A close look: roving reference in a community college library information commons

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-285
Author(s):  
Eileen Hali Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Commons ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
Academic Technology ◽  
College Information ◽  
Reference Service ◽  
Student Workers ◽  
College Library

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the questions: What challenges do students face in an information commons and how does roving reference help?. Design/methodology/approach The author recounts her work roving in her community college information commons and supplements this with an analysis of 1,500 records from her detailed reference log that compares roving reference results with conventional references and with reference questions as a whole. Findings Her autoethnography and data reveal that roving substantially increases the number of reference encounters. In addition, her data sheds light on students’ struggles with common, productivity software, academic packages and malfunctioning hardware. More importantly, these findings show that roving reference data identify problems that librarians, as stakeholders, can solve. Research limitations/implications Roving reference in a community college information commons brings students in one library into sharper focus. Roving reference increases the number of reference encounters and the reach of reference service. It also exposes a use-based digital divide that calls for collaboration in the long run and increased point-of-need service immediately. Practical implications Even data that points to digital divides, hardware issues or other shortcomings and offers empirical evidence of problems for which library staff, unlike student workers, can find long-term solutions. This study shows that it is possible to gather rich and extensive data with minimal personnel and off-the-shelf software. Social implications A college degree is vital to social mobility and easing inequality. Fluency with academic technology and information is necessary for completing college. Roving reference means more opportunities to teach information and computer fluency at point of need and more opportunities for librarian stakeholders to find and remove obstacles to student learning. Originality/value This is one of the few, recent studies, autoethnographic or otherwise, on roving reference in a community college library’s information commons.

scholarly journals Academic library innovation through 3D printing services

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 208-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galina Letnikova ◽  
Na Xu
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
3D Printing ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Library

Purpose One of the most innovative library services recently introduced by public and academic libraries, the technology of 3D printing, has the potential to be used in multiple educational settings. The purpose of this paper is to examine how this novel library digital service motivates students’ learning, and to investigate managerial issues related to the introduction of 3D printing services at a medium-size urban community college library with restricted funding. Design/methodology/approach Since Fall 2014, the LaGuardia Library Media Resources Center has been offering a portable consumer-end 3D printer for classroom use. This paper provides historical context for the implementation of 3D printing as a service offered by librarians and discusses how the community college library managed 3D printing services to support class curriculum. At the end of the three-semester-long project students were asked to volunteer to take a survey conducted by the librarian and the class instructor. Findings The results of the student survey demonstrated that library 3D printing services significantly promoted students’ motivation to learn. The conceptual model of a makerspace should be an essential part of the twenty-first century academic library. To help make that possible this paper examines certain challenges and limitations faced by librarians when introducing 3D printing, including dedicated space management, professional education, and personnel availability. Originality/value During the project described students were able to use library services to print out and study complex engineering and biology models in 3D. The proper planning and management of this innovative service allows academic librarians to enhance class curriculum by providing the means of transforming theory into physical reality.

Information literacy needs of community college students in transition: a literature review

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Library

Purpose This literature review aims to look at the unique role of community colleges as they address the information literacy needs of their students, who are by nature continuously in transition to and from the institution. Design/methodology/approach Library science databases and online sources were reviewed for relevant information. Findings Community colleges are addressing the needs of their various student populations in a variety of ways. Originality/value The role of the community college library is underrepresented in the literature. This review provides more information about the unique role that community colleges fill in the higher education ecosystem.

Hosting a Super Smash Bros. Tournament at the Hudson County Community College Library

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devlyn Thomas Courtier ◽  
John DeLooper
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community College Libraries ◽  
College Libraries ◽  
Hudson County ◽  
College Library

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Hudson County Community College Library hosted a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament as part of its Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 programming, and discuss what it learned from hosting the event. Design/methodology/approach This paper details how a community college library planned, hosted and learned from its experience running a Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U Tournament. It will also describe how the library continued to use this experience to plan additional video game-based programming. Findings The Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U Tournament was generally well received by student attendees. However, student feedback revealed a preference for less-competitive “friendly” events instead of tournaments. Students also requested the option of having several games available instead of one. Originality/value Thus far, there has been little research on academic or community college libraries organizing video game-based programming and activities event. There have also been few studies about whether gaming events work better in libraries as tournaments or “free play” activities.

Competing eBook acquisition models: which model best serves a community college library?

