Public Librarians with the Highest Retention Rate are More Likely to Choose their Entire Career Path in Public Libraries

Abstract&#x0D; &#x0D; Objectives – The main objectives of this study were the following:&#x0D; • to analyze the career path and career movement of librarians in Korea&#x0D; • to identify and compare factors influencing the career movement path of chief librarians in public libraries and other librarians &#x0D; • to determine library positions’ turnover rates, average career retention, career reinstatement, proximity between careers, and proximity between different libraries&#x0D; &#x0D; Design – Survey questionnaire.&#x0D; &#x0D; Setting – One survey conducted in college libraries, public libraries, special libraries, school libraries, and library-related service providers in Korea, and another in public libraries in Korea, targeting chief librarians only. &#x0D; &#x0D; Subjects – Librarians were identified from the 2008 Korean Library Yearbook published by the Korean Library Association. Also, more survey recipients in the ‘other category’ were identified through Internet search, directory search, and library ads. A total of 816 librarians participated in the survey. The breakdowns of participants based on the type of library they were working at are the following: &#x0D; &#x0D; First survey:&#x0D; • 282 Public librarians &#x0D; • 268 University librarians&#x0D; • 24 Special librarians&#x0D; • 25 School librarians &#x0D; • 15 Other librarians &#x0D; &#x0D; Second survey: &#x0D; • 202 Chief librarians at public libraries&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods – A total of 2179 questionnaires were distributed twice in May 2009 via mail to different libraries. Postage paid envelopes were provided. A phone call reminder was made to increase the response rate. 614 copies were returned. The total response rate for the survey was 28.18%. The highest response rate was from academic libraries with a total of 37.17% (Table 2 in the article). Six hundred and forty three copies of the questionnaire were sent out to chief librarians and the response rate was 31.42%. The SAS statistical package was used for conducting statistical analysis of the data. The content areas covered in the two questionnaires are listed below in Table 1 [see Table 1 in fulltext]. &#x0D; &#x0D; In order to investigate the career movement path of librarians, participants were asked to identify their current job position plus the first three positions before the current position. Each position equals one phase in the librarians’ career path analysis. The jobs were broadly categorized into public libraries, university libraries, special libraries, schools and school libraries, database and content builders, library automation system developers, MARC companies, agencies, Internet portals, library supply companies, and others.&#x0D; &#x0D; Main Results – The data obtained from those items italicized in Table 1 were used to compare factors influencing the career movement path of chief librarians in public libraries and librarians. The survey results on differences in gender show that most chief librarians (58.9%) were men compare to women (41.1%), while the ratio of women to men librarians is 2:5. Therefore, it is more likely that male librarians decide to become chief librarians. Analyzing the age of respondents indicates that it takes 20 years of library experience before one becomes a chief librarian. Survey results on differences in the final academic degree between librarians and chief librarians show that more librarians (96.7%) held higher graduate degree compare to chief librarians (87.6%) (results calculated form Table 7 - p. 333). Likewise, there are more librarians who studied library and information science (83.3%) compare to chief librarians (55.9%) (Table 8). Comparing the type of certificates held by two groups, it is evident that 26.7% of chief librarians do not have any library related certificates compare to 5.9% of librarians. The survey results suggest that both librarians and chief librarians make effort to increase their knowledge and skills. While librarians spend more time to improve operational aptitude and personal management, chief librarians identify themselves as hard working individuals. &#x0D; &#x0D; The study conducted a simple analysis on factors influencing the career movement of librarians and chief librarians. Those factors differ greatly between librarians and chief librarians. While 25.5% of librarians rank compensation and working conditions as the most important factors, 19.2% of chief librarians report organizational culture as the main motivating factor. Based on the percentage of initial career selected in each job category, the most frequent career paths taken by librarians and chief librarians were identified. A total of 92.9% of public librarians reported that their whole career path was indeed in public libraries. In addition, the average length of service by career movement phase was identified to get shorter from the initial to fourth career for librarians while they intent to stay at their current position the longest (157.8 months). On the other hand, chief librarians have one main career in which they have stayed the longest (116 months). This main career is the position immediately prior to the current job position. &#x0D; &#x0D; The main results of this article are summarized in table 21, based on numbers presented in the tables 12 to 20 in the article. &#x0D; &#x0D; The lowest and highest turnovers were among public librarians (7.1%) and library automation system developer and information professionals at MARC companies (100%). Conversely, the retention rates for all other jobs were also determined. 6.2% of school librarians returned to school libraries after working in other types of libraries. This is the highest rate for returning to the previous job. &#x0D; &#x0D; The proximity between different types of careers was analyzed based on combining the numbers of instances of career movement from the initial to the forth career. The highest rate of proximity is always the movement between the same types of career. The two highest (not same career type) career movements are university library and public library (2.65%) and university library and special library (2.32%). &#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion – It is more likely that male librarians will take on leadership responsibilities in public libraries. Usually, it takes 20 years of library experience before one becomes chief librarian. More librarians hold higher graduate degrees compared to chief librarians. This study also analyzes factors influencing the career movement of librarians and chief librarians. Those factors differ greatly between librarians and chief librarians. The lowest retention rate was 0% for library automation system developers and information professionals at MARC companies, whereas the highest retention rate was for public librarians followed by university libraries. The highest rate for return-to-first-job belongs to school libraries. It is noteworthy to mention that chief librarians have one main career in which they have stayed the longest. This main career is the position immediately before to the current job position. It usually occurs in the midcareer phase and it is when the individual has spent more time developing their skills and expertise and has been getting ready for their leadership role.</jats:p

