Information-Seeking Behavior (ISB) of IAMSLIC Members in Response to a Query

Using a three-part survey instrument, a quantitative study was conducted to determine the information-seeking behavior of the members of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) in response to queries. Specifically, the study aimed to determine if aquatic science librarians, like other professionals, would opt to go to the Internet first rather than library databases when searching for information (Jamali & Asadi, 2010; Niu et al., 2010; and Superio et al., 2018). Likewise, the study documented the most commonly used websites, open access databases, and repositories used by the respondents. All of the IAMSLIC members were included in the study. An online survey instrument was used. After 40 days, 76 valid responses had been received. Findings of the study revealed that regardless of the librarians’ gender, age, educational attainment, position or designation, regional group affiliation, and library type, they would prefer to use their library’s online public access catalog (OPAC) first when searching for information. Moreover, Aquatic Commons, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics (FAO Stat), and OceanDocs were the most commonly accessed open access databases and repositories. IAMSLIC established the Aquatic Commons, so it was no surprise that it was the most frequently accessed repository by the IAMSLIC member librarians. The results also suggest that academic social-networking sites (SNS), specifically ResearchGate and Google Scholar, were essential search tools for some of the respondents. Google Scholar has made searching and retrieval of scholarly articles easy

Grey literature usage among Filipino aquaculture researchers: A bibliometric analysis of research from 2009 to 2018

Extended abstract only.Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production industries globally (Natale et al., 2011), and it is expected to exceed the production of other animal production industries such as beef, pork, or poultry in the next decade (OECD and FAO, 2012). In the Philippines, aquaculture contributes significantly to food security, employment for the poor, women, youth, and foreign exchange earnings (FAO, 2019; Sekhar and Ortiz, 2006). The Philippines is the 11th top aquaculture producing country in the world; it ranked third, fifth, and ninth in seaweeds, finfish, and marine crustacean productions, respectively (FAO, 2018). However, unsustainable aquaculture practices in the country “contributed to nutrient loading, threatening environmental harm” (FAO, 2018). The majority of countries in the world, including the Philippines, are experiencing environmental problems due to unsustainable aquaculture practices. Thus, to address these problems and further develop aquaculture, research was actively done by the government, academic, and research institutions. According to Superio et al. (2019) research plays a major role in development, and commonly, the results were published for public consumption. However, some fisheries and aquaculture researches were unpublished and of limited distribution because a high proportion of fisheries information was published as grey literature (Parker et al., 2010). Notably, FAO (2009) found that fisheries information in developing countries was published in grey literature due to the stringent criteria of the editorial boards of Western peer-reviewed journals, while in Africa, an estimated 70 percent of fisheries information is published as grey literature

The information-seeking behavior of aquatic science librarians in response to a query

When searching for information in response to a query, their own library’s online public access catalog (OPAC) and databases remain the most preferred resource for most aquatic science librarians. This preference does not vary regardless of age, gender, educational degree, position or designation, country classification, or type of library. While the Internet acts as a supplement to the library collection, whenever the requested information is not available at the library, librarians prefer Googling instead of looking at other sources. Other than aquatic science-specific open access repositories and databases, some of the librarians have identified Google Scholar, DOAJ, ResearchGate, and Academia, among many others as valuable resources that help them fulfill their clientele’s query

Fire + water + bombs: Disaster management among academic libraries in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Philippines

The academic libraries in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Philippines are vulnerable to disasters. In the last ten years, the majority of the 13 respondent libraries have sustained at least one disaster that may have been caused by civil unrest, war or terrorism, flood, earthquake, or fire. The majority were unprepared to face such disasters, may it be small-scale or catastrophic, and only one library has a disaster management plan. The lack of significant holdings of rare books, shortage of financial resources, no perceived risk, and the unavailability of staff to write a disaster management plan, are the reasons why most libraries do not have a plan. Moreover, the majority lacked staff that has undergone training in disaster preparedness and management. On the other hand, all of the libraries have disaster management practices that although not enough, will still enable them to lessen the effects of the disaster and save their library and parts of their collection when necessary. The respondents identified management support as an essential factor in their success in disaster management. The results of the study provide valuable information on the current state of the libraries in the Philippines with regards to disaster preparedness and management. Therefore, it is an essential addition to the literature on disaster management in the Philippines, which is very scarce as of the moment

Burning grey: The worldwide influence of a locally published grey literature

Rice is a major staple crop in the Philippines, which produces a large amount of rice each year. On the other hand, rice production generates biomass waste in the form of rice husks. In consideration of the rice husks’ potential as a biomass energy source and support the development of the rice husk gas stove technology in the Philippines, Engineer Alexis T. Belonio had published a grey literature (GL) entitled “Rice Husk Gas Stove Handbook.” Hence, to fully understand the impact of the technology, a citation analysis was conducted. The works that cited the GL were retrieved from Google Scholar using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software. The complete title of the GL was used as keywords for the search string. Results revealed that the GL was cited by 155 literatures written by 398 authors from 31 countries. Seventy-five (48.4%) of the 155 literatures were cited 797 times. The results showed the wide utilization and the impact of locally-published GL, thereby confirming GL’s value in research and development

Responsible aquaculturists: The information-seeking behavior of milkfish farmers in Iloilo, Philippines

Compliance with a policy, law, standard or code requires understanding of its provisions. However, for someone to understand it, he must be aware of its existence and be provided access to it. A qualitative-quantitative research was conducted to determine the awareness of milkfish farmers about the Philippine Code of Practice for Aquaculture in the municipalities of Leganes and Zarraga, Iloilo Province, the Philippines and their information-seeking behaviors. Results revealed that the majority of the respondents were not aware of the existence of the Code, hence, there is a low level of compliance. When seeking everyday life information, the majority of the milkfish farmers depended on television, personal or person-to-person communication and radio, while when seeking for fish farming information, personal communication was the preferred source. None of the respondents was aware of the existence of their municipal libraries