Showing papers in "College & Research Libraries in 1986"

Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development

Abstract: This qualitative study explored the feelings of students about using the library for research. Personal writing, collected in beginning composition courses over a two-year period, was analyzed for recurrent themes. It was found that 75 to 85 percent of the students in these courses described their initial response to library research in terms of fear. Three concepts emerged from these descriptions: (1) students generally feel that their own library-use skills are inadequate while the skills of other students are adequate, (2) the inadequacy is shameful and should be hidden, and (3) the inadequacy would be revealed by asking questions. A grounded theory of library anxiety was constructed from these data.

Reference beyond (and without) the Reference Desk

Abstract: On suggere que le bureau des renseignements dans une bibliotheque universitaire pourrait etre totalement repense en fonction des nouvelles technologies et des nouveaux moyens d'acces a l'information

The Benefits of Research for Academic Librarians and the Institutions They Serve

Abstract: Les avantages que les bibliothecaires peuvent retirer de leurs activites de recherche se situent surtout au niveau de leur carriere professionnelle et de leurs relations avec les universitaires

Open Systems for Open Minds: Building the Library Without Walls

Abstract: As scholars are more frequently connected to electronic networks allowing access to research information and collegial interchange, the roles of the library and the computer center will need to shift from those of a central repository holding information and technology to that of sleuths and integrators of disparate information sources. The malleability of electronic information, the openness of systems containing it, and the expectations of scholars as they become less \" patrons\" of the library and more \"users\" of electronic information services will drive us to develop systems and organizations that readily facilitate the transmission and transformation of knowledge.

Knowledge Bases and Library Education.

Abstract: Enquete aupres d'environ 500 bibliothecaires afin d'evaluer les connaissances de base qu'ils ressentent necessaires pour travailler dans une bibliotheque de recherche, les modes d'acquisition de ces connaissances et leur sentiment de les posseder suffisamment pour remplir convenablement leurs fonctions

Coping with Information Load: User Strategies and Implications for Librarians

Abstract: ow are library users handling the increasing amounts of information available to them in college and research libraries? This question has drawn the attention of numerous commentators in recent years. While some have expressed concern that the increased amount of information in libraries may have a negative impact on users, i.e., may "overload" them, 6 others believe that users do quite well through use of any of several ''coping mechanisms. " 7 The question remains an open one, in part because so little empirical library research has been conducted in this area. Instead, we must rely mainly on the findings from information load research performed in fields other than library science, e.g., clinical psychology and consumer behavior. In addition, there is considerable conceptual and definitional ambiguity apparent in the use of important terms. After clarifying these ambiguities and reviewing what empirical researchers have discovered about the impact of increasing amounts of information on users, the present paper applies these findings to a library context and discusses the implications of these findings for users and librarians. CONCEPTUAL AND DEFINITIONAL AMBIGUITIES

Conversation, a New Paradigm for Librarianship?

Abstract: Criticized for their isolation from the central mission of the college or university and, at the same time, struggling to accommodate the tremendous growth of information and technology, academic librarians need a new paradigm for library service that will effectively direct and inform planning for the future. Conversation, crucial for human life in society and intrinsic to the nature of libraries, may well be the appropriate model for providing the guidance, means, and context for change in academic librarianship.

A View from the Trenches: Costing and Performance Measures for Academic Library Public Services

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a pilot study to identify the issues and concerns of public service middle managers on costing and the use of performance measures. Based on group interviews at two libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and additional individual interviews with other librarians, findings suggest that participants have little faith in the usefulness of producing cost data and using performance measures; they believe that the availability of such data rarely has an impact on decision making; in-house data frequently lacks reliability and validity; and they are too understaffed to take time away from the provision of services to identify, collect, and analyze such data. Implications of these findings are discussed and specific recommendations are offered to increase the usefulness of costing and performance measures for academic library decision making and planning.

