This study explored how undergraduate library student workers at an urban, 4-year public institution perceived their work experiences in an academic library as contributing to their social and academic integration in college. Tinto's (1993) model on student departure formed the basis for this study where academic and social integration work together to influence institutional commitments ultimately leading to the decision to remain or leave the college. Undergraduate library student workers from various library departments were interviewed and it is from these interviews that a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of an academic library's effect on undergraduate library student workers was gained. The study revealed that the undergraduate library student workers perceived experiencing many socially integrative and academically integrative experiences which they would not have had were they not employed in an academic library. After the data are discussed, the theoretical implications, policy implications, and suggestions for further research are offered.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. John Bertot, Florida State University, School of Information Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 3, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

The goal of the dissertation is by disclosing the key institutional powers of the external environment affecting academic libraries in Lithuania, identify the peculiarities of the framing of Lithuanian academic libraries’ roles and the influence of the process on the stability and variation of academic libraries. The object of the study – roles of academic libraries in Lithuania – is analysed from the perspective of new institutionalism, which affords the researcher’s ground for the identification and explanation of certain pressures of the institutional environment on organizations and their modes of activity. The discourse analysis of official documents of Lithuanian universities (long- and short-term strategic activity plans and annual reports) highlights the factors and agents which have the most impact on the stability and change of roles of libraries. It is stated that the entrenchment and stability of the framed roles of academic libraries is subject to the support and aid rendered by the institutional powers. The stability of the roles of Lithuanian academic libraries is to the greatest extent influenced by the support from various professional networks and authoritative financial agents, and the culturally established typical image of the activity of a certain library. Roles of academic libraries framed within the framework of the prevalent discourses of modernity, market and quality, reflect the institutional logics of the academic library which is based on the... [to full text] / Disertacijoje keliamas tikslas – atskleidus pagrindines išorinės aplinkos institucines jėgas, veikiančias Lietuvos akademines bibliotekas, nustatyti Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimo ypatumus ir šio proceso įtaką akademinių bibliotekų stabilumui bei kaitai. Disertacijos objektas – Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys – tiriamas iš teorinės naujojo institucionalizmo perspektyvos, leidžiančios nustatyti ir paaiškinti tam tikrą institucinės aplinkos spaudimą organizacijoms ar jų veiklos būdams. Atliekama Lietuvos valstybinių universitetų strateginių dokumentų diskurso analizė išryškina akademinių bibliotekų išorinės aplinkos veiksnius ir veikėjus, darančius didžiausią įtaką bibliotekų vaidmenų stabilumui ir kaitai. Disertacijoje nustatyta, kad konstruojamų akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimas ir stabilumas priklauso nuo to, kiek jis yra remiamas ir palaikomas institucinių jėgų. Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų tvirtumui didžiausią įtaką daro įvairių profesinių tinklų ir autoritetingų finansinių veikėjų palaikymas, kultūriškai susiformavęs tipizuotas tam tikros bibliotekų veiklos vaizdinys. Vyraujančių modernumo, rinkos ir kokybės diskursų ribose konstruojami akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys atspindi akademinių bibliotekų institucinę logiką, kuri grindžiama naudingumo ir efektyvumo kriterijais, o tų pačių veikėjų dominavimas rodo egzistuojančią bendrą institucinę aplinką, ribojančią naujų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimo galimybes.

Disertacijoje keliamas tikslas – atskleidus pagrindines išorinės aplinkos institucines jėgas, veikiančias Lietuvos akademines bibliotekas, nustatyti Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų konstravimo ypatumus ir šio proceso įtaką akademinių bibliotekų stabilumui bei kaitai. Disertacijos objektas – Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys – tiriamas iš teorinės naujojo institucionalizmo perspektyvos, leidžiančios nustatyti ir paaiškinti tam tikrą institucinės aplinkos spaudimą organizacijoms ar jų veiklos būdams. Atliekama Lietuvos valstybinių universitetų strateginių dokumentų diskurso analizė išryškina akademinių bibliotekų išorinės aplinkos veiksnius ir veikėjus, darančius didžiausią įtaką bibliotekų vaidmenų stabilumui ir kaitai. Disertacijoje nustatyta, kad konstruojamų akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimas ir stabilumas priklauso nuo to, kiek jis yra remiamas ir palaikomas institucinių jėgų. Lietuvos akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenų tvirtumui didžiausią įtaką daro įvairių profesinių tinklų ir autoritetingų finansinių veikėjų palaikymas, kultūriškai susiformavęs tipizuotas tam tikros bibliotekų veiklos vaizdinys. Vyraujančių modernumo, rinkos ir kokybės diskursų ribose konstruojami akademinių bibliotekų vaidmenys atspindi akademinių bibliotekų institucinę logiką, kuri grindžiama naudingumo ir efektyvumo kriterijais, o tų pačių veikėjų dominavimas rodo egzistuojančią bendrą institucinę aplinką, ribojančią naujų vaidmenų įsitvirtinimo galimybes. / The goal of the dissertation is by disclosing the key institutional powers of the external environment affecting academic libraries in Lithuania, identify the peculiarities of the framing of Lithuanian academic libraries’ roles and the influence of the process on the stability and variation of academic libraries. The object of the study – roles of academic libraries in Lithuania – is analysed from the perspective of new institutionalism, which affords the researcher’s ground for the identification and explanation of certain pressures of the institutional environment on organizations and their modes of activity. The discourse analysis of official documents of Lithuanian universities (long- and short-term strategic activity plans and annual reports) highlights the factors and agents which have the most impact on the stability and change of roles of libraries. It is stated that the entrenchment and stability of the framed roles of academic libraries is subject to the support and aid rendered by the institutional powers. The stability of the roles of Lithuanian academic libraries is to the greatest extent influenced by the support from various professional networks and authoritative financial agents, and the culturally established typical image of the activity of a certain library. Roles of academic libraries framed within the framework of the prevalent discourses of modernity, market and quality, reflect the institutional logics of the academic library which is based on the... [to full text]

