Mobile services at academic libraries: meeting the users’ needs?

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharine Bomhold
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Research Universities ◽  
Mobile Services ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Carnegie Foundation ◽  
Mobile Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how academic libraries in the USA have responded to the rapidly evolving mobile environment and to determine if there is a noticeable, comprehensive pattern to instituting mobile services. Design/methodology/approach – The researcher surveyed library mobile services of 73 academic libraries at Carnegie Foundation rated RU/VH institutions. Based on this survey, the paper describes the current state of mobile services at very high research universities. Findings – While most academic libraries at research universities have some sort of mobile presence, what is offered is highly varied and is not predictable. There are still many notable University libraries that have no mobile presence. Practical implications – This study highlights the inconsistent nature of mobile services at research universities and identifies best practices in place at others. Originality/value – This is the first study to employ the Carnegie Foundation ratings of the university in which the library functions.

Income‐generating activities: a viable financial source for African academic libraries?

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benzies Y. Boadi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Responsibility ◽  
Current State ◽  
Income Generating Activities ◽  
The University ◽  
National Governments

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the current state of financial support of African university libraries, and explore non‐traditional methods of providing funding for them.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes a comparative look at the funding pattern of library and information services in Africa, particularly academic libraries, over the past two decades.FindingsThe paper finds that the national governments, the main financial providers, are usually held liable for the continuing inadequacy of the financial support and are, therefore, seen as having ignored their financial responsibility toward libraries. This financial neglect negatively impacts the quality of services provided by the university libraries and, consequently, the quality of teaching and research programs at the universities served by them.Originality/valueAs a possible way of breaking away from the complete and absolute reliance on government funding which has proved to be unreliable, alternative ways of funding are suggested. These include information consultancy and brokerage services and other income‐generating activities.

Innovation during crisis: exploring reaction of Swedish university libraries to COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-375
Author(s):  
Serdar Temiz ◽  
Lakshmi Pradip Salelkar
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
The University

Purpose While universities are using more digital tools such as learning management systems (canvas, blackboard, etc). or massive open online courses (MOOCS) such as MIT, OpenCourseWare, edX, Coursera, digitalization has also influenced university libraries. Digital services of academic libraries need exploration on how they provide digital services and how they respond to COVID-19. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore and map digital services of academic libraries and their response to COVID-19 in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research approach is used in this study. Through a Web search, data was gathered from all 39 universities in Sweden through two means: visiting university and their respective library websites; examination of other documents provided by the university such as press releases, announcements. Evaluation of the content and digital services and libraries response to COVID-19 is conducted by thematic coding. Findings In response to the ongoing COVID-19 spread, a general trend seen among all is limited working hours, shutting down physical libraries for general public, unmanning operations. All 39 number of universities in Sweden have moved their offerings toward using online tools. The main themes that have been identified from our study are as follows: Availability of Information, Accessibility of resources, Collaboration with other actors, Increased use of existing services, motivation and support to practice social distancing. Research limitations/implications Owing to the limitations of COVID-19 conditions, time and other aspects, there was not any opportunity to visit the university libraries or book time to interview librarians or students, which led to limited level and imperfect research. There are many other activities that university libraries are offering to their employees and using their internal newsletters and email groups to reach their audience; as a result, some of digital services that are offered during COVID-19 might have not been noticed. Practical implications These findings can provide base to other universities on how to react to COVID-19 and bring more discussion. Social implications COVID-19 has big social impact on people. The findings present that libraries can go beyond their responsibilities and provide emotional and psychological support the community towards social distancing such as videos, social online meetings, live video workshops. Originality/value The findings from this study call for a review digital services of academic libraries and their response to COVID-19 in Sweden, so that best reactions and services could be understood.

Making a makerspace case for academic libraries in Nigeria

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 568-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Nneka Okpala
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Maker Movement ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Nigerian University ◽  
The University ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Current Journal

Purpose This paper aims to give a highlight on the concept of makerspace and its perceived benefits in academic libraries in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The searches encompass current journal articles, books, newspapers, magazines, personal experiences on the concept of makerspace, 3D-printing and technologies in libraries. Practical examples of libraries that already have makerspaces in operation were sourced. Findings Findings of this study create awareness of benefits, challenges and strategies for developing and managing makerspaces in Nigerian academic libraries, using Zenith Library as a hypothetical sample. Research limitations/implications Only the proposal guide has been drafted. There is need for more investigations on the awareness of, and plan to adopt makerspace technologies in Nigerian academic libraries. Practical implications Librarians need to appreciate the makerspace technologies and forge ahead in establishing makerspace in strategic areas of their libraries which should serve as a meeting point for all users in the university community, and for the sharing of innovative ideas. Social implications There is need for a paradigm shift in Nigerian university libraries, hence the shift in librarians’ thinking and approach to find their place in the new maker movement. Originality/value The originality of the paper lies in its justification for establishing makerspace in Nigerian academic libraries alongside the drafted proposal which has been designed to serve as a guide to libraries in Nigeria, as no makerspace has been documented to be existing in any Nigerian library.

