Practices In Academic Libraries Research Articles

Library technology: Innovating technologies, services, and practices

Library technology is a broad concept that encompasses infrastructure and spaces, services, access and more. This special issue of College & Undergraduate Libraries is entitled Library Technology: Innovating Technologies, Services, and Practices and reflects the range of technology services and practices in academic libraries. These articles were grouped into narrower technology themes: innovative services, immersive technologies, makerspaces, web and application (re)design, and research practices. May these articles inspire another wave of innovation.

Using digital environments to design inclusive and sustainable communities of practice in academic libraries

While promoting professional development among library workers is a priority for many academic libraries, library administrators often discuss the challenges involved in designing flexible, sustainable professional development programs that meet the diverse needs and interests of library workers. With investment in professional development around online teaching and learning becoming an institutional priority upon the onset of the COVID-19, we set out to create a flexible and sustainable professional development program that could facilitate conversations around teaching and learning in our libraries and that could be inclusive of all library workers throughout our distributed, multi-branch university library system. In this paper, we share our approach to developing virtual, miniature Communities of Practice (Mini CoPs), describing in detail the process of designing these groups and the formation of two distinct leadership roles within this program, the Community Coordinator and the Community Facilitator. We then describe our program evaluation strategies and findings from the first cohort of Mini CoPs. Based on our findings, we suggest that this program design presents a model for developing inclusive and sustainable professional development programming for librarians and library staff that has applicability even beyond the current constraints facing higher education. We close with a reflection on some of the potential limitations of our model, along with proposed next steps to consider.

Practice Knowledge Sharing in Academic Libraries: The Annotation of Previous Research

Purpose - The main aim of this paper is to find out whether the library staff is in compliance with the practice of knowledge sharing practices and whether there is a need for knowledge sharing strategies. Hence, the objective is to find out the degree to which knowledge sharing practices among library staff in their daily operations.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - This study proposes that knowledge sharing practices involve managerial support and individual creativity. It also suggests that senior management needs to support the process of knowledge sharing activities... This conceptual study intends to present its conceptual framework based on previous studies and findings.
 Findings - Previous studies have indicated that five factors such as environmental factor, teamwork, trust, work culture, and technology have a positive effect on knowledge sharing practice.
 Research limitations/implications - This study is limited to the library staff at the IIUM academic library in Gombak campus. It estimates and measures the efficiency and effectiveness as well as explore the effect of knowledge sharing and use of knowledge practices amongst the library staff at IIUM academic library. 
 Originality/value – This is original research aims to enhance the body of literature in knowledge sharing practices in academic libraries by using IIUM Gombak campus library staff as a study setting.

Reviews

Michelle DeMars reviews The Engaged Library: High-Impact Educational Practices in Academic Libraries; Norma Durian reviews A Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Services; Elizabeth Parang reviews Supporting Today’s Students in the Library: Strategies for Retaining and Graduating International, Transfer, First-Generation, and Re-Entry Students.

Fighting an Uphill Battle: Troubleshooting Assessment Practices in Academic Libraries

Scholarly literature provides many examples of librarians who have assessed troubleshooting data in various capacities and demonstrated the benefits that can be gleaned from such an analysis. Though some studies have confirmed that troubleshooting data is often being tracked, the frequency with which that data is being assessed in libraries is not well established. For this study, the author surveyed academic librarians who are currently involved in e-collection management to determine to what extent and for what purposes troubleshooting assessments are being carried out. The results reveal that though many librarians can see the benefits of assessing troubleshooting data, the obstacles to gathering, analyzing, and acting on results are often too great to overcome.

Library public relations practice management: Challenges for academic library public relations practitioners in Nigeria

The interdependency among academic library publics that has become a necessity has ushered in accelerated demand for quality library resources and services. It therefore behooves on academic libraries that want to remain relevant to encourage effective and efficient library public relations practice management. This paper therefore explores library public relations practice management with particular reference to challenges for academic library public relations practitioners in Nigeria. To achieve this, the paper identified, reviewed and analyzed major concepts and looked at the purpose of library public relations practice management in academic libraries. It also discusses the need for library public relations practice management in academic libraries and skills requirements for library public relations practitioners in the management of library public relations practice in academic libraries. The paper also discusses challenges of library public relations practice management such as inadequate financial allocation and the absence of media acceptance. It recommends, among others, that funds be made available for academic libraries for effective and efficient library public relations practice management.