This research project focussed on the onboarding experiences of newly appointed staff at academic libraries of the following institutions: University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria West Campus), and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. The main aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of librarians with regard to the onboarding programmes that they have attended at their respective institutions. The key finding of the research was that newly appointed librarians had different experiences. In spite of the differences there was significant evidence that new librarians can benefit from proper introduction and orientation in their new jobs. The need for onboarding arises from a variety of circumstances ranging from inadequate graduate training to rapidly advancing technology. The study also recognised the current trend of new generation librarians’ short stay in the job and eventually leaving the profession. Factors contributing to librarians’ perception of onboarding programmes were also studied. It was found that much of the common factors that shape onboarding practices arise from the planning and implementation of the programme. A similar approach is used by the selected libraries The study used the survey method. An online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were data gathering tools. The study adopted the qualitative research method with close ended questions, ranking scales as well as open ended questions. An online questionnaire was distributed to the 30 potential participants. Twenty-three (23) responses were received, which means a response rate of 76% was obtained. An important finding in this regard was that the onboarding programme was not evaluated by parties involved in the instruction and feedback on the success of the programme was not received by participants. In addition participants were not assessed prior to the programme so that their input could be used to inform the relevance of the contents of the programme. Based on the findings the researcher made some recommendations to enhance the planning of the programme in future. The study concludes with directions for future research to contribute to the implementation of onboarding as part of the practice of employee development. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Introduction: Professional development is an important aspect of working practices for academic librarians. In the past decades the academic library has been subjected to an enormous range of technological and cultural advancements that have constantly required its staff to develop their professional knowledge and understanding. One of the most recent revolutions has been the advent of social media. This advent of a new technology can provide challenges and opportunities but to fully understand these we need to analyse the relationship between social media and various context in more depth. Method: This inductive grounded theory study was iteratively conducted in three different academic libraries in England. At each location an analysis of the social media in use both organisationally and individually was made, and a purposefully selected number of actors was interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of their ideas about social media, CPD and the potential to learn from social media. Findings: The findings demonstrate that the managerial view of CPD is not necessarily compatible with the perception, or needs, of practitioners in relation to their professional development. To increase understanding of this domain, the study analysed the underlying factors related to both social media use and perception, and participation in and perception of professional development. This has led to the discovery of a theory that can be summarised as Continuous Professional Adaptation is learning that occurs as a consequence of professional awareness and preparedness through the use of informal networks. Outcome: The grounded theory presented in this document demonstrates a need to expand the dialogue on professional development in academic libraries, in both an academic and practical context, based on the advent of social media. Formal development in the shape of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is still regarded as the most relevant method of developing human resources due to the prevalence of a managerial approach to professional development. Conclusion: Increasingly academics and practitioners require more than the formal approach to professional development which can be classed as increasingly being irrelevant due to practical limitations of delivery time and mode and speed of changes occurring. This research contributes to that dialogue, providing a unique approach by incorporating social media with professional development.

