Different Types Of Libraries Research Articles

American Libraries, 1730–1950

The newest and final book to be released in the Visual Sourcebook series celebrates beautiful libraries and their designs from 1730 to 1950. The Visual Sourcebook series, published in conjunction with the Library of Congress, serves as an entry point to Library of Congress visual collections, focusing on the images rather than on an argument or narrative. Kenneth Breisch holds a PhD in art history from the University of Michigan and has numerous publications on the history of American library design. With over 450 images highlighted in the sourcebook, Breisch uses introductory remarks to each section and captions on many of the images to provide further information and context. He focuses on the architectural design and functionality of the library building and the changing needs of library spaces.Introductory material provides a broad overview of the history and evolution of libraries and the ways in which libraries have captivated the minds and imaginations of both authors and architects. Breisch argues that the fundamental requirements of a library have remained stable over time: ample shelving for storage of books; quiet, comfortable places for patrons to read; stations for the distribution of books and information; and spaces for administrative activities. Breisch centers his discussion of libraries and the chosen images around these four functions and the architectural style of the buildings.The vast collection of images held at the Library of Congress allows Breisch to create a comprehensive timeline of library structures and design from the earliest freestanding personal library built in 1745 through more recently designed structures. The images are organized into different sections, including early collections, public libraries—both large and small—private libraries, and academic libraries. Breisch also includes a section on democratization where he discusses bookmobiles and makeshift libraries in military, migrant, and refugee camps. An entire chapter is devoted to the design and creation of the Library of Congress buildings, mostly focusing on the renowned Jefferson Building.In choosing what to discuss and which images to include, Breisch often focuses on important firsts—such as the first freestanding academic library or the first fireproof library—and shifts in design styles, the profession, and the function of the library. Shifts in design were often a product of need, due to growing collections, changes in policies, and even the input of librarians themselves. Book hall libraries, such as the Peabody Library featured on the dust jacket, consisted of large, two-story open rooms with shelving on either side of the space. Library planning literature of the 1850s advocated for book hall storage, which was beautiful and impressive.Librarians will be gratified to read Breisch's discussion of the ways in which librarians became critics of library planning, pushing for designs that were more practical. Architects began discussing their designs with librarians and Breisch gives credit to both the architects and librarians involved in the projects. Many librarians claimed that book halls were an inefficient use of space, caused damage to books due to overheating certain areas of the stacks, and proved inconvenient for staff to pull books. The idea that the building should serve a use rather than create an impressive public space changed the ways in which libraries were designed. In 1847 Williams College made the first attempt to incorporate modern library planning theory into the design of the library, with a librarian and an architect working together in the planning. This collaboration created the panoptic design, in which a centralized desk space allowed a librarian to monitor most spaces within the library building.American Libraries has a wider focus than many other books on this subject, which focus on only one type of library, such as David Kaser's The Evolution of the Academic Library Building or Books and Blueprints: Building America's Public Libraries by Donald Oehlerts. This allows Breisch to integrate different types of libraries and provide a wider overview of the history of libraries as a whole, but necessitates less depth in his coverage of the different areas. Therefore, this book is a great entry point into library history.With the focus of the book on the images in the Library of Congress collection, the narrative becomes disjointed at times and sometimes repeats and loops back around to earlier points. However, there is a surprising amount of information provided in the captions of images. By paying attention to these, and through the essays that introduce each section, one can learn a great deal about the history of libraries in the United States, especially in terms of design, practice, and function.This book will appeal to a wide audience, including architects, bibliophiles, librarians, and collectors. The emphasis on images makes it a great coffee-table book to be picked up and leafed through leisurely, while the information presented—though not in a traditional format—makes it an educational read.