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-40
Author(s):  
Michael LaMagna ◽  
Erica Swenson Danowitz ◽  
Andrea Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Community ◽  
College Library ◽  
Usage Data

Purpose Academic libraries continue to invest in eBooks to ensure access to content in various formats. This paper aims to examine eBook acquisition models, including patron-driven acquisitions, one-time purchases, focused collection subscriptions or large-scale subscriptions, to better understand how users engage with this content based on usage data. Design/methodology/approach Usage data provide insights into eBook acquisition and how access models influence use. This study defines the acquisition model for each eBook purchase. Data were examined to determine usage by acquisition model and cost-per-use. Findings This paper finds that for a large suburban community college, a large-scale subscription model has the lowest cost-per-use and serves the largest portion of students. Focused collection subscriptions supported small, specialized programs in the Allied Health, Emergency Services, and Nursing fields. Originality/value This paper examines how eBooks are acquired to determine which model best serves an academic library community, specifically a community college library, which is currently underrepresented in the literature.

Removing barriers: textbook affordability and OER at Sinclair community college

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-396
Author(s):  
Andrew Joseph Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
College Population ◽  
College Library

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of the library at a large, urban community college in the institution’s textbook affordability initiatives. Design/methodology/approach This case study details the contributions of the Sinclair Community College library to affordability on campus, including participating in a major open educational resources (OER) grant initiative; providing consulting and support for faculty and staff; and providing leadership for training and outreach relating to other affordability measures. Findings The library’s efforts have significantly contributed to Sinclair’s widespread adoption of OER and other alternate textbook models that have saved over $1.5m for students annually. Originality/value This paper is a valuable contribution to the affordability discussion because of the degree to which Sinclair has adopted OER; the role of librarians collaborating with key stakeholders; and its focus on the community college population, a diverse and fast-growing sector with particular needs and challenges.

scholarly journals The economic market outcomes and income distribution when capital is not homogeneous

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-56
Author(s):  
Ahmet Özçam
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Problem ◽  
Physical Capital ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Market Model ◽  
Economic Market ◽  
Constant Elasticity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Analysis ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run

Purpose An aggregate production function has been used in macroeconomic analysis for a long time, even though it seems that it is conceptually confusing and problematic. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the measurement problem related to the heterogenous capital input that exists in macroeconomics is also relevant to microeconomic market situations. Design/methodology/approach The author constructed a microeconomic market model to address both the problems of the measurement of the physical capital and of substitutability between labor and capital in the short run using two types of technologies: labor neutral and labor reducing. The author proposed that labor and physical capital inputs are complementary in the short run and can become substitutes only in the long run when the technology advances. Findings The author found that even if the technology improves at a fast rate over time, there are then diminishing returns of profits to technology and an upper limit to profits. Moreover, the author showed that under the labor-reducing technology, labor class earns more initially as technology improves, but their incomes start declining after some threshold level of passage of time. Originality/value The author cautioned the applied researcher that the estimated labor and capital coefficients of generalized Cobb–Douglas and constant elasticity of substitution of types of production functions could not be interpreted as partial elasticities of labor and capital if in reality the data come from fixed-proportions types of processes.

The reflexive turn in key account management

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 2071-2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Vanharanta ◽  
Alan J.P. Gilchrist ◽  
Andrew D. Pressey ◽  
Peter Lenney
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Key Account Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Account Management ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Key Account ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This study aims to address how and why do formal key account management (KAM) programmes hinder effective KAM management, and how can the problems of formalization in KAM be overcome. Recent empirical studies have reported an unexpected negative relationship between KAM formalization and performance. Design/methodology/approach – An 18-month (340 days) ethnographic investigation was undertaken in the UK-based subsidiary of a major US sports goods manufacturer. This ethnographic evidence was triangulated with 113 in-depth interviews. Findings – This study identifies how and why managerial reflexivity allows a more effectively combining of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM practices. While formal KAM programmes provide a means to initiate, implement and control KAM, they have an unintended consequence of increasing organizational bureaucracy, which may in the long-run hinder the KAM effectiveness. Heightened reflexivity, including “wayfinding”, is identified as a means to overcome many of these challenges, allowing for reflexively combining formal with post-bureaucratic KAM practices. Research limitations/implications – The thesis of this paper starts a new line of reflexive KAM research, which draws theoretical influences from the post-bureaucratic turn in management studies. Practical implications – This study seeks to increase KAM implementation success rates and long-term effectiveness of KAM by conceptualizing the new possibilities offered by reflexive KAM. This study demonstrates how reflexive skills (conceptualized as “KAM wayfinding”) can be deployed during KAM implementation and for its continual improvement. Further, the study identifies how KAM programmes can be used to train organizational learning regarding KAM. Furthermore, this study identifies how and why post-bureaucratic KAM can offer additional benefits after an organization has learned key KAM capabilities. Originality/value – A new line of enquiry is identified: the reflexive-turn in KAM. This theoretical position allows us to identify existing weakness in the extant KAM literature, and to show a practical means to improve the effectiveness of KAM. This concerns, in particular, the importance of managerial reflexivity and KAM wayfinding as a means to balance the strengths and weaknesses of formal and post-bureaucratic KAM.

