Library E-resources Research Articles

Reports of Conferences, Institutes, and Seminars

This quarter's column features reports from the Mississippi State University Libraries eResource & Emerging Technologies Summit (MSU LEETS), held August 3–4, 2012, in Starkville, MS; a National Information Standards Organization (NISO) webinar on “Discovery & Delivery: Innovations & Challenges,” presented September 26, 2012; and the Great Lakes E-Summit, held October 11–12, 2012, in Dayton, OH. Discussions on e-resources are the order of the day for these three reports.

Mississippi State University Libraries eResource & Emerging Technologies Summit (August 3–4, 2012, Starkville, MS)

Mississippi State University Libraries eResource & Emerging Technologies Summit (August 3–4, 2012, Starkville, MS)

Asking the Right Questions: An E-Resource Checklist for Documenting Cataloging Decisions for Batch Cataloging Projects

During the past several years at Kent State University Libraries, there has been a shift in responsibility for handling and processing batch cataloging projects from the systems department to the technical services department. This shift was driven by the increasing number of e-resource packages being acquired by the library, many with available MARC records. Cataloging staff began to take on primary responsibility for managing these batch cataloging projects. In order to develop effective workflows and maintain adequate documentation, Kent State developed an e-Book checklist tool. The checklist serves as a best-practices guide. It records information on both the routine and unique aspects of each individual batch cataloging project. Data obtained from the use of the checklist not only helps organize departmental workflow, it also provides information on issues such as training, MARC record quality, and vendor customer service. By asking the “right questions,” the checklist has proven to be an effective management tool. The checklist has helped make library e-resources more discoverable in both the library's local Innovative Interfaces Inc. catalog (KentLINK), and the consortial catalog (OhioLINK).

Tele-education for teaching of evidence-based medicine and burn care in the occupied Palestinian territory: a pilot study

Background The continued Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), has detrimental effects on health care. Palestinian health-care workers have few opportunities for continuous professional development outside the oPt. e-learning and video-conferencing are seen as being key solutions to address the barriers in health care and education in the Gaza Strip. We report the results of a 2 year postgraduate programme in which teleconferencing and e-learning were combined for medical and nursing practitioners working in burn care in the Gaza Strip. The aims in the programme were to improve clinical services, research, and continued education in burn care. We also present a health-care-worker-focused assessment of the programme after the completion of the first academic year. Methods 11 students (seven doctors and four nurses) working in burn care in the Gaza Strip were enrolled on the postgraduate programme for a diploma in burn care at Queen Mary University of London, London, UK, for the academic year 2010–11. The students' academic needs were identified through an initial teleconferencing interview and assessment of a self-rated questionnaire. Weekly educational meetings about clinical knowledge, research methods, critical analysis of medical literature, and principles of evidence-based medicine according to the BestBETs guidelines of Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK, were scheduled between January and October, 2011. Learning was achieved with a combination of videoconferences with Skype (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg) and web-based e-learning modules with Blackboard Learning System (version 8.0). At the end of the first year, a second self-rated survey was sent to the students and completed anonymously to assess the process and progress of tele-education. All students provided both verbal and written informed consent. Findings Between January and October, 2011, a total of 36 teleseminars and 1703 e-learning sessions were delivered to the 11 students: ten instructional sessions about academic practice; four about methods of evidence-based medicine; 11 about critical appraisal of scientific literature; four about academic writing; two about presentation skills; and four about journal club. Mean session time was 80 min (SD 12). Mean time spent by a student on the e-learning platform was 17 min (6) per login session. The mean mark for the assessment of 242 assignments to students in their first year of the programme was 67·4% (5·4). The results of a survey with the 5-point Likert scale confirmed that the programme's highest educational effect was through enabling practitioners to find and critically appraise information relevant to the daily care of their patients. As a result, the outcome of practice was defined and measured; and the awareness of the importance of quality control, audit, and research in health care was increased (nine, eight, and seven students, respectively, agreed or strongly agreed). Seven students thought that the programme's educational effect has led to direct improvement in the care of patients with burns. The results also showed some of the difficulties encountered with tele-education by the students; the top five reasons were inability to participate during the days of the practical clinic of the course (eight students), tele-educational conferencing sessions not long enough or too few (six), power cuts (six), inadequate tele-education facility (five), and difficulties in accessing library e-resources (three). The assessments of the students informed future development priorities of the programme by improving the content of the multimedia library (seven students thought that the multimedia components of the programme were inadequate in the provision of examples of good practice in burn care). Interpretation Telemedicine educational programmes are effective for the measurable achievement of learning objectives, thereby ensuring continuous professional development for health-care workers and guiding the care of patients. Further development of burn-care services in the Gaza Strip through education requires improvement of tele-education facilities. Funding None.

