The primary goal of this study was to identify gaps in curriculum coverage and required skills for research support services (RSS) in university libraries in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to meet its objective. To collect data for the quantitative strand, across-sectional survey with a…

In an era of exploding online enrollment and tight budgets, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) struggles to meet the needs of online students. CPCC librarians went one step towards solving that problem in 2009-2010 by launching an embedded librarian program. CPCC's program became so successful that it struggled to meet demand. In 2013, CPCC…

This study examined the importance of negative searching, or searching to discover topics not previously explored in writing, and its oversight in the library literature. A survey of university faculty revealed a tendency to view negative searching as necessary to scholarly endeavors, but an online literature search showed little discussion of…

Argues that unless issues of machine help and human help are given explicit attention by the library profession, the disappearance of human help in patron assistance without input is likely. Discusses convergent commercial- and academic-sector trends, implications for the profession, and three policy alternatives. Presents a patron self-help…

This guide is a general introduction to school libraries with specific information for libraries in Alaska. More than 60% of the nearly 500 public schools in Alaska have fewer than 200 students, and it is not unusual to find school libraries staffed by people with little or no preparation. This guide answers many frequently asked questions. The…

Eight articles in this section focus on sports: the baseball mystique and scholarly publishing; importance of archiving sporting activities; museums and libraries partner to make sport history live; online resources for sports information; Webliography of general sports sites; public libraries responding to changing needs; sports fiction; and…

Within the U.S., information is a good in the "sphere" of basic welfare and security, and therefore (following Walzer's theory of justice), it should be distributed on the basis of the principle appropriate to the meaning of goods in that sphere-communal provision based on need and not on the basis of the distributive principle…

The role of librarians is defined by their ability to identify user needs and then use techniques from both library and information science to meet those needs. Positions that utilize these abilities outside of the traditional library should not be considered as alternative careers. (CLB)

A literary scholar interacts with various other speakers at the Fleur Cowles "Fleur" Symposium 2000 (Austin, TX) and makes his own case for the necessity of physical materials that are always yielding new insights. He rues the apparent denigration of paper materials and the reduction of books even in research libraries and suggests that research…

Librarianship's worldview or philosophy preconditions understanding of ideas such as core value, diversity, and equity. Adherents to the orthodox version of this worldview restrict minority interests while aspiring to become a scientific profession. Those in favor of a modified version of the worldview support cultural diversity and non-positivist…

This paper focuses on ethics for librarians and library science in the age of electronic information. First outlined is the "public relations nightmare" that the Internet is creating for the administrators and the library staff. It is suggested that libraries pick a common sense approach that involves the library staff and community and…

Presents perspectives from a library educator and three library administrators on the core values of librarianship, particularly public librarianship. The four contributors emphasize: cooperation for a shared endeavor, a passion to provide access, connecting information and people, and offering choice to individuals without restriction. (AEF)

Considers the beliefs, attitudes, and values of reference librarians. Highlights include the idea of personal assistance to someone who needs information; users' perceptions and use of information; librarianship as a profession; equitable access to information; users' information needs and goals; and nonverbal communication. (LRW)

The future role, scope, and nature of bibliographic instruction (BI) and reference services at academic libraries is unresolved. Both have felt internal pressures and challenges during the past decade. It is suggested that BI and reference share tasks and become a single service. (92 references) (Author/DGM)

Reports on research by library science students for a public library to determine the information needs of a community's health-care professionals, their views of patient information needs, and the public library's ability to meet those needs. An added benefit was positive public relations with the medical community. (Contains 14 references.) (EAM)