Journal articles on the topic 'Libraries'

Digital library dealt with information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures that is different from manual library infrastructure. Digital library is the growing demand in contrast to manual library, which demanded for systems' librarians or digital librarians. The collected data from seven libraries in Nepal to examine the availability of Systems' librarian manpower provided no light of hope. Those libraries were selected using convenient judgmental sampling through a short interview with currently available librarians about the concept of a Systems' librarian. Digitally skilled and responsible for digital data management personnel was defined as systems' librarians who have the necessary knowledge and skills in library software, networking, data entry, and troubleshooting of ICT-related issues. The study found that out of the seven libraries, only two had systems' librarians, yet their designation was not pin-pointedly named as' systems' librarian'. While others lacked the required manpower. The study also revealed that there were no Systems' Librarians in any of the libraries. The respondents' attitudes and perceptions towards the Systems' Librarian concept varied, with some accepting it as adaptable, acceptable, and appreciable. The study recommended for the recruitment of Systems' Librarians in Nepal as the library’s resources adopted the concept of paperless and library-without-wall. The lack of concerned manpower to look after electronic resources could lead to serious problems, and it's time for the Nepal Library Association and stake holders to advocate for the specialized manpower for the post of Systems' Librarian (also called digital librarian) and generate skilled manpower.

Information repackaging is one of the library's efforts to meet users' information needs in the new normal era. Libraries need to prepare various strategies in providing repackaging products as a library service innovation. This research aimed to describe various aspects and stages of library strategy design in information repackaging in the New normal era. The research used a qualitative approach through literature studies research methods. The results showed that libraries and librarians in the new normal era needed to pay attention to various aspects and stages in designing a digital information repackaging strategy. Aspects of the information repackaging strategy include determining the source of packaging information, types of information repackaging products, and information repackaging methods. Libraries carry out information repackaging strategies by making information repackaging the library’s flagship program and the librarian's main job, understanding the information behavior of the library's native digital users, disseminating digital information packages through social media and collaborative networks, changing the librarian’s role into social librarians and public knowledge and implementing a Marketing and Public Relations (MPR) strategy to disseminate information repackaged products to users. The head of the library plays an important role in supporting librarians in carrying out information repackaging activities. This research concludes that the librarian strategy of repacking information in the new normal era is needed to improve library services that are more creative, interactive, and innovative, in accordance with the user's information needs.

The role of adaptive librarians affects the implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially in governmental libraries. It adjusts the competencies and abilities needed by librarians. Therefore, librarians are required to rebuild and improve their skills related to ICT. In Indonesia, Standar Kompetensi Kerja Nasional Indonesia (SKKNI) 2019 is used as a national education & training framework for librarians. To explore this theme according to SKKNI, a sequential exploratory research was conducted with contributions from librarians and/or library staff who work in governmental libraries across the Republic of Indonesia. Through in-depth interviews, focused group discussions with 28 librarians from 14 governmental libraries in Jabodetabek, also an online survey (74 respondents), the researchers were able to gain a pattern that showed the tendency of higher ability level in the competency units related to ICT utilization in the library than the competency units in developing library information systems. The unit of competence with the highest mean score is the unit of competence related to multimedia production, including the management of the library’s social media content. Aligning with this result, National Library as the central supervisor for the librarian needs to collaborate with related stakeholders, especially in accommodating competence development efforts to build a national digital ecosystem. Those efforts include the formulation of continuing development program -gradual education and training program. Through this collaboration between various stakeholders, the development of librarian competencies specifically within governmental libraries can be carried out efficiently, following the real needs in the field.

The purpose of this research is to examine the current conditions of bibliotherapy services of medical librari es, to conduct survey on the librarians of perception about bibliotherapy services, and based on the results of this survey, to provide basic data for bibliotherapy services of medical libraries. To do this, survey was conducted on 57 librarians of 57 medical libraries among the member libraries of the Korea Medical Library Association, and 57 librarians of 57 libraries responses were used for the final analysis. Through the results of this research, it can be seen that the librarians in the medical libraries perceive highly of providing bibliotherapy services for the users.

A usability study was run to validate terminology (labels) for seeking librarians from the UTA Libraries homepage. Seven new labels were proposed by librarians. They hoped these labels would help users in finding them and discovering librarians various skills to meet users' needs. Students were presented with a paper prototype of the library's homepage that included the seven proposed labels. They were asked to find information using two search goals as it related to seeking assistance from a librarian.

New public librarians will get a solid return on their investment with Barbara A. Alvarez’s new release, Embedded Business Librarianship for the Public Librarian. Alvarez offers libraries a step-by-step guide to make business services in public libraries a success. As Alvarez points out, not all public librarians have business degrees, and providing business services in public libraries can be daunting to those new to the profession. Luckily, this primer by Alvarez, who served as a business liaison librarian, gives the rest of us a guide for serving as an embedded librarian for the business sector through organized and systematic involvement in the community.

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected higher education and cultural sector, including libraries. Most of the libraries in Mongolia were physically closed for patrons. Librarians were suddenly tasked moving from in-person service into online and the Covid-19 pandemic affects policies, strategies, activities, behavior itself and the library’s future development strategy was not considering the effect of Covid-19. The aim of this paper is to explore how Mongolian libraries satisfy the need of their patrons in unexpected situation, such as Covid-19-induced transition to adapt to keep afloat, to identify the main issues that have arisen and make recommendations for the betterment of libraries’ role in such situations. To be more specific, we address the following research questions: To what extend Covid-19 affected library daily activities? Will the library service styles, perspectives, strategies, patrons’, and librarian’ attitudes change in the future? To address the research issues a quantitative and qualitative content analysis was used on a dataset created from a questionnaire survey and interviews from librarians and patrons. The aim was to find out whether libraries can meet patrons’ needs and if the staff is fully paid. Besides, the analysis covered such criteria as printed and e-book usage, internal and external online databases, other library services usage during the pandemic period, and positive and negative impact of Covid-19. The results were then compared to the indicators of the pre-Covid-19 period.

University libraries must play an important role in assisting the improvement of scientific research capabilities in the field of economics and management disciplines. For this reason, most university libraries have taken some measures, such as establishing a subject librarian system and building digital resource libraries. However, the subject librarian system in some university libraries is not perfect, the quality of information services is not high, the role of academic exchange platforms is not fully utilized, and there is less organization of training in scientific research methods and skills. To enhance the scientific research capabilities of economics and management disciplines, university libraries should enhance the service capabilities of subject librarians, use digital technology to provide precise subject services, build academic exchange platforms, normalization of training.

Libraries and librarians have been among the chief promoters and supporters of oral history programs. Not only have they collected, preserved, and made accessible the taped interviews conducted by microphone-toting historians, but, in a great many cases, libraries and librarians actually have been the sponsors of oral history projects and programs. In some notable instances, it has been the librarian wielding the microphone. Over the years, libraries have teamed oral history with everything from bookmobile service to children’s programming, classroom projects, and local history and genealogy activities.

Social media play a vital role in libraries today. This study aims to explore the capabilities have in social media and its effect on librarians’ efficiency. This article briefly explains the dynamic capabilities of social media that contribute to librarian efficiency. Four capabilities have been identified from the literature review: (i) information processing capability, (ii) relationship capability, (iii) service innovation capability, and (iv) tools capability. Each of the capabilities has its criteria and characteristics. All the capabilities support the libraries to fulfill their user's needs. The dynamic capabilities of social media contributed to librarians’ efficiency in many aspects such as literacy skills, reference, and user services. This article also shared the experience of academic libraries in Western Uttar Pradesh, New Zealand, Ghana, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia in using social media for librarians’ efficiency. This study will contribute to the effectiveness and efficiencies of the librarians in organizing the libraries.