Pattern of acquisition of e-resources in Indian academic libraries(<Special feature>The present state of information society in India)

Pattern of acquisition of e-resources in Indian academic libraries(<Special feature>The present state of information society in India)

Academic Libraries Should Consider a Strategic Approach to Promotion and Marketing of e-Books

Academic Libraries Should Consider a Strategic Approach to Promotion and Marketing of e-Books

Usability Testing for e-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose e-Resources Using Library Web Sites

ABSTRACT In early 2010, library staff at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio designed and conducted a usability study of key parts of the library web site, focusing on the web pages generated by the library's electronic resources management system (ERM) that list and describe the library's databases. The goal was to discover how users find and choose e-resources and identify ways the library could improve access to e-resources through its web site. This article outlines the usability study conducted at BGSU, presents its conclusions about how students at BGSU find and choose databases, contextualizes these findings with other current research about user behavior, and makes recommendations for increasing student use of library e-resources.

Applying the NISO Metasearch Initiative Scheme to Enhance E-Resources Management at Rutgers University Library

This article discusses problems in the management of library e-resources and attempts to identify potential solutions to the problems. By describing an e-resources enhancement project taken by Rutgers University Libraries, this article points to the importance of providing contextually rich metadata and reorganizing the accessibility of e-resources on a library's website. It introduces how this Rutgers project adopted the National Information Standards Organization Metasearch Initiative to support the identification of appropriate e-collections for metasearching. The outcomes of the project have facilitated a dynamic display of relevant e-resources to library users as an effective way of automatic access to library e-collections.

Practitioner Networks: Professional Learning in the Twenty-First Century

This article reports on a study of a networked learning approach among remote social work practitioners in a large, rural local authority. The intervention was a blended approach that combined facilitation, face-to-face meetings, online communications and access to e-library resources. The intervention was focused on discussions of case management issues for three fictional cases. A method of text analysis used in community of enquiry research was implemented to examine participant discourse. Findings indicate that practitioners developed a community of enquiry that privileged face-to-face communication. Online resources were primarily used as supplementary communication. Practitioners engaged with the community of enquiry approach and used explicit knowledge to inform discussions of case planning.

Library Standards and E-Resource Management: A Survey of Current Initiatives and Standards Efforts

ABSTRACT The article “ONIX, Z and JWP: Library Standards in a Digital World,” which appears in volume 53, number 4 of The Serials Librarian, provides a detailed look at library standards and places them in the context of the e-journal lifecycle. The talk given at “Black Cats & Broken Links: Dispelling E-resource Superstitions,” Mississippi State University's Seventh Annual E-resource Workshop, was a presentation of that article. Rather than duplicate the details of the aforementioned article, this presentation write-up provides a brief overview of the topic.

Information on the internet: evaluation of a professional development course for primary care physicians

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN IN THIS AREA• Primary care clinicians generate multiple new information needs during their working day.• The internet can potentially solve many of these needs but this potential is not widely exploited at present.WHAT THIS WORK ADDS• A course on the medical information available on the internet can encourage clinicians to use the internet and help change the manner in which they update themselves.• Improving accessibility to e-library resources should enable clinicians to make better use of the sources of medical information on the internet.SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH• Further research Into the use clinicians make of the internet would be helpful. In particular, identifying aids and barriers to increased use would help with training and providing resources for them.

Learning and teaching.

Learning and teaching.

The Relevance of Vendors' Usage Statistics in Academic Library E-Resource Management: A New Zealand Study

Vendors' usage statistics for e-resources can be a valuable tool for informing collection management decisions; accordingly, this study looked at their usefulness to New Zealand academic librarians for collection management decision-making. Data were gathered from vendors on usage statistics supplied to the University of Otago for databases and e-journals. Then librarians at academic libraries in New Zealand were surveyed to elicit how useful they found vendors' usage statistics. The study found that New Zealand academic libraries utilised vendors' usage statistics for informing collection management decisions. However, there was no significant correlation between the vendors' usage statistics currently provided and those desired by academic librarians. In contrast to previous work, this study found that the usage statistics desired by librarians at different academic libraries varied, and that customisable usage statistics would be valuable. In concurrence with previous studies it was also found that the lack of standardisation in vendors' usage statistics limited their usefulness and was a key concern for many academic librarians.