University Libraries In China Research Articles

DMAIC Model’s Relative Efficiency Analysis of Input and Output in Cultural Construction of University Library and Mental Health Education of College Students

Abstract To solve the problems in the construction of the internal quality assurance system in some colleges and universities, such as the difficulty in forming the quality culture, the imperfection of the system construction, and the insufficiency of the information platform construction, etc. By analyzing the five stages of the DMAIC model, the process of diagnosis and improvement is proposed, and from the definition stage, measurement stage, analysis stage, improvement stage, control stage, the improvement strategy of diagnosis, and improvement of internal quality assurance system is described. Through the application of the DMAIC model in actual cases, it can provide ide reference for the construction of internal quality assurance systems in colleges and universities. According to the BCC model in the DEA model, the author studies the relative effectiveness of the input and output of 12 university libraries in China. The results show that university libraries with effective technology accounted for 66.67%, while those without effective technology accounted for 33.33%, it also analyzes the investment changes of non-technical effective university libraries. This has an important reference and inspiration to improve the management of university libraries.

Investigating gamification services of university libraries in China

Purpose This study aims to analyze the construction of gamification service in university libraries in China and to help university libraries improve service and user experience. Design/methodology/approach This study took 147 university libraries in China as research object, analyzed the gamification services announced by these libraries on official websites, Weibo, WeChat and other platforms during the period from July 1, 2021 to August 20, 2022, and investigated the gamification services from the four aspects of functions, forms, game elements and mechanisms. Findings The results show that the gamification service of university library in China is often used in the popularization of scientific and cultural knowledge, information literacy education, reading promotion, library service promotion and library entrance education. Questions and answers, points contests, passing the game level and treasure hunting are common forms of games. At the same time, many gamification services combine game elements such as points, leaderboards and grades with the game mechanism to enhance readers’ participation. Originality/value This study investigates gamification services of university libraries in China and provides suggestions for optimizing gamification services, which can provide reference for libraries in China and other countries.

Providing a Social-Messaging-Based Research Help Service with No Funding at Sichuan University Library

This column shares the experience of using QQ, a Chinese social messaging tool, by Sichuan University Library in China, to provide an alternative informal reference service in addition to more traditional and formal methods of reference desk, telephone, online message/comment, and instruction, without additional funding.

A Study on the Optimization Strategy of Information Literacy Education in University Libraries in China

In the era of information explosion, information literacy is particularly important for everyone. The most important educational responsibility of colleges and universities is to cultivate comprehensive applied talents for the society, and the university library is the main position for colleges and universities to cultivate students' information literacy. This paper studies the importance of improving college students' information literacy in the information age, the problems existing in university information literacy education, and the optimization strategy of information literacy education in university library.

Student Experience and Satisfaction in Academic Libraries: A Comparative Study among Three Universities in Wuhan

In recent years, the spatial renovation of university libraries in various countries has focused on readers’ needs and followed the trend to develop learning spaces as a primary spatial form. In this study, we reviewed six spatial dimensions affecting student users’ learning experience. Specifically, we built a theory- and practice-based conceptual analysis framework to measure users’ satisfaction with recent spatial renovations at three university libraries in Wuhan, China. We used SPSS statistical software to conduct multiple linear regression analyses of spatial satisfaction. The findings show that five spatial dimensions significantly affect students’ satisfaction with library space, namely, service facility availability, quality of interior design, physical environment elements, spatial diversity, and learning space controllability. Service facility availability is the most critical factor affecting spatial satisfaction. In this study, we present empirical, evidence-based space elements that enhance user satisfaction with library spaces, and provide targeted design suggestions for future library space renovation and the optimization of space allocation and expansion of space services at university libraries in China.

Study on the Present Situation and Optimization Path of Gamification Design in Chinese University Libraries

In this paper, 137 “First-class universities” and “First-class discipline” construction universities in China are selected as the objects of investigation to analyzes the present situation and characteristics of the game design of University Library in China. Taking the university library in other countries as the reference object, this paper compares the differences of the game design of University Library in China and other countries, sums up the deficiency of the gamification service practice in Chinese university libraries. At last, this paper proposes an optimization path of the gamification design of Chinese University Library from six aspects of game type, game service object, game interactive mode, game application, game development and game play-ability.

