Library Units Research Articles

How to market yourself and your library organization: a solo librarian’s guide

This article explores how information professionals and librarians, particularly those referred to as “one‐man bands”, can ensure a vibrant use of the library and information center (unit) in their organizations. The author notes that more often than not, lone information professionals and librarians believe the argument that because they have not been trained to “sell”, there is no point for them to market their units. But, as the author argues, lone librarians, and indeed all involved in the profession, should embrace marketing as an ally and use it to promote their work in a structured way both within and without the organization. A number of practical ideas are presented to ensure that information and library units justify their existence within an organization.

Getting Digitization Projects Done in a Medium-Sized Academic Library: A Collaborative Effort Between Technical Services, Systems, Special Collections, and Collection Management

ABSTRACT Cleveland State University Library, a medium-sized academic library serving approximately 15,000 students, is engaged in large-scale efforts to digitize and make accessible online collections of unique Cleveland-related materials. The Cleveland State University Library Special Collections digitization and cataloging efforts use staff from several different library organizational units. The collaboration of staff with specific expertise in long-standing library functions-special collections, cataloging, systems, archives, selection-to create two Web databases is described. The collaborative effort has proven effective in getting resources processed, archived, digitized, described, promoted, and made accessible in a highly efficient and effective manner. The responsibilities of the different library units involved in the digitization project are described.

Accessible, open and inclusive

Reports the key findings from a project, undertaken by the Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University (LISU) and funded by Resource: The Council for Museums Archives and Libraries, under the auspices of the Share the Vision Programme, to conduct an extensive survey of visually impaired people in the UK, with a view to determining their perceptions, opinions and activities regarding relevant information sources and library services that are available to them. It was hoped that the statistics and findings from the survey would provide useful input to evidence-based decision making and would be acted upon positively. A full report detailing the methodology, findings and recommendations was published in large print and on the World Wide Web http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/dils/lisu/pub-lic.html. A total of 582 interviews was obtained from a sample of people, the vast majority of whom were registered as either blind or partially sighted. The survey was carried out using a structured interview technique, either face to face with visually impaired people in clubs and drop-in centres across the UK, or by telephone. The survey focused on: levels of use; alternative formats; use of information technology; and user satisfaction. Concludes that there are opportunities for greater cooperation between the various agencies since, in 1999, less than one third of public library authorities reported having working relationships with any of the other providers considered in this study, and this picture had not changed for some years.

The library and first‐year experience courses: a nationwide study

First‐year experience (FYE) courses are excellent venues for introducing freshman students to information literacy concepts. The authors, librarians and FYE instructors at their respective institutions, conducted a nationwide survey to determine whether FYE course curricula contained a library component and, if so, to what extent. Survey results indicate that the majority of FYE programs contain some type of library unit, though results varied broadly depending on institutional factors. Details the presence of a library unit in the overall curricula of FYE courses, who is developing the library component, who is teaching it, and what is being taught. Examines current practices within FYE courses and the results can be used by librarians and FYE professionals, as well as the larger academic community, to expand understanding of the role that libraries, and librarians play in this particular type of course. It will serve as a foundation for future development of FYE course curricula and can be used as documentation for conversations promoting further integration of information literacy.

A model for budget allocation in multi-unit libraries

This article addresses the problem of allocating funds for acquisition of periodicals among several interrelated units of an academic library. The paper outlines an optimization model for the problem with an objective of maximizing the usage of periodicals over all library units subject to a single collections budget. It further gives an insight into a decision support system in MS Excel based on this model, and it illustrates its successful application to the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

What Gets Measured, Gets Managed: Statistics and Performance Indicators for Evidence Based Management

The severe financial and supply constraints currently experienced by many libraries has highlighted the need for careful and thorough evaluation of the services provided and the application of evidence based management techniques bolstered by appropriate performance indicators. Evidence is needed to support the work of refining methods, redefining existing services and developing new ones, but what is most important is the intelligent use and interpretation of suitable evidence by those who determine policy, allocate resources and manage. Every organization needs three kinds of performance metrics for measuring: its success in mobilizing its resources; its staff’s effectiveness on the job; and its progress in fulfilling its mission. The three major functions to which statistics can be put include: monitoring operational effectiveness; providing a basis for strategic planning; and demonstrating the value obtained by users. An appropriately constructed evidence base offers the potential to support managers in a range of activity. It can form the solid underpinning for: policies; strategies; tactics; processes/operations; and advocacy. The application of library statistics is discussed with particular reference to the data collected by the Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University and the use of such data for benchmarking applications. Concludes that the collection and interpretation of evidence can not only lead to significant service quality and improved management, but it can also enhance the level of professional satisfaction and involvement.

