Currently "Big Data" is an emerging field that presents several Information Technology challenges regarding the capture, storage search, structure, and visualization of this data. The real challenge for organizations is to find ways to extract value from it and provide better services to their clients. The data generated in academic and…

As the volume of academic library value research has continued to increase, the resulting literature has grown complex and sprawling. This article takes stock of this body of work, using a review of the published research literature and an analysis of its organization and structure. This investigation reveals that the research on library value…

The ways in which university quality assessments are developed reveal a great deal about value constructs surrounding higher education. Measures developed and consumed by external stakeholders, in particular, indicate which elements of academia are broadly perceived to be most reflective of quality. This paper examines the historical context of…

This article explores the literature that focuses on the various roles librarians and libraries play in distance education settings. Learners visit libraries either in person or via networked computing technology to ask for help with their online courses. Questions range from how to upload a document with a learning management system, to how to…

A study was undertaken to determine what type of curriculum leadership roles school librarians were exerting in the nation's nineteenth largest school district, the Clark County Public Schools of Nevada. A 15-item questionnaire was mailed to 75 Clark County School District librarians; responses were received from 59 libraries (79%). Following a…

Five Grand Challenges are proposed for library research: (1) Library service: Could library services be made more meaningful? (2) Library theory: Who knew what when? (3) Library design: Have digital libraries been designed backwards? (4) Library values: How neutral can libraries be? (5) Library communities: How do communities differ? (AEF)

This review, undertaken on behalf of the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), was conducted over a 4-week period in November-December 2002 with the purpose of: reporting on the nature and extent of the evidence that has linked school libraries to student achievement since 1990, identifying the strengths and gaps in existing data as it…

Examines what differences libraries and librarians make, primarily from the perspective of geographical communities. States reasons why this is an essential research issue and describes contributions of current public library planning tools to the determination of impact. Examines the framework that is essential for the intellectual development of…

Reviews articles related to school library media programs that were published in journals intended for other members of the profession and involved research. Subject areas include administration, roles of the school library media specialist, and reading. (LRW)

Presents four challenges faced by libraries and proposes research designs to address each of them. The challenges involve: invisible infrastructure; content and collections; preservation and access; and institutional boundaries. Proposes a mixture of research methods that includes surveys, case studies, documentary analyses, and policy analyses.…

Recent government initiatives to combat social exclusion within the United Kingdom have served to place librarians and libraries as prominent players in the movement to providing information over a wider social context. For example, The Peoples Network is a government initiative to connect all public libraries to the information superhighway by…

This paper examines the changing instructional role of the high school librarian from 1951 to 1984 to determine: (1) if the purported changes in the instructional role have been fictional or factual; (2) if the changes were those of substance or of form; (3) if the changes represented a process of growth and development in direct relationship to…

Three fundamental problems underlie most research in health sciences librarianship: determining what therapies are effective and of good quality, delivering information when and where it is needed, and in forms that will increase its use. Developments in health information research will be advanced through collaboration across disciplines and…

This publication contains six "capsulized" reports concerned with research in learning resources centers and school libraries, and the role of school media specialists. Each report follows the same format design, i.e., questions previewing the topic; introduction, methodology, findings, conclusions, and marginal notes; and a pathfinder to the…

This review of issues facing administrators of community college libraries and learning resources centers focuses on four main areas: (1) organization of services; (2) maximizing library effectiveness; (3) administrative qualifications; and (4) standards for community college libraries. It begins by arguing that, since a library reflects the goals…