Quality Of Library Collections Research Articles

The evolving role of printed publications in the digital age and relevance for their continued development

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to adhere to the construction of foreign print books. Of course, when the funds are limited or reduced, we can adjust the collection structure according to the utilization situation and reduce the subjects or languages that readers use poorly. Provide data support for library collection development plan.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the development and utilization of printed foreign language books based on the case of the National Library of China (NLC).The quality of library collection is analyzed by list checking method, and the utilization of library collection is analyzed by comparative analysis method and the statistical analysis method is used for language and subject areas, the questionnaire analysis method is used for users in NLC.FindingsForeign printed books plays a certain role in supporting domestic social users. The construction advantages of these print books need to be adhered to and developed. They should not be interrupted or cut down sharply because of many libraries are developing towards digital library or smart library nowadays. Libraries need to balance printed and digital resources in their collection and optimize their printed collection composition in terms of subject areas and unique resources to keep up with evolving needs of their patrons.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not compared with the utilization of e-books.Practical implicationsIn the transition period from traditional library to digital library, quantitative analysis of the construction and utilization of printed book resources can provide research support for the formulation of collection development planning, better service to users and better use of funds.Social implicationsIn the period of library transformation and development, it is of great practical significance to study the construction and utilization of printed books in NLC for resource transformation and service transformation. This paper gives the corresponding analysis and discussion on whether printed books should adhere to and whether they can be optimized.Originality/valueIn the period of Library Transformation and development, it is of great practical significance to study the construction and utilization of foreign language printed books in NLC. The printed book resources can provide research support for the formulation of collection development plan, better service to users and better use of funds.

Knjižnice Hrvatskog vojnog učilišta „Dr. Franjo Tuđman“: izgradnja fonda za 21. stoljeće

Cilj. Radom će se prikazati polazne točke, izazovi, rješenja i dostignuća pri upravljanju knjižničnim fondom te uspostavi sustavne izgradnje knjižničnoga fonda Knjižnica Hrvatskog vojnog učilišta „Dr. Franjo Tuđman”.
 Ukazat će se na važnost stručnog i sustavnog pristupa procesu nabave knjižnične građe i izgradnje knjižničnoga fonda u knjižnici koja djeluje kao specijalna knjižnica u sastavu tijela državne uprave i kao visokoškolska knjižnica u sastavu sveučilišta.
 Prikazat će se utjecaj ulaska u sveučilišnu zajednicu na ustaljene procese upravljanja knjižničnim fondom te utjecaj na kvalitetu izgradnje fonda sustavno vođene nabave za potrebe matične institucije iz same knjižnice.
 Pristup / Metodologija / Dizajn. Opisat će se sastav knjižničnoga fonda i načini nabave knjižnične građe prije ulaska Hrvatskog vojnog učilišta u sveučilišnu zajednicu te prikazati koraci i postignuti rezultati u izgradnji i pokušaju povećanja kvalitete knjižničnoga fonda.
 Rezultati. Prikazat će se značaj sustavnog i planskog upravljanja knjižničnim fondom i nabavom iz same knjižnice na povećanje kvalitete fonda, unapređenje knjižnične djelatnosti te ostvarivanje ciljeva matične ustanove i sveučilišta. 
 Društveni značaj. Ističe se važnost kvalitetnog upravljanja knjižničnim fondovima u knjižnicama u sastavu tijela državne uprave čije su zbirke memorija institucije, a posebice u visokoškolskim ustanovama u kojima su knjižnični fondovi potpora obrazovnim procesima i cjeloživotnom obrazovanju djelatnika institucije. Posebice se ističe važnost vođenja procesa nabave iz knjižnice kao jedine ustrojbene jedinice matične institucije kojoj izgradnja kvalitetnog fonda predstavlja temelj poslovanja. Ističe se uloga i odgovornost knjižničara u proaktivnom ostvarivanju misije matične institucije.
 Ključne riječi: upravljanje knjižničnim fondom, izgradnja knjižničnog fonda, nabava knjižnične građe, Knjižnice Hrvatskog vojnog učilišta „Dr. Franjo Tuđman“, knjižnice Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske.
 Rad je nastao na temelju izlaganja Knjižnice Hrvatskog vojnog učilišta "Dr. Franjo Tuđman": Izgradnja fonda za 21. stoljeće na stručnom skupu Izgradnja, upravljanje i evaluacija zbirki održanog 12. travnja 2019. godine u Zagrebu.

