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Introduction: The convergence of libraries, archives and museums is an evolving phenomenon that has garnered increased attention in the literature and professional practice over the past decade. To date, little research exists documenting the experiences of these institutions as they engage in different forms of collaboration and convergence. Method: Using a series of on-site, semi-structured interviews of professionals conducted in 2010 and 2011, the study examined initiatives involving different forms of collaboration and convergence, and different stages of the process in two institutions in Canada and three in New Zealand. Analysis: The interviews were audio recorded and a descriptive summary of each interview was prepared. We examined the summaries and identified themes within and across the institutions. Results: Findings suggest the motivations that led to the various projects reflected the discourse, beliefs, and values of the professions at the time the projects took place, and occasionally, administrative expediency. Aspects that emerged from the interviews correlate broadly to six themes: to serve users better; to support scholarly activity; to take advantage of technological developments; to take into account the need for budgetary and administrative efficiencies; to adapt to an evolving understanding of digital surrogates as objects; and to obtain a holistic view of collections. Benefits have accrued in terms of new perspectives on collections and on ways of seeing the institution, its users and services, in enhanced staff learning, in finding different methods for accomplishing work activities, and in the pragmatic efficiencies of budget reallocation and cost-savings. Conclusion: We conclude with an overview that summarizes the salient findings.

Introduction: During the last couple of years the library community has developed a number of comprehensive metadata standardization projects inspired by the idea of linked data, such as the BIBFRAME model. Linked data is a set of best practice principles of publishing and exposing data on the Web utilizing a graph based data model powered with semantics and cross-domain relationships. In the light of traditional metadata practices of libraries the best practices of linked data imply a restructuring process from a collection of semi-structured bibliographic records to a semantic graph of unambiguously defined entities. A successful interlinking of entities in this graph to entities in external data sets requires a minimum level of semantic interoperability. Method: The examination is carried out through a review of the relevant research within the field and of the essential documents that describe the key concepts. Analysis: A high level examination of the concepts of the semantic Web and linked data is provided with a particular focus on the challenges they entail for libraries and their meta-data practices in the perspective of the extensive restructuring process that has already started. Conclusion: We demonstrate that a set of heterogeneity conflicts, threatening the level of semantic interoperability, can be associated with various phases of this restructuring process from analysis and modelling to conversion and external interlinking. It also claims that these conflicts and their potential solutions are mutually dependent across the phases. [This paper was published as part of: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, 19-22 August, 2013.]

Introduction: Meta-games and meta-gaming refer to various second-order conceptions of games and gaming. The present article discusses the applicability of the notions of meta-game and meta-gaming in understanding the patterns of how people use, misuse, work and work-around information and information infrastructures. Method: Twenty-two qualitative interviews of archives, library and museum professionals conducted in two Nordic countries in 2009-2011. The interviews were semi-structured and based on the thematic interview approach of Hirsjärvi and Hurme as a part of a larger study of the information work of such professionals. Analysis: An exploratory qualitative analysis based on constant comparative method was carried out on the interview data. Results. The analysis shows that the information work of the interviewed professionals contained a large number of examples of different types of meta-gaming. Conclusions: The analysis suggests that the notions of meta-games and meta-gaming can be used to explain peripheral and second-order information activities and to analyse the aspects of work that relate to gameplay and playfulness. [This paper was published as part of: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, 19-22 August, 2013.]

The history of learning biology through distance education is documented. A review of terminology and unique problems associated with biology instruction is presented. Using published research and their own teaching experience, the authors present recommendations and best practices for managing biology in distance-based formats. They offer ideas on resources for content, laboratory activities, safety and interaction among class participants. The need for research on the efficacy of virtual labs and simulations in adult biology education is noted.

The authors introduce a Digital Book Project that was implemented in an early childhood literacy course for preservice teachers. The project required preservice teachers to explore digital libraries to build a repertoire of high-quality children's literature that they could one day place in their own classroom libraries. The purpose of this study is to examine how a Digital Book Project influenced teacher candidates' perspectives of early childhood classroom libraries. Specifically, it investigates how leveraging technology can support teacher candidates' appreciation for diverse books from a broad range of genres, and how that might influence their selection and instructional application of children's literature in their future classrooms. The authors describe the project's design and student perspectives, and conclude with insights on how digital libraries can be used in hybrid and online teacher preparation courses in a post-COVID19 world.

