Showing papers in "College & Research Libraries in 1992"

Interdisciplinary Research in the Sciences: Implications for Library Organization

Abstract: Accounts in both the popular media and scientific literature attest to the increasingly interdisciplinary character of scientific research. The twentieth century has seen the emergence of problem-centered and mission-oriented research in which discorveries and developments in one discipline are synthesized into the research of a very different field, often with dramatic and life-altering results. This paper uses techniques of citation analysis to examine information use by scientists in a university chemistry department and offers a measure of the interdisciplinarity of the research they publish. THis study willl consider implications for university libraries attempting to provide information services to scientists engaged in interdisciplinary research

The Academic Library Job Market: A Content Analysis Comparing Public and Technical Services

Abstract: This study analyzes the differences between public and technical services positions as described in job advertisements. Eleven hundred thirty-three jobs advertised by 480 institutions in 1988 were examined using content analysisto determine differences in the levels of computer skills, foreign-language requirements, previous work experience, educational requirements, and minimum salary offered. Analysis of the data included cross-tabulation and tests to determine statistical significance. Technical services position advertisements require more computer skills and previous work experience and are more than twice as likely to require foreign-language skills. Public services candidates are expected to have more advanced degrees. Minimum salaries advertised for the two groups are nearly equal for lower-level positions, but public services salaries rise faster as administrative responsibilities grow

The Role, Status, and Working Conditions of Paraprofessionals: A National Survey of Academic Libraries.

Abstract: Librarians speculate, but do not know with certainty, the education, skills, and other competencies required of paraprofessional, the tasks and levels of authority assigned them, the salaries and staff development incentives offered, or the potential of their contribution. The author presents the results of their 1990 national survey on paraprofessionals in two population, a census of the Association of Research Libraries, and a random sample of the Carnegie Classification Libraries. They review the literature, analyze the data results, make recommandations for futher research, and propose actions to be taken by the profession.

On Becoming Faculty Librarians: Acculturation Problems and Remedies.

Abstract: The acculturation of librarians to faculty librarian positions is compared and contrasted to the socialization process of the professoriate. Substantive differences in graduate library education and the attitudes it cultivates are discussed. Librarians are seen, for the most part, as being ill-prepared to assume peer roles within a university faculty. Suggestions are offered to remedy this dysfunctional pattern.

The Emergence of the Paraprofessional in Academic Libraries: Perceptions and Realities.

Abstract: Several forces have contributed to a broad redistribution of tasks within the library workplace. Today, support staff accomplish much of the day-to-day work of the library and are routinely assigned tasks that a generation ago characterized the work of librarians. This redistribution of the library work load has created a new and unique class of library worker, the paraprofessional. It has also resulted in a significant overlap in the tasks performed by the two groups, for librarians have been curiously reluctant to give up many traditional aspects of their work that today can be performed satisfactorily by paraprofessionals. Task overlap has caused the role blurring that, in turn, creates resentment in the workplace and confuses our clientele who may not distinguish clearly between the two groups.A new model of librarianship is needed to define less ambiguously the role of paraprofessionals and librarians alike

The Emperor's New Clothes? Problems of the User Survey as a Planning Tool in Academic Libraries

Abstract: Despite their potential as strategic managements tools, user surveys are rarely used to identify needed services. Such in-house research often either fails to provide data relevant to prospective planning or is neglected altogether. Problems with user studies can include difficulties in the design of proper studies, difficulties in translating the results into concrete management decisions, and the distrust of survey research on the part of many librarians

The Economics of Economics Journals: A Statistical Analysis of Pricing Practices by Publishers

Abstract: This study uses multiple regression analysis to investigate price determinants of the top-ranked economics journals. Holding other factors constant, the study found that the prices charges to libraries in the United States are significantly higher for journals from for-profit publishers and for those originating in Europe. The estimated price differential for European journals is too large to be attributed entirely to the extra cost of shipping the periodicals to the United States. Another finding was that there is a positive and significant correlation between a journal's impact (measured by frequency of citations) and its price. The results suggest that journal prices are not always cost based. One implication is that, as the main bruyers in the market, libraries should not passively acquiesce to all price increases

