Library and Information Research (LIR)
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Using diaries to collect data
Get PDFDuring 1993- 1995 CERLIM carried out research on franchised higher education courses. The aim of the project was to provide a clear understanding of how library services are being and could be provided to support franchised courses, how students meet their library and information needs, and
what might improve the nature and level of library support. The core of the project was an investigation of the actual experience of students on franchised courses in relation to the provision and availability of library resources. A sample of 45 off-campus students together with a control sample of 46 in-house students was selected from a range of five subject disciplines. Participating students kept diaries to record their
everyday experiences of using libraries as they completed pieces of assessed work and were engaged in follow-up focus group discussions with the researcher. This article describes the use of diaries as a research tool in this context
Developing the flexible library and information workforce.
Get PDFFlexibility is a vaguely defined media buzzword connoting the progressive, forward-looking workplace. Employers report that increased labour market flexibility has made them more cost-effective, efficient, better able to deal with customer and employee demands and the implementation of new technology. But what is happening to those workers who make up the flexible workforce? For a while in the 1980s it seemed that flexibility could do no wrong; now, however, the shortcomings of flexible labour markets are becoming
more apparent
Book Reviews
No full textSumsion, John, Berridge, Pamela and Creaser, Claire. LISU Annual library statistics 1994
Martin, Murray S (Editor). Library finance: new needs, new models.
Pullinger, David. The Super Journal Project: electronic journals on Super JANET.
Penn, I.A., Pennix, G and Coulson, J. Records management handbook.
British Library. Business Information Research Service. Sources of European economic and business information.
Basch, Reva (Editor). Electronic information delivery: ensuring quality and value.
Hamilton, Feona: Current awareness current
techniques
The IMPEL Project at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle: background, methodology and progress.
Get PDFThe IMPEL Project (IMpact on People of Electronic Libraries) is now into its second year. The project\u27s focus, succinctly expressed by its title, is on the human implications of increased provision of information by electronic means, all too easily neglected at a time when technology is developing faster than it can easily be assimilated. The project grew out of it\u27s leaders\u27 personal and professional interests, those of a Head of Department of Information and Library Management
and of a practising academic librarian; it is strengthened by such collaboration. A Steering Group of seven, each with acknowledged special expertise, meets regularly and provides guidance and support; the value of their input cannot be underestimated. This initial stage of IMPEL concentrates on qualified librarians in the UK higher education sector, laying the groundwork for possible future study of other groups and related aspects of the phenomenon commonly referred to as the \u27electronic library\u27
Review Article
Get PDFThis is a remarkably successful enterprise and a
splendid example of \u27how to do it right\u27 in so
many ways. As a reference book it compiles a
fantastic amount of information useful to IT
practitioners and library managers\u27 As a
collection of statistics it provides solid evidence
for the history of public library automation in the
1980s and 1990s. To keep policy makers\u27 feet on
the ground it provides essential information on
which electronic materials and services have
already been taken up by public library users\u27
The combination of these three goals in a single
volume works excellently: the whole is so much
more valuable and exciting than would be a more
\u27logical\u27 separation into parts. The fact that this is
number six in a series of comparable data
stretching back to 1984 makes it possible to see
the historical context clearly. Chris Batt is
personally responsible for this continuity: he
deserves the gratitude and encouragement of the
whole profession
Information literacy in adult returners to Higher Education: student experiences in a university pre-entry course in a UK university
Get PDFThis paper reports a qualitative investigation of the experiences of 18 students taking a year long, part-time pre-entry course designed to help participants choose a course of study and develop confidence in their ability to study at first year university standard. The particular focus for the research was information literacy, and the study sought to illuminate students’ reasoning underlying their information use. It was found that interviewees expressed greater confidence in the veracity of textbooks than websites, but that this contrast appeared to be based on a relatively unsophisticated epistemology. The interviews also suggested that students’ metacognitive awareness and control, particularly over the critical thinking processes by which candidate information is selected or rejected for study, were somewhat weak. The core characteristics of information literacy for this group are discussed and suggestions for follow-up studies and interventions to assist in improving matters are provided