Formation of Secondary Specialized Library Education in Ukraine in the 1920s — 1950s

The article analyses characteristic features of the formation of system of secondary specialized library institutions in Ukraine in the 1920s — 1950s, as well as various professional courses and secondary technical schools that trained library specialists. The purpose of this article is to reveal the distinctive features, the main factors and stages of formation and development of secondary specialized library education in the Ukrainian SSR in the 1920s — 1950s, to characterize the varieties, features of creation and development of technical schools, which trained library specialists of mid-level management, especially library technical schools. The author used both general scientific research methods (description, comparison, analogy, deduction, induction, analysis, etc.) and historical (historical-comparative, historical-typological, historical-diachronic, chronological) methods. The author proves that in the second half of the 1930s, the country developed the system of secondary specialized library education, consisting both of training courses, retraining of specialists and also of a number of special educational institutions — various types of technical schools and other institutions where librarians were trained. In particular, there was formed the network of special library technical schools. Based on the analysis of historical, socio-political, cultural and other social factors, the author proposes periodization of formation and development of secondary special educational institutions, which trained library workers. Training of specialists in library technical schools and other secondary institutions became the basis for the formation of human resource of librarians of mid-level qualification for the different types of libraries (mainly for mass). The results and conclusions of this work can serve as a source material for further research on the history of secondary special library education; the material can be used in the special course lectures on the history of library education.

Educação para a competência em informação e as ações realizadas por bibliotecários

O objetivo da pesquisa foi verificar as ações que os bibliotecários desenvolvem para a formação de habilidades para a competência em informação dos usuários, bem como quais são as suas necessidades em relação a essas ações. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo, descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa, tendo como participantes sete bibliotecárias de diferentes tipos de bibliotecas. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um grupo de foco para identificar suas experiências, ações e necessidades para as práticas educativas voltadas à competência em informação. Para análise dos dados, apoiou-se na técnica de análise de conteúdo. Entre os resultados foi possível perceber que os bibliotecários têm realizado diversas atividades para a formação de seus usuários que podem contribuir para a competência em informação. Conclui-se, no entanto, que ainda é necessário estreitar os laços entre os campos de atuação e instituições de ensino, de forma a atender os bibliotecários quanto às suas necessidades relativas à educação para competência em informação. Da mesma forma, evidencia-se a relevância de tornar a competência em informação integrada ao processo de formação dos bibliotecários, abordando-a como um conteúdo transversal presente em diferentes disciplinas, tendo em vista a formação de profissionais preparados para buscar e utilizar informações de forma mais crítica, ética e reflexiva.

Provision of target-specific library services for the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries

This paper examines the Role of Libraries in the Provision of Target-Specific Library Services for the Full Delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. The narrative textual case study (NTCS) method was adopted for the study. The paper highlighted on the place of libraries in the actualization of SDGs Agenda. The target-specific library services to be provided by libraries and exact actions that libraries should take in line with the 2030 agenda for realization of sustainable development goals in developing countries were extensively tabulated for ease of understanding. The position of the paper is that libraries are key actors in the attainment of the SDGs and that the different types of libraries irrespective of nomenclature have a place in the 2030 agenda. The paper concludes that SDGs can be actualized if libraries are repositioned to provide target specific information services through partnership with other institutions and agencies. Keywords: Libraries, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Target-Specific Library Services, Developing Countries

The virtual library tours

The virtual tours make the new type of library information products borrowed from the tourist and museum practice. The author examines theoretical aspects of designing a virtual tour: Its essential components, tour types, technologies to be used. Qualitative features which allow to expect their rapid growth and implementation in many spheres, in particular, in libraries, are revealed. Library virtual tours are specified and characterized based on the study of different types of libraries. For this purpose, the www-sites of 236 libraries were reviewed. Significant divergence in interpreting the term of “virtual tour” in the museum and library spheres is revealed. The most popular technologies of designing such tours are described. The key objects of the library virtual tours are discussed, i. e. library’s history and current situation, individual divisions, or the most valuable units (old manuscripts, rare collections, etc.).

Tweeting into the void?: creating a UK library Twitter list and analyzing best practice – successes and myths

Despite the vast amount of research into social media use by libraries, no research has been made into its use by smaller UK libraries. Although many statements have been made regarding the time- and cost-saving nature of social media, there is a lack of comparative research about its usefulness in different types of library. To address these points, this study gathered statistics from 1,425 library accounts on the social media tool Twitter. Five smaller libraries were selected for a more in-depth metric analysis and interview regarding their accounts and their measuring of return on investment (ROI). The study found that while many libraries are using Twitter, academic libraries were the first to sign up en masse. Despite clear best practice criteria, many accounts are not utilizing Twitter to its fullest capacity. The two greatest influencing factors on followers were found to be the amount of time since the account’s registration and the type of library. When interviewed, the smaller libraries in this study were shown to be following best practice criteria, but were working outside these parameters to create unique initiatives. However, the five interviewed libraries have not been recording any metrics, data or examples of successful tweets on social media, making it difficult to measure ROI. Furthermore, the libraries interviewed have been reaching followers who are not library users. This alters libraries’ social media strategies and is something that should be part of the discussion surrounding library use of social media.