An Organizational Paradigm for Effective Academic Libraries

Abstract: The organizational structures of academic libraries are considered in light of the work of anumber of organizational theorists, and related work by librarians is reviewed. An organizational paradigm for effective academic libraries is developed based on this review. The paradigm is composed of five parts: a modified professional bureaucratic structure, flexible resource allocation, the use of management information systems, the export of production functions, and the development of an organizational philosophy.

The Language of the Levels: Reflections on the Communication of Collection Development Policy

Abstract: La politique de developpement des collections (telle que la definit, par exemple, l'ALA) utilise souvent la notion de niveaux. Une reflexion doit etre menee sur cette notion de niveaux afin de mieux cerner les strategies d'elaboration des collections

The Managerial Roles of Academic Library Directors: The Mintzberg Model

Abstract: Analyse des diverses fonctions liees a la position de directeur dans les bibliotheques universitaires. Contacts avec l'exterieur, liens avec d'autres organisations forment le role externe, tandis qu'a l'interieur le directeur est responsable de la planification et du personnel

Attitudes and preferences of library practitioners in Illinois to channels for dissemination of research results

Abstract: Enquete aupres d'un echantillon de bibliothecaires de l'Illinois afin d'evaluer comment ils percoivent la diffusion des resultats de la recherche en bibliotheconomie et science de l'information ainsi que l'utilite pour eux de cette recherche. Une liste des periodiques les plus lus est degagee, ainsi qu'une liste des bulletins d'information les plus lus. Enfin, on evalue dans quelle mesure sont utilises les sources secondaires «Library Litterature» et «Library and Information Science Abstracts»

Psychological Needs and Source Linkages in Undergraduate Information-Seeking Behavior

Abstract: Etude des motivations liees a la recherche documentaire dans le cadre d'une bibliotheque universitaire. On identifie les types de sources d'information qui semblent le mieux satisfaire les besoins des etudiants

A New Perspective on Faculty Status

Abstract: Le statut universitaire, revendique par les bibliothecaires americains, entrainerait des responsabilites nouvelles: enseignement, recherche et publication

Robot at the Reference Desk

Abstract: On decrit un petit systeme experimental fonctionnant sur microordinateur permettant aux utilisateurs d'effectuer un petit travail de recherche de references en l'absence du bibliothecaire. De nombreux problemes restent a resoudre pour un systeme performant

Online Searching and the Research Process

Abstract: Despite evidence that researchers seek information in ways which are quite different from a logical, linear search strategy model, librarians persist in relating to the information-seeking process as if it were static and product oriented. Even online searching, which is generally considered to be flexible and interactive, is viewed merely as an alternate method of compiling a bibliography. The bibliography is considered a fixed and final product to be measured exclusively according to the limited variables of recall and precision. By having such a restricted view of online searching and its potential benefits to researchers, librarians fail to take full advantage of their role in the academic research community. If librarians wish to be relevant to researchers and to offer valuable services to an important constituency, they must fully understand the organic nature of research and the ways that scholars seek information. They must further understand and facilitate the significant way that online searching can contribute to and enhance the research process.

Hard Copy in Transition: An Automated Storage and Retrieval Facility for Low-Use Library Materials

Abstract: La bibliotheque universitaire de Californie a prevu, a cote des fonds en acces libre, un systeme de stockage a part pour les documents peu utilises. Lie au catalogue accessible en ligne, ces documents sont facilement identifiables et fournis a l'utilisateur en tres peu de temps

Funding Online Services from the Materials Budget

Abstract: Author(s): Poole, Jay Martin; St. Clair, Gloriana | Abstract: During this transitional time of decreasing library budgets and an increasing requirement for online services, it behooves librarians to consider all the possible sources for funding these new and demanded services. The information provided by an online search satisfies legitimate educational and research needs and should be funded with monies from the print materials budget. As automated information services become more prevalent, it is essential that libraries find permanent funding to support this activity.