Objective: This article describes the evolution of academic public health library services from standalone academic public health libraries in 2004 to centralized services by 2021. Methods: Five public health libraries serving public health graduate programs (SPH) at public and private institutions were visited in 2006-07. Visits comprised tours, semi-structured interviews with librarians and local health department staff, and collecting of contemporary print documents. We compiled and compared visit notes across libraries. In 2022, we reviewed online materials announcing library closure or transition for timing and how services were to be subsequently provided. Results: Libraries and SPH were co-located and most librarians maintained public health expertise though they did not have faculty appointments in their SPHs. Specialized statistical and geographic information systems (GIS) software and data were provided in partnership, often with other system libraries. Only two libraries had strong connections to health departments–one with direct service agreements and another engaged in public health training. Conclusion: Academic public health libraries’ relationships with SPH and health departments did not ensure their existence as standalone entities. Following a national trend for branch libraries, public health information services were centralized into larger health or science libraries. The scope and specialization of librarian expertise continues to be valued with several institutions having librarians dedicated to public health.

A Review of: Agosto, D. E., Bell, J. P., Bernier, A. & Kuhlmann, M. (2015). “This is our library, and it’s a pretty cool place”: A user-centered study of public library YA spaces. Public Library Quarterly, 34(1), 23-43. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2015.1000777 Objective – To add empirical evidence to the study of young adult (YA) spaces and creation of related guidelines by investigating librarians’ and teens’ perceptions of YA spaces and their use in public libraries. Design – Qualitative thematic analysis of video data content. Setting – 25 public libraries in the United States of America. Subjects – A librarian, and a teen of their choosing, at each of the 25 selected libraries. Methods – The researchers chose 25 public libraries randomly from a list of 257 libraries profiled from 2005-2010 in Library Journal’s annual index of new and renovated libraries. Each of the 25 libraries was sent a video camera, and the selected librarian and teen each recorded a narrated tour of their library’s YA space. The cameras were returned to the researchers, who had the audio of the recordings transcribed, referring back to the video for any narration that needed clarification. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcriptions to identify major- and sub-categories of space and space-use characteristics. Empirical results were reported as a numerical figure representing the number of videos (n=42 total usable videos) in which a particular theme was mentioned at least once. Main Results – Five main categories of YA space characteristics recommended by teens and librarians emerged from the thematic analysis. YA spaces need to facilitate: physical comfort; both leisure activity and information needs; both academic activity and information needs; a sense of ownership by teens; and improved marketing of the spaces as well as clear displays of library policies regarding the spaces. Sub-categories were also listed in each instance, as were counts and percentages of numbers of videos in which a theme was mentioned at least once. Conclusion – YA spaces in public libraries need to be user-centered, and the arrangements need to be flexible enough to be used for multiple purposes. Teens need to be involved in and drivers of their design and ongoing use. In addition, teens’ needs for social interaction, and leisure as well as academic support, must be explicitly incorporated into any planning. Librarians and libraries must adjust their focus on resources to better mirror teens’ focus on the activities that happen in YA spaces, both online and in person. In order to serve YA patrons, libraries must also actively promote YA spaces. This initial exploratory empirical investigation can inform future much-needed research on improving YA space planning. Research is also needed to examine the evolution of libraries’ YA investments as teen patrons’ needs change over time.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not a dedicated business center within a public library acts as a key success factor in a public library’s services to the community entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was sent to 88 public libraries with dedicated business centers, and posted to BRASS-L and BUSLIB-L, for input from public libraries without business centers. Interviews with three survey respondents and one local city official followed. Findings – Fifty-seven per cent of all respondents felt that a dedicated business center is very essential or essential to the services provided to the entrepreneurial community. The services most often offered were workshops/seminars/classes, counseling sessions by collaborative agencies and one-on-one research sessions with librarians. The majority of responding libraries collaborated with a community business agency (80 per cent). Fifty-one per cent spend between 6 and 20 hours/month on the collaboration. Research limitations/implications – Since 2007, many of the dedicated business centers in public libraries have closed or been consolidated with other sections and services of a public library. This should be further studied. Further research on librarian expertise in market and industry research is recommended. Originality/value – This study updates the business services associated with public libraries business services since the push in the late 1990s for public libraries to be more active in community economic development.

Purpose The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to show perspectives on intellectual freedom from literature that provides approaches for librarians in faith-based institutions. The articles reviewed in this annotated bibliography will assist both Christian and secular librarians in selecting library materials. Design/methodology/approach The author identified sources using LISTA, ATLA and other common library databases. Sources were selected from 1993 to the present, focusing on sources that are on the application of intellectual freedom in the Christian academic library and/or librarian. Findings Best (2010) discusses censorship in academic libraries based on the top ten most-challenged books in 2007 which have research implications for Christian institutions. Johnson (2002), Davis (2002) and Smith (2004) offer library recommendations based on the review of the literature and their own practice. Hippenhammer (1993/1994) presents survey data and findings on collection development policies and intellectual freedom from Christian libraries. Matacio (2003) shares quantitative research from Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) libraries applicable to other Christian institutions. Research limitations/implications The majority of the research on intellectual freedom and Christian librarianship is from 10 or more years ago. Originality/value This annotated bibliography is a starting point for research that could be conducted to help in the evaluation of Christian academic library’s collection development policy.

In the proposed article by Viktor Sokolov «Professional activities of a librarian in medieval Europe’s monastic libraries: characteristics, functions, peculiarities» the information concerning the activities of a librarian in Western European monastic libraries in the middle ages is analyzed and summarized. The relevance of this study is due to the need to study the specifics and development of the functional duties of monastic librarians, which have not been studied before, against the background of the formation and evolution of monastic libraries in the Early middle ages. The purpose of this article is to identify and characterize the features of the activities of librarians of monastic libraries in medieval Europe (mainly Western). The methodology of this scientific work consists in the application of both general scientific research methods (description, comparison, analogy, deduction, induction, analysis, etc.) and historical (historical-comparative, historical-typological, chronological, etc.) methods. Methods of terminological analysis, analysis of dictionary definitions, etymological and word-formation analysis, bibliographic and other research methods were also used. The article explores the main areas and areas of activity of a librarian in Western European monastic libraries, as well as some features of the development of book and library business in monasteries through the prism of the functional duties of a librarian. The content and significance of his professional activities in the dissemination of reading, education, development of book and library business are analyzed. The study made it possible to reveal the peculiarities of the interpretation of the terms that determine the activities of the librarian of Western European monastic libraries in the middle ages, in particular, the term «armarius» in modern book science and library research. The main factors and features of the formation of the meaning of the term «armarius» in the process of becoming a professional activity of monastic librarians are revealed. The scientific novelty of the work lies in expanding the understanding of the professional activities of the librarian of Western European monastic libraries in the period, mainly, the early middle ages and revealing the significance of his activities in the development of not only book and library science, but also the spiritual culture of the middle ages as a whole. The study shows that monastic librarians played an important role in organizing systematic reading among monks – both individual (including for educational purposes, in the form of obedience) and collective – using the method of reading aloud to familiarize themselves with the content of certain (predominantly theological) books. The position is confirmed that for the monastic librarian, a wide education, erudition and knowledge of books was considered an indispensable feature of his professionalism. Performing professional tasks at the proper level required from the monastery librarian certain analytical abilities in working with text, knowledge of several foreign languages (including ancient ones), detailed content of religious books, the ability to describe books and compile catalogs, as well as perform various functions that require conscientiousness, accuracy, ingenuity, etc. The article shows that the monastic librarian had to organize the work of the library at the appropriate level and monitor the proper use of books by the monks, as well as monitor their reading needs. The librarian not only supervised the work of the monastery library, ensured the preservation of books and control over their proper use, but also actively engaged in book business through the management of the scriptorium, controlling all stages of book creation. Conclusions. The activity of the monastic clergy, including monastic librarians, spreading the Christian doctrine, thereby contributed to the spread of literacy and reading among a certain part of not only the monks, but also the population as a whole. Gradually, writing became an integral part of monastic life, where books and libraries occupied an important place. The decisive place in these processes was occupied by the librarians of the monastery libraries as the keepers of book collections and bearers of the spiritual and educational mission, book culture among the clergy and laity.

