This paper reviews the leading trends in and contributions to the peer-reviewed and professional literature of serials librarianship published in 2006 and 2007. The review shows that a central topic in the literature is the nature and effect of libraries’ ongoing transition from acquiring serials in print to providing access electronically. Propelled forward by user preferences, this transition is reflected in publications that reconceptualize collections and describe innovative initiatives and strategies for acquisition, access, and management. Throughout the literature, the review traces a prevailing sentiment that libraries are advancing well beyond the confines of print-centered models and are assuming new roles, imagining new possibilities, and developing new solutions.

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From Innovation to Transformation

Academic libraries have moved toward providing social networking features, such as tagging, in their library catalogs. To explore whether user tags can enhance access to individual literary works, the author obtained a sample of individual works of English and American literature from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from a large academic library catalog and searched them in LibraryThing. The author compared match rates, the availability of subject headings and tags across various literary forms, and the terminology used in tags versus controlled-vocabulary headings on a subset of records. In addition, she evaluated the usefulness of available LibraryThing tags for the library catalog records that lacked subject headings. Options for utilizing the subject terms available in sources outside the local catalog also are discussed.

/pdf/exploring-user-contributed-metadata-s-potential-to-enhance-hr9onhg2rp.pdf

Exploring user-contributed metadata's potential to enhance access to literary works

Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, Etc. Second Edition.

A review of the literature published between 1995 and mid-2003 in the United States and overseas is presented in the areas of cataloguing and classification of adult fiction books, browsing and selection of fiction by readers, user studies of adult fiction readers and readers' advisory services. The major findings are that the literature about readers' advisory services is a growing area, as are user studies of fiction readers; browsing research is an area that has seen little study since 1995 and much of the research, especially outside of readers' advisory work, is being conducted and published in Europe and Australia. More research in browsing and selection needs to be done to reflect the changes since the advent of the Internet age. The use of electronic tools and resources, such as NoveList and Amazon.com, by readers and librarians is a mostly unexplored but very important area for future research. ********** In 1996, Yu and O'Brien published a comprehensive literature review in the area of adult fiction librarianship. (1) Their review covered all the major areas of fiction librarianship, including a definition of fiction librarianship, fiction as a type of library material, understanding fiction readers, fiction acquisition, fiction processing, fiction representation and retrieval, fiction promotion, readers' advisory services (reader development), and collection management. They concluded that there is a lack of quality research in many of these areas, especially in terms of research design and theoretical work. Since the publication of this review, many articles and books on the topics covered by Yu and O'Brien have been published. The aim of the literature review here is to examine the articles, books, theses, and reports published from 1995 to June 2003 in the areas of cataloguing and classification of fiction books, browsing and selection of fiction by readers, user studies of readers, and adult readers' advisory services. Due to the lengthy academic publication process, studies published in 1995 were for the most part not included in Yu and O'Brien's review. The major area of study that will not, for the most part, be included in this study is historical. Several books have been written in this area since 1995, along with many articles and theses. The numerous books and articles written before 1995 and the primary sources from the 1920s and before contain enough information for another literature review. Because this is one of the few areas of library science that has plenty of historical research, this would be a particularly valuable literature review, especially for researchers and students of library science. One of the more unusual aspects of the literature review here was the surprising number of books, articles, and theses published overseas. Nearly half of the more than 180 books, articles, and theses looked at for this paper were published in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This review was limited to articles published in English. Research on fiction readers and readers' advisory services (often called reader development or reader guidance outside of North America) appears to be a thriving area, with several new studies published every year and many more practice-oriented articles and reports. Public Library Journal has articles on reader development services or fiction (especially displays and promotions) in nearly every issue. Throughout this review, North American studies will be compared and contrasted with those from outside North America in order to understand both the different viewpoints of the researchers and the social context in which the research is being done. In Yu and O'Brien's 1996 review, most of the studies cited were done in Europe or Australia or by European or Australian researchers. Since 1995, more research has been done in North America. Shearer, Ross, and Saricks have been important to the development of fiction studies in North America in recent years. …

Adult Fiction Reading: A Literature Review of Readers' Advisory Services, Adult Fiction Librarianship, and Fiction Readers

This paper explores the possibility of adding user‐oriented class associations to hierarchical library classification schemes. Some highly associated classes not grouped in the same subject hierarchies, yet relevant to users’ knowledge, are automatically obtained by analyzing a two‐year log of book circulation records from a university library in Taiwan. The library uses the Chinese Decimal Classification scheme, which has similar structure and notation to the Dewey Decimal Classification. Methods, from both collaborative filtering and information retrieval research, were employed and their performance compared based on similarity estimation of classes. The results show that classification schemes can, therefore, be made more adaptable to changes of users and the uses of different library collections by analyzing the circulation patterns of similar users. Limitations of the methods and implications for applications are also discussed.

https://ir.nctu.edu.tw:443/bitstream/11536/14470/1/000183029100006.pdf

Enriching user‐oriented class associations for library classification schemes

Subject headings for individual works of fiction have appeared on LC cataloging copy from the inception of the OCLC/LC Fiction Project in 1991. This study seeks to determine whether there is any relationship between the number of subject or genre headings per fiction record and mean circulation per record. Analysis of results indicates that no statistically significant correlation exists. Recommendation for a similar analysis of data from a public library is made.

The relationship between subject headings for works of fiction and circulation in an academic library

Notes on Metalib® Implementation at Texas A&M University

In this study, three years of SFX usage logs at Texas A&M University were analyzed to determine how patrons use link resolver services. The study contrasts the actions taken by users when full text is and is not available and compares public versus staff usage. The results confirmed users’ preference for full-text services but also provided insights into actions taken when full text was not an option. Changes in patterns of usage over a multiyear period are shown. The data was used to redesign the SFX services menu for a more streamlined offering of services, emphasizing those that users would actually choose to use.

Anne L. Highsmith

Papers

The relationship between subject headings for works of fiction and circulation in an academic library

Notes on Metalib® Implementation at Texas A&M University

A Resolution in Service: SFX Usage Logs as a Basis for Link Resolver Menu Redesign

Defining History for Library Statistics, or Everything Has a History.