Leadership in challenging times of academic libraries

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-149
Author(s):  
Mohammad Aslam
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Challenges ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Library Leadership ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the key challenges of academic libraries in times of changing nature of higher education system and how library leaders can manage the challenges when effective leadership is highly required for academic libraries today. As the time is changing, the kinds of challenges that library leaders face have also changed. Author of this study explores the methods and approaches, which are more effective ways of managing challenges in the reshaping environment of academic libraries. At the same time, change has become a permanent part of academic libraries and they need leaders who are able to lead and manage change efficiently, bring theories into practices, find innovative solutions to challenges, creative thinkers, effective communicators, collaborative mindset and self-motivators. Design/methodology/approach The selective publications have been reviewed to find the best ways to leading changes and managing challenges in academic libraries. The approaches and methods in this study are based on personal experiences of author as director of the university libraries and experiences of library leadership worldwide are conversed. Findings Academic libraries are facing similar challenges around the world. The author found that academic library leadership needs innovative skills and competencies, effective communication abilities and a new way of thinking to deal with challenges and create willingness to adapt the changes. Kotter’s leadership manage change model may apply for creating and implementing organizational change in academic libraries. Originality/value Literature on this topic is comparatively limited. Consequently, this manuscript adds value to the publications of library and information sciences and offers the literature in the field of leadership challenges and manage change in the academic libraries. It also provides guidelines to academic library leadership universally, and how can leaders work with change effectively.

2016 top trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries

2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 17-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasekea Harris
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Mobile Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
University Level ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
The University

Purpose Biennially, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, publishes a report on the top trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education. Harris (2016) used the trends and issues reported by the ACRL to inform a document and thematic analysis of publications written on Jamaican academic librarianship 2010-2016, to investigate the trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship. Harris’ (2016) paper however noted that a survey of the chief librarian in each library, regarding their perceptions of the trends and issues would be a useful follow-up to her study, and cited this as a limitation/implication of her paper. The purpose of this paper is to address the above limitation and is therefore the follow-up to Harris’ (2016) paper. Design/methodology/approach The chief librarians in five of the six local university libraries were surveyed to provide insights into the trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries at the university level. Findings Acquisitions, budget, staffing, communicating value, digital preservation and curation, mobile environment, collaboration, scholarly communication, information technology, space, higher education, user behaviour and expectations and information literacy are the top trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries at the university level. Research limitations/implications This survey seeks to complement rather than contest Harris’ (2016) research. Perhaps a useful follow-up to both papers would be biennial updates. Additionally, a survey of the trends and issues in all types of academic libraries throughout the English-speaking Caribbean would be a useful follow-up. Originality/value This paper is of value, as it is the first survey of trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship. It enriches the existing document and thematic analytical research on trends and issues in Jamaican academic libraries by adding an empirical component. It also increases the number of publications, on trends and issues in Jamaican academic librarianship, from one to two, and allows voices from the English-speaking Caribbean (Jamaica) to be incorporated into the literature dedicated to trends and issues in academic libraries.

Critical success factors for total quality management implementation and implications for sustainable academic libraries

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 545-563
Author(s):  
Edward Asante ◽  
Patrick Ngulube
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Critical Success Factors ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Technical University

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the critical success factors for total quality management implementation and implications for sustainable academic libraries in Ghana. This study is part of a PhD project that focussed on selected technical university libraries in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative approach to collect the data. Samples of 124 participants were involved in this study. PLS-SEM (Smart PLS3) software was used to analyse the data. Convergent, discriminant validity assessment was computed. Eight variables of critical success factors were tested in relation to total quality management implementation at selected academic libraries in Ghana.FindingsThis study established that out of the eight variables tested, six of them (i.e. top management commitment, employee innovation employee training, organisational culture, teamwork and effective communication, quality performance) indicated a significant positive relationship with total quality management implementation apart from strategic planning and human resource management.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was limited to eight variables as the critical success factors mentioned in the previous paragraph. The use of one methodology might be a limitation as the use of multimethod might have given a more comprehensive picture than the case. This study was limited to only technical university libraries in Ghana hence caution must be exercised when applying the results to contextually different academic environments. The results are applicable to academic universities library in Ghana and beyond if they are adjusted to suit the context.Practical implicationsThis study is timely as it may lead to effective total quality management implementation and the sustainability of technical university libraries in Ghana and Africa in general.Originality/valueThe proposed model can be used to enhance the smooth implementation of total quality management in academic libraries in general and Ghana in particular. The framework is termed as Eddie and Pat's Achievement of Quality Performance (EPAfQP) model.

