bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The boat library of Bangprok community in Thailand
Authors: Zabed Ahmed S.M. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to identify Bangprok community's information needs and to evaluate the performance and impact of its boat library.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology included a complementary two‐stage process. First of all, a house‐to‐house survey was conducted to construct profile of Bangprok dwellers. At the same time, the key informant from each household was interviewed to find out the information needs and seeking patterns. The second part of the research involved a point of exit interview with Bangprok boat library users to undertake user profile and to gather their opinion on the library's performance and impact on community development.FindingsThe results showed that a small‐scaled community library has the potential to make a positive impact on the community. The results also yielded several implications for the boat library, including how its collections and services could be improved to make an equal impact on the community.Originality/valueThis is the first time an effort has been made to assess a community‐based library service in Thailand. This study may trigger more such research on evaluating rural community libraries in Thailand and beyond.
US national accessibility survey: librarians serving patrons with disabilities
Authors: Bonnici Laurie J. , Maatta Stephanie L. , Wells Muriel K. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe paper seeks to determine the state of library services to people with disabilities in the USA. It aims to use social capital theory to provide a lens to reconceptualize equal access in a global context, and to offer insights on the effects of new information technologies for re‐envisioning universal access.Design/methodology/approachLibrarians serving the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) were surveyed. Questions addressed clientele, services, technologies, career opportunities, library and information science education, and librarian demographics.FindingsHuman resources and information technologies are identified as major challenges to the future of information access for disabled persons. Professional perspective suggests there is strong potential for technologies and the internet to bridge the information access divide if libraries commit to providing access through assistive technologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was limited to librarians serving NLS/BPH. A similar survey distributed in other nations could expand the possibilities of future research.Practical implicationsInformation from this survey can aid librarians planning delivery of information services to disabled patrons. Suggestions for shifting from special access to universal access philosophy assure access for all. Results can also help library educators prepare graduates to serve an aging population that will challenge standard methods of information access.Originality/valueThe literature review demonstrates that this survey is the most recent in three decades to determine the state of library and information services to disabled people in the USA. It is the first to address the topic in relation to new technologies, leading to better service through better understanding.
Library‐a‐go‐go: bringing the library to the people
Authors: Hampshire Michele , Sanford Cathy E. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status and challenges of providing library services to commuter populations living in the fastest‐growing region of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the closest library building can be more than 20 miles distant.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the impetus for, and experience of, introducing to the USA familiar ATM‐style technology adapted to lend books.FindingsThe paper suggests ways to correct inequities in delivery of library services to those who are disadvantaged by lack of proximity to a library building.Originality/valueThe paper provides an example of a library implementing, testing, evaluating, and expanding an innovative service.
Practical low‐cost marketing measures
Authors: Cronin Kieran , O'Brien Terry 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate that in increasingly financially constrained times, libraries do not require prerequisite specialised marketing expertise to promote their institution and its services successfully by engaging in cost effective marketing initiatives. It also aims to highlight the potential and importance of marketing to enhance services, communicate services and improve library visibility.Design/methodology/approachA case study is undertaken of the marketing experiences of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Libraries, a small to medium‐sized, publicly funded education institute in South‐East Ireland. The paper details a series of low‐cost, practical marketing measures undertaken by WIT Libraries over the period 2007‐2008, and contextualises them for a collective audience.FindingsWIT Libraries are engaged in a wide range of marketing initiatives, adopting traditional means and Web 2.0 technologies where possible to increase the library's exposure and the services it offers. Predominantly these marketing initiatives do not require a significant financial investment and can be implemented utilising existing library resources in terms of staff expertise and facilities. A “one size fits” all approach does not work for all libraries. Specific marketing techniques can be tailored to suit individual libraries and their users' needs. The authors contend that a range of low‐cost initiatives can be used to successfully promote library services amongst users and the wider community. Further mid‐term evaluation may be necessary.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates with concrete examples how a library with no specialised marketing expertise can adapt to the prevailing financial climate, to engage in cost effective initiatives and promote itself and its services successfully. The article will be of value to similar sized and similarly resourced libraries as a basis for engaging in low‐cost effective marketing initiatives.
