Librarian Actions To Develop And Sustain Human Research Subject Protection: A Pilot Global Study, Charles J. Greenberg, Sangeeta Narang

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The Institutional Review Board (IRB), also known as an Independent Ethics Committee (IEC), is the most widely adopted process to insure human participant protection. The IRB system is overburdened as human research studies and human participation has dramatically increased without a corresponding increase in reviewing clinicians or ethics staff. Librarian involvement in the IRB process is evident but uneven and unstudied on an international scale. A literature review and international survey attempted to provide professional practice context and librarian reflection on the extent of their involvement, roles, and responsibilities in the IRB or IEC institutional process. Survey results reveal that …

Growth Of Literature In Higgs Boson: A Scientometric Analysis Of Scopus Database (2005-2014), Soumen Teli, Asish Maity

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper analyses the growth pattern of Higgs Boson literature during 2005-2014 (10 years). The socups database has been used to retrieve relevant data. Total number of publication has been identified as 4359 records contributed worldwide over a period of 2005-2014.The distribution of publications based on the year of production, country wise productivity, document type of the publications, Major subject categories , authors whose contribution is in the maximum level were studied. The organizations contribute Higgs Boson research have also been studied.

How Access To Plant & Animal Books Affects Participation In Conservation Activities, Dustin Ingram, Hassnaa Ingram

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Public libraries are an important resource for communities. Access to plant and animal books impacts a communities’ ability to learn about their environment. In this study, the number of plant and animal books available to people through local libraries in northern Kentucky, and neighboring counties in Ohio and Indiana were counted and a survey assessing one’s preferences and likeliness to participate in conservation activities was distributed to local residents. Based on the collected data, a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) was found between access to plant and animal books available at local libraries and the likelihood of people to participate in conservation activities. Further analysis was performed between the total number of shelved plant and animal books at local libraries, the total number of shelved juvenile plant and animal books and the shelved adult plant and animal books, and the total number of plant and animal books in libraries compared to the local household income and number of households near a library. This study found that people that read books about plants and animals were more likely to participate in conservation activities associated with their book preference. This study also found that people living in low-income communities with fewer households are less likely to participate in plant and animal conservation, as compared to higher-income communities with a higher number of households. Additionally, this study found that lower income areas have fewer plant and animal books on the library shelves than higher income areas. Consequently, study results suggest that if more plant and animal books were made available to low-income areas and areas of biological importance through libraries, people may be more likely to conserve the wildlife around them.

Internet Accessibility And Use Of Online Health Information Resources By Doctors In Training Healthcare Institutions In Nigeria, Grace A. Ajuwon

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Introduction

The internet is an important source of information used to produce, store, process, and disseminate information. This study examined accessibility to and use of internet health information resources among doctors in training healthcare institutions in South-West Nigeria.

Methods

The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for analyzing the data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency counts, percentages, charts, mean and standard deviation.

Results

The mean age of the respondents is 34.0 ± 4.46 years and 69.0% were males. The majority (93.5%) hold …

Information Behaviour Of Final Year Students Of Mzuzu University In Malawi., Maloto G. Chaura Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract.

This paper presents findings for a research study which investigated the information behaviour of final students of Mzuzu University in Malawi. Even after being imparted with necessary skills in how to search and locate relevant information, the author observed that students still find difficulties to find information that they require.

A paper based questionnaire was designed and administered to two hundred and fifty four (254) final year students belonging to the five faculties of the University of which two hundred and forty three (243) responded to the questionnaire A mixed method questionnaire survey was used. Stratified sampling in which …

Social Science Research Landscape In South Asia: A Comparative Assessment Of Research Output Published During 1996-2013, Surinder Mohan Dhawan, Brij Mohan Gupta, Ritu Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract - The paper analyses composition and dynamics of social sciences research output in five South Asia countries as reflected in publications indexed in Scopus international bibliographical database and as summarised in Scimago database. The study which covers publications and citations data for the years 1996-2013 reveals that social sciences research in South Asia appears to be growing exponentially, doubling in publication size every six years. Within the confines of South Asia region, there is a great social science research divide between nations that publish papers in bulk and those that publish very little. India alone published prolific share (84%) …

Theft And Vandalism Of Books, Manuscripts, And Related Materials In Public And Academic Libraries, Archives, And Special Collections, Silke P. Higgins

