of early childhood practitioners towards technology use with young children are more nuanced than simply positive or negative with a third category of ‘it depends on…’ attitudes emerging. A wide range of different factors, both extrinsic and intrinsic, have led to these attitudes; however, this thesis proposes that practitioners’ beliefs regarding technology as well as more existential beliefs, such as their pedagogical beliefs in the most appropriate approach to early childhood education and their belief in the importance and value of family life, are an extremely significant determinant of attitudes towards technology

“Just-in-Time” Unmediated Document Delivery Service Provides Fast Delivery, Helps Identify Collection Gaps, but Incurs Extra Costs

A Review of: Chan, E. K., Mune, C., Wang, Y., & Kendall, S. L. (2016). Three years of unmediated document delivery: An analysis and consideration of collection development priorities. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 35(1), 42-51. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2016.1117288 Abstract Objective – Examine the collection development opportunities and challenges of an unmediated document delivery service. Design – Case study. Setting – Large comprehensive public university in the United States of America. Subjects – 11,981 document delivery requests. Methods – This library implemented Copyright Clearance Center’s Get It Now (CCC-GiN) service in November 2011 to supplement existing holdings, provide access to embargoed content and help support two new programs. The CCC-GiN service was offered in addition to regular ILL service. Statistical analysis was done using usage data collected for the academic years 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 (excluding June and July). Usage data included: order date and time, fulfillment date and time, publication name, publication date, article name, article author, publisher name, cost, delivery e-mail address. Taylor and Francis publications were added to the CCC-GiN service in November of 2014. Main Results – The average yearly cost of titles with the largest number of CCC-GiN requests was compared to the annual subscription cost of the same titles. If the annual subscription cost was less than the average yearly cost of CCC-GiN requests, the library purchased a subscription. Patrons ordered older journal content through CCC-GiN requests. This suggested that backfile subscriptions could be cost effective means of providing content. The authors are in the process of analyzing what historical journal content should be purchased. The addition of Taylor and Francis publications resulted in an increase in the average cost per article. Taylor and Francis publications were popular with patrons, helping boost the total number of requests. The date of the Taylor and Francis materials ordered through CCC-GiN tended to be more recent compared to other publishers. The authors suggest CCC-GiN is a possible solution for acquiring embargoed material. Average fulfillment time increased during the three year time period from 1:34 (hr:min) to 3:52. The percentage of requests outside of ILL working hours was consistent across all three years (62% each academic year). The authors note CCC-GiN service provided the most expedient way for patrons to receive requested material. A number of the most requested CCC-GiN publications were also available in print format. The quality of print serials data was uncertain hence the decision was made to not upload this data to the CCC-GiN service. This resulted in some overlap in requests with the library’s print holdings. Older content was requested through CCC-GiN rather than through traditional ILL. This resulted in increased costs from copyright fees that would have been avoided using traditional ILL services. Conclusion – The authors reference the impact of e-commerce on library patron expectations about ease of access and just-in-time delivery. They found that the CCC-GiN service meets these expectations as patrons were able to access a broad selection of materials in a timely and easy to use manner. From the analysis come suggestions to help reduce costs associated with the service. They include adjusting system settings to cap spending limits, limiting who can use the service, selecting only titles that cover a gap in the collection, and including quality print serials holdings data to prevent purchase of already owned material. The authors also discuss using a mediated rather than unmediated service to help lower costs but they note this would slow down turnaround time. The authors close by saying each library will have to consider its own needs and those of its patrons with respect to ease of use, delivery time, and cost

Library Impact on Student Retention is Often Not Well Documented or Communicated

A Review of: Murray, A. L., & Ireland, A. P. (2017). Communicating library impact on retention: A framework for developing reciprocal value propositions. Journal of Library Administration, 57(3), 311-326. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01930826.2016.1243425 Abstract Objective – Identification of trends in documenting and communicating library impact on student retention. Presentation of a framework of library stakeholders with examples of how libraries can communicate their value to each stakeholder group. Design – Survey and presentation of framework. Setting – Comprehensive universities in the USA. Subjects – 68 Academic library deans/directors. Methods – A survey on current methods of documenting and communicating library impact on student retention was sent to all 271 comprehensive universities with a Carnegie classification of Master’s level. The response rate was 25%. Emergent themes were identified using NVIVO for the qualitative data analysis. The six markets model was presented as a framework for identifying library stakeholder groups. Examples of reciprocal value propositions (RVP) for each stakeholder group were provided. Main Results – Analysis of the survey results identified a number of themes about documenting library impact on student retention: use of information literacy assessment, use of satisfaction or feedback instruments (eg: survey, focus group), library-use data, and lack of knowledge of methods. Several responses indicated the methods used for information literacy assessment were not a direct measure for documenting impact on retention. A few institutions piloted more direct methods by combining library use data and student success metrics. A number of institutions said they struggled with how to use library-use data to calculate library impact on retention. Methods for communicating library impact on retention included formal presentations, annual reports, annual assessment reports, informal communication, and none. Communication was often tied to documentation; if a library did not collect or document impact on retention, they were not able to communicate anything. The authors noted communication tended to be unidirectional rather than being a multidirectional discussion between the library and its stakeholders. Based on the six markets model, the authors identified six library stakeholder groups that would benefit from understanding library impact on student retention. The authors postulated that identifying these markets would allow the library to define value propositions for each market. The value propositions for each market would be reciprocal because value would be co-created when the library engages with each stakeholder group to fill a service need. The authors proposed that identifying and engaging with stakeholders, and defining reciprocal value propositions for each, would provide the library with an opportunity to advocate for itself