Linked Research Articles

Professional Training Of Librarians And Service Delivery In Public Libraries In Nigeria

The main purpose of the paper was to examine professional training of librarians and service delivery in public libraries in Nigeria. It is an opinion paper and therefore expository in nature. The paper discussed the history of public libraries in Nigeria and service delivery. The paper critically reviewed the professional training of librarians in public libraries. It also exposed various library services, such as current awareness, user education, inter-library loan, circulation, reprographic service and challenges affecting the services in the public libraries. The paper recommended among others, professional training for librarians with digital skills to enhance their productivity for efficient and effective service delivery.

Assessing the Availability of Information Sources and Services During the COVID 19 Pandemic in University Libraries in Nigeria

The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic hampered the availability of information sources and services in most academic institutions around the world. Making information available during major crisis reveals the long-standing position of the library in helping its patrons. This post COVID-19 study that took place between February 2020 and January 2021 investigated the availability of information sources and services during the COVID-19 pandemic in university libraries in Nigeria. Using a descriptive design, the study used 240 students who were purposely selected from 30 universities including federal, state and private universities in South-South geographical zone of Nigeria as sample. The study revealed that information sources such as: e-books, print journals, e-journals and electronic databases and services such as: Circulation, interlibrary loan, remote access, SDI, online reference services among others were available to the patrons in university libraries in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showed that the inhibiting factors against the availability of information sources and service in university libraries were poor telecommunication network, closure of some library sections, lack of preparation, unavailability of library policy on pandemic/disaster management and poor coordination among others. The study recommended some areas for improvement to ensure the availability of information sources and services to the library patrons during major crisis.

The network of sci-tech libraries as the foundation of the national system of sci-tech information: The history, status, and prospects

The authors discuss the sci-tech libraries in historical aspect; these libraries make the key element of the national system of sci-tech information and information services and support national science and technology. They follow the dynamics of building the network of research institutions and special sci-tech libraries that replaced technical, factory and company libraries. The role of the USSR State Public Library for Science and Technology (USSR SPLS&T) is highlighted: during the Soviet era it was the country’s head sci-tech library, the main methodological center for technological libraries, interdepartmental coordinator of user services, collection development, interlibrary loan, and translation of scitech literature. The authors emphasize the importance of the national regulation of sci-tech library and information services, and their development through building the state system of sci-tech information. The authors also examine the goals of t he S PLS&T U SSR a s a research institution in the area of library and bibliographic studies; SPLS&T supported the unity of efforts within the system. The authors analyze the implementation of the national sci-tech program; within the framework of the program, the RNPLS&T acts as the head agency of the Automated System of the Russian Union Catalog in science and technology and provides for interaction of sci-tech library network and sci-tech information institutions in using the databases by associated members. The authors substantiate the need for the new national system of sci-tech information based on the laws and regulations adopted in the recent decades. They analyze the results of 2023 All-Russian monitoring of sci-tech libraries and sci-tech information centers; evaluate the capacities of sci-tech libraries for supporting corporate projects, scitech professionals and researchers.

The Changing Face of Public Services in Health Sciences Libraries Post-Pandemic

Health sciences library public services underwent profound changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Circulation, reference services, instruction, interlibrary loan, and programming were all significantly affected. Libraries adapted by moving to virtual services, featuring online workshops, video consultations, and digital information sharing. Reference services moved to virtual consultations for a streamlined experience, and instruction transitioned to interactive video tutorials. Interlibrary loan services saw a decrease in print material lending but an increase in electronic subscriptions. Library programming shifted from in-person to virtual, focusing on wellness activities. This post-pandemic transformation underscores the importance of ongoing adaptation to meet changing user needs.

Correction to “An Exploration of Journals Requested by Health Sciences Libraries through DOCLINE Interlibrary Loan During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic”

In the article “An exploration of journals requested by health sciences libraries through DOCLINE interlibrary loan during the early COVID-19 pandemic” by Caitlin J. Bakker, Jessica A. Koos, Margaret A. Hoogland, Debra Rand, and Kristine M. Alpi (ISTL issue no. 103), there was one error in Table 1 and three errors in Table 4.

