Local Staff Members Research Articles

The Relationship Between Years of Service and Traumatic Experiences Related to Radiation Among Local Government Staff Working Within 30 km of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

An accident occurred at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) in March 2011, following an earthquake and tsunami. Local government staff members who worked in the area had a variety of experiences due to the accident, including trauma. This cross-sectional study was conducted to clarify the relationship between years of service and radiation-related traumatic experiences among 490 staff members in municipalities around the FDNPS exactly a decade after the accident. They were classified as <5 years, 5–10 years, and >10 years, relative to their lengths of employment. The experienced staff (>10 years of service) had a rich array of traumatic experiences, compared to those with less experience (<5 years of service). By contrast, the experienced staff had a lower SOC-13 score than those with less experience, and a higher percentage of them reported that their workload was greater than that imposed on other local government employees. The study results suggested that the experienced staff members who worked in the affected towns prior to the FDNPS accident have been burdened with a prolonged heavier workload, including radiation-related duties.

Doing and contesting borderwork in Senegal: local implementers of migration information campaigns

ABSTRACT European states and international organizations employ migration information campaigns to discourage African youth from trying to get to Europe without the necessary papers. Campaigns count on a variety of actors, including local staff members of Non-Governmental Organizations in origin countries. Yet, little is known about how local campaign implementers perceive and perform their tasks. This article investigates why and how Senegalese citizens help to implement campaigns in Senegal when such campaigns try to curb the very mobility they aspire to themselves. Drawing on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Senegal, where we observed how migration campaigns were organized and run, the article shows how local implementers produce borders in their daily activities while at the same time making use of the ambiguity campaigns create. We find that local campaign staffs are brokers who simultaneously reinforce and undermine ‘soft’ borders in their work of translating policy into practice. We analyze how campaigns are performed through the speech acts of local staff, which define and consolidate control over the mobility of Senegalese youth. At the same time, local implementers, in their practical and discursive labor, find fissures to contest dominant discourses and push an alternative message.

Perceived Organizational Support and Well-being of Housekeeping Staff through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: An Ethnographic Study

Martin Seligman examines the dynamics of learned helplessness and the development of a growth mindset in his ground-breaking study on the positive psychological drivers of human endeavor and identity. An ethnographic approach is used in this paper to examine the individual and collective existential affirmations that local conservancy staff members of a large educational institution, nestled in the Lavasa Valley grapple with, in their work life and their community socialization. Interest in the impact of employee wellness models of engagement at work has recently grown. The term 'Well-Being' commonly refers to the overall quality of life. Concepts of health, satisfaction with life experiences, work and prosperity are constituent units of experience commonly used to describe 'Well-Being' which also provides the endurance to engage constructively with distress, dissatisfaction, and worry. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides a primary model for occupational therapy that has been actively adopted in the training and development of sanitation workers. CBT is a therapeutic strategy that helps people to identify and change negative beliefs behaviours that contribute to anxiety and worry. A meta-review has found that stress-management interventions based on CBT have the strongest evidence for effectiveness in reducing work-related stress. This paper draws on the principles of positive psychology, where the researchers examine the collective experiences of the conservancy staff members by applying working principles from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to examine their perception of well-being and happiness.

Applying Self-Determination Theory to International Development and Humanitarian Organisations

International development and humanitarian organisations are increasingly focused on transitioning from top-down models of practice to ‘locally-led approaches’ that recognise local epistemologies, capabilities and visions of change. Despite this focus, there remains limited practical guidance to support organisations making this transition. In this article, we aim to suggest ways in which Self-Determination Theory, a well-known theoretical framework in psychology and education, could be applied in the context of development and humanitarian organisations to facilitate transitions to locally-led partnerships and ways of working. We provide an overview of Self-Determination Theory and where it has been used in the development and humanitarian contexts. We propose its feasibility as a framework for transition to locally-led partnerships and approaches in these contexts and suggest specific strategies under a Self-Determination Theory framework that organisations could employ to support both international and local staff members in organisational transitions to locally-led practice.