Scholarly and scientific communication has a long history, while the Open Access (OA) movement began to take part in this communication with the emergence of Internet in the late 1960s and the web that emerged in mid-1990s. OA is beneficial for sharing knowledge because the OA movement demands scholarly literature freely available on the internet and it is free of most licensing restriction copyright. OA will close the barrier of access to knowledge. The OA movement in Indonesia may be considered slow. So far, only 33 academic libraries have registered their repositories with OpenDOAR, which is still small compared to the total number of HE institutions in Indonesia. Those 33 OARs vary in the stages of development. Some have already had large size of contents, while others are still developing. Using Weiner’s theory of organizational readiness for change, this mixed method investigates the readiness of academic librarians for Open Access Repository implementation. The results show that academic librarians in Indonesia are somewhat familiar with OA and OAR. However, their understanding of OA is still limited to the technical nature of it. They also know the benefits of OA in relation to scholarly communication and are ready to implement OAR, but the implementation was mostly based on the goal of achieving a specific rank in the world-class university ranking and Webometrics. They implemented Open Access Repositories with limited technological infrastructure, skills, and limited knowledge of OA.

Library automation in Ghana began barely 13 years ago with the University of Ghana Balme Library being the first to start automation in 2003. Library automation is attained by means of a specific type of information system, an integrated library system (ILS). Given that modern academic libraries rely heavily on their ILS to meet user needs, the success of the ILS is vital. In 1999 Farajpahlou published a set of 26 criteria to assess the success of ILS in university libraries that was subsequently validated in both developing and developed countries (Iran and Australia). In this case study of the University of Ghana Library System (UGLS) Farajpahlou‟s original set of criteria was assessed for applicability and used to assess the success of the UGLS by surveying 28 randomly selected library managers, IT specialists and selected paraprofessionals who work with the UGLS ILS. The study showed that, in the opinion of these respondents, the UGLS ILS conclusively satisfies 13 out of the 16 criteria accepted by the research respondents out of the 26 criteria that constitute the Farajpahlou (1999, 2002) success criteria. This outcome suggests that the UGLS ILS may not be conclusively deemed to be successful. Furthermore, the study also suggests that, although Farajpahlou‟s success criteria can serve as a basis for the assessment of ILS success in academic libraries, some criteria may need to be altered or removed and additional criteria added to make it a more robust set of criteria to assess ILS success globally. This research contributes to studies that seek to assess the success of library automation in academic libraries in Ghana and also contribute to the development of potentially suitable success assessment criteria, which may be of value to both researchers and practitioners. Library automation in Ghana began barely 13 years ago with the University of Ghana Balme Library being the first to start automation in 2003. Library automation is attained by means of a specific type of information system, an integrated library system (ILS). Given that modern academic libraries rely heavily on their ILS to meet user needs, the success of the ILS is vital. In 1999 Farajpahlou published a set of 26 criteria to assess the success of ILS in university libraries that was subsequently validated in both developing and developed countries (Iran and Australia). In this case study of the University of Ghana Library System (UGLS) Farajpahlou‟s original set of criteria was assessed for applicability and used to assess the success of the UGLS by surveying 28 randomly selected library managers, IT specialists and selected paraprofessionals who work with the UGLS ILS. The study showed that, in the opinion of these respondents, the UGLS ILS conclusively satisfies 13 out of the 16 criteria accepted by the research respondents out of the 26 criteria that constitute the Farajpahlou (1999, 2002) success criteria. This outcome suggests that the UGLS ILS may not be conclusively deemed to be successful. Furthermore, the study also suggests that, although Farajpahlou‟s success criteria can serve as a basis for the assessment of ILS success in academic libraries, some criteria may need to be altered or removed and additional criteria added to make it a more robust set of criteria to assess ILS success globally. This research contributes to studies that seek to assess the success of library automation in academic libraries in Ghana and also contribute to the development of potentially suitable success assessment criteria, which may be of value to both researchers and practitioners. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

The main goal of this study was to do a heuristic evaluation of the information architecture (IA) of the recently redesigned academic library website of the University of Pretoria and to provide recommendations for improvement if necessary. The main problem that is addressed by this study is that there is no comprehensive list of heuristics for the purpose of evaluating the IA of academic library websites. This study used various methods to address this problem and achieve the main goal. A literature review resulted in a set of integrated usability heuristics that can be used to do a heuristic evaluation of the IA of academic library websites. The set was created based on an integration of existing usability principles from authorities in the field of usability. The integrated set of existing principles was made applicable to academic library websites through the addition of sub-criteria based on a review of twenty related studies. A multiple-case study method was used for the heuristic evaluation of the library websites of the top three universities in South Africa, i.e., University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and Stellenbosch University. The results of the multiple-case study method were used to further adapt the list of principles. The heuristic evaluation method was used in each of the case studies as a data collection method. Another case study was done, using the same method and revised heuristics, to evaluate the usability of the library website of the University of Pretoria and to provide recommendations. The main outcomes of this study is a list of heuristics that can be used for the heuristic evaluation of the IA of academic library websites, as well as a list of recommendations for the improvement of the newly redesigned library website of the University of Pretoria. The list of heuristics is not limited to academic library websites, however, as it can be adapted and reused for the heuristic evaluation of other types of websites. / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Information Science / MIS / Unrestricted

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