The role of social networks in enhancing the library profession and promoting academic library services: A comparative study of the University of Jordan and Al-Balqaa’ Applied University

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faten Hamad ◽  
Dina Tbaishat ◽  
Maha Al-Fadel

This paper investigates how academic librarians perceive the role of social networks in enhancing the professional skills of library staff, and how they can be used to promote library services. It is based on case study design in real organizational settings, which are two academic libraries in Jordan, namely the University of Jordan library and Al-Balqaa’ Applied University library. The authors used questionnaires to collect the required data in order to investigate the perceptions of library staff in relation to social networks and how they used social networks to promote library services. The results indicate high awareness and extensive use of social networks for professional development. However, it appears that social networks were not fully exploited to promote library services. It was noted that “job title” (staff position) was the only factor that affected the results, while other factors such as gender, experience, frequency of use and age had no effect on the results. It is concluded that academic libraries in Jordan should make better use of social networks to promote library services.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riki Greenberg

This article-based dissertation presents three articles, all studying information behavior of the patrons in an academic library in Israel.This dissertation intends to help academic libraries understand their patrons' information behavior in the second decade of the 21st century and to make library services more available and beneficial to its users. The study presents a unique perspective on library users' academic information behavior from three different aspects. The users', the librarians and systems log files. The study utilizes different methodologies and different research populations to get full and comprehensive insights.


Author(s):  
Dr. V. Ramadevi

In the present scenario, information and communication technology plays a very important role. Due to the development of technology, internet has brought out some of the opportunities and challenges which provide the effective way of use the library information resources and services. Users can access the required information online irrespective of visiting the place and collecting the information as like ancient days. To improve some of the problems of information and communication technology resulting in underutilization of academic libraries, effort directed to promoting and creating awareness of library services is very important. Library staff can promote the use of the library through other means such as marketing of library services to its users. The role of academic libraries and information centres is to provide necessary information. The objectives of the study were why libraries should market their information resources and services; ways in which libraries market their information resources and services also impacts of marketing information resources and services in the academic Library. The study target population was 120 which comprised of library staff members. The study sample consisted to twenty members of the target group.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theophilus Kwamena Ocran ◽  
Paulina Afful-Arthur

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to assess the role of academic libraries in digital scholarship at the University of Cape Coast. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and used teaching staff (lecturers) as the population of the study.Design/methodology/approachA sample size of 278 was used for the study. The study used questionnaires to obtain data from participants. The study revealed that faculty members appreciate digital scholarship through the services offered by Sam Jonah Library are relevant to the current higher education context, reliable information, preservation of information resources and facilitating the integration of library services into the learning process are closely integrated into the library service, transform scholarly communication, teaching and learning style and research paradigm.FindingsThe study revealed that digital scholarship contributes to faculty members' delivery at the University of Cape Coast through the provision of information literacy training for new students, provision of reference lists of materials available in the library and provision of lists of new materials. The study revealed that faculty members face inadequate facilities to enhance digital scholarship, inadequate open access to reading materials (articles, books, etc.), inadequate platforms or suite of tools for librarians to take faculty.Practical implicationsThe application of digital scholarship provides an expansion to the core competitiveness of librarians new services which enables innovativeness and transformation of libraries. Students will be equipped with digital literacy skills; it affords instructors to approach teaching with innovation and scholars are also engaged to perform novel practices in scholarship acquisition. Digital scholarship is the umbrella under which all academic technologies comes under to foster collaboration and better learning experience.Originality/valueThis paper offers an insight of the role digital scholarship in promoting and advancing scholarship in the academic environment. It highlights a number of digital scholarship platform available in the library. It is observed that digital scholarship practices must be encouraged in the library because it facilitates the role of academic library which is to support teaching, learning and research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110367
Author(s):  
Monica Mensah ◽  
Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha

This study sought to examine academic libraries’ patrons’ level of awareness of, and engagement with social media in the use of academic libraries services in Ghana. The study employed the cross-sectional survey whereby quantitative data were collected from a total of 417 respondents, who consisted of students and library staff from public, private and technical universities in Ghana. Findings indicated that the academic libraries have adopted and used a number of social media applications, with Facebook and instant messaging as the most popular and frequently used platforms, for the provision and access to library services and resources as well as for contacting the academic libraries. However, the level of awareness, extent of use, as well as the level of engagement with the platforms was low as social media tools adopted by the libraries were not prevalent among the library patrons. Recommendations and conclusions based on the research findings are offered in the paper. This study uses a cross-sectional survey, with the data being collected at a specific point in time. However, due to rapid technological change and trends, future research studies could consider longitudinal studies to investigate the adoption and use of social media in academic libraries across time and environment. The analysis of social media use for academic library services from both the library staff and library patrons’ perspectives will inform decisions on how to improve the use of such platforms for effective and efficient library services delivery and access.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Garczynski