Reconciling Pragmatism, Equity, and Need in the Formula Allocation of Book and Serial Funds

Abstract: The litterature of formula allocations has several themes which the matrix formula described here addresses. Most important, formulas have almost universally failed to provide a mechanism to distribute funds for serials as well as books. The matrix formula allocates funds for monographs and serials based on disciplinary needs and publishing patterns. It also provides a method for determining the variables which best represent institutional goals, normalizing them and explicitly determining the percent of funds allocated by the individual variable. These features are great advantages in dealing fairly with the difficult problems of allocating scarce resources. Finally, the article discusses the appropriate limits formulas may have as allocation tools

Strategic Planning as a Catalyst for Change in the 1990s

Abstract: If research libraries are to have desirable futures, they will have to create them. Strategic planning can assist library administrators in assessing their environments, identifying alternative futures, and creating change in their organizations. It can also serve as a vehicle to empower library staff and to increase the library's external visibility. Two recently appointed research library directors of ARL libraries discuss the importance of strategic planning and offer several examples of ways to engage library staff, university faculty, administrators, and students in the planning process. The expected outcomes of such a group process will be library plans which are relevant to the institution, which relate decisions to resources and opportunities, and which increase visibility for the library on campus and in the community.

Science Literacy: A Discussion and an Information-Based Definition.

Abstract: Recently, science literacy has been the subject of much discussion in both the scholarly and popular press. The concept of science literacy encompasses two distinct but related dimensions: the first being concerns for the quality of scientific and technical education that American students receive at all levels, and the second being deficiencies and misconceptions that exist in the overall public understanding of science. Several definitions of science literacy identify the ability to find and to use appropriate information as being a fundamental characteristic of a scientifically literate individual. Building upon this idea, this article suggests that librarians-in formation experts-could play a significant role in the promotion of science literacy and recommends ways by which this might be accomplished

Addressing Cultural Diversity in Academic and Research Libraries

Abstract: This article discusses the current state of cultural diversity in U.S. academic research libraries. It reports the results of a survey undertaken by the author in 1990 and mailed to the directors of 104 U.S. Association of Research Libraries member libraries. The survey asked about cultural diversity in research libraries in relation to recruitment of librarians, services to students, and collection development. This article discusses the efforts being made and offers several suggestions to assist research libraries in their attempts to become truly multicultural institutions.

Comparing Characteristics of Highly Circulated Titles for Demand-Driven Collection Development

Abstract: Collection practices in the current era of strict budgets are necessarily driven by the needs of the users. Use studies are therefore of increasing value to collection managers, but typically have provided only generalized statistical data. An alternative methodology is presented for analyzing the MARC records of highly circulating titles in order to document common characteristics that would be predictive of future use of additions to the collection. The 20 groups of 400 popular titles were first analyzed for frequency of subject heading occurence