Self‐leadership: road to personal excellence
Authors: Topper Elisa F. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of self‐leadership and how it can bring personal excellence.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a literature review and comments on this timely topic.FindingsThe paper finds that if we are to be effective leaders of others, we must first be effective leaders of ourselves.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is bringing attention to this management concept to information professionals.
Measuring the institution's footprint in the web
Authors: Aguillo Isidro 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative, although complementary, system for the evaluation of the scholarly activities of academic organizations, scholars and researchers, based on web indicators, in order to speed up the change of paradigm in scholarly communication towards a new fully electronic twenty‐first century model.Design/methodology/approachIn order to achieve these goals, a new set of web indicators has been introduced, obtained mainly from data gathered from search engines, the new mediators of scholarly communication.FindingsIt was found that three large groups of indicators are feasible to obtain and relevant for evaluation purposes: activity (web publication); impact (visibility) and usage (visits and visitors). As a proof of concept, a Ranking Web of Universities has been built with Webometrics data. There are two relevant findings: ranking results are similar to those obtained by other bibliometric‐based rankings; and there is a concerning digital divide between North American and European universities, which appear in lower positions when compared with their USA and Canada counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsCybermetrics is still an emerging discipline, so new developments should be expected when more empirical data become available.Practical implicationsThe proposed approach suggests the publication of truly electronic journals, rather than digital versions of printed articles. Additional materials, such as raw data and multimedia files, should be included along with other relevant information arising from more informal activities. These repositories should be Open Access, available as part of the public web, indexed by the main commercial search engines. It is expected that these actions could generate larger web‐based audiences, reduce the costs of publication and access and allow third parties to take advantage of the knowledge generated, without sacrificing peer review, which should be extended (pre‐ and post‐) and expanded (closed and open).Originality/valueA full taxonomy of web indicators is introduced for describing and evaluating research activities, academic organizations and individual scholars and scientists. Previous attempts for building such classification were incomplete and did not take into account feasibility and efficiency.
An integrated digital research environment: DFG perspectives
Authors: Lipp Anne 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the vision that the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation (DFG)) pursues with its funding programmes in the field of digital information provision.Design/methodology/approachThe first section of the paper sketches out the strategic decisions which determine the funding policy of the DFG in the field of digital information, while the second section describes in more detail the central funding schemes of the DFG in the field of digital information.FindingsThe funding policy of the DFG seeks to build an integrated digital research environment that includes scholarly publications and primary research data as well as new forms of communication in virtual research and work environments. But it will be only by the common effort of scholars, libraries and providers of scholarly information, funders, publishers and fee‐collecting agencies that the vision of an integrated digital research environment will come true.Originality/valueThe outline of the funding programmes of the DFG in the area of digital information provision will be of interest to librarians and information professionals seeking information about library‐funding policies and strategies in Germany.
Direct use of information extraction from scientific text for modeling and simulation in the life sciences
Authors: Hofman‐Apitius Martin , Younesi Erfan , Kasam Vinod 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the information extracted from scientific text can be directly used in support of life science research projects. In modern digital‐based research and academic libraries, librarians should be able to support data discovery and organization of digital entities in order to foster research projects effectively; thus the paper aims to speculate that text mining and knowledge discovery tools could be of great assistance to librarians. Such tools simply enable librarians to overcome increasing complexity in the number as well as contents of scientific literature, especially in the emerging interdisciplinary fields of science. This paper seeks to present an example of how evidences extracted from scientific literature can be directly integrated into in silico disease models in support of drug discovery projects.Design/methodology/approachThe application of text‐mining as well as knowledge discovery tools is explained in the form of a knowledge‐based workflow for drug target candidate identification. Moreover, an in silico experimentation framework is proposed for the enhancement of efficiency and productivity in the early steps of the drug discovery workflow.FindingsThe in silico experimentation workflow has been successfully applied to searching for hit and lead compounds in the World‐wide In Silico Docking On Malaria (WISDOM) project and to finding novel inhibitor candidates.Practical implicationsDirect extraction of biological information from text will ease the task of librarians in managing digital objects and supporting research projects. It is expected that textual data will play an increasingly important role in evidence‐based approaches taken by biomedical and translational researchers.Originality/valueThe proposed approach provides a practical example for the direct integration of text‐ and knowledge‐based data into life science research projects, with the emphasis on their application by academic and research libraries in support of scientific projects.
