Gauging Uniqueness: Assessment in Special Collections

This paper examines the Special Collections (SC) book holdings of De La Salle University Libraries, which aims the following: 1) to profile the book holdings of the SC; 2) to identify the strength and weakness of the collection; 3) to examine the utilization of the collection, and; 4) to determine the uniqueness and rarity of the book collection by comparing the SC book titles to the online catalog of University of the Philippines. The results of this study will provide statistical data that may be used in crafting guidelines for acquisitions, weeding and budget allocations for special collections. This study uses collection assessment through collection-centered techniques by counting the holdings of the SC book collections. Google curling was used to gauge the uniqueness of the book collection

Gauging Uniqueness: Assessment in Special Collections

This paper examines the Special Collections (SC) book holdings of De La Salle University Libraries, which aims the following: 1) to profile the book holdings of the SC; 2) to identify the strength and weakness of the collection; 3) to examine the utilization of the collection, and; 4) to determine the uniqueness and rarity of the book collection by comparing the SC book titles to the online catalog of University of the Philippines. The results of this study will provide statistical data that may be used in crafting guidelines for acquisitions, weeding and budget allocations for special collections. This study uses collection assessment through collection-centered techniques by counting the holdings of the SC book collections. Google curling was used to gauge the uniqueness of the book collection

Creative ways of demonstrating your value using a library dashboard

The study primarily aims to explore visualization approaches used by libraries in visualizing analytics to present their value and impact on the academic community. It attempts to investigate and answer the following research questions: (1) What are the current practices of academic libraries in data sharing and visualization?; (2) What kinds of data are displayed on library websites and dashboards?; and, (3) How do libraries visualize their data on the web? This study is a descriptive survey research design that employed content analysis to examine the library websites of the top 500 universities based on QS World University Ranking 2018 and ascertain the presence of public-facing data and availability of library dashboards. Website investigation and capturing of web pages were conducted from September 2018 to March 2019. A total of 157 universities published their library data on the web. Many libraries of top-ranking universities published their data online using textual facts and figures. Surprisingly, data show that only a few academic libraries around the world have developed their data dashboards. It implies that librarians have not taken full advantage of the benefits of data visualization. Library data in dashboards are presented in a visually less appealing and interactive report using visualization tools that delivers clear insights to library patrons, university administrators, and accrediting agencies. Published library data include reference transactions, usage of services, collections and spaces, library visits (physical and virtual), numbers of eBooks, online journals, open access resources and other collections, interlibrary and document delivery transactions, staffing, budget and expenditures, items checked out, library instruction sessions and attendees, equipment loans, digital image documents, new acquisition, and digitization. Most data are text, numbers, and graphs, thus, not-interactive and real-time. The results of this study may prescribe best practices in communicating library data to its stakeholders, in which Filipino librarians may benchmark. Librarians can make better, more data-driven decisions to drive continuous improvement of library operations

Researching together: Exploring research productivity and collaboration of librarians in ASEAN countries

This study employs bibliometrics to examine the research productivity and patterns of collaboration of librarians in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. All articles, conference papers, book chapters, and reviews in the LIS field written by librarians from ASEAN countries between 2001 and 2016 indexed by Scopus and Web of Science were extracted. Research publications were analysed in terms of productivity by country and institutions, authorship and collaboration patterns, document types, subject categories and publication year. While many of the librarians had conducted research as a requirement for their bachelor and/or master degree in Library and Information Science (LIS), research writing and knowledge sharing through publishing and paper presentation in conferences were not prevailing research activities. Librarians from Malaysia were the most productive authors in this dataset. Many of the scholarly works were single authored. Therefore, the degree of collaboration between authors was quite low. Likewise, the growth rate of research collaboration cannot be predicted from this data. This study provides recommendations to encourage ASEAN librarians to actively engage in research not just for personal benefits, but also to advance the librarianship as a profession. © 2018, © 2018 Australian Library & Information Association