They did not start the fire: reviewing and resolving the issue of physician stress and burnout

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Christine Babyar
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Physician Burnout ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Accountability ◽  
Physician Stress

Purpose Physician stress and burnout is a serious and common concern in healthcare, with over half of physicians in the USA meeting at least one criterion for burnout. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A review on current state of physician stress and burnout research, from 2008 to 2016, was undertaken. A subsequent perspective paper was shaped around these reviews. Findings Findings reveal research strength in prevalence and incidence with opportunities for stronger intervention studies. While descriptive studies on causes and consequences of physician burnout are available, studies on interventions and prevention of physician burnout are lacking. Future research on physician stress and burnout should incorporate intervention studies and take care to avoid limitations found in current research. Accountability and prevention of physician burnout is the responsibility of the healthcare industry as a whole, and organizational strategies must be emphasized in future research. Originality/value The value of this research comes in the original comprehensive review, international inclusion and succinct summary of physician burnout research and strategies.

scholarly journals User agreements and makerspaces: a content analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 358-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Michele Moorefield-Lang
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
The Body ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Qualitative Data Analysis Software

Abstract – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the user agreements of makerspaces in public and academic libraries. User agreements, also known as maker agreements, user forms and liability forms, can be very important documents between library patrons, staff and faculty. User agreements are similar to the earlier creation of acceptable use policies for technology use in libraries. The author of this study will delve into the user agreements created for public and academic libraries across the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The researcher used content analysis to investigate 24 different user agreements written for public and academic library makerspaces. NVivo qualitative data analysis software was integrated into this research to aid in the breakdown of commonalities across terms, themes and purpose within the user agreements. Findings – Although makerspaces are a very exciting topic in the field of library science at this time, the implementation of a maker learning space is still new to many libraries. Creating a user agreement for a makerspace is newer still. Most user agreements in this study were six months to a year old. Some consistencies found across makerspace user agreements include liability waivers, permissions for minors, safety, copyright and technology replacement costs. Originality/value – At this time, most publications on makerspaces are held in the realm of popular publications (blogs, magazines, zines, etc.). The body of peer-reviewed and scholarly research on makerspaces is growing. Makerspace user agreements are new to this growing field of interest, and a content analysis of these documents will pave the way for the writing of future forms.

Research on user needs for mobile information services in Chinese university libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Shengli Deng ◽  
Ting Gao ◽  
Ruoxin Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Mobile Services ◽  
Information Services ◽  
User Needs ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mobile Information ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Mobile Information Services

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the service demand of existing users and potential users for mobile information services provided by university libraries in China. The primary objective is to explore the impact of user experience on user needs, which is conducted by a comparison between two user groups over their needs from three aspects – service function, service mode and information content. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 353 library users from ten Chinese universities via questionnaires. Based on the user needs model, three dimensions of user needs were established for mobile information services and 26 measurement items were generated through a review of the literature. Furthermore, based on frequency analysis, independent samples t-test and the calculation of need rate, the demand differences in mobile information services between existing and potential users were explored. Findings Significant differences existed in the needs for service functions and service modes of mobile information services between existing users and potential users. Existing users cared more about such characteristics as intelligence, personalization and the variety of mobile services. Potential users, in contrast, concerned themselves more with the usability of mobile services and similarity to traditional information services. These two user groups showed little difference in the needs for information content, as they both have strict requirements for specialty, richness in and quality of information resources in mobile network environments. Originality/value Previous research on user needs for mobile libraries services has been primarily conducted from the perspectives of existing users. This study, however, compared the needs of existing and potential users based on their previous experiences, which can help libraries to know better what their users need and improve the quality of mobile information services to meet those needs. This can also make existing users more willing to use the services and cultivate the usage habits of potential users at the same time.

Assessing university police officers’ uniforms and wearing experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Brandewie ◽  
Injoo Kim ◽  
Myoung-Ok Kim
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Uniform Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Specific Performance ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
The University

Purpose This study aims to suggest opportunities for enhancing the police uniform design with consideration to the emotional and physical satisfaction of the wearers, by assessing the wearing experience. Design/methodology/approach University police officers at a University in the Midwestern region of the USA were surveyed to examine both psychological and emotional aspects including performance, comfort, professionalism and empowerment, as well as their satisfaction levels with fit, fabrics, aesthetics and functionality. Findings The study found that the wearing experience was poor, and not surprisingly, fabric satisfaction ranked the lowest of all factors. In regard to color, results showed that the uniforms should be in colors that are suitable to the university context, which in this case the wearers preferred the University athletic colors of black and red. It is easier to consider these colors, as they are a part of their organization and also enable the police to stand apart from municipal police, contrary to previous research demonstrating dark colors have negative connotations. Findings suggest that the university police uniform should have an athletic style with a regular fit, using specific performance fabrics that allow for stretch and breathability. Originality/value This study assesses the police uniform design and wearing experience and suggests design details to enhance how well officers physically perform in their role and also to inspire them to feel proud of their job and organization.

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