Prieštaringos nuostatos dėl estų kalbos Tartu universitete: vietos ir užsienio akademinių darbuotojų apklausos duomenų analizė

During the last decade, the universities in Estonia have internationalized their staff and student body to such an extent that the language environment in academia has undergone considerable changes. To react to the internationalization and Anglicisation of higher education and protect the use of Estonian in academia, the University of Tartu renewed its language policy in 2020 and commissioned a survey in 2021 to gain a better understanding of the implementation of the policy and its academic staff members’ attitudes towards the policy. This paper is based on the survey results. The survey was conducted by the authors in 2021 and 2022 and examines the attitudes of the local and international academic staff on acquiring Estonian and using it as the working language of the university. The results show a major difference in the attitudes of the local and international staff members. The local staff is in favour of language policies intended to advance the acquisition and use of Estonian in academia, whereas the international staff is generally interested only in acquiring introductory Estonian skills. Their motivation to continue learning Estonian is low since English is used as the common language of communication and work at the university. Based on the results, the authors present recommendations for designing inclusive institutional language policy and flexible forms of learning Estonian.

Participation of Local Administration Bodies of Provisional Military Administration and Reichskommissariat ‘Ukraine’ in Ensuring Holocaust Measures (1941-1944)

The purpose of the research paper is to uncover the role and significance of local administration bodies that were established on the territories under the control of the Provisional Military Administration (PMA) and the Reichskommissariat ‘Ukraine’ (RKU) in ensuring the Holocaust policy.
 Scientific novelty is based on the original documentary sources analysis. It is determined that the employees of local administration bodies in the German occupation zones of Ukraine, even against their will, took an active part in various forms of preparation and technical support for actions to exterminate Jews, their persecution by the authorities, and looting of the property belonging to them.
 Conclusions. In the territories under the control of the PMA and the RKU, local administration bodies were established, which, although not unified, were still typical institutions of occupation administration. Despite the unequal organizational structure, local administration bodies had to perform all the tasks assigned by the German authorities. In the practical activity of those authorities, there were no repressive and punitive functions, but it was their staff who had to provide the measures that were the basis of the Holocaust policy, which was consistently and all-out conducted by the Nazis in occupied Ukraine.
 Performing the functions of the occupation administration, the employees of the local administration bodies of the PMA and the RKU took an active part in both the preparatory measures and the purely technical support of actions for the extermination of the Jews. With the assistance of the local administrative staff members, the German authorities managed to settle the matter of registration and identification of the Jewish population, establish an effective system of control over issuing personal documents, as well as search and selection of places for conducting the massacres. Without their active participation, the Nazis would not have been able to organize actions of extermination people so quickly, as well as to identify systematically those who managed to avoid death and were hiding from the persecution of the German occupiers. Also quite actively, some employees of local administration bodies participated in propagandistic provision and justification of massacres of the Jews in Ukraine.
 Local authorities took part in the redistribution of property that belonged to the killed Jews. A great part of the former Jewish property, with the permission of the German authorities, was given to the local authorities, and the funds received after its sale were transferred to the bank accounts of the local authorities and used to finance their activities. At the same time, many employees of local administration bodies, using their official position, tried to obtain part of the property of people who had already been killed.

Using Post-Production Stage Actions to Enhance the Quality of Television Programs: A Descriptive-Analytics Study of the “Ba Wrdi” Program of the NRT Channel

Post-Production Stage is considered as one of the most important elements of production. Through this stage, the process of editing, organization and the consistency among video shots, sounds and colors is done by color-artists, designers, video editors, sound editors and animators. Post-Production Stage appeared with the development of television production technology. As such, how the Kurdish TV Channels use Post-Production Stage is becoming an increasingly critical subject of analysis and research. The need for researching, understanding and uncovering the use of post-production stage is very important.
 In this paper, the researcher has taken NRT channel, its second season of “Ba Wrdi” program as a case study. The analysis-method was used for this study. The second season of “Ba Wrdi” has 26 episodes and 172 scenes. The researcher has studied 150 minutes and 33 seconds in the total of the 26 episodes. The present paper has arrived at the following conclusions that Designers of the program used color correction for the same purpose. They used color correction for the purpose of visual appeal rather than solving color issues, and in the programs designed by local NRT staff members, there are statistical discrepancies in color grading. This shows a limitation of experience and expertise of the NRT local post-production staff, also Designers of the channel have mostly used text and pictures in motion graphics.