Anti-intellectualism in Dystopian Novels

The actuality of the research is determined by the fact that dystopian novel is one of the most popular genres nowadays, because it reveals the problems of modern society and predicts how these problems destroy our universe if we don’t stop them. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the role of dystopian government in the dystopian world, to describe their activities and methods, specifically anti- intellectualism. According to the study, we have used the following methods: description and comparison. The research showed that dystopian government in all dystopian novels tries to create a powerful mechanism to control the population without pain and extra effort. This strong weapon in dystopian novels is anti-intellectualism. If the population is less educated, it will be easier to control them; it will be easier to make them believe as you wish. They burn books, destroy everything that can make people think differently. Difference is the biggest danger for the totalitarian government. The government uses a new language and religion to vanish this difference, to limit the ideas and to control the minds. Key words: government, newspeak, mind control, dystopian societ

A Graduate Degree in Library or Information Science Is Required, but not Sufficient, to Enter the Profession

A Review of:&#x0D; Reeves, R., &amp; Hahn, T. (2010). Job advertisements for recent graduates: Advising, curriculum, and job-seeking implications. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 51(2), 103-119.&#x0D; &#x0D; Objective – To analyze the current state of the job market for recent MLS or MLIS graduates.&#x0D; &#x0D; Design – Content analysis of job postings.&#x0D; &#x0D; Setting – Online library or archival job advertisements published between 15 April, 2006 and 10 May, 2009 and collected from two national library publications (American Libraries and Library Journal), two electronic lists (Maryland's iSchool Discussion list and the Archives and Archivists list sponsored by the Society of American Archivists), two Internet job banks (USAJobs.gov and LISJobs.com), and several local chapters of library and archival organizations in the South Atlantic region of the United States.&#x0D; Subjects – 1,042 online library or archival job advertisements. Salary data were obtained from 401 available online job advertisements. &#x0D; &#x0D; Methods – The methodology for collection and content analysis of job ads was adapted from earlier studies, with slight modification wherever appropriate. The following criteria for selecting the ads were applied: &#x0D; &#x0D; • Ad says "entry-level"&#x0D; • No mention of professional experience&#x0D; • No experience or duties impossible for entry-level librarians to gain&#x0D; • Only ads that required an MLS or MLIS degree from an ALA-accredited institution&#x0D; • Part-time or temporary positions of less than nine months were excluded&#x0D; &#x0D; The authors removed duplicated job postings and identified three major areas of content analysis. Table 1 lists a brief summary of these areas and further sub-categories for each area. The content analysis was performed using a custom Microsoft Access database for data organization and storage and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for data manipulation. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. &#x0D; &#x0D; Main Results – The two largest represented institution types for library positions were academic (63.6%) and public (17.5%). For archival positions, the academic (62.7%) and “other” (25.4%) institutions rank first and second. When the job ads were broken down into the position types, which were covering a wide range of responsibilities, the greatest numbers of entry-level library positions are found to be public service (52.2%) and technical services (23.9%) positions. The two largest represented position types in archives are technical services (50.7 %) and generalist (40.5%). &#x0D; &#x0D; While average salaries increased slightly over the four years of study, there is a more significant increase in the salaries of positions posted in 2009. The highest average salaries were found to be $43K for archivists working for government and$60K for library positions in the “other” category. In addition, the number of entry-level positions has increased from year to year over