In the last few decades, there has been steady increasing awareness of the need to empower women in order to improve their socioeconomic status to be able to cope and also contribute effectively in this period of economic crisis. ATI (access to information) provision is a vital factor in empowerment, thus, many organizations, such as library, resource centres, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations), have been involved in empowering women in Nigeria. The paper examines the various programmes/services of the libraries, resource centres, and NGOs in meeting the socio-economic and political information needs of women. It ascertains how women actually access the information provided by the NGOs (especially those that have information or documentation centres) and its impact on their socio-economic status. It also identifies the challenges of the NGOs face in providing information to empower the women. The case study research method was adopted and data for the study collected from the women (users) and management and staff of the NGO centres through questionnaire and interview, while qualitative data gathered were reported. Majority of the women using the centres had to be taught how to use new technologies like computers, laptops, ipads, and smart phones. The most used means of accessing information by the women was the radio and television, and person-to-person communication either by word of mouth or by telephone. The NGOs were discovered to be slowly but steadily gaining ground in educating the women and creating awareness among them of their potentials to do better, to be empowered, and to stand up for their rights and themselves anywhere. Constraints faced by the NGOs were mostly funding and getting enough materials, equipment, and other media needed to further empower women. They were found to be a great source of inspiration to the women especially in the rural or less urban parts of the country. Gendered information was provided in the documentation units of the NGOs and efforts were ongoing in a few of them to translate some relevant materials to local languages. (Contains 3 figures.)

The study was undertaken to examine the state of quality assurance mechanisms in Nigerian universities with a view to proffering measures that would enhance the quality of education obtained in the institutions. The population consisted of professors from federal universities in the south-south region of Nigeria, numbering 624. The stratified sampling technique was used in selecting a sample of 225 professors from the universities for the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated based on the variables of the study. These were tested at 0.05 alpha level, using t-test analysis. Data collection was done with the use of a structured questionnaire tagged "Quality Assurance in Nigerian University Education" (QANUE). The calculated t-values were less than the critical t, leading to the retention of the two null hypotheses. It was therefore concluded that the quality of Nigerian University Education is low and cannot measure up globally due to the poor state of quality assurance mechanisms in the universities. Based on this, measures for improving the quality of Nigerian university education were recommended to include adequate funding, updated libraries, well equipped laboratories and workshops, provision of instructional materials and school infrastructure, lecturer motivation and proper supervision.

While much has been written about the pioneering children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore, little has been written about her role as a "de facto" literary agent. As such, Moore was an innovator not only in children's librarianship, but also in the field of children's publishing. This paper analyzes Moore's letters at the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library and uncovers evidence of her agenting role. Letters written to Moore from authors and illustrators like Greville Macdonald, Walter de la Mare, Leonard Leslie Brooke, Dorothy Lathrop, Florence Crannell Means, and Beatrix Potter demonstrate Moore's involvement--from previewing manuscripts, to placing them with editors, to reviewing finished books, and finally, to selecting works for the library's children. Moore's innovative mentoring work with authors defines her as a leader whose reach stretched from the library to the world of publishing, as she helped shape the burgeoning genre of children's literature.

Teaching itself, though noble, is a challenging profession. Such a profession calls upon not only the intellectual capacities of the teacher, but the physical and emotional as well. In short, it is a unique profession. Teaching differently-abled students (special education), is even more challenging. By virtue of their teaching a special group of people, the special education teachers' information needs and information seeking behavior are quite different from those of other teachers. This study tried to explore these unique needs of Special Education teachers in three Special Education schools in Shillong, Meghalaya and found that there do exist information needs and information seeking behaviors that distinguish Special Education teachers from other types of teachers, such as, for example, the need for information on the medical conditions of students and the teachers' seeking information from medical professionals. Special education teachers in Shillong are not very different from those in other parts of the world with regard to their qualifications, work culture, teaching methods and information issues.

This article examines the tensions and risks inherent in implementing new technologies and collaborative spaces while maintaining the library's critical role as a "civic temple" and knowledge center that inspires and facilitates contemplation and deep thought. New technologies present "disruptive" challenges, having already broken the library's monopoly as an information center and now infiltrating what has been a more cerebral environment with the constant and chronic distractions of a "plugged-in" society. The loss of the physical book presents an additional test to both library identity and library mission, robbing the institution of a vital symbol as well as a tactile gateway to a dialogue with the eternal. Sacred architecture and library architecture share parallels of purpose, and the exploration of sacred architecture may offer clues to how to transition the library into the new technologically and collaboratively rich age.

