This thesis reports a research work whose objective was to derive a grounded model of the user education domain, which was identified as pertaining to subject librarians' expertise, using a knowledge elicitation approach in the field of agricultural sciences. The knowledge elicitation framework adopted was that which sees knowledge acquisition as a process of modelling expertise, and the models derived as qualitative in nature. Accordingly, the main methodological approach involved was based on qualitative research and use of grounded theory methods. The research design was divided into three studies, all based on interview data. The research started by studying the role of subject librarians in academic libraries in the UK (Study One), which identified the area of user education for further study. Study Two proceeded to elicit information seeking practices and user education processes from academics and librarians. Finally, Study Three elicited information seeking practices of students who were engaged in library research. A model of the user education domain in the field of agricultural sciences in a Brazilian university was derived from the combination of the analysis of Study Two and Three. The model describes the library research process of individuals as happening in discipline specific contexts, influenced by the world at large. The process takes place through a series of information-seeking tasks and task-related strategies, which are employed to search external knowledge sources and satisfy an information need. During this interaction, internal knowledge sources are used and modified according to the tasks and strategies being carried out. If these internal knowledge sources are deficient for effective use of external knowledge sources, mediation strategies by an expert can help readjust the information-seeking process and alter the state of related internal knowledge sources The model proposed is used to derive recommendations for the design of user education programmes, subject librarians' work, and domain modelling using grounded theory.

This study proposes a seven step evaluation model for evaluating library services using criteria based on community needs. The evaluation modal does not concern itself with direct measures of library processes but with examining the end product of those library processes in the form of services offered to the library's community. The model is intended to reveal discrepancies between community needs and library outputs and provide planning steps which will assist the professionally competent librarian to match library outputs to community needs. The final step in the evaluation model is intended to provide data on library effectiveness in meeting community needs. For the purposes of this study "library community" is defined as the target population for a particular library, encompassing non-users as well as actual users. Every library is intended to provide services to a specific community unique to itself. The model is presented as a general model, with implementation guidelines and checklists, as a basis for developing an evaluation plan for the specific situation of each individual library. A pilot study based on the evaluation model is described. The pilot study consisted of an evaluation of the Audiovisual Services section of the Australian National University Library and was conducted over an eighteen month period. The pilot study demonstrated the effectiveness of the evaluation model as a planning tool for matching library services to community needs.

This case study examines the new media presentation system in Alby public library. The aim is to explore if the contemporary Zeitgeist, wich according to the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, could be described as liquid modernity, has affected how the system was formed. The purpose is to find out how that would affect users and staff of public libaries of the contemporary. Interviews were conducted with the library staff, and plans and documents concerning the media presentation system was examined. The empirical part of this thesis starts with a study of the process that resulted in the new presentation system while the second part examines the system as such. I discovered that both the media presentation system, and the process which preceded it, contained aspects that could be traced to liquid modernity. However, I also found lingering signs of solid modernity, wich is the term Bauman uses to denote the modern era. The media presentation system could thus be described as a combination of solid and liquid modernity. I argued that the new media arrangment is a compromise with several disadvantages for both users and the library staff. The interplay between solid and liquid modernity in the contemporary public library results in a divergent situation for users and staff. On the one hand, it gives more freedom to use the library according to their own ideas. However, old structures, such as classification systems, sets limits for this development.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Mediation of fiction for adult users in Swedish public libraries is a subject which has been little studied from a theoretical perspective. The motivation for this thesis was based on this realization, and the opinion that actual library users too seldom get their voices heard in library and information science-research. The thesis analyzes interviews with seven library users in which they have been asked to talk about the librarys work with mediating fiction. The answers are analyzed using a discourse analytic approach to see how the librarys work with mediating fiction is constructed in the users talk. Two main discourses are identified, one authoritative and one neutral. In the authