There has been little empirical research into the involvement of subject librarians in university Learning Management Systems (LMS). This study examined how library-specific tools in a university-wide LMS are used, by who and for what purposes, in order to assess their effectiveness and to draw conclusions about how to encourage wider adoption and usage. Few demographic differences were found between users and non-users. Overall, survey respondents showed high levels of positive perceptions of librarians, but exhibited low awareness of the library tools and little understanding of their use. This suggests that potential for greater usage of the LMS library tools exists, with the main challenge being lack of awareness and inadequate training.
The academic librarian in the period since 1876 has consistently promoted greater access to informational materials. Several periods represent an approximate emphasis in chronological sequence; these are: (1) accumulation of materials, (2) organization of resources, (3) personal assistance to readers, (4) organization patterns, and (5) physical facilities. (Author/PF)
Many factors influence library organization. Among the most important are the nature and purpose of the institution, size, growth rate, space, and cost. (Author)
Presents a description for the period 1933-1973 of directors of U.S. academic libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries, comparing earlier and present directors in terms of academic preparation, age, sex, and destination upon leaving a directorship. (Author)
Traces the development of academic librarianship from 1939 to the present. Specific areas discussed include the revolution in higher education, library collections, library budgets, organizational patterns, library buildings, staff, and services. The impact of technology on higher education and academic libraries is discussed and possible future trends are explored. (45 references) (CLB)
This comparison of characteristics of directors of Association of Research Libraries' member libraries in 1966 and 1981 indicates that, in both years, directors were predominantly middle-aged male graduates of liberal arts programs. Significant differences were observed in directors' regions of origin, library education, additional graduate degrees, and career patterns. (EJS)
This 93-item annotated bibliography concerning collection evaluation in academic libraries focuses on: (1) case studies of evaluation projects, (2) newly proposed techniques, (3) attempts to define adequacy in a collection, and (4) overviews of the evaluation process, all published from 1969 to the present. (Author/EJS)
Modern physical facilities and an enthusiastic library faculty that provide dedicated service to students and faculty are the picture of community college libraries in the mid-1970's. (Author/AP)
The article discusses some of the problems of introducing machine-readable data bases into the library service environment. Authors describe diverse approaches used in making tapes of the 1970 Census of Population and Housing available to users through the library. (JB)
By means of content analysis, this study examines 2,500 employment advertisements for academic librarian positions in 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, and 1994 to investigate patterns and trends in the demand for computer-related skills for academic librarians over a period of two decades. The study identifies basic computer-related qualifications required for different types of positions, and tracks changes in the demand for these qualifications over time. It also tests the relationship among size of library, type of position, and degree of demand for computer-related skills. Using a quantitative approach, the study measures the changes brought by computer applications in terms of what qualifies an individual to be an academic librarian.
This article examines the job content of the field of preservation librarianship as evidenced in job advertisements culled from five major publications from 1975 through 1987. The authors consider factors such as qualifications, duties, reporting line, and salary-all of which show that preservation librarians function in a largely administrative role, possess the M.L.S. in many, but not all cases, and are being paid below the average salary for functional and subject specialists and department heads. The findings also show a considerable variation in the perception of the functions of preservation administrators.
In recent years pay equity has become an important employment issue in librarianship, as in other service fields where women predominate. Analysis of Association of Research Libraries Annual Salary Survey data from 1976/77 to 1983/84 reveals that a majority of women university librarians are still clustered at lower levels of status and pay. However, the percentage of women among all administrators has risen from 27.6 percent to 45 percent, and the proportion of all women who are in middle management now approaches one-third. With a 1983/84 sex salary differential of 13 percent, progress towards equity is nevertheless very slow.
A project was undertaken to examine the extent of shared interests and cooperative endeavors between library schools and their host academic libraries and to determine the state of relations between the two units on academic campuses. The role of librarians in library/information science education, the involvement of library school faculty in the libraries, and the extent and effectiveness of various channels of communication between them were investigated. Data were collected by interviewing administrative personnel in five metropolitan New York-area institutions and by sending questionnaires to deans and directors of fifty-five institutions throughout the United States and Canada that had ALA-accredited library schools.
The status of librarians has changed over the past several years and continues to change. The authors have created a composite profile of the current academic librarian based on a survey of the library literature of the 1980s. Specific topics considered were faculty versus academic status, criteria used for evaluation, tenure, support for research, sabbaticals and released time, pressure for publishing, and productivity in publishing. Librarians' attitudes toward faculty status at the present time were considered, as were some questions about the future.