Enhancing the customer relationship management in public libraries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibilities of implementing the customer relationship management (CRM) concept and smart technologies in public libraries in developing countries. The goal was to explore the level of librarians’ awareness about CRM concept and their willingness to accept the CRM concept in libraries. Also, patrons’ satisfaction with the quality of services and relationships in public libraries is explored. Design/methodology/approach The authors obtained data for this research through two online surveys. The first survey measures librarians’ level of awareness about CRM concept and their perception about CRM and smart technologies concept in public libraries in three developing countries: Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second survey measures patrons’ satisfaction with services and relationship in public libraries in these three countries. Findings The research results revealed that most surveyed librarians are familiar with the CRM concept. However, libraries in these three developing countries barely use CRM or smart technologies to improve the relationship with stakeholders. Also, most patrons are satisfied with relationships and services. The analysis of data indicates no significant difference in the satisfaction level among patrons between these three developing countries. Research limitations/implications Not all libraries participated in this research. Therefore, the sample is not distributed evenly across different types of libraries or user groups. Future research should include different types of libraries. Practical implications The results can be used by public libraries in developing countries to improve the relationship with stakeholders harnessing CRM concept and smart technologies. Social implications The use of CRM in combination with the smart technologies can help leverage the quality of the relationship between public libraries and stakeholders which in turn would secure their support and loyalty in the future. Originality/value The integration of CRM concept as a component of library business automation process is an idea that has not been discussed widely in the library community and could initiate a positive trend in public libraries in developing countries.

Academic Libraries and Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Do We Know?

This paper examines the rising rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children in the United States (1 in 59), and explores the role academic libraries can play in helping college students with ASD. A literature review of how different types of libraries (school, public, academic) support students with ASD indicates research in this area in general is lacking. Findings point to lack of adequate training and awareness for librarians and staff, resources, services and spaces are universal challenges. Several initiatives that academic libraries and librarians may consider in helping students with ASD are identified and described.

Importance of Practical Courses for a Professional Degree: A Case of Library & Information Science (LIS)

The purpose of this study is to seek the opinion of Pakistani library professionals employed in different types of libraries and organizations about importance of practical courses, theory courses and practical-cum-theory courses they had studied for the fulfillment of their professional degree. It is a survey research based on a structured questionnaire. The survey reveals that the library schools of Pakistan design and develop their courses of their own accord to fulfill the local needs but they also follow the curriculum designed by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). While designing curricula, the international standard and uniformity is taken into consideration and the core courses to be taught in the first year of Masters program remain more or less same in all library schools. The theory and practical courses are also the part of curricula and imparting practical education is given due consideration. The professionals identified some courses in which more practical factor should be included so that the graduates should not face problems after joining the professional field. Keywords: LIS education; Practical Courses; Theory-Practical Ratio; Curriculum; Pakistan; Curriculum Development DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-8-20 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Social Functions of Public Library in the Studies of Domestic Library Scientists

The article is devoted to one of the most debatable topics of library science — the problem of social functions of library. Domestic researchers in the area of library science repeatedly addressed the question on the mission of library and considered its role in the society. The author notes that the term “social function” occupies an important place in the conceptual apparatus of library science; however, the generally accepted classification of social functions has not been developed to date. The author traces the history of formation of the ideas about the social functions of library. The article examines the main theoretical approaches and directions of research of social functions related to their classification, definition of functions of different types of libraries, search for the essential (generic) function, etc. The author emphasizes that, in the course of evolution of library science, the ideas of library scientists on the composition and content of social functions of library had been changing, and the choice of particular function as the dominant one depended on the specific historical conditions. The article notes that in the modern library science there is a tendency to expand the vision of social functions of library. The author believes that this trend will continue in the future, and this is a naturally determined process. To the traditional functions of library — information, cultural, educational — added the function of social protection. The most striking model of the modern public library, implementing this function, embodied in the concept of “third place”, according to which the library positions itself as part of the urban space, a comfortable area for self-development, informal communication and social adaptation. For people with special needs (disabled, unemployed, homeless) library often becomes a “lifeline”, giving the opportunity to find their place in society. The expansion of the range of activities of libraries through the development of additional social functions does not detract from the importance of library-information services as a leading area of work. How justified are the attempts of libraries to “fit” into the life of modern society, to attract attention, to become necessary, can be judged only in the course of time.

