Academic Business Library Research Articles

The leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students

While literature on undergraduate student reading behavior is prevalent, there has been limited research on subject-specific leisure reading. Additionally, this type of research is often underrepresented in Library and Information Science (LIS) literature, despite its relevance. The authors of this study recognize the value of popular business reading titles. As such, the authors were interested in exploring the perspectives of students studying business to understand current attitudes toward popular reading. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students and how this information can inform aspects of business librarianship. The authors surveyed business students enrolled in a required pre-major business course at Pennsylvania State University. The results reveal that a substantial proportion of business students enjoy leisure reading, often choosing books that align with their academic pursuits and personal interests. However, they frequently forgo reading due to the time constraints imposed by their studies. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on subject-specific leisure reading and seeks to determine whether popular business titles have a meaningful place in academic business libraries. Recommendations are provided on how to integrate such texts into librarianship and how to further investigate popular business titles and leisure reading among academic students.

Q1 and Then Some: Onboarding New Academic Business Librarians

Q1 and Then Some: Onboarding New Academic Business Librarians

Advice, Tips, and Encouragement for Academic Business Librarians

Advice, Tips, and Encouragement for Academic Business Librarians

Trends in Academic Business Libraries 2021-2022: Highlights from Annual Reports of the Academic Business Library Directors Group

Trends in Academic Business Libraries 2021-2022: Highlights from Annual Reports of the Academic Business Library Directors Group

An Exploration of Business Librarian Participation in Knowledge Synthesis Reviews

Systematic reviews and other forms of knowledge synthesis are increasingly common in the social sciences, including in business and management research. We surveyed academic business librarians to determine the extent of their involvement, in any capacity, in knowledge syntheses. Of 71 eligible responses, 30 percent were involved in supporting knowledge synthesis, while others expressed an awareness of and interest in knowledge synthesis methods and have participated in training opportunities to support these types of projects in the future. While still nascent, knowledge synthesis support by business librarians presents potential as a new service area providing opportunities for deep engagement with faculty research.

The Secret Lives of Pets: Trends from the 2020-2021 Year in Review Reports of the Academic Business Library Directors

A summary of Year in Review reports of members of the Academic Business Library Directors group (ABLD). Themes include new and ongoing initiatives in libraries, library collections, organizational change in libraries and member business schools and changes in library spaces.

Where Classic Meets Modern: Trends from Academic Business Library Directors' Year in Review Reports, 2019-2020

Where Classic Meets Modern: Trends from Academic Business Library Directors' Year in Review Reports, 2019-2020

Legal resources in an academic business library

Etude comparative par une bibliotheque universitaire americaine, du cout de l'information juridique sur produit papier et sous forme electronique (base donnee en ligne ou CD-ROM)

The Big Picture: Trends from the Academic Business Library Directors’ Year in Review Reports 2018-2019

The Big Picture: Trends from the Academic Business Library Directors’ Year in Review Reports 2018-2019

Buying the Haystack: New Roles for Academic Business Libraries

Academic libraries have long been responsible for purchasing and licensing web-based databases, making them available to all students and faculty at their universities. Now, a growing number of faculty seeking unique data for their research are requesting stand-alone, locally hosted data sets that are useful to only a few researchers. These data sets are often unavailable on WRDS, cannot be licensed for the whole campus, and may require the intervention of a librarian to make them accessible for research. Playing a role in providing one-off data sets to individuals or small groups of faculty offers opportunities for academic business libraries to create new value for their users, but the role also comes with challenges

The Data Swamp: Trends from the Academic Business Library Directors' Year in Review Report 2017-2018

The Data Swamp: Trends from the Academic Business Library Directors' Year in Review Report 2017-2018

Academic Business Library Directors Annual Meeting

Conference Report for Academic Business Library Directors 2015 Annual Meeting at the O wen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee), from April 21 to 23, 2015. This meeting was attended by 40 business libraries directors from across North America. The theme of the conference was Entrepreneurship and Innovation and how the member libraries met the needs of our respective campuses.

Building BRYT: A Case Study in Developing an Online Toolkit to Promote Business Information Literacy in Higher Education

This paper highlights the design and development process that two academic business librarians employed to create an online toolkit of eLearning supports for business students. After receiving funding from their institution’s internal teaching innovation fund, they hired and worked with two eLearning design companies to produce the toolkit. The toolkit includes videos and PDF resources that show students how to retrieve specialized resources for key business research tasks. The librarians undertook this project to increase the online business information literacy offerings at their university and better support their institution’s diverse commuter, distance, and part-time student population. To develop a student-centered toolkit, the librarians used a curriculum mapping exercise, online surveying, focus groups, usability tests, and a student review group. They also adapted the ADDIE instructional design model and consulted adult learning theory to develop a series of micro-learning supports that were relevant and useful for undergraduate and graduate business students.