TQM: Quality Improvement in New Clothes

Abstract: The total quality management (TQM) movement is alive and thriving throughout the Fortune 1000 firms, the federal government, city governments, hotels, and even in our local hospitals. It is spreading across America like a new religion. And it is moving quickly into the academy. The range of TQM implementation in higher education extends from our most prestigious universities to community colleges. W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician whose ideas about quality found little favorable response at home, lectured in 1950 to the Japanese. He excoriated them for their cheap, shoddy goods and told them that an emphasis on quality would result in lasting benefits in market share and profitability. He laid out principles for making quality a strategic advantage. They listened to him. They also listened to Joseph Juran in 1954, and later to Philip Crosby. The Japanese struggled with adapting the quality principles, and they pursued the quality ideal relentlessly. The rest, as they say, is history. Hard-pressed American firms began the quality improvement process in the early 1980s. Quality became Job 1 in many companies (e.g., IBM, Ford, Motorola), and the U.S. Navy coined the phrase total quality management. Simply put, libraries are a natural entity for TQM. Is there any library not pursuing improvement in its service? To take this line of thinking a step further, most libraries are pursuing excellence in their products and services. We do not hear library staff saying, \"We are committed to mediocrity around here.\" Libraries are essentially service organizations, and nearly all people working in academic libraries want to offer the very best service to the students and faculty. Users (consumers) describe quality by the characteristics of the product or service they acquire: it is available, it is exactly the information being sought, service is good, and library staff is courteous and helpful. Quality is what one needs and wants, not what you think is needed or what is convenient for you to deliver. To paraphrase Peter Drucker, \"Libraries do not exist for people who work in them, but for the people they serve.\" TQM advocates not only meeting the users' needs but also anticipating and exceeding the everchanging needs of users. The academic library's users are normally thought of as being primarily the students and faculty. However, the library construct has its own internal users (e.g., the public services' staff are users of the products processed by the technical services' staff). Ideally, before a library begins rolling out TQM, a strategic plan is in place. The principles of TQM frequently refer back to the library's mission and vision statements, goals, objectives, and strategies. A strategic plan provides focus and articulation to the library's multiyear expectations. The strategies formulated to advance the library must reflect the best thinking available,. and they most certainly have to include action steps to be followed by specific library personnel. Like commitment to strategic planning, TQM requires that the library's top management, by word and deed, display commitment to continuous quality improvement. TQM has to be entrenched in the rhetoric of the library's leadership; resources allocation/redeployment is necessary to make \"walk the talk\" evident.

Journal Price Escalation and the Market for Information: The Librarians' Solution

Abstract: This article analyzes the problem of journal price escalation as one of equilibrium between two connected segments of the market for information: the library market and the market for individual subscriptions. The relationship between these two segments has been critically affected by the ready availability of cheap, high-quality photocopying, which has encouraged individuals to rely more on libraries' subscriptions to meet their information needs. The economic theories of F. P. Ramsey show that society is better-off if the costs of journals are shared by both market segments. The proposed solution is for libraries to restrict journal use to within the library and to price photocopies optimally in order to encourage an increase in private subscriptions.

The Use of Books within the Library

Abstract: Most commentators have accepted the assertion that the in-library use of books mirrors their circulation. The present authors, after challenging the logic of this assumption, describe a study of both the circulation and in-house use of 13,029 volumes (randomly chosen from a collection of 1.1 million volumes), both serials and monographs in all subject areas, over a period of 7 years. It was found that more than 30% of the monographs and 25% of the serial volumes had one kind of use but not the other, and that weeding based on lack of circulation alone would eliminate from a 1-million-volume library at least 112,000 volumes that had actually been used quite recently. Further findings are presented, all of which challenge the notion that internal use can be inferred from circulation figures.

The Organizational Misfits

Abstract: Departmental libraries in large systems are often viewed as outsiders and as not fitting neatly into the organizational structure. Most of tlze writing about these units has focused on whether or not they should exist, rather than on their nature and value to the institutional mission. This article examines the nature of these libraries, their role in the organization, and the type of organizational structure that best enhances their value to the organization.

Management Preparation and Training of Department Heads in ARL Libraries.

Abstract: This study analyzes the management preparation and training of department heads in ARL libraries. A survey was developed and sent to the heads of cataloging and reference departments in order to establish the number of formal management courses they have taken, the years of on-the-job management training prior to their first department head position, and the amount of continuing education they have pursued after becoming department heads. Libraries'management training requirements for filling department head positions and their support of ongoing training for managers were also analyzed

User Characteristics of Keyword Searching in An OPAC

Abstract: Keyword and Boolean searching modes are now becoming more commonly available on online public access catalogs (OPACs), and questions have arisen regarding their use by library patrons. Which patrons use keyword searching, and which do not? This study attempts to begin providing answers to this question in the context of an academic library that uses the Northwestern Online Total Integrated System (NOTIS) online catalog

Bibliographic Instruction: The Views of Academic, Special, and Public librarians

Abstract: This study identifies the positions taken by academic, special, and public librarians with respect to the role of bibliographic instruction in the delivery of reference services. Using a series of statements derived from articles relevant to the information-versus-instruction debate, the author asked respondents to indicate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with various positions represented in this debate.

