Subject Librarians Research Articles

Needed: Improved Collaboration Among Subject Librarians.

The authors presents their view on the need for improved collaboration among subject librarians to enhance the level of service to students and faculty. According to them, there has been a lack of collaboration among subject librarians in academic libraries. They say that opening new channels of communication is vital to serve everyone in an academic department or program.

The View from Cambridge: The Libraries@Cambridge Conference 2012

This article describes the 2012 libraries@cambridge conference, the annual conference of librarians working in the University, Faculty, Department, and College libraries that serve the University of Cambridge. It analyzes the impact of the conference papers on the future development of library services in Cambridge and by extension, similar institutions. Further, the authors contextualize the conference within the broader national future framework of the Research Libraries UK (RLUK) Strategic Plan “The Power of Knowledge” and the future role for subject librarians documented in the Research Information Network 2012 report “Re-skilling for Research: An Investigation into the Role and Skills of Subject and Liaison Librarians Required to Effectively Support the Evolving Needs of Researchers.”

Direct Ordering by Subject Librarians in a Vendor System: A Case Study

Acquiring monographs - print and electronic - is a core function of an academic library. Adopting innovative methods to select and order monographs is a valuable means of demonstrating efficiency and organizational performance, while being focused on timely delivery of materials to the patron community. The University of Ottawa has opted to transform the ordering process for firm orders with its principal vendor, YBP, in order to take advantage of new workflow capabilities offered by the vendor. This involved a reassessment of the division of roles between the Acquisitions service and the collection development librarians. It also involved change management practices and a refocusing on key tactical goals, such as redefining workflows with a user-centered approach; exploiting technology to make our processes as streamlined and effective as possible; and working with vendor partners for mutual advantage. This process can be seen as strategic in an era where the demands for better performance and accountability in library service are ubiquitous. This paper is a case study of the rationale, implementation, and outcomes of our initiative.

ENGLISH

This paper discusses the role of university libraries in promoting and developing information skills ofstudents activators of life-long learning. It defines information literacy and identifies major information literacyskills required by students, and highlights information literacy initiatives in India, particularly the role of agriculturaluniversity libraries in imparting information literacy courses as part of the course curriculum. It also discussesthe information competency programmes of German universities and basic models of teaching informationliteracy skills by subject librarians at some German universities. The difficulties faced in incorporating informationliteracy into regular course curriculum are mentioned. http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/djlit.32.3.2385

Subject librarians' perceptions of institutional repositories as an information resource

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a research project aimed at gaining an understanding of subject librarians' perceptions and promotion of institutional repositories as an information resource for their clients.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used the five attributes of innovations and the change agent concept, both drawn from Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory, as the basis of semi‐structured interviews with nine librarians, spread equally across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences at three universities.FindingsThe researchers found that subject librarians have varying levels of knowledge about institutional repositories as an information resource and hold both positive and negative perceptions. The librarians perceived institutional repositories to be still underdeveloped, with greatest value for humanities clients and least value for science clients, offering little value to undergraduates, but a good resource for accessing theses.Research limitations/implicationsDue to their current perceptions of the value of institutional repositories, subject librarians are not yet promoting them as an information resource. If institutional repositories are to be successful, library managers must not only ensure that content is being input into the repositories, but also that they are being promoted to library clients as valuable information resources, so that the content is being accessed and used.Originality/valueWhile there has been much research in recent years about institutional repositories, the focus has been predominantly on issues related to motivating individuals to input content into them. This research shows that institutional repositories are not yet being perceived or promoted as a valuable information resource by academic subject librarians, who view them as having varying value to their clients.

Re-Skilling for Research: Investigating the Needs of Researchers and How Library Staff Can Best Support Them

In 2010, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) established a project to map the information needs of researchers onto tasks to be undertaken by subject librarians. This was to understand the skills sets required of staff now and in the future and to assess the training needs of existing and new professionals. The project is described in the context of the changing research environment in the UK Higher Education sector. Part of the background to this was an investigation into subject librarian job descriptions, which is explored in this article. The scope and methodology of the RLUK project is described along with key findings. A “researcher life cycle” approach was used to identify researcher information needs. The study showed areas of current activity by subject librarians to support researchers, areas of limited engagement, and areas of potential “next step” activity. It also investigated skills sets required for current and future services and highlighted gaps that will need to be addressed both locally and profession-wide. The project report, Re-skilling for Research, provides tools that can be used for training needs-analysis, building blocks to create job descriptions and person specifications for specialist researcher support roles, plus examples of current good practice in research service provision.

