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Research data services are increasingly offered by academic libraries. As a result, librarians may need to upskill to provide data services and build capacity. This study measures the current level of data services skills of academic librarians and explores preferred methods of continuing education. An online survey was circulated asking respondents to self-assess data skills in four categories. The results capture a baseline of self-assessed data skills and show statistical significance between the percentage of time a librarian provides data services and higher levels of technical skill sets. The findings support the hiring of data librarians in academic libraries offering data services and providing training for librarians who provide any level of data services.

In this study we investigated the research designs employed to study the interdisciplinary profession of school librarianship during a time period of notable changes across both the Pre-K-12 and school library domains. To conduct this work, we analyzed all 217 articles published in "School Library Research" (SLR) and "School Libraries Worldwide" (SLW) from 2007 through July 2015. Results point to the high variability in research designs employed and limited inclusion of Pre-K-12 students as participants. The articles also exhibit high incidences of collaboration between scholars but limited involvement of practitioners as researchers. Findings are discussed in relation to research and practice.

Introduction: This study aims to gain a greater understanding of the development of open access practices amongst library and information science authors, since their role is integral to the success of the broader open access movement. Method: Data were collected from scholarly articles about open access by library and information science authors from 2003 until 2011 found in the Library and Information Science Abstracts database. Analysis: A bibliometric approach is taken for the information gathered from 203 articles. Excel and SPSS were used to derive descriptive statistics and correlations. Results: Overall an open access rate of 60% was found, which was lower than expected considering 94% of these articles appeared to endorse open access. Conclusions: Although these results show a higher open access rate than previous studies, and a linear growth of open access publications over the years, there is still a large gap between theory and practice which needs to be addressed.

A survey of Australian academic reference librarians was conducted as part of an international collaboration seeking to identify the most important knowledge, skills and attributes now and for the next ten years. Librarians working in or managing reference-related services at university and vocational education and training institutions participated in the online survey. Their responses indicate that a core professional skill, searching, is the most important skill for reference librarians, followed by other generic skills, such as verbal communication and customer service skills. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)

The study reported in this paper is part of a larger program of studies designed to review and renew the curricula of Library and Information Science (LIS) and the broader Information Management (IM) courses. This paper analysed job advertisements as readily accessible indicators of the knowledge, skills, and competencies required of IPs by employers and potential available roles. It presents current findings and compares them with trends identified in earlier Australian job advertisement content analyses based on data collected in 2004. The information revealed by the study may be utilised by educators to inform curriculum review and renewal. Current advertisements were collected from web-based sources; ALIA's employment web pages and two national web job-boards, Seek and MyCareer.com. Text from job advertisements was analysed using a content analysis software package. The data revealed an increasing demand for IPs with records management skills, and skills in business content management, web management and other information management systems, indicating an increasing overlap with the field of information systems. The "move to the generic" identified as an emerging trend in 2004 has solidified. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.)

The author asserts that something is wrong with university-based education for librarianship in Australia. Librarianship does not have a clear disciplinary identity in universities. The lack of differentiation between the roles of technicians and professionals clouds the issue. For these and other reasons, education for librarianship in Australia is suffering. Comparisons are made with the United States and Canada. Some suggestions for improving the quality of university-based education for librarianship, based on increased cooperation among departments of information studies, are made. [This article has been reprinted from "The Australian Library Journal," volume 50, no. 1, 2001.]

This paper examines aspects of journal articles published from 1967 to 2008, located in eight databases, and authored or co-authored by academics serving for at least two years in Australian LIS programs from 1959 to 2008. These aspects are: inclusion of publications in databases, publications in journals, authorship characteristics of publications, productivity, and subject content of publications over time. Results indicate that national and LIS-specific databases provided adequate coverage; however, no single database provided over half of all publications. More than half of all articles were published in national journals focusing on aspects of LIS in Australia; however, there is a trend for increasing publications in international journals. Most of the earlier publications had one author, but multiple authorship in publications has increased since 1999. Overall the number of publications per LIS academic is low; however, per capita productivity has been increasing since the mid-1990s. Finally, titles of articles reveal a shift from library-related terms to information-related terms. (Contains 9 figures, 2 footnotes and 4 tables.)

Libraries have found themselves overtaken by commercial entities providing open, unmediated information services, causing debate about the future of libraries. It has been argued that in order to stay relevant, libraries must undertake a fundamental shift towards a new focus on engaging with clients. At University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) Library we have commenced a number of activities aimed at engaging our clients, but currently only have anecdotal evidence of their effectiveness. This is a conceptual paper which seeks to define engagement and consider how practitioner researchers can provide research-based evidence of the effectiveness of engaging with clients and taking a user-centric approach to service design.

