British Academic Libraries Research Articles

Addled by authentication: recent changes to password systems in British academic libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the general principles behind changes in digital library authentication policy and practice in the UK from 2006 to date.Design/methodology/approachA brief review of the main features in the recent history of digital library authentication in the UK, emphasising the paradoxes underlying authentication and data protection and describing the problems faced by individual stakeholders in addressing the issues of federated access management.FindingsThat the adoption of new models of authentication involves supporting all parties involved in the national authentication project as they work through the difficult process of change management in this area, and that credible leadership of the change process is vital. Ultimately, broader issues concerning information literacy and the pervasive grasp of data protection principles in our contemporary information society are raised by the examination of this topic.Research limitations/implicationsFurther in depth examination of the practical benefits of data protection and information management legislation is desirable, especially in light of the pervasively low levels of information literate understanding of these topics, of which federated access management is merely one example.Practical implicationsThe straightforward presentation of the themes in this paper should enhance practitioner understanding of the complex topic under consideration.Originality/valueThis investigation reviews some technical areas of recent authentication developments in order to highlight the broader administrative meaning and impact of these innovations.

The Community User in the Academic Art Library

Academic art libraries are frequented by a variety of patrons other than their primary clientele. issues surrounding service to this secondary clientele have been addressed in only one article to date, Derek Toyne's 1987 The Community Role of Academic Art Libraries.1 Toyne's observations, and my own experiences at Fine Arts Library (FAL) at Michigan State University (MSU), serve as inspiration and a point of departure for this article. Although much has been said in general library litera ture about issues surrounding service to those who frequent art library in particular are due for exam ination. Toyne wrote from perspective of serving community users in British academic art libraries, but, cultural differences aside, many issues he raised may be applicable to academic art libraries today. Others, particularly those concerning technolog ical change, are new to art librarians and patrons alike. Among issues this article addresses are: definition of community users (also referred to as secondary or unaffili ated users, or simply the public; for purposes of consistency, term user will be used here); community user's needs; academic art librarian's responsibility to these individuals; service, access, and collections issues related to community users; and finally, ways of dealing with commu nity user's needs in a proactive and positive manner.

The acquisition of Arabic books by British libraries 20 years on: Progress or decline?

In 1984, a survey was undertaken to discover how many Arabic books were being acquired by British academic libraries. Four Arab national bibliographies were examined and the proportion suitable for acquisition (Category A books) determined according to the criteria found in the scholarly literature. All Category A books were checked against British library catalogues and the results tabulated. In 2004, four Arab national bibliographies were again scrutinised and the resulting Category A books checked against British catalogues and against North American holdings. More Arabic books were acquired in 2004, but these represented a lower proportion of Category A material.

Digital Map Soup: what's Cooking in British Academic Libraries and are we helping our Users?

My original intention had been to consider the roles being developed in British academic libraries to assist users in making full use of cartographic material that is available for their requirements - an almost predictable report on the blending of the old with the new and, again hopefully, coming to a slightly more positive vision of the future for the academic map library in the United Kingdom. That was before I received an e-mail from David Medyckyj-Scott, Research and Geo-Data Services Manager at the EDINA National Data Centre in Edinburgh and one of the key figures behind the implementation and development of the Digimap service to the UK Higher and Further Education sectors. Launched in 2000, Digimap delivers Ordnance Survey map data to subscribing institutions and allows staff and students to produce map extracts at set scales, to generate their own maps online or download map data to use with appropriate application software such as CAD or GIS. I do not think it is an overstatement to suggest that the advent of the Digimap service has been the most important and influential event in British academic map libraries in, at least, the last thirty years - and I say this as someone who was critically cautious of the service at the outset.

