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This paper reports on results of a questionnaire distributed to North American public libraries to determine what types of services they are providing to populations experiencing barriers to using bricks-and-mortar branches. The results indicate that many are offering homebound delivery and that bookmobiles remain popular, particularly in libraries serving large geographic areas. Some libraries are exploring kiosk, or vending machine style services. Lastly, new trends are emerging, notably pop-up libraries, vans, and book bikes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the contribution and legacy of subscription libraries in relation to the development of Canadian public libraries. From 1775 to 1850 membership associations acted as public libraries dispensing educational resources and recreational reading to users on a general-community or common-interest basis. Although Canada followed familiar British and American exemplars, regional settlement, political culture, religion, and language were influential arbiters in library development. The variety, number, and collective status of subscription libraries ushered in the persistent nineteenth-century concept of the semi-private ‘public library’ administered by trustees and populated by members who voluntarily agreed to accept entry charges, annual dues, and fundraising. The collegial space provided by the subscription library fostered a greater sense of publicness in an emerging Canadian nation before 1850. It also forged numerous associative identities in localities for like-minded reading groups. Subscription library development reveals that significant attributes of post-1850 municipal public libraries were inherited from Canada's colonial library era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preservation and dissemination of valuable archives in Library of Social Sciences are of great concerns by Institute of Social Sciences Information. The paper takes international cooperation as an approach of the Institute to deal with these issues by outlining some major international cooperative projects between the Institute and foreign partners in the last decade. It then discusses the outcomes of the projects and proposes measures to foster the effectiveness of such cooperation in the Institute information - library activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open Access (OA) publications challenge traditional library collections and the result is potentially transformative. The costs of subscriptions will be moved from readers and libraries to authors or be covered by universities, foundations, or other government funders. As a movement, it connects to a much larger cultural narrative and has given the impression of fait accompli. There is still skepticism among individuals involved in academic publishing. Applying the logic of professionalism by Freidson and Abbott, this article suggests that while we may advocate an OA business model to drive down costs, achievement of this model may actually undermine the library profession in the process. To strengthen our professional identity, librarians should embrace our expert role in research practices and broaden our access functions in accord with what users most value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author proposes the term "empathetic services" to describe the social, emotional, and psychological support that librarians provide patrons. The role of empathy in the library has been infrequently researched in library and information science (LIS) literature. However, as demonstrated in the reactions of libraries and librarians during recent social movements, empathy is a critical component of librarianship and routine library work. Although frequently labeled "customer service" or "soft skills," empathetic services encompass the provision of compassion, social justice, and understanding in libraries. As part of the findings, the author identified three significant roles that librarians perform: librarians as an information resource, librarians as an instruction resource, and librarians as a source of social/emotion/psychological support. Using the context of rural school and public libraries, this mixed-method, exploratory study investigates the types of empathy and support that rural school and public librarians currently offer and would like to offer young patrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study was conducted to identify the various economic challenges and prospects that are associated with utilization of information and communication Technology (ICT) for Library services in University libraries in Cross River State Nigeria. Design/Methodology/Approach: Survey research design was utilized to carry out the study. A well-structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect information (data) from librarians in Universities in the state. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. Frequency, tables, and percentages were used to analyze the data collected from the subjects of the study. Findings: The study among others revealed that paucity of funds is a major challenge towards the utilization of ICT for library services. Other challenges identified include poor judicious use of resources and the high cost of maintenance. Practical implication: Among the prospects that are associated with the utilization of ICT for library Services identified by the study include: cost saving and cost effectiveness; easy accessibility of current resources, and resource sharing. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that additional and alternative sources of funding should be explored and adopted, while software that will enhance the services and attract more patronage should be utilized by the libraries. Originality/value: The study had made available information on the economic challenges and prospects associated with the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) for library services in universities in Cross River State, Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigerian literature has focused more on the general concept of eresources without dedicated attention to e-books. This work takes a critical look at the challenges related to e-books collection and management in Nigerian universities. The study was conducted among six federal universities in Nigeria; one from each geopolitical zone of the federation. A survey research design was utilized to carry out the study with structured interview conducted for system librarians of the six university libraries. While there is proliferation of e-books in the libraries, absence of local titles, budgeting, consortium and awareness of DRM issues remain obvious challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to study the content features of select Websites of Department of Library and Information Science in North India. The checklist was designed for content evaluation of