Showing the specificity of the work of the contemporary library, and the variety of its tasks, which go far beyond the lending of books. The specificity of the library’s public relations concerning different aspects of its activity. The internal and external functions of the library’s public relations and their specificity. The significant question of motivating the social environment to use the offer of libraries, and simulta-neously the need to change the negative perception of the library, which discourages part of its poten-tial users from taking advantage of its services. The negative stereotypes of librarians’ work perpetuated in the public consciousness and their harmful character. The need to change the public relations of libra-ries and librarians with a view to improving the realization of the tasks they face. Showing the public relations tools which may serve to change the image of librarians and libraries with particular emphasis on social media. This article is a review article, highlighting selected research on the librarian’s stereo-type and suggesting actions that change the image of librarians and libraries.

Purpose This paper aims to report the findings of a qualitative investigation of student patrons’ experiences with research consultations provided by reference librarians at a comprehensive university located in the southern USA during 2014. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through recorded interviews with patrons who had recently experienced a reference consultation with one of eight professional reference librarians during a semester. The recorded data were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts subjected to content analysis. The qualitative data analysis model selected was that of a conventional, inductive content analysis. Findings One principal finding demonstrates the need for marketing of the reference consultation service; participants were surprised at the service’s availability. Other findings illustrate the value participants placed on individual attention from a librarian, perceived librarian expertise, the consultation environment and student/librarian engagement. Research limitations/implications Limitations to this study include a small participant pool of undergraduate student patrons, mainly majoring in humanities disciplines. The findings therefore are limited in the confidence with which they can be generalized to larger populations. Practical implications The reference consultation remains an integral part of the services offered by an academic library’s reference department; libraries should market consultations accordingly. Academic libraries that do not operate on a subject specialist model should consider strategies for maximizing benefit when matching available staff to consultation requests. Social implications This study provides evidence for the value of one-to-one reference service through research consultations provided to library patrons in academic libraries serving institutions of the type described in the research. Originality/value A qualitative methodology, using content analysis of lengthy interviews with participants, provides considerable insight into academic library patrons’ attitudes toward the reference consultation service.

Purpose: Disabled population is also a part of our society. Libraries, being public spaces, have a responsibility to ensure that all patrons may utilize their services without encountering any barriers, as required by integrated and inclusive special education policies. The university library serves a diverse population of readers and researchers, making it an essential resource for the dissemination of information and the dissemination of knowledge. Patrons of academic libraries span a wide range of ages, socioeconomic statuses, and degrees of education. The present article assesses and evaluates the provision of universal access in university libraries in Mumbai through a survey of university librarians in Mumbai. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted using Google Forms as well as printed questionnaire for the university librarians in Mumbai. Findings: According to librarian responses, university libraries in Mumbai do not have enough of the necessary access tools, alternative information sources, and learning aids to meet the demands of their students. It has a detrimental effect on the quantity of special users enrolling at universities and their libraries. Originality value: This paper utilizes a survey of Mumbai academic librarians to examine and evaluate the extent to which universal access is provided in Mumbai academic libraries. This study is an integral aspect of a larger investigation of human orientation at Mumbai, Indias university libraries.

A Review of: Applegate, R. (2009). Who benefits? Unionization and academic libraries and librarians. The Library Quarterly, 79(4), 443-463. Abstract Objective – To investigate the quantitative benefits of unionization for libraries, librarians, and students at academic libraries in the United States. Design – Quantitative analysis of existing datasets. Setting – Academic libraries in the United States. Subjects – One thousand nine hundred four accredited colleges and universities in the United States. Methods – Institutions that provided data for both the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) and the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Service (IPEDS) survey series in 2004 were considered for inclusion in this study. Of these institutions, only those with student populations over 500 and employing more than one librarian were included. The study did not include specialized libraries at institutions where “most of their degrees were awarded in a single area” (p. 449). The institutions were categorized by type derived from data by Carnegie and the Association of Research Libraries. The final categories were: ARL, Doctoral Non-ARL, Masters, Baccalaureate, and Associates. Governance was determined by using information from IPEDS that classified the institutions as public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit. Unionization status was derived from the Directory of Faculty Contracts and Bargaining Agents in Institutions of Higher Education. After private not-for-profit and private for-profit classifications were collapsed into one category, governance and unionization information were combined to create the final governance categories of: private, public nonunionized, and public unionized. The study analyzed the following characteristics in terms of institution type, governance, and institution type and governance interaction: ratio of students to librarians, ratio of library expenditures to institutional budget expenditures, average librarian salary, percentage of staff who were librarians, librarian salaries as a percentage of staff salaries, and percentage of the library budget spent on staff salaries. Main Results – Analysis revealed statistically significant differences (p< .05) between governance and student-librarian ratio and between governance and percentage of library budget spent on staff salaries. No consistently beneficial relationship between governance and student-librarian ratio was determined. A consistently positive relationship was found between governance and percent of the library budget spent on librarian salaries; all public unionized institution types had higher percentages of the library budget devoted to librarian salaries than private and public nonunionized institutions. All five dependent variables showed statistically significant differences (p< .05) when analyzed by institution type. Analysis by institution type and governance interaction found statistically significant differences (p< .05) for student-librarian ratios, librarian salary, and percentage of library budget devoted to staff salaries. Strong R2 values were determined for the dependent variables of: staff salaries as a proportion of library budget (.51) and student-librarian ratio (.34). Conclusion – Based on the results, the author stated that unionization appears to have positive or neutral benefits for the library, librarians, and students, regardless of institutional type. Further quantitative and qualitative research is needed to analyze the effects of unionization on library quality.

The article discusses the main issues related to the organization of reference services in university libraries all over the world in the framework of the traditional reference bureau and virtual reference service. The implementation of the concept of digital reference service requires high professionalism, expert knowledge of digital tools and methods of working with them on the part of the staff of reference services. The development of information technologies changes the format of communication between the bibliographer and the user. Traditional reference services are complemented by specialized research assistance carried out in accordance with research practices of universities. The provision of real-time and deferred virtual reference services, digital transformation of libraries, and the involvement of catboats with artificial intelligence in reference services are current issues in library theory and practice.The turning point in the evolution of reference services has been the university libraries strategic initiative for online learning and additional professional education. Due to the increasing educational mission of university libraries in the professional library community, the role of information curator that the reference librarian can assume is being actively discussed. Reference librarians, alongside with other information professionals, shape the library’s research and educational space. The article bases on the analysis of publications in foreign professional periodicals.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to examine the versatility of the MLIS degree through the lens of special libraries in terms of education, core competencies and benefits. Special libraries show the value of the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree in preparing professionals to work across institutional boundaries in non-library and non-educational organizations and bring their services to the populace in sometimes unexpected places. Design/methodology/approach The authors first conducted a literature review of special librarians and their skillsets, as well as how to properly define “special library”. They then examined different MLIS programs geared toward special libraries and how library schools prepare special librarians to benefit their organizations. Findings The conclusion drawn is that possession of an MLIS degree lends a special librarian more credence in the execution of their duties because they have been educated in how to best benefit their institution. While additional subject expertise is an advantage to the special librarian, the skills learned in MLIS degree programs provide an essential foundation. Originality/value This is a collaborative view that brings together outside research regarding various types of special libraries and the librarians that work in them in an effort to illustrate the value of the MLIS degree in an original way.

The Austrian Library Association (Österreichischer Verein für Bibliothekswesen) was one of the oldest associations of librarians in Europe, functioning in the years 1896-1919. Its goal was professional and scientific improvement as well as integration of librarians from different lands belonging to the Habsburg monarchy. The article presents the origin and activities undertaken by the Association, particularly the published periodical, which was thematically related to various aspects of working in libraries and the formation of the librarian profession. It also presented information about specific libraries (an address book of monarchy libraries was published). Lviv librarians who belonged to the Association actively participated in its operations: Rudolf Kotula published articles on, e.g., Polish libraries in Austria, especially the Library of the University of Lviv, as well as in other Polish communities. He also took part in an extraordinary congress in 1913, which revealed conflicts in the relationship between the Association’s headquarters and provincial librarians, as well as problems relating to the concept, financing and scope behind the periodical. This article uses source materials to date unknown in scientific communities.