A New Model for Demand-Driven Acquisition

Like other academic libraries, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries has been looking for efficiencies to save money. One method of savings adopted by KU Libraries is a demand-driven acquisition (DDA) model for purchasing monographs. KU librarians were reluctant to endorse this new model until they were given the option to base DDA purchases on price. Working with YBP, a new DDA model was developed to allow subject librarians at KU to choose a price limit for purchases on approval. Any monograph over the price limit was loaded into the library catalog as a DDA. During the development of the new DDA model, subject librarians in science and technology and the social sciences agreed that electronic books would be the preferred format for the approval plan and DDA model. In this paper, KU librarians will map out the processes they used to rewrite their approval plan profile to incorporate DDA and e-preferred acquisitions.

Engineering Integration: Building a Quick and Effective Faculty Seminar

In the spring of 2010, the Science & Engineering Library of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities partnered with the Information Literacy Librarian and offered a faculty seminar to the College of Science and Engineering. The seminar's goals included 1.) refreshing and expanding faculty's knowledge of information and 21st century literacies and 2.) creating a community of faculty committed to developing student skills in finding, evaluating and synthesizing information in their academic coursework and into their professional careers. Overall, the seminar increased faculty understanding of services and expertise of the libraries, and 21st century literacies. It also developed and strengthened ties between individual faculty members and their subject librarians, leading to a mix of outcomes from a faculty member partnering on a grant the Libraries applied for to course integrated instruction sessions to faculty participating in an e-textbook pilot. This seminar provides a strong model for re-framing information literacy in the context of teaching and learning in science and engineering, giving librarians an opportunity to strengthen relationships and increase liaison effectiveness.

Report on learning spaces and subject librarian services in Korean university libraries

Report on learning spaces and subject librarian services in Korean university libraries

Academic Libraries Should Consider a Strategic Approach to Promotion and Marketing of e-Books

Academic Libraries Should Consider a Strategic Approach to Promotion and Marketing of e-Books

The FLARE Index to Treaties Extended

AbstractPeter Clinch, retired Senior Subject Librarian for Law, Cardiff University and Steven Whittle, Information Systems Manager at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies describe the developments relating to the FLARE Index to Treaties.

SLS/BIALL Academic Law Library Survey 2009/2010

AbstractThis is the latest report analysing the results of the survey conducted on behalf of the Society of Legal Scholars and BIALL. It has been written by Peter Clinch, formerly Senior Subject Librarian for Law, Cardiff University

Using the WorldCat Collection Analysis Tool: Experiences From the University of Kansas Libraries

In March 2009, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries began a yearlong subscription to OCLC's WorldCat Collection Analysis (WCA) tool, which was recommended by the associate dean of Technical Services and the assistant dean of Collections and Scholar Services. KU Libraries bases many of its collections decisions on collected data, including usage statistics, overlap analysis, and interlibrary loan statistics. The WCA was perceived as another method of collecting data to make collection development decisions. An implementation committee was appointed by the deans and led by the authors, the head of Collection Development and a social sciences librarian who had experience with the WCA at another institution. The implementation committee set institutional goals and priorities for the project as well as prepared informational documents and conducted training sessions for subject librarians. Librarians submitted reports for each of their collections. Although the project coordinators dealt with the many frustrations experienced by the subject librarians because of the flaws associated with the tool and would change the process for future WCA projects, overall, KU librarians were pleased to discover that the quality of the collections at KU is very high.

You can’t build a car with just one wheel (why duplication may not be such a bad thing), and some limitations of Internet search/retrieval

In this article I survey different approaches to the indexing of time based media (sound and video recordings) in response to 2 articles published in December 2010. Issues of overlap and duplication are discussed as a positive boon. They enable real comparison to be made and different styles may suit different categories of user. The lack of synoptic overview of different applications approaching the same topic is noted. Suggestions are made as to why search engines are not picking up on this. The failure leaves continuing role for human agents such as subject specialists and librarians to see the connections and make complete comparison lists of what is available for end-users.

