scholarly journals Emergence of Predatory Publishing in Library and Information Science: Issues and Implications for Scholarship among Academic Librarians in Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodluck Ifijeh
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Predatory Publishing

scholarly journals Almost Halfway There: An Analysis of the Open Access Behaviors of Academic Librarians

2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Mercer
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Scholarly Publications ◽  
Scholarly Communications

Academic librarians are increasingly expected to advocate for scholarly communications reforms such as open access to scholarly publications, yet librarians do not always practice what they preach. Previous research examined librarian attitudes toward open access, whereas this article presents results of a study of open access publishing and self-archiving behaviors of academic librarians. Following an analysis of open access to library and information science literature in 2008, several strategies to encourage academic librarians to continue to embrace open access behaviors are discussed.

scholarly journals Microaggressions as a Barrier to Effective Collaboration Between Teaching Faculty and Academic Librarians: An Analysis of the Results of a US and Canadian Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Alwan ◽  
Joy Doan ◽  
Eric Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Teaching Faculty ◽  
Effective Collaboration ◽  
And Performance

Facilitating effective collaboration with teaching faculty (TF) for the purposes of student success and performance is often a priority for academic librarians (AL). The topic of effective partnerships between these two groups has received a great deal of scholarly attention within the field of library and information science (LIS). However, in practice, harmonious working relationships can be difficult to establish and maintain. This is in part due to the lack of understanding of the role and status of AL by TF. The existing divide between these parties has led to discourse and dismissive actions on the part of TF that may be perceived by some AL as microaggressive. While some work has been done on microaggressions in higher education, little quantitative data exists on status-based microaggressions by TF towards AL and its effect on collaboration in the context of information literacy (IL). In early 2016, the researchers surveyed U.S. and Canadian AL in order to collect data on perceived status-based microaggressive experiences. Analysis of the data indicates that status-based microaggressions, although not ubiquitous, do exist. Moreover, the data indicates that some librarians may experience more frequent instances of status-based microaggressions based on self-reported demographic characteristics.

scholarly journals New Understandings of Current Information Literacy Instruction Practices: Informing our Scholarship and our Teaching

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Julien ◽  
Don Latham ◽  
Melissa Gross
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Current Information ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Teaching Responsibilities

This paper examines the implications of findings from a recent survey of academic librarians with teaching responsibilities in U.S. academic libraries, for what they can suggest to library and information science scholars in terms of research questions, and for how they can inform our preparation of future librarians.

scholarly journals Applying interpretive phenomenological analysis to library and information science research on blended librarianship: A case study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Mbekezeli Dabengwa ◽  
Jaya Raju ◽  
Thomas Matingwina
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Research Problems

Abstract Although interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) has value in library and information science (LIS), it has low uptake in Africa. Readers are guided in how to apply IPA in LIS research using an example of a blended librarianship thesis conducted in Zimbabwe. The illustration narrates how IPA was implemented within the context of phenomenology to analyse the complexity of academic librarians' views, taking into consideration social and historical environments. The methodological and theoretical approaches to using IPA in LIS and other disciplines are outlined, including a critical analysis of applying double hermeneutics and horizontalization to construct a hermeneutic interpretation. The blended librarianship thesis is compared with LIS-based IPA studies and blended librarianship research to reflect the value of IPA methods. The weaknesses of the study are discussed, including the use of quality criteria of credibility, dependability, and transferability. The guided analysis of the study encourages the use of IPA in LIS as it can solve research problems and generate new theories to inform practice, services, philosophy, theory, and institutions.

Professionalism in library and information science

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinwe Nwogo Ezeani ◽  
Helen Nneka Eke ◽  
Felicia Ugwu
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Questions

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the current trends, needs and opportunities of professionalism in librarianship in Nigeria. The broad purpose of the paper was to investigate the level of professionalism in librarianship and to ascertain the current status, trends and opportunities within the profession among academic librarians in Nigeria. Five specific research questions were formulated which are: to examine how librarians value librarianship as a profession, to elicit the efforts made by librarians with regards to professional development, to ascertain methods of acquiring current competencies within the profession, to investigate the role of professional bodies in promoting professionalism and excellence within the library and information science (LIS) profession and to proffer strategies to enhance professionalism and excellence among librarians in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study across both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The area of the study was the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State and the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State. Population of the study comprised a total of 63 librarians in the two universities. All librarians were sampled because of the small sample size. The instrument for data collection was oral interview and questionnaire which contained 53 items derived from the research questions and built on a four-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree, (A) Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The criterion mean was 2.50. Therefore, any calculated mean below 2.50 was adjudged a negative score, while any mean from 2.50 and above was regarded as a positive score. Findings – The study revealed the challenges facing professionalism and excellence within the LIS field as lack of funding for professional development, lack of sponsorship to workshops and conferences, lack of uninterruptible internet facility and a dearth of professional mentors in the South East zone. Other problems gathered from a scheduled interview with some senior professionals in the institutions revealed that most librarians are still facing the challenge of imbibing and utilizing emerging skills in the LIS professions such as digital archiving and data mining skills for their day-to-day activities. Originality/value – Recommendations arising from the study were proffered such as the creation of staff development programmes by management; collaboration and partnership by libraries within the zone; acquisition of training through workshops and conferences irrespective of sponsorship by the institutions; and teaming of academic librarians to enhance their visibility and publication output. International staff exchanges and opportunities for sabbatical leave, which hitherto was not common in the South East Zone, were recommended. Among other recommendations also were building of consortia with libraries in the country; LIS professional bodies helping to create visibility and prestige of the LIS profession; and, finally, to scale up the image of the profession the marketing of library products through profiling of patrons and furnishing them with required information has not only become necessary but critical.