Approaches to studying library collection quality

The quality of library collection is hard to evaluate due to its non-specificity and inconstancy, as well as due to the multiplicity of evaluation specifications. Besides, within the contemporary library collection studies, the concept of “library collection quality” does not correspond with criteria and indicators being suggested. To harmonize disparate requirements and quality specifications, the author applies the polysystem approach which contemplates examining collections as an element of larger systems. Each system, with its own goals, structure and functions, offers its specific requirements. The quality of library collections is analyzed from the viewpoint of structural and functional, technological, marketing, regionological, and culturological approaches. Within every macrosystem, structural elements are defined; their impact upon library collection quality is discussed. The social systems of greater global character (culture, region, market) put forward the requirements reflecting the needs and expectations of the society on the whole, regional communities and individual consumers, correspondingly. These requirements differ depending on the collections, library type and subordination, its goals and strategies and are specified in the library collection models — used as guidelines for designing the library’s technological system. Developing the quality indicators systems for each type of collection interaction within the macrosystems for every library type should become the next stage of library collection quality studies.

Is our Collection Enough or Underutilized?: A Citation Analysis of Master’s Theses

Objective. The quality of library collection depends on how the librarians select materials for purchasing based on existing collection development policy. In the absence of approved policy, working guidelines take effect so there would be a selection guidelines criteria. The use of available selection tools, online book reviews, faculty recommendations, and standard lists will help the collection building. This paper aims to provide an overview of the type of materials Kazakh students utilize to complete their master’s thesis. Specifically, it will have the following objectives: 1) to categorize the types of sources graduate students use in their thesis; 2) to compare the actual count of e-journal titles available in our collection versus the number of e-journal titles used in the reference list; 3) to identify the common journal titles used by the students and its overall journal ranking credibility based on prestige; 4) To further develop the e-resources collection based on the citation analysis. Methods. In 2019, 20 e-theses were uploaded in the repository coming from one school (may also be called college or faculty). It was decided to select from one school only to determine the relevance of the collection coming from one discipline. A sample of 10 theses (50%) was analyzed in this study. Citation analysis was used to measure which materials are currently available in the library. It will also give an impression of whether the material is being used or not. Collection of data was done in an organized manner. A table was created to list the number of referenced items found per thesis. The researchers identified the number of print books, e-journals, conference proceedings, theses and other types of materials. To determine the specific journal titles, they were carefully extracted. Duplicate titles were combined and were counted as one unique entry. Using the SJR online, the researchers identified the quartiles of each title and determined the impact of the journals based on the ranking. Journal titles were searched and availability was verified using the online journal finder A-Z journal title list provided by the EBSCOHost. Non-quartile journal titles were also verified using Scopus. Results. An average of 59 references was listed by a graduate student in his/her master’s thesis. Each student may have used 17.6 print books to cite in their thesis and 32.4 journal articles in which some of them may have referenced a suspected predatory journal. There are 199 unique journal titles cited in 10 master’s theses. 19.6% of which is unavailable in the subscription but needs to be verified if they are indexed in leading citation databases. At least 50% of the theses had more journal titles categorized as Q1 journals. Another 50% the theses included more Q2 journals than Q1. One thesis cited more journal publications with no quartile but was able to reference 68% of journal titles coming from Q1-Q4 journals. In terms of journal availability, the library holds 80% of the journal titles cited in the reference list that are available whether by subscription or Open Access. Conclusions. It is apparent that master’s students from the graduate school of education will likely cite more journal articles than books. At least 50% of the students get their references from Q1-ranked journals based from the SJR ranking. The library has a promising and huge collection of e-journal titles as it has almost 80% of the titles available in the library subscription. The sample revealed that the library is capable of providing a good quality of journal collection that can be used by the students and faculty members as well. We can proudly say that our collection is above the average. We need to still dig deeper how much of our collection is used extensively by the other members of the academic community.

Evaluation of academic library collection using a check-list method

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the ILS library collection of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) in Osijek, Croatia and its congruence with the curriculum.The quality of the collection is measured using the check-list method. The required and optional reading lists of the Department of Information Sciences at the FHSS (academic year 2011/2012) are used as standard lists that the library holdings are compared to.The results found that the library does not have 30.8 per cent of the titles on the reading lists. The remaining 33.9 per cent of the titles are accessible in the library, 28.5 per cent are free electronic resources, and 6.8 per cent of titles are accessible for students through the Department’s Moodle, Learning Management System.The study provides data about the titles available and not available in the FHSS library. However, it does not differentiate between the titles on the required and optional reading lists.This study provides the FHSS librarians with the list of titles that should be obtained in the near future.In Croatia, very few papers on collection assessment have been published so far, and this is the first study about the quality of a library collection at the University of Osijek. The paper attempts to fill that gap and contribute to a deeper understanding of the quality of library collections in the Croatian academic setting.

