Library Administration Research Articles

Factors Affecting the Motivation of Library Paraprofessional Staff Working in University Libraries of Lahore: An Appraisal

The present study aims at exploring the degree of motivation and professional involvement in the libraries of the universities based in Lahore. The study is essentially quantitative in research involving survey research method for the data collection. The population of the study was paraprofessionals working in the central libraries of thirty-three HEC (Higher Education Commission, Pakistan) recognized public and private universities in Lahore. For the sake of convenience, a selected group of five respondents was constituted from the central library of each university. The available respondents in thirty three university libraries were eighty five. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a pre- developed scale MAWS (Motivation at Work Scale) by Gagne et al. (2010). The results proved that the introjections and inner motivational factors proved the key factors of motivation. Furthermore, the results proved that the library assistants had a higher degree level of motivation than those of library clerks. The employees receiving high salary were more motivated than those who were receiving comparatively low salary. Permanent job holders were more motivated than contract-based employees. Similarly, university sector also proved a factor of motivation. The findings of the study are significant to the administration of university libraries that they should consider these factors to keep their staff motivated and committed to their organization and at their workplace.

Kuwait University Faculty Usage and Perspectives of Reference Management Software

The aim of this descriptive and quantitative study was to explore the usage of reference management systems (RMSs) among Kuwait University (KU) faculty and their perspectives towards using these systems. For this purpose, an online survey was distributed using Google Forms. The sample was all KU faculty from all the 16 colleges, and a link to the survey was sent by email to all the faculty. The results show a humble usage of RMSs among the faculty, EndNote is the most common software. The participants declared their need for both awareness of and training for the RMS packages; this need was declared by both users and non-users of RMSs. The results of this study will be beneficial for the KU library administration to be better engaged in the awareness campaign at the university level.

Usage of Library Resources and Services in Vivekananda Library of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak (Haryana): A Study

This examination explores the utilization of data assets and administrations accessible in the library by the PG students’ understudies and research researchers of Vivekananda Library of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. For the present investigation, a well-organized poll has been defined and disseminated among the PG students understudies and research researchers of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, so as to find out the recurrence of visit to the library, recurrence of utilization of printed data assets, utilization of library administrations, recurrence of utilization of electronic data assets, dimension of fulfillment towards usage of library assets and job of library in advancing the utilization of data assets. The result and recommendations of the examination would be helpful to take fitting measures to improve data assets and administrations.

Application of Ergonomics in Helwan University Libraries: An evaluation study

The study objective is to evaluate the current ergonomic situation of the design of the work station in the libraries of Helwan University. This is to determine the positives and monitoring the negatives in the current work station and to identify the effect of the current design of the Helwan libraries. As to the effect of the health and physical state of the librarians and the users at the Helwan University libraries, and study the feasibility of applying the ergonomics standard in libraries at Helwan University. The study was based on the field survey methodology to obtain detailed and accurate information on the current situation of the design of the workstation in Helwan University libraries, (sample study), through the following data collection tools are: checklist, a questionnaire for librarians, and a questionnaire for users. The most important results of the study are the lack of compatibility of the design requirements in the workstation of most of the libraries under the ergonomics standard, and the dissatisfaction of the librarians and the users of the design of the workstation in most of the studied sample libraries. The study also showed that the library administrations did not organize any of the training courses on awareness of how to avoid occupational injuries, and there is no knowledge of the librarian on ergonomics and how to follow the principles of ergonomics in action to maintain occupational health and safety. The study concluded with a number of recommendations the most important of which was the necessity of cooperation between the University Administration and the General Administration of Libraries to prepare the ergonomics program, for the development and redesign of the workstation at Helwan University libraries. The need of ergonomics is to raise the level of satisfaction of librarians and the satisfaction of users for the library services provided by the library, and make the library services more effectively. The allocation of breaks for employees to relax, and to have some exercises that help to maintain a health body and avoid occupational injuries. With the provision for a suitable area and the need to develop a specialized training courses for the libraries ergonomics programs is the correct way to perform the work without causing injuries.