Measuring forest ecosystem services in Aceh Province for inclusion to local forest resource management plans

The project trained forest managers from Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan (KPH) and Social Forestry units in Aceh Province in forest resource data collection and the use of three tools that report important forest ecosystem services. Data were collected in systematic forest plots by local KPH staff and social forestry community members for measuring forest carbon, tree biodiversity and forest ecosystem health. Teams represented nine different forest ecosystems in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Average forest carbon estimates range from a low of 27.14 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup> in a coffee agroforestry system to a high of 446.93 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup> in a tropical forest area managed under social forestry. Tree biodiversity ranged from a low of one species as expected in a coastal mangrove forest to a high of 35 species in the tropical forest area managed under social forestry. Forest health conditions on average for the nine areas were mostly healthy, with a few noted in fair condition and one considered to be in poor condition. Resources provided at the local level would enable mainstreaming of field data collection for measuring these forest ecosystem services, and continued and expanded training should be considered to meet national demand.

Local problem solving in the Portuguese health examination survey: a mixed method study

BackgroundParticipation rates in health surveys, recognized as an important quality dimension, have been declining over the years, which may affect representativeness and confidence in results. The Portuguese national health examination survey INSEF (2015) achieved a participation rate of 43.9%, which is in line with participation rates from other similar health examination surveys. The objective of this article is to describe how local teams of survey personnel conducted the survey, describing strategies used to solve practical survey problems and to try to increase the participation rate.MethodsAfter a literature search, informal interviews were conducted with 14 public health officials from local health examination teams, regional and central authorities. Forty-one of the local staff members (survey personnel) also filled in a short questionnaire anonymously. The interviews and self-administered questionnaires were analysed using mixed methods, informed by thematic analysis.ResultsThe local teams believed that the detailed manual, described as a “cookbook for making a health examination survey”, made it possible to maintain high scientific standards while allowing for improvising solutions to problems in the local context. The quality of the manual, supported by a series of training workshops with the central research and support team, gave the teams the confidence and knowledge to implement local solutions. Motivation and cohesion within the local teams were among the goals of the training process.Local teams felt empowered by being given large responsibilities and worked hard to incite people to attend the examination through a close and persuasive approach.Local teams praised their INSA contacts for being available for assistance throughout the survey, and said they were inspired to try harder to reach participants to please their contacts for interpersonal reasons.ConclusionsThe theory of organizational improvisation or bricolage, which means using limited resources to solve problems, was useful to discuss and understand what took place during INSEF.A detailed manual covering standard procedures, continuous monitoring of the data collection and face-to-face workshops, including role-play, were vital to assure high scientific standards and high participation rates in this health examination survey. Close contacts between the central team and local focal points in all regions and all survey sites were key to accommodating unexpected challenges and innovative solutions.

تطوير الكفايات التعليمية لعضو هيئة التدريس في كليات وادي حضرموت باليمن اعتمادا على التقويم الذاتي و الجهد التكاملي للكلية و عضو هيئة التدريس

تطوير الكفايات التعليمية لعضو هيئة التدريس في كليات وادي حضرموت باليمن اعتمادا على التقويم الذاتي و الجهد التكاملي للكلية و عضو هيئة التدريس
 The objective of the present study was to prepare a proposal for the development of the instructional capabilities of the members of the lecturing staff of the targeted colleges under the current circumstances, whereby such colleges could be categorized as rural colleges.
 The study recommends five core areas for developing the instructional capabilities comprising seventeen capabilities, six development methods, seven procedures to be incorporated in the development activities, and five self-assessment diagnostic methods to help evaluate the instructional performance and conse()uently for development thereof.
 The study also makes the following recommendations: - Setting up of vocational development centere in the Hadramout University area and the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training to be responsible for the development of lecturing methodology in their respective colleges.
 - Encouragement of scientific research by ؛١٠٨^١ lecturing staff members and Inviting research experts from distinguished universities abroad, adopting programs related to university teaching development, and enabling local research-dedicated staff members to join such universities.
 - ؛aring for the Educational Sciences Department of the College of Education, and having it charged with enhancing the development activities of lecturing in the subject.
 - ^ordination wth nters and universities offering sessions through remote education system in educational intercommunication and instructional methods; and attaching staff members of the concerned colleges to such programs.
 Hadramout University to provide different documents and models used by brotherly and friendly universities in the field of instructional performance development and self-assessment, evaluation of students' academic attainments, models used tor academic development, accomplishment of upgraded ،quality in general, and provide staff members with accessibility thereto

Integrating maternal and child health data into the Iraqi Kurdistan health information system