Conservation, Preservation, and Digitization

Abstract: Considerable attention has been focused recently on the problems of conservation and preservation of library materials. Particularly daunting are the scale of the problems and the enormous ongoing investment that will be required to address them. Currently proposed approaches include extensive microfilming of material, deacidification, and other repair measures. It is proposed that digital technologies be used to accomplish simultaneously the aims of conservation and improved access to materials. Various technologies are reviewed. Such an approach to conservation would form a natural extension to the current growth of electronic publishing, online catalogs, and online databases of journal abstracts. Furthermore, it would provide the greatest return for the massive investment that will be needed to save our deteriorating collections.

The Influence of Reference Practices on the Client-Librarian Relationship.

Abstract: Les pratiques actuelles de recherche de references par le bibliothecaire entrainent de nouvelles relations entre l'utilisateur et ce dernier ainsi qu'une meilleure perception des competences des bibliothecaires

Teaching Microcomputer Literacy: New Roles for Academic Librarians

Abstract: While microcomputer labs and software collections are increasingly a part of college and university libraries, most librarians are not instructing users in microcomputer literacy, despite the clear need of many users for such instruction. In many cases, librarians do not believe that it is their role to provide such instruction. This paper will contend that it is indeed their role and that if one views microcomputers as important tools for information retrieval and management, librarians' role in teaching users about them is vital. By examining the experience of one academic library in assuming a central role in the administration of a microcomputer lab and in campuswide microcomputer literacy instruction, changes in librarians' professional roles are suggested, and the implications of such a role are examined.

Attitudes toward Technology as Predictors of Online Catalog Usage.

Abstract: While other studies have concentrated on evaluations of specific online public access catalog (OPAC) software, this study addresses the general acceptance of computer technology, as well as user attitudes toward OPACs. Questionnaire data was subjected to factor and discriminant analyses in order to seek out predictors of future OPAC use. These analyses defined two distinct groups of respondents: the " reluctant OPAC user" and the "naive OPAC enthusiast."

Ashurbanipal's Enduring Archetype: Thoughts on the Library's Role in the Future

Abstract: Examen du role futur de la bibliotheque en tant qu'institution sociale dans un environnement domine par l'essor de l'edition electronique et l'emergence d'une industrie de l'information a but lucratif

The Reliability Factor in Subject Access

Abstract: L'efficacite de l'acces par vedettes matiere tient a la coherence de l'indexation. L'avenement des catalogues en ligne rend cet objectif encore plus pertinent et aussi plus facile a atteindre

Capturing the Mainstream: Publisher-Based and Subject-Based Approval Plans in Academic Libraries

Abstract: Approval plans in large academic research libraries have had mixed acceptance and success. Much of the negative reaction may be caused by not designing a plan suitable for the book market and the needs of research libraries. The author compares the viability of subjectand publisher-based plans for academic libraries in both domestic and international markets and presents the case for the overriding success of the publisher-based plan for domestic publications and the subject-based plan for international markets. The intrinsic differences between the two types of plans are discussed, and the publishing industries of North America and Europe are reviewed for their impact on approval plans covering various countries. The experience of the University of Illinois-Urbana Library is presented as a specific case for the relative success of both types of plans. The collection, the library organization, and the vagaries of the publishing industries of many countries form the basis for selecting the proper plan which is most economical.

Reactions to "Funding Online Services from the Materials Budget"

Abstract: ''Then you should say what you mean,'' the March Hare went on. \"I do,\" Alice hastily replied; \"at least-at least I mean what I say-that's the same thing, you know.'' \"Not the same thing a bit!\" said the Hatter. \"Why, you might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same thing as 'I eat what I see'!\" \"You might as well say,\" added the March Hare, \"that 'I like what I get' is the same thing as 'I get what I like'!\

The University Library in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract: Cette vision prospective aborde trois themes: la bibliotheconomie comme discipline scientifique; la politique et les bibliotheques universitaires, la bibliotheque en tant qu'acteur au sein de l'universite

Does the Catalog Record Make a Difference? Access Points and Book Use.

Abstract: Recherche sur la correlation entre le nombre et le type de points d'acces au catalogue et la circulation des documents dans une bibliotheque de recherche de moyenne importance