Provides an overview of the personnel status of academic librarians in the institutions surveyed, including types of final appointments accorded, ranks assigned, benefits and privileges, criteria used to evaluate performances, and any plans to effect significant changes in librarian personnel status. References and responses by individual institutions are appended. (EJS)
This study determines the current length of service among library directors at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and non-ARL libraries and compares findings with similar investigations completed in early 1970s. Responses on gender, ethnic background, position titles, internal promotion, professional experience, degrees, and retirement and resignation are presented. (14 references) (EJS)
Explores the implications of changes to be expected within foreseeable future (1985-95) in environment, mission, functions, and operations of academic libraries for librarians and librarianship. Context of academic librarianship, governance, faculty status, the library's information economy, marketing information to end user, and possible futures are highlighted. Thirty-nine references are cited. (EJS)
There have been several iterations of college library standards and guidelines since the 1920s. The 1986 College Library Standards, written by an Association of College and Research Libraries' committee, were to address developing concerns in academic libraries. These concerns include collections and staff formulae, budget, audiovisual collections and services, networking, and cooperative associations. This article provides a comparison between the 1975 and 1986 editions of the College Library Standards and summarizes the changes made. It also analyzes the results of a survey of 215 academic libraries. The purpose of the survey was to determine the use and effectiveness of the standards. The results show that the standards are widely used, and that there is keen interest in the application and further development of the standards. Specific recommendations for changes are made.
By overseeing the computer technology serving library staff and patrons, the systems librarian holds a critical role within the academic library. This study surveys previous research about the systems librarian through analysis of position announcements, position titles, responsibilities, degree requirements, required skills, reporting lines, and salaries. The study concludes that systems responsibilities change constantly, that a systems librarian should have good interpersonal skills, and that the lack of an MLS requirement in more than one-third of the examined position announcements should be of concern to academic librarians.
If research libraries are to have desirable futures, they will have to create them. Strategic planning can assist library administrators in assessing their environments, identifying alternative futures, and creating change in their organizations. It can also serve as a vehicle to empower library staff and to increase the library's external visibility. Two recently appointed research library directors of ARL libraries discuss the importance of strategic planning and offer several examples of ways to engage library staff, university faculty, administrators, and students in the planning process. The expected outcomes of such a group process will be library plans which are relevant to the institution, which relate decisions to resources and opportunities, and which increase visibility for the library on campus and in the community.
Reference service exists to maximize access to data contained in library material. Yet reference librarians have not achieved this goal in several areas of reference work. While an expert system has possibilities, formidable research and development obstacles exist. In the form of a tutorial, this paper posits an explicit research agenda: (1) to define the fact base and articulate the heuristics necessary to build the requisite knowledge base, (2) to select the appropriate programming language or shell, (3) to design an effective user interface, and (4) to develop an expert system capable of operating in a real-time, reference environment. This paper also specifically addresses system testing, describes what has been done, evaluates the existing systems, and identifies work in progress. Finally, this paper raises seven critical questions which must be answered along the way.
Earlier versions of the paper are available as, "A Strategy for Academic Libraries in the First Quarter of the 21st Century" at: http://hdl.handle.net/1805/953 and as, "A Model for Academic Libraries 2005 to 2025" at: http://hdl.handle.net/1805/665 The wide application of digital technologies to scholarly communications has disrupted the model of academic library service that has been in place for the past century. Given the new Internet tools and the explosive growth of digital content available on the Web, it is now not entirely clear what an academic library should be. This article is an attempt to provide a strategy for academic libraries in what is left of the first quarter of the 21st century. There are five components of the model: 1) complete the migration from print to electronic collections; 2) retire legacy print collections; 3) redevelop library space; 4) reposition library and information tools, resources, and expertise; and 5) migrate the focus of collections from purchasing materials to curating content. Each of the components of the strategy and their interactions will be considered. It is hoped that the result will provide a useful roadmap for academic libraries and the campuses they serve.
This article describes a research project that included a designed experiment and statistical analysis to sample and estimate the proportion of records in the 754 volumes of the National Union Catalog Pre-56 Imprints (Mansell) that also appear in OCLC WorldCat. The authors randomly selected a sample of records from Mansell and then searched the records in OCLC WorldCat. The results show that 72.2 percent of the records in Mansell were found in WorldCat and 27.8 percent of the sampled Mansell records were not (95% confidence interval [26%, 30%]). Because a significant proportion of works held by libraries is not found in OCLC WorldCat, Mansell remains a valuable library resource.