From the Chair

Although I have worked in libraries since I was in high school (which was much longer ago than I care to admit), I did not become a librarian until 2007. Why I chose to wait so long before going to library school is a story for another time. But there are some advantages to working as a student employee and then as a full-time paraprofessional in a large academic library—in my case, the University of Minnesota Libraries—before going to library school. One is that over the years I have done just about everything there is to do in a library. I have shelved books, worked in circulation, answered reference questions, done collection development, worked in technical services, shifted collections, done preservation work . . . the list goes on. As first a branch manager and now as a library administrator, the depth and breadth of my work experience in libraries has been invaluable; my work as a paraprofessional in particular has had a profound impact on how I approach librarianship in general.

Boomers to Millennials: Generational Stereotypes at Work in Academic Librarianship

Over the past 30 years, as the American workforce has become more generationally diverse, library administrators and academic librarians alike have focused on navigating dynamics that arise in a multigenerational workplace. Much scholarly research has been conducted on generational differences; however, most of this research assumes that the individuals studied adhere to or believe in generational stereotypes. This exploratory study used a hybrid experience-perception survey to examine the role or influence generational stereotypes have on academic librarians and how those stereotypes influence the academic library workforce. While few specific generational stereotypes were found to be held by participants, perceptions of generational stereotypes still have a significant influence in academic librarians' interactions with their colleagues. This finding means that regardless of their validity, the impact of generational stereotypes cannot be disregarded in academic library workplaces.

Help Needed: Best Practices, Collaborative Advantage, and Library Websites

Around the world, building and managing library websites calls for solving problems. For instance, library administrators must resolve technical issues, like broken hyperlinks, as well as organizational issues, like staffing problems. To help libraries deliver services to their patrons, this essay first presents the idea of collaborative advantage as one way to think about problem-solving in library websites. Then, I describe a study of U.S. state government agencies. Finally, I present in detail five best practices for use in library website creation to foster discussion about the costs and benefits of working with third-parties.

A Survey of Provosts Indicates that Academic Libraries Should Connect Outcomes to University Goals

A Survey of Provosts Indicates that Academic Libraries Should Connect Outcomes to University Goals

The governance and management of public library services in Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the managerial and governance issues that impact on service delivery in public libraries in Nigeria. Within many countries this seems to be a challenge often resulting in an ineffective service delivery resulting in underutilisation thereof. This study was conducted among administrators and managers of public libraries in Nigeria to establish the current status quo concerning governance and management issues impacting on service delivery.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study using interviews was used to illicit data from three permanent secretaries, six public library directors, and six heads of rural community libraries, purposively selected for the study.FindingsThe findings show that variables such as relevant academic qualifications, years of experience, and designation of the administrators and managers of public libraries affect service delivery. A huge dependency on government bodies for decision making and funding was established. Impediments to good management of the libraries were found to be inadequate funding; lack of involvement of stakeholders in public library administration; and inappropriate public library legislation.Practical implicationsThe study recommends the promulgation of a public library-specific act in order to regulate the administration and management of this public unit, involve stakeholders in public library administration, as well as the provision of alternative forms of funding in order to alleviate the dependence on governmental budgets.Originality/valueWith very little research available on these issues in Nigeria, this paper will create awareness among all stakeholders of specific governance and managerial issues impacting on effective service delivery to public library users so that it can be addressed.

Análisis de esquemas de metadatos para catalogación de tesis y proyectos de investigación

