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This paper discusses how the William G. Squires Library conducted a usability study on their LibGuides to identify student design preferences. The results of the study support previous research concerning best practices for LibGuide creation. This paper offers insight into how librarian-centric design hinders student success and provides suggestions for how to best develop a student-centric template design that offers consistency and increased user proficiency across all guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern university library plays a pivotal role in supporting academic research and fostering a culture of learning. However, the landscape of book acquisition within these institutions has undergone significant transformation in recent years. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities faced by university libraries in acquiring books in the digital age. The challenges encompass issues such as budget constraints, evolving user preferences, and the rapid growth of digital resources. University libraries must navigate these challenges while maintaining a diverse and relevant collection to meet the needs of their academic community. On the other hand, the digital age offers new opportunities, including access to a vast array of electronic resources, improved collection management tools, and the potential for collaborative acquisition models. These opportunities have the potential to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of book acquisition processes. Through a comprehensive review of literature, case studies, and interviews with library professionals, this paper sheds light on the strategies employed by modern university libraries to address book acquisition challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities. It also discusses the implications of these changes for the future of academic libraries and their vital role in supporting research and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the availability, via both library lending licenses and open access, of digital versions of the monographs that professors recommend in online bachelor's degrees courses in social sciences at Spanish public universities. Monographs are the type of document most recommended by professors when it comes to teaching and learning in higher education. Digital format is most suitable for online degrees, considering the added effort entailed for libraries to get these documents owing to the geographic dispersion of the students. For this purpose, all the resources in the recommended reading section of the syllabi from a sample of online degree programs in social sciences for the 2022–2023 academic year were extracted. Then, the catalogs of the corresponding university libraries were consulted to check the availability of the monographs on the reading lists. In addition, the catalogs of the usual suppliers to Spanish university libraries were consulted to check the availability of lending licenses for libraries. Finally, types of digital lending platforms are analyzed. Monographs account for 85.6 % of the documents referenced in courses' recommended reading lists. Only 21.0 % of monographs are available in digital format, either through library lending (17.4 %) or open access (4.9 %). On the contrary, practically the entirety of reading lists is available for lending through university libraries in printed format. University libraries could make the effort to acquire even more digital lending licenses for a portion of the books recommended by professors, but in this way they could only obtain 40.9 % of the monographs in digital format. Therefore, the publishing industry is not currently meeting the needs of online university education in the social sciences, owing to a large part of its catalog – especially older works – not being offered in digital format as well as the lack of library lending licenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of information technology and the Internet, it is difficult for university readers to find books of real interest or value from a large number of books by relying only on traditional retrieval-based services. This paper applies data mining technology and personalized recommendation algorithm based on semantic classification for new book recommendation service in university libraries. The personalized recommendation algorithm based on semantic classification establishes a book feature model and a reader preference model based on title keywords. The different recommendation strategies in the system framework are detailed. For the borrowing data of different colleges and departments, the improved association rule algorithm is used to mine the book association rules, and the reader's borrowing history is matched with the association rules to generate a book recommendation list; according to the reader's borrowing preference characteristics, the reader preference model is used as the basis. Class subdivision and then combined with the book feature model and reader preference model, the collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm and the content-based recommendation algorithm are applied to generate a book recommendation list. The active service method not only improves the service level of the university library, makes the development of the university library more comprehensive and humanized but also explores the potential information needs of readers, improves the borrowing rate of books in the collection, and maximizes the utilization rate of book resources. In the experiment of this paper, the personalized recommendation algorithm division of semantic classification is adopted. According to the division of its algorithm, the corpus is divided into 9603 training documents and 3299 test documents, with certain accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A digital library is a digital information resource system supported by modern high technology, a next-generation information resource management model on the Internet, and the result of the digitization of library collections, and with the development of society and the accelerated pace of people's lives, people cannot spend too much time classifying and finding books, so the study of book classification and quick finding in university libraries is very important. This paper mainly researches and analyzes the classification and quick search of books in the university library through the algorithms and methods of digital information technology and finds a better algorithm. This paper mainly conducts experiments on automatic text and support vector machine (one-to-many and global optimization) methods and compares the obtained experimental data, such as classification accuracy, classification time, search time, and other data. The experimental results show that the classification accuracy of these three classification methods is in the range of 86%–94%. However, compared with the two methods of automatic text classification and one-to-many classification, the global optimization classification has the highest accuracy in the sample size of each interval. Among them, the classification time is the lowest for automatic text classification, which is less than 30s, and the one-to-many classification sample takes the most