Publication productivity and scholarly impact of academic librarians in Tanzania

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 527-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Said Sife ◽  
Edda Tandi Lwoga
Keyword(s):  
Research Productivity ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Publish Or Perish ◽  
Scholarly Impact ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Scientometric Study

Purpose – The purpose of this scientometric study was to conduct an analysis of the research productivity and scholarly impact of academic librarians in Tanzania for a period of 30 years from 1984 to 2013. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained using the Publish or Perish software which uses Google Scholar to retrieve scholars’ publications, citations and related metrics. For each librarian, the retrieved metrics were the number of papers, papers per author, citation counts, average citations per paper, average papers per author, average citations per year, average citations per author and four indices, namely, the h-index, g-index, Hc-index and the HI-norm. Findings – The study findings indicate that 434 publications were recorded for all librarians, giving an average of 14.5 publications per year. The year 2008 had the most (9.9 per cent) publications followed by 2010 (7.8 per cent), while the years 1985 and 1987 had the lowest (0.2 per cent) number of publications. About 43 per cent of the publications were single-authored and the degree of collaboration was 0.57. The top-ten ranked librarians contributed more than half (53.2 per cent) of all publications, although they showed considerable variation among different metrics. Only three journal articles had 25 or more citations. Originality/value – Previous studies on the topic are scarce, and, therefore, this paper provides useful recommendations to library and information science (LIS) schools, libraries and universities to improve research productivity of their academic librarians in Tanzania and other countries with a similar setting.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary librarians: self-reported non-LIS scholarship and creative work

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 547-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Thomas ◽  
Anne E. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The University ◽  
Perceptions Of Administrators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to interpret and discuss survey results of a study of academic librarians’ scholarship and creative work outside of library and information science in order to reveal some librarians’ motivations to perform such work as well as their perceptions of administrators’ attitudes toward it. Design/methodology/approach – The authors published a link to a qualitative survey instrument on COLLIB-L and ULS-L, the e-mail lists for the college libraries section and the university libraries section of American Library Association, asking that only academic librarians engaged in scholarship and creative work outside of library and information science participate. This paper is an exploratory analysis of the survey results. Findings – Librarians reported that they produce such work for many reasons, including personal satisfaction, dynamic and successful liaison work, and ongoing commitment to scholarship and creative work. Academic librarians who produce non-LIS work do so with varying levels of support, and the recognition of such work is inconsistent among institutions. Originality/value – The authors are the first to query American academic librarians specifically about their scholarship or creative work outside of library and information science. Managers and administrators will glean much about academic librarians’ attitudes toward such work and how it adds value to the library operation and institution. Findings could affect criteria for reappointment, promotion, and tenure.

Re-Engineering Library Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 212-222
Author(s):  
Vicki L. Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Library Education ◽  
Academic Communities ◽  
Exponential Expansion ◽  
School Faculty ◽  
Computer Based

The revolutionary changes in the educational curriculum for schools of library and information science being evinced by the exponential expansion of computer-based technologies require a reexamination of the skills and expertise needed to be acquired by the next wave of academic librarians. This is critical in order that they may continue to be able to provide information services and resources to the academic communities within which those librarians will practice their profession. In addition, it is important to meet emerging educational needs in terms of various multiculturalism and diversity issues that are arising today as well as a thorough understanding of research theory and practice. Implicit in these examinations is a need to review the way library school faculty will be teaching, using newer technologies including Web-delivery of courses, and how faculty should exhibit the skills needed in order to be able to deliver courses using the new technology-centered methods. Finally, this chapter will emphasize the importance of continuing education for future academic librarians and current professionals.

scholarly journals Publication Patterns of U.S. Academic Librarians from 1993 to 1997

1999 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 352-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann C. Weller ◽  
Julie M. Hurd ◽  
Stephen E. Wiberley
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Research I Universities ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Benchmark Data ◽  
Publication Patterns ◽  
Academic Librarian

This study examined the contribution to the peer-reviewed literature of library and information science by practicing academic librarians in the United States. Data on authors were obtained from articles published from 1993 to 1997 in thirty-two journals. Of 3,624 peer-reviewed articles in these journals, 1,579 (43.6%) were authored by at least one practicing academic librarian. These librarians represented 386 institutions of higher education. This study provides benchmark data for publication productivity of academic librarians and identifies a core list of peer-reviewed journals for them. Approximately six percent of these librarians wrote three or more articles in the five-year period. In nineteen journals one-third or more of the articles were authored by academic librarians. Libraries from Research I universities that were members of the Association for Research Libraries were the most productive. The contribution of practicing academic librarians to the literature of their field is significant.

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