The paper describes a recent review of Library and Information Management courses offered by the School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University, and the resulting program of curriculum renewal and expansion. This program aimed to address concerns over the long-term sustainability of the courses and respond to an increasingly converging professional landscape. The courses were redesigned in a way that allowed them to maintain their relevance to the School's established librarianship market, while at the same time develop a significant application to other information fields. This was achieved by essentially turning the curriculum on its head. Instead of a library focussed core with electives in other information areas, the new curriculum offers core subjects that cover the information-people-technology nexus in generic fashion and provides a foundation for a wide range of specialisations. This transformation represents what could be described as a move from a traditional Library and Information Studies (LIS) approach to a broader Information Studies (IS) orientation, accommodating advanced areas of study in specific fields, including Librarianship (L). The paper goes on to discuss key issues concerning the implementation of the course redesigns, and the results of their implementation to date.

Web 2.0 technologies have transformed the way people in information industries engage with their clients, collaborate on projects, promote their services and gather community knowledge. In this paper, we describe the impact of industry adoption of Web 2.0 technologies on an information management course. The students in this course are either already working in or plan to be entering information professions such as librarianship, archiving, records management, information architecture, and information and knowledge management. The lecturer and tutors for this course are changing the way learning is assessed and constructively aligning it with industry expectations for library and information graduates. Specifically in this paper we focus on the impact of the Web 2.0 affordances on student learning, the assessment process, and constructive alignment of intended learning outcomes with industry expectations in an information management blogging assignment. These findings are from the final stage of an Australian project where case studies of subjects that used Web 2.0 tools to assess student work were documented. Analysis of the students' blogs reveals exploration of the new tools used in a professional manner, greater collaboration and improved communication within the subject. (Contains 3 tables.)

The reasons why students who already hold a tertiary qualification and wish to pursue a career in librarianship/information management choose to undertake a VET LIS para-professional qualification in preference to a postgraduate qualification in LIS have received little formal attention. This paper reports the results of research undertaken to investigate the underlying motivation of such students. The methodology included a survey of current students undertaking VET LIS paraprofessional qualifications at Australian educational institutions and an analysis of statistical data from the VET sector. Recommendations will be presented on how the profession should address the entry points into the profession in light of changes to government funding of VET programs and the current economic climate. (Contains 4 tables and 9 notes.)

The resource typologies proposed in the new standard, "Resource Description and Access" (RDA), are evaluated in the context of a particular university library catalogue through two card-sort exercises. Although it was found that end-users recognised the content and carrier aspects of the resource types as listed in RDA, they did not categorise them as RDA has done. Instead, content and carrier aspects were used to construct more complex classifications, which were also heavily influenced by other aspects, such as seriality. There was also much variation in these classifications, particularly at lower levels, suggesting that polyhierarchical systems may be advantageous. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 9 notes.)

Two factors identified as contributing to the lack of communication between researchers and practitioners, terminology and relevance, are the focus of this paper. A questionnaire distributed to senior staff in academic libraries asked participants to assess abstracts from articles in top ranked LIS journals. Results indicated a relatively high level of understanding of the articles, indicating that terminology was not a problem, and two thirds of the articles were rated as relevant to the profession. This result suggests that there is less of a gap in understanding between researchers and professionals than has been perceived. Involvement of practitioners in joint projects may be more feasible than was previously thought. (Contains 3 tables and 32 notes.)

Much has been written about scholarly communication with studies investigating the drivers for research and publishing. For academics in particular, publication is a major determinant of a successful case for continuing employment, promotion and the winning of competitive research funding. The purpose of this paper is to inform understanding of publishing by Australian library and information studies (LIS) academics and practitioners. Records from a citation database were downloaded, cleaned, parsed and partially analysed in Excel; further analyses were performed in SPSS. The paper finds that, in line with publications in other fields, there has been an increase in the number of papers published, that the proportion of papers with more than one author has increased, and that the number of Australian and international authorship collaborations has increased. (Contains 4 figures and 37 notes.)

Pay equity, as a concept and outcome, is significant for libraries and librarians because it demonstrates the value of the library and information profession, and the significance of the work undertaken by librarians and allied professionals. The State Library's involvement in the NSW Pay Equity Case and precursor investigations into the worth of the library and information science profession contributed to public recognition of the professional stature of librarians. The case also highlighted the role and significance of libraries. The leadership role of the NSW Government in advancing progressive industrial relations was confirmed by the case and its outcomes.

