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This paper compares website usability—specifically library users’ understanding of library terms—for fifty-one original research studies between 2012-2021, with the findings of John Kupersmith’s 2011 white paper “Library Terms That Users Understand.” Studies reported approximately twice as many terms that users didn’t understand than terms users did understand, with some terms appearing in both categories. Analysis of the findings suggests a majority of Kupersmith’s guidelines remain applicable to today’s online environment, with some adjustments related to technology advances. We propose an additional guideline that acknowledges the role non-library websites play in guiding how users interact with library terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new model for citation analysis, applying new methodological approaches in citation studies. These methods are demonstrated by an analysis of cited references from publications by the Geological Sciences faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder. The author made use of simple Python scripting, the Web of Science API, and OpenRefine to examine the most frequently cited journals and compare them to library holdings data to discover materials absent from the local collection. Of the more than 20,000 citations analyzed, 80 percent cited approximately 10 percent of all titles (412 journals). A notable finding was the heavy reliance of faculty members upon works between zero and two years of age. The streamlined model presented here removes the constraints of time and effort encountered by academic librarians interested in conducting citation analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has greatly changed how library users search and use library resources. Many of them prefer resources available in electronic format over traditional print materials. While many documents are now born digital, many more are only accessible in print and need to be digitized. This paper focuses on how the Colorado State University Libraries creates and optimizes text-based and digitized PDF documents for easy access, downloading, and printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-library use data is crucial for modern libraries to understand the full spectrum of patron use, including patron self-service activities, circulation, and reference statistics. Rather than using tables and charts to display use data, a geographic information system (GIS) facilitates a more visually appealing graphical display of the data in the form of a map. GISs have been used by library and information science (LIS) researchers and practitioners to create maps that display analyses of service area populations and demographics, facilities space management issues, spatial distribution of in-library use of materials, planned branch consolidations, and so on. The "seating sweeps" method allows researchers and librarians to collect in-library use data regarding where patrons are locating themselves within the library and what they are doing at those locations, such as sitting and reading, studying in a group, or socializing. This paper proposes a GIS as a tool to visually display in-library use data collected via "seating sweeps" of a library. By using a GIS to store, manage, and display the data, researchers and librarians can create visually appealing maps that show areas of heavy use and evidence of the use and value of the library for a community. Example maps are included to facilitate the reader's understanding of the possibilities afforded by using GISs in LIS research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes two projects that promote interlibrary loan (ILL) in both traditional online public access catalogs and discovery settings to address user frustrations with gaps in the collection. By creating and inserting OpenURL links into bibliographic records for titles held exclusively by external institutions, the authors leveraged the discovery capabilities of their shared catalog and promoted ILL as an alternative means of access. The second project targeted the overwhelming amount of content indexed in the library's discovery layer that was not locally available. To more directly translate discovery into access, the authors worked with EBSCO to create and enable ILL CustomLinks for this content indexed by EBSCO Discovery Service and not available to their users. This paper presents ILL data to investigate whether these projects are changing the ways our users find and access content not held locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part of the paper develops a framework explaining the need to disambiguate user inquiries to improve information systems and services. Theoretical grounds for this framework are explained for how questions are categorized on the basis of their ambiguity type, while the relevant literature is reviewed including both the traditional and the digital information service environment. The second part of the paper categorizes a set of questions (400 Qs), originally collected for TREC 8 and 9 QA Tracks, according to ambiguity type. Three types and two dimensions of ambiguity are identified by the author with the acceptable levels of inter-coder agreements presented. The last part of the paper discusses three aspects of information systems and services, mainly related to user-system and user-information intermediary (i.e., a reference librarian) interactions, on the basis of the results of categorization. Those three aspects include (1) increasing user input to make initial queries less ambiguous, (2) reducing search space by disambiguating queries, and (3) clustering search results based on the characteristics of prospective answers. In each of the three aspects, discussions on the evolving environments of virtual reference services were presented.