The changing educational needs of subject librarians: A survey of UK practitioner opinions and course content

The fitness for purpose of professional education for library work has been constantly debated. Librarianship education and library practice have changed significantly as a result of technological, social and other factors affecting information provision and use. The key role of subject librarian in academic libraries has been particularly affected by both technological and pedagogical developments that have transformed the information arena, expanded their teaching activities and raised questions about the relevance and value of contemporary library-related courses for their present hybrid responsibilities. An investigation of UK course content and practitioner opinion was conducted in summer 2010 to explore whether existing programmes offered suitable preparation for current subject librarian roles. A pragmatic mixed methodology combined document analysis of course content with a mainly quantitative sector-wide survey of subject librarians (n=65) and library managers (n=48), followed by interviews with 8 librarians and 7 managers. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results showed generally positive opinions of UK library education, but revealed different priorities among the two groups and a strong desire among subject librarians for improved coverage of pedagogy. Findings confirmed that personal qualities are at least as important as specialist abilities forcontemporary librarians.© 2010/2011 IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Marketing and promotion of e‐books in academic libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report research into the marketing and promotion of e‐books, and use this as a case study context to generate insights into approaches in academic libraries to the marketing of new services. As such it contributes to the limited empirical research on both the introduction of e‐book services and on marketing in academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with 25 academic librarians, in seven case study libraries, holding the following posts: subject librarians, e‐resources librarians, or cataloguers. Interviews focussed on: the existence of a promotion/marketing strategy for e‐books; the marketing and promotion tools used to promote e‐books; promotion via academics; the issues and challenges in promoting e‐books; and future plans for the promotion of e‐books.FindingsNone of the libraries had a marketing communication strategy relating to e‐books, yet, on the other hand, most interviewees were able to point to a range of tools used to promote e‐books, and some had plans for improvements in their promotion activities.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates a laissez faire approach to the marketing of potentially significant new services from academic libraries – providing access to e‐books. Recommendations for development focus on taking a strategic approach to marketing and promotion, managing tensions between promotion and supply, innovation in promotional tools, and influencing word‐of‐mouth.

Head First into the Patron-Driven Acquisition Pool: A Comparison of Librarian Selections Versus Patron Purchases

Although many recent studies have been conducted on the implementation and results of patron-driven acquisition (PDA) initiatives at academic libraries, very few have focused on whether, or how, patrons’ selections vary from selection choices librarians would have made. This study compares titles selected by patrons during a PDA pilot program against titles chosen by subject librarians from the same PDA list. The findings may serve as a starting point for other researchers interested in the impact of user-oriented selection initiatives on a library's collection development.

Higher Education Librarians Are Comfortable and Confident With their Teaching Responsibilities and Pedagogical Knowledge

Higher Education Librarians Are Comfortable and Confident With their Teaching Responsibilities and Pedagogical Knowledge

Collective Serials Analysis: The Relevance of a Journal in Supporting Teaching and Research

The cooperative efforts of the technical service librarian, the business subject librarian, and the business school faculty to gather data in order to rank journals by usage, faculty citations, and faculty perceived worth are examined in this article. Specifically, the authors focus on the following: the process and time invested in the collection of both electronic and hard-copy usage statics' of the journals for each fund in the University of Mississippi's collection; presentation of the access database created by the business librarian to collect and analyze the business school's faculty's citations over the last five years; the matrix developed to analyze the input of the business-school faculty's recommendations for journal cuts to ensure key research and academic support journals were protected; and a comparison between the ordered list and the faculty's recommendations for cuts.

Chat widgets as student/librarian communication tools

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which patrons use chat widgets for individual consultations with subject librarians.Design/methodology/approach – Subject librarians with an embedded chat widget on their research guides were contacted and asked to fill out an 11‐question survey on the use of the widgets by students or faculty for consultation purposes.Findings – Overall, patrons used chat widgets infrequently to consult with their subject librarians. Only 28 per cent of librarians reported weekly or daily consultations through the widget. However, certain factors increased the use of this communication tool. These included advertising the service and longer connection times to the chat widget. Consultations were also more frequent according to librarian age group and subject responsibility.Research limitations/implications – Statistical analyses were precluded due to insufficient number of responses when tabulating cross‐comparisons between survey questions. Only trends,...