The Cost of Copyright Compliance in Further Education and Higher Education Institutions20023Sally Maynard, J. Eric Davies. The Cost of Copyright Compliance in Further Education and Higher Education Institutions. Loughborough University: Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU) 2001. iii + 30 pp., ISBN: 1‐901786‐50‐1 £20.00 (LISU Occasional Paper no. 30)

The Cost of Copyright Compliance in Further Education and Higher Education Institutions20023Sally Maynard, J. Eric Davies. <i>The Cost of Copyright Compliance in Further Education and Higher Education Institutions</i>. Loughborough University: Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU) 2001. iii + 30 pp., ISBN: 1‐901786‐50‐1 £20.00 (LISU Occasional Paper no. 30)

The knowledge workout for health

The results are reported for the Training Needs Census of NHS Library Staff, the first systematic survey of the training needs of NHS library staff. The survey was undertaken by LISU (Library and Statistics Unit) and was commissioned by the NHS Executive, together with the Regional Librarians Group (RLG). The study involved all librarians working in NHS libraries and was conducted at the end of 1999. The full text of the survey report is available at the NHS Regional Librarians Group Web site (http://www.nthames-health.tpmde.ac.uk/rlg/documents/TNA_commen-tary.doc). The UK response rate was 53 per cent (represented by 1017 replies out of an estimated potential 1902). Of the respondents, 48 per cent were in the 36-50 age group with 27 per cent over 50 years and 84 per cent were female. Most were employed by a NHS Trust (65 per cent), 17 per cent worked in a Higher Education Institution, while 40 per cent worked part time. With regard to Personal Development Plans, 73 per cent did not have a PDP at the time of the survey and 79 per cent believed they would not have a plan by April 2000. The tasks most frequently undertaken were circulation desk activities, dealing with requests for information, training library users in information skills and CD-ROM/internet/database searching. Few participants are currently involved in developing or managing web sites, intranets or know-how systems. Most respondents highlighted training needs connected to using electronic resources, with 76 per cent receiving training in internet searching but a relatively high number wanting more training in this and in related areas such as information retrieval, CD-ROM and online database searching. The survey attempted to stimulate respondents away from the tradition of ‘going on a course’ to learn by asking about preferred training methods. The most popular training style was hands-on practice (60 per cent), followed by workshop/seminar (33 per cent). The same three training methods (external local courses, work-based training and in-house off work training) were the most popular across the UK. Concludes that there are several challenges for management that emerge from this study: to stimulate the desire to be trained by developing appropriate incentives; to skill and reskill people adequately for the demands of the electronic workplace; and to nurture people’s interest in acquiring a much broader perspective of the work they do and where they do it.

Library and Information Statistics Unit Occasional Paper 26. Public Library Services for Visually Impaired People

Library and Information Statistics Unit Occasional Paper 26. Public Library Services for Visually Impaired People

Out-of-Print Digital Scanning

This article describes the in-house operational procedures developed at the Penn State University Libraries to produce facsimiles of hard-to-locate, out-of-print (OP) titles using digital scanning technologies. Since the out-of-print scan (OP/Scan) reproduction service was launched in 1995, more than a hundred titles have been added to the libraries’ circulating collections. This process, a collaborative effort by the Acquisitions Services Department, the Preservation Department, the Office of Interlibrary Loan, and the University’s Office of Copyright Clearance, has enabled the libraries to reduce the turnaround time for acquiring OP titles from years to only several months. Operational procedures developed by the four library units, including identification and selection, copyright considerations, materials preparation, scanning, and associated costs are described.

Emerging Trends in Fee-Based Information Delivery

Fee-based information services in libraries will face many challenges in continuing to offer value-added, cost-effective services to customers during the opening decade of the new millennium. Some of the challenges are similar to those faced by other library units, but others are unique. Many of these are related to the proliferation of electronic resources and to the “do-it-yourself” approach customers have toward them. Other issues that must be addressed include shifts in client expectations; the demand for new types of information services and products; unresolved intellectual property issues; evolving means of providing access, delivery, and distribution; the need to form innovative partnerships; and the increasing globalization of the customer base.

Electronic maneuvering board and dead reckoning tracer decision aid for the officer of the deck