A Comparison of Selected Aspects of Finnish and Polish Public Libraries

Abstract The article presents and compares the general situation of public libraries and readership in Finland and Poland at the beginning of the 21st century, based on selected statistical data on the topic. In order to correctly understand the library policy of Finland - a country in which it is impossible to implement cultural policy without taking into account the geographical and natural conditions of individual regions - the most important data on the country are presented and compared with data on Poland. Statistical schedules, online reports on the activity of public libraries, libraries’ homepages, legislative acts and professional library science magazines, among others, served as source materials for the conducted analysis. The comparative method, documentation analysis method and statistical method were used to achieve the assumed objectives. Considering the limitations on the article size, a decision was made to select a few specific aspects of the topic for analysis - the most important ones in the author’s opinion. Among others, these included information on public libraries made available in both countries, contemporary government policies implemented towards the institutions that the author is interested in, conducting qualitative and quantitative research, generating reports on the research, as well as the governments’ compliance with international and national standards of the quality of library collections, personnel and services.

The Quality of Library Collection in the Era of Information and Communication Technologies

There are compared the consumer properties of library collections and Internet resources. There are identified the competitive advantages of library collection at the terms of active implementation of information and communication technologies.

A Study on the Decision-Making Thinking of the Management of University E-Library in Taiwan

As of end of December 2010, Taiwan reports over 160 colleges and universities and is proclaimed as a country that reports highest college density. Therefore, a heavy impact and acute competition between colleges and universities has made the schools spare no effort to enhance quantity & quality of teaching and research related resources to stay competitive. However, a large improvement is required to the existing university e-libraries in terms of manpower allocation, budget amount, software & hardware facilities, quantity & quality of library collection and management philosophy deficiencies. Therefore, the management of various libraries needs to reinforce librarians’ capabilities in management and decision making to enhance overall library performance. The paper mainly follows various decision-making thinking, decision-making philosophy, decision-making mindset, decision-making methods and decision-making discipline ideas of Habitual Domains, with over 10 years personal experience of being a curator of university library considered to come up with strategies that are beneficial to the decision making thinking of university curators in Taiwan, so as to achieve the performance of library affairs and to expect to enable a new opportunity for the future development of university e-libraries in Taiwan.

Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP) and the provision of library service in Tanzania: a Case Study of Sumbawanga Municipality

This article examines the status of school library service provision after the establishment of the Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP) in Sumbawanga Municipality, Tanzania. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and observation from four secondary schools. Findings show that the surveyed schools had libraries, with various materials, like books, magazines, video and audio tapes. CD-ROMs and computers were rarely found. Findings also revealed that although there were some improvements in the quality of library collections after the introduction of SEDP, the library services offered did not meet learning and teaching needs. There were few books, and space and furniture were inadequate. It is recommended that school library services should be prioritized with a variety of resources in print and electronic formats. As a long-term measure school libraries should be managed by professional staff. Lastly, Education programmes like SEDP should include all education stakeholders, including library experts, who would advise the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) and the government in general on issues concerning school library services.

A student-centered, classroom-based approach to collection building

While surveys are a popular method for assessing the quality of library collections, they are usually administered in the library or are sent to a sampling of students. Surveying students in the classroom using course-specific questionnaires and interviewing their instructors adds value to this method of collection building.

The role and impact of library of congress classification on the assessment of women's studies collections

Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary field with components not often found in traditional fields of study. The Library of Congress Classification schema, which is the basis of most standard collection assessment tools currently used in the United States, fragments the literature of Women's Studies among the traditional fields of study, making it difficult to assess the quality of library collections in that field. A suggested strategy for overcoming the problem is for librarians to create their own bibliographies to use for assessing their collections. One particularly fruitful avenue is the Internet, which permits searching many remote catalogs for bibliographic information. In order to build and assess Women's Studies collections more effectively, the field should be perceived as “Women Across the Curriculum” instead of in the mode of a traditional discipline.