Circulation in the time of COVID-19: An analysis of physical material data in an academic library

For the last decade or more, circulation numbers of physical materials have declined in academic libraries across the United States. In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered society and daily life, not to mention library functions. In particular, fears of contagion via physical surfaces and transmission by contact led many libraries to shutter their in-person services or temporarily close altogether. The circulation of physical materials was hit particularly hard, as the ability to browse shelves, check out items, access interlibrary loan, and a host of other similar services were curtailed. This article will examine the statistical markers of physical material handling (checkouts, renewals, item browses, etc.) for two years before and after the pandemic, to reach conclusions about how COVID-19 impacted usage, what we can tell about general patterns in circulation before and due to these changes, and ultimately what these numbers tell us about the future of traditional material use.

Resource sharing in Lebanese libraries in times of unprecedented disruptions

Purpose This paper aims to study the after-effects of the crises hit by the Lebanese population and the solutions implemented to alleviate the ensuing problems on resource sharing in Lebanese libraries. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire to academic libraries. Nine libraries in Lebanon offer resource sharing services; all nine are academic. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to these nine libraries; eight responded. A semi-quantitative approach was used to analyze the responses. The questionnaire was administered through Microsoft Forms. The form was designed to include dichotomous questions for the sake of quantitative analysis and a short answer format that allowed responders to provide additional details. American University of Beirut Data. The access services department at the American University of Beirut Jafet Library compiles on a daily basis interlibrary loan statistics. The compiled data were divided into two groups: duration of two fiscal years prior to June 2020; and from June 2020 to June 2022. June 2020 was used as a cutoff date after which the interlibrary loan initiatives in response to COVID-19 were implemented. The services that were analyzed were RSCVD, OCLC WorldShare ILL profiled groups, Emergency Temporary Access Service for HathiTrust members and Open Access Services from vendors. Findings Libraries in Lebanon were able to continue providing resource-sharing services with a minimal budget due to four major initiatives and through the help of the international resource-sharing community. Originality/value Limited publication about inter library loan in Lebanese Libraries. The pandemic hit economies worldwide; however, Lebanon got hit by three synergetic crises, and the initiatives were instrumental in drastically reducing resource sharing expenditure without affecting the interlibrary loan fill rate.

Seeking smut: collaborations between researchers, librarians, and interlibrary loans in the study of sexuality and desire

ABSTRACT Pornographic magazines are an important cultural and academic resource, but it can be challenging for both scholars and the librarians who support their work to find and access pornographic magazines for research purposes. Here we provide an in-depth examination of the value of pornographic magazines as a research resource, along with an overview of the history of their collection, preservation, and use in libraries and archives. We explore the issues researchers and librarians must contend with when trying to find and access pornographic magazines to use as source material, with attention paid to the unique challenges in obtaining them through interlibrary loan.

The use of internet by staff for library service delivery at Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

The study investigated the use of Internet by staff for library service delivery at Benue State University, Makurdi. Three specific objectives with corresponding research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study was the entire 153 library staff in Benue State University Library. Since the population was relatively small and manageable by the researcher, no sampling was employed for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structure questionnaire Data was collected and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. Findings of the study revealed that the internet services are utilized in areas such as acquisition services, cataloguing and classification services, awareness services, reference services, selective dissemination of information services, inter-library loan services, documentary services, circulation services, bibliographic services and resource sharing. The findings also revealed that, the internet services were utilized to a high extent for library services delivery. Challenges found to hinder the utilization of the internet services include: lack of maintenance culture, erratic power supply, high cost of connectivity, high cost of maintenance, technology obsolescence, low level of computer literacy required for effective use, poor funding for internet services, low bandwidth, copyright and access restrictions and inadequate hardware support. The study concluded that, Internet services are to a high extent utilized for effective library services delivery in Benue State Library. The following recommendations were made that, library administrators should ensure professional development programmes are provided for library staff that can inculcate computer literacy required for delivery of library services and Government should provide funds to the management of academic libraries to acquire internet services necessary for enhancing the effective delivery of library services.

Exploring the Use of Interlibrary Loan Service and User Preferences in a Countywide Public Library System

ABSTRACT Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service allows users to borrow materials from other libraries, whether physical or electronic. We sought to explore the usage and preferences of ILL service among users of a county-wide public library system in Tennessee. The survey consisted of questions pertaining to the frequency of ILL usage, the types of materials requested, and overall satisfaction with the service. Our findings show which aspects of ILL users find beneficial, as well as any shortcomings that could be addressed. Overall, those who utilized ILL service found it very valuable, would recommend it to others and expressed satisfaction with their experience.

Differences Between the Perception and Use of Virtual Reference Services for Complex Questions

A Review of: Mawhinney, T., & Hervieux, S. (2022). Dissonance between Perceptions and Use of Virtual Reference Methods. College & Research Libraries, 83(3), 503–525. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.3.503   Objective – To investigate the differences that exist between the users’ perception of virtual reference tools (chat, email, and texting) and how these virtual reference tools are used. Design – Multimodal research that includes a descriptive summary of user perspectives of virtual reference tools and a descriptive and correlation analysis of question categories (complexity, reference interview, question category, and instruction) compared to the type of virtual reference. Setting – A large university library in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Subjects – A summary of in-person interview results from 14 virtual reference users and a sample of chat (250), email (250), and texting (250) transcripts. Methods – The authors describe their research as part of a larger project. In Phase One, which was published in a previous report,1 the first author interviewed 14 users and collected their preferences among virtual reference tools and factors that impacted their use. Participants were interviewed in fall 2019. They were eligible if they used one or more virtual methods. In Phase Two, the users’ perceptions among virtual reference tools were compared to the analysis of question complexity in a sample of chat, email, and texting transcripts. Transcripts were collected from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019. Text conversations were grouped as a single transcript. A total of 250 texts were collected and were matched in number with a random sample of chat and email transcripts; 750 transcripts were analyzed. The transcripts were coded by question type, question complexity, and the presence of reference interviews and instruction. The READ Scale was used to categorize questions by complexity and READ 3 and above were deemed to be complex. A codebook was used for consistency and intercoder reliability. A random 10% of transcripts were coded by both authors with an agreement of 84%. After discussion, agreement reached 100%. The remaining 90% of the transcripts were coded by the first author. The Chi-Square test of independence (X2) was used to determine if there was a difference in the frequency of the delivery method in the categories analyzed. Cramer’s V was used to determine the strength of associations. Main Results – The authors state the main findings signify “dissonance between users’ perceptions of virtual reference methods and how they actually use them.” Results from the user interviews suggest that participants felt that chat and texts should be used for basic questions and that email be used for more complex ones. They appreciated the quick answer from text for things such as library hours, and the back-and-forth nature of the chat for step-by-step instruction but did not believe these were suited for complex questions. Participants expressed that an email to the library liaison rather than the library general email is the best for research questions. Of note, library liaison emails were not collected as part of the virtual reference tools for this research project. The results from the transcript evaluation revealed that chat interactions were used for complex questions as reflected by the READ Scale rating. Questions were categorized from READ 1 (requiring the least amount of effort) to READ 5 (requiring considerable effort and time) with the following results: READ 1 - 0% chat, 0% email, 13% text; READ 2 - 4% chat, 8% email, 43% text; READ 3 - 72% chat, 75% email, 38% text; READ 4 - 20% chat, 15% email, 6% text; and READ 5 - 4% chat, 2% email, 0% text. The authors demonstrated a moderate strength of association between the delivery method and the READ Scale (V=0.41), reference interview (V=0.43), question category (V=0.34), and instruction (V=0.21). There were significant differences between the delivery method and complexity, p< 0.001. The email and chat transcripts were more complex than text and the chat transcripts were marginally more complex than email. Chat transcripts were also more frequent in reference and instruction categories, p<0.001. The types of questions were divided into 10 categories: reference/ research, library systems, problem with access, interlibrary loan, known item, access policies, collection acquisitions, library physical facilities, hours, and other. The most popular question types for chat transcripts were reference/research questions (24%), library systems (17%), problem with access to e-resources (14%), interlibrary loans (14%), and known items (13%). The most popular question types for email were reference/research (18%), library systems 16%), problem with access (15%), and access policies (16%). The most popular for text transcripts were reference/ research (15%), library systems (18%), library physical facilities (18%), and hours (16%). Conclusion – Mawhinney and Hervieux establish that disagreement exists between the users’ perception of and the use of virtual reference services. After researching the types of questions and level of complexity associated with each virtual reference tool, the authors were able to provide a list of practical implications of their research to improve documentation and workflow and make suggestions for staffing needs. They recommend multiple reference methods, training on the reference interview and virtual methods chosen, advertising virtual resources, and making chat available on the website in places of research. They found that their institution had a high number of questions categorized as access policies and they suggested that easier ways to report problems be considered.

