scholarly journals University Students Are Unaware of the Role of Academic Librarians

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Kirsty Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incident ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Information Commons ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
Library Staff ◽  
The University

Objective – To discover students’ perceptions of information commons staff, and to determine how these perceptions influence the use of library resources. Design – Post-experience survey with one follow-up interview. Setting – The University of Sheffield, a post-secondary institution in England. Subjects – All undergraduate and postgraduate students were invited to take part. Just over 1% of the student population, or 250 students, completed the survey. Methods – Information about the survey was sent to students’ institutional email addresses. One follow up interview was carried out via email using the critical incident technique. Main Results – Students do not understand the academic roles of librarians. They are unlikely to approach library staff for academic support, preferring to turn to instructors, other students, friends, and family. Most students had positive opinions about assistance received in the Information Commons, but a small number reflected on previous bad experiences with staff, or on a fear of being made to feel foolish. The vast majority of students who did not seek help in the Information Commons stated that this was because they did not require assistance. Most students do not perceive a difference between Information Commons staff and library staff. Conclusion – Students have positive views of Information Commons staff at the University of Sheffield, but have low awareness of the roles of professional librarians. Librarians need to develop partnerships with academic staff and strengthen their presence in both physical and online learning environments to promote their academic roles.

A Case Study of Use-Centered Descriptions

2011 ◽  
pp. 67-86
Author(s):  
Richard Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Analytic Model ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Data Standards ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Library Staff ◽  
The University

This chapter argues the case that there is a mismatch between current meta-data standards for the description of archival holdings and what many users actually want to know about a collection. Standard archival descriptions objectively describe what is in a collection, whereas users wish to know what they can do with a collection. It is argued that matching users’ research questions to library resources that could help answer those questions is a crucial social role played by librarians, archivists and other front line staff. However placing descriptions of what is in a collection online for users to search directly risks disintermediating the users from library staff. ‘Use centred descriptions’ are proposed as a way of systematically describing what can be done with a collection, and are, in effect, an encoding of library staff’s knowledge about what can be done with a collection. Its is therefore argued that use centred descriptions repair some of dissintermediation gaps caused by putting collection descriptions online. A theoretical motivation for use centred descriptions is presented by showing how Heaney’s (1999) analytic model of collections, which underlies the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP) collection description standard, only addresses finding and identifying resources. We augment this model to address selecting resources from a range of possibilities and show how use centred descriptions stem from this augmentation. A case study is presented demonstrating the experience of developing a set of use centred descriptions for the University of London as part of a project to encourage wider access to their archival holdings. The project had necessarily limited aims, and therefore conclusions are drawn about the viability of use centred descriptions in wider domains.

scholarly journals Listening and learning: myths and misperceptions about postgraduate students and library support

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiobhan Alice Smith ◽  
Antje Lubcke ◽  
Dean Alexander ◽  
Kate Thompson ◽  
Christy Ballard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Student Preferences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Seeking Help ◽  
Library Support ◽  
The University

Purpose The University of Otago Library conducted a review of its postgraduate support program in 2018. The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a questionnaire and follow up focus group undertaken as part of the review. It highlights postgraduate student preferences for learning about support services, their ideas on marketing these services effectively and the kind of engagement that works best for them. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was developed and deployed in July 2018. It contained 20 questions and was emailed to 2,430 enrolled Otago doctorate and master’s students by the University of Otago (GRS). A total of 564 responded, 391 completing all questions. A follow-up focus group was held in August 2018. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed using Qualtrics software and qualitative data were coded and analyzed using NVivo software. Findings Respondents highlighted the difficulty they have learning what support services are available to them. In some cases, they also feel a stigma when seeking help because of their status as postgraduate students. They suggest practical ways libraries can better reach out to them. The findings confirm previous literature about the need for libraries to improve marketing of their services to postgraduate students, communicate via supervisors and departments where possible and provide a variety of engagement options. Originality/value Before (re)developing postgraduate programs, libraries can gain valuable insights and test assumptions by surveying students.

scholarly journals The Ph.D.-candidate as an information literate resource

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Daland
Keyword(s):  
Reference Group ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University ◽  
Do So

One of Agder University Librarys goals is to support teaching and research at the University of Agder (UoA). To do so, the library should be involved in research projects and offer the right products at the right time. The spring of 2012 a survey was conducted among researchers (academic staff and Ph.D.-students) at the faculty of humanities and education at UoA as well as the library staff. Aditional interviews was made with the library´s research librarians and two of the Ph.D.-students. The surveys and interviews made it clear that researchers and librarians have a different conception on what research support is and should be. While librarians focus mostly on library resources, the researchers focus more generally on practical, economical and administrative help to make research possible. However, the majority answered yes to the question on the library being an important part of research support.Working closely with the researchers can help to offer the right library resources at the right time. Ph.D.-students are less likely to be set in their ways in regards to information behaviour and will often be positive to try new approaches. Also, the Ph.D.-students can be used as a reference group for developing library resources for researchers, for example subject guides. The outside perspective on the library can help to find new ways of approaching research support to make it more useful to researchers.