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of academic library users has drastically changed in recent years. Internet search engines have become the preferred tool over the library online public access catalog (OPAC) for finding information. Libraries are losing ground to online search engines. In this paper, two aspects of OPAC use are studied: (1) the current OPAC interface and searching capabilities, and (2) the OPAC bibliographic display. The purpose of the study is to find answers to the following questions: Why is the current OPAC ineffective? What can libraries and librarians do to deliver an OPAC that is as good as search engines to better serve our users? Revitalizing the library OPAC is one of the pressing issues that has to be accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plotting information about patrons and library locations on a map provides library decision-makers with a spatial view of the library's market area and a better and more complete understanding of the library's user population. This study uses a geographic information system to analyze the Weber County Library System in northern Utah.The paper concentrates on three areas: (1) patron utilization of the main library and its branches, (2) the need for additional branch libraries, and (3) selected demographic characteristics of the population in the census tracts surrounding the library system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the realization of users ‘ information rights (IRs) in the smart service of university libraries. Based on the LibQUAL model, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to measure the quality of smart services in university libraries. The contribution weight of various services to the realization of IRs is calculated by analytic hierarchy process (AHP), then the degree of IR realization is obtained. Users have the highest right to express information, the lowest right to equality, and other rights tend to be moderate. Suggestions to improve the realization of IRs are put forward at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the merit of conducting a qualitative analysis of LibQUAL+® survey comments as a means of leveraging quantitative LibQUAL+ results, and using importance-satisfaction matrices to present and assess qualitative findings. Comments collected from the authors' institution's LibQUAL+ survey were analyzed using a codebook based on theoretical insights of customer satisfaction with library features. Qualitative findings extended the quantitative results and yielded key recommendations that were new or unclear from the quantitative results alone. Importance-satisfaction matrices were beneficial in pinpointing primary and secondary opportunities for improvement, areas to place continued emphasis, and areas where expectations were exceeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical information literacy is a way of thinking and teaching that examines the social construction and political dimensions of libraries and information, problematizing information’s production and use so that library users may think critically about such forces. Being an educational approach that acknowledges and emboldens learners’ agency, critical information literacy has much to offer librarians. Using a survey and follow-up interviews with thirteen librarians practicing critical information literacy, this paper illustrates some of the many ways that librarians incorporate this vital approach to teaching the complexities of information, as well as the potential advantages and difficulties of doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of multiple versions for bibliographic works presents numerous challenges to the cataloger and, by extension, to the catalog user. Fifteen years after the Multiple Versions Forum held in Airlie, Virginia, online public access catalog (OPAC) users continue to grapple with confusing displays representing numerous serial manifestations (i.e., versions) resulting from the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules’ (AACR2) cardinal principle (Rule 0.24). Two initiatives offer hope for more coherent OPAC displays in light of a renewed focus upon user needs: the ongoing revision of AACR2, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model. A third potential tool for improving OPAC displays exists within a series of standards that have developed to parallel library needs, and today offer a robust communications medium: the MARC 21 authority, bibliographic, and holdings formats. This paper summarizes the challenges posed by multiple versions and presents an analysis of current and emerging solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of availability (can a library patron locate a desired item on a library's shelves?) and Kantor's branching method for identifying barriers to availability (acquisition, circulation, library operations, and the user) are described. A literature review identifies more than fifty investigations of availability reported in journal articles, dissertations, theses, or conference presentations during the last quarter century. The mean availability rates for known-item searches by actual patrons of 61.3 percent or 63.1 percent (depending on the calculation method) are quite similar to the 61 percent found in an earlier review covering the years 1934 to 1984. Analysis of availability in Kantor's branches shows variation among libraries, but no branch standing out as a major barrier. The paper concludes with the argument that the traditional availability measure can be modified for use as an objective, user-centered evaluative tool in the electronic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether there are relationships between first-year college students' use of academic libraries and four academic outcomes: academic engagement, engagement in scholarly activities, academic skills development, and grade point average. The results of regression analyses suggest students' use of books (collection loans, e-books, and interlibrary loans) and web-based services (database, journal, and library website logins) had the most positive and significant relationships with academic outcomes. Students' use of reference services was positively associated with their academic engagement and academic skills, while enrollment in library courses was positively associated with grade point averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seekers of information in libraries either go through a librarian intermediary or they help themselves. When they go through librarians they must develop their questions through four levels of need, referred to here as the visceral, conscious, formalized, and compromised needs. In his pre-search interview with an information-seeker the reference librarian attempts to help him arrive at an understanding of his "compromised" need by determining: (1) the subject of his interest; (2) his motivation; (3) his personal characteristics; (4) the relationship of the inquiry to file organization; and (5) anticipated answers. The author contends that research is needed into the techniques of conducting this negotiation between the user and the reference librarian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2010, the University of Colorado Boulder (CUB) Libraries implemented a patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) e-book program through Ingram Content Group's on the MyiLibrary platform. CUB's PDAprogram expanded to include all campuses within the University of Colorado (CU) system, launching a collaborative pilot project for shared purchasing and shared cataloging of e-books among five geographically