this period. &#x0D; &#x0D; Social competencies such as communication, collaboration and team work, and service orientation were the most emphasized traits for novice librarians and archivists. General information technology skills and knowledge of technical services were the most common skills required for both library and archive positions. Overall, the entry-level job postings did not require non-professional experience. However, 13.6% of the library and 18.7% of the archival positions required supervisory experience. Experience with preservation of physical objects and the knowledge of programming and mark-up languages were also common requirements for archives positions. Instructional and reference experience ranks the second and third essential skills for librarians. &#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion – Based on the research results, a graduate degree in library or information science is required, but not sufficient, to enter the profession. Practical experience, either through internships, co-op programs, or part-time or full-time employment, is essential for new graduates seeking employment, but the majority of postings do not require a subject expertise, second Master’s degree, or knowledge of a foreign language. Since the job content analysis in this study only evaluated broad components of library services and archival operation, it might not provide sufficient data on new trends in the job market for the MLS curriculum review.</jats:p

Library School Curricula in the US Should Address Liaison Responsibilities for Students Interested in Academic Librarianship

A Review of:&#x0D; Attebury, R. I., &amp; Finnell, J. (2009). What do LIS students in the United States know about liaison duties? New Library World, 110(7), 325-340. &#x0D; &#x0D; Objectives – The two main objectives of this study were to determine the level of prevalence of liaison work in academic library job advertisements and to investigate whether the current library &amp; information science (LIS) students are aware of liaison duties.&#x0D; &#x0D; Design – The mixed methods used in this study are job postings analysis and online survey. &#x0D; &#x0D; Setting – The research settings were the following:&#x0D; (1) Online academic job advertisements published between November 15, 2007 and January 15, 2008 and collected from Chronicle of Higher Education’s Web site and lisjobs.com;&#x0D; (2) Fifty-three electronic mail lists of ALA-accredited library schools in the US. &#x0D; &#x0D; Subjects – The subjects of the study were 313 online academic job advertisements and 516 LIS students. &#x0D; &#x0D; Methods – The sample size and methodology for the first part of this study were based on four previously published studies. Duplicated job postings were removed and the remaining were organized into 15 categories of access/public services, reference, instruction, bibliographer/subject specialist, combination (instruction and reference), archives/special collections, special libraries, director/dean, department head or coordinator, interlibrary loan (ILL), systems/web development, cataloguing, outreach, and acquisitions/collection-development. Only those job ads containing the term “liaison” were included in the analysis. &#x0D; &#x0D; For the second part of the study, the authors conducted an online survey. They attempted to investigate the knowledge of LIS students on liaison librarianship, to measure the level of exposure to liaison responsibilities in their course work, and to gauge the confidence of the individual in their ability to become successful liaison librarians. The survey was distributed among 53 LIS school electronic mail lists, resulting in 516 respondents. &#x0D; &#x0D; Main Results – The job ad analysis revealed that 29% of job postings were directly related to liaison duties. The liaison component of the positions related to access/public services, instruction, bibliographer/subject specialist, special, and outreach were the highest (50% or more). The liaison activities described in the job ads related to reference, a combination of reference and instruction, ILL, department head/coordinator, and system/Web development were also high (29% to 50%). The positions categorized as librarian, archives, director/dean, cataloguing, and collection development/acquisitions had less liaison responsibilities (</jats:p