Each night, around 20,000 people--both adults and children--make the streets of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish, and traffic, thousands of families walk down the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the pavement dwellers are amongst the most vulnerable people in Bangladesh. Pavement dwellers can be found in ferry landings, train stations, bus stations, market centers, religious shrines, parks, and on footpaths. There are very few organizations which are serving for them. CWW (Concern Worldwide) (one of the International Non-government Organizations) and DCC (Dhaka City Corporation) have jointly come forward to support 10,000 pavement dwellers through dedicated pavement dweller centres, providing them with the opportunity to make their own choices for a better future. It will also establish sustainable services for providing basic functional education for 900 children/youth and 400 adults, psychosocial counseling for 600 children and 150 adults, market-based vocational skills training for 450 children/youth and adults, entrepreneurial skills training for 400 children/youth, and life skills education for 800 children/youth. With a view to this, the project decided to set up libraries based on their shelter centres. The project realizes that as of today in Bangladesh, the poorest communities do not have access to a library. This damages educational outcomes for many. The author has been appointed as a library consultant in that project. It is an amazing experience that based on the demand of the pavement dwellers, the author had to collect the resources and different audio-visual aids. At the beginning, the author had to face tremendous challenges to get their attention because most of the children of the pavement dwellers did not feel interest to any attractive reading books or illustrative collections. They were very much fond of watching movie, cinema, drama, cartoon, Hindi film, action film, and so on. To attract them on library resources, the author has prepared and presented different video documentaries on how river erosion affected children encouraged to read and go to school, how children sex workers become curious to create reading habit which leads them to go to school. For motivating youth pavement dwellers achieving social skills on different professions (like barber, carpenter, shopkeeper, hawker, micro-investor, cooperatives, maid-labour, day-labour, rickshaw-puller, van-driver, etc.), short video documentaries have been made and presented on different IGAs (income generating activities). Thus, libraries have turned into integral part in the lives of the pavement dwellers. The basic aim of the paper is to share the ideas on how a considerable number of children pavement dwellers have been admitted in government and public schools during the last couple of years by the help of the library services. This will reveal how the youth pavement dwellers' capacity has been increased through training and library services. It will also explain a good progress in enabling better access for pavement dwellers and their children to basic services in education, health and legal aid through library and information services. Some interesting case studies will also be discussed in this paper. (Contains 4 tables.)

ICT made real magic and drastic changes in all service sectors along with higher education and library practices and services. The academic environment is changing from formal education to distance and online learning mode because of ICT. Web technology and mobile technology has made great impact on education sector. The role of Open Access, institutional repositories, opens archives and e-publishing trends indicates the shift towards new way of communication on an increasing scale in the students and researchers. E-learning is more popular day by day. The students are more prone towards the use of technology. Users of Web 2.0 tools (Students 2.0) are self learner, self searcher, fast communicators, self publishers, self motivated. There is rapid growth of students using internet and web tools in India. Their expectations from the teachers, libraries, and administrative staff of academic institutes has changed and increased. In developed countries use of Web 2.0, cloud computing technology and its use in educational, library websites are normally used to provide best services with blogs, RSS, instant messaging, social networking services, wikis, and social tagging applications. Use of web technology in education sector has some advantages and disadvantages too. In short education and library services are now based on digital resources, customized, user based, and web based and internet based information services .The present paper highlights innovation in education sector and libraries and impact of web 2.0 on students, teaching learning process, educational policies. Future 3.0 generation will be discussed in detail.

The study examined the ODL learners' perceptions of the quality of provision of research support services to the ODL learners by tutors. It focused on the Zimbabwe Open University's (ZOU) Bachelor of Education (Educational Management) research students' experiences. It was a qualitative multiple case study of four of the 10 Regional Centres of the ZOU. It purposively sampled 40 out of 160 research participants because they possessed desirable research characteristics for this study. The study was deemed significant in influencing tutors and policy makers to consider their research students' supervision experiences as a basis for improving the quality of services for future research supervision practices and research projects. The study was guided by a two fold theory namely, thee Facilitation Theory (Nyawaranda, 2005) and the Nurturing Theory (Anderson, Pay and Mac Laughlin, 2006). Both theories advocate for the need of the supervisors to give their students a big heart. In terms of research supervision services offered by tutors the study indicated the time students were offered to meet research supervisors, prompt returns of marked work, and tutor student motivation and counselling as key services. In connection with the joys about research supervision, the students highly regarded: the manner in which tutors motivated them, tutors guidance in choosing research topic, tutor mentorship during research supervision and provision of workshops to polish up their research skills. In line with the challenges to the provision of research support services, three categories of challenges emerged. First, student-related challenges included lack of time, lack of money, lack of library facilities, lack of motivation and commitment to do research, lack of adequate theory in the area being researched on and family problems. Second, supervisor-related challenges included: too little direction, too little practical help given, too few meeting with students, no interest in topics and with students, lack of research skills and experience. Third institution-related challenges included: lack of adequate statistics and research course sat undergraduate levels, lack of adequate courses in research methods and paradigms, exposure to research skills and experiences to name a few. In a bid to revamp the provision of research services, students suggested the need to improved library facilities, install computers in the library, hire internet services and photocopy relevant research material to name a few. The study concluded that tutors provided average research support services to ODL learners. Students tended to enjoy research supervision if they are exposed to academically nourishing experiences. Research support services were undermined by student related, supervisor related and institution related challenges. Students failed to visit their supervisors, libraries and purchase research materials due to lack of money. Students in rural areas do not have access to library facilities in their localities. The study recommended that tutors need to be trained, indicated and staff developed in the research support services area. ZOU needs to set up mobile libraries and internet facilities to service students in remote areas. ZOU needs to move its research support services a gear up by exposing students to time management skills.