How do first-year students perceive learning support services in Chinese university libraries?

There are many studies on the learning support services of university libraries, but there are few on the first-year students’ perception of learning support services in Chinese university libraries. As a special user group, first-year students are in a transition period of learning modes and have special perceptions on learning support services of university library. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perception of first-year students on the learning support services of Chinese academic libraries, by adopting questionnaire survey method. Three hundred and fifty-two valid questionnaires were collected. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse numeric data. The results show that the information needs of first-year students in Chinese university libraries can be divided into two types. The university library can meet the information needs of first-year students through venue visits and welcoming activities for first-year students. At present, first-year students are satisfied with the service projects of university libraries in China, but the learning support services of university libraries still have some problems, such as weak publicity, lack of experience sense, and lack of rich form and content of service. This study provides support for librarians and managers in university libraries to develop strategies for improving first-year students’ satisfaction with learning support services.

The Current Situation and Optimization Strategy of Paper Books Utilization in University Library

Paper books and documents are the main media of information service in most university libraries. In order to study the main reasons for the decline of the utilization rate of paper books in university libraries, this paper takes a well-known university library in China as an example, discusses the current situation of its low utilization rate of paper books and the reasons for the problems, and puts forward relevant optimization strategies, so as to promote the improvement of the construction quality of university libraries in China.

The Evolution and Approaches of Information Analysis Service of University Libraries in China

ABSTRACT The role of reference and information service has been redefined in some Chinese university libraries. In these libraries the focus of reference and information service has transformed into information analysis. University libraries have been a participant in the management and evaluation in scientific research, technological innovation, and discipline construction. The information analysis service of Zhejiang University Library is a typical case. Zhejiang University library established an information analysis group in 2009 in reference and information service division. To further guarantee the professionalism of service, the information analysis service center was set up in 2018 as a separate division. Over the past decade, information analysis service has played the potential of library in supporting decision-making, scientific research and innovation, discipline construction, research performance evaluation, etc. Information analysis service makes the popularity and status of the university library improve continuously. The evolution of information analysis service of Zhejiang University Library is reviewed in this paper, from the initial stage to the expansion stage, and then to the establishment of professional division. Approaches to promote the progress of information analysis service are summarized. The future goals are also discussed from the perspectives of strengthening the innovation mind-set, librarian development, and information analysis literacy.

Embedded Librarianship is Not Well Understood by Librarians at Chinese Universities, but Represents a Promising Service Model

A Review of:
 Sun, H., Liu, Y., Wang, Z., & Zuo, W. (2019). Embedded librarianship in China: Based on a survey of university libraries. The Library Quarterly, 89(1), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1086/700663
 Abstract
 Objective – To determine the extent to which embedded librarianship is understood and implemented with a focus on service models, best practices, and barriers.
 Design – Survey questionnaire with follow up interviews.
 Setting – Provincial and ministerial university libraries in China.
 Subjects – Subject or liaison librarians from the 84 institutions with science and technology “information searching and evaluation centres” called S&TNS (p. 56).
 Methods – The authors identified potential participants through the eligible institutions’ library websites or by contacting the library’s managers. Then they randomly selected three librarians (n = 252) from each library to be invited to participate. 56 responded from 41 unique institutions. When respondents indicated that their library had embedded library services, the authors contacted them for follow up interviews.
 Main results – Results of the questionnaire revealed that most respondents were unclear about the concept of embedded librarianship with many mistaking traditional models of librarianship as embedded. Roughly half (n = 21) of respondents reported embedded librarians at their institution.
 Follow up interviews revealed five models of embeddedness: (1) subject librarianship, (2) teaching information retrieval or library orientation sessions, (3) participation in research teams, (4) co-location with academic departments, and (5) assisting university administration with decision-making. Only half of these libraries (n = 11) conducted some form of assessment.
 Conclusion – Embedded librarianship is a promising, but not yet widely adopted model in Chinese university libraries. More should be done to advocate for its implementation or libraries risk obsolescence.