Comparison of motor development of low birth weight (LBW) infants with and without using mechanical ventilation and normal birth weight infants

Background: To determine whether using mechanical ventilation in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) influences motor development of low birth weight (LBW) infants and to compare their motor development with normal birth weight (NBW) infants at the age of 8 to 12 months using Peabody Developmental Motor Scale 2 (PDMS-2). Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 70 LBW infants in two groups, mechanical ventilation (MV) group, n=35 and without mechanical ventilation (WMV) group, n=35 and 40 healthy NBW infants matched with LBW group for age. Motor quotients were determined using PDMS-2 and compared in all groups using ANOVA statistical method and SPSS version 17. Results: Comparison of the mean developmental motor quotient (DMQ) of both MV and WMV groups showed significant differences with NBW group (p< 0.05). Also, significant difference was found between the gross DMQ of MV group and WMV group (p< 0.05). Moreover, in MV group, both gross and fine motor quotients were considered as below average (16.12). In WMV group, the gross motor quotient was considered as average (49.51) and the fine motor quotient was considered as below average (16.12). Conclusion: It seems that LBW infants have poor fine motor outcomes. The gross motor outcomes, on the other hand, will be significantly more influenced by using mechanical ventilation. In addition, more differences seem to be related to lower birth weight. Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants are more prone to developmental difficulties than LBW infants with the history of using mechanical ventilation especially in fine motor development

Sensorml-Nt: Innovative Cloud Service Sensor Description For Mobile Devices Handling Environmental Issues.

Peranti mudah alih hari ini boleh didapati di mana-mana dan semakin banyak dilengkapi dengan set pengesan terbenam yang berkuasa. Today’s mobile devices are pervasive and equipped with growing sets of powerful embedded sensors

RRR: Rank-Regret Representative

Selecting the best items in a dataset is a common task in data exploration. However, the concept of "best" lies in the eyes of the beholder: different users may consider different attributes more important, and hence arrive at different rankings. Nevertheless, one can remove "dominated" items and create a "representative" subset of the data set, comprising the "best items" in it. A Pareto-optimal representative is guaranteed to contain the best item of each possible ranking, but it can be almost as big as the full data. Representative can be found if we relax the requirement to include the best item for every possible user, and instead just limit the users' "regret". Existing work defines regret as the loss in score by limiting consideration to the representative instead of the full data set, for any chosen ranking function. However, the score is often not a meaningful number and users may not understand its absolute value. Sometimes small ranges in score can include large fractions of the data set. In contrast, users do understand the notion of rank ordering. Therefore, alternatively, we consider the position of the items in the ranked list for defining the regret and propose the {\em rank-regret representative} as the minimal subset of the data containing at least one of the top-$k$ of any possible ranking function. This problem is NP-complete. We use the geometric interpretation of items to bound their ranks on ranges of functions and to utilize combinatorial geometry notions for developing effective and efficient approximation algorithms for the problem. Experiments on real datasets demonstrate that we can efficiently find small subsets with small rank-regrets

An investigation on the effect of central bank money injection on creating currency crisis

This paper investigates the effects of different factors influencing on supplement of currency in Iran and the likelihood of currency crises. The study implements two methods of Logit and Probit to determine the likelihood of currency crises based on the historical data over the period 1989-2012. In this study, currency crisis is defined in terms of three variables of currency change on market, interest rate and central bank foreign deposits. The results of the study indicate that the ratio of government (non-government) liabilities to central bank/Growth domestic product (GDP) has positive (negative) relationship with currency crises