Este artículo revela el análisis comparativo de los esquemas de metadatos MARC21, MODS, DUBLIN CORE y OPAC en la catalogación y publicación de tesis y proyectos de investigación en el repositorio DSpace. Inicia con la elaboración y aplicación de una encuesta a los administradores bibliotecarios de las instituciones: Universidad de Cuenca, Universidad del Azuay, Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana y la Biblioteca Municipal de la ciudad de Cuenca, con el fin de determinar el esquema de metadatos empleado en la catalogación de tesis y proyectos de investigación. Luego se realiza la instalación de una Máquina Virtual bajo el sistema operativo Ubuntu, utilizando la herramienta tasksel se instalan los requisitos previos a la instalación de DSpace, configuración del repositorio DSpace y publicación de los contenidos de tesis y proyectos de investigación dentro del repositorio. Se concluye que el metadato que predomina dentro de los repositorios DSpace es el Dublin Core y es el que mejor se adecua para la catalogación de tesis y proyectos de investigación, en las pruebas con estudiantes y profesores en los tres aspectos: técnico, de uso y funcional. El esquema de metadato Dublin Core en el repositorio DSpace es calificado como excelente, presentando un nivel medio de complejidad en el registro de documentos.
 ABSTRACT
 This article reveals the comparative analysis of metadata schemas MARC21, MODS, DUBLIN CORE and OPAC in cataloging and publication of thesis and research projects in the DSpace repository. It begins with the development and implementation of a survey to library administrators of the following institutions: University of Cuenca, Azuay University, Catholic University of Cuenca, Salesian University and the Municipal Library of the city of Cuenca, in order to determine the schema metadata used in cataloging thesis and research projects. Then a virtual Machine was installed under the Ubuntu operating system. By using the tasksel tool the prerequisites are installed previous to the installation of DSpace, DSpace repository configuration and publication of the contents of thesis and research projects within the repository. It is concluded that the metadata that prevails within the DSpace repositories is the Dublin Core and it is the one best fits for cataloging thesis and research projects, in tests with students and teachers in the three aspects: technical, use and functional. The Dublin Core metadata schema in the repository DSpace is rated as excellent, having an average level of complexity in registration documents.

How green is our valley?: five-year study of selected LIS journals from Taylor & Francis for green deposit of articles

This study reviews content from five different library and information science journals: Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, Collection Management, College & Undergraduate Libraries, Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship and Journal of Library Administration over a five-year period from 2012–2016 to investigate the green deposit rate. Starting in 2011, Taylor & Francis, the publisher of these journals, waived the green deposit embargo for library and information science, heritage and archival content, which allows for immediate deposit of articles in these fields. The review looks at research articles and standing columns over the five years from these five journals to see if any articles were retrieved using the OA Button or through institutional repositories. Results indicate that less than a quarter of writers have chosen to make a green deposit of their articles in local or subject repositories. The discussion outlines some best practices to be undertaken by librarians, editors and Taylor & Francis to make this program more successful.

The Socioeconomic Profile of Well-Funded Public Libraries: A Regression Analysis

Abstract
 Objective – This study aimed to explore the well-established link between public library funding and activity, specifically to what extent socioeconomic factors could explain the correlation.
 Methods – State-level data from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners were analyzed for 280 public libraries using two linear regression models. These public libraries were matched with socioeconomic data for their communities.
 Results – Confirming prior research, a library’s municipal funding correlated strongly with its direct circulation. In terms of library outputs, the municipal funding appeared to represent a library’s staffing and number of annual visitations. For socioeconomic factors, the strongest predictor of a library’s municipal appropriation was its “number of educated residents.” Other socioeconomic factors were far less important.
 Conclusion – Although education correlated strongly with library activity, variation within the data suggests that public libraries are idiosyncratic and that their funding is not dictated exclusively by the community’s socioeconomic profile. Library administrators and advocates can examine what libraries of similar socioeconomic profiles do to receive additional municipal funding.

Saudi students, American academic library: revisited

PurposeThis study aimed to use both quantitative and qualitative methods for assessing Saudi Arabian students’ experiences in using the library of a small American university and to compare the findings against those of a representative sample of American classmates.Design/methodology/approachThe project used a paper survey in querying 164 Saudi Arabian and 273 American students studying at Robert Morris University in 2017.FindingsThe study found that Saudi subjects were much more likely to believe that their informational needs were misunderstood by librarians than American participants in the survey.Research limitations/implicationsPoor participation in the qualitative phase limited, to some degree, the interpretation that could be carried out of the study’s quantitative results.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings strongly reveal the need for libraries and librarians to highly prioritize effective communication when providing service to international students.Originality/valueThis is only the second study to ever focus on the library experiences of Saudi Arabian students in American academic libraries, and it is the first to concentrate on the subjective aspect of understanding between librarians and international students. It is of value to library administrators, as well as librarians and library staff who interact with international students.

