Library Review: The banning of books in libraries

2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.C. Berwick Sayers

PurposeAims to focus on the correct attitude of the librarian when selecting fiction.Design/methodology/approachThe article discusses the banning of books in libraries from the context of what was perceived as a moral decline in the literature at the time that the article was written in 1928.FindingsThe author's view is that no novel written has sufficient quality to be a source of trouble between a public library and its people. It should be bought if the reviewers praise it enough; it should be circulated freely until someone objects; and in that event it should be withdrawn from the open shelf, but it should be left in the catalogue. The person who wants it will ask for it, and if that person is of mature years, may be allowed, without question, to have it.Originality/valueThe article provides information of a historical nature, of value to information professionals.

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 65-67
Author(s):  
Mike Freeman

Purpose – The purpose of this report is to provide an account of the UK's new public library of Birmingham. Design/methodology/approach – Details the construction, exterior and interior design, contents and location, including special collections, and describes the official opening. Findings – A large public library building which moves away from old conceptions of libraries, accommodating a variety of functions in a striking and accessible building. Originality/value – Provides a description of the new Library of Birmingham, the largest public library in Europe.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Maria Gaudêncio Soares

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to describe the development of the Portuguese document supply system with particular emphasis on the role of the National Library but also in its academic and public library sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is descriptive in nature.FindingsPortugal emerged from a long period of monarchy and dictatorship, profited from being a EU member, and libraries are now exploiting the advantages of information technology particularly for the benefit of remote users.Originality/valueThis is probably the first overview of historical and recent developments in document supply in Portugal.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
Robert Fox

Purpose – In order to continue to respond to patron needs in a relevant way, it is necessary to continuously reevaluate the central message that the library website is intended to convey. It ' s necessary to question assumptions, listen to user needs, and shift our paradigm to make the library web presence as effective as possible. Design/methodology/approach – This is a regular viewpoint column. A basic literature review was done prior to the column being written. Findings – The library Web site remains, in many respects, the “first face” of the library for patrons. To remain relevant, traditional methodologies used in library science may need to be set aside or catered to the needs of the patron. Originality/value – Various methods regarding design philosophy are explored which may be of use to information professionals responsible for the design and content of the library Web sites.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Elson Anderson

Purpose This paper aims to provide information and promote discussion around the social media platform TikTok. Design/methodology/approach Research, literature review. Findings Libraries and library and information professionals should be aware of the potential of TikTok for engagement and information sharing. Originality/value Adds to the research on the social media platform TikTok.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Elson Anderson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to get acquainted with social networks and apps: up periscope! broadcasting via live streaming. Design/methodology/approach This study is a general review paper. Findings The popularity and growth of live streaming applications should not be overlooked by information professionals. Originality/value Even if the library does not use the app itself, it is important to be aware that patrons are using these tools to stream their lives to the world.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Fernandez

Purpose This paper aims to help information professionals understand the foundational concepts of this technology and how these are related to libraries so that they can evolve services alongside it. Design/methodology/approach This column will define what a non-fungible tokens (NFT) is, explore the relevant trends impacting its development and examine how it intersects with the traditional roles of the library. Findings NFTs represent a new and growing technology that intersections with many of the same concepts that are core to librarianship. Libraries are community institutions that engender widespread trust, whereas NFTs are built atop cryptocurrency that seeks to enable anonymous peer-to-peer interactions. Originality/value Summary.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devendra Dilip Potnis ◽  
Joseph Winberry