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to present the workflow on the integration of Maternal and Child Health Care Services (MCHCS) into the electronic Health Information System of the Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG-HIS).Design/methodology/approachAs part of the cooperation between the University of Rome Tor Vergata-Italy and the Iraqi Kurdistan Ministry of Health, six PhD positions were granted for Iraqi students to create a local team of experts with the aim of supporting the scaling-up of the KRG-HIS. After specific training, the team then trained the staff members of the health centers, met health authorities and analyzed the local scenario to ensure that the KRG-HIS could be better tailored to regional needs. In 2019, the integration of MCHCS into the KRG-HIS was one of the main areas of research.FindingsHealth data collection was mostly paper-based, which made vital statistics and evaluation of outcomes difficult to measure. More than 15,000 paper-files from the Duhok Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital were retrieved from storage. Then data entered in the KRG-HIS. Theoretical and practical training sessions were conducted for local staff members, with 183 health operators already having been trained. Daily supervision of the online system and field visits were ensured.Originality/valueThere is a need to support health authorities in improving data collection on MCHCS, ensuring the future self-sufficiency of the HIS. Key to the process is the creation of a specialized team of local experts with the objective of “training the trainers”.

Comparison of in-hospital death following ST-elevation myocardial infarction between secondary emergency and tertiary emergency.

In most areas in Japan, patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) would be transferred to the secondary hospitals or tertiary hospitals according to the judgement of emergency medical service (EMS) staff members. We hypothesized that in-hospital outcomes would be worse in STEMI patients judged as tertiary emergency than in those judged as secondary emergency, which may support the judgement of the current EMS systems. The purpose of this study was to compare in-hospital outcomes of STEMI between patients judged as secondary emergency and those judged as tertiary emergency. We included 238 STEMI patients who were transferred to our institution using EMS hotline, and divided those into the secondary emergency group (n = 106) and the tertiary emergency group (n = 132). The primary endpoint was in-hospital death. The prevalence of shock was significantly higher in the tertiary emergency group than in the secondary emergency group (32.6% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.001). The GRACE score was significantly higher in the tertiary emergency group than the secondary emergency group [146 (118–188) vs. 134 (101–155), p < 0.001]. The incidence of in-hospital death was significantly higher in the tertiary emergency group than in the secondary emergency group (8.0% vs. 2.1%, p = 0.014). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the tertiary emergency was significantly associated with in-hospital death (OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.24–10.02, p = 0.018) after controlling age and gender. In conclusion, the tertiary emergency was significantly associated with in-hospital death. Our results might validate the judgement of levels of emergency by local EMS staff members.

Lessons learned evaluating the baby friendly spaces program for south Sudanese refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia: strengthening research and programmatic partnerships to address maternal and child health and psychosocial needs in humanitarian emergencies

BackgroundDuring humanitarian crises, women and children are particularly vulnerable to morbidity and mortality. To address this problem, integrated child health interventions that include support for the well-being of mothers must be adapted and assessed in humanitarian settings. Baby Friendly Spaces (BFS) is a holistic program that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant and lactating women and their children under two years of age by providing psychosocial support and enhancing positive infant and young child-care practices. Using a mixed-methods, pre-post design, this study explored ways to strengthen the implementation and acceptability of the BFS program, and assess outcomes associated with participation among South Sudanese mothers and their children living in the Nguenyyiel refugee camp in Gambella, Ethiopia.DiscussionA stronger evidence-base for integrated maternal and child health interventions, like BFS, in humanitarian emergencies is needed, but effectively conducting this type of research in unstable settings means encountering and working through myriad challenges. In this paper we discuss lessons learned while implementing this study, including, challenges related to ongoing local political and tribal conflicts and extreme conditions; implementation of a new digital data monitoring system; staff capacity building and turnover; and measurement were encountered. Strategies to mitigate such challenges included hiring and training new staff members. Regular weekly skype calls were held between Action Against Hunger Paris headquarters, the Action Against Hunger team in Gambella and Johns Hopkins’ academic partners to follow study implementation progress and troubleshoot any emerging issues. Staff capacity building strategies included holding brief and focused trainings continuously throughout the study for both new and current staff members. Lastly, we engaged local Nuer staff members to help ensure study measures and interview questions were understandable among study participants.ConclusionsResearch focused on strengthening program implementation is critically important for improving maternal and child health in humanitarian emergencies. Research in such settings demands critical problem-solving skills, strong supervision systems, flexibility in timeline and logistics, and tailor-made training for program and research staff members and context- adapted strategies for retaining existing staff.