The First Domino: International Decision Making during the Hungarian Crisis of 1956 by Johanna C. s> Granville (review)

150 SEER, 83, I, 2005 Rhodes's finest asset is having an eye to a good quotation, be it Trotskii's surprisinglyaccuratepredictionin 1933 of thewar of brutalconquest thatwas to come, or a Himmler memorandum from December I941 ordering a comradely evening to rebuild the spirit of brutalized perpetrators, or the survivorof a mass Riga shooting, FridaMichelson, playing dead under a pile of shoes and hearing the apres-shooting chat of Latvian auxiliaries:"'Let's have a smoke"; "A fine performance"; "It was very efficiently organized"; "They have experience"' and, of course, '"I hope we get our cut of the booty".' If this is not a book to offermajornew insights,it is repletewith good observationsand telling aperSus. Department ofHistoy MARK ROSEMAN IndianaUniversity Granville,Johanna C. TheFirstDomino: International Decision Makingduring the HungarianCrisisof I956. Eastern European Studies, 26. Texas A&M UniversityPress,College Station,TX, 2004. xx + 323 pp. Abbreviations. Notes. Bibliography.Index. ?35.50? WHEN it comes to Hungarian history, the English reader is seldom spoilt for choice. The thirteen days of the 1956 revolution representperhaps the only period in the troubled past of the Magyars to have inspired an enduring historical interest in the Anglo-Saxon world. In many British academic libraries, musty yellowed volumes on the I956 crisis take up much of the meagre shelfspace devoted to Hungarian history.This is a poor reflectionon the country's historical prominence, yet the significance of 1956 is beyond dispute. After all, Hungarian scholarsrecently went so far as to describe the 'Magyar October' as the 'greatest challenge to the Soviet empire', one that shatteredthe myth of Moscow's total control in EasternEurope and signalled the 'failureof Soviet-stylesocialism'.The Hungarianrevolutionis also saidto have led to the ultimate, if flawed, attempt to create a more human 'feasible socialism'duringthe late Kadairyears. Such grandioseclaims aside, the 1956 revolutionwas undeniably a momentous event, in which Budapest,for once, occupied centre stage in world affairs.Yet the English historicalliteratureon this unique chapter in Hungarian history has so far made little use of key documents declassified since the early I990s. Despite the opening of the Hungarian, Soviet and otherEastEuropeanarchives,only a few editedbooks, a study on the political legacy of I956, and a document collection have been added to the voluminous English historiographydating from the Cold War. Although some of the more significantfindingshave alreadybeen published in academic journals, Johanna Granville's monograph is the first book in Englishcomprehensivelyto coverboth the domesticand foreignpolicy aspects of the 1956 revolutionusingthe newly availablearchivalmaterial. Inevitably, this work relies heavily on contemporary Hungarian and Russian secondary sources. Even so, the American author quotes extensively from a variety of primary sources, especially Russian ones. The notes of the secret emergency sessions of the Soviet Presidiumbetween 23 October and REVIEWS I51 4 November, taken by Vladimir Malin, are cited particularly frequently. Although this important set of documents contains no verbatim minutes, and the notes of the crucial proceedings on 31 October are so compressed as to be virtually inscrutable, the records effectively dispel any preconceptions about unanimous Soviet deliberations. In her original treatment of the Hungarian crisis as a case study of 'regime confusion', Granville argues convincingly that 'Homosoveticus[sic] waffled just like his Western counterpart' (p. 69). Using the Malin notes, she illustrates the flaws in Soviet information-gathering and decision-making. She also debunks the tired thesis that the Hungarians harboured unrealistic ambitions, which made a Soviet intervention inevitable. Indeed, the documents leave no doubt that Imre Nagy decided to remove Hungary from the Warsaw Pact only after the Soviet leaders opted to launch a second invasion. These new archival sources, however, provide less satisfactory answers to the question of what caused the sudden U-turn in the Soviet leadership's stance towards Hungary on 3 I October, only twenty-four hours after it had contemplated troop withdrawal and a relaxation of Moscow's control over the client states. It is also unclear how far anti-Russian outbursts and the rapid political transformation in Hungary contributed to Soviet militancy. We now have a better appreciation of the confusion and mistrust that permeated the Kremlin; the fundamental misperceptions of the Soviet leadership; and the misinformation that emanated from Andropov and his staff at the Soviet embassy. There...

Designing Interfaces for Distributed Electronic Collections: The Lessons of Traditional Librarianship

For digital libraries to fulfil their true potential, they must display features and exploit skills more readily associated with the traditional library service. To some extent this has already happened: collection management has become the process of Internet resource discovery, while document cataloguing skills have been applied to the creation of Internet resource metadata repositories. This paper argues that there are certain areas of traditional classification, knowledge management and physical library arrangement that have special applicability to electronic collection building. However, librarians have often failed to appreciate this relevance. In particular, they have not appreciated the significance of browsing in the traditional library, and have replicated this failure in their approach to electronic collection building. Concentrating on British academic libraries, this paper explores knowledge management at the level of the local library, the Metropolitan Area Network and the United Kingdom's Distributed National Electronic Resource. The principle of ownership of intellectual property is examined in terms of its relationship with interface design, and positive future trends are described.