Information literacy and critical thinking skills are essential in the information age towardsachieving academic success and being adequately skilled for lifelong learning. Academiclibraries have an indispensable role to play in this regard. Collaboration between librarians andacademics is important to ensure both effective information-literacy training and service provisionto students and to the academic community. However, a lack of understanding, knowledge, andcommunication regarding academic libraries’ teaching and research role is proving to be anobstacle in obtaining librarian-academic collaboration. Academic libraries do mostly not applystrategic communication management to build and maintain relationships with its stakeholders,which contributes to the challenges surrounding librarian-academic collaboration. This paperreports on how four academic libraries practise communication and relationship managementto enhance librarian-academic collaboration. The study aims to make recommendations for theapplication of more effective, strategy-driven communication and relationship management toenhance librarian-academic collaboration.

<p><em>This research aims to determine strategies for developing librarian competency as well as supporting and inhibiting factors for developing librarian competency in the Pontianak City State University Library. The method for exploring data in the field uses interviews and observations using the case study method with qualitative descriptive analysis. The informants used were the heads of libraries from the three universities and 2 librarians each in each college library. The results of the research show that the problems found in three State University libraries in Pontianak City include the low skills of librarians in using technology and the problem of educational qualifications of leaders who do not meet the standards for running university libraries in 2015 and 2017. Conclusions from the research show that the strategy is carried out through competency certification for equality as well as through training, workshops, national seminars in the field of librarians, becoming members of the IPI, and involving librarians in competitions for outstanding librarians. Efforts to improve librarian competence include leadership support and the availability of funds. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factor is a lack of awareness of increasing competence through education and support from the work environment.</em></p><p align="justify"><em><br /></em><em></em></p>

This first in a series of articles will highlight events and statistics about North Carolina’s libraries in 1905, which were collected fromvarious publications in Joyner Library’s Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection. The Biennial Report of the Superintendent ofPublic Instruction of North Carolina and the Biennial Report of the State Librarian provided information about school and public libraries. Information about college and private libraries was taken from the First Biennial Report of the North Carolina Library Commission and from books about the institutions of higher education.

Purpose This study aims to explore the prevalence and librarian perceptions of no-show research appointments in academic libraries. These findings are examined in light of the literature within academic libraries and other industries (health, hospitality) with appointment models. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses an exploratory survey of reference librarians across a stratified sample of academic libraries in the USA. The findings are considered through the lens of critical theory in academic libraries. Findings Academic libraries lack consistent understanding and language used to describe appointment-based reference models. Librarians do not gather much reliable data on the percentage of no-show appointments and further research is needed on this topic. Research limitations/implications Study results are limited to academic librarians in the sample who responded to the survey and indicated the availability of research appointments at their institution. The implications of this paper suggest ideas for gathering appointment statistics and evaluating the rhetoric used to advertise appointments to college students. Originality/value This research is unique in that it is the first exploratory study on the prevalence and perception of missed appointments in academic library reference models.

In a significant number of academic libraries in Ghana, incumbent Head Librarians stay on longer for a postretirement contract, because there appears to be a lack of qualified candidates to take over leadership roles. The apparent gap in leadership succession may be a consequence of a lack of management’s desire to grow their leaders as well as a dearth of self-motivation on the part of the staff. As part of the solutions to filling seeming gaps in leadership continuity, organizations grow their leaders internally through mentoring, coaching and training, experience and management support for staff professional/career development. Succession planning identifies prospective staff with the desire to take up future leadership roles. There are arguments for and against succession planning in academic libraries as a means of selecting and appointing university Librarians. The current study explores succession planning strategies as means of choosing prospective leaders in academic libraries in Ghana. The study adopted a case study research approach. University Librarians of ten (10) public university libraries were purposely selected for the study. A structured interview was employed to collect the data that form the basis of the analysis. The study revealed that succession planning is lacking in academic libraries in Ghana. Appointment to the University Librarian role is based on general university selection criteria for all academic staff of the university, including academic library staff. Though some respondents agree that succession planning is a good strategy to grow staff internally to take over future leadership roles, others assert that staff progression in academic libraries must be based on scholarly publication and long service, as prescribed by the University appointment and promotion policy. The study concludes that leadership continuity in academic libraries in Ghana is not necessarily dependent on any wellthought-out succession plan implementation. As a result of the staff’s inability to meet university promotion and appointment requirements for academic staff, many university libraries lack that critical mass of potential candidates for the role of university librarian.

