CiteULike: sherrivokey's library [12 articles]

Delivering the News with Blogs: The Georgia State University Library Experience

Teri Vogel — 2005-03-31T17:57:06-00:00

Internet Reference Services Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 1. (March 2005), pp. 5-27.

To deliver information about library news, services and resources to the science faculty and students at Georgia State University, several librarians developed a blog, Science News . Despite the increasing popularity of blogs (or Weblogs), few libraries have taken advantage of what they offer. Blogs can be updated easily, frequently and continuously, making them an appealing alternative to static newsletters. This article summarizes the librarians' rationale for moving to this dynamic format, how the technology was balanced with the needs of the librarians and patrons, and the issues and challenges that are being addressed to ensure that this will be a viable and successful news-delivery system. Some preliminary user statistics have also been gathered and analyzed, offering encouragement that patrons are reading it. The experience with Science News is already serving as the model for the additional subject-specific blogs that have been developed to meet the informational needs of other patron groups.

To Chat or Not to Chat — Taking Yet Another Look at Virtual Reference, Part 2

Steve Coffman — 2005-03-30T23:55:10-00:00

Searcher, Vol. 12, No. 8. (2004)

Unfortunately, chat reference has not turned out to be the panacea many of us hoped for. Studies by Joe Janes and others show that the numbers of questions asked on chat reference services are, generally speaking, abysmally low. Janes' Census of Digital Reference finds chat services get a median of just six questions per day and evidence gathered from a broad spectrum of other libraries shows similarly low levels of usage — even among services that have been up and running for several years. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, with a few services reporting thousands of questions per month. However, most of these reports come from collaborative services made up of many libraries and, on closer inspection, most of the individual libraries making up the collaboratives show the same low levels of use seen in other virtual reference services.

To Chat Or Not to Chat — Taking Another Look at Virtual Reference, Part 1

Steve Coffman — 2005-03-30T23:52:44-00:00

Searcher, Vol. 12, No. 7. (2004)

At this point, we are about 4 years into the virtual reference "phenomenon" — also described as a "movement," an "explosion," and sometimes even a "fad." Thousands of articles have appeared on the subject. (Pity poor Bernie Sloan who tries to keep track of all of them at http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/digiref.html and http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/bernie.htm.) Most articles have focused on the day-to-day workings of chat reference — comparing the features of various software packages, dissecting the virtual reference interview, studying how librarians preformed online, evaluating training needs, assessing patron satisfaction, analyzing interesting items found in the transcripts, and examining nearly every nook and cranny of the virtual reference process. Literally dozens and dozens of case studies describe how libraries have done it "good" or done it "bad." Until recently, seeing the "big picture" would have been difficult or even impossible. We just didn't have enough data. But all the articles and reports and tales of individual experience have added up. Now we can see the big picture emerging, while still recognizing that there are lots of missing pieces, things we don't know, and things we could misinterpre t because we don't have all the facts. But we have enough data now at least to open a discussion about where we've been and what we've accomplished over the past few years.

Measuring the Completeness of Reference Transactions in Online Chats

David Ward — 2005-03-30T23:42:38-00:00

Reference and User Services Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 1. (2004), pp. 46-58.

This article reports on the results of an unobtrusive study used to measure whether online chat reference can effectively answer short, subject-based research questions. The study develops measures for analyzing how completely these questions are answered and uses them in combination with other factors in determining the overall effectiveness of the service examined. A methodology for developing these new measures is explained and the results are studied in relation to other traditional methods of reference evaluation.

Meeting the needs of remote library users

Lesley Moyo — 2005-03-30T23:36:18-00:00

Library Management, Vol. 24, No. 6/7. (2003), pp. 281-290.

Many higher education institutions now offer virtual delivery of academic programs via the Internet and the World Wide Web, and cater to the needs of growing numbers of distance education students. Before an academic library can adequately address the needs, preferences, and expectations of its remote patrons, however, it needs to understand the peculiarities and challenges of serving patrons at a distance. Penn State University's World Campus (a virtual campus) is one of the leading distance education institutions in the USA, and its libraries are among those actively engaged in ascertaining the needs of remote library users and developing services and resources to meet these needs. A portrait of library resources and services available to World Campus students is presented, and results of a survey conducted to assess Penn State World Campus students' perceptions, expectations and use of Web-based library resources are reported. A key finding is that students are pleased with the quality and availability of library services, but not fully partaking of the vast array of services and collections.

A case study using gap analysis to assess distance learning versus traditional course delivery

Duncan Labay — 2005-03-30T22:26:24-00:00

The International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 17, No. 7. (2003), pp. 312-317.

In this pilot study, the authors analyzed student-faculty course evaluations at their university using gap analysis as derived from the SERVQUAL (service quality) model. Utilizing matched sections of an undergraduate management course, data were collected from students at the beginning of a semester in a traditional course setting and in a distance learning course. At the end of the semester, data were again collected from these same students. The purpose was to assess the differences between student expectations going into these courses at the beginning of the term and their final perceptions of these courses at the conclusion of the semester. The authors found that "gaps" do exist on various dimensions between expectations and perceptions in both distance learning and traditional course delivery. An ongoing longitudinal study, using the pilot study methodology, will provide conclusive findings.