separate and diverse CU libraries in December 2011. The PDA program affects the catalogs, cataloging departments, and cataloging workflows of each library. This paper describes the CU PDA program with a focus on how MARC records are prepared and distributed to the CU libraries, both before and after titles are purchased. It covers factors that impact editing and customization of the records such as the quality of vendor-supplied data, local needs, and best practices for Prospector, a regional unified catalog in which all CU system libraries participate. In addition, the authors share their strategies for detecting and correcting cataloging errors that occur and their methods for handling PDA titles duplicated in other e-book packages available at CU libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content-enriched metadata in bibliographic records is considered helpful to library users in identifying and selecting library materials for their needs. The paper presents a study, using circulation data from a medium-sized academic library, of the effect of content-enriched records on library materials usage. The study also examines OPAC search transactions of circulated items to learn how enriched metadata is used. The findings show that enhanced records were overall associated with higher circulation rates and that keyword search was the most frequently used search option directly associated with circulation. Contents data can play a key role in discovery. Libraries should continue to provide and exploit content-enriched metadata. The combination of optimal library system data mining capability, postsearching evaluation, and OPAC display are crucial to achieve content-enriched access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic communication technologies continue to change the landscape of reference services. For many users, virtual communication is the preferred means of conversing. Synchronous virtual reference, similar to other synchronous means of communication, is an important method for reaching students and for providing teaching and learning opportunities. Grounded Theory (GT) research provides a method for examining the transcripts of synchronous virtual reference. In this study, the library implemented the instant messaging (IM) application known as Meebo. Using the qualitative software ATLAS.ti, Iowa State University Library researchers uploaded, analyzed, and coded the instant messaging transcripts. From the analysis, a snapshot developed of the library's central role in educating the university community about research resources. This paper describes ongoing challenges that occur during synchronous virtual reference interviews and staff training needs that cannot be captured by number crunching alone. Synchronous virtual reference can provide essential teaching and learning experiences that complement the educational mission of most research universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes changes to the definitions of "authorized users" contained in electronic resources licenses and embedded in access control technologies from the mid-1990s to the present. In analyzing changes to the license and technology-based definitions, it tracks shifts in major stakeholders' perceptions of authorized users and describes developments in licensing and access control technologies. The paper demonstrates that the concept of authorized users has been shaped by a mix of social and technical elements, including changes to information providers' and libraries' business models and missions, shifts in norms for license terms, and development of technological tools used to facilitate or constrain access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the ongoing conversation about Library 2.0, which has focused on user participation and emphasizes efficiency in delivering library services to users, this paper draws attention to a practical application in technical services: using Web 2.0 tools to enhance performance in the cataloging department. From his position as the coordinator for non-Roman cataloging in a large academic library, the author shares his experience using a blog and other Web 2.0 tools to improve section management and professional activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the leading trends in and contributions to the peer-reviewed and professional literature of serials librarianship published in 2006 and 2007. The review shows that a central topic in the literature is the nature and effect of libraries' ongoing transition from acquiring serials in print to providing access electronically. Propelled forward by user preferences, this transition is reflected in publications that reconceptualize collections and describe innovative initiatives and strategies for acquisition, access, and management. Throughout the literature, the review traces a prevailing sentiment that libraries are advancing well beyond the confines of print-centered models and are assuming new roles, imagining new possibilities, and developing new solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major review of the reference collection in Bowling Green State University's Jerome Library was made necessary by the decision to incorporate the materials from the reference collection in the science library. The process of planning and implementing this collection review is described, emphasizing how this process has been affected by changes in technology and the demands made by library users. Suggestions that may help ensure a successful review are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at the meetings of the Philadelphia Regional Catalogers Group on the divided catalog is presented. Rudolph Hirsch stated that the purpose of the catalog is to display the resources of a library to users and that the usefulness and aim of a catalog must be judged in terms of library's particular resources. Anne S. Flannery explained that the decision to divide the catalog was based on the belief that it would simplify the catalog to the public.

The purpose of this study is to investigate what semiotic analysis can reveal about how welcoming and inclusive a science library space is for patrons. A space was examined in terms of its messaging to patrons of various genders, abilities, races, ethnicities, nationalities, and disciplines. Findings are presented about the space's messaging regarding the disciplines it serves, inclusion of patrons from minoritized demographics, and general expectations of visitors. Recommendations for library practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Julian Everett Allgood on the complexities of serial descriptions and improving user's library access and another by Jungran Park which discusses cultural and linguistic problems.