The Federal Government is introducing a new funding model for research in Australian higher education institutions, the Research Quality Framework (RQF). This paper provides an overview of the RQF and looks at possible impacts of the RQF on academic libraries in Australia. These impacts are drawn from experience at one Australian university, RQF-related activities, and commentary and research from the UK, where a similar funding model, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), has been operating for a decade. The paper concludes by bringing these issues together with suggestions for academic libraries preparing for the 2008 RQF. (Contains 20 notes.)

This paper reports on the results of a survey of destinations for students from librarianship and records management courses at Curtin University of Technology for the period 1998-2002. The survey includes the type of work currently being undertaken by graduates, the security of tenure in their position, the level of professionalism in their employment, and their general employment history since completing their qualifying course. Further data records respondents' perceptions of the importance of their qualification in gaining their current employment, the relationship between the skills acquired during the course and their employment, and their general level of satisfaction with the course. The results are compared with similar data previously recorded for the graduating classes of 1988-1992 and 1993-1997. (Contains 20 tables.)

Australian librarians have participated in and contributed to international librarianship for over 125 years. Individual and collective practice is well regarded internationally since it is in dialogue with international concerns, is based on shared values and reaches high standards. Many are willing contributors to international initiatives, contributing on a broad front and sometimes leading discourse in new areas. The profession in Australia is characteristically open to models of practice, ideas and colleagues from elsewhere. It has been enlivened by practitioners from other countries and Australian professionals have contributed elsewhere, especially in Southeast and East Asia. The principal challenge is to maintain and build on these characteristics. (Contains 13 notes.)

This paper explores library evaluation in Australia and proposes a return to research fundamentals in which evaluators are asked to consider the centrality of philosophical issues and the role of different research methods. A critique of current evaluation examples demonstrates a system-centred, quantitative, input/output focus which fails to engage with users' experiences or to address service objectives, and provides insufficient information upon which to make decisions about service improvements. This reliance on traditional evaluation is juxtaposed with the emphasis library and information studies places on alternative methodologies. The paper asks why a perspective that has become mainstream in academic research remains peripheral to practice-based evaluation.

One aspect of a wider ongoing longitudinal study of "Research and researchers in school librarianship" is discussed here. Research articles and conference papers published in English over the ten-year period 1991 to 2000 in the field of school librarianship were analysed to identify the country of the research, the type of publication in which the research was reported, the research methods used, and the aspects of school librarianship that were investigated. Changes and trends in the research at the international level through the decade are described, and compared to the research related to school librarianship in Australia. The methodology draws on studies that looked at aspects of research in the broader field of library and information science generally, in an international context. (Contains 10 tables.)

This article acknowledges and celebrates the contribution of Margaret Trask to education for beginning professionals in library and information work. It identifies four concepts or themes which underpinned the award courses developed and taught under Margaret's leadership, and examines how these themes have evolved over thirty years. Margaret played a leading role at a time when education for librarianship was in its early phase of development in Australia. She came to prominence in the 1970s when responsibility for provision was moving from the professional association, the then Library Association of Australia (LAA), to universities and colleges of advanced education, a move that had taken place already in the United Kingdom.

Yearbook Australia 2003 reports that in August 2001 there were 9596 schools in Australia (2003:305). It can be claimed with confidence that each of these has a library and that a member or members of the school staff have specific responsibility for its operation. That this is so is primarily an achievement of the Library Association of Australia (LAA), the predecessor of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and subsequently of ALIA itself and other professional groups such as the Australian School Library Association (ASLA). However, while ASLA and state-based teacher librarian professional groups have played their part in the development of school libraries and their staffing their existence can be attributed the LAA campaign of the 1960s aimed at increasing the presence of libraries in schools.

Information professionals and those who educate them face enormous challenges. Increasingly easy access to communication media and information is altering perceptions of the very nature of information work, globally. There is no doubt that there are many challenges facing present and prospective information professionals too. These include issues around internationalisation and accreditation; the level and structure of programs for first professional qualifications and competition from neighbouring disciplines.

This paper examines the partnership established between Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) through the School of Information Systems and the Careers and Employment Office to provide a mentoring program for students in the Graduate Diploma of Library and Information Studies (GDLIS) course. A range of activities is available, aimed at developing closer relationships between students and information professionals at a personal level, as well as interaction between the university and the information profession at the institutional level. The authors discuss the collaborative research project, which investigates both the teaching and learning outcomes for students and the professional development outcomes for mentors resulting from this unique transitional mentoring program.

