This section includes five articles on research and librarianship including a case study on research and practice in academic libraries; select peer-reviewed journals that examine the current state of public library research (1996-2000); development of research on school library media programs; benefits of collaborative authorship for librarians…

Proposes a research model to test the dependence of a field list of internationally visible journals on the initial set. Outlines applications of the experiment and hypothesizes on the validity of the Institute of Scientific Information's (ISI) impact factors. Suggests that in some cases lists of journals selected by linguistic or geographic…

Describes the faculty-librarian collaboration at Towson University in the development and teaching of information literacy instruction. Findings from the faculty survey and information literacy instruction statistics indicated that this close collaboration yields a seamless blend of core subject information and information seeking/evaluation…

Discusses the amount of instruction that is part of reference service, based on experiences with the University of New Brunswick's LIVE (Library Information in a Virtual Environment) digital reference service. Concludes that digital reference instruction is not a substitute for more formal library instruction programs that include information…

Describes a study that measured the subject area and call number correspondence for the discipline of history at the Texas A&M University libraries. Considers the rise in interdisciplinary scholarship that challenges the frequent assumption that a correlation exists between topicality and call number range for collection management decisions.…

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)

Challenges the view of plagiarism as a moral rather than pedagogical issue and the view that students plagiarize when they know they are plagiarizing. Offers survey results indicating that students and instructors alike misunderstand plagiarism. Urges instructors to show students how to use secondary materials responsibly and to give students…

Describes a colloquium on library service to children in the Soviet Union which was attended by a delegation of U.S. librarians. Distinctive features of Soviet library service are described, as well as practices shared by both countries. The colloquium recommendations for future projects are listed, and papers presented by Soviet librarians are…

Reviews the literature on library use of facsimile transmission and describes an experiment conducted by libraries at the four State University of New York campuses that used facsimile transmission and/or electronic mail to access commonly held periodical titles. Copies of the request form and problem report form are appended. (Contains 29…

Presents and compares results from two surveys of basic library skills administered to first-year and upperclass students at Johns Hopkins University (Maryland). The relationship of test scores to library visits and to self-ratings for library skills are discussed, and copies of the surveys are included. (Contains 12 references.) (LRW)

Presents online search statistics, and reviews databases in the social sciences using the files found in DIALOG. Discusses the value of familiarity with fee-based databases for librarians and social science researchers. Concludes that database information plays a relevant role in research and expands the library resources, especially those without…

Willingness to return to the same librarian avoids the limitations associated with using accuracy as a primary measure of success. Based on a case study, factors associated with the successful reference interaction are examined. Problems with accuracy as a success measure, staff activity upon approach, interpersonal skills, and ability to…

Reviews research on impact assessment of libraries and considers potentially useful methodologies for measuring the impact of university libraries, i.e., how library use affects students' academic performance. Topics discussed include categories of library use, purposes of library use, and indicators of library impact. The user panel methodology…

Describes discourse analysis as practiced by Michel Foucault and his followers as a research method in library and information science. The method is introduced, some examples of its use are suggested, and several research questions are posed. The method permits analysis of the ways information, its uses, and its users are discursively…

Examines the basic tenets of qualitative, or naturalistic, research methods in terms of their grounding in social science and their value to library and information science research. Topics discussed include the research problems; data collection, including interviews; data analysis, including content analysis; theory development; and ensuring…