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Purpose: "Scholarly Communication" is a frequent topic of both the professional and research literature of Library and Information Science (LIS). Despite efforts by individuals (e.g. Borgman, 1989) and organizations such as the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to define the term, multiple understandings of it remain. Discussions of scholarly communication infrequently offer a definition or explanation of its parameters, making it difficult for readers to form a comprehensive understanding of scholarly communication and associated phenomena. Design/methodology/approach: This project uses the evolutionary concept analysis (ECA) method developed by nursing scholar, Beth L. Rodgers, to explore "Scholarly Communication" as employed in the literature of LIS. As the purpose of ECA is not to arrive at "the" definition of a term but rather exploring its utilization within a specific context, it is an ideal approach to expand our understanding of SC as used in LIS research. Findings: "Scholarly Communication" as employed in the LIS literature does not refer to a single phenomenon or idea, but rather is a concept with several dimensions and sub-dimensions with distinct, but overlapping, significance. Research limitations/implications: The concept analysis (CA) method calls for review of a named concept, i.e. verbatim. Therefore, the items included in the data set must include the phrase "scholarly communication". Items using alternate terminology were excluded from analysis. Practical implications: The model of scholarly communication presented in this paper provides language to operationalize the concept. Originality/value: LIS lacks a nuanced understanding of "scholarly communication" as used in the LIS literature. This paper offers a model to further the field's collective understanding of the term and support operationalization for future research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to use spatial thinking (space-time) as a lens through which to examine the ways in which the socio-economic conditions and values of the post-Fordist academy work to diminish and even subsume the immaterial affective labour of librarians even as it serves to reproduce the academy. Design/methodology/approach: The research question informing this paper asks, In what ways does spatial thinking help us to better understand the immaterial, invisible and gendered labour of academic librarians' public service work in the context of the post-Fordist university? This question is explored using a conceptual approach and a review of recent library information science (LIS) literature that situates the academic library in the post-Fordist knowledge economy. Findings: The findings suggest that the feminized and gendered immaterial labour of public service work in academic libraries – a form of reproductive labour – remains invisible and undervalued in the post-Fordist university, and that academic libraries function as a procreative, feminized spaces. Originality/value: Spatial thinking offers a corrective to the tendency in LIS to foreground time over space. It affords new insights into the spatial and temporal aspects of information work in the global neoliberal knowledge economy and suggests a new spatio-temporal imaginary of the post-Fordist academic library as a site of waged work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: One of the most critical changes to academic library services in the last decade has been the development and implementation of research data services (RDS). This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of conceptual models for the RDS space. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive and comprehensive review of the literature on conceptual models for RDS is performed. Findings: Various conceptual models for RDS provide a compelling tool for guiding and evaluating RDS development and implementation within academic libraries. Originality/value: An insightful review and synthesis of context and issues in RDS models will help academic libraries to plan, develop and advance their RDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report a study of how research literature addresses researchers' attitudes toward data repository use. In particular, the authors are interested in how the term data sharing is defined, how data repository use is reported and whether there is need for greater clarity and specificity of terminology. Design/methodology/approach: To study how the literature addresses researcher data repository use, relevant studies were identified by searching Library Information Science and Technology Abstracts, Library and Information Science Source, Thomas Reuters' Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. A total of 62 studies were identified for inclusion in this meta-evaluation. Findings: The study shows a need for greater clarity and consistency in the use of the term data sharing in future studies to better understand the phenomenon and allow for cross-study comparisons. Furthermore, most studies did not address data repository use specifically. In most analyzed studies, it was not possible to segregate results relating to sharing via public data repositories from other types of sharing. When sharing in public repositories was mentioned, the prevalence of repository use varied significantly. Originality/value: Researchers' data sharing is of great interest to library and information science research and practice to inform academic libraries that are implementing data services to support these researchers. This study explores how the literature approaches this issue, especially the use of data repositories, the use of which is strongly encouraged. This paper identifies the potential for additional study focused on this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of information culture in Mainland China and apply the information culture framework to an organizational setting. Design/methodology/approach: The foundation for the research is provided by a review of Chinese and English language literature and a case study of a university library was conducted, involving semi-structured interviews. Findings: The information