Search

Librarians are expected to be expert searchers, and developing information literacy skills to navigate the vast world of information is a focus of most library and information science (LIS) programs. It is important to understand the information literacy and behaviors of LIS students to see if they are employing the skills they will need to assist and educate their future patrons, yet there is relatively little research into the information literacy and behaviors of librarians and library students. Using a survey on information behaviors, this study addresses this gap in the literature by examining how LIS students in 18 countries search for, evaluate, and use information in various contexts, and on whom they rely for help. The results of this study demonstrate library science students' information literacy skills within an international context. Faculty in LIS programs will be interested to see how their students approach information problems, and might use this understanding to develop or strengthen courses and inform curricular decisions.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the presence of Croatian school libraries on Facebook by analysing quality and quantity of interactions. Design/methodology/approach – In the paper, literature about libraries on Facebook is reviewed and the need for new research on the topic is explained. Quantitative and content analysis of all Croatian school libraries on Facebook is presented. Quantitative analysis includes: metrics, features, number of items in features, number of libraries' and users' activities (posts, likes, comments and shares). Content analysis includes analysis of information section and posts published in two-month period. Findings – Croatian school librarians know how to use Facebook on a basic level, but some are not educated sufficiently to administer Facebook presences – they use the wrong kind of presence, administer it without planning and sometimes publish inappropriate content. Users of Croatian school libraries rarely interact, mostly by liking library's status and they wait for their libraries to encourage the interaction. Practical implications – This research can help school librarians to see what they have to do to improve or to implement their Facebook activities. The improvement should advance library service, both on Facebook and in real life. Originality/value – The paper confirms that Croatian school librarians are aware of the importance of social networking sites for communication with patrons. This is the first complete study of Croatian school libraries on Facebook and intends to be a basis for a longitudinal study of school libraries' presence on social networking sites. The study could also be a starting point for similar analysis worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide information on handling gifts-in-kind in Croatian public and academic libraries. It also recommends what should be done to improve practice with gifts for collections. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the author's research conducted using an anonymous online questionnaire that was sent to Croatian public libraries (n=139) and academic libraries (n=73) in May 2011. After a two-week period, a total of 84 responses was received (40 public libraries and 44 academic libraries). In statistical analysis, some variables are tested by χ2-test to show whether differences between public and academic libraries are statistically significant. Findings – The majority of Croatian libraries do not have gift policy statements. Gifts do have a significant part in collection building, especially in Croatian academic libraries, but are not always handled in the right way (i.e. according to IFLA's guidelines). This paper shows the quantity of gifts in the libraries, librarians' reasons for not accepting some gifts, librarians' methods in dealing with gifts, and their way of communicating with donors or potential donors. Originality/value – This paper gives results of the first complete study of gift policies in Croatian public and academic libraries. In conclusion, a need for a written gift policy in Croatian libraries is emphasized and some recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to present Croatian librarians' awareness about the importance of institutional open access (OA) repositories. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on an online questionnaire sent to all the Croatian research and academic libraries. Online questionnaire was chosen as the most appropriate tool, as the authors wanted it to be anonymous and as quick as possible. Findings – The findings indicate that all the academic librarians in Croatia are aware of the importance of institutional OA repositories. The number of OA repositories in Croatia is rather small, but the librarians are making lots of efforts towards the development of new repositories. Croatian librarians think that the most appropriate software is open-source software; that OA repositories have to be open access initiative protocol for metadata harvesting compliant; that copyright owner's consent for archiving is necessary. The biggest problems are the lack of administration support and the researchers' unawareness of the benefits of OA, especially OA repositories. Practical implications – Based on this research, some steps regarding OA could be done on a national level, e. g. guidelines for establishing OA repositories could be created and the obligation of self-archiving should be regulated. This research could be a valuable tool for developing new OA repositories. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding the OA movement in transitional countries and peripheral scientific communities. The knowledge created in such countries can be beneficial for the global scientific community, and OA repositories are valuable way for promoting that knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document a joint research project aimed at investigating the existing library practices regarding protection of personal data, in view of computerization of libraries and its consequences, and awareness of the privacy (anonymity) of the library users that was carried out simultaneously in The Netherlands and Croatia in the autumn of 2007. Design/methodology/approach The research was a continuation of an ongoing cooperation between The Netherlands Public Library Association and the Department of Information Sciences, University of Zagreb. A questionnaire was developed based on previously conducted interviews with librarians and survey of recent literature on anonymity. It was carried out online via a special link on the web site of The Netherlands Public Library Association and sent by e-mail to selected libraries in Croatia. Findings Replies obtained from 65 Dutch and 33 Croatian libraries of all types have been compared and commented in the paper. The research shows that despite existing differences in library facilities librarians in both countries have not yet become fully aware of all aspects of privacy issues that new services provided by the new technology have brought about, nor received adequate training or taken appropriate measures. Research limitations/implications Further research on library practices regarding data protection and measures and steps to be taken by libraries in order to improve the present inadequacies can be envisaged in future. Originality/value The paper provides information on data security issues in Dutch and Croatian libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal scientific communication via scholarly journals has made a big progress since the middle of the 20th century. Commercial publishers took over the publication of the majority of scholarly journals. The importance of scientific information quality is in contrast with the established market principles. The publishers started raising the prices of subscription without fear of losing their readers. After a few decades, the increase in subscription prices resulted in the cancellation of subscriptions, thus denying scientists the access to the needed information. Electronic publishing may be the solution to this problem -- quicker, easier and cheaper publishing -- but it also implicates a number of new problems related to quality control, archiving, copyright issues, publishing costs etc. The scientists themselves start projects to make the scientific information freely accessible through the Internet. On the other hand, publishers find new ways to keep their profit by selling licenses for access to electronic databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal scientific communication through scholarly journals has existed since the 17th century. Peer-review process has also existed since the beginnings of scientific publishing because the editors want to control the quality of the information they publish. Peer-review process played an important role in creating a hierarchy of journals, chiefly relying on the reputation of the reviewers. Electronic publishing has enabled faster and easier scientific communication. Apart from a great number of advantages, one of its serious drawbacks is the possibility of publishing unrefereed and unreliable information. Scientists have devoted many years in trying to find the best ways to control the quality of scientific information on the Internet. Some of the models currently tested in the scholarly journals include: career review, open review, peer commentary and automatic publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]