Open-book management in libraries: A case study of Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The study aims at defining the requirements of applying open-book management and showing the stages and steps to apply this new management methodology in different types of libraries. The researcher selected Bibliotheca Alexandrina as a great culture minaret to measure the degree of practicing open-book management from the point of view of its employees in order to identify the constraints that limit the full application of open-book management in the library.

One hundred tweets from library land: A case study of RMIT University Library (academic library) and State Library of Victoria (public state library) in Australia

Twitter is used by different library types to communicate and engage with their community. This case study focuses on content choices in tweets and the level of engagement generated, in the context of two different types of library. The current study attempts to examine the contents of Library Twitter account of two libraries (academic and public) with the aim of evaluating in a comparative mode, their themes and levels of user engagement. This research used a mixed method research approach. For quantitative approach, this study analyzed 100 Tweets from each library, i.e. RMIT University Library and State Library of Victoria. Also, the study analyzed a number of tweets and levels of engagement by recording numbers of likes, replies and retweets. The qualitative aspect analyzed each Tweet to determine engagement level and type of content shared by each library. The results demonstrate that the public and academic libraries publish different types of content. The varied nature, audience and mandate of each library appear to influence the focus of their tweets. Also, the results show that the level of engagement is a factor of the numbers of tweets in any theme. The limitation of this study is the data set contained only 100 tweets for each library. Moreover, the number of users and registered library accounts had probably increased since the study was conducted.

Libraries of Islam: Religious Traditions of Spreading Science

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Profiling information needs and behaviour of Syrian refugees displaced to Egypt

Profiling information needs and behaviour of Syrian refugees displaced to Egypt

Use of Public Library Services by the Distance Learners of Bangalore University

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>The present paper investigates the distance students’ use of public libraries for their academic purposes and converse the public library as a alternate for instructive or University libraries. The current research study is based on a comprehensive survey of distance education students from Bangalore University. The data collection was carried out by personally distributing the questionnaire to the randomly selected students and the sample consists of students from both undergraduate and post graduate. It is found from the study that 1309 (90.60 %) distance learners who used public libraries during contact classes and 786 (54.4 %) of the respondents spent 0-1 h in the library</span><span>. </span><span>Majority of the distance learners i.e. 941 (65.10 %) responded effective for book borrowing services from the public libraries in seeking information, 1220 (84.40 %) opined effective for reference services. It is observed from the study that distance students have a tendency to look at libraries as a complete and do </span><span>not make apparent difference between different types of libraries, expecting the entire system to be flawless. The paper lifts the significant executive inquiry and apprehension in relation to both the operation of public </span><span>libraries and the service level given to diverse section of learning students. It is strongly recommended that library instruction programme should be organized by the public libraries for distance learners that create the responsiveness and use of library and information services effectively. </span></p></div></div></div>

Podcasting PA Libraries: The PALS Podcasting Project

In 2016, a Pennsylvania Library Association Leadership Academy group, with the guidance of their mentors, was assigned to develop a podcast program featuring outstanding Pennsylvania librarians. The group of geographically dispersed librarians, representing different types of libraries, worked together to overcome their limited knowledge of podcasting. In the first few months after receiving the assignment, the team developed a method for identifying interviewees, employed freely available technology to record, edit, and host the podcast, and promoted the final podcast product, PaLAunchPod on February 1, 2017. With 6 full episodes (including a two-part episode) completed, the original podcast team entrusted its work to a new group of Leadership Academy program librarians.