Patrons' information consumption behaviors of print materials are influenced by their content and tangible characteristics. This quantitative study incorporates several content-based factors widely adopted in collection management practices as well as two physical dimension-related factors, including book size and number of pages, and applies a series of regression analyses to evaluate the relative impact of these factors on patrons' checkout versus in-library use decisions. The results suggest that shelf time and book size exhibit consistent and significant impact on patrons' use of print materials. These findings can shed further light on collection management practices and policies in academic libraries striving to provide patrons more usercentered collections and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses, For librarians to continually demonstrate superior and high-quality service, they must meet the needs of current and potential users. One way that librarians have met the needs of users is by expanding their service offerings online via virtual reference services (VRS). This expansion is particularly critical in the current time of COVID-19.

The article focuses on the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) achieved the following milestones toward accomplishing the goals in Strategic Plan to guide ALCTS activities from 2019 to 2020, during what indeed ended up to be a transitional year. Topics include strengthen advocacy for equitable access to and preservation of resources and information for all users; and assess current divisional programs and services.

To better understand the library's role in student success, this research used student survey data to explore students' reported library building use, library resource use, library instruction, as well as student perceptions of the library's role in their success, and how these factors may vary by academic discipline. Cumulative GPAs were also matched with respondents. Quantifying the relationship between library usage and student success is one of the six areas recommended for further research by ACRL. This study focuses on the variation and the uncertainty of the measurement of this relationship across disciplines, using Bayesian multilevel regression methods. Levels of library resource usage and percentages of respondents believing the library contributes very much to the respondents' academic success vary quite a bit by discipline. In this study, cumulative GPA is higher on average for students who use library resources more frequently, but not for students who receive library instruction. Although, for undergraduates, higher frequency of building usage predicted higher probability of believing the library contributes very much to academic success, it did not predict higher GPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it has been argued that school libraries are important for supporting the reading engagement of pupils who receive free school meals, to date there has been little analysis of the extent to which use of school library spaces is related to these pupils' reading behaviors. We analyzed data from 6,264 children and young adults in the United Kingdom entitled to free school meals (FSM) who completed the 2019 National Literacy Trust Annual Literacy Survey. Our goals were to understand the extent to which these pupils' engagement with reading and writing were related to access to or use of their school libraries and to understand some of the reasons why they do or do not use school libraries. We found their enjoyment of both reading and writing, their confidence in their own abilities, and the frequency with which they read or wrote for pleasure outside of school was significantly higher for those pupils eligible for FSM who used their school libraries relative to both those who did not use their school libraries and those who had no school library. Consistent with this finding, children eligible for FSM who used their school library engaged with a greater diversity of reading material and writing than those who were not school library users. Pupils who had access to welcoming, well-equipped libraries with books well-matched to students' interests used the libraries for those reasons and because, for many, it was a safe haven. Many non-users either had no school library or perceived the library as poorly equipped, unwelcoming, or uninteresting. We argue that effective school libraries can be a significant resource in supporting engagement with self-motivated literacy practices in children from low-income families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project at the University of Rochester will design and develop a set of open-source applications to provide libraries with an alternative way to reveal their collections to library users. The goals and functional requirements developed for XC reveal generalizable needs for metadata to support a next-generation discovery system. The strategies that the XC Project Team and XC Partner institutions will use to address these issues can contribute to an agenda for attention and action within the library community to ensure that library metadata will continue to support online resource discovery in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wikis have recently been adopted to support a variety of collaborative activities within libraries. This article and its companion wiki, Library Wikis (http://librarywikis.pbwiki.com/), seek to document the phenomenon of wikis in libraries. This subject is considered within the framework of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). The author identified thirty-three library wikis and developed a classification schema with four categories: (1) collaboration among libraries (45.7 percent); (2) collaboration among library staff (31.4 percent); (3) collaboration among library staff and patrons (14.3 percent); and (4) collaboration among patrons (8.6 percent). Examples of library wikis are presented within the article, as is a discussion for why wikis are primarily utilized within categories I and II and not within categories III and IV. It is clear that wikis have great utility within libraries, and the author urges further application of wikis in libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the burgeoning trend in online social networks has gained much attention from the media, few studies in library science have yet to address the topic in depth. This article reports on a survey of 126 academic librarians concerning their perspectives toward Facebook.com, an online network for students. Findings suggest that librarians are overwhelmingly aware of the ‘Facebook phenomenon.’ Those who are most enthusiastic about the potential of online social networking suggested ideas for using Facebook to promote library services and events. Few individuals reported problems or distractions as a result of patrons accessing Facebook in the library. When problems have arisen, strict regulation of access to the site seems unfavorable. While some librarians were excited about the possibilities of Facebook, the majority surveyed appeared to consider Facebook outside the purview of professional librarianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated whether there is a correlation between user performance and compliance with screen-design guidelines found in the literature. Rather than test individual guidelines and their interactions, the authors took a more holistic approach and tested a compilation of guidelines. Nine bibliographic display formats were scored using a checklist of eighty-six guidelines. Twenty-seven participants completed ninety search tasks using the displays in a simulated Web environment. None of the correlations indicated that user performance was statistically significantly faster with greater conformity to guidelines. In some cases, user performance was actually significantly slower with greater conformity to guidelines. In a supplementary study, a different set of forty-three guidelines and the user performance data from the main study were used. Again, none of the correlations indicated that user performance was statistically significantly faster with greater conformity to guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual search interfaces have been shown by researchers to assist users with information search and retrieval. Recently, several major library vendors have added visual search interfaces or functions to their products. For public service librarians, perhaps the most critical area of interest is the extent to which visual search interfaces and text-based search interfaces support research. This study presents the results of eight full-scale usability tests of both the EBSCOhost Basic Search and Visual Search in the context of a large liberal arts university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the escalating costs of offering free printing to library users, the Arizona State University West (ASUW) Library's technical staff devised a low-cost solution to allowing ASU users to log in and gain access to the library's printers while excluding non-ASU users from the printers. The solution was created in a Microsoft Windows client/server environment. A detailed description of the solution and scripts are offered to other libraries in the same environment that might find it useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maker movement has found a home in public libraries. Field leaders including public libraries in Chicago, Chattanooga, Houston, Louisville, and Toronto have built robust makerspaces, developed maker programming for a diverse range of patrons, connected community experts with library users for the purpose of sharing information, and fostered communities of practice.¹ Characterized by open exploration, intrinsic interest, and creative ideation, the maker movement can be broadly defined as participation in the creative production of physical and digital artifacts in people's day-to-day lives. The maker movement employs a do-it-yourself orientation toward a range of disciplines, including robotics, woodworking, textiles, and electronics. But the maker ethos also includes a do-it-with-others approach, valuing collaboration, distributed expertise, and open workspaces. To many in the library profession, the values ingrained in the maker movement seem to be shared with the aims and goals of public libraries. However, critiques of the maker movement raise questions about current iterations of makerspaces across settings. This article highlights critiques and responses regarding the "democratic" nature of the maker movement, and in particular, the article analyzes ways librarians involved in a prominent public library maker program discursively construct making and maker programming in relation to the maker movement more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patron-driven acquisition has been an important, if contentious, topic for decades, with numerous programs having been piloted, adopted, and reported on, largely favorably, in the library literature. Still, questions and doubts persist for academic libraries, especially where the composition of vendor plans and packages and the judgment of patrons are concerned. Past literature has approached the assessment of patron-driven acquisition by analyzing circulation/usage, comparing peer-library holdings, seeking patrons' or librarians' judgments of utility and suitability, looking for evidence of collection imbalances, and testing for overlap in patrons' and librarians' purchases. To contribute to this literature, this study addresses scholarly impact and examines whose selections--approval plans', librarians', or patrons'--have been most heavily cited. For the social sciences, the sciences, and the humanities, the authors gathered topic-matched random samples of books acquired via approval plans and librarian orders during the first five years of operation of their institutions' interlibrary loan purchase-on-demand patrondriven acquisition program and compared their citation counts to the counts of books acquired via the program. Google Scholar was employed to tally citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telephone interviews were conducted with 18 blind academic library users around the United States about their experiences using their library and its website. The study uses the perspective that blind users' insights are fundamental. A common theme was that navigating a webpage is time consuming on the first visit. Issues identified include the need for "databases" to be defined on the homepage, accessibly coded search boxes, logical heading structure, and several problems to be resolved on result pages. Variations in needs depending on users' screen-reader expertise were also raised. Suggestions for libraries to address these issues are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]