Making the digital turn: Identifying the user requirements of digital scholarship services in university libraries

This paper reports on a research study aiming to identify the user requirements of digital scholarship services (DSS) in university libraries. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, a case study approach was adopted as the overarching methodology. Wuhan University Library (one of the top university libraries in China) was adopted as the case study. Specifically, a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach was employed for the case analysis. A qualitative study was performed aiming to identify and qualify users' DSS requirements. The analysis of qualitative interview data pointed to 17 DSS requirements under five themes: formulating research ideas, locating research partners, writing research proposals, conducting research, and publishing results. Subsequently, a quantitative Kano model analysis was undertaken to validate, verify and prioritise the DSS requirements identified. Based on measuring individual requirements' priority, DSS requirements were classified into four types: must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, and indifference. Finally, a set of strategic suggestions for DSS development were devised. This paper is of interests to library and information science researchers, as well as library managers and professionals. Although the data were collected from a university library in China, the research findings provide useful insights and implications that can be shared across international borders.

Wechat Service of University Library under the Mode of O2O Reading Promotion

This paper systematically sorts out the current situation of WeChat service in the field of university library in order to promote the orderly and indepth development of WeChat service in university library. By investigating and analyzing the Wechat service of 42 university libraries which have won the “National Reading Demonstration Base” in China, the author points out the problems in the use of Wechat service in reading promotion of University Libraries in China, such as the lack of standardization in the setting of public number, the weak interaction between WeChat public number platform readers and backstage staff, and the insufficient development of the reading promotion column on WeChat public number platform. This paper points out the development direction of university library reading promotion using WeChat public number platform. In order to provide meaningful reference for other university libraries to improve the quality of reading promotion.

Quantitative representation of perception and evaluation method for service quality in university library under 4-D space

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality of university library more accurately and dynamically and improve the service efficiency of library. The paper realizes quantified representation of library service quality and overcomes the shortcoming of the traditional library evaluation system, which does not consider reader’s identity and cannot be evaluated separately. In addition, according to the function configuration of each department of library, a relation between library evaluation parameter and its organization structure is built. According to the evaluation results and the chain of relations, some suggestions for improving library service can be put forward; thus, it can improve the quality of library service and management efficiency.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, a four-dimensional (4-D) representation method is put forward to express four kinds of parameters, namely, the category of participants, the number of people evaluated, the rating level and the weight of parameters, which is expressed by chromaticity and a three-dimensional column coordinate space. Considering the existing evaluation methods such as LibQUAL+TM, the content of evaluation parameters, the grade of evaluation parameters and the weight of evaluation parameters are modified. Using the volume and the equivalent number of people under this evaluation system, the evaluation grade can be quantified and the total results can be evaluated quantitatively.FindingsThe evaluation model proposed in this paper is a 4-D system that is based on content parameters to evaluate the number of participants, score segments, evaluation content weights and reader information. It gives full consideration to the good advice of many scholars and combines the actual operation of domestic libraries. The situation effectively integrates successful experience abroad. Both the undergraduate and teacher sampling evaluation results and their analysis in this paper show the accuracy and credibility of the method.Originality/valueAlthough the satisfaction index model has a good effect in foreign countries, taking into account that readers of university libraries in China are different from those in foreign countries in the evaluation methods of the tutorial, professional multi-level evaluation will produce greater errors in practical applications. The traditional four-level method based on Chinese education evaluation (excellent, good, pass and fail) has reached consensus among teachers and students in practical application, and it is easy to achieve consistency. Therefore, this paper also adopts four-level evaluation, that is, very satisfied, satisfied, generally satisfied and very dissatisfied. The embedded application will be able to perform dynamic evaluation and thus can be used in China. The evaluation of service quality in university libraries provides an effective new method.

Research on the Status Quo and Countermeasures of Socialized Service Based on University Library

With the continuous improvement of China's social and economic level, education, especially college education, has been highly valued by people and has achieved certain results. For the development of colleges and universities, library construction is an important part of it and to a certain extent promotes the stable development of colleges and universities. Judging from the actual development of domestic university libraries, many university libraries have gradually entered the path of socialized service. Due to the profound influence of traditional education mode and test-oriented education concept, many university libraries in China are currently developing socialization. There are some problems that need to be solved in the service work process. The existence of these problems makes many domestic university libraries unable to play their own roles and individual values, and it also seriously affects the rapid development of China's college education. Based on this situation, the author makes an in-depth analysis and discussion on the status quo and optimization strategies of the socialization service of university libraries in China, hoping to provide reference for the social service work of college libraries nationwide.

