This study examined users' views about the usability of digital libraries' current and perceived importance. Age, gender, prior experience with the Internet, college status, and digital library proficiency are the independent variables. Users' current views about the usability of digital libraries and users perceived importance of digital library…

Thirty years ago most resource sharing took place between libraries, with a few formal organizations (library consortia) providing logistical support. Today there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of organizations around the world facilitating resource sharing. Automation has greatly accelerated the growth of resource sharing. As access to…

The author investigates issues faced by academic research libraries in providing virtual reference services to unaffiliated users. These libraries generally welcome visitors who use on-site collections and reference services, but are these altruistic policies feasible in a virtual environment? This paper reviews the use of virtual reference…

As more digital data become publicly available new opportunities for researchers in education are arising. Researchers may be unaware of the existence and usefulness of such data even though these are freely available. In this article the use of one such source of information is described and its potential for research into research education…

Purpose: To provide an overview of how open access (OA) repositories have grown to take a premier place in the e-research knowledge cycle and offer Southampton's route from project to sustainable institutional repository. Design/methodology/approach: The evolution of institutional repositories and OA is outlined raising questions of multiplicity…

Reference interactions with patrons in a digital library environment using digital reference services (DRS) has become widespread. However, such services in many libraries appear to be underutilized. A study surveying the ease and convenience of such services for patrons in over 100 academic health science library Web sites suggests that…

This article argues that developing technologies have resulted in rapid and fundamental changes in the way libraries conduct business. It is argued that, in light of these changes, academic librarians need to reconfigure the way their time and resources are allocated in order to assist users in making the most effective use of networked…

Soon after AskALibrarian, Florida's Statewide Virtual Reference Desk, began to offer Chat Reference to the public in 2003, a Quality Assurance Workgroup was established to ensure that the service patrons received would be friendly, accurate, and adequate. To make certain that best practices were used in answering the real time questions, two…

Purpose: The paper aims to present the concept of the functionality of metadata harvesting for regional digital libraries, based on the OAI-PMH protocol. This functionality is a part of regional digital libraries platform created in Poland. The platform was required to reach one of main objectives of the Polish PIONIER Programme--to enrich the…

A recent survey of studies [Tenopir, Hitchcock, & Pillow (2003). "Use and users of electronic library resources: An overview and analysis of recent research studies." Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources.] concluded "both faculty and students use and like electronic resources and most readily adopt them if the sources are…

In this report, the authors describe results of a nationwide census of institutional repositories in U.S. academic institutions. The census is one of several activities of the MIRACLE Project, an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded research program based at the University of Michigan. The acronym MIRACLE means "Making…

This column is typically devoted to discussion of the different ways in which public service librarians use technology. But for this, the special graduate student issue and her inaugural issue as the technology columnist, Breakstone is flipping things around. Public service librarians can best help their graduate student patrons by understanding…

The networked environment forced a sea change in Library and Information Science (LIS) education. Most LIS programs offer a mixed-mode of instruction that integrates online learning materials with more traditional classroom pedagogical methods and faculty are now responsible for developing content and digital learning objects. The teaching commons…

This study probed the use of digital library skills by MLIS graduates, and their perception of employment preparation for the emergent information market in Botswana. The study used a survey approach. The study was carried out in 2004. A total of 32 MLIS graduates (1996-2003) of the Department of Library and Information Studies in employment were…

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, is to familiarize the reader with some advances in cataloging that may not be so esoteric in the near future for school librarians. Second, is to provide hints for easy cataloging of traditionally uncataloged electronic information and thus enhance information access through the school library OPAC.