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<p> Our collective memory, the history that is cultivated through reflection, documentation, and consensus of historical data, is predicated upon the citizenry having access to the historical materials that society has created. Digitization has enabled greater public access to those materials. However, are items being scanned or digitally photographed to create surrogates that are then not made available to the world? The impetus for this study is to delve into whether or not intentional or unintentional personal choices play a role in determining which items archivists transform into digital surrogates; both in the decision of what to digitize and what to make available to the public on the World Wide Web. When one archival collection is prioritized over another or when it is not possible to digitize an entire collection, what rationale is used to determine which items will be digitized and published online? Do intentional or unintentional personal choices come into play in the decision-making? To answer these questions, four case studies were conducted, involving the random sampling of online collections and concomitant interviews of archivists. The purpose of this study is to enhance archivists&rsquo; understanding of the reasons that guide the digitization decision-making process. Through such understanding, archivists can be more proactive in the decision-making process to realize the benefit of digitizing and publishing archival materials that ultimately affect collective memory. The findings of this research revealed that in the case of the four institutions assessed, archivists do use personal choice to determine which materials within an archive are digitized. </p>

Electronic databases allow rural libraries to expand information access beyond the limits of their material collection. How are these libraries to know which databases best meet the needs of their clientele? Research done at the onset of this project revealed no previous studies on the ability of databases to answer real questions. In this study, public library patron questions received by the Arizona State Reference Center were searched on ten different databases recommended in William Katz's Introduction to Reference Work, 6th edition, and available through DIALOG Online Services. Given the limitations and exploratory nature of this study, the results indicate that of the databases tested, the set of Books in Print, Magazine Database, ABI/INFORM, PAIS, and GPO Publications could qualify as a set of databases that would enable rural public library staff to find sources for 90% of the patron requests for information not found within the library.

<p> This document analysis examined the academic library and the changing role of the academic librarian in higher education. A comparison of the trends and issues reported by prominent librarians in the 20th century was made to those reported in the 21st century. Emphasis was placed on the following decades: 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in the 20th century and 2000s (through 2013) in the 21st century. Initial topics from the 20th century were selected from the cornerstone article, "College Libraries and the Teaching/Learning Process: A 25-Year Reflection" by Farber (1999). Farber, who was well known for research regarding bibliographic instruction at Earlham College, observed, reported, and predicted for the future many changes in the field of librarianship. His cornerstone article presented an historical view of bibliographic instruction, the development and oversight of the Ohio College Library Century, the rise of the use of microfilm and microfiche, the drastic change in processes for establishing and maintaining the card catalog, and an overview of technological changes as they relate to the academic library located in institutions of higher learning. The issues Farber discussed were compared to discussion by prominent librarians from the 21st century. An overview of the similarities, differences, and topics which have almost disappeared, as discussed by Farber, were reviewed. Also examined were current academic library topics Farber discussed which have changed immensely in the early years of the 21st century. The changing role of the academic librarian, motivated by changing media and technology availability was reviewed by decade.</p>

Survey responses from 1,962 students attending Florida State University during the Spring 2007 semester were analyzed for a preferred sensory learning mode, number and variety of study methods, a match between sensory learning mode and sensory preference within the study habits, and passive versus deep learning processes. The students were found to demonstrate a sensory learning mode preference, but did not report using study habits that matched this sensory mode. Most of the students were found to employ too few study methods to allow for the development of true study strategies, were found to use memorization as a primary study method, and to utilize passive learning rather than deep learning processes. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: October 12, 2007. / College Students, Passive Learning, Study Strategies, Sensory Learning, Learning Mode / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary D. Burnett, Professor Directing Thesis; Norbert M. Seel, Committee Member; Paul F. Marty, Committee Member.

