Library Review

Nicholas Joint

2008 Library Review

doi: 10.1108/00242530810853973

Purpose – To explore the belief that digital technology has created a steep and irreversible decline in traditional library use, particularly in borrowing from public and higher education library print collections, with a concomitant effect on familiar patterns of reading and reflection. If digital technology has led to a fundamental change in the way young people in HE process information, should traditional assumptions about library use and educational reading habits be abandoned? Design/methodology/approach – This is a comparative analysis of statistics of library use available in the public domain in the USA and UK. Findings – That reading habits shown in the use of public libraries are arguably conservative in nature; and that recent statistics for the circulation of print stock in US and UK university libraries indisputably show year on year increases, not decreases, except where the digitisation of print originals has provided a generous supply of effective digital surrogates for print holdings. The nature of reading has not changed fundamentally in nature. But where copyright law permits large‐scale provision of digital collections to be derived from print originals, these will readily displace borrowing from print collections, leading to lower circulation figures of hard copy items. Research limitations/implications – This paper asserts that the restrictive nature of UK copyright law, which is demonstrably backward by international standards, is a major factor inhibiting university teachers from helping their students migrate from print to digital media. This assertion should be researched in greater depth, with a view to using such research to influence the development of future intellectual property legislation in the UK. Practical implications – Because of the essentially conservative nature of reflective reading for educational purposes, digitisation programmes offer an important way forward for academic library service development. Library managers should not underestimate the persistent demand for traditional reading materials: where such materials are provided in digital or print formats, in most cases the digital formats will be preferred; but where high quality educational resources are only available in print, there is no evidence that the format of alternative digital media is in itself sufficient to lure students away from quality content. Originality/value – This paper questions some of the more casual assumptions about the “death” of traditional library services.

Kim M. Thompson

2008 Library Review

doi: 10.1108/00242530810853982

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the US information infrastructure, including discussion of federal policy affecting the evolution of the infrastructure. Libraries are then discussed as a means to further utilize the information infrastructure to ensure democratic access to information. Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins with a brief history of the evolution of the US information infrastructure and then turns to discussion of how libraries can maximize their utility within the context of this information society. Findings – The paper identifies the richness of the information infrastructure and the potential for information poverty of Americans if libraries are not careful to focus on the information available through information technology rather than focus on the information technology itself. Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on an historical look at the democratic underpinnings of the US information infrastructure and outlines general trends in US federal information policy that lead to the modern US information society. Practical implications – It is the author's wish that librarians and other information professionals use this work to support their focus on information access, using information technology and the rest of the information infrastructure to provide top information service and access to their users. Originality/value – Democratic rule requires an informed populace. The key to an informed populace is utilizing a nation's information infrastructure to most fully disseminate and gather needed information to and from the citizens of that nation. This case study provides an historical overview of the evolution of one nation's information infrastructure as a means to draw attention to the leading role libraries can take in supporting a democratic society, providing access to information via information technologies.

Mehri Parirokh; Farhad Daneshgar; Rahmatollah Fattahi

2008 Library Review

doi: 10.1108/00242530810853991

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of the existing state of practice in knowledge sharing in university libraries. Design/methodology/approach – This is survey research which is based on an electronic questionnaire. Findings – Results reveal that the majority of libraries investigated are quite friendly towards knowledge sharing, and the majority of librarians value the importance of knowledge sharing. Results also confirm that the knowledge that they mostly use is mainly intangible knowledge. Originality/value – If knowledge‐sharing requirements of librarians while collaboratively performing reference and information services can be acknowledged, guidelines for enhancing conceptual collaborative process would be suggested.

Exio Isaac Chaparro‐Martínez; Miguel Ángel Marzal

2008 Library Review

doi: 10.1108/00242530810854008

Purpose – To analyze information use in agricultural science PhD theses submitted between 1986 and 2002 in the Faculty of Agronomy, Central University of Venezuela (UCV). Design/methodology/approach – The source of information was the UCV Faculty of Agronomy, Library's database, “Tesis”. The unidimensional production and use indicators analyzed included: scientific production, reference density, self‐citations, document contemporaneousness and type of documents cited, reference scattering and accessibility of the journals cited. Findings – The analysis of the data obtained from 4,646 bibliographic references in 42 agricultural science PhD theses provides insight into information use in a Venezuelan agricultural science community. The mean number of references per thesis found was 113 ± 21. The number of women earning a PhD in agriculture was observed to grow. The percentage of self‐citations varied widely. The half‐life was 11 years and the Price's Index 22 per cent. According to the distribution by document type, most of the publications cited were articles in journals, while references to technical standards and internet publications were rare. UCV Faculty of Agronomy PhD students tended to seek information primarily in the Anglo Saxon literature. The Celestino Bonfanti Library periodicals section met a high proportion (92 per cent) of the demand for journals located in the first and second concentration‐scattering zones. Originality/value – This is the only paper on the evaluation of PhD theses in Venezuela. The findings will be useful for education planners in Venezuela and other developing countries.

Anna Koulikourdi

2008 Library Review

doi: 10.1108/00242530810854017

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate current library services for people with disabilities in Greece and their information seeking behavior and to study both libraries' and users' perspectives in this field for the first time in Greece. Design/methodology/approach – Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool by sending questionnaires both to Greek libraries and to associations for the disabled. Findings – The paper depicts the lack of library services to the disabled and acknowledges possible barriers but also presents several, recent steps of improvement and development in Greek libraries. Research limitations/implications – Difficulty in identifying these vulnerable group of disabled users and estimating their exact figures. Originality/value – This paper is useful for information professionals who seek a greater understanding of library services for people with disabilities in Greece, since there is almost no literature and research relevant to this topic. Furthermore, it shows that effective library programs for disabled users are generally lacking in Greece.