Library usage patterns in the electronic information environment

Brinley Franklin — 2005-03-30T22:17:23-00:00

Information Research, Vol. 9, No. 4. (July 2004)

This paper examines the methodology and results from Web-based surveys of more than 15,000 networked electronic services users in the United States between July 1998 and June 2003 at four academic health sciences libraries and two large main campus libraries serving a variety of disciplines. A statistically valid methodology for administering simultaneous Web-based and print-based surveys using the random moments sampling technique is discussed and implemented. Results from the Web-based surveys showed that at the four academic health sciences libraries, there were approximately four remote networked electronic services users for each in-house user. This ratio was even higher for faculty, staff, and research fellows at the academic health sciences libraries, where more than five remote users for each in-house user were recorded. At the two main libraries, there were approximately 1.3 remote users for each in-house user of electronic information. Sponsored research (grant funded research) accounted for approximately 32% of the networked electronic services activity at the health sciences libraries and 16% at the main campus libraries. Sponsored researchers at the health sciences libraries appeared to use networked electronic services most intensively from on-campus, but not from in the library. The purpose of use for networked electronic resources by patrons within the library is different from the purpose of use of those resources by patrons using the resources remotely. The implications of these results on how librarians reach decisions about networked electronic resources and services are discussed.

Assessing Student Needs in Web-Based Distance Education

Pamela Dupin-Bryant — 2005-03-30T22:11:29-00:00

International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, Vol. 2, No. 1. (January 2005)

Over the past decade, distance education programs have developed at an extraordinary rate. Web-based distance education has emerged in higher education as a means for providing a variety of educational opportunities to a diverse community of individuals. As the number of participants continues to increase, so to does the importance of providing effective instruction that focuses on the needs of learners. Successful distance education is believed to revolve around a learner-centered system of instruction designed to meet the needs of individual learners. The first step in developing a learner-centered system of web-based instruction is to determine the needs of students. Assessing student needs provides instructors with information necessary to select appropriate technology and instructional strategies to develop an online learning environment that is appropriate, responsive, and beneficial for both the learners and the instructor. The goal of this paper is to provide direction for evaluating student needs in web-based distance education courses by identifying necessary assessment areas and outlining a process for assessing student needs.

Design and evaulation of a task-based digital library for the academic community

GG Chowdhury — 2005-03-30T22:04:41-00:00

Journal of Documentation, Vol. 60, No. 4. (2004), pp. 449-475.

The paper discusses the design, development and evaluation of a task-based digital library, the Digital Work Environment (DWE), for the academic community of higher education institutions (HEI) with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as a test case. Three different information organisation approaches (alphabetical, subject category and task-based) were used to organise the wide range of heterogeneous information resources that were interfaced to DWE. A user evaluation study using a series of task scenarios was carried out to gauge the effectiveness and usefulness of DWE and these information organisation approaches. The time taken by respondents to identify and access the relevant information resources for individual tasks was also measured. The findings show that the task-based approach took the least time in identifying information resources. Regression analysis of information resource location time with gender, age, computer experience and digital resource experience of the participants are also reported.

Distance education librarians in the U.S. Arl libraries and library services provided to their distance users

Z Ye — 2005-03-29T16:09:34-00:00

The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 31, No. 2. (March 2005), pp. 92-97.

This paper examines the extent to which U.S. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) are providing services to their distance education library patrons, it reveals whether each U.S. ARL library has a designated librarian in charge of services to distance education students, and it presents the perceived challenges faced by distance education librarians.

Reaching Out to the Remote User

Janet Balas — 2005-01-20T00:29:54-00:00

Computers in Libraries, Vol. 24, No. 9. (October 2004), 36.

This article provides information about RSS for and its use in reaching library users in remote areas. For those not familiar with the term, the best place to start is with a definition. Webopedia defines RSS as an acronym for either RDF Site Summary or Rich Site Summary, and states it is an XML format for distributing syndicated content such as news or events listings. Wikipedia, on the other hand, defines it as an acronym for Really Simple Syndication, an XML family of communication standards. There are libraries that are using RSS to deliver content, and perhaps the best way to learn about some of the possible applications is to see how these pioneering libraries are using RSS feeds. Current uses of RSS feeds, as compiled by librarian Gerry McKiernan, include announcements, cataloging, databases, instruction, Internet resources guides, new books, new journal issues, new media, news, reference services, table of contents. Making the library readily accessible from outside its walls is not just a way to provide additional convenience. Now the library can provide services to users who are both near and far. Utilizing RSS feeds may be one way to extend service to remote patrons, and librarians should consider whether this technology has a place in their array of services.

Library Research Success: Designing an Online Tutorial to Teach Information Literacy Skills to First-Year Students

Kelly Donaldson — 2005-02-27T17:53:44-00:00

The Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 2, No. 4. ( 2000), pp. 237-251.

This article reports on a collaborative effort recently undertaken between librarians and faculty at Toronto's Seneca College to develop and implement an online, interactive tutorial for first-year business students enrolled in the College's School of Business Management. The concept for this tutorial arose when library management was approached by the Acting Chair from the College's School of Business Management to partner with them in developing a library tutorial that would be incorporated into the curriculum of this newly created course, and that would accommodate its over 600 first-year students. Library management agreed, and proposed developing a self-paced online, interactive tutorial that would utilize current Web-based technology. The primary pedagogical goals were to increase student knowledge of library resources in general, and business resources in particular, and to increase levels of information literacy and basic research skills. With the help of the College's Centre for New Technology and the Centre for Professional Development, the result was a five-module tutorial entitled Library Research Success that, in addition to its main content, also incorporated hands-on exercises at the end of each module, live connections to the Library's Web site and electronic databases, as well as two assignments, which were submitted electronically to professors at the end of the tutorial by each student, and which composed 25 percent of their final mark. Feedback from both faculty and students has been overwhelmingly positive, and efforts are currently underway to adapt this tutorial to meet the needs of other student groups within Seneca College.