The accelerated development of information technology, especially the rapid growth of the Web, is changing the circumstances and consequently the structures and processes of scholarly communication. Since the Internet as a powerful communication medium has radically improved the efficiency of communication, scholarly communicative activities are increasingly being conducted over the Internet: interacting with peers, searching for information, publishing research results, etc. As a result, there is renewed interest in the study of scholarly communication to see the types of communication that are taking place and the similarities to what we have come to expect from print based communication. New data sources and tools for scholarly communication research are becoming increasing available on the Web as well. These data and tools have opened up the possibility of new topics of inquiry applying new methods leading to new theories (Borgman, 2002; Zhao & Logan, 2002). The present study explores this possibility through an author citation analysis of scholarly communication patterns in the extensible Markup Language (XML) research field using data both from the Web as indexed by Research Index (http://www.researchindex.com) and from print journals as indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)s Science Citation Index (SCI). A series of citation analyses including author visibility analysis and author co-citation analysis have been conducted, and comparisons of results from the two data sources have been carried out controlling for data scope and citation counting method respectively, to identify the similarities and differences between Web-based and print journal-based scholarly communication as revealed by citation analysis and to reveal the capacity of scientific papers published on the Web along with existing citation indexing tools for Web publications as an alternative data source to the ISI databases for citation analysis studies. Meanwhile, publications and characteristics of three groups of highly visible authors have been examined and compared authors highly visible both on the Web and in journals, those only in journals, and those only on the Web, to ascertain the possible contributing factors to the differences identified from the two data sources. Based on these, the present study also explores possible improvements of data sources and tools on the Web and the requirements for a problem solving environment (PSE) for scholarly communication research. XML is one of the most promising research areas and also one of the research fields that has taken an early move to online publishing. Through a series of citation analyses of the XML research field, the present study identifies the ideas and thinkers that have influenced the conceptual development within the field, the sub-areas in this field that appear to be more active, and the interrelationship of the sub-areas and of core researchers. Findings from this study indicate that the XML research field is a coherent research field in which scholars are well interconnected through intellectual and social ties. Researchers in this field are communicating research results heavily on the Web, especially results from studies at the research front. The two groups of XML scholars who actively publish on the Web or in journals share very few publications, and are concerned with different issues. While all study XML related standards or specifications and XML database design and implementation, research on XML applications is a focus only in journals, and research into the Semantic Web and programming for and processing of XML data is better represented on the Web. It appears that while emerging specialties such as the Semantic Web are more visible on the Web, new trends in long-existing specialties such as Software agents are well represented in journals. However, these two groups have similar citing behavior and their collective view of author visibility and the intellectual structure of the research field is very similar as well. This is indicated by the very high correlation between author ranking by number of citations resulting from ResearchIndex and that from SCI when the same citation counting method was used. This is also suggested by the similar relative locations of specialties, to which both groups have contributed, on the maps resulting from Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) of the two data sources. Conclusions can be drawn from the findings that evaluation of scholars and examination of intellectual structures based on the collective view of citers on the Web should be considered as equally valid as those based on citers view in journals, provided the discipline being studied is well-published on the Web. In order to gain a complete picture of the scholarly communication patterns in the XML research field, multiple data sources should be used rather than only the ISI databases or ResearchIndex. These findings also seem to evidence a two-tier system in scholarly communication that is believed by some scholars to be a probable future model of the scholarly communication system (Poultney, 1996; van Raan, 2001). In this model, the first tier is a free space which represents the scholarly enterprise in real time and is most likely to feature free Web-based publications, while the second tier is the world of more formal publications that is most likely to continue to be dominated by journals (van Raan, 2001, p. 61). In other words, in this model, research would largely be initially reported on the Web to obtain priority and fast recognition and then gradually distributed through other more formal channels such as journals to gain formal acceptance. Data sources and tools increasingly available on the Web have opened up the possibility of new topics of inquiry applying new methods leading to new theories. However, they currently do not cover as many disciplines and are not as easy to use as the ISI databases. These are some of the aspects in scholarly communication systems that need to be improved and to which citation analysis can contribute. A well designed problem solving environment (PSE) for scholarly communication research can be a solution. The preliminary exploration of such a PSE in the present study is a start and hopefully will lead to a full discussion in the future. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2003. / Date of Defense: April 21, 2003. / Efficiency Of Communication / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary Burnett, Professor Directing Thesis; Lawrence C. Dennis, Outside Committee Member; Elisabeth Logan, Committee Member; Kathleen Burnett, Committee Member; Benjamin Keith Belton, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of the literature of map librarianship, to determine how these characteristics changed over time, and to compare these characteristics with the characteristics of the articles published in College & Research Libraries as identified by Cline in 1982. The population consisted of 1,744 source articles and 9,461 cited documents. / Overall the characteristics of the literature of map librarianship reflect a maturing of the discipline. The findings show that the majority of source articles (1) were the product of a male author who was associated with an academic institution, contributed one article, and had no coauthor; (2) addressed topics concerning map libraries and collections, cartographic materials, and cataloging and classification; (3) did not include references, were written in English, and appeared in a journal published in an English-speaking country; and (4) had characteristics similar to those of the articles published in C&RL. Changes that have occurred included (1) a decrease in the multiple publication of an article; (2) an increase in the number and recency of references; (3) an increase in collaborative authorship; (4) an increase in the range of topics discussed; (5) an increase in the use of English; and (6) an increase in the representation of female authors. / For the cited documents the findings show that the majority of the documents (1) were written in English and were published in an English-speaking country; (2) were from the fields of map librarianship, cartography, and library science; (3) were published in journals; (4) were cited only once; and (5) were less than ten yours old. Compared to the cited literature in C&RL, more of the citations were subject specific, were written in a foreign language, were published in a foreign country, and were older. Both cited journals most frequently. Changes that occurred included an increase in the number of citations from (1) the fields of history, science/technology, and geography; (2) documents in English and published in an English-speaking country; (3) journals; and (4) current literature. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2618. / Major Professor: Charles Wm. Conaway. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The aims of this study were to establish a framework for the comparison of school libraries, and then to use the framework to assess the current state of school libraries internationally. The relationships between selected socio-economic variables and school library variables were also examined, as well as factors that had encouraged and hindered the growth of school libraries. / The framework for comparison, which consisted of a series of indicators and variables, was established by surveying a panel of thirty experts on school librarianship in twenty-nine countries. The five highest ranked indicators were the existence and extent of school libraries, personnel, facilities, materials and equipment, and the role of the school library and the teacher-librarian. / The indicators were then used as a basis to survey the current state of school libraries internationally. Sixty-four countries responded to the survey. Among the major findings were that although centralized school libraries existed in most of the responding countries, the library was seen as either a supplementary or a non-essential service. In more than 75% of the responding countries, the typical school library had a person in charge, but he or she was often without a defined role or had a basic role of making the resources available. The typical library contained printed, audio and visual materials; computers and communication equipment were present in less than 25% of them. / Two strong relationships were observed. The presence of libraries in primary schools had a strong positive correlation with the gross national product per capita of the country, but had a strong negative correlation with the percentage of the population in a country under the age of 15. / The most frequently mentioned factors encouraging growth of school libraries were the availability of funds, the role of a central organization, and the education/training of teacher-librarians, whereas the most frequently mentioned factors hindering growth were the inadequacy or total absence of funds, the lack of trained personnel, and problems related to physical facilities. / The appendices include the two survey instruments and a list of official sources of information on school libraries in the responding countries. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2369. / Major Professor: F. William Summers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study examined the effectiveness of the young adult library specialist and the generalist librarian in reference to user satisfaction scores given by young adult clientele and based on their evaluation of their local public library. The performance measure of user satisfaction served to infer the effectiveness of public library service to this clientele. A questionnaire assessed attitudes of young adult library users in two large urban public libraries, one of which employs a young adult specialist and one of which serves this clientele with generalists. The questionnaire collected minimal background data on the respondents, measured satisfaction scores and tested the null hypothesis by way of the Critical Value of Variance Ratio F within the t-Test for Two Independent Samples. / Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusion was reached: a specialist young adult librarian makes a significantly positive difference in user satisfaction scores for the following factors: a feeling of welcome to the young adults who frequent their local public library, use of interlibrary loan, knowledge of hotline information, use of programming and activities, interest in a popular materials collection and enjoyment of related booklists on young adult reading, and knowledge of a area for playing games. A library which employs a young adult librarian is more effective than a library which does not for each of these services. Other findings of this study were that generalist librarians make a significantly positive difference in user satisfaction scores for the following factors: knowledge and interest on the topics of sexuality, sexual and physical abuse, and pregnancy. / The major recommendation of this study is that young adult public library users be provided with a young adult specialist and a room in the public library dedicated to their special needs. These needs include improved collection strength and availability to information related to sexuality, sexual or physical abuse, and pregnancy. / Other recommendations and suggestions for further study are also included. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3400. / Major Professor: F. William Summers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Although there are numerous studies, conferences, and journal articles devoted to the topic of library education, extensive debates remain regarding both the purpose and effectiveness of library education as a tool in helping prepare entry-level professional librarians. A major part of the debate is the question of whether, in general, library schools are meeting the demands of the job market for librarians and information specialists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preparation of entry-level research librarians. It will describe the relationship between formal library education and work in research libraries from the perceptions of entry-level librarians and their supervisors. The main goal of the study is to help library and information studies schools to prepare future research librarians and equip them with in-demand knowledge and skills. The results of the study would be of benefit for administrators and educators at library and information studies schools who are concerned with preparing MLIS students to work in research libraries. In order to answer the five research questions designed for this study, two web based surveys were used to collect data from 45 entry-level research librarians in Florida, and 18 heads of departments at the same libraries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Findings of the study validated 28 required competencies for entry-level research librarians. Perceptions of research librarians indicated that schools of library and information studies in the U.S. have helped their recent graduates, who work in research libraries, in acquiring 64% of the required competencies. In addition, findings indicated that increasing internship requirements and adding more management instruction are the most important methods for library schools to consider in preparing future research librarians. Finally, the study elicited the perceptions of both groups regarding the expected required competencies for entry-level research librarians from 2005 to 2010. Recommendations for library schools regarding the educational preparation of entry-level research librarians are provided. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring, 2003. / Date of Defense: April 14, 2003. / Research Libraries / Includes bibliographical references. / Jane Robbins, Professor Directing Dissertation; Peter Garretson, Outside Committee Member; F. William Summers, Committee Member; Thomas Hart, Committee Member.