The Developments and Measures of the Intellectual Property Information Service in University Libraries in China

The Developments and Measures of the Intellectual Property Information Service in University Libraries in China

Secrets of Lighting: Library Book Stack Illumination and Its Influences on Readers’ Book-Searching Behaviors

Abstract Book stack illuminance was recorded by a luminometer from September 2016 through September 2017 based on tracking-observation in two libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign in the US and the Jiangsu University Library in China. Independent-samples T test and one-way analysis of variance were used for records data analysis. Further, an experiment was designed to measure the effects of book stack lighting environment on readers’ book-searching behaviors. Independent-samples T test was used for experiment data analysis. It was found that the seasonal illuminance of book stacks changed irregularly, which meant that two hypotheses (1 and 2) central to this study were not fully supported, and the day-night illumination differences on the stacks was significant in UIUC libraries for three seasons, and completely significant in JSU Library. In the course of behavior experiments, stack lighting had no significant effect on American participants’ searching performance, while the results in the library of China were diametrically opposite. Therefore, the lighting system in book stacks should be optimized through choosing the appropriate light sources, adjusting the approaches to book stack lighting and, even more, considering readers’ expectation and perception during library lighting designing, so as to increase their efficiency in book-searching.

Comparing the Level of Commitment to In-Depth Reference and Research Support Services in Two Sets of Chinese Universities

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to compare the service levels of in-depth reference and research support services in Chinese university libraries. The samples in this study included three groups: 20 libraries from the top 100 Chinese universities, 20 midwest provincial university libraries in China, and 20 coastal provincial university libraries in China. The in-depth reference and research support services of these libraries were studied through online investigation, case study, and analysis. The results revealed that the reference services of the libraries from the top 100 Chinese universities rated superior to those of the provincial university libraries. The midwest provincial university libraries had fewer reference services than the coastal provincial university libraries. The reference services supplied by the agricultural university library were rated as the most useful, followed by science and technology, engineering, and medical university libraries, respectively. And, WeChat and QQ were useful tools that had Chinese characteristics.

Towards digital scholarship services in China’s university libraries

Purpose This paper aims to report on a literature review that aimed to establish a guiding framework for the development of digital scholarship services in China’s university libraries. Design/methodology/approach The framework was developed through systematically searching, screening, assessing, coding and aggregating digital scholarship services as reported in the existing body of literature. Three types of literature were included in the analysis: international academic literature as reported in English; academic literature in Chinese; and relevant professional reports. Findings The literature analysis pointed to 25 different digital scholarship services, which emerged in six themes: supporting services, formulating research ideas, locating research partners, writing proposals, conducting research and publishing results. Originality/value Although this literature review focused on university libraries in China, the research findings and the guiding framework developed provide useful insights and indications that can be shared across international borders.

Application of WeChat in university libraries in China

Application of WeChat in university libraries in China

Can in-house use data of print collections shed new light on library practices? Statistical evidence from a five-year longitudinal study in China

Libraries worldwide are encountering limited budgets, rising e-collection prices and declining check-out use of print books. It is necessary for administrators to demonstrate physical library value to stakeholders and make empirically based collection development decisions. This five-year longitudinal study of the Southern Medical University Library in China was conducted based on the in-house use and the check-out use data of the whole collection from 2012 to 2016. We found that the in-house use of print materials was positively correlated with the check-out use. In-house use represented 26.78% of the total circulation, on average. Academic bound periodicals and reference books were rarely used in-house. The in-house use ratio differed greatly among subjects, and subjects with frequent check-out use approximated the average ratio. Collections with high check-out use also had a high in-house use ratio. Of the books, 46.1% of the titles were used only in-house, and titles of in-house use were 1.5 times that of check-out use, although the average frequency of in-house use was lower than check-out use. Check-out use data could not comprehensively represent in-house use. In-house use data provided important information for the physical library’s value estimation and collection weeding. We provide practical suggestions on in-house use data collection, collection development and weeding work.