Objective – To examine the human resources environment in Canadian libraries in order to assess readiness to accommodate change and to identify opportunities for human resources planning. The “8Rs” of the study were defined as recruitment, retirement, retention, remuneration, repatriation, rejuvenation, re-accreditation, and restructuring. Design – This study was undertaken in three phases over nearly three years through the use a variety of methods including literature review, analyses of existing data (Statistics Canada and library school graduate data), telephone interviews (with senior library administrators), focus groups (with representatives from Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Alberta Association of Library Technicians), print surveys (library institutions) and web-based surveys (of professional librarians and paraprofessional library staff). Setting – Canadian libraries that are not component branches of a system, and that employ professional librarians. Subjects – Stage I: 17 senior library administrators participated in telephone interviews and three focus groups were conducted. Stage II: Surveyed library administrators representing institutions. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure geographical representation from each of Canada’s provinces and territories. Full census participation was conducted for members of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries and the Canadian Urban Libraries Council. The print survey instrument was distributed to 1,357 subjects; 461 completed surveys were returned (response rate of 34% with results for the total sample accurate within plus or minus 3.8 per centage points, 95 times out of 100). Stage III: Surveyed professional librarians and paraprofessional staff. Multi-stage random sampling was used to ensure representation of library staff from all library sectors and sufficient sub-sample sizes. Of the 12,472 individuals in the sampling frame, 8,626 were notified of their selection to participate in the web-based survey. Corrections were made to e-mail addresses and 7,569 e-mail invitations with the survey URL were sent successfully. Of the 8,626 potential respondents, 3,148 librarians and paraprofessionals participated (for a response rate of 37%). A non-random Canada-wide call for participation was distributed to library staff who had not been represented in the sampling frame via the listservs of 56 library associations. This provided an additional 1,545 respondents and the total sample size increased to 4,693 for a confidence interval of plus or minus 1.2%, 95 times out of 100. The non-random data from the Canada-wide call was kept in a separate dataset file. Methods – Stage I began with a literature review and analysis of existing Statistics Canada and library school graduate data. Three focus group sessions with representatives from Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Alberta Association of Library Technicians were held and in-depth telephone interviews were conducted in May 2003 with 17 senior library administrators. Transcripts were thematically coded and summarised. The interview guide is available as Appendix E of the report. The results of Stage I were used to inform the design of the two survey instruments (Stages II and III). Stage II was a 17-page print survey informed by insights gathered in Stage I and was sent to library directors in the summer of 2003. The print mail-out of the institutional survey was sent to libraries that employed at least one librarian and were not a component branch of another system. A copy of the institutional survey is available as Appendix C of the report. Stage III was a web-based survey of librarians and paraprofessional library staff undertaken in the summer of 2004 using random and non-random sampling methods. This survey was developed from insights gathered in Stages I and II. A copy of the individual survey is available as Appendix D of the report. Main results – The analytical focus of the 275-page report is on the broad Canadian library sector. Data and analysis are provided by type of library, type of staff, and by geographical regions where sufficient response rates have allowed reporting. Although the role of the paraprofessional is examined in many sections of the report, the principal focus is on the professional librarian. Nine sections of the report present results, analysis and strategic human resource planning implications. Highlights for the broad Canadian library environment are briefly described below. Each section of the report provides further breakdown by library sector, type of position, career stage and other variables that provide significant insight. Workplace Demographic Characteristics (Section C) This section provides demographic information about those in supervisory or management roles (62% of librarians), union density (67% of librarians and 79% of paraprofessional staff), longevity in career, part-time employment, and gender, along with other characteristics. Results conclude that visible minorities and Aboriginal staff are under-represented across all types of libraries and that few libraries recognise the credentials of immigrant librarians. Recruitment to the Profession and to the Organization (Section D) Positive exposure to libraries and librarians is the best predictor of librarianship as a career choice and there were no significant differences in the original motivations for choosing the professional librarian career between new professionals and senior librarians. In response to the open-ended question about motivation for choosing librarianship, none of the librarian respondents (n=1,823) indicated leadership, managing libraries or supervising others as their reason (p. 52). Many respondents indicated reasons for choosing the profession that are in alignment with the values of librarianship, but few indicated reasons that reflect the real nature of the librarians’ role. The average age of new librarian recruits is 37 (with little variation between sectors). Thirty per cent of paraprofessionals are interested in pursuing an MLIS degree; 29 per cent are not interested because they are satisfied with their current role. The major barriers for paraprofessionals wishing to pursue the MLIS degree are inadequate or unrecognised credentials (21% - although 45% of paraprofessionals have an undergraduate degree), geographic distance (33%), lack of money (48%), and lack of time (49%). Eighty per cent of libraries report that the major barrier to recruiting is budget constraints; other barriers include small size of library (60%), organizational hiring freeze (54%), inadequate librarian pay (54%), geographic location (52%), inadequate pool of qualified candidates (51%), and inadequate pool of interested candidates (50%). The ten most important and difficult-to-fill competencies when recruiting varied significantly for each sector: leadership potential, ability to respond flexibly to change, and ability to handle high-volume workload were the three highest-ranked competencies across all libraries. Retirement (Section E) Canadian libraries experienced librarian retirements (11% of total current workforce) and paraprofessional retirements (7% of total current workforce) between 1997 and 2002. During this period, 79 per cent of librarians retired before age 65. Forty per cent of librarians over age 50 estimate that they will retire between 55 and 60. Only 9 per cent of libraries have a succession plan. Staff Retention: Inter- and Intra-organizational Mobility (Section F) Librarians are satisfied with their work and stay in their organization because they like the job (85%), co-workers (84%), and workplace (79%). Seventy-seven per cent of senior librarians and 87% of senior paraprofessionals have been at their current library for more than 10 years. Sixty-nine per cent of librarians believe they are qualified to move to higher level positions, but 69% of institutions state that limited librarian turnover contributes to a lack of promotional opportunities. Education (Section G) Seventy-five per cent library administrators agree that MLIS programs equip graduates with needed competencies, but 58% recommended that the programs provide more management, business and leadership training. Seventy-six per cent of administrators believe that they have little or no input into curriculum content of MLIS programs. Overall evaluation of MLIS education by recent librarian entrants is not positive. Only forty-four per cent indicated that the program provided a realistic depiction of the job, while only 36% said the program provided a realistic expectation of work in their library sector. Recent librarian entrants (67%) were satisfied with the overall quality of their MLIS program, but few indicated that their program provided them with the necessary management skills (25%), leadership skills (20%), or business skills (12%) for their position. Recent library technician entrants were more satisfied (81%) with their programs’ success in providing general skills (87%), and providing a realistic depiction of the job (72%). Continuing Education (Section H) New librarians (72%) need a significant amount of ongoing training, but only 56% believe that their institution provides sufficient training opportunities. Only 30% of libraries have a routine method for determining training needs of librarians and fewer (13 %) have an evaluation method for training outcomes. In most cases, about half of those who received training reported that it improved their job performance. Quality of Work and Job Satisfaction (Section I) Librarians and paraprofessionals are satisfied with their jobs (79% for each) and librarians (72%) and paraprofessionals (61%) agree that their salary is fair. Most libraries offer a wide range of benefits to their employees, including life insurance (95%), pension plan (92%), and medical benefits (88%). Librarians (80%) and paraprofessionals (70%) are satisfied with their benefits. Although a low percentage of librarians agreed that they have little job stress (24%) and only 39% found their workload to be manageable, 62% of librarians agree that their work allows work, family and personal life balance. The statistics are slightly more positive for paraprofessionals. There is a gap between the desire to be treated with respect (98% for all workers) and the perception that respect is conveyed (77% of librarians and 75% of paraprofessionals). A similar gap exists between desire to be involved in decision-making and actual involvement. The two most important factors for job satisfaction for all library workers are respectful treatment and a job that allows them to learn new skills and grow. Numerical Librarian Demand-Supply Match (Section J) Libraries hired more librarians than they lost in 2002, for a net three per cent increase. Many library administrators believe that there will be a five-year increased demand for librarians (77%) and paraprofessionals (81%). The short-term supply (next 5 years) of new librarians to replace departures due to retirements is predicted to have the capacity to fill 98 per cent of the current librarian positions; the capacity to replace library technicians is 99 per cent. The long-term supply (next 10 years) of new librarians to replace departures due to retirements is predicted to have the capacity to fill 89 per cent of the current librarian positions; the capacity to fill technician positions is identical. These predictions are based on no growth in the number of positions in the future. Match Between Organizational Job Function Demand and Individual Staff Supply of Skills, Abilities, Talents, Interests (Section K) Libraries report that increased use of information technologies (87%) and re-engineering (61%) have contributed the greatest change in the roles of librarians. Libraries report that more librarians have been required to perform a wider variety of tasks in the past five years (93%) and that this trend will continue over the coming five years (94%). A high percentage of libraries (86%) reported that over the past five years librarians have been expected to perform more management functions and 56% of mid-career and senior librarians believed this had occurred. Libraries (88%) believe that this trend will continue; only 44% of librarians indicate interest in performing management functions. Mid-career and senior librarians report that job stress has increased over five years ago. Requirements to work harder (55%), perform more difficult tasks (56%), perform a wider variety of tasks (69%), and perform more managerial functions (56%) are the contributing factors. The performance of a wider variety of tasks and more difficult tasks was significantly related to the assessment by librarians that their jobs were more enjoyable, interesting, rewarding and challenging. Institutions (78%) reported the increased need for paraprofessionals to perform librarian tasks over the past five years and believe that this will continue (77%). Only 28% of paraprofessionals believe they are currently required to perform more librarian tasks. Conclusion – The need to confirm the existence and magnitude of the crisis that will be created by upcoming retirements in Canadian libraries was a primary motivator for this study. Conclusive results were obtained that should inform each sector and geographic area in Canada. The percentages of staff over the age of 55 (librarians: 25%; paraprofessionals: 21%) is much greater than that of the Canadian workforce (11%). If there is no growth in the number of positions needed, there will be no short-term supply-demand crisis to fill the gaps left by retirements. There will be a librarian and technician shortage in ten years (a shortfall of 11% of the current supply) and a more significant crisis if the predicted growth in staffing is factored in. Recruitment to the librarian and technician professions is critical and the paraprofessional staff may be a potential pool of future MLIS candidates if the accessibility issues associated with the programs are addressed. Only nine per cent of organizations have a succession plan in place. There is great opportunity for the development of strategic solutions. In response to the open-ended question about motivation for choosing librarianship, no respondent indicated leadership, managing libraries or supervising others as their reason. This is of concern when 62% of librarians today work in a managerial role. Management and leadership skills are a significant concern for recent graduates, administrators, and librarians, with all indicating that the workplace needs are greater than the current preparedness. More cooperation with MLIS programs and professional associations is essential to ensure that leadership and management skill development are supported through the curricula and continuing education planning. Organizations must also develop and support a culture where leadership is encouraged and expected, and recognised. There is a need for further development of continuing education opportunities, and training needs assessment and outcome assessment programs may be beneficial. Paraprofessionals and new librarians are less satisfied with the workplace training opportunities available to them than librarians in later stages of their careers. Role change will continue in libraries and planning will be essential to ensure that restructuring reflects the competencies that will be needed in the new mix. Workload and job stress appear to be rising and will require careful monitoring. There may be opportunity to define roles for “other” professionals in libraries. Library staff have a tendency to stay in their institution for much of their career, making decisions in the recruitment and hiring processes of critical importance. Loss of employees due to turnover is not a problem for most libraries, but the lack of turnover has affected the promotional opportunities for those who desire upward mobility. An interesting recommendation was made that two or more libraries may realise both cost savings and benefits through the sharing of staffing resources. If issues surrounding credentials can be addressed, there may be a potential pool of future immigrant librarians.