Venturing forth: Venture capital and private equity information in academic business libraries

ABSTRACTDue to limited disclosure requirements, obtaining private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) information presents challenges to academic researchers. However, the universe of commercially available resources that focus on private equity and venture capital has increased substantially over the past decade. This article examines recent academic business literature to evaluate whether resources from newer providers in this subject area (CB Insights, PitchBook, Preqin, PrivCo) are gaining traction among academic researchers. It also matches the resources that researchers are citing to library holdings in an effort to measure library support for PE/VC research. The results indicate that data from traditional providers (Dow Jones, S&P Capital IQ, Thomson Reuters) continues to be heavily used and that libraries are providing moderate support for PE/VC research.

Q/A on teaching credit classes for entrepreneurship research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the question and answer (Q/A) to provide an opportunity for two seasoned academic business librarians to share their experiences with courses in entrepreneurship in their universities. Design/methodology/approach – Question and answer. Findings – The evolving business school curricular landscape, and especially an increase in courses in entrepreneurship, presents unique opportunities for engagement, visibility and centrality for academic business librarians. Originality/value – Entrepreneurship is increasingly valued in today’s world. To be successful, entrepreneurs must successfully deal with and navigate a highly complex information landscape. Academic business librarians are positioned to help student, faculty and future entrepreneurs alike learn the skills to successfully traverse this landscape.

Academic libraries as community resource partners for entrepreneurs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide examples and best practices of an academic library’s strategy of collaborating with community agencies in assisting community entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper reflects on the evolution of a new service role for an academic library in providing outreach to community entrepreneurs and is limited to the best practices and lessons learned of one academic library. Findings – This conceptual paper reflects on an academic library’s outreach strategy for assisting community entrepreneurs; collaboration with community agencies is featured as a best practice with examples and lessons learned. Originality/value – A recent national study of academic business librarians’ outreach to entrepreneurs has established collaboration with community agencies as an effective service strategy. This conceptual paper reflects on the use of this strategy in a specific academic library’s outreach efforts to community entrepreneurs.

Academic business librarians' assistance to community entrepreneurs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to examine on a national scale how academic business librarians are working with community organizations and other libraries to assist local entrepreneurs with their information needs. Design/methodology/approach – A multi method approach was used to gather information. In spring 2012, a survey and follow-up interviews were conducted with academic business librarians. Additionally, business consultants who have worked with librarians were interviewed. Findings – The survey had 53 respondents. Of those, 40 percent indicated that they collaborate to assist entrepreneurs. Five interviewees confirmed the findings of the survey and discussed their collaborative arrangements. The consultants discussed best practices in working with entrepreneurs. Research limitations/implications – This research studied academic business librarians and reached those who monitor the buslib-l and brass-l listservs. Not all librarians have the time or take the time to respond to a survey. Additionally, this research only explored collaborations to assist local entrepreneurs and did not specifically focus on campus entrepreneurs and outreach to business schools. Practical implications – This study provides information on academic business librarians' efforts to assist community entrepreneurs. It also provides some information on lessons learned. Originality/value – A national study of academic business librarians' outreach to entrepreneurs has not been conducted in the past.

Mapping User’s Activities and Space Preferences in the Academic Business Library

Examines patrons’ use of spaces in a small academic library using observation and GIS technology. A questionnaire was used to assess patrons’ perceptions of space use. Results of the study can guide the design of library spaces and help researchers and librarians better understand patrons’ needs in these settings.Cette communication examine l’utilisation de l’espace-usager d’une petite bibliothèque universitaire par l’observation et la technologie SIRS. Un questionnaire a été utilisé pour évaluer la perception des usagers de l’aménagement des lieux. Les résultats de cette étude peuvent guider la conception de l’aménagement des bibliothèques et aider les chercheurs et les bibliothécaires à mieux comprendre les besoins des usagers dans ces lieux.

The Blended Business Librarian: Technology Skills in Academic Business Librarian Job Advertisements

The purpose of this study was to identify technological trends in academic business librarianship. Forty-five job advertisements were collected over a 5-year period spanning from 2007 to 2012. Ten technology skill categories were identified, and the frequency at which the skills appeared in the job advertisements was measured. This article also includes a discussion about the impact of technology on business librarianship and recommendations for academic business librarians and employers.

Business Information Literacy: A Synthesis for Best Practices

The purpose of this literature review is to identify preferred instructional practices and generally accepted conceptual models for business information literacy as reported by evidence-based studies. This study examined articles from 1980 to 2009 that met criteria for evidence-based research studies of business information literacy in academic libraries. It synthesizes the research in terms of six components: study objectives; subject characteristics; theory, standard, model, or significant author cited; instruction method and assessment instruments used; results or outcomes of the study; and recommendations for future research expressed by the authors. This literature review compiles best practices for information literacy researched by academic business librarians and offers suggestions for future research that would move the discipline forward in meaningful ways.