This study focuses on usage of electronic books (e-books) among advanced researchers, including graduate students and faculty, at a four-year academic institution. The researchers aimed to highlight differences in behavior, perception, and attitude between users and non-users of e-books. The survey findings suggest that, while a majority of these…

This study presents findings from one-on-one interviews with 21 undergraduate students at a large public research university in the southeastern United States. While the preliminary focus of the study was to be students' opinions about and use of Wikipedia as a resource for course-related research, many of the interviews evolved into discussion…

This article examines citations of Western journals in eight LIS journals and six history journals published in Taiwan. The findings show that both the Western journals' impact factor values and whether they are included in JCR may not necessarily indicate their real use in Taiwan's LIS and history research--especially in history research.…

This case study analyzes the use of library school interns on subject-based teams for the social sciences, humanities, and sciences in the San Jose State University Library. Interns worked closely with team librarians on reference, collection development/management, and instruction activities. In a structured focus group, interns reported that the…

This article examines the connection between ACRL information literacy standards and constructivist pedagogy. This connection is used to support use of Web 2.0 tools for information literacy instruction. Sample exercises using these tools are provided for each ACRL learning outcome, and the tools' suitability for the constructivist approach is…

Today's students exhibit generational differences in the way they search for information. Observations of first-year students revealed a proclivity for simple keyword or phrases searches with frequent misspellings and incorrect logic. Although no students had strong mental models of search mechanisms, those with stronger models did construct more…

Western European art foundations create invaluable opportunities for research and exhibition by artists, curators, and scholars. These activities are often documented and disseminated via high-quality publications. This article highlights an important but under-recognized collecting resource for academic and museum libraries by profiling several…

Users across academic disciplines utilize different information sources based on the resource's usefulness and relevance. This study's findings show that users from arts and sciences disciplines are much more likely to utilize university library website resources and printed materials than business users who heavily rely on commercial websites.…

Although liaison librarians have two important professional identities--librarian and subject specialist--the library literature has paid scant attention to their membership and participation in non-library professional organizations. This article analyzes a study of ten librarians who joined non-library associations and concludes that membership…

A content analysis was conducted of status messages posted by academic libraries on seventeen Facebook pages. In addition to being informational, libraries attempt to engage and establish rapport with students through Facebook. The university setting not only creates a context for messages, but also offers a mutual set of experiences and values…

The Ohio University Libraries has been a part of the university's Freshman Year Experience (FYE) classes almost since their inception. Over the past ten years, we have tried many variations on the "library day" lesson plan, with various (low) success rates. For fall of 2010, the FYE coordinator asked for an extremely simple plan: just some videos…

Daylighting, a controlled architectural tool that influences users' perception and behavior, in university libraries and their influences on users' preference and satisfaction was examined in this study. The effects of daylighting in coordination with visual comfort, on university library users were measured in relation to four environmental…

The Open Access movement of the past decade, and institutional repositories developed by universities and academic libraries as a part of that movement, have openly challenged the traditional scholarly communication system. This article examines the growth of repositories around the world, and summarizes a growing body of evidence of the response…

Focus group methodology was used to investigate graduate students' cross-campus technology, space and service needs. Although the library provides valued services and spaces, graduate students need enhanced and more equitable support for their roles as teachers and scholars. Librarians can provide leadership and act as advocates for graduate…

Results of a multi-campus survey compare self-assessment of online skills and frequency of use to satisfaction with services. Students who rated skills as high also reported satisfaction with library services. Lower self-assessed skills are associated with lower satisfaction and non-use of services. Librarians may consider using self-assessed…