Enhancing document modeling by means of open topic models
Authors: Mehler Alexander , Waltinger Ulli 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a topic classification model using the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) as the target scheme. This is to be done by exploring metadata as provided by the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) to derive document snippets as minimal document representations. The reason is to reduce the effort of document processing in digital libraries. Further, the paper seeks to perform feature selection and extension by means of social ontologies and related web‐based lexical resources. This is done to provide reliable topic‐related classifications while circumventing the problem of data sparseness. Finally, the paper aims to evaluate the model by means of two language‐specific corpora. The paper bridges digital libraries, on the one hand, and computational linguistics, on the other. The aim is to make accessible computational linguistic methods to provide thematic classifications in digital libraries based on closed topic models such as the DDC.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of text classification, text‐technology, computational linguistics, computational semantics, and social semantics.FindingsIt is shown that SVM‐based classifiers perform best by exploring certain selections of OAI document metadata.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings show that it is necessary to further develop SVM‐based DDC‐classifiers by using larger training sets possibly for more than two languages in order to get betterF‐measure values.Originality/valueAlgorithmic and formal‐mathematical information is provided on how to build DDC‐classifiers for digital libraries.
The future of eBooks? Will print disappear? An end‐user perspective
Authors: van der Velde Wouter , Ernst Olaf 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find out whether eBooks are cannibalizing print books, as well as an assessment of factors that are influencing eBook usage. Ebooks are a hot topic. Traditional book publishing, especially in the academic world, is changing at a rapid pace. The question on everybody's mind is what direction book publishing will take? Will print survive in the Google‐generation, or is it destined to be totally replaced by eBooks? Springer publishes over 4,000 book titles annually, which are converted into eBooks almost without exception. Being the market leader and innovator of a new business model in electronic books in the STM area, Springer has conducted a study on the implications of the Springer eBook collection in comparison to its print book activities.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on interviews with both end‐users and librarians. In addition, Springer has assessed the (COUNTER‐compliant) usage statistics from SpringerLink.FindingsOverall, Springer's eBook usage is already 50 percent of its journal usage, while the amount of content compared with journals is only 15 percent. Taking this success of eBook usage into account, Springer still believes strongly in the print model, and has recently launched MyCopy: heavily discounted print‐on‐demand books from the electronic versions.Originality/valueThe study shows that print and electronic can exist together, and will complement each other's strengths.
Ranking library materials
Authors: Lewandowski Dirk 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss ranking factors suitable for library materials and to show that ranking in general is a complex process and that ranking for library materials requires a variety of techniques.Design/methodology/approachThe relevant literature is reviewed to provide a systematic overview of suitable ranking factors. The discussion is based on an overview of ranking factors used in web search engines.FindingsWhile there are a wide variety of ranking factors applicable to library materials, today's library systems use only some of them. When designing a ranking component for the library catalogue, an individual weighting of applicable factors is necessary.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the paper discusses different factors, no particular ranking formula is given. However, the paper presents the argument that such a formula must always be individual to a certain use case.Practical implicationsThe factors presented can be considered when designing a ranking component for a library's search system or when discussing such a project with an ILS vendor.Originality/valueThe paper is original in that it is the first to systematically discuss ranking of library materials based on the main factors used by web search engines.
The diffuse library revisited: aligning the library as strategic asset
Authors: Lougee Wendy 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThis paper sets out to explore the shifts in roles evident in the research library community, with illustrative case studies from the University of Minnesota Libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of a review of environmental forces that are fueling changes in research methodologies and scholar behavior. Changes in research library roles are explored in the context of three case studies, highlighting new forms of engagement with the scholar community.FindingsThree University of Minnesota Libraries' initiatives illustrate: the use of behavioral data to design a customized discovery environment for scholarship, new organizational constructs to engage the community in issues related to control of scholarship, and strategies to develop a virtual community in the field of bioethics.Originality/valueThe paper presents the original perspective of a University Librarian of a large research library and draws on earlier analyses of research behaviors, technology, and research library roles.