time, and their average fitness is in the range of 24%–27%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based acquisition (EBA) programmes have been gaining momentum in academic libraries over the past 5–10 years. This paper examines our experience implementing one of these programmes at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. In 2019, The Alma Jordan Library of the St. Augustine Campus partnered with Wiley Publishers to administer the Usage Based Collection Management (UBCM) programme. The results at the end of this first year were very encouraging and therefore, the decision was taken to extend the programme for a second year, and it has been continued for a third year. This paper describes the process of selecting a provider of a user-driven eBook acquisition model, implementing the programme, and gathering usage statistics. An analysis of the data was conducted at the end of the programme, and then criteria developed and used for identifying titles for purchase. In the analysis, the authors explore the following: usage based on titles not owned, usage based on subject areas; return on investment to the library; continued use of UBCM- purchased titles. Also included are the benefits of implementing such a programme, challenges experienced, and recommendations for libraries wishing to embark on such a project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most libraries don't buy books based on a set of rules that reflect the research done at their affiliated institutions. A structured method for evaluating evolving research areas is a must have process in libraries, especially academic libraries. So, in this study, with the help of the digital humanities tool, the authors developed a book purchasing algorithm for an academic library that functions in accordance with the core research subjects and evolving research areas of that institution. To conduct this study, the researchers searched the SCOPUS database for articles published by the "University of Calicut" as of February 13, 2023, yielding 3305 publications. Voyant tools have been used to analyse the collected data. Significant changes in the area of research at the University of Calicut are observed from its beginning to its recent history (1967-2023). The analysis revealed a discrepancy between the primary subject areas of research and the book collection at the Calicut University library. The findings of this paper will aid librarians in their acquisition processes, and the institution will be able to support the research community. This study proposes a novel "Book Purchase Model for Academic Libraries" using a digital humanities tool that can be used in professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the transactional patterns of Ebook Library (EBL), one of the aggregator platforms owned by ProQuest, e-book titles at the Edith Cowan University (ECU), Western Australia to know the way and extent of usage. This study is longitudinal, involving three years’ worth of EBL usage data, investigating information seeking behavior by scholarly users of e-books employing statistical log analysis of the metadata datasets (logs) that describe e-book use. This study compares three years’ transaction logs for EBL e-book titles used by the ECU community. The metrics used include aggregate trends, views, minutes spent, titles used, users, academic calendar, sessions, searches, and item type. This paper may be useful for librarians to make evidence-based informed decisions while selecting the e-book acquisition model of aggregator/supplier platforms. The e -book researchers may also find this paper useful to explore further metrics of e -book user behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of electronic book (eBook) acquisition and cataloging time and cost management are an unexplored field in Estonia, and based on the information known to the author, there are no similar studies using a "time-driven activity-based costing" (TDABC) methodology for analyzing costs of activities related to eBooks. The purpose of this paper is not to compare the advantages and disadvantages of eBooks. The purpose of the current paper is to verify, by using the Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing method, that the process of purchasing and cataloging eBooks is significantly cheaper, less time-consuming, and ultimately more cost-effective than the process of purchasing and cataloging printed books (pBooks); and to determine whether eBooks streamline the acquisition and cataloging process for books. The results of this study were compared with the results of a previous study on the acquisition and cataloging of print books (pBooks) that was conducted at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) Library in 2012–2013.Methodology.The data used in this paper are based on a review of relevant literature in order to survey the different problems and challenges in the library sector that slow down the success of the eBook management process. Through a case study conducted at TalTech Library, a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) method was used, such that all activities related to acquisition and cataloging of individually purchased eBooks were identified, recorded in detail and analyzed. More specifically, the study concerned eBooks offered in the Ebook Central platform and covered acquisition processes (such as receipt of purchase requests, communication with patrons, making a purchase, and feedback to the patron).Findings. On the basis of the current study it can be said that the activities related with eBooks take remarkably less staff time and finances than pBooks. The efficiency of staff increases due to electronic retrieval, processing, and delivery of collections. This study led to an understanding that many activities between different units or departments, especially in a large library, actually duplicate each other, and work could be organized in a more effective way if duplication is avoided, which in turn saves time and money. The results of this study suggest that some acquisition of eBooks can eliminate duplication of effort in both the acquisition and cataloging processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summer 2020 witnessed a large-scale temporary release of content from the publishing community to support UK universities as they moved to online-only delivery, followed by a scramble by those institutions to maintain access to resources. This paper reflects on the experiences of De Montfort University and Imperial College libraries during this period as they supported the move to remote teaching. It focuses on the complexities experienced during this transitional period, and considers how the speed of these changes increased staff workloads, stretched budgets, and compelled acquisitions teams to act without always fully gathering evidence or strategically planning how new practices might work in the longer term. The authors, who sit on various national contract management and acquisitions strategy groups, examine the repercussions of navigating from an unplanned, accelerated digital shift to a more managed, sustainable paradigm, and contemplate how the advent of multimode teaching may impact on the way libraries are resourced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]