Search

In 1967, the University of Maryland's School of Library and Information Services created a public library in Prince George's County, Maryland, named the High John Experiment, to give Librarianship and Information Science students experience serving disadvantaged communities and to discover new methods to better serve these communities. From the creation of High John to the present day, University of Maryland publications and unaffiliated works credit High John as a groundbreaking experiment that propelled interests in diversity and inclusion in public libraries. High John's creators published a 73 paged report for the United States' Office of Education, accompanied by published articles, that confirms a violation of ethics toward the community High John served. The community was not involved in the implementation or planning of the library and many of the services and materials the library offered were based on prejudiced assumptions instead of community input or research. Although High John garnered supporters, the validity and ethicality behind High John's intent and methods were called into question during the experiment. The controversy led to debates within the field that resulted in conversations about Librarianship and Information Science pedagogy and appropriate methods in outreach and community engagement for disadvantaged communities. Now that the passionately fueled debates on High John have ceased, the experiment is a distant memory. Although this experiment led to debates about diversity, inclusion, and equity in information access within the United States, this experiment is relevant to information readers on a global scale. Because Librarianship and Information Science has a history rooted in elitism and oppression worldwide, High John warrants further exposure and examination from a diverse pool of contemporary perspectives. Through the application of modern community outreach and engagement practices, this article builds on a critical historical analysis of the experiment and argues High John failed in its mission and violated the community's trust that it purported to serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic and resulting shift to remote work stressed the importance of distance library services. As librarians explored different modes of engagement, embedded librarianship became increasingly important but also more complicated than before. While there is a wealth of literature on embedded librarianship, few authors agree on how to define it or discuss its specific challenges during the pandemic. This paper will present the experiences of two academic librarians working in different departments at the same institution, informed by the literature; the authors will highlight the complexity of embedded librarianship during this unique time while addressing challenges and offering recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the information services provided by public libraries to information-poor in the most populous province of Punjab. In addition, the challenges faced by public libraries in providing desired information services to information-poor were reviewed. The study was quantitative in nature. The survey research method was used. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire. The results indicated that public libraries were struggling to provide the required information services to information poor. Lack of government funding was one of the biggest challenges in providing required services, as reported by public libraries. Further lack of information policy and inadequate information and communication technology infrastructure were identified as key challenges in providing required information services to information poor. The present study addressed the information services of public libraries to information-poor which is unique in its nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than seventy online studies were reviewed to identify awareness, usage, satisfaction, and challenges of using information resources and services in academic libraries by users. The main objective of this study is to review the literature on information resources and services regarding awareness, usage, impact, challenges, satisfaction levels of users of various academic libraries. The study includes research papers published in national and international journals and other sources available on the internet. A review of various studies revealed that users use library resources and services for various purposes. Studies reveal that most users are satisfied with print resources, but they face problems while accessing online resources due to lack of skills to use these resources. Most students today rely on online resources, but a lack of training prevents them from getting the information they need. Most of the studies have suggested that the library should play an important role in providing information literacy program and user studies at regular intervals in their institutions to provide better library and information services to the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the marketing of information services in Medical Libraries of Public Universities in the North-West zone of Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to identify the major services provided by the medical libraries and how to improve them. An explanatory sequential mixed method was used. The study involved medical libraries of four public Universities in the zone. A sample of 365 numbers of students and 4 numbers of heads f medical libraries were chosen for the study. Surveys, questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules were used as instruments for data collection. The findings reveal that current information services, exhibitions and displays of new resources were the most common service. Similarly, current information services along with exhibitions and displays of new resources are the services that most students appeared to be aware of and use. The study shows that current information services, exhibitions and displays of new resources and others are the most accessible services. Also, users were more satisfied with current information services. The challenges surrounding the marketing of information services include lack of awareness on some of the important services, the absence of a marketing policy and inadequate funding. It is therefore recommended that libraries should do all they could to ensure that those services are adequately marketed. There is a need for a marketing policy to guide the marketing of information services of medical libraries. Medical libraries should solicit adequate funding from their parent bodies and other donor agencies to meet their users' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural development in Rice Bowl is faced with new challenges and opportunities on food, nutrition, population and environment fronts. Public Libraries of Purba Bardhaman play a vital role to face these challenges by providing quick access to information. The Public libraries are conscious of improving the conditions through Community Information Centre (CIC) for fully utilizing information age technologies to collect, organize, and disseminate all types of information needed by the users they serve. Public libraries' primary responsibilities include granting access to and safeguarding recorded knowledge for later use. In addition, they are in charge of disseminating necessary information to the neighborhood to aid residents in daily issue solving. One way that a public library serves the local community is through its Community Information Services (CIS). In the Purba Bardhaman area of West Bengal, the study covers the current function of public libraries, service issues, and solution suggestions for community information services. This research also covers how collaboration helps to agricultural activities for public libraries provide community information services (CIS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology advances and collaborations with information technology and computer science groups have enabled library services to expand into new domains. Listening to user needs, eliminating administrative burden and saving users time remain strong foundations on which to build new library services enabled by technology. Examples of what is now possible is described, including service to user groups, successes, failures and challenges. Although technology advances have enabled library service enhancements to all user groups, special emphasis on new library services in support of the research enterprise is discussed. As Lindberg and Humphreys predicted in 2015, the research enterprise's need for responsible curation of research data has created new opportunities for library services and examples of those services are discussed. As technology continues to advance, new library services are expected to emerge. These may include regulatory and compliance services. By developing these services with user feedback to save users time and expedite their work, and in collaboration with technology experts, libraries can expect to offer sustainable and valued services for years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public libraries are the people's university. Public libraries should provide the service based on equality of access for all regardless of age, religion, nationality and language. Public libraries have recognized their role to satisfy the information needs of all types of people in society. The government at the state level and national level has taken initiatives to make public libraries as an important source of information for people's formal walks of life. The National Mission on libraries set up by the ministry of culture has provided recommendations for the development of libraries and information centers to make public libraries equipped with information. This article describes the development of the public library system and services in Tamilnadu. After India became independent, the first state to enact the Public Library Act was Tamil Nadu in 1948; the Act began to be effective from April 1, 1950. The Preamble of the Act clearly elaborates its objectives, as an act to arrange for the establishing of public libraries in the state of Tamil Nadu (Madras) and developing widespread rural and urban services of the Library under it. The Act has been provided with nineteen sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discussed challenges facing the Tanzania National Central Library (TNCL) in providing information services to prisoners. Data were collected using a structured interview and standardized questionnaire that were administered to 41 librarians. Face to Face interview was conducted with the Library Director and two Heads of Departments who were purposefully selected. Each interview lasted between 30 and 40 minutes. All 41 TNCL employees were included in the sample of the study. The quantitative data outputs were presented in the form of descriptive statistics, mainly in tabular form while qualitative data, which were subjected to content analysis were presented mainly in a narrative form. The findings indicated that TNCL uses various sources to disseminate information to prisoners. Moreover, they also indicated that TNCL faces several challenges including inadequate funds, poor infrasture systems, restrictive prison policies and lack of library buildings which is deterring provision of information services to prisoners. The study recommended that all of the raised challenges should be solved to facilitate information provision services to prisoners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]