In this article three questions are asked: (1) whether faculty status for librarians automatically leads to greater participation in management; (2) whether the academic department is the best model for librarians; and (3) whether lack of skill in introducing participation may not lead to disillusionment. (29 references) (Author)
Reprint of a 1964 article by David Kaser which presented mathematical formulas for estimating the collection sizes (in volumes) required to ensure minimum adequacy of academic library collections at institutions with widely different characteristics. Current article presents new formulas and illustrates their application at specific institutions. Topics for further research are also suggested. (37 references) (Author/CLB)
Describes the development of the American university and uses the political economics paradigm to describe the relationship between the academic library and its parent university. The discussion covers the anarchic nature of the university and the implications for the academic library. (35 notes with references) (CLB)
A survey of preservation activities in large academic libraries revealed widespread problems of deterioration of library materials. Some countermeasures are described. (Author/PF)
Reviews popular culture studies, research, and curricula in higher education, and explores how libraries are responding to needs of popular culture specialists. Profiles of library collections (Bowling Green State University, Michigan State University, San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, University of Minnesota, Library of Congress) are presented. (36 references) (EJS)
Librarians can now perform functions justifying full academic status by providing crucially needed bibliographic and information services. Obstacles of bureaucratic orientation and lack of quality library education must be overcome. (JS)
This article evokes the dimensions of the academic job crisis and the resulting opportunity for library recruitment, but calls attention to the changes of permitting the librarians' job market to be overrun by subject specialist candidates who may not have a genuine commitment to library service. (4 references) (Author/SJ)
Findings of survey examining career progression of academic library administrators suggest that two career progression patterns have existed in academic librarianship: the first required acquisition of professional credentials and geographic relocations (typical of males); the second consisted of internal promotions in one institution (typical of females). Six references are cited. (EJS)
The legal and structural arrangements for public-academic library cooperation are examined. Rhode Island's program illustrates the problems involved as well as the importance of the role of the state library agency in successfully establishing cooperative programs. (Author)
Discusses the organization of academic libraries and considers the question of centralization versus branch or departmental libraries. Issues that are raised include cost, administrative difficulties, interdisciplinary access, user expectations and demands, the role of faculty, and prospects for the future in light of technological developments. (22 references) (LRW)
Academic libraries are becoming increasingly involved in scholarly communication through work with institutional repositories and other open access models. While academic librarians are being encouraged to promote these new models, their opinions about open access have not been documented. This article reports on the results of a national survey conducted in the summer of 2006 of academic librarians’ attitudes toward open access principles and related behaviors. While attitude responses were largely positive, there were differences in levels of support related to respondents’ job descriptions and funding of open access activities. Surveyed librarians appear to be more comfortable with tasks that translate traditionally held responsibilities, such as educating others, to the open access environment. Most significant is the discrepancy between stated support of library involvement in open access initiatives and significantly lacking action toward this end. The results offer insight into how open access proponents may better focus their advocacy efforts. IS PREPRINT OF: Palmer, Kristi L., Emily Dill, and Charlene Christie. "Where There's a Will There's a Way," in College & Research Libraries. 70(4): 315‐330. Indiana University Librarian's Association
Despite their potential as strategic management tools, user surveys are rarely used to identify needed services. Such in-house research often either fails to provide data relevant to prospective planning or is neglected altogether. Problems with user studies can include difficulties in the design of proper studies, difficulties in translating the results into concrete management decisions, and the distrust of survey research on the part of many librarians. However, the accelerating entry of private-sector information providers into the realm of services traditionally provided by the academic library will demand a substantial change in attitude toward user input into the planning process.
The present study seeks to ascertain the current usage and status of CD-ROM products in academic libraries. The survey asks how many products libraries own or subscribe to, how these are paid for, which titles are held, and how many workstations are supported. Libraries are also asked about usage and cost of CDs. Related areas are also investigated. Questions are asked regarding online search activity and expenditures for the years 1989-1990 and 1984-1985; statistical tests are employed to determine if there has been a significant change in these categories over the time period in question. Finally, libraries are asked if they have canceled print sources as a result of online or CD availability.
The success of academic librarians depends on their ability to escape a working pattern of routine and reaction and to master the professional role--to be aware of the library's dynamic environment, to exercise individual initiative, and to willingly engage in critical analysis and evaluation of their and their library's performance. (Author)