Doing More Than Asking for Opinions

Health information systems (HIS) are used to manage information related to population health. The goal of this research was to conduct an evaluation of a HIS used at a hospital in south-western Uganda using participatory approaches. The evaluation structure was based on guidelines generated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a series of theoretical and methodological concepts regarding participatory engagement that encouraged stakeholder participation throughout the evaluation. The primary objectives were to describe the areas of strength and limitations of the HIS, and develop potential system enhancements. Ultimately, engagement of local staff members throughout each stage of the evaluation resulted in the development of a series of recommendations considered relevant and feasible by local stakeholders. We build on these results by highlighting the value of stakeholder engagement and opportunities to apply participatory and community-based research methods and an Ecohealth framework to an HIS evaluation.

Diagnosis, prevention and control of urinary tract infections: a survey of routine practices in Belgian nursing homes.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most frequently reported infections in older adults and the most common reason for antimicrobial prescribing in nursing homes (NHs). In this vulnerable population, both a good diagnosis and prevention of these infections are crucial as overuse of antibiotics can lead to a variety of negative consequences including the development of multidrug-resistant organisms. To determine infection prevention and control (IPC) and diagnostic practices for UTIs in Belgian NHs. Local staff members had to complete an institution-level questionnaire exploring the availability of IPC practices and resources and procedures for UTI surveillance, diagnosis, and urinary catheter and incontinence care. UTIs were the second most common infections in the 87 participating NHs (prevalence: 1.0%). Dipstick tests and urine cultures were routinely performed in 30.2% and 44.6% of the facilities, respectively. In non-catheterised residents, voided or midstream urine sampling was most frequently applied. Protocols/guidelines for urine sampling, urinary catheter care and incontinence care were available in 43.7%, 45.9% and 31.0% of the NHs, respectively. Indwelling catheters were uncommon (2.3% of the residents) and urinary retention (84.9%) and wound management (48.8%) were the most commonly reported indications. Only surveillance was found to significantly impact the UTI prevalence: 2.2% versus 0.8% in NHs with or without surveillance, respectively (P < 0.001). This survey identified key areas for improving the diagnosis and prevention of UTIs, such as education and training regarding the basics of urine collection and catheter care.

Measuring the 'dose' of person-centred care in aged care: Development of staff and family questionnaires.

To develop a theoretically and psychometrically sound instrument to measure the 'dose' of person-centred care practice in long-term care. Although person-centred care has been adopted for long-term care across the world, there is a lack of theory-based instruments to measure its impact. Two questionnaires were developed to measure person-centred care from the perspectives of staff and family based on current person-centred care frameworks: Kitwood, Nolan, and Eden Alternative. Phase I: literature review and focus groups identified potential items for the questionnaires. Phase II: academic experts, local staff, and family members of residents assessed content validity. Phase III: psychometric testing. A 34-item staff questionnaire (Cronbach's Alpha=0.942) with two factors "Making person-centredness real" and "Making the environment meaningful for life and work". A 30-item family questionnaire (Cronbach's Alpha=0.947), with three factors "Staff care about what is meaningful to my family member", "Staff know and respect my family member", and "We are all part of a family". The factors did not directly reflect the theoretical constructs from Kitwood's and Nolan's work. Two instruments, capturing the 'dose' or active practice of delivering person-centred care, have demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The study contributes to understanding the theoretical components of person-centred care. The study addressed the lack of robust tools to measure how much person-centred care is taking place in aged care facilities. Staff and family questionnaires were produced based on strong theoretical foundations combining concepts of prominent person-centred theories and rigorous psychometric testing. The instruments can be used to determine if person-centred care makes a difference, to compare if person-centred care changes or develops over time or between facilities. Ultimately residents, families, and staff will benefit from the ability to measure how much person-centred care residents receive.

Refusing the Development NGO? Departure, Dismissal, and Misrecognition in Angolan Development Interventions.

Nongovernmental organizations working in international development increasingly follow a neoliberalized management model, hiring professional employees to conduct the work of social transformation under a bureaucratic regime that sees the recruitment and retention of staff members as rational transactions between employer and employee. Such managerialist thinking holds that staff members represent bundles of skills and knowledge to be sorted and allocated according to the requirements of work, that they seek to exchange their labor for payment, and that they may justifiably be fired for misdeeds like misuse of materials, misrepresenting themselves, or poor work quality, as determined by the institution. I use the example of local staff members resigning and being fired from an international democratization intervention in postwar Angola to argue that some development professionals refuse to occupy such management-defined subject positions, asserting instead their independent moralities about the place of implementation staff in international development work. International development institutions misrecognize many such acts, however, leaving intact unequal relations of power within the very industry meant to combat such unequal relations on a global scale.