Application of Webometrics Techniques for Measuring and Evaluating Visibility of University Library Websites in Sri Lanka

A library website plays an enhanced role compared to its traditional physical library while providing a wide variety of library services to its users. Evaluation of library websites is a key to realize the extent of user acceptance acceptance acceptanceacceptanceacceptance acceptance of the website and to improve the overall quality of the website. Under such backdrop, this paper provides a framework for ranking university library websites in Sri Lanka based on two standard webometric methods. The proposed framework consists of quantitative web presence measuring attributes namely; size, visibility, rich files and scholars along with simple and comprehensible mathematical calculations. The library administrators can get awareness about whether their website has effectively represented itself on the internet with better performance from the ranking results. The findings of the study will guide to the librarians to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses accordingly with the performance of their library websites. In general, the effective presence of these library websites on the internet can be passed on as the top by having proper number of site pages in the website that impact their perceivability through web search tools and accordingly the quantity of received external links. Meanwhile, libraries having low rich files can publish more rich files on the web to improve their overall rank. The research approach, criteria and their relative impact provide useful information in monitoring the effectiveness of the current websites and provide strategic suggestions to develop enhanced websites.

E-readiness assessment of academic libraries: a case study in Iran

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the e-readiness status of libraries in the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in terms of four dimensions – human resources, electronical infrastructure, network services and programs and enhancers of the networked world.Design/methodology/approachThe study population consists of 11 libraries of the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, including the central library and 10 faculty libraries. The data collection instrument is a questionnaire prepared by the researchers that has been designed on the basis of the “e-readiness assessment of Iranian academic libraries model”. Depending on the respondents there are three parts to the questionnaire: questionnaire for managers, staff and information and communication technology (ICT) officials. Their reliability and validity have been proved.FindingsThe libraries of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences had an average to high status in terms of “human resources” with a score of 2.32, “electronic infrastructure” with a score of 2.48, “network services and programs” with a score of 2.09 and “networked world enhancers” with a score of 2.37 out of 4. In total, these libraries had an average to high status in terms of e-readiness, with a score of 2.29.Originality/valueThe findings of this study can help the library administrators and officials of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences to plan improvements to the situation of ICT.

Perspectives in Hiring Academic Librarians with Frequent Job Changes

ABSTRACTLibrarian candidates’ frequent job changes can affect the probability of being hired. The aim of this study is to investigate the perspectives of library administrators and other librarians who had made hiring recommendations (e.g., served in search committees) toward librarian candidates with frequent job changes; 230 participants completed the online survey. Age, gender, type of academic institution and the number of libraries that the participant had worked during their career were not predictors of bias. More than half believed frequent job changes reflected unfavorably on candidates. Findings suggested that there is no systematic bias of librarian candidates with frequent job changes.