The U.S. Navy currently bases the majority of our contact management decisions around a time and manning intensive paper-based Maneuvering Board (MOBOARD) process. The use of Maneuvering Boards is a perishable skill that has a steep learning curve. In order to overcome inherent human error, it is not uncommon to have up to four people simultaneously involved in solving just one maneuvering problem. Additional manning requirements are involved on many Naval Ships in order to accurately convey the information to the Officer of the Deck (OOD) and/or the Commanding Officer. When given situations where there exist multiple contacts, the current system is quickly overwhelmed and may not provide Commanding Officers and OODs a complete and accurate picture in a timely manner. The purpose of this research is to implement a stand-alone system that will provide timely and accurate contact information for U.S. Navy Commanding Officers, OODs, and CIC watch teams. By creating a reliable, automated system in a format that is familiar to all Surface Warfare Officers we will provide the Navy with a valuable decision-making tool, while increasing ease of data exchange and reducing current redundancies and manning inefficient practices. Our software design is diagramed using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) with the underlying purpose of implementing an Ada-based system that is neither operating system nor hardware dependent. This approach allows us to develop and implement a design for a wide range of platforms, and will ultimately result in an extremely modular and portable system. Model-View-Controller Additionally, we approached our project using the Model View Controller (MVC). This approach has allowed for flexibility in the current and future use of our core model. Not only does the model meet today's current needs, it is highly extensible and will meet emerging needs for many years to come. In order to meet all of our criterion (i.e. operating system independent and hardware independent) we have implemented our project using GtkAda libraries and a GNAT compiler. Although GNAT makes it possible to link to other languages, we have avoided the use of other languages. This approach has resulted in a robust program that compiles and runs on a wide variety of platforms. The ultimate goal of our thesis is to produce an automated navigation system for the U.S. Navy that will help the Navy to meet reduced manning requirements while increasing the accuracy and reliability of its navigation and contact management systems. The MOBOARD software takes advantage of Ada's capability to separate the system specification from its implementation. In this design, the specification is designed to represent only those features necessary for the required features. That is, designing the context clauses at the specification level, we moved them to the package body so there would be a minimum of dependency on the graphics packages and other platform-specific library units. This approach facilitates a platform-independent presentation of multiple views of the same data. Of particular interest to some Ada practitioners will be our use of the floating-point facilities of Ada 95. We have made extensive use of the floating-point attributes as well as the generic elementary functions package. This was necessary because we are doing a lot of calculations that involve global coordinates, the movement of targets relative to a reference point, navigation calculations, prediction of position, and timing. Ada has proven useful in this project because of its underlying language structure. This structure has allowed us to decompose the software architecture along: 1) A coherent conceptual view 2) A platform-independent module view 3) A maintainable code view 4) A platform-targeted execution view. Each of these views evolves naturally as we progress from the UML use cases through the class and interaction diagrams, and onward to the Ada specifications.

Performance measurement and benchmarking for schools library services

Describes an approach to benchmarking for UK schools library services based on UK national data collected annually by the Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU), Loughborough University. Outlines the wide range of provision, suggests a method by which suitable comparator services might be identified for both statistical and process benchmarking exercises and lists the four criteria emerging from the study as providing the most useful basis for benchmarking: funding and management arrangements; size of authority; range of services offered; and authority type and structure. Includes a discussion of issues relating to the setting of objective standards and concludes with suggestions for the contents of league tables.

A new outlook

Reports results of a questionnaire survey of UK public library services, undertaken at the end of 1999 by the Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU), Loughborough University, to benchmark UK practice against international good practice and the recognized standards set out in the Library Association National Guidelines. The study was conducted against the background of the statutory duty of UK public library services to provide for blind and partially sighted users under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. The full objectives of the survey were: to build on and extend the findings of the 1997 Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) Survey of public library authorities; to assess progress in UK authorities since the 1997 Survey; to assess developments in the new unitary authorities; to monitor the progress of public library services against the Library Association’s Guidelines; and to place particular emphasis upon measuring service to users and the integration of public library services with those of other agencies. Data were gathered from 141 UK public library authorities (67.79% response rate). Presents a number of recommendations, highlighting the actions required to ensure greater equity of provision and to bring UK services up to a common high standard in this area, covering: policy statements; budgetary provision; staffing; partnerships; service evaluation; materials provision; equipment; provision and access; and promotion.

Earnest of Success

Undeniably the perception of success of an information unit or library in a law firm (or any other organisation for that matter) is down to two main factors. The level of support from the organisation is one, and often that could be interpreted as attitude and/or the level of the person who is responsible for allocating budget etc (ie the library partner) and/or how influential he or she is. The second: the way in which the Library or Information Unit Manager operates, their influencing and interpersonal skills, their general management of the information function, in particular creating the perception of being good value for money and invariably providing the right (quality) information in the right quantity at the right time.

Library services for children in the UK

The Library and Information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University has carried out annual surveys of library services to schools and children for a number of years. The historical background to these surveys is described. The detail in the information collected has increased over the years, and the response rates to the surveys are high. There has been a common core of questions, and some of these are used to demonstrate trends in provision and use of these services over the last five years. The overall picture for schools library services is encouraging. Despite many organisational and funding changes over the period, the majority of services which have survived appear to be rising to the challenge of providing continuing support to schools, with levels of provision and use maintained. For public library services to children, the picture is rather bleak, with cuts in both provision and use. It is little comfort to realise that the children's service is faring better than adult service provision in many areas, with the proportion of materials expenditure on children increasing, albeit slowly.