selected websites of Department of Library and Information Science which was clubbed into nine categories. After evaluating the content of selected websites under study, it was found that the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi is at rank number one among five Departments of Library and Information Science in north India and Department of Library and Information Science, Maharishi Dyanand University, Rohtak at the bottom rank. The study was limited to the content of DLIS websites in north India which were general in nature. This study compares the DLIS websites in terms of different content features employed on its websites. The results of this report could be also useful to the DLIS website developers and administrators themselves as a means for quality checking and selfimprovement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of an academic library outreach program denotes the efforts uphold by an institution's academic library to serve their academic community, namely; students, academician, researchers and non-academic administrators. However, the theory and the practices of an outreach program in a Malaysian academic library and Malaysian public library tends to be overlapping. The aim of this article is to discover and deliberate on the factors that affect an outreach program in an academic library. In doing so, study result from two Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) in the State of Kedah is selected. This study adopts a qualitative case study approach with in-depth individual interviews of the leading librarian for each institution, and later the thematic content analysis and cross-case analysis is used throughout this study in order to analyze the data. From the result of the interviews in the two Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG) in the State of Kedah, two most important factors emerge and it is said to be the key factor the affect an academic library outreach programs. This paper is approached from the leading of librarian's perspective for each institution, namely; CS1 and CS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of postgraduate supervisors in library and information science in Nigerian universities and their perceptions of the timely completion of doctoral programmes were investigated, employing a questionnaire as data collection instrument. Thirty-eight supervisors from 11 university-based library schools that had already produced doctoral graduates were used for the study, and 23 respondents completed the questionnaire. The findings reveal that the supervisors are highly qualified and experienced in terms of their academic qualifications, employment status, experience in supervisory work, and their involvement in all types of research activities, including serving as external examiners both within and outside the country, and their involvement in managing journals, peer-review of journal articles, etc. The supervisors identified poor writing skills as the major obstacles to the timely completion of doctoral programmes. A t-test analysis and Spearman rho coefficient were used to determine factors that could possibly affect timely completion of doctoral programmes. The results show that gender and the experience of supervisors in term of the number of past and present supervisees had significant relationships with the timely completion of doctoral programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors generated data visualizations to compare sections of the library book collection, expenditures in those areas, student enrollment in majors and minors, and number of courses. The visualizations resulting from the entered data provide an excellent starting point for conversations about possible imbalances in the collection and point to areas that are either more developed or less developed than is needed to support the major and minor areas of study at the university. The methodology used should offer a template to follow for others wishing to examine their collection and may prove valuable for adjusting expenditures, suggesting service opportunities or for marketing pieces of the collection that had been hidden before graphical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to review the current library and information science (LIS) literature for document supply, resource sharing and other issues such as open access (OA) that have an impact on the service.Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on the scanning of about 150 journals, reports, websites and blogs.Findings Of the 13 articles and reports reviewed, 12 are freely available, continuing the trend of increasing OA. As always, these days, much is happening on the OA front. Big Deals, demand-driven acquisition and discovery tools are reviewed.Originality/value The only regular literature review that focuses on interlending, document supply and related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians at Central Oregon Community College's Barber Library explored how to best serve the needs of three satellite campuses across a large geographic region. While initially intending to start an embedded librarianship program, a pair of surveys showed the relationships and awareness necessary for the foundation of such a program were lacking. Using the information gathered in the surveys, the authors attempted to identify and implement methods for building better relationships and greater library awareness across all campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dedication to service is often cited as a hallmark of a profession. Service is included as one of eleven Core Values in the American Library Association's "Core Values of Librarianship" (2004). For librarians, service includes helping people find information resources to meet their educational, recreational, and work needs. Reporting findings from a larger study into the professional identity of librarians, this paper explores the centrality of service, with specific attention to how librarians advocate for their services and, ultimately, for librarianship. Using a discourse analysis approach, this study examines the roles that Service as a Core Value and advocacy play in the construction of professional identity. Three different data sources were used: professional journals, e-mail discussion lists, and research interviews. The data were analyzed for the discourses librarians use when describing librarians, librarianship, and professionalism and their connection to advocacy. When librarians advocate for the services they offer, they are in fact advocating for the value of the profession. Discursively, speaking or writing about advocacy positioned librarians as active participants in their own identity formation. By making advocacy a central activity of the profession, librarians not only challenged others' perception of librarianship, they challenged their own understanding as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting user privacy and