Online Catalog Failure as Reflected through InterLibrary Loan Error Requests

Abstract: Using data obtained through the interlibrary loan process, this study examines why some users failed to find existing entries in the online catalog at The Ohio State University. Approximately 9% (1,369) of the 1988-89 interlibrary loan borrowing requests were returned to the patron because library staff found the items in the local online catalog. These requests represent either a failure of the user to search the system correcty or a failure of the catalog to retrieve the required record. A sample of the borrowing requests was sorted into user errors and catalog errors. Five characterisitics of user errors were exhibited and five categories of catalog failures were identified

Users' reactions to CD-ROM: The penn state experience

Abstract: Currently, many academic libraries own CD-ROM systems. Using a self-designed questionnaire, this study surveyed users of CD-ROMs for two two-week periods in the fall of 1989 and the spring of 1990. The results provided valuable information about who was using the systems; which systems were the most popular; how patrons perceived help available to them; what type of instruction the would desire; and what suggestions patrons had to offer to improve service to this technology. As academic libraries increasingly adopt new technologies, user surveys such as this one will provide important information to librarians about implementing services and procedures

Information Delivery Strategies and the Rural Student

Abstract: Distance education was developed to meet the educational needs of a diverse population who could not come to the traditional campus. Along with this development has been the demand for library services for these distance learners. Many of them are rural residents without easy access to libraries of any size. This paper outlines how a university library in a predominantly rural setting implemented a distance delivery program by using primarily electronic technology and by replacing traditional library services with an information brokering and document delivery service.

Labor Unions or Professional Organizations: Which Have Our First Loyalty?

Abstract: More than 500 librarians in public universities in California were surveyed regarding their membership in a union and/or their membership in professional organizations. Information was requested regarding the reasons for choosing to join or not join, the benefits expected from membership, and the strength of allegiance expressed toward the organizations. These factors were matched against demographic data volunteered by respondents. In general, California academic librarians were found to the relatively more loyal to unions than to professional societies, and the motivations given for joining one or the other, though different, often were complementary

An Authority Control Alternative for Small Colleges

Abstract: Student and faculty need for improved access to the library's holdings is tlte most important, perhaps only, justifiable argument for authority control in the online public access catalog. Cost, especially in small colleges, is unavoidably a limiting factor. AutoCat authority control, developed at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, enhances student ability to find and select materials. At the same time, it avoids the initial costs of vendor cleanup and LC authority tapes. Further, it significantly reduces the labor involved in creating, linking, and updating authority records.

CD-ROM Software Evaluation: Comparison of Searching ERIC on IBM and Macintosh

Abstract: In late 1989, the Albert R. Mann Library of Cornell University conducted a comparative study of user competence, behavior, and preference in the applicafion of text and graphics search-and-retrieval software. Silver Platter's IBM PC and Apple Macintosh programs (PC SPIRS and MacSPIRS respectively) were evaluated. Librarians observed 40 students who searched the ERIC database. The reactions of these student subjects were collected in written questionnaires. This study suggests the limitations of the curent state of the art in the application of graphical user interface principles to bibliographic search-and-retrieval software. It also provides insight as to some components and features necessary in an excellent workstation for use in accessing an electronic library

The Evolution of Cooperative Collection Development in Alabama Academic Libraries

Abstract: The historical poverty of Alabama's academic institutions required bold action if deficiencies in library resources were ever to be overcome. The Network of Alabama Academic Libraries has implemented a successful cooperative collection development program to strengthen resources available for graduate education and research. Recommendations resulting in the establishment of the Network are reviewed along with the conceptional decisions necessary for the implementation of the cooperative collection development program. Program funding, the formula for distribution of funds to disparate institutions, and corollary activities are discussed