Background of the study: The reflection of librarians is the efforts of librarians in understanding their actions. Librarian's reflection is one of the effort to evaluating. Also to identifying learning from the actions taken. Purpose: This study aims to identify the reflection librarians in driving the phenomenon. Method: This study uses a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach. The informant is the librarian public libraries was select by purposive sampling. Findings: The reflection of librarians is learning in doing work. Based on the four stages, librarians can identify new knowledge and abilities. Librarians play an important role in facilitating the information needs of the community. The role of librarians in defining community problems is key. So, the services facilitated by libraries are under the conditions of the community. Conclusion: The reflection involves librarian awareness actions. Librarians are always direct towards phenomena or also called intentionality. This action then generates new knowledge and skills. Suggestions for librarians is that librarians must get out of the routine of library technical activities. Librarians must have interpersonal skills. Librarian also must have the ability to understand community psychology and organizational dynamics.

Abstract Objectives – The main objectives of this study were the following: • to analyze the career path and career movement of librarians in Korea • to identify and compare factors influencing the career movement path of chief librarians in public libraries and other librarians • to determine library positions’ turnover rates, average career retention, career reinstatement, proximity between careers, and proximity between different libraries Design – Survey questionnaire. Setting – One survey conducted in college libraries, public libraries, special libraries, school libraries, and library-related service providers in Korea, and another in public libraries in Korea, targeting chief librarians only. Subjects – Librarians were identified from the 2008 Korean Library Yearbook published by the Korean Library Association. Also, more survey recipients in the ‘other category’ were identified through Internet search, directory search, and library ads. A total of 816 librarians participated in the survey. The breakdowns of participants based on the type of library they were working at are the following: First survey: • 282 Public librarians • 268 University librarians • 24 Special librarians • 25 School librarians • 15 Other librarians Second survey: • 202 Chief librarians at public libraries Methods – A total of 2179 questionnaires were distributed twice in May 2009 via mail to different libraries. Postage paid envelopes were provided. A phone call reminder was made to increase the response rate. 614 copies were returned. The total response rate for the survey was 28.18%. The highest response rate was from academic libraries with a total of 37.17% (Table 2 in the article). Six hundred and forty three copies of the questionnaire were sent out to chief librarians and the response rate was 31.42%. The SAS statistical package was used for conducting statistical analysis of the data. The content areas covered in the two questionnaires are listed below in Table 1 [see Table 1 in fulltext]. In order to investigate the career movement path of librarians, participants were asked to identify their current job position plus the first three positions before the current position. Each position equals one phase in the librarians’ career path analysis. The jobs were broadly categorized into public libraries, university libraries, special libraries, schools and school libraries, database and content builders, library automation system developers, MARC companies, agencies, Internet portals, library supply companies, and others. Main Results – The data obtained from those items italicized in Table 1 were used to compare factors influencing the career movement path of chief librarians in public libraries and librarians. The survey results on differences in gender show that most chief librarians (58.9%) were men compare to women (41.1%), while the ratio of women to men librarians is 2:5. Therefore, it is more likely that male librarians decide to become chief librarians. Analyzing the age of respondents indicates that it takes 20 years of library experience before one becomes a chief librarian. Survey results on differences in the final academic degree between librarians and chief librarians show that more librarians (96.7%) held higher graduate degree compare to chief librarians (87.6%) (results calculated form Table 7 - p. 333). Likewise, there are more librarians who studied library and information science (83.3%) compare to chief librarians (55.9%) (Table 8). Comparing the type of certificates held by two groups, it is evident that 26.7% of chief librarians do not have any library related certificates compare to 5.9% of librarians. The survey results suggest that both librarians and chief librarians make effort to increase their knowledge and skills. While librarians spend more time to improve operational aptitude and personal management, chief librarians identify themselves as hard working individuals. The study conducted a simple analysis on factors influencing the career movement of librarians and chief librarians. Those factors differ greatly between librarians and chief librarians. While 25.5% of librarians rank compensation and working conditions as the most important factors, 19.2% of chief librarians report organizational culture as the main motivating factor. Based on the percentage of initial career selected in each job category, the most frequent career paths taken by librarians and chief librarians were identified. A total of 92.9% of public librarians reported that their whole career path was indeed in public libraries. In addition, the average length of service by career movement phase was identified to get shorter from the initial to fourth career for librarians while they intent to stay at their current position the longest (157.8 months). On the other hand, chief librarians have one main career in which they have stayed the longest (116 months). This main career is the position immediately prior to the current job position. The main results of this article are summarized in table 21, based on numbers presented in the tables 12 to 20 in the article. The lowest and highest turnovers were among public librarians (7.1%) and library automation system developer and information professionals at MARC companies (100%). Conversely, the retention rates for all other jobs were also determined. 6.2% of school librarians returned to school libraries after working in other types of libraries. This is the highest rate for returning to the previous job. The proximity between different types of careers was analyzed based on combining the numbers of instances of career movement from the initial to the forth career. The highest rate of proximity is always the movement between the same types of career. The two highest (not same career type) career movements are university library and public library (2.65%) and university library and special library (2.32%). Conclusion – It is more likely that male librarians will take on leadership responsibilities in public libraries. Usually, it takes 20 years of library experience before one becomes chief librarian. More librarians hold higher graduate degrees compared to chief librarians. This study also analyzes factors influencing the career movement of librarians and chief librarians. Those factors differ greatly between librarians and chief librarians. The lowest retention rate was 0% for library automation system developers and information professionals at MARC companies, whereas the highest retention rate was for public librarians followed by university libraries. The highest rate for return-to-first-job belongs to school libraries. It is noteworthy to mention that chief librarians have one main career in which they have stayed the longest. This main career is the position immediately before to the current job position. It usually occurs in the midcareer phase and it is when the individual has spent more time developing their skills and expertise and has been getting ready for their leadership role.

Purpose – This article examines a structured redesign of one academic library's offering of its online learning objects. This process considered both improving the online learning objects and developing a feasible workflow process for librarians. The findings for both processes are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – The scholarship on online library learning objects and web tutorials, beginning with Dewald's seminal study, was examined for trends, patterns, and best practices. From this research, informal interviews were conducted with library faculty members. Once this information had been collected, other public university libraries in the state of Michigan – 14 in all – were considered in terms of if, and how, they offered online learning objects and web tutorials. These three areas of inquiry provide a foundation for the best practices and workflows developed. Findings – Based on the scholarship, librarian feedback, and informal assessment of other public university libraries' practices, best practices were developed for web tutorial evaluation and creation. These best practices are to make online learning content: maintainable, available, geared at users, informative, and customizable. Workflows for librarians around these best practices were developed. Also, using these best practices, the library redesigned its tutorials web page and employed a different content management tool, which benefitted both librarians and users with increased interactivity and ease of use. Originality/value – This article shares best practices and library workflows for online learning objects in ways that are not commonly addressed in the literature. It also considers the library's online instructional presence from the perspectives of both user and librarian, and works to develop structures in which both can function effectively. This article is also of value because of the practical implications it offers to library professionals.

Job satisfaction is simply how a person feels regarding their work r job High sense of job satisfaction among librarians always results to higher productivity in Public libraries (Yaya, 2019). The study’s aim was to relate extensiveness of job satisfaction in Kenyan public libraries based on gender of the librarian. The study aims at finding out the gender perspectives on job satisfaction of librarians at Kenya National Library Service (KNLS). The study establish how pay, promotion, supervision and working conditions and gender affects job satisfaction and motivation between female and male librarians. Descriptive survey design method was adopted allow for an extensive review of the study phenomenon. Cluster sampling was used to select 8 KNLS branch libraries from the 8 regions in Kenya namely; Eastern, Western, Nairobi, Rift valley, Nyanza, North Eastern, Costal and Central region. Simple random sampling was applied to pick one library in regions with more than one KNLS branch libraries. The Sample size studied was made of 120 librarians; 69 female librarians and 51 male librarians. Primary data was collected using questionnaires from both female and male librarians at KNLS. Collected data was processed and analysed using descriptive and Pearson chi square was used to test the difference between female and male librarians’ perspectives on job satisfaction and motivation. The mean of job satisfaction on pay, promotion, supervision as well as working conditions were higher among the females (3.733, 3.9533, 39533 3.6286 respectively) than the males (3.6963, 3.8711, 3.9181 and 4.0357 respectively). The research findings indicate that there was no significant difference on job satisfaction between female and male librarians at Kenya National Library Service. The study also concluded that there is no significant difference in the overall job satisfaction. It is however essential that librarian are treated equally irrespective of their gender.