Smart libraries for smart cities: a historic opportunity for quality public libraries in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study globally successful public library systems with reference to their infrastructure, physical space, services, collection, processes, finances and best practices and recommend models, structure and minimum standards for smart public libraries of the upcoming 100 smart cities of India.Design/methodology/approachAn email with 14 questions was sent to 50 public library system across the world. A sample of n = 18 responses were received.FindingsThe finding suggests that all the libraries have a central library and a good network of branch libraries across respective cities with adequate staff and collection to cater to the needs of the public. The size of the central library varied from 8,000 m2 (Cologne Public Library) – 86,000 m2 (Boston public library) and average size of the branch library varied from 200 m2 (Aarhaus) – 1,582 m2 (Barcelona). Monthly average users varied from 96,000 (Moscow) – 1.5 million (Toronto).Social implicationsThe Indian public library system remains uneven throughout the country with varying levels of legislation, financing and quality of library services. Even a room with few books is considered as a library. The results of this study will help develop a quality public library system of global standard and ensure that libraries are transformed into knowledge hubs.Originality/valueThis study is a unique exploration in which different types of libraries are defined in terms of physical space, service, staff, collection based on a global model which ensures uniform growth and development of public library systems in upcoming smart cities of India.

Perceptions of Scholarly Communication Among Library and Information Studies Students

INTRODUCTION Professional discourse concerning scholarly communication (SC) suggests a broad consensus that this is a burgeoning functional area in academic libraries. The transformed research lifecycle and the corresponding changes in copyright applications, publishing models, and open access policies have generated unprecedented opportunities for innovative library engagement with the academy and its researchers. Accordingly, the roles for librarians have shifted to accommodate new responsibilities. Previous research on SC librarianship is mainly focused on the provision of services, administrative structures, and the analysis of relevant job descriptions. Little has been written regarding the implications of SC on the preparation of new library professionals, and no research has been produced on the relative perspectives of library students. METHOD The author surveyed MLIS students who were completing semester-long courses on SC at three universities to elicit their perceptions of that subject matter in terms of their library education and career pathways. RESULTS All respondents qualified SC as interesting and important subject matter, and a majority indicated relevance to their professional pursuits. Student perspectives are given on the viability of SC librarianship and the perceived bearing of this specialty area in different types of libraries. DISCUSSION Survey data suggests a possible correlation between SC courses and relative career appeal. The data may warrant attention among MLIS curriculum planners, given the academy’s recognition of the need for SC specialists. CONCLUSION The transformed research lifecycle necessitates new professional competencies for library practitioners. Implications for library education are discussed, and areas for future research are proposed.

Literature Review on the Use of Licenses in Library Context, and the Limitations This Creates to Access to Knowledge

The dual purpose of this literature review is, first, to identify and summarise limitations that result from the use of copyright licenses in a library context, and, second, to illustrate these limitations with specific examples available in both the academic and grey literature. The licenses discussed in the reviewed literature deal essentially with access to, and use of, digital content. The scope of this literature review includes literature that concerns limitations in the context of the licensing of textual material (journals and e-books) by both academic and public libraries. The discussion draws a clear distinction between limitations faced by different types of libraries. As Machovec notes in relation to the licensing of e-books, there are substantial differences in the way this type of content is licensed to academic libraries on the one hand, and public libraries on the other, including different vendors/distributors and different business models.

Comparative analysis of library marketing studies in Korea and other countries from 2000 to 2013

The purpose of this study is to review and understand the trends and characteristics of Korean library marketing studies based on a comparison of Korean scholars’ viewpoints on library marketing with those of scholars’ from other countries. To achieve its purpose, this study adopts a qualitative content analysis methodology. The data collected for analysis were library and information science literature focusing on library marketing. This study adopts a four-stage qualitative analytical process: segmenting, initial coding, in-depth coding, and development of themes. Through the comparison of themes in library marketing studies from Korea and other countries, five common themes were found: (a) library environment, (b) user-centeredness, (c) library marketing strategies, (d) user satisfaction, and (e) customer relationship management. The biggest difference between library marketing studies from Korea and those from other countries, is that a range of Korean studies focus on comparatively short-term quantitative results of library marketing activities, while studies from other countries focus on the long-term qualitative results. Furthermore, Korean library marketing studies lack attention to the planning process of library marketing activities. In addition, Korean library marketing studies are interested in the establishment of libraries’ social value through marketing activities. Though the library marketing studies are dealing with different types of libraries and subjects, themes of the studies were very similar.