culture framework facilitated identification of factors not recognized in previous information culture research, including uniquely Chinese factors of egocentrism, guanxi (relationships), mianzi (face), hexie (harmony) and renqing (mutual benefit). A further finding highlighted the profound differences between archives and library institutions in China. Originality/value: The paper provides the first step toward further exploring features of Chinese organizational culture which will not only influence information management practices but also highlight the issues relating to collaboration between libraries and archives in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outlines the history of the application of photographic and allied printing methods in libraries during the past 50 years. The benefits of reprints and micropublications to libraries and users are discussed, and the possible impact of computer output microfilm is examined. (19 references) (Author/CLB)

Describes a study of library users' search strategies which focused on the extent of subject searching activity when using bibliographic tools and shelf browsing. The use of the results to evaluate the impact of a future online catalog on search behaviors is discussed. (23 references) (CLB)

Purpose -- The role of data literacy is discussed in the light of such activities as data a quality, data management, data curation, and data citation. The differing terms and their relationship to the most important literacies are examined. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -- By stressing the importance of data literacy in fulfilling the mission of the contemporary academic library, the paper centres on information literacy, while the characteristics of other relevant literacies are also examined. The content of data literacy education is explained in the context of data-related activities. Findings -- It can be concluded that there is a need for data literacy and it is advantageous to have a unified terminology. Data literacy can be offered both to researchers, who need to become data literate science workers and have the goal to educate data management professionals. Several lists of competencies contain important skills and abilities, many of them indicating the close relationship between data literacy and information literacy. It is vital to take a critical stance on hopes and fears, related to the promises of widespread ability of (big) data. Originality/value -- The paper intends to be an add-on to the body of knowledge about information literacy and other literacies in the light of research data and data literacy. Keywords Research, Data, Information literacy, Academic libraries Paper type Viewpoint [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine research on academic libraries and the social web published from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2023. Design/methodology/approach: The article search and filtering procedures mirrored those of Choi and Harper (2020) and Carlsson (2015), resulting in a total sample size of 93 articles. These articles underwent examination based on the same eight variables (i.e. journal outlet, research theme, publication year, social web type, method, keyword, study participant type and study country) as employed by Choi and Harper (2020) and Carlsson (2015), with the addition of two new variables (i.e. research purpose and the impact of COVID-19). Findings: The research article volume has consistently maintained a stable trend. A notable difference from Choi and Harper (2020) and Carlsson (2015) is the rise of "user perspectives" as the second most prevalent theme. Unlike Choi and Harper (2020), the "survey" method is predominant. Many research purposes, excluding "marketing and promotion," lack attention. Additionally, there's a dearth of studies on the impact of COVID-19. Research limitations/implications: The findings from the study not only offer a snapshot of the current research landscape on academic libraries and their engagement with the social web but also offer insights for future scholarly endeavors. Originality/value: There is a limited effort in exploring the recent literature regarding the role of the social web in academic libraries. This study serves as a valuable guide for contributing to this dynamic research stream and provides various up-to-date implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the epistemological underpinning of SERVQUAL and its limitations; and second, to propose ways to enhance the utility of SERVQUAL as a library assessment tool. Design/methodology/approach - The study first conceptualises quality judgment as a knowing process and locates the epistemological stance of SERVQUAL within the general framework of epistemology demarcation; it then examines related SERVQUAL assumptions and their implications for library assessment in general and for service quality assessment in particular based on two empirical investigations: a questionnaire survey and an interview survey. The questionnaire survey applies the SERVQUAL instrument to three Chinese university libraries, with a view to examining the SERVQUAL score in light of epistemological considerations; the interview survey interviews 50 faculty users in one of the three universities with a view to illuminating the naturalistic process through which users develop their judgement of the library's service quality and through which the SERVQUAL score is formed. Findings - The study shows that the actual SERVQUAL score is distributed in a very scattered manner in all three libraries, and that it is formed through a very complex process rooted primarily in the user's personal experiences with the library, which are in turn shaped by factors from both the library world and the user's life-world. Based on these findings, this research questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts which may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment: library planning based variance of user perception, perception-dependent user expectation and library-sophistication based user differentiation. Originality/value - The research presented in the paper questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts that may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of rapid environmental changes, organisations of all types are rethinking their organisational structures in an attempt to provide greater effectiveness and efficiency. A few years ago business process re-engineering (BPR) was considered the most promising way to restructure an organisation, but has become less popular as shortcomings associated with the process have become evident. Today, greater emphasis is being placed upon modifying the actual organisational structure. Most restructured organisations have moved away from rigid hierarchies to flatter, more flexible structures. Many of the same forces (including increased automation, changing information needs and expectations of users, reduced budgets and the need for staff to have more autonomy over their own work) that have precipitated the reshaping of other organisations have also affected academic libraries. This paper describes some of the factors leading to changes in the organisational structures of academic libraries and provides an overview of trends, excluding convergence, discernible in North America. The paper includes suggestions for steps to be taken to facilitate successful reorganisations, and comments on possible future developments that might radically alter the organisational structures of academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the monographic literature related to developments in research libraries within recent years and the strategies that they are adopting to deal with change. The main aim is to identify any visibly established directions along which research libraries adapt to their social and organizational environments. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative content analysis was applied to identify topics emerging from the texts. The chosen texts were read and topics signifying directions of change in the immediate environment of research libraries were mapped. This initial topic map was used for ascertaining the reactions of research libraries to identified changes. The activities of libraries directed to future anticipated changes were noted separately. Findings – The review shows the surprising resilience of research libraries and their ability to change within a short period of time. This ability signifies that research and academic libraries as organizations perfectly adapt to the incessant transformations of current times, contrary to the widely spread stereotypical image of them as conservative institutions. At the same time, they seem to be keeping true to their core of mediating services to researchers and to their place in the chain of scholarly communication. Originality/value – The article identifies the main directions of transformation of research libraries and outlines their potential roles in the future of digital scholarly communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report research into the marketing and promotion of e-books, and use this as a case study context to generate insights into approaches in academic libraries to the marketing of new services. As such it contributes to the limited empirical research on both the introduction of e-book services and on marketing in academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 academic librarians, in seven case study libraries, holding the following posts: subject librarians, e-resources librarians, or cataloguers. Interviews focussed on: the existence of a promotion/marketing strategy for e-books; the marketing and promotion tools used to promote e-books; promotion via academics; the issues and challenges in promoting e-books; and future plans for the promotion of e-books. Findings – None of the libraries had a marketing communication strategy relating to e-books, yet, on the other hand, most interviewees were able to point to a range of tools used to promote e-books, and some had plans for improvements in their promotion activities. Originality/value – This study demonstrates a laissez faire approach to the marketing of potentially significant new services from academic libraries – providing access to e-books. Recommendations for development focus on taking a strategic approach to marketing and promotion, managing tensions between promotion and supply, innovation in promotional tools, and influencing word-of-mouth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role different information sources (or cues) play in forming users' mental representation of a work in an academic library setting. Of particular interest is discerning how these information sources influence borrowing decisions. Design/methodology/approach — A large-scale user survey featuring two-part questionnaires was utilized in an academic library setting. The questionnaires were designed to ascertain those information sources exerting a formative influence on users' information-seeking behavior, especially the routes by which users came to know of a title and the sources by which they infer its content. Findings — Evidently users adaptively make use of a variety of cues to help them fulfil their information needs. These cues significantly reduced the uncertainty faced by users making a borrowing decision, even after their sense of domain familiarity was controlled for. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for library services. It is suggested that libraries could provide a more "cue-rich" environment that supports users' decision making and facilitates exploration of their collection. Originality/value — The research questions were framed in the language of decision-making theory, which, as the research demonstrates, sheds light on the dynamics between "cue validity" and judgment uncertainty. It also demonstrates the applicability of the "accuracy-cost" framework in the study of human information-seeking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web links are a phenomenon of interest to bibliometricians by analogy with citations, and to others because of their use in Web navigation and search engines. It is known that very few links on university Web sites are targeted at scholarly expositions and yet, at least in the UK and Australia, a correlation has been established between link count metrics for universities and