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

While book theft and vandalism in public and academic libraries, as well as archives and special collections, are not considered a modern problem, they have, in recent years, become a matter of increasing concern to these institutions. Easy access to materials housed in multi-story libraries difficult to effectively supervise; the online presence of archives and special collections detailing the contents of their collections to attract researchers and visitors; and a seemingly growing number of persons willing to express their personal convictions and beliefs by removing or destroying items from public and private collections, are among the primary reasons for the …

Helping The Adult Learner Succeed: How Community College Libraries In Massachusetts Are Serving This Growing Population, Katherine A. Turcotte

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Education is something that is valued more each and every day. A growing number of people in today’s society realize the importance of education and the increasing need to return to school. As the number of adult learners continues to rise, so too does the need to reach out to this population to make sure they are being presented with the appropriate tools and resources needed to succeed. Because it is theorized that adults (those age 25+) who return to school are likely to enroll in a community college, rather than a four year university, this study looks specifically at …

The Materials-Centred Approach To Public Library Collection Development: A Defense., Matthew Kelly

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

How selection of materials, understood as subject knowledge, should occur for non-fiction collections in public libraries has been polarized along an axis of user demand and intellectual rigor for many decades. Attempts to synthesize these various approaches have, largely, failed to do justice to either tendency. This paper is formulated as an encomium to the materials-centered approach and looks to uncover what is lost when librarians choose to focus in extremis, on the role of the user in the building of subject knowledge for a comprehensive civil society-oriented collection.

Pieced Together With Love And The Dublin Core, Sarah L. Feldhaus

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of using Dublin Core to create records describing three-dimensional objects especially quilts - containing 20 original Dublin Core records created from a personal collection of quilts made by Julie Feldhaus, Howard, South Dakota. It also questions if there is any benefit when creating records for such objects.

Distance Learners' Familiarity With The Concept Of Digital Library: A Case Study Of Virtual University Of Shiraz, Iran, Rahim Alijani, Ali Akbar Khasseh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This survey examines the familiarity of students at Virtual University of Shiraz (VUS), as a first virtual institution in Iran, with the concept and importance of digital libraries. To do this research, a descriptive and survey methodology was used. Students of Virtual University of Shiraz in comprise the population of the study. Findings showed that more than 66 percent of distance students are not familiar with the concept of digital library. They believe that lack of a well-structured digital library has had a negative impact on the academic achievement of students of Virtual University of Shiraz. Students have also expressed …

Assessment Of Quality Of East African Governments Websites And Support To Smes In Business Information Provision, Constant Okello-Obura

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The electronic presence globally through the Internet has revolutionized the way businesses are conducted and managed. To expand the markets and improve on productivity, the global appearance is vital today. This is not only making many business entities to create websites but also governments world over to rethink on their e-global visibility. This study based on desk research approach to data collection with guided observation and assessment guides assessed the quality of the websites of East African Government Ministries responsible for trade, the provision of Review business information to SMEs through East African Ministries of Trade websites and recommends appropriate …

Awareness And Usage Of Electronic Databases By Geography And Resource Development Information Studies Graduate Students In The University Of Ghana, Gladys Kwadzo Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness level and usage of electronic databases by graduate students in the University of Ghana. The focus was on graduate students of Departments of Geography and Development Resource, and Information Studies. Questionnaire was used to collect the data. The findings were that students were very much aware of the databases available to them as indicated by 96.9%and 93.8% indicated to use them. The studies has also established that majority of students knew about the databases from their lecturers and most of them accessed from the central library. Despite the claimed usage …

Influence Of Business Information Use On Sales Performance Of Smes In Lagos State, Adebowale Ojo, Sydney Akinsunmi, Oluwatimilehin Olayonu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are crucial drivers of every nation’s economy. However, reports suggest SMEs in Nigeria have not performed creditably well in terms of sales. Hence, they are yet to contribute to a large extent to the economic growth and development of the country. Considering that business information is an indispensable resource in overall business performance, one is forced to question the availability and utilisation of business information by SME owners. This study examines the influence of business information use on the sales performance of SMEs in the information technology sector in Lagos State. Employing a survey …

Awareness And Use Of E-Journals By The Scientists Of Csir-Institute Of Genomics And Integrative Biology (Igib), Delhi, And Indian Institute Of Chemical Biology (Iicb), Kolkata, India: A Comparative Study, Jamal Qasim, Abdul Mannan Khan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this paper is to compare the level of awareness and use of e-journals by the scientists of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata, India- both centre of excellence in their field of research and premier Institutes of 39 laboratories of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - India's largest research and development organization. The paper is based on the results of a well structured questionnaire administered to all the scientists of the two under study institutes for the purpose of data collection supplemented by interview and …