Review: The Engaged Library: High-Impact Educational Practices in Academic Libraries

Review: The Engaged Library: High-Impact Educational Practices in Academic Libraries

Strategies and tools for knowledge management practices in selected academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa

Background: This study investigate strategies and tools for knowledge management practices (KMPs), in selected academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa. The rationale were due to divergent library routines, increasingly users’, influx of information resources in university library repository and Internet, among other factors. KMPs are touted key ingredients for library practices. Objectives: Based on the aforementioned statement, the study investigate strategies and tools for KMPs in selected academic libraries in Nigeria and South Africa. Methods: The quantitative research approach was based on survey, made use of questionnaire to collect data from respondents in the selected academic libraries in South Africa and Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistical tools. Results: Findings indicate that, knowledge management is practiced in diverse ways to include group discussions/meetings, apprenticeships, socialisation and communities of practice, seminars, conferences and workshops. KM tools of decision support systems, database management systems, web portals, electronic document management systems (EDMS), management information systems, were used for generic and specific work operations in the library. Codification strategy serves to deepen how new knowledge promoted KM practices in academic libraries. Conclusion: Universally KMPs is not new, though still at its infancy in some academic institutions in Africa. The need to continually share knowledge to advance quality service delivery in meeting users’ information needs becomes essential. The study recommends insightful methods of coding information and knowledge as a way to re-organise and disseminate local collections, while librarians apply various KM platforms to regulate planning KM activities in academic libraries.

An examination of electronic resource management in academic libraries in Ghana through the Techniques of Electronic Resource Management (TERMS) framework

The management of electronic resources (ERs) has become a core function of academic libraries and researchers have revealed how academic libraries in developed countries are struggling to successfully manage these resources. The scholarly literature on the management of ERs in libraries has predominantly focused on developed country context. Little research has been conducted on how academic libraries in developing countries are managing their online databases. This paper presents the findings of a study that examines ER workflows and the extent to which ER workflows or the practices of managing online databases in academic libraries in Ghana compare with the Techniques of Electronic Resource Management (TERMS) framework. Data were collected from library staff in two public and two private universities, and consortium executives using semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that although efforts had been made to follow standard procedures, some components of the TERMS framework were absent in the ER workflow in both public and private case libraries while other aspects of the workflow were responsibilities of parties external to the libraries. Opportunities exist for improving ERM practices in academic libraries in Ghana. In particular, by involving users in the selection and assessment of ERs, increasing promotional activities, and improving the documentation of ER workflow. The findings also revealed interconnections between various stages of TERMS. The findings provide a basis from which academic libraries can improve their practices and extends the application and revision of the TERMS framework to an African context.

Privacy practices in academic libraries in Ghana: Insight into three top universities

This research contributes to knowledge on privacy practices in academic libraries, by comparing survey data of librarians and their student-patrons in three top Ghanaian public universities. Our research revealed that Ghanaian academic libraries have not been proactive in promoting privacy issues. There is a general lack of awareness among librarians and their student-patrons about library practices, policies and procedures relating to privacy in their institutions. Besides, very little has been done in terms of providing privacy education and communicating the library’s and vendors’ privacy policies to staff and student-patrons. Among others, recommendations were made for library leaders and the library professional association in Ghana to develop toolkits that will facilitate privacy education and privacy advocacy.

Recalibrating Cost-per-Use: Implications of COUNTER Release 5 and Unsub

Calculating the cost-per-use of serials is a common practice in academic libraries, but the accuracy of these calculations requires accurate, comparable usage counts, and shortcomings of previous standards have made obtaining such counts difficult. Librarians may also want to exclude some uses, for example of open access articles, from their cost-per-use calculations, but these uses have often been difficult to identify. This column discusses two recent developments, the adoption of COUNTER Release 5 and the release of an online tool called Unsub, that will lead to improvements in usage counting and a significant readjustment of cost-per-use calculations for many libraries.

Privacy literacy instruction practices in academic libraries: Past, present, and possibilities

This article explores the past, present, and possibilities of privacy and privacy literacy (PL) instruction in academic libraries. It surveys the scholarship on privacy and privacy literacy from the domains of philosophy, anthropology, history, law, education, and LIS. A privacy conceptual model is proposed demonstrating the zones of informational agency that privacy preserves, and a timeline of privacy and libraries documents key developments in privacy culture in the US. Findings from an original exploratory survey of privacy literacy instruction practices in academic libraries are discussed. The survey identifies the rationales, topics, contexts, methods, and assessments academic librarians use in delivering privacy literacy instruction, as well as barriers against privacy literacy that they encounter. The article concludes with a case study explicating the authors’ own privacy literacy instruction experiences, and specific recommendations for overcoming the barriers to delivering privacy literacy instruction in academic libraries identified in the survey findings.