Ahead of the game

The paper looks at issues and trends in the building of a learning organisation for the coming century. There is initial consideration of the concept of the “hybrid library”, a phrase descriptive of the current evolutionary stage as perceived by British academic libraries, and some analysis of what this implies for the future skills requirement of information workers. Mechanisms for ensuring cyclic training and development are described, principally addressing the concepts of investment in people and organisational culture; here there is an exploration of externally administered formal schemes to assess commitment, planning, action and evaluation in relation to training programmes, the effectiveness of which is judged in terms of meeting business goals; and gauge cultural awareness within an organisation. Finally, there is some consideration of the leadership role of the library and information service director, including the availability of preparatory and ongoing leadership training.

Changing roles of cataloguers in British academic libraries

How have the roles of cataloguers evolved over the past decade due to the impact of automation When cataloguers in academic libraries in England were surveyed it was found that 97 per cent work with a fully automatic online public access catalogue; all catalogue online, and share records with some bibliographic utility, of which RLIN and BLCMP are the most popular. Professional staff size had decreased at 50 per cent of the institutions with means of 4.5 professionals and 4.8 support staff members. The average percentage of professional cataloguers per library was about 53 per cent. Roles that were greatly expanded included cataloguing of digital documents and Internet resources, authority control, and database management. Of the respondents, 65 per cent are now involved in e‐mail discussion groups where ten years ago none were. Administrative functions have also increased as 50 per cent of the cataloguers are now heads of bibliographic access departments.

The continuing prominence of CD‐ROMs in academic libraries: the findings and evaluation of a survey

The introduction of the CD‐ROM medium into British academic library services was well received by both librarians and their clientele. Expenditure on this resource continues to grow and about half the databases obtained in this medium are now available through campus networks. The advantages of alternative forms of delivery — particularly those utilizing wide‐area networking — may, however, offer a challenge to this mode of delivery.

The stakeholder approach to the construction of performance measures

Reports on the British Library, Research and Innovation Centre (BLRIC) supported stakeholder project, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University Library, to apply the stakeholder method to the design of a set of user chosen performance measures to assist British academic libraries in improving customer service. Reports results of a questionnaire survey, involving 15 institutions and 10 stake holding groups, consisting of 91 performance measures organized in four categories: assistance from library staff; provision of study space and equipment; access to materials and equipment; and management and administration. Identifies similarities and differences between groups and describes their principal characteristics. Compares pre- and post-1992 universities and suggests questionnaires for user surveys which would yield qualitative information on library services. Compares this research with similar work carried out in New Zealand, with recent reports on academic library evaluation and with Leeds Metropolitan University Library’s service level agreement. The project ran from July 1995 to November 1996. (These results were also reported in British Library, Research and Innovation Report No. 36, 1996).

The Stakeholder Approach to the Construction of Performance Measures

Reports on the British Library, Research and Innovation Centre (BLRIC) supported stakeholder project, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University Library, to apply the stakeholder method to the design of a set of user chosen performance measures to assist British academic libraries in improving customer service. Reports results of a questionnaire survey, involving 15 institutions and 10 stake holding groups, consisting of 91 performance measures organized in four categories: assistance from library staff; provision of study space and equipment; access to materials and equipment; and management and administration. Identifies similarities and differences between groups and describes their principal characteristics. Compares pre- and post-1992 universities and suggests questionnaires for user surveys which would yield qualitative information on library services. Compares this research with similar work carried out in New Zealand, with recent reports on academic library evaluation and with Leeds Metropolitan U...