University Instructors Use of, and Satisfaction with, Library Services in the Year Following the COVID-19 Outbreak

A Review of: McClure, J. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to an exclusively online format: Tracking online instructors’ utilization of library services over a year of virtual learning at the University of Memphis. College & Research Libraries, 84(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.1.100  Objective – To determine online instructors' satisfaction with and level of use of library services during the year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design – Survey questionnaire and follow-up interview. Setting – The University of Memphis (UofM) is a medium-sized, public, urban, R2 (doctoral university with high research activity) university. At the time of publication, UofM employed 930 full-time faculty and—through UofM Global—the option to earn degrees entirely online. Subjects – Survey respondents (n = 56) were online instructors at the University of Memphis. Methods – A confidential survey was distributed to all deans and department chairs at the UofM with instructions to disseminate the survey to all instructors teaching online course(s). Respondents were invited to participate in a follow-up interview. Main Results – Three common themes identified from the data were 1) respondents would have used the enhanced library services but were not aware of them; 2) respondents were very grateful for the services offered, in particular library instruction, Kanopy, and interlibrary loan; and 3) respondents did not feel like their courses would benefit from the library or its offered services. Conclusion – Based on the research results, the author concludes that the UofM Library must focus efforts on increasing visibility and communication, embedding the library in course design and assessment, as well as improving hybrid library instruction and offering purchase-on-demand collection development. The author has begun work on a follow-up study looking at ways to enhance the embedded librarianship service and increase communication between the UofM librarians and online teaching faculty.

A tiny library with a million volumes: Open-source resource sharing with fulfillment interlibrary loan (ILL)

his paper is based upon a lightning talk given at the NISO Plus conference on February 14, 2023 and it describes interlibrary Loan syste4m, Fulfillment, developed by the Equinox Open Library Initiative. A thriving resource-sharing consortium allows libraries to offer broader and deeper opportunities for individual learning and greater community equity. It unlocks access to additional copies beyond what an owning library has available, along with a broad range of content owned within the network, which provides a diverse collection for library users. Providing access to such a rich network of resources is the goal of Fulfillment, an open-source resource sharing system which breaks down barriers to sharing collections.

CAUSeS: An Alternative to CONTU for Assessing Interlibrary Loan Copyright Fees

CAUSeS: An Alternative to CONTU for Assessing Interlibrary Loan Copyright Fees

Semantic rule checking of cross-domain building data in information containers for linked document delivery using the shapes constraint language

Information exchange is a crucial process throughout the lifecycle of built assets. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and standardized information delivery enable exchanging, storing, and linking cross-domain information bundled in containers such as the standardized Information Container for Linked Document Delivery (ICDD). While assessing the quality of the interlinking and metadata is essential to allow all parties to interpret an information container correctly, most research efforts have focused on code compliance of domain-specific models. In order to address this gap, this paper proposes an approach for validating ICDD information containers using the Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL), the W3C recommendation for Resource Description Framework (RDF) data validation. For optimized querying and validation, a case study applies SHACL inference rules to the linking structure of ICDD to infer predicates between linked entities in four ICDD containers in varying dataset sizes and different linking methods. Afterward, the validation of these containers is analyzed using three types of validation rules with increasing complexity for another SHACL implementation. Results show the feasibility of cross-domain building information validation in ICDD with SHACL and how performance enhancements can be obtained on an inferred dataset compared to the original dataset.

