Search

Librarians support research in a wide variety of ways. However, librarians may not always receive recognition for the valuable contributions they make to the research life cycle or research environments. In higher education institutions (HEIs), librarians face competition from other professional support services in addition to external organizations and suppliers. This article provides an analysis of submissions made by HEIs to the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014 and demonstrates that the work of librarians is rarely acknowledged in substantive ways, particularly in STEM disciplines. It provides an overview of the multiple ways in which librarians contribute to research environments as well as how they can practically contribute to the REF 2021 submission process and other research assessment processes. Librarians have developed a wide range of responsive and innovative support services over the last decade and REF 2021 is demonstrated to be an opportunity for librarians to gain recognition for the important role they play in UK HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, Katie Nicholas presents the findings of a very topical piece of research into the use of eBooks in health libraries, which she completed for a Masters dissertation. Katie graduated with an MA in Library and Information Management (Distinction) from Manchester Metropolitan University in July 2017. She would like to acknowledge the support of her supervisor, Rachel Delbridge, in helping her to gain a Distinction in her dissertation. In the article, she points out that the use of eBooks in the NHS is low compared to other sectors and she presents the findings from her research, which help to explain this. She outlines the development of an electronic tool to help library and information staff make sense of the complexity around eBooks and makes further very practical recommendations for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auckland Libraries' librarians provide an account of a project begun in 2014 to improve access to the Auckland Libraries zine collection through a collaborative and interdepartmental cataloguing project. The parameters of the project and some of the observed outcomes are described. This article is based on a lightning talk and accompanying zine presented at LIANZA Shout! 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information from various aspects of the field of international serials and electronic resource management. Abstracts for several research articles are included on topics such as scholarly electronic books (e-books) and open source data in academic publishing. Additionally, awards and grants presented by the American Library Association (ALA) in 2011 are highlighted along with notes on the reorganization of the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG). Brief information regarding the 2012 conference for the UKSG and a list of online resources related to serials librarians are also included.

Purpose - This paper aims to describe the history and current plans for the newspaper collections of the British Library. Design/methodology/approach - The Library will create more access to its older collections, via mass digitisation of texts. The Library is seeking to work with UK newspaper publishers to secure the ingest of "born digital" newspapers, to present issues of recent newspapers to users in library reading rooms. Digitised newspapers will be taken into the Library's digital library storage system being developed for all types of digital materials that the Library is acquiring in growing quantities. There are plans to move the existing collections from Colindale to a new storage facility at its Boston Spa site, to ensure controlled environmental conditions for the original printed newspapers. Findings - It was found that the British Library is investing in the future in order to improve access to a vital part of its collections. Originality/value - This is one of the few published articles on how a national library deals with the massive task of providing access to newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the progress made in developing mechanisms for self-supported impact assessment for a range of library service providers in the UK, and higher education libraries in particular. There is no established tradition for the higher education libraries to evaluate the impact that they have within their organisations. Design/methodology/approach - The authors have created and developed a range of techniques which have been applied across the United Kingdom in school, health, public and higher education libraries, refining the techniques over the last decade. Findings - The impact initiative so far is reviewed and areas for further promotion and development identified. Originality/value - The work described is one of few that has achieved impact assessment across a wide range of libraries and over a significant period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Early Childhood is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – To examine whether placing URLs into library OPACs has been an effective way of enhancing the role of the catalogue for the contemporary library user. Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of the literature combined with an analysis of publicly available statistics for library use in the USA and the UK. Findings – That certain ways of placing URLs into the OPAC are loosely associated with a successful library environment, i.e. with constant or increasing levels of stock circulation and OPAC use, while other forms of hyper-linking OPAC records are loosely associated with declining levels of library use. Research limitations/implications – The loose association between different OPAC management practices and apparent statistical trends of library use could be investigated in greater depth by further subsequent research, but along the lines and methodology suggested herein. Practical implications – Firm suggestions on how to place and manage URLs in the online catalogue are made. Originality/value – This paper takes certain catalogue enhancement practices which are identified with the US library environment and investigates them in a UK, and specifically Scottish context, to shed light on the original US ideas behind these practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - To examine the effects of technical developments on demand for traditional enquiry services in the House of Commons Library. Design/methodology/approach - Trends in enquiry load are matched against technical advances, especially in the area of user self-service, using published and unpublished reports. Findings - The growth of resources delivered via the Parliamentary intranet, and the provision of suitable and convenient retrieval equipment, have enabled the end-user and significantly reduced demands on traditional librarianship and reference skills. Research limitation/implications - Based on experience of one special library. Practical implications - Likely to be of use to information practitioners in cognate situations where traditional approaches are being supplanted by technical change. Originality/value - Case study of an organization adapting to the new realities of an information-rich corps of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses various issues related to the report, Monograph Interlending for the Higher Education Research Community, of Great Britain. This report has been commissioned by the Consortium of University Research Libraries with the support of the British Library Cooperation and Partnership Program in order to recommend the best Great Britain wide monograph interlending infrastructure and associated business model for the higher education research community for the next ten years. The current monograph interlending system based on the British Library Document Supply Center has several important strengths: first and most importantly, it works, and has done so successfully for many years.

Presents updates on library and information services in Great Britain as of May 2002. Information on the public library system; Contributions of library and information services in the policies designed to combat social exclusion; Discussion of the digitization of internationally important books and manuscripts.

The paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 2000 to establish the extent of Baltic collections in United Kingdom libraries: academic, public, and émigré community libraries. Baltic collections are understood in this paper to mean materials in the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian languages; however, reference is also made to materials in other languages about the history, society, and cultures of these countries. The paper begins with a short introduction to the history of Baltic library collections in the U.K., and then looks at the current situation, seeking to map Baltic collections at U.K. libraries, and establish collection size and strengths. Current collecting patterns are examined in the light of research trends, and the impact of electronic information sources is considered. Finally, prognostications are made about the future of Baltic library collections in the U.K., taking into account number of users, political factors, and the move towards increased inter-library cooperation occasioned by diminishing acquisitions budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors address the training needs of archivists, librarians and museum staff involved in preserving the national heritage and consider how these domains' needs might be met in a co-ordinated and collaborative manner across the cultural heritage sector, and within the context of educational provision. The paper draws on a recent Library and Information Commission funded research project, "Review of current preservation management training in the UK and abroad", and the 1999 National Preservation Office seminar on the subject. It relates this to work of the National Preservation Office, Resource, and other professional initiatives, and suggests how sector-wide training and education might be developed. It poses questions for the consideration of LIS educators. Recommendations encourage the development of existing links and training initiatives, widening involvement and collaboration within and without the sector, and co-ordination of preservation management training nationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that there are certain areas of traditional classification, knowledge management and physical library arrangement that have special applicability to electronic collection building. Problems with the approach of librarians to electronic collection building; Examination of knowledge management at British academic libraries; Common features of the traditional and the electronic library.