Local information for primary care: the St Albans WAX Project (STAPCIS).

The St. Albans Primary Care Information Service (STAPCIS) is a database of locally focused information designed to be of use for GPs and the Primary Care team as a whole in a particular area. It is currently being used by practices in the St. Albans, Dacorum and Watford & Three Rivers Primary Care Groups. STAPCIS developed from a project initiated in late 1997 to pilot the use of the WAX software to improve access to directory-type and full-text material needed for easy access by primary care staff and traditionally difficult to manage. The database is updated centrally by the STAPCIS Librarian who distributes the new editions to the practices. The WAX software itself was developed by the Cambridge Centre for Clinical Informatics. STAPCIS contains locally and nationally produced relevant information from a variety of sources, including full-text clinical guidelines and directories of Trusts. Decisions on new content are made by a Steering Group and the GPs and Primary Care teams are particularly encouraged to make suggestions regarding new content. The service is financially supported by the three primary care groups. The STAPCIS Librarian is project-managed by the Library & Information Development Unit (North Thames <http:¿www.nthameshealth.tpmde.ac.uk/rliu/ ntrliu.htm>), which also provides additional equipment and expertise. A new software company, WaX Info Ltd (<http:¿www.waxinfo.com/>), will soon be releasing a new version of the software, WaX. WaX consists of a WaX client and WaX ActiveLibrary server software. With the new version, the 'books' of information will still be stored on the user's PC, retaining the speed of access, but the server will enable users to 'borrow' books from remote locations and will provide automatic updates of all books. The new software will improve the management and distribution processes of STAPCIS once all of the practices have Internet connectivity.

Medical information provision in Seychelles: development, current state and future focus

Medical information in Seychelles is provided by a library and documentation unit within the Ministry of Health. This unit has been in operation for 10 years and during this time has expanded in the number and type of services provided. This short report describes the current situation at the library and the vision for the next 10 years.

Two approaches to teaching software components using Ada 95

Abstract data types (ADTs) have been used for many years to teach the specification and implementation of software components. With the advent of object-oriented programming languages (OOPLs), many ADT specifications and implementations are now encoded in OOPLs as classes. OOPLs typically provide a variety of language mechanisms that support data abstraction and make classes convenient for encoding ADT specifications and implementations. In particular, the inheritance mechanism supported by OOPL classes provides useful ways of relating ADT specifications and implementations. The Ada programming language has always provided solid support for specification and implementation of ADTs with its package construct. The 1995 revision to Ada (Ada 95) added a variety of powerful new language mechanisms such as tagged types (full-fledged inheritance), abstract types, and hierarchical library units. Each of these new Ada language mechanisms, in addition to packages, can be used in various combinations to support the specification, implementation, and extension of ADTs. In this paper, we compare two approaches used to teach to second-year undergraduates specification and implementation of software components in Ada. The first approach is a traditional Ada approach relying solely on the package mechanism to support data abstraction. The second approach relies heavily on Ada's newer object-oriented language mechanisms in addition to hierarchical library units.

Combination and boundary detection approaches on Chinese indexing

Digital libraries store materials in electronic format. Research and development in digital libraries includes content creation, conversion, indexing, organization, and dissemination. The key technological issues are how to search and display desired selections from and across large collections effectively [Schatz & Chen, 1996]. Digital library research projects (DLI-1) sponsored by NSF/DARPA/NASA have a common theme of bringing search to the net, which is the flagship research effort for the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in the United States. A repository is an indexed collection of objects. Indexing is an important task for searching. The better the indexing, the better the searching result. Developing a universal digital library has been the dream of many researchers, however, there are still many problems to be solved before such a vision is fulfilled. The most critical is to support a cross-lingual retrieval or multilingual digital library. Much work has been done on English information retrieval, however, there is relatively less work on Chinese information retrieval. In this article, we focus on Chinese indexing, which is the foundation of Chinese and cross-lingual information retrieval. The smallest indexing units in Chinese digital libraries are words, while the smallest units in a Chinese sentence are characters. However, Chinese text has no delimiter to mark word boundaries as it is in English text. In English or other languages using Roman or Greek-based orthographies, often, spacing reliably indicates word boundaries. In Chinese, a number of characters are placed together without any delimiters indicating the boundaries between consecutive characters. In this article, we investigate the combination and boundary detection approaches based on mutual information for segmentation. The combination approach combines n-grams to form words with more number of characters. In the combination approach Algorithm 1 does not allow overlapping of n-grams while Algorithm 2 does. The boundary detection approach detects the segmentation points on a sentence based on the values and the change of values of the mutual information. Experiments are conducted to evaluate their performances. An interface of the system is also presented to show how a Chinese web page is downloaded, the text in the page filtered, and segmented into words. The segmented words can be submitted for indexing or new unknown words can be identified and submitted to a dictionary.