PurposeThis literature review aims to identify conscious, intentional, repetitive and transferrable information-related decisions and activities (i.e. information practices) for individuals to alleviate their information vulnerability. Information vulnerability refers to the lack of access to accurate, affordable, complete, relevant and timely information or the inability to use such information, which can place individuals, communities or society at disadvantage or hurt them.Design/methodology/approachConceptual literature review.FindingsThis review presents seven conscious, intentional, repetitive and transferrable information practices to alleviate information vulnerability.Practical implicationsDue to the transferability potential of the seven information practices, diverse populations in varied contexts could refer to, adapt and benefit from appropriate combinations of information practices and their manifestations. The framework can be used by individuals for alleviating information vulnerability. Thus, this paper responds to the call for conducting action-driven research in information science for addressing real-world problems. Information professionals can help individuals select and implement appropriate combinations of seven information practices for alleviating information vulnerability.Originality/valueWe propose (1) a parsimonious, episodic framework for alleviating information vulnerability, which depicts the inter-relationship among the seven information practices and (2) a three-dimensional plot with information access, use and value as three axes to map the manifestation and outcome of alleviating information vulnerability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-317
Author(s):  
James Thomas McAllister III ◽  
Nancy Stephanie Diaz

Purpose As library budgets continue to constrict, librarians will need to become more familiar with comparing database host platforms. This paper aims to compare Inspec on Elsevier’s Engineering Village (EV) and Clarivate’s Web of Science (WOS) from a novice user experience. The main objectives are to identify some R1 institutions that subscribe to Inspec and highlight some of the key differences between the two platforms. Design/methodology/approach Information on Inspec was gathered from various sources such as the home website, IET, and the host platform websites of Elsevier and Clarivate Analytics. Additional evidence was also collected from brochures and guides to help illustrate some of the main features and differences that novice users would be familiar with. Findings Most institutions subscribe to Inspec via the EV platform. Results from the study conclude that EV was the choice over WOS for hosting Inspec owing to a more user-friendly interface, potential lower cost and faster platform updates in response to meeting user needs. Research limitations/implications As database platforms change over time, feature areas such as content, interface and features remain important for information professionals and librarians to stay current with those changes. Also, this work can help librarians with understanding the planning and developing of a process for comparing identical or similar databases on different platforms. Originality/value Much of the literature focuses on the unfamiliar details and not so much on the novice user. This paper provides a unique perspective in how a novice user would prefer the attributes of one host platform over the other. Additionally, the same review criteria can be applied in other subjects and disciplines.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-241
Author(s):  
Yuzhuo Wang ◽  
Chengzhi Zhang

Purpose Citation content in academic papers and academic monographs promotes the knowledge flow among different publications. However, existing citation content analysis (CCA) focuses on academic papers and monographs have not received much research attention. We want to know if monographs are appropriate objects of CCA and whether existing methods of analyzing citation in papers are suitable for citation in monographs. Therefore, this paper aims to learn more about features of cited references and citation content in monographs and compare the characteristic of citation pattern between monographs and papers. Design/methodology/approach The authors manually annotate the references and syntactic citation content in academic monographs published by Morgan & Claypool and automatically extracted the references and citation content from academic papers published by Public Library of Science. Five features in two types citation pattern, namely, pattern of cited reference (including year, source and mention frequency of reference) and pattern of citation content (including location, length of citation content) are used to examine similarities and differences between monographs and papers. Findings The results indicate that between monographs and papers, differences are shown in location, length of citation content and year, source of reference, whereas frequency of mention of reference is similar. Originality/value Previous studies have explored the patter of citation content in academic papers. However, none of the existing literature, as far as the authors know, has considered the citation content in academic monographs and the similarities or differences among academic documents when studying the citation pattern.


2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Obiora Omekwu ◽  
Uwem Eteng

PurposeTo map out routes along which the library and information profession can chart its future development.Design/methodology/approachA literature‐based opinion piece which looks at “roadmaps to change” in library and information work from the historical, knowledge economy and information technology perspectives.FindingsChange is inevitable for organizational survival and the maintenance of professional relevance.Practical implicationsLibrarians and information professionals are by training positioned to continue to make a difference in information handling and management both now and in the future. The paper recommends the forms of repositioning that are vital for them if they are to continue to be relevant in information service delivery.Originality/valueNew and emerging roles for the profession are highlighted from various authors and authorities in the field.


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