This research article explores the concept that libraries as communication centres in sub-Saharan Africa can play a vital role in bringing poverty relief by providing greater access to information through modern technology. It discusses the patrons who can benefit from community information centres and explores their particular needs. I have researched how modern tools like the Internet, computers, e-readers and cell phones can bring valuable information to impoverished citizens. My research was conducted through reading research papers using article databases, books and Internet websites. The future for libraries in sub-Saharan Africa is bright, as new technology opens up vast opportunities to share information in a way that is accessible, affordable and adaptable to the needs of the African people. I recommend that librarians and relief organisations in Southern Africa seriously consider using modern technology to provide information that will empower its citizens. [Paper presented at the Pan-African Conference on Reading for All (7th, Gaborone, Botswana, 2011.)]

Boys' literacy has been, and continues to be, an area of concern for educationalists at all levels. The decline in boys' reading, which may have negative consequences for their learning, becomes more marked as they get older. This project examined possible reasons for this and implemented strategies designed to increase Year 13 boys' reading. The strategies, such as "speed-booking" and creating a community of readers, were successful in encouraging boys at this level to read more but it became apparent that the biggest deterrent to boys' reading at this level was a lack of time. The study also indicated that boys are reading significant amounts online but this is not acknowledged in the school environment. One way to encourage boys' literacy is to create intervals of time in which they can read freely and also acknowledge the wider literacies in which they engage.

We believe video games have a place in libraries. We start by describing two provocative video games. Next, we offer a framework for the general mission of libraries, including access, motivation, and guidance. As a medium, video games have some distinguishing traits: they are visual, interactive, and based on simulations. We explain how these traits require and reward some traditional and new literacies. Furthermore, people play video games for at least three reasons: immersion, challenge, and connection. Finally, we offer guidelines and examples for how librarians can integrate video games into library collections and programming. (Contains 7 figures.)

The development of education libraries cannot be understood outside the context of education history. Changes in educational practices and technology spurred three phases of development in the history of education libraries. Early examples, often called curriculum laboratories, developed as spaces to create educational materials where limited numbers existed. As standardized curriculum grew, common laboratories gave way to curriculum materials centers, which housed materials so that future teachers could preview them. The rise of audio-visual equipment transformed education libraries once again into centers housing a variety of instructional materials. This paper traces the development of education libraries through these three phases.

Career and technical education (CTE) has grown and changed tremendously over the past 20 years. While great strides have been made in upgrading CTE in Maryland, many parents, students, policymakers and community members were not familiar with the "new and improved" CTE. In a bid to spread the word about the "new and improved" CTE in Maryland, a marketing and public awareness campaign that involved a partnership between divisions of the Maryland State Department of Education, three public school systems and libraries was undertaken. The goal was to increase awareness and knowledge of parents, students, policymakers and the broader community about today's CTE programs. This partnership is being successfully replicated in different school systems each year and has the potential for replication in other states.

A gap exists between the degree to which African Americans embrace the cultural value of higher education attainment (Butchart, 1988; Du Bois, 1935; Mickelson & Greene, 2006; Washington, 1900; Woodson, 1919) and the reality of their unsatisfactory undergraduate degree attainment at traditional white institutions (TWIs) (Allen, 1992; Allen, Jayakumar, & Griffin, 2005; Brown, 1994). Metaphorically, the jar is both half-empty and half-full. The three-fold objective of this article is to describe what the jar of degree attainment looks like for African American undergraduates at TWIs; to outline the role that parents' early and sustained academic expectations play in creating a home environment for their sons' and daughters' academic achievements in Pre-K-12 education and beyond; and to clarify and expand upon the position that educators have taken that early and sustained academic preparation is the key to increasing the pool of African American students who attend and graduate from TWIs. In this article, the socially constructed concepts of "African American" and "black" are used interchangeably to describe Americans who identify themselves as having historical origin from West Africa.

Introduction: Very little research crosses the institutional boundaries of libraries and archives, and theres appears to be little predisposition to look for areas of common interest. However, practitioners in these settings have much to learn from each other. Purpose: This paper argues that practitioners' understanding of information management is likely to be influenced by their occupation and that this narrow view does not foster an environment which is conducive to the sharing of knowledge and experiences between the institutional types. The potential value which could be realised in increasing awareness of the nature and purpose of each other's domains and familiarity with the literature in each area, is illustrated by using the example of joint use libraries and comparing this to the changing pattern of user services in archives. The need for greater understanding of different perspectives in the digital environment is also signalled. Conclusions: The information continuum theory is proposed as a framework to underpin research that encompasses all professional groups active in information management.