Information And Communication Technology Adoption And Use Among Students Of A Nigerian University For Distance Learning, Akimkunmi Oluseun Omotosho Mr., Elizabeth Bukunola Lateef Mrs., Oyintola Isiaka Amusa Mr., Taoffik Olatunde Bello Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigates the use of ICT for distance learning by students of the National Open University of Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted for this study and the main instrument for data collection was questionnaire. Copies of the questionnaire were administered on students of the National Open University of Nigeria, main campus, Lagos. Findings from the data analysis revealed that the level of ICT use among the respondents was high and; easy accessibility to most of the ICT facilities needed for distance learning is identified as the major factor responsible for the high level of usage of ICT …

Identifying Open Access Articles Within The Top Ten Closed Access Lis Journals: A Global Perspective, Jayati Chaudhuri, Sarah Baker

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Librarians have embraced the open access movement. They work to raise awareness of issues surrounding scholarly communication, to educate faculty about authors’ rights, and to help implement and maintain institutional repositories (IRs). But for all of the research and commentary from librarians about the importance of IRs and of making research freely available, there still exists the glaring contradiction that few librarians and Library and Information Science (LIS) authors provide free access to their own research publications. In this study, we will look at the open access availability of articles from the top 20 closed access LIS journals and discuss …

Barriers To Information Seeking By Secondary School Students In Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, Chidinma Onwuchekwa Ogba

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper investigated barriers to information seeking in Secondary School Libraries in Ado-Ekiti by using Kuhlthau’s framework of intermediation with Harris and Dewdney’s principles on information seeking. A random sampling technique was used to select five Private Secondary Schools (out of twenty Private Secondary Schools) in Ado-Ekiti while saturation sampling was used in selection of participants for this research. A Case study design using focus group discussion, observation and unstructured interview methods were used. A focus group discussion (group interview) was used to gather data separately from JSS II and SSS II students in each school; it was recorded using …

Reading For Pleasure Among Junior High School Students: Case Study Of The Saint Andrew`S Anglican Complex Junior High School, Sekondi, Raphael K. Kavi, Samuel N.B. Tackie, Kwabena A. Bugyei

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study focused on investigating reading for pleasure among Junior high school students. The research methodology adopted for the study was the case study approach. A total number of 93 respondents comprising 87 Students, 5 Teachers and 1 Headteacher participated in the study. Questionnaires were administered to solicit information from the respondents, whilst an interview schedule was used for the Teachers and Headteacher of the school. The findings suggested that majority of the respondents do not read for pleasure, they only engage in reading primarily to pass their examinations and not so much for their personal development, fun, or to …

Impact Of Ict On Job Satisfaction Among Library Professionals Working In Nmims Deemed University, Mumbai, Ravi N. Bellary, Shivanand Sadlapur, Ramesh R. Naik

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Today libraries are growing up in a digital world and provide variety of hi-tech tools for access e-information from the library. Our study finding presents the impact of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) on the job satisfaction among library professionals of the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Deemed University The present study targeted 13 library professionals. It is found that majority of the respondents were required training on latest developments in the library field.

The Readiness Of A State College For The Establishment Of A Digital Library, Velon Wagayan Alicmas, Bonifacio Vega Ramos

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study looked into the readiness of a state college for the establishment of a digital library. In particular, it assessed the knowledge of the respondents about digital library and its uses, digitization process, and electronic resources services. It also evaluated the extent of adequacy and availability of physical resources, adequacy of professional librarians and qualities of library staff, financial resources, library collections, information technology resources and the prospects for a digital library.

The study applied the descriptive-evaluative method of research. Three hundred fifty three (353) students and ninety seven (97) faculty and employees from both campuses comprised the four …

Research Focus And Trends In Nuclear Science And Technology In Ghana: A Bibliometric Study Based On The Inis Database, Elizabeth Ama Agyeman Ms., Albert Bilson Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The peaceful application of atomic energy was introduced into Ghana about fifty years ago. This is the first bibliometric study of nuclear science and technology research publications listed in the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Database, originating from Ghana. The purpose was to use the simple document counting method to determine the geographical distribution, annual growth and the subject areas of the publications as well as communication channels, key journals and authorship trends. The main findings of the study were that, a greater number of the nuclear science and technology records were published in Ghana (598 or 56.57% against 459 …

A Thematic Study Of Islamic Perspectives In Scopus Indexed Articles. Implications On Medical Imaging., Zainul Ibrahim Zainuddin