measures of institutional research. This paper operates on a finer-grained level of detail, focussing on counts of links between pairs of universities. It provides evidence of an underlying linear relationship with the quadruple product of the size and research quality of both source and target institution. This simple model is proposed as applying generally to national university systems, subject to a series of constraints to identify cases where it is unlikely to be applicable. It is hoped that the model, if confirmed by studies of other countries, will open the door to deeper mining of academic Web link data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines research methods utilized in five practitioner-oriented research journals – College and Research Libraries, Information Technology and Libraries, Journal of the Medical Library Association, Library Resources and Technical Services and Reference and User Services Quarterly. The study fills gaps identified in existing content analyses of methods in practitioner-based LIS research publications. Design/methodology/approach: Based on analysis standards and coding schemes supplied by the studies of Kalervo Jarvelin and Pertti Vakkari, as well as Heting Chu, this study identifies the primary research method utilized in 6,387 articles published in these five journals from 1980 to 2019. Trends in the frequencies with which various research methods were used are identified and presented using a series of visualizations. Findings: Significant shifts have occurred in the research methods used by articles in these practitioner-based journals over the past four decades. Notably, the proportion of case studies has dropped substantially, particularly among College and Research Libraries and Journal of the Medical Library Association articles. Diversity of research methods utilized in articles has increased over time, with College and Research Libraries, in particular, having a significant proportion of articles in recent years that employ data analytic or qualitative approaches. Originality/value: While similar approaches have been used to examine research methods among other LIS journals, this study is the first to focus primarily on practitioner-based journals and document continuous change (as opposed to sampling a few years) over an extended, 40-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims were: (1) to replicate a previous study by the first author to confirm previous findings (internal validity) and to check construct validity of previously proposed information-behaviour profiles, (2) to compare the information processes used by students in parallel with requirements of early professional practice. Design/methodology/approach: A replication study used the same questionnaire, delivered online to all 175 students across three years of a BSc adult nursing degree programme on one UK university campus. The survey included questions on information seeking processes, personality, approaches to learning and self-efficacy with information literacy. The literature review examined evidence around the transition from nursing student to practitioner and the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) standards for nursing information literacy. Findings: The response rate was 86/175 (49%). The result verified findings on the most frequent information processes and association between approach to learning and information literacy self-efficacy. The personality findings differed. Combining results for both studies helped confirm most of the information-behaviour profiles. Mapping the frequent information processes against requirements of practice indicated gaps, particularly around professional networking. Research limitations/implications: As both studies were carried out at one higher education campus, further research to assess external validity is required. Practical implications: Information-behaviour profiles, plus the mapping, help librarians and tutors develop tailored information literacy support that is clinically relevant and support transition to practice. Originality/value: Validated a set of information behaviour profiles for nursing students and linked these to the requirements of professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article explores the recent turn within academic publishing towards 'seamless access', an approach to content provision that ensures users do not have to continually authenticate in order to access journal content. Design/methodology/approach: Through a critical exploration of Get Full Text Research, a service developed collaboratively by five of the world's largest academic publishers to provide such seamless access to academic research, the article shows how publishers are seeking to control the ways in which readers access publications in order to trace, control and ultimately monetise user interactions on their platforms. Findings: Theorised as a process of individuation through infrastructure, the article reveals how publishers are attempting an ontological shift to position the individual, quantifiable researcher, rather than the published content, at the centre of the scholarly communication universe. Originality/value: The implications of the shift towards individuation are revealed as part of a broader trend in scholarly communication infrastructure towards data extraction, mirroring a trend within digital capitalism more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to provide insight on the meaning of communication overload as experienced by modern academic librarians. Communication is the essence of reference librarianship, and a practically endless array of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools (ICTs) are available to facilitate communication. Design/methodology/approach – This study relied on a phenomenological methodology, which included nine in-depth interviews with academic librarians. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using RQDA, a qualitative analysis software package that facilitates coding, category building, and project management. Findings – Seven themes about librarianship emerged from this research: attending to communication abundance, librarians of two types, instruction not reference, twenty-first century librarianship, user needs, trusted methods: filter not retrieve, and self-impact. The shared meaning of communication overload among these librarians is that it is a problem when it detracts from or hinders their ability to assist their users. Practical implications – Further research should contribute to an understanding of communication as a problem when it interferes with serving the librarians' users, or to an understanding of interpersonal communication within the librarians' organizational structures and in their broader professional networks. Social implications – Research in popular psychology has focused on the negative impacts on productivity and concentration of living in an always-plugged-in environment. This research confirms that librarians should have time to work away from digital distractions to maintain job satisfaction. Originality/value – Important work by Radford and Dervin has focused on communication with users. This study focuses on the impact of ICTs on librarians' work and personal lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this article is to study a locally-oriented and book-based research field using two Swedish language sources. Knowledge about citation patterns outside journal-based, English language databases is scarce; thus a substantial part of research in the humanities and the social sciences is neglected in bibliometric studies. Design/methodology/approach – Citation characteristics (publication type, language, gender and age) in the journal Tidskrift för Litteraturvetenskap (2000-2009) and in grant applications (2006-2009) are studied. The datasets are analyzed further, adopting an author-co-citation approach for depicting and comparing the "intellectual base" of the field. Findings – It is shown that monographs and anthologies are the main publication channel in Swedish literary research. English, followed by Swedish, is the major language, and the gender of authors seems to influence citation practices. Furthermore, a common intellectual base of literary studies that is independent of publication type and language could be identified. Practical implications – Bibliometric analysis of fields within the humanities needs to go beyond established databases and materials. The extensive use of recent English language monographs in Swedish literary studies informs the acquisition policy of university libraries serving literature scholars. Originality/value – Citation analysis of non-English sources offers further knowledge about scholarly fields with a local and "rural" profile. The approach of using references in grant applications provides a novel and promising venue for bibliometric research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This review aims to provide a snapshot of digital library research of the past 11 years (1997-2007) that focuses on organisational and people issues, including those concerning the social/cultural, legal, ethical, and use dimensions. Design/methodology/approach - The review covers articles published in mainstream peer-reviewed library and information science/studies journals. The analysis was done by drawing on a sample of 577 articles published in both academic and professional US journals. Findings - The analysis reveals that there are several topics that are dominant in the sample. There are significant research streams into one or more aspects of digital library use and usability, organisational and economical issues, as well as legal issues. In comparison, there is very little research in the sample that addresses ethical issues and social/cultural issues. D-Lib Magazine tops the list as the journal with the highest number of articles published and in spite of some fluctuations, there was an overall upwards trend for journal publications in these research areas. The years with the largest numbers of works published in these areas in the study sample were 2004, 2005 and 2006. Research limitations/implications - It would be inaccurate to claim that the literature searches conducted in this study include every relevant journal article. They provide an extensive but not comprehensive sample. Also, to account for inconsistencies in indexing, a range of descriptors related to "digital library" was used in the searches in conjunction with other descriptors representing the various topics related to organisational and people issues. Nevertheless, this does not take into account journal articles that do not mention any of the digital library terms and yet, may discuss digital library themes. Hence, certain issues might have been under-represented in this study. Originality/value - This review and meta-analysis is the first that focuses on analysing digital library research that has a focus on organisational and people issues. Given the manifestos that digital libraries are to grow into socio-technical systems that function within an organisation and society, the subject area as a whole has also evolved over the years, with a move away from purely technical issues towards the application, use and effectiveness issues. Therefore, it is highly likely that research into these emerging issues will continue to grow and this review provides a preliminary overview of this important development as well as a point of departure to highlight gaps in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recurrent criticism of commercial citation indexes is their failure to cover citations found in monographic literature. There exists the possibility that citation-based surveys of scholarly communication and influence which ignore references in monographs may produce partial results. The study examined the scholarly literature of sociology. Tens of thousands of references from monographs and leading academic journals were analysed. The relative rankings of authors who were highly cited in the monographic literature did not change in the journal literature of the same period. There is, however, only a small overlap between the most highly cited authors based on the journal sample and those based on the monograph sample. The lack of correlation suggests that there may be two distinct populations of highly cited authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]