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which academic libraries are using social media to fundraise, what tactics they are using to fundraise on social media and how academic libraries’ social networks are responding to their fund-raising efforts. Design/methodology/approach This research is a content analysis of 276 posts from 2015 on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of 16 academic libraries. Findings This study found that academic libraries are just beginning to use social media for fund-raising with many adopting non-profit best practices that brought significantly more likes and shares/retweets to their accounts. Originality/value This research is one of the few systematic examinations of how libraries use social media to discuss fund-raising, and the findings suggest tactics for libraries to adopt in their fund-raising posts to generate more likes and shares/retweets.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110055
Author(s):  
Clare Thorpe ◽  
Lyndelle Gunton

The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identifies 17 goals as a shared blueprint for peace, prosperity, people and the planet. Australian academic libraries have started documenting and planning how academic libraries contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the identification of assessment frameworks and key performance indicators. In 2019, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Library stepped through an exercise of understanding how our day-to-day work and annual planning targets mapped to the SDGs. The article is a case study. The authors outline how an academic library’s services, projects and action plans were mapped to the SDGs and how the mapping exercise was communicated to the community. The article will situate this activity among the broader approaches being taken by the Australian library community, including the 2030 stretch targets for Australian libraries. USQ Library staff found that existing services, collections and projects correlated to eight of the 17 SDGs. Activities were mapped to these eight goals and reported to senior executive of the University. The mapping exercise increased the awareness of library staff about the broader cultural and societal implications of their roles. The communication strategy led to conversations that increased university leaders’ awareness of the SDGs and the value and impact of USQ Library in improving access to information as well as the library’s role in transforming the lives of USQ students and community. By undertaking an exercise to map collections, services and projects to the SDGs, USQ Library has been able to demonstrate how their knowledge and information infrastructures which enable student achievement and research excellence. The SDGs can be used by university libraries as a benchmarking tool and as a challenge to set stretch targets aligned with the United Nation’s 2030 agenda.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Mierzecka ◽  
Andrius Suminas

The digital revolution has had a particular impact on the functioning of libraries: it has changed both the means of communicating with the users, and the nature of the service itself. In the case of academic libraries, an online presence is crucial due to the increased rate of Internet usage among their stakeholders, academics and students alike. From their perspective, library websites serve as digital gates to library services and resources. However, an academic library website may fulfil a wide array of functions and their importance can be variously prioritized. The purpose of our research was to find out which functions of academic library websites are viewed as the most important by a selected group of users: the students. To answer this question, we identified the main functions of academic library websites on the basis of desk research and designed a survey conducted among students of the University of Warsaw (Poland) and Vilnius University (Lithuania) ( n=680). The picture of users’ information needs with regard to content of the academic library website revealed by our research allows us to draw conclusions about the functions of the academic library website distinctive from those already mentioned in the subject literature. From the perspective of a user-centric approach we distinguished five functions of the academic library website: (1) supporting the usage of the collection (online and traditional); (2) promotion of culture; (3) gateway for locating information on the Web; (4) education; (5) creation of library’s online image.


Author(s):  
Salamatu Baba ◽  
◽  
Dikuma Ibrahim ◽  
Sanda Grema ◽  
◽  
...  

In order to promote utilizing the available resource made in any library information has to be taken to the door step of a clientele a such information and communication technology will serve as a catalyst in doing that. This paper has explored the role of information and communication technology ICT in academia and as well as the strategies used in propagating the available services in an academic library this is because tailor made information it is highly required so as to avoid wasting the precious time of academicians and this can be only achieving with the help of information and communication technology software, therefore, descriptive method was adopted in the methodology of this study.


Bibliosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
F. Sayre ◽  
A. Riegelman

Over the past decade, evidence from disciplines ranging from biology to economics has suggested that many scientific studies may not be reproducible. This has led to declarations in both the scientific and lay press that science is experiencing a “reproducibility crisis” and that this crisis has consequences for the extent to which students, faculty, and the public at large can trust research. Faculty build on these results with their own research, and students and the public use these results for everything from patient care to public policy. To build a model for how academic libraries can support reproducible research, the authors conducted a review of major guidelines from funders, publishers, and professional societies. Specific recommendations were extracted from guidelines and compared with existing academic library services and librarian expertise. The authors believe this review shows that many of the recommendations for improving reproducibility are core areas of academic librarianship, including data management, scholarly communication, and methodological support for systematic reviews and data-intensive research. By increasing our knowledge of disciplinary, journal, funder, and society perspectives on reproducibility, and reframing existing librarian expertise and services, academic librarians will be well positioned to be leaders in supporting reproducible research. Citation: Sayre F., Riegelman A. Replicable services for reproducible research: a model for academic libraries.


Infolib ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-39
Author(s):  
Victoria Levinskaya ◽  

Any contemporary academic library is created to meet the needs of the faculty member, researchers, and students in providing access to educational and scientific resources that go beyond traditional sour-ces of information such as books, textbooks, and magazines. Building a library collection is a scrupulous process involving not only librarians, but also the academic staff of the university. This process is highly dynamic, since it should ensure the quality of the provided educational services of the university, as well as contribute to the development of its scientific potential. This article reveals the main challenges facing academic libraries in creating an developing, recent and balanced library collection.


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