Upgrading academic scholarship: challenges and chances of the digital age
Authors: Schmiede Rudi 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss what the beginning of the Internet Age means for the functions and structures of scholarly information and communication by looking at and evaluating today's usability and usage of the digital information infrastructure for and by academic scholarship.Design/methodology/approachThe paper gives an overview of the current state of development of digital information in the scholarly cultures and stresses the importance of data as the crucial – and considerably extended – basis of scholarly work. The central role of the publishing world for the academic rewards system is analyzed to consider continuities and discontinuities in scholarly publication.FindingsThe paper advances the thesis first coined by Christine Borgman that today we have an information infrastructure of, but not for, scholarly information. Some ideas and proposals of what should be done to move towards an information infrastructure for scholarly work conclude the paper.Originality/valueThe paper tries to bridge the gap between information professionals as producers and scholars as users of information and communication technologies and shows that a joint debate on these issues is necessary.
PDF in 2109?
Authors: Seadle Michael 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider whether PDF formats are appropriate for long‐term digital archiving.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of examining how well PDF's capabilities fit eReader devices that future scholars may use in addition to or instead of paper print‐outs.FindingsFixity is the advantage that PDF offers for archiving, while its alternatives generally offer greater flexibility for eReader devices. The question for long‐term digital archiving is whether fixity or flexibility best suits the interests of future readers?Originality/valuePDF is widely accepted as a digital archiving format and PDF documents are found in virtually every repository. There has, however, been little discussion as to whether the fixed format is not in fact a long‐term disadvantage.
Distance education and the role of library services in Iran: a case study of Shiraz University Distance Learners
Authors: Khasseh Aliakbar , Sharif Moghaddam Hadi , Jowkar A. 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThis research aims to address the issues in providing information resources and services to the distance education students of Shiraz University.MethodologyUsing a survey methodology, the investigator ran SPSS Software to analyze both descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsThe findings highlighted the most important library services. Although the Virtual Institute of Shiraz University does not offer any of the library services noted, the majority of distance education students are making use of other information resources in their studies.Originality/valueAs the distance education system in Iran is in its infancy, findings of this study can be invaluable in highlighting the most significant library and information services for the distant learners.
InfoQuest: using text messaging to answer reference questions
Authors: Pope Kitty , Peters Tom , Bell Lori 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss text messaging services for libraries. Text messaging presents a new and exciting opportunity for libraries of all types to provide information to people of all ages on the go, where they are, on their cell phones.Design/methodology/approachBased on experiences in the USA, examples are presented of the service use, for example, Altarama, TextALibrarian, AIM.FindingsAlliance library system (ALS), a regional library system in central Illinois, is spearheading an effort to provide the nation's first collaborative text message reference service – InfoQuest – inviting libraries of all types and across the country (and internationally) to work together to increase coverage, reference expertise, and to allow libraries to test the service and the software before venturing out on their own.Originality/valueThis paper will be of interest to librarians, as the InfoQuest project described in it is giving libraries the opportunity to learn how to use the technology, work together to see how their patrons respond to the service, and share promotion and coverage.
The library crisis in New Jersey: a statewide strategy for survival
Authors: Keresztury Tina 
Published: December 2009

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to demonstrate how statewide advocacy and advocacy planning can effectively ward off major threats to library funding.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a case study of New Jersey advocacy efforts when faced with proposed legislation to halve the minimum mandated funding for public libraries in the state. The paper describes various advocacy strategies.FindingsThe advocacy process has had encouraging results, although the threat of funding cuts remains.Originality/valueThe case study demonstrates that creating a statewide task force to focus on advocacy and other advocacy strategies can be effective in thwarting legislative efforts to reduce library funding.