This research discusses the role of librarians in managing libraries during the corona virus pandemic. The corona epidemic is an epidemic of globalization that cripples all access to services, including library services. Library services are a central aspect that will support the dissemination of the latest information related to the corona virus while maintaining the health and safety of readers through new innovations in the role of librarians in open access libraries. This research is a library research or library research that utilizes all journal literature related to librarian pran in developing pandemic service through online services and maximizing the librarian's function and role as an information management center. The results showed that many libraries have closed due to the epidemic, but many libraries have also opened online services so that online and offline visitor data is not too significant. It seems that the government provides more innovative means to support the innovative thinking of librarians in order to create online services that are more optimal, safe, healthy and environmentally friendly.

The Indonesian Government has made various efforts to increase investment, mainly through deregulation. One of the implementations of these deregulation efforts is the development of the One-Stop Service Center (PTSP) at the Ministry of Investment/BKPM as an integrated service center for licensing and non-licensing activities related to investment, Foreign Investment (PMA), and Domestic Investment (PMDN). Badan Standardisasi Nasional (BSN) took part in providing service counters at the Central PTSP to provide services in the field of Standardization and Conformity Assessment (SPK). The implication is that BSN requires competent human resources to support these services. Currently, the personnel assigned to the Central PTSP is a librarian. This study aims to identify the skills and competencies needed by librarians to support the investment ecosystem in Indonesia through Central PTSP services. This study was designed by qualitative research with a case study method. Data collection methods using literature study and in-depth interview. This paper focused on the case of a BSN librarian as an informant who was assigned as a liaison officer at the Central PTSP. Data analysis was carried out using a descriptive method. Findings in this study highlight that librarians in special libraries need to improve and adopt 11 (eleven) skills and competencies that are relevant to the duties and functions of the institution, as well as an investment ecosystem to produce optimal librarian performance for the parent institution and society in general. The conclusions of the study include; First, special libraries have different resource tendencies from one institution to another which have an impact on different needs for skills and competencies. Second, special libraries can synergize with institutions outside the parent institution to meet the information needs of segmented users. Third, librarians in special libraries are very important to be subject specialists in their institutional environment. Fourth, the skills and competencies experienced by librarians in special libraries can be overcome by various strategic steps.

The purpose of this research is to find out how librarian tactics encourage library use and increase interest in visits. in the Deli Serdang regional library, to find out the causes of the low interest in visiting public libraries in Deli Serdang and the challenges of librarians in encouraging public library patronage in Deli Serdang Regency. This type of research combines field study methodology with qualitative research. Librarian The research topic is the Deli Serdang Regency Public Library. There are three techniques used to obtain data: observation, interviews, and documentation. Data presentation, data reduction procedures, and data analysis methods were all carried out in accordance with descriptive analysis. Based on the research results, the author can determine librarian tactics to encourage increased interest in visiting libraries in the Deli Serdang regional library, including by conducting mobile library activities, holding reading competitions for the community. Furthermore, knowing the lack of library collections, facilities and infrastructure, as well as inadequate library services is one of the factors causing the low interest in visiting public libraries in Deli Serdang. Librarians also face challenges in efforts to increase interest in visiting the Deli Serdang Regency public library.

The library has a strategic role in supporting learning and research at Al-Ittihad School. SWOT analysis is carried out to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. In terms of deficiencies, libraries face the problem of dust on bookshelves, lack of preservation, limited warehouse space, shortage of librarians. However, libraries have advantages such as attractive interior designs, comfortable rooms, and facilities such as sofa chairs, study tables, computers, and well-maintained book collections. The presence of CCTV, lockers, good bookkeeping and textbooks are an added value. The SWOT analysis identified development opportunities, including interior design appeal, expansion of computer use, and potential for community events. The challenges required thoughtful solutions, including regular cleaning, preservation programs, optimization of warehouse space, additional librarian training, investment in refrigeration systems, and installation of security systems. The research method used was qualitative by conducting observations and SWOT analysis at the Al-Ittihad School Library. The library's strengths involve the use of the SLiMS application, availability of WiFi, and appropriately skilled staff. Limited budget for updating collections is one of the weaknesses, even though the level of student and teacher visits has increased. The development plan involves utilizing the latest technology, partnerships with publishers, and support for online learning. Threats come from digital platforms which can threaten the attractiveness of libraries, so libraries need to maintain their existence by creating a comfortable environment. This research aims to provide a comprehensive picture of library conditions and support better strategic planning. By understanding SWOT, libraries can identify priorities, overcome weaknesses, and optimize potential to provide better services to the community

This paper sought to show the potential of collaboration of university libraries in ameliorating the common problems and challenges facing the Nigerian Academic Library System on the basis of the current status of collaboration in Nigerian university libraries. The paper addressed the following questions: what is the status of collaboration of Nigerian University libraries? How can University Libraries achieve meaningful collaboration? And what possible benefits can University libraries in Nigeria attain from effective collaboration? The paper clarified three forms of collaboration within the University Library system to address the indiscriminate use of the term ‘Librarian collaboration’ to pass for library collaboration. Based on literature reviewed, the current level of collaboration in Nigerian University Libraries is below expectation and is to a great extent responsible for poor quality teaching, learning and research bedeviling the Nigerian tertiary education system. University Library leadership and the Committee of University librarian in Nigerian Universities (CULNU) were identified as prime movers whose efforts could improve the level of collaboration in Nigerian University Libraries. The paper revealed that possible areas for collaboration include: resource sharing, inter-library loan, cooperative acquisition, cooperative cataloguing, cooperative referencing, staff development, library exchange and librarian and library user networks. The paper further noted that the key benefits of collaboration are significant reduction in operational costs, increased human cooperation and exposure of Librarians to global library practices. The paper identified factors that pose as either a threat or a challenge to the implementation of effective collaboration in Nigerian university libraries. They include: Inadequate funding, leadership issues, lack of structured library development policies, proliferation of informal collaboration, high competition in library profession and resistance to change. The paper therefore recommended that committee of University Librarian in Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Library Association should make and implement a policy for all University Library Leadership to develop and implement documented and structured develop plans and policies p to provide strategic direction for University libraries.

Libraries are saddled with the responsibilities of providing relevant, up-to-date and timely information to its target clients for an efficient and effective decision making and eliminating any forms of uncertainties. There are different types of libraries established to provide services to a defined user’s community. Library and information services provided in these libraries has always connected people with information and ideas that make individuals potent resources which can be harnessed and skillfully used for national development. This paper discussed provision of library and information services for political development and stability by Academic Libraries in Nigeria. It highlights political development and stability, overview of academic libraries, functions of academic libraries, information services provided in academic libraries for political development and stability in Nigeria, and the challenges of academic libraries for political development and stability in Nigeria. The paper concluded that, there is need for academic libraries and librarian as information services agent to provide regular community information services as a strategy for political development and stability in Nigeria, and recommended that there is need for adequate funding of academic libraries; adequate support of the academic libraries from the parent institutions and training and re-training of librarians on community information services delivery among others.

In an environment in which libraries increasingly need to demonstrate their value to faculty and administrators, providing evidence of the library’s contribution to student learning through its instruction program is critical. However, building a culture of assessment can be a challenge, even if librarians recognize its importance. In order to lead change, coordinators of library instruction at institutions where librarians are also tenure-track faculty must build trust and collaboration, lead through influence, and garner support from administration for assessment initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to explore what it takes to build a culture of assessment in academic libraries where librarians are faculty through the High Performance Programming model of organizational change. The guidelines for building a culture of assessment will be exemplified by case studies at the authors’ libraries where instruction coordinators are using collaboration to build a culture of assessment with their colleagues.

