Shelf reading the stacks is very often not seen as scholarly work in library circles and is therefore overlooked. However, there is a very real frustration of a patron who cannot find the material they need. There are very few studies that provide a working model for shelf reading. The authors suggest a collaborative shelf reading model based on…

In the development of gateways to archives there are two different approaches, one focusing on the descriptions of the material and the other on the creators. Search and retrieval with precision and quality require controlled access points and name authority control. National registries of private archives have a long tradition in implementing the…

Purpose: To share the experiences in data migration of the KFUPM Library with libraries planning to move from legacy systems such as DOBIS/LIBIS to third-generation systems. Design/methodology/approach: A detailed analysis of DOBIS/LIBIS data structure, data extraction, including data mining, and data conversion of bibliographic, non-bibliographic…

Purpose: To propose improvements to the identification of authors' names in digital repositories. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of current name authorities in digital resources, particularly in digital repositories, and analysis of some features of existing repository applications. Findings: This paper finds that the variations of authors'…

This article is an exploration of oral history practice within the context of a performing arts archive. It addresses the deceptively simple question of what oral historians should actually ask their respondents and, ultimately, how much do we, as researchers, really want to know. The use of oral history material is discussed from a historical…

In January 1882, John H. Hickcox, a central government documents figure in his time, and the creator of "United States Government Publications: A Monthly Catalogue" or "Hickcox's Monthly Catalogue" was arrested in Washington, DC, for taking letters addressed to the Librarian of Congress. Although the charges were eventually dismissed, 1882 is the…

In the fall of 2002, the author conducted brief surveys of the teacher and teacher-librarians in her graduate cataloging class and in a colleage's media selection class to learn whether and how government documents are used in the schools where these students were employed. The schools included in the surveys were in several central Minnesota…

Evidence-based practice is a process used in the helping professions to systematically improve results by focusing on one child, patient, or client. Although not widely used in the school library profession, evidence-based practice could be used to provide a strong foundation for the teacher-librarian's role in student achievement. The process of…

Four years ago, teacher staffing at the author's grade 6-8 middle school was reorganized so that the library could be open and staffed with a teacher-librarian for the entire school day. However, this required that the library program be part of the delivery of preparation time for the staff with some classes time-tabled with one 50-minute period…

This study explores whether disconfirmation theory can explain satisfaction formation processes in library users. Both library users' needs and expectations are investigated as disconfirmation standards. Overall library user satisfaction is predicted to be a function of two independent sources--satisfaction with the information product received…

Librarians are frequently consulted about proper citation formats and support the use of PC-based personal bibliographic citation management programs, such as EndNote, often used by faculty and graduate students. Recently, free or inexpensive Web-based tools have been developed that create citations and format bibliographies. An analysis of…

Spyware is the general term that describes a collection of technologies that help external parties in "gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge." In addition to the minor annoyances spyware generates, such as redirected pages, redirected searches, and pop-up ads, a spyware infection can have more malicious…

This article describes the techniques of applying a goal-setting program to an online tutorial on cataloging the title field. Training staff to catalog presents many challenges to librarians in management positions. The task, while necessary, is sometimes considered tedious. In addition, researchers report an extremely high learner dropout rate…

Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast of Florida on September 16, 2004, destroying waterfront homes, and damaging properties for miles. Pensacola Junior College (PJC), a two-year college with three campuses and a student population of approximately 26,000, was hit hard. In the Pensacola Campus Learning Resources Center (LRC), water and mold ruined…

The need for information literacy in the curriculum has been recognized in several educational and workforce standards. These standards present a prescribed view of information literacy that emphasizes the economic need but undervalues the social nature of information and the experience students possess as information users. Theorists and…