Services of Public Libraries in the Age of Technology: A Pakistani Perspective

The research evaluated public libraries in Pakistan concerning their ICT resources, services and use of various ICT tools in service delivery. The research was quantitative and relied on a survey to collect the necessary data. The study’s population was all the public libraries in the country that were run by any department or directorate. A census-based survey was done to get information from the whole population. The data was collected from the heads of the libraries through questionnaire, and then it was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 23. The public libraries were governed by various bodies, and variations were also found in the nomenclature of the libraries’ heads. Most libraries’ heads were LIS professionals; however, many were operated by non-professional employees. Most libraries offered services like circulation, reference, orientation, open shelf and photocopying facilities. It was also identified that most libraries did not offer some common services such as document reservation services, OPAC, indexing and abstracting services, interlibrary loans, SDI and audiovisual services, scanning and CD/DVD writing facilities. Since this is the first study of its kind, its findings could prove useful to the government of Pakistan in improving public library services. In addition, it will fill a gap in the literature and direct researchers to investigate other facets of public libraries.

Interlibrary loan in Türkiye: interlibrary loan tracking system (KITS)

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the current situation of the interlibrary loan in Türkiye using interlibrary loan tracking system raw data (2008–2019). Data was analyzed geographically to reveal the effect of geographical distance on the collaboration and thematically to identify the prominent areas/topics in the requests. In addition, the requests were evaluated in terms of the type and age of the university, the size of the collection and the number of library users. Design/methodology/approach The effect of geographical distance on the collaboration was revealed using VOSviewer. The place numbers and titles of the requests were used for thematic analysis, which was performed using Flourish and VOSviewer. Statistical tests were conducted with SPSS to investigate the effects of factors such as university age and type. Findings Geographic analysis revealed that the prominent regions are Marmara, Central Anatolia and Aegean Regions, respectively. The fact that these regions host Türkiye’s largest cities with the highest number of universities has been effective in achieving this result. The results of the thematic analysis are in accordance with the literature. Almost half of the requests are from Social Sciences, Language and Literature, History and Law. While the effects of collection size and the number of library users have relatively insignificant effects on requests, age and university type were found to be more relevant. Originality/value Interlibrary loan data of this size has not been the subject of an evaluation before in Türkiye. Hence, the results obtained have the potential to influence relevant policies and decisions on the subject. On the other hand, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, bibliographic mapping was used for the first time on interlibrary loan data.

CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SELECT COLLEGE LIBRARY WEBSITES OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, HYDERABAD: A STUDY

The study assesses ten select library websites from colleges affiliated with JNTU, Hydera-bad, for their usability, correctness, and accessibility. Additionally, it discusses the features and services offered by websites. A well-organized checklist was used to collect data from the study's selected colleges. According to the survey, the majority of colleges have included information about their services (80%) and infrastructure (80%) on their websites, and all libraries of selected colleges have incorporated details about their introduction (100%) collection (100%), and statistics (100%). However, the report did point out that none of the library websites or web pages have a section for people with disabilities, a user manual, a single window search, an Ask a librarian link, newspaper clippings, remote access, interlibrary loan (ILL)/document delivery, social networking facilities, or regular updates. They also fall short in terms of accessibility.The study's findings indicate that Sultanul Uloom College of Pharmacy and Shadan Wom-an's College of Pharmacy received the lowest score of six (06) out of forty-three (43) and are currently ranked last, while the library at Aurora's Scientific, Technological and Re-search Academy had the highest score of twenty-two (22) out of forty-three (43), and is currently ranked first. The paper offers suggestions for carrying out these assessment studies, which are critically required to allow organization to continually update their website and deliver better results in terms of user requirement.

Mediated Demand Driven Acquisitions for Most Formats through Interlibrary Loan Requests

Mediated Demand Driven Acquisitions for Most Formats through Interlibrary Loan Requests

Interlibrary Loan Use among Staff Members at a Small Liberal Arts College

Interlibrary Loan Use among Staff Members at a Small Liberal Arts College