From the pages of North Carolina Libraries - Research and Practice in Academic Libraries: A Case Study

From the pages of North Carolina Libraries

Performance-based evaluation of academic libraries in the big data era

The concept of big data has been extensively considered as a technological modernisation in organisations and educational institutes. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine whether the modified technology acceptance model (MTAM) is viable for evaluating the performance of librarians in the use of big data analytics in academic libraries. This study used an empirical research method for collecting data from 211 librarians working in Pakistan’s universities. On the basis of the findings of the MTAM analysis by structural equation modelling, the performances of the academic libraries were comprehended through the process of big data. The main influential components of the performance analysis in this study were the big data analytics capabilities, perceived ease of access and the usefulness of big data practices in academic libraries. Subsequently, the utilisation of big data was significantly affected by skills, perceived ease of access and the usefulness of academic libraries. The results also suggested that the various components of the academic libraries lead to effective organisational performance when linked to big data analytics.

User Experience Methods and Maturity in Academic Libraries

This article presents a mixed-methods study of the methods and maturity of user experience (UX) practice in academic libraries. The authors apply qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistical analysis to a research dataset derived from a survey of UX practitioners. Results reveal the type and extent of UX methods currently in use by practitioners in academic libraries. Themes extracted from the survey responses also reveal a set of factors that influence the development of UX maturity. Analysis and discussion focus on organizational characteristics that influence UX methods and maturity. The authors conclude by offering a library-focused maturity scale with recommended practices for advancing UX maturity in academic libraries.

Collection development practices in academic libraries in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to assess the collection development practices in academic libraries in Tanzania. Specifically, the study examined the collection development practices and factors that influence these practices. The study involved four academic libraries and employed both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. Primary data were collected through informant interviews, observations and questionnaires methods. The study involved 44 library staff who filled in self-administered questionnaires. The study discloses that collection development practices and particularly evaluation and weeding or deselection are rarely conducted at these academic libraries. The findings further reveal that collection development practices in academic libraries in Tanzania are constrained by inadequate funding, lack of skills for hybrid collection management and lack of collection development policy catering for both print- and electronic-based information resources. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that academic libraries should establish a comprehensive collection development policy and introduce professional development programmes to library staff for efficient management of hybrid collections.

Reading work as a diversity practice: A differentiated approach to reading promotion in academic libraries in North America

This article positions the practice of working with readers in academic libraries as a diversity practice and examines this practice through the lens of the Diversity by Design concept. We use Diversity by Design to propose and explicate a differentiated approach to reading promotion on campus, drawing attention to the broader and multiple meanings of diversity in the context of reading engagements. We look at the differentiated nature of readerships on campuses as an expression of inherent diversity in North American institutions of higher education and, by extension, academic libraries. We also make specific recommendations on how to give reading practices in academic libraries a boost and a new direction, befitting the diverse and eclectic nature of contemporary North American universities.

Survey of information literacy instructional practices in academic libraries

This paper reports a study of information literacy instructional practices in Israeli academic libraries, conducted to understand the methods and approaches used by academic librarians in their instructional work, and to explore whether their practices have been influenced by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The study used an online survey to gather data, an instrument based on one used successfully in similar surveys in Canada and the United States. The survey was completed by Israeli academic librarians with instructional responsibilities. Findings show that respondents believe that information literacy instruction is a shared responsibility, and that one-on-one instruction is the most-used approach. Results reveal multiple challenges faced by respondents, as well as opportunities for improvement in their instruction.

Knowledge management in practice in academic libraries

Developments in higher education present disruptions in the normal operations of an academic library. Shrinking budgets, technological innovations, and changes in staffing each cause organizations to question traditional mores and can motivate managers to utilize new ways of thinking to manage workflow and to address evolving institutional initiatives. Knowledge management has emerged as one such way of thinking about management challenges. The authors present basic knowledge management principles, and identify and analyse knowledge management practices at two academic libraries.

What citation patterns reveal about reading research and practice in academic libraries

Purpose At the turn of the twenty-first century, academic libraries revived their tradition of working with readers, which resulted in a surge of publications in this area. However, the nature and thematic coverage of these publications has not changed dramatically in the past 18 years, signaling little advancement in the reach and scope of this professional activity. This paper aims to address the following research problem: What do citation patterns reveal about reading research and practice in academic libraries and do they point to interdisciplinary research and the presence of an evidence base or do they carry a mark of an inward disciplinary orientation? Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative exploratory study, also involving descriptive statistics, that uses bibliographic and citation analysis as a method. Findings The study discovers a disconnect between the diversity of interdisciplinary research cited in the published work on reading in academic libraries and the sameness of respective professional practices; it describes a relatively small community of reading researchers in academic libraries, emerging as leaders who can change the direction and scope of reading practices; and it highlights a preference of academic librarians for relying on interdisciplinary knowledge about reading over building on the readers’ advisory experience of public librarians. Originality/value Translating the incredible wealth of interdisciplinary reading knowledge possessed by academic librarians into practical applications promises to advance and diversify reading practices in academic libraries. One method that could aid in this effort is more intentional learning from the readers’ advisory practices of public librarians.