International Journal of Librarianship
Not a member yet
254 research outputs found
Sort by
Forecasting Database Usage During the Height of COVID-19
Get PDFAs with other catastrophic events, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education and library services. The authors examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on usage of health databases in 2020. They use time series analysis to create a forecast based on previous years’ activities, and then compare it with actual database usage during the pandemic. The results show an initial increase in searches for the first full month of the pandemic, but then match the expected forecast data and decrease during summer and early fall months. The authors conclude that time series analysis is a useful tool for understanding the impact of events and for planning purposes
Trends, Challenges and Opportunities at University of Manitoba Libraries during the COVID Pandemic
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic brought rapid and radical changes to higher education, and academic libraries adapted and devised solutions. This article will review the initiatives that the University of Manitoba Libraries (UML) implemented prior to the pandemic, as well as the library’s response, focusing on the performance of these initiatives in the past two years. These initiatives are new service models including a fully virtual library, new technologies, such as self-service lockers, and structural reorganization, for example, the creation of functional teams. The review will demonstrate how the above initiatives ensured the continuity of library services during the pandemic. The pandemic is viewed as a touchstone that tested the trends of the academic library community in an extreme situation. The success of the library services provided by the UML inspires positive thinking about the forward direction for public research university libraries
Modularity in FOLIO: Principles, Techniques and Tools
Get PDFFrom its earliest inception, FOLIO was conceived not as an ILS (Integrated Library System), but as a true Services Platform, composed of many independent but interdependent modules, and forming a foundation on which an ILS or other library software could be built out of relevant modules. This vision of modularity is crucial to FOLIO’s appeal to the library community, because it lowers the bar to participation: individual libraries may create modules that meet their needs, or hire developers to do so, or contribute to funding modules that will be of use to a broader community — all without needing “permission” from a central authority. The technical design of FOLIO is deeply influenced by the requirements of modularity, with the establishment of standard specifications and an emphasis on machine-readable API descriptions. While FOLIO’s modular design has proved advantageous, it also introduces difficulties, including cross-module searching and data consistency. Some conventions have been established to address these difficulties, and others are in the process of crystallizing. As the ILS built on FOLIO’s platform grows and matures, and as other application suites are built on it, it remains crucial to resist the shortcuts that monolithic systems can benefit from, and retain the vision of modularity that has so successfully brought FOLIO this far
Coping with Constant Obsolescence: A Lifelong Task
Get PDFKnowledge and skill obsolescence is a common obstacle in individual, organization, and society development. Thanks to the modern technologies, the rate of obsolescence accelerates rapidly in the information age. In the library workplace, obsolescence occurs constantly. We may be used to routines, but changes are inevitable as we have witnessed the evolution in library services and librarian workplace since the advent of the internet. To cope with obsolescence, it is crucial to have a lifelong learning mindset, make it a habit, and find ways to update our knowledge and skills to stay competent and serve the clientele effectively
Signage and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Facilities as Correlate to Utilisation of Information Resources in Federal Universities’ Libraries in South-South Zone of Nigeria
Get PDFThis study was aimed at investigating the extent to which signage and ICT facilities correlate to the utilisation of information resources in federal university libraries in South-South zone of Nigeria. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. Three research questions were answered while three hypotheses were tested. The population of the study comprised 32,190 registered library users for the 2017/2018 academic session and 776 library staff from six federal university libraries in south-south zones of Nigeria. The sample size for the study was 3,219 registered library users and 310 library staff representing 10% and 40% of the population respectively. A two-stage sampling technique of stratified and simple sampling techniques was used to select the sample size. Two Sets of instruments titled; “Signage and Information and Communication Technology Facilities Questionnaire (SICTFQ)” for the students and “Utilization of Information Resources Questionnaire (UIRQ)”were used for data collection. Face and content validity was ensured by three experts. The two instruments yielded reliability coefficients of 0.81 and 0.87 respectively with the use of Cronbach Alpha. Mean was used in answering research questions while Regression was used in testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. It was found that to a great extent signage relates to the utilisation of information resources while information and communication technology facilities is the vice versa. Based on the findings, it was concluded that jointly, signage and ICT facilities are significant correlate to the utilisation of information resources in federal university libraries in South–South zone of Nigeria. It was therefore recommended among others that library management should improve on the provision of signage by ensuring that well-designed signage suitable for the 21st century is placed at strategic location to guide library users on the utilisation of information resources in federal universities libraries in South-South zone Nigeria
Starting a New Midcareer Librarian Position During COVID-19: Lessons to take into the future
Get PDFThis article chronicles the experience of two midcareer librarians who were new hires at the University of South Florida one month before the entire campus was sent to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They recount the obstacles encountered and how they overcame them. They include lessons learned and ways to improve a transition to remote working. Specific areas that are discussed: technology, training, communication, self-advocacy, relationship building, and mentorship
IFLA WLIC 2022: CALA Members Participation and Engagement
Get PDFThe 87th IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) was held July 25-29, 2022 in Dublin, Ireland. IFLA WLIC 2022 welcomed over 2000 delegates from 96 countries to Dublin, Ireland with the conference theme “Inspire, Engage, Enable, Connect.” The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. In her address to delegates, IFLA President Barbara Lison expressed her delight at the atmosphere of the first in-person meeting after such a long period of isolation and travel restrictions. A number of members from the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) attended the Congress and spent several packed days of learning, reflection, discussion, and networking
Strategic Planning for the Chinese American Library Association: From Process to Implementation
Get PDFThis report explored the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA)’s strategic planning process for 2020-2025 during COVID-19. The paper introduced CALA’s mission statement, values, and discussed the importance of the strategic plan. A strategic planning task force was formed to create an opportunity for membership input in virtual town hall meetings and surveys. The authors presented a case study on the process of revising a strategic plan and discussed the implementation phases. The authors also shared the challenges and recommendations in organizing strategic planning for a library association
Implementation of a Secure Room Booking System at the University of Manitoba Libraries
Get PDFProviding group study rooms is an important service offered by a university library to support learning and collaboration. A good room booking system should be convenient for students to use and would require a minimum involvement of library staff regarding managing bookings and keys. This article studied the implementation of the Juno Secure Room Booking system at the library to replace LibCal, which is a popular room booking system used by a large number of university libraries in North America. This article discussed the advantages that the Juno system has compared to LibCal, the design of an online booking website using the Juno Application Programming Interface (API), and the enhancement the library designed and developed based on student feedback. This article also discussed how the library successfully engaged a college to use this system to manage study rooms for classes and exams