scholarly journals Proposing an Electronic System for Following-up and Managing the Field Training: Palestine Ahliya University as a Case: نظام إلكتروني مقترح لمتابعة وإدارة التدريب الميداني في جامعة فلسطين الأهلية: دراسة حالة

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameh Taqatqa, Ahmad Hasasneh, Jamil Itmazi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Electronic System ◽  
Training System ◽  
Field Training ◽  
Core Courses ◽  
Training Unit ◽  
Training Institutions ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

Obviously, digital technology offers simplified solutions to solve or mitigate problems in general. In the academic sector in particular, the field training is one of the core courses that students must enroll during the third and fourth academic year, where the students have manually to select a relevant organization or institution based on their specialization. The academic staff and hosting institutions do not supervise the trainees as required due to lack of communication between them, wrong selection of the hosting institutions by students in some cases, limited following-up the trainees, thus leading to uncertainty in the number of training hours and reports required by students. These problems can be addressed or mitigated by proposing an electronic training system improving the communication between supervisors of field training, host institutions, and trainees and thus solving most of the mentioned problems. Based on this e-training system, the training unit at the university could therefore follow-up the trainees and thus improve the communication and cooperation with the training institutions. It will also definitely contribute in improving the training task itself for the students. In this proposed paper, the importance of the proposed system was presented. Other related systems were mentioned and used as references in the analysis stage. In the analytical stage, data was collected using 3 different questionnaires developed for students, supervising staff, and for the training institutions. Consequently, obstacles and problems faced these entities were extracted and mentioned. Finally, a preliminary design was proposed in this paper to develop and implement an electronic training system at Palestine Ahliya University.

scholarly journals Working for a Living Wage Around the Ivory Tower

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38
Author(s):  
Andrew Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Living Wage ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Ivory Tower ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Physical Plant ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Higher Education Quality ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The University

Since the 1980s, research on employment conditions in post-secondary institutions has focused on the growth of contingent academic workers, or what the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has labelled “non-full-time instructors” (Field, Jones, Stephenson, & Khoyetsyan, 2014). Very little attention, however, has been paid to administrative, physical plant, and other operational staff employed within universities and colleges. Using data from a study of University of Regina students and employees, academic and support staff, this paper confronts the broader conditions of labour around the ivory tower. Employment at a post-secondary institution is analyzed through the lens of living wage research advanced by the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) (Ivanova & Klein, 2015). The study reframes the notion of a living wage in a post-secondary institution to include work-life balance, job security, and the realities of dignity and respect in the university workplace.  

scholarly journals An investigation of academics’ perception, uptake and use of ebooks at the University of Waikato

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alistair Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Professional Environment ◽  
Library Staff ◽  
The University

<p>Research problem The goal of this research was to determine the perception, uptake and use of ebooks by academic staff at the University of Waikato. The study discovers why, and to a certain degree how, academics are utilising, or not utilising, ebook resources available to them from the University‟s Library. The results inform library staff involved with the promotion, purchase and education of the use of ebooks. Methodology An online quantitative questionnaire survey was employed to gather the necessary data for analysis. This statistical approach enabled the survey to be delivered to a wider range of participants allowing for a broader coverage of responses. The population of this study was drawn exclusively from the employees of the University of Waikato and the particular sample chosen was confined to academics who are involved with teaching and/or research. Results The study shows that ebook awareness is strong with the academic community but generally, the full potential of ebooks has not been realised within their professional environment. There is clearly the need and desire for improvement of technologies, access and supply of ebooks. It is also apparent that there is a need for patron education by the Library to raise awareness about the ebooks they offer and the tools used to view and access them. Implications An increase An increase in support from Library staff through a variety of channels is required. Visibility and access to ebooks needs to be improved along with greater relevancy of available content. Education and instruction should serve as the primary tools to increase academic use and acceptance of ebooks. However not all these goals can be achieved by Library staff as many limitations are imposed by ebook vendors and publishers and therefore outside of the Library‟s control. Despite these limitations it is important for Library staff to assist ebook users to explore the advantageous aspects of the ebook environment.</p>

scholarly journals Transforming Catholic women's education in the sixties: Sister Catherine Wallace's feminist leadership at Mount Saint Vincent University