Lepra e as sensibilidades de um ex-interno da Colônia de Itanhenga no Espírito Santo

Este artigo traz a história dos doentes de lepra, pessoas que viveram segregadas, internadas compulsoriamente numa instituição asilar, em decorrência de uma enfermidade, que ainda nos dias atuais é carregada de estigma. O presente trabalho é fruto de pesquisas realizadas numa antiga colônia de leprosos, a Colônia de Itanhenga, atual hospital Pedro Fontes, em Cariacica, no Espírito Santo. No antigo leprosário, pautado pelo estigma e pelo isolamento compulsório, entrevistamos pacientes, médicos e funcionários da localidade pelo. Ali encontramos um cenário a princípio desenhado pela exclusão social, e perda dos laços familiares pelos pacientes. No entanto encontramos também relatos surpreendentes, de superação, histórias de ex-internos que contornaram a doença e as consequências do isolamento no interior do próprio leprosário. Para esta análise recorremos a história de um dos pacientes residente nas instalações do antigo leprosário de Itanhenga. A partir de recortes de alguns trechos da entrevista, procuramos demonstrar não somente os efeitos negativos do isolamento e da exclusão, sobre este paciente, mas a história de alguém que soube driblar a doença e as imposições de uma politica de combate à doença. Nosso entrevistado é um, entre tantos doentes que apesar da enfermidade, e do isolamento foram capazes de contornar a doença e seus efeitos, transformando aquele local de isolamento num espaço de acolhimento e de recomeço de uma vida nova.

DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM BASED ON THE LOCAL WISDOM

&lt;em&gt;This study aims to develop the curriculum of Bejalen Public Elementary School in Semarang Regency based on the values of local wisdom. The development of this curriculum is based on the characters and resources in the local area, both natural and human resources. This type of research is descriptive qualitative with data collection techniques through observation, interviews, and FGD (Forum Group Discussion). Observations show that local areas have maritime potential as natural resources. Thus, most of the livelihoods of Bejalen Elementary School students are fishermen. The results of interviews with local residents include utilization of natural resources and empowerment of human resources. The results of the FGD with the local district staff members produced data that the local area had become one of the tourist areas in Semarang Regency called Pelangi Tourism Village. All of this data is the material for developing the curriculum of Bejalen Public Elementary School. The results of this study explain that the curriculum development of Bejalen Public Elementary School in Semarang Regency is based on the values of local wisdom which includes the cultivation of natural resources and the empowerment of human resources. The recommendation for further research is research on developing elementary school curriculum based on local wisdom in other schools.&lt;/em&gt;

Library services for all ages – building economical, equal, and complete audio collections

Purpose To provide library service to users of all ages has been one of the primary missions of county libraries since 1908 when the first branch of the first county library system was born in Sacramento as a proud milestone in the history of California public library. It has been a constant challenge to local governments and library staff members alike, especially when there are economic downturns or many priority programs to balance with. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper introduces an innovative methodology in collection development to promote the concept that library collections, traditional or digital, can serve users of all ages as long as they can be adaptable to meet the changing needs of users, and compatible with changing information technologies. Findings By examining the process of an audio collection integrated as part of library collections and deeply rooted in users’ lives, the author reports the findings in the following areas: developing a robust audio collection catering to all users at Santa Cruz Public Libraries, despite technological changes and limited budget; getting involved in the whole organization’s programs and projects by collaborations; offering innovative promotion approaches; providing comprehensive subject coverage and always keeping the local community in mind; and evolving constantly to make technologies your friends, not foes. Research limitations/implications The paper analyzes a successful collection development experience in audio collections to strive to realize the original county library’s ideal to serve users of all ages in California. Practical implications The successful collection development experience is useful not only for acquisition librarians, but a much broader audience such as library managers in charge of library material budgets. Social implications The findings point out a number of social implications confronting library professionals worldwide. They include conflicts between users’ real needs vs our assumptions, limited budget vs expanding coverage, and library services vs the nature of technology. Originality/value The paper helps library professionals to develop, maintain, and succeed in their short- and long-term goals in collection development.