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Discussions pertaining to the various Islamic dimensions are actively being undertaken in the media. Within the academic circle, journal articles are accepted as an effective media in the dissemination of knowledge. Articles with Islamic perspectives can be found in disciplines that include Medicine, Banking, Economics and Finance. However, there is little to suggest of the types and frequencies of Islamic perspectives in Medical Imaging. This paper attempts to fill the gap. The methodology involves the use of Scopus database and its interactive search facility. The justification of using Scopus is the user-friendliness of its search interface and the ability to …

Captions Resources And Library Patronage By Hearing Impaired Students In University Libraries Of South-South Nigeria., Abimbola Labake Agboke, Emem Paul Udofia Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated the Availability of Captions Resources and Library Patronage by Hearing Impaired Students in University Libraries of South-South Nigeria. One research question and one hypothesis was formulated to guide the study and tested at .05 level of significance. Survey research design was employed. The population for the study was 57 hearing impaired students from 10 universities in south-South Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used in the study. A structured questionnaire was developed and used to elicit information from the respondents. Frequency distribution and percentages was used to determine the level of availability and use while Pearson Products Moment …

Utilization Of Law Library Collections For Improving Academic Performance By Undergraduate Law Students Of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Oliver Theophine Onwudinjo Dr, Uchenna Andrew Ogbonna Mr, Onwumbiko Joy Nwadiogwa Ms

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study showcases the law library collections and their utilization by the undergraduate students of Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent of the use being made of the resources by the undergraduate law students of the university, the types of law library resources, benefits derived and the frequency of use. The research method was a descriptive survey. The population consisted of the law undergraduate students of the university in the 2013/2014 academic session which had 550 registered users of the library. The sample was 132 students made up of …

Sustaining Nigeria’S Democracy: Public Libraries As An Indispensable Instrument In Anambra State, Amaka Florence Nwofor, Ilorah Hope Chinyere Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A survey of the historical and contemporary facts and figures presents Nigeria as a Nation battling to entrench the values of democracy. Much remains to be done to reinforce this progress and prepare the nation for the political realities of democracy in the 21^st Century. The citizens need to be enlightened and informed to actively participate in the democratic process. The role of the library as a social utility institution in this respect is indispensable and significant. The paper examined the public library as an agent of social and political transformation in Anambra State. It reviewed the services, activities, …

The Strategic Management Practices In Academic Libraries In Kenya: The Case Of Usiu Library, Paul Maku Gichohi Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This research investigated the practices of strategic management in academic libraries. The paper is based on a study that was conducted in 2009-2010. Using USIU library as a case study, it aimed to find out the nature of shifting paradigms in information management, establish the key challenges and ascertained how strategic management was practiced. A descriptive research design was used with a sample size of 153 drawn from students, library and teaching staff. Descriptive, inferential statistics and factor analysis were used. The volatility in information industry has necessitated the application of strategic management principles in information management. This is …

Deaccession Of Print Books In A Transitional Age Ii: Business, Science, And Interdisciplinary Studies, David E. Woolwine

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper, by means of citation studies, studies on information seeking behavior, and book format preferences and use, draws conclusions about the deaccession of print books in business, science and interdisciplinary studies in academic libraries. It is argued that deaccession of print books in business and science can proceed more quickly than in the humanities and social sciences. This is especially true for the sciences, with some evidence that print books continue to play a role in business scholarship and teaching. It is difficult to produce generalizations about deaccession in interdisciplinary studies.

Problems Of Library User Education In Nigerian Unity Schools, Nkechi, Anthonia Idoko, Brendan E. Asogwa, Richard N. C. Ugwuanyi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the strategies that may be adopted for the enhancement of Library User Education for the acquisition of library use skills (LUS) in Unity Schools in South East Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Out of a population of 29,358, multiple-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 1,053 comprising 480 JS I students, 469 SS III students and 104 staff from the 12 Unity schools under study. Two research questions guided the study. Questionnaire titled Library User Education Questionnaire (LUEQ) was the instruments for data collection. …

Feminist Markup And Meaningful Text Analysis In Digital Literary Archives, Hannah M. Schilperoort

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In this research paper, I examine three digital archives of women writers--University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Willa Cather Archive, Northeastern University’s Women Writers Online, and University of Alberta’s Orlando Project--for evidence of encoding practices and computational text analysis experimentation that supports feminist scholarship. I provide a brief overview of text encoding practices and controversies in digital literary studies, emphasizing research that suggests heavily detailed and interpretative markup results in more meaningful text analysis outcomes. I situate feminist text encoding and analysis practices and technologies within a larger argument for the use of detailed, interpretative and critical markup. I begin my research on …