Library promotion through social media is an integral part of library services, especially for academic libraries. Social media can inform the end-users of what library’s resources and services and give librarians an impression of users’ views and needs. This study aimed to determine the use of social media to promote academic libraries in Indonesia. This research used a qualitative approach, specifically a systematic literature review, and includes details about identifying the research questions, the literature search process, data synthesis and search results. Based on the scientific papers identified and reviewed, the majority of research was published in 2019. The most frequent social media platforms for library promotions were Facebook and Instagram. Academic libraries located in Yogyakarta carried out the most social media promotions. Obstacles to promoting libraries through social media in Indonesia were primarily due to internal factors of libraries.

Goal/thesis – to overview the development of school libraries in Vietnam, thereby drawing out the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges they face. Methodology – critical literature review and content analysis of source materials. Findings – revealed there are the disadvantages of school libraries in Vietnam including shortcomings with the lack of materials, poor infrastructure, the inefficient capacity of the school librarian, and the limited budget. The reasons for these problems are due to the misperception of administrators, policymakers, and society regarding the libraries’ role in the educational activities of schools; the library operating hours are not optimal; the low percentage of students reading books and newspapers (especially printed documents); the small library space; oftentimes the capacity of the librarians is poor, and, most of all, there is not enough budget allocated to libraries. Conclusions – recommendations are made toward improving school libraries in Vietnam.

As long as empirical research has existed, researchers have been doing “data management” in one form or another. However, funding agency mandates for doing formal data management are relatively recent, and academic libraries’ involvement has been concentrated mainly in the last few years. The National Science Foundation implemented a new mandate in January 2011, requiring researchers to include a data management plan with their proposals for funding. This has prompted many academic libraries to work more actively than before in data management, and science librarians in particular are uniquely poised to step into new roles to meet researchers’ data management needs. This study, a survey of science librarians at institutions affiliated with the Association of Research Libraries, investigates science librarians’ awareness of and involvement in institutional repositories, data repositories, and data management support services at their institutions. The study also explores the roles and responsibilities, both new and traditional, that science librarians have assumed related to data management, and the skills that science librarians believe are necessary to meet the demands of data management work. The results reveal themes of both uncertainty and optimism—uncertainty about the roles of librarians, libraries, and other campus entities; uncertainty about the skills that will be required; but also optimism about applying “traditional” librarian skills to this emerging field of academic librarianship.

My library's new book shelf recently featured a striking new book edited by Manuela Roth, Library architecture + design,1 which includes color photos of new library spaces from around the world. I'm sure that other librarians share my enthusiasm about the design of library buildings and find pleasure in looking at library spaces while analyzing the design choices made in constructing new or reconstructing old libraries. We have a longstanding tradition of library spaces being beautiful as well as utilitarian, as evidenced by many websites featuring "most beautiful libraries in the world" (just Google this phrase for several Internet lists). We want libraries to fill our aesthetic desires perhaps because we spend so much time in them. Libraries are places to come and linger, and so we expect them to have spaces that are nice to look at as well as functional. The grand reading room is one manifestation of this, where users work intently at wood tables in a classically designed space, as is the colorful, happy children's room which conveys to children the joy of reading. In both cases, the design encourages the activity done in the room. For librarians, a successful space combines the beautiful with the functional: we enjoy architectural excellence but also seeing the choices made by architects and other librarians for how space will be utilized to meet user needs and fulfill the library's mission to its community.

A Review of: Walker, D. (2020). Libraries and the REF: How do librarians contribute to research excellence? Insights, 33(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.497 Abstract Objective – To measure the extent to which libraries’ contributions to United Kingdom (UK) university research excellence were referenced in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 unit-level research environment statements, and to make recommendations to libraries for increasing their visibility in the research setting. Design – Content analysis of an existing corpus. Setting – Evaluation of research environments conducted as part of the UK REF 2014 assessment. Subjects – 1,891 unit-level research environment statements submitted for REF 2014. Methods – Each unit-level research environment statement was categorized in terms of how extensively it referenced library or librarian contributions: no mention, brief mention, or substantive mention. The frequency and percentage of each level of mention are reported overall and by disciplinary panel. Main Results – Across all panels, only 25.8% of the statements included substantive references to the library or librarians; most of these were lists of electronic and physical collections, but they also included discussions of the research support services offered by librarians. There were disciplinary differences in the extent of the references to libraries, from 7.2% containing substantive references in a panel examining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) units to 44.0% containing substantive references in the panel examining arts and humanities units. Conclusion – In REF 2014, libraries and librarians were rarely discussed in unit-level research environment statements. While this lack of representation may be due to shortcomings of the library’s relationship with the university’s research office, librarians could use a number of approaches to becoming more visible in the REF 2021 research environment statements. Specifically, they could highlight their roles in: ensuring discoverability and accessibility of information resources to researchers; improving research practices through teaching informational and organizational skills, providing direct support to research students and staff, and providing research data management services; managing the research information systems that capture and make discoverable the university’s non-article research outputs; providing support in relation to the responsible use of bibliometrics and other measures of article quality and impact; further developing article impact by training researchers to use social media to their advantage; developing open research initiatives; and assisting with the REF submission process.

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics has been measuring the level of digital literacy in Indonesia annually since 2020, but the measurement of the digital literacy index does not yet include the scope of libraries. This research focuses on developing a framework for the digital literacy index specifically for libraries, referring to the digital literacy frameworks of UNESCO, ITU, DigComp 2.1, and the DQ Institute. It also measures the digital literacy competencies of librarians and library users in specialized libraries. The objective of this research is to provide recommendations regarding the mapping of digital literacy competencies of librarians and library users based on the measurement results in order to improve the national digital literacy index. Specialized libraries were chosen because the majority of their services are provided digitally, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The method used in this study is a quantitative method through surveys conducted with library users and librarians in specialized libraries in Indonesia. The results of this study include a specialized digital literacy index framework for the library environment, as well as the mapping of digital literacy among librarians and library users based on the developed index framework. The recommendations based on the findings provided in the conclusion of this paper emphasize the importance of enhancing librarian competencies through training or workshops, and curriculum adjustments to support the improvement of the digital literacy index for library and information science programs at universities.

This research analyses cataloging librarian job advertisements in the United States academic libraries. The purpose is to find what skills and knowledge are required for cataloging positions in academic libraries. The results may help Library Information Science (LIS) educators develop new curricula and prepare students to meet the needs of prospective employers. The research will also help LIS students find jobs in the technical service area, and incumbent cataloging librarians promote their expertise.

As academic libraries restructure their services to meet the needs of 21st-century users, librarians and library administrators look to collaborative partnerships as a way increase library usage and visibility. Numerous successful collaborative partnerships between librarians and faculty and other campus stakeholders have been documented in scholarly research, and such partnerships are now commonplace among academic libraries of all sizes. Although these partnerships are undoubtedly beneficial, it is easy to overlook the need for collaborative partnerships within the library. Collaborating for Impact: Special Collection and Liaison Librarian Partnerships makes a strong case for partnerships between public services and special collections departments.

Librarians traditionally have insisted on designing and developing the library’s website in-house. An inhouse developed website allows librarians full control of its design, content, and delivery. The library website is also distinguished by its research orientation compared to the university’s marketing-driven purposes. However, in the age of gaining competitive advantage by promoting campus branding, shared services, and collaborative initiatives by various administrative units, libraries could be a stronger partner with other campus departments. This article describes the University of Denver Libraries’ transformation from an autonomous information silo to an integrated Web portal within the University’s Marketing & Communication division. In the course of this change, unlike turning a switch on or off, the librarians experienced stages of uncertainty, denial, negotiation, and acceptance. The project was successfully completed and became an exemplar for many other campus-wide initiatives. By sharing this experience, the authors hope to encourage other libraries to consider the tangible and intangible benefits that university-wide collaborations can elicit.