confidentiality is fundamental to the ethics and practice of librarianship, and such protection constitutes one of eleven values in the American Library Association's "Core Values of Librarianship" (2004). This paper addresses the concerns of protecting privacy in the library as they relate to library users who are defining, exploring, and negotiating their sexual identities with the help of the library's information, programming, and physical facilities. In so doing, we enlist the aid of Garret Keizer, who, in Privacy (2012), articulates a fresh theory of the concept in light of American social life in the twenty-first century. Using Keizer's theory, we examine these concerns within the context of the rise of big data systems and social media on the one hand, and linked data and new cataloging standards on the other. In so doing, we suggest that linked data technologies, with their ability to lead searchers through selfdirected, open inquiry, are superior to big data technologies in the navigation of the paradox between openness and secrecy. In this way they offer a greater potential to support the needs of queer library users: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space is at a premium on many college and university campuses. Libraries are often asked to vacate space for the expansion or construction of offices, labs, or learning commons. When this results in the loss of shelving space, libraries face the dilemma of what to do with those displaced materials. This paper examines the loss of approximately 7,000 linear feet of shelving space in an academic law library and the successful in-library relocation project necessitated by that loss. Planning is key to any project, especially one involving approximately 80,000 volumes. The author discusses the planning that went into the project and the outcome. Planning included measuring the size of the collections, mapping the relocation of materials, and identifying challenges. Readers will learn about a simple yet fairly accurate method for measuring library collections. The reasoning behind mapping the relocation of materials to specific areas is discussed. Challenges, such as allocating growth space, safety concerns, and lack of elevator access, are also covered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper Presents the digital literacy practices for library users at Government College University Libraries Lahore. It is based on author's first hand practical experiences and involvement in digital literacy practices to educate and train the library users to make effective use of digital tools for searching required item of information. GCU Library provides its users adequate trainings and orientations in utilizing digital sources of information available in the library. Library users are provided virtual tour of library resources available in different sections of the GCU Libraries. They are given trainings for advance searching skills and effective use of library OPACs, GCU Virtual Library, GCU ectromc Research Guide, use of HEC Digital Library Repository, Databases and Journals, use ot GCU Thesis & Dissertations, GCU Online Newspaper Index, British Library Document Delivery Services, use of GCU Electronic Resources, Open Knowledge Repository and Online Searching for personal collections and Naqoosh Collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public libraries continually struggle to define their social value, and economic or educational rationales are commonly submitted to this end. In contrast to these approaches, public sphere theory emphasizes the political and social justice aspects of public libraries. Existing library literature has established strong associations between public sphere theory and public libraries, and a tentative model of the public sphere in public libraries has been developed. It is not yet clear, however, how a public sphere model of public libraries might benefit the profession. This paper therefore explains how a conceptual model of the public sphere in public libraries can serve as a potential framework and research agenda for the public library sector. A model of the public sphere in public libraries contains three main arenas of discourse: governance, legitimation, and commons. Each of the arenas represents values that are central to public librarianship. Practitioners and scholars in the public library sector can use the public sphere model to orient research and practice. This paper explains each arena in detail and discusses the model's relevance as a philosophy and research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most famous role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, recently celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its release. The books that define the games in the role-playing genre function like sports rulebooks, contain entries like encyclopedias, or are based on collections of maps similar to those in atlases. In the library context, this places the books that define role-playing games in the domain of reference books. While currently divisions of the American Library Association encourage librarians to consider using the game in community-building and youth services, there was a time period where organized groups actively tried to discourage librarians from collecting materials associated with the genre. This study is an assessment of library holdings of role-playing game materials worldwide, detailing collection and cataloging issues associated with the genre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on library development in contemporary African society. A discussion of library development in the context of countries now enjoying rapid economic development is attempted here. Focusing on countries undergoing rapid economic development brings an alternative perspective to an analysis of library development in Africa and helps us to understand not only what is lacking but also what is going well as a basis for future development. The paper is divided into three parts: one that considers the contemporary landscape of librarianship in Africa; one that describes the characteristics of African society; and one that concerns the major role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) have played in the renaissance of libraries in Africa. Several drivers of change in African library development stand out--most notably: 1) the achievement of stronger economic circumstances; 2) the increased prevalence of ICTs and access to the internet; 3) expanded public awareness of the value of libraries in society; and 4) partnership between the new generation of government leaders and partner agencies that are more focused on social impact than maintaining influence and dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Over the last several years, Google Earth and Google Maps have been adopted by many academic institutions as academic research and mapping tools. The authors were interested in discovering [...]