Curry’s Study on the Quality of Public Library Reference Service to LGBTQ Youth

A Review of: Curry, A. (2005). If I ask, will they answer? Evaluating public library reference service to gay and lesbian youth. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(1), 65-75. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/journal/refuseserq
 Abstract 
 Objective - To assess the quality of service provided by reference staff in public libraries when presented with a request for LGBTQ information by a young person.
 Design - Unobtrusive observation without informed consent. Setting - Public library branches in the greater Vancouver area, British Columbia, Canada.
 Subjects - Reference librarians.
 Methods - A 19-year-old posing as a high school student approached reference desk staff at 20 public library branches. The student proxy, “Angela”, was instructed to ask for books on forming a gay-straight alliance at her school and, if there was a full reference interview, to also ask for recommendations of novels that the group might read. She recorded the reactions, both verbal and nonverbal, using Reference and User Services Association guidelines as a template. Library administrators were aware of the potential visits and permitted the research, but the reference desk staff were not aware of a potential visit by the student proxy. The researcher claimed that her method, while deceptive, was necessary to obtain authentic reactions from the library staff.
 Main Results - Most reference librarians approached by Angela made adequate attempts to assist her, although a few library staff reacted negatively to her query. Half of the librarians reacted positively to the patron’s request, with most of the others providing neutral responses. Very few of the librarians actually taught the patron how to use the library’s catalog to search for materials, and most of the librarians were unable to find appropriate materials due to not knowing the appropriate search terms. Only three library staff showed overt disapproval of the search topic, such as frowning or rushing to finish the reference interview quickly, with most remaining objective or supportive. Because of the service she received, Angela stated that eight of the 20 libraries were welcoming enough that she thought she would return.
 Conclusion - The wide range of responses received by Angela indicated that there was room for improvement in educating public library staff on gay and lesbian issues and materials, especially for gay and lesbian youth.

ANALISIS KEBUTUHAN PELATIHAN UNTUK MEMENUHI KOMPETENSI LITERASI INFORMASI PENGELOLA PERPUSTAKAAN SEKOLAH

Libraries have never escaped from the service provider or business that is often called a librarian or library administrator. For schools, the librarian must be skilled and dedicated in searching, organizing and interpreting information needed by teachers and students. Without a competent librarian, the library can not be operated properly and effectively.Development of information and communication technologies are also pushing the world into a library for technological literacy activities. One school librarian competency standard is competence in using ICT in the library and information science.Competence is defined as a measure to determine the level of librarians in using the knowledge and skills. Competency requirements are constantly changing, so librarians should keep them updated.This study is a preliminary study conducted to determine the training needs of librarians in secondary education. In general, the problems posed in this study is how the competence of the teacher librarian or school library staff? The research question is described as follows: whether the competence of the librarians have been in accordance with government regulations No. 25 of 2008? Furthermore, this study also identify particular type of training that can enhance information literacy competency?The method in this study is survey research methods. A survey research is an approach that is generally used for extensive data collection and more. Through this method are expected to answer the problem by describing the actual number of teachers and librarians that describes the instrumentation to analyze the information literacy competencies already held by the teacher librarians in managing the school library.

Library professional’s opinion about open source software adoption

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the professional opinion of LIS with reference to open source software (OSS) adoption, status, problems and future measures in research and academic libraries of Beijing, China.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a structured questionnaire, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among 20 academic and 20 research libraries in Beijing, China. The convenient sampling technique was used to collect data. The data collected were interpreted using descriptive statistics and independent t-test.FindingsThe results reveal that Chinese research and academics libraries depend mostly upon commercial software and place a great deal of trust on locally produced free software. This situation may be caused due to the lack of professional knowledge in OSS and lack of appropriate technical expertise. Although there were a sufficient number of librarians who have shown interest in OSS, they did not enthusiastically agree to implement it in their libraries. Furthermore, the interviews highlighted the professionals’ opinion that most librarians are reluctant to adopt OSS due to the risk factor, lack of professional expertise, insufficient interest of the Chinese Government and lack of professional training.Originality/valueThe findings are useful for the Chinese LIS community, software developers, technology administrators and library administrators. In particular, it is beneficial for research and academic libraries of China to adapt OSS for library management and provide better library services and sources to their library users.

Hidden Leadership in Small Special Libraries

ABSTRACT“The Specialist” addresses the administration of special libraries, however, identifying the administrator of a small special library is problematic. In these small libraries within organizations, the librarian often works alone and the library is overseen by a non-librarian manager. In these cases, it is not as easy to identify or define the library's administrator as it would be in a public or academic library, or even a larger special library. This column introduces a model where the administration of small special libraries is a collaboration between librarians and non-librarian managers. In this model, information professionals exercise hidden leadership and management skills without leading a staff or possessing a management title. The column also suggests ways information professionals without explicit management responsibilities in the workplace can develop these skills and apply them in their jobs.