Moving with the times: E-journals in british academic libraries introduction

Moving with the times: E-journals in british academic libraries introduction

Moving with the times: E-journals in british academic libraries introduction

Moving with the times: E-journals in british academic libraries introduction

Management information systems in some academic libraries in Britain

This paper examines the potential and actual use of computer generated information in decision making by academic library managers. It begins by discussing some of the contemporary issues in British higher education which are compelling library managers towards establishing a more formal planning process and towards making more systematic use of information in their decision making, especially in resources allocation and service evaluation. It considers the general features of Management Information Systems, particularly automated systems, and reviews the general development of automated library systems in British academic libraries. It then examines the current state of development of Management Information Systems in some British academic libraries. To illustrate developments, a survey of eight academic libraries in England and Scotland was undertaken in late 1991. The results of the survey showed that automated Management Information Systems are not widely available to library managers. Only two of the eight libraries made much use of their library automation systems for management information. Problems to be overcome include the crude form of data provided by existing automated library systems, a lack of agreement on what data is required for management purposes, and a lack of expertise on the part of library staff in interpreting data. The cost of establishing Management Information Systems and the absence of Management Information systems in the parent institutions had also inhibited their widespread adoption by academic libraries. However, it appears that the introduction of Management Information systems poses no threats to library staff, because most libraries already have a 'flat' management structure. The preferred option of most of the librarians is to await the future development of the more advanced Decision Support Systems, but the implementation of such systems may encounter similar obstacles.

The acquisition of maps in digital form in an academic library

AbstractThis paper describes, from a map librarian's perspective, an investigation into the feasibility of the provision of digital mapping for use by students in a British academic library. Establishing the funding has been a significant part of the project. This has included consideration of hardware as well as the pricing structures for the supply of digital cartographic data.

大学図書館における主題専門図書館員と主題専門教育

This paper reviews the subject specialists in academic libraries and subject specialty programs. The issue of the subject specialists in academic libraries has been discussed with the issue of the types of library organization such as subject divisionalism in American academic libraries and subject specialization in British academic libraries. Based on their historical background, the author clarifies the expected role of the subject specialists in recent years through the change of academic libraries and their environment.After then, subject specialty programs are discussed, namely, the education for the subject specialists. Based on their historical background, the author reports the recent subject specialty programs, focuses on one of them; the joint-degree program, and clarifies its possibility as the subject specialty programs.Finally, the subject specialists and the subject specialty programs in the recent information society and the recent trend of the education for library and information science are evaluated, and their futures are examined.

DISTANT LIBRARIES: THE SUPPORT OF HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS WHO STUDY OFF‐CAMPUS

Many higher education students now study off‐campus and may rarely if ever visit their university′s main site and facilities. In Britain, up to 50,000 students are believed to be following “franchised” courses, usually based on a further education college. Yet British academic libraries have developed few services to support such modes of study. In other parts of the world, however, off‐campus library services have been given a higher priority. Describes the conclusions of a study tour to Canada and the USA, undertaken with funding from the first MCB University Press Library Link Research and Travel Bursary. Concludes with recommendations for the development of appropriate services in Britain.

Expenditure in British Public and Academic Libraries on Online Services

Future historians, using the documentary evidence remaining, might well be excused for believing that online searching was a major activity in libraries and information services in the 1970s and 80s. The publication of several professional journals and the proceedings of regular, well‐attended conferences entirely devoted to the topic would suggest such a conclusion. In reality, the growth of online use in the publicly‐funded sector has been small, as can be judged by the relatively low levels of expenditure involved. For public libraries it has been estimated that spending on online services has been of the order of 0.1% of the total budgets. The average online expenditure of British universities has been about what it costs to employ one member of secretarial staff each.

Variable loan policy at University of Lancaster Library

Research at the University of Lancaster in 1967–69 led to the introduction of a variable loan policy which differentiates between those books in heavy and those in less frequent demand. At Lancaster these are designated popular or ‘pop’ loan and long loan. The actual periods of loan are seven days (or the whole of a vacation) for popular loan and a term for long loan. There is, in addition, the short loan collection from which books are lent for very much shorter periods. This situation, though pioneered at Lancaster, is now commonly used in many British academic libraries.

Some recent developments in British academic libraries and their implications for the geographer

Abstract Rising costs of staffing, materials and accommodation have had serious implications for the quantity of stock and quality of service available in university and polytechnic libraries since the early 1970s. Fortunately, various technological developments have worked to counter this deterioration. Increased automation and cooperation between libraries have increased efficiency in acquisitions, cataloguing, loans and inter‐library loans systems. More libraries are offering on‐line information retrieval services. Attitudes have also changed and librarians are keener to promote library use by means of instruction, publications and publicity. Despite these developments some problems remain unchanged.