Beyond ECDL: basic and advanced IT skills for the new library professional

This paper reports on a new multimedia-centred ICT module, called Fundamentals of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) for Postgraduate Information and Library Studies students at the Graduate School of Informatics at Strathclyde University. It had radical aims (introducing novel ICT skill content in a progressive manner, encouraging deep learning and self-directed study) and used a weekly survey and a post-module survey to investigate its operation. Skills learnt were compared to skills required during student placement in libraries. Conclusions are drawn as to its success in matching the needs of future library professionals

Justify or die? - using contingent valuation of service provision in a UK public library

The public library service in the UK is currently under pressure to justify its existence. An Audit Commission report suggested that if current borrowing rates for libraries continue into the future, libraries would be effectively issuing no books by 2020. Recently the Coates Report asserted about book loans that, "in simple terms, if a service is without separate charge and the public decides not to use it, then the service is de facto without any value to these individuals". Yet Coates' simplistic notions of the services public libraries provide lies at the heart of the problem. Performance indicators based on book loans are unable to assess 'the totality of library effectiveness'. Conversely, qualitative analysis, interviewing users about service impact, shows that libraries 'promote social cohesion and community confidence'. However qualitative findings are by nature not quantitative and not comparable. To try to produce a measure for service quality, contingent valuation was chosen. It elicits economic value judgements from users on both services they use and services they do not use. A major independent study using contingent valuation was conducted by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde on East Renfrewshire Library Services, near Glasgow, which is recognised as an exemplary public library service. The study revealed the inability of contingent valuation to adequately assess the complex mix of services provided. The study concludes that an urgent rethink is required regarding measures for public library service evaluation

The distance selling directive: consumer champion or complete irrelevance?

This paper investigates the origins, significant content, UK and EU implementation and outcomes of Directive 97/7/EC on distance selling, hereafter referred to as the Distance Selling Directive (DSD). The DSD has been implemented in national legislation by all EU Member States. In the UK this legislation was the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No. 2334), hereafter referred to as the CPDSR

Evaluation of SCRAN subscription to Scottish public libraries

This report commissioned by the Scottish Library and Information Council evaluates the year-long Scottish Executive-funded project to give all public libraries in Scotland access to the SCRAN service. The implementation of the project was supported by a Project Steering Group with both SLIC and SCRAN representation, and a wider steering group with membership from Heads of Service, Scottish Executive, and SCRAN and chaired by Elaine Fulton of SLIC

The emergence of digital services in the Scottish public library sector: a survey

In an era of unprecedented technological innovation and evolving user expectations and information seeking behaviour (Leong, 2008; Parry, 2008), a review of emerging public library (PL) digital services is important and timely. We are now an online society, with digital services increasingly common and increasingly preferred (Tonta, 2008). As a trusted source of public information, PLs are in an advantageous position to respond. However, evidence suggests that many PL websites are little more than 'digitised leaflets' or directory listings within parent local authority (LA) websites (Harden, 2007; McMenemy, 2007), and a recent UK report found that while overall visitor numbers to such LA websites increased by 21.7% in 2009, user satisfaction dropped by 18% (Socitm, 2010). An associated issue is how to present digital information to the public 'without confusion, duplication of effort and in a user friendly way' (Atherton, 2002), particularly common services with shared goals such as lifelong learning, community development, and health & wellbeing. Challenges include limited definition of digital services and PL role, the nascent state of digital service design (Williams et al, 2008), and limited empirical evidence of digital collaboration, or broader evaluations of PL Internet services (Aitta, 2007). We believe this to be the first extensive survey of its kind, which comprehensively identifies and reports on emerging PL digital services across a devolved jurisdiction of the UK, encompassing 32 PLs. Extent and range of digital services is identified, including emergent trends, and the role of the PL as either content provider or access provider

The Extent of Sectarianism Online

Study focusing on the extent and nature of online sectarianism often connected with football in Scotland

Embedding multimedia in the Library school curriculum

The MSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies at the University of Strathclyde is in its 21st year. One of the continuous hallmarks of the course has been its state-of-the-art focus on information and communications technologies in libraries, (ICTs) and illustrations of this can be seen in the modules Fundamentals of Information and Communication Technologies (FICT) and Digital Archiving and Preservation (DAP). The main aim of FICT was to position multimedia as the core of ICT, rather than as merely the latest component. It was hypothesised that students think of ICT and multimedia as near synonyms. The web and CDs/DVDs are intrinsically multimedia in nature, so students should have recognised this. All popular operating systems also come with software to display, and give basic editing control over, multimedia. Hardware devices to create and manipulate multimedia (scanners, digital cameras and digital audio players) are increasingly replacing analogue counterparts

The Extent of Sectarianism Online : Project Report produced for Nil by Mouth

Study focusing on the extent and nature of online sectarianism often connected with football in Scotland

Public library 2.0 : towards a new mission for public libraries as a network of community knowledge

This article seeks to propose a new vision for public libraries in the digital age. The study argues that currently there are no proper mechanisms for capturing, preserving and disseminating community knowledge, and proposes that public libraries in the digital age should take a new role whereby they should act not only as a gateway to knowledge, but also as a platform facilitating the creation of, and access to, local community knowledge. Proposes a model for PL2.0 where public libraries can take on this new role to build a network of community knowledge. The paper proposes that the new role of public libraries will be to shift from solely providing access to knowledge to acting as a platform for the storage and dissemination of local community knowledge within the global context created by twenty-first century digital technologies

The challenges facing public libraries in the Big Society: The role of volunteers, and the issues that surround their use in England

The use of volunteers in English public libraries is nothing new, however their use is becoming ever greater and one may argue that we are increasingly seeing a mixed economy of public library provision, in the wider arena of the Big Society. This paper presents the findings of a Delphi Study of 15 library managers undertaken as part of a Professional Doctorate exploring the challenges facing public libraries in England today, particularly focusing on volunteer use. An overview of relevant supporting literature is provided to help contextualize the research, particularly focusing on concepts such as the political background surrounding policy development, community engagement, the Big Society, and volunteering. Explanation of how the Delphi Study was conducted is given, together with a discussion of the key findings. Results show that opinions of library managers cover a broad spectrum. Although volunteer use is generally viewed by the respondents as a good thing, with potential to further enhance a service and aid community engagement, there are also a number of concerns. These concerns particularly relate to the idea of the volunteer as a replacement to paid staff rather than an enhancement to the service. Other key concerns relate to the quality of service provision, the rationale behind volunteer use, and the capacity of communities to deliver. Volunteer use in public libraries on this scale is a new phenomenon, and the longevity of such a development is largely unknown. This raises the question as to whether this is simply a large scale ideological experiment, or a move to even greater community engagement