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 53-77
Author(s):  
Heidi Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
The North ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
The Status ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
The University ◽  
National Profile

Sister Catherine Wallace (1917-91) was president of Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), Canada’s only degree-granting women’s post-secondary institution, from 1965 to 1974. Wallace’s appointment coincided with a transformative era not only in the North American post-secondary landscape, but also in the Roman Catholic Church and the women’s movement.  Wallace was acutely aware that this combination of factors would require a transformation of MSVU itself for the institution to survive the next decade. Wallace ultimately strengthened MSVU’s identity and gave it a more outward-looking vision by embedding many of the goals of second-wave feminism, including the recommendations of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada (1970), in the University’s renewal. She also gave the university a more national profile through her work on the executive of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), including in 1973 as their first woman president.

scholarly journals A qualitative analysis of the perceived socio-cultural contexts and health concerns of sugar-sweetened beverages among adults studying or working at a post-secondary institution in Dharwad, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Riediger ◽  
Anika Dhalla ◽  
Maureen Cooper ◽  
Andrea Bombak ◽  
Hemalatha Sreeramaiah
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
Hot Weather ◽  
The University

Abstract Background We sought to explore the perceptions of the socio-cultural contexts and health concerns of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) among Indian adults working or studying at a post-secondary institution in Karnataka, India. Methods We completed a qualitative study, including 24 semi-structured interviews between 2017 and 2018 at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results One over-arching theme emerged, westernization and changing perceptions of food, sugar, and health. Participants discussed SSB and associated health concerns in the broad context of westernization and overall economic development in India. Three sub-themes regarding the health perceptions of consuming SSB were: healthy drinks are clean and natural; hydration and energy; and moderation and body weight. Hygienically-prepared beverages were a consistent concern among participants. Juices and beverages, such as tea or coffee, sweetened with jaggery were viewed positively due to their naturalness and lack of processed sugar. Participants perceived SSB as providing hydration and energy, particularly in hot weather. Lastly, if consumed in moderation, SSB were thought to have no direct adverse health consequences. Though some participants noted excessive, ‘addictive’ consumption would contribute to weight gain and diabetes. Conclusion Perceived health concerns of SSB reflect dominant health issues in India, namely, food insecurity, food safety, and increasingly, diabetes. Policymakers tend to prioritize acute challenges over long-term concerns. As such, the capacity of any policy to address chronic nutritional concerns related to SSB are likely to be muted in the absence of improvements to food safety and security.

scholarly journals Governance of the research activities in higher educational institutions: factors and outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Musawenkosi Ngibe ◽  
Lawrence Mpele Lekhanya
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

South African higher education institutions, specifically, universities of technology have been faced with an arduous battle of increasing postgraduate students enrolment (masters and doctoral) and improve their completion rate. However, the situation is exacerbated by inadequate number and inexperience of supervisors to supervise these postgraduate students. The Durban University of Technology has formulated research structures to administer and co-ordinate research activities in order to improve the number of staff members with doctoral qualifications in order to aid the current challenges. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the circumstances and factors hindering the academic staff throughput rates and the impact it has on the university. The use of qualitative and quantitative approach was used for this study, with closed and open-ended questionnaires used to collect data from 278 academic staff members using a probability sampling. The respondents 9 (4.9%) indicated that lack of external funding and project management skills proved to be major contributory factors hindering academics staff to complete their postgraduate degrees within the required time. The study recommends that funding should be made easily available to academics pursuing doctoral studies, while project management workshops should be organised regularly to help academics appropriately management their studies. This can have a positive impact which will benefit the university and aid to the current crisis of lack of supervisor for masters and doctoral studies.

scholarly journals Working for a Living Wage Around the Ivory Tower

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38
Author(s):  
Andrew Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Living Wage ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Ivory Tower ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Physical Plant ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Higher Education Quality ◽  
Post Secondary Institution ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The University

Since the 1980s, research on employment conditions in post-secondary institutions has focused on the growth of contingent academic workers, or what the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has labelled “non-full-time instructors” (Field, Jones, Stephenson, & Khoyetsyan, 2014). Very little attention, however, has been paid to administrative, physical plant, and other operational staff employed within universities and colleges. Using data from a study of University of Regina students and employees, academic and support staff, this paper confronts the broader conditions of labour around the ivory tower. Employment at a post-secondary institution is analyzed through the lens of living wage research advanced by the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) (Ivanova & Klein, 2015). The study reframes the notion of a living wage in a post-secondary institution to include work-life balance, job security, and the realities of dignity and respect in the university workplace.

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