Examines implications of the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) to Victoria (Australia) public libraries and the revision or abandonment of previously dominant ideals of public administration. Topics include the role of government; public services as a competitive market environment; economic rationalism; and the threat to the professionalism of librarianship. (Author/LRW)

Reports on a survey of Western Australian pre-graduates (16- and 17-year olds) conducted in order to determine their attitudes towards libraries and librarians and other careers. Results indicate the continuation of negative images of librarians, and the shift in perceptions that must occur before it is considered a desirable career option. Suggests improvements in the marketing of courses. (Author/AEF)

Australian library and information studies professional education experienced major changes over the past 15 years or so. There has been a growth in first professional level masters programs. Some schools have been involved in organisational relocation. Program structural changes have aimed to make programs more flexible and appealing to prospective students. These changes have not produced increased enrolments; rather, enrolments have fallen. (Contains 5 tables and 12 notes.)

Purpose - This research article aims to find out the different types of research support services provided by the top fifty libraries listed under science and technology institutions category in the QS ranking 2022. The analysis results will provide an in-depth view of the research support services offered by these institutions and will be helpful to libraries everywhere in designing their research support service. Design/methodology/approach - The top 50 institutions listed in the 2022 QS World University Rankings in the category of science and technology were taken. Out of them, 44 libraries were selected on the basis of research support services provided by them. The available research support services were investigated using the website analysis of these institutions. The data so obtained are filtered, categorised, analysed and visualised to get results. Findings - With regard to research and data-intensive research, research support service has emerged as one of the most important services offered by academic institutions in the sciences and technologies category. Research data management (39, 88.63%), research guides (40, 90.90%), research consultation (42, 95.45%), research tools recommendation (36, 81.81%), scholarly publishing/communication (39, 88.63%), open access (37, 84.09%) and training and workshop (36, 81.81%) are the most common types of research support services. The leading three countries are the USA (29.54 per cent), the UK (11.36 per cent) and Australia (9.09 per cent). Most of the institutions under the QS top 50 ranking are from the USA. Originality/value - This report conducts a thorough study of research support services offered by academic libraries at world-class science and technology institutions. The results will aid science and technology academic libraries in enhancing their research support services, which will, in turn, aid researchers in their efforts and advance scientific discovery. Also, the article will assist other institutions in planning their research support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, the Library at UNSW began a comprehensive restructuring process that fundamentally changed the provision of services to its academic community. A primary aim of this process was to increase flexibility of service development and delivery and so to improve research support. The motivation for reformed services arose from considerations including the University Library need to realign its services to support the university’s strategic goals, the increasingly competitive nature of the research environment, the introduction of the RQF/ERA, and a renewed emphasis on research outcomes by UNSW. The measurement of research impact using bibliometrics was seen as a strategy for supporting UNSW researchers. University Library staff consulted the bibliometrics literature and appropriate methodologies were devised to measure the impact of publications, authors and departments. The result was the creation of a Research Impact Measurement Service (RIMS) that now produces over 30 reports every month and employs 6-7 full time equivalent staff. Most of the reports are used to support promotion, grants, and institutional comparisons. This research support service also informs and improves the performance of such traditional library activities as collection development. RIMS is now integral to the measurement of research outputs at UNSW, and has significantly raised the profile of the Library throughout the academic community.AARL June 2009 vol 40 no 2 pp76–87 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although collection measurement has been much practised by librarians, it is seldom linked to precise, qualitative and client-centred objectives. The RLG conspectus offers a methodology whose validity for Australia needs to be examined carefully. Program performance evaluation has already proved illuminating at the State Library of New South Wales. Collection evaluation is useful for cooperation if properly documented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article shares the author's reflection on results of an analysis study which explores the intellectual isolation of Australian Library and Information Studies (LIS) using content analysis methodology. The author examines the LIS in Australia involving understanding on similarities and definitions on international and national studies of library science. The author also highlights the improvements in research programs in Australia.

It is time for us to collectively embrace the diversity of the library profession and encourage students and graduates to understand that great employment opportunities present themselves outside the traditional library space. Our traditional library skills will always be required, but to maintain our relevance we must provide a greater emphasis on non-traditional roles when teaching library-related qualifications. The scope and value of what our traditional skills can bring to other industries has been underestimated. A librarian’s job prospects are increasingly diverse, so our pre-service training and ongoing professional development should reflect this. Such practice would go a long way to safeguarding our profession for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]