Subaltern mediators in the digital landscape

Target ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Iribarren
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The One ◽  
Digital Landscape

This article explores translational literary Web 2.0 practices and user-generated cultural creations on the Internet, focusing on video poetry that re-creates canonical poets’ bodies of work. It will be argued that the use of for-profit platforms like YouTube and Vimeo by indie creators and translators of video poetry favours the emergence of new translational attitudes, practices and objects that have positive but also contentious effects. One the one hand, these online mediators explore new poetic expressions and tend to make the most of the potential for dissemination of poetic heritage, providing visibility to non-hegemonic literatures. On the other hand, however, these translational digitally-born practices and creations by voluntary and subaltern mediators might reinforce the hegemonic position of large American Internet corporations at the risk of commodifying cultural capital, consolidating English as a lingua franca and perhaps, in the long run, even fostering a potentially monocultural and internationally homogeneous aesthetics.

Best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance: empirical studies of their linkage

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1688-1709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Li ◽  
Qun Wu ◽  
Clyde W. Holsapple
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Competitive Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Best Value ◽  
Multiple Method ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Best-value supply chains characterized by agility, adaptability, and alignment, have become a crucial strategic means for firms to create and sustain competitive advantage in today’s turbulent environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, survey data from 76 firms is used to test the impact of the three qualities of best-value supply chains on firms’ competitive performance. In Study 2, to test if a firm’s competitive advantage can be sustained through building best-value supply chains, a long-run performance analysis is conducted, which is based on a stock portfolio of firms identified from the American Marketing Association’s annual list of “Supply Chain Top 25.” Findings – The results of Study 1 indicate that the three qualities of best-value supply chains are positively related to firms’ competitive performance. The results of Study 2 show that firms having best-value supply chains generate significant and positive abnormal returns for shareholders over time. Originality/value – This is a multiple-method research, providing two-level empirical evidence to the investigation of theoretical linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance.

Exploring the relationship between macroeconomic indicators and sovereign credit default swap in Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-380
Author(s):  
Abdul Rashid ◽  
Farooq Ahmad ◽  
Ammara Yasmin
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Credit Default Swap ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Variables ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Credit Default ◽  
Macroeconomic Indicators ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Exchange Rate ◽  
The Interest Rate

Purpose This paper aims to empirically examine the long- and short-run relationship between macroeconomic indicators (exchange rates, interest rates, exports, imports, foreign reserves and the rate of inflation) and sovereign credit default swap (SCDS) spreads for Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to explore the level relationship between the macroeconomic variables and SCDS spreads. The error correction model is estimated to examine the short-run effects of the underlying macroeconomic variables on SCDS spreads. Finally, the long-run estimates are obtained in the ARDL framework. The study uses monthly data covering the period January 2001-February 2015. Findings The results indicate that there is a significant long-run relationship between the macroeconomic indicators and SCDS spreads. The estimated long-run coefficients reveal that both the interest rate and foreign exchange reserves are significantly and negatively, whereas imports and the rate of inflation are positively related to SCDS spreads. Yet, the results suggest that the exchange rate and exports do not have any significant long-run impact on SCDS spreads. The findings regarding the short-run relationship indicate that the exchange rate, imports and the rate of inflation are positively, whereas the interest rate and exports are negatively related to SCDS spreads. Practical implications The results suggest that State Bank of Pakistan should design monetary and foreign exchange rate polices to minimize unwanted variations in the exchange rate to reduce SCDS spreads. The results also suggest that it is incumbent to Pakistan Government to improve the balance of payments to reduce SCDS spreads. The findings also suggest that the inflation targeting policy can also help in reducing SCDS spreads. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the empirical determinants of SCDS spreads for Pakistan. Second, it estimates the short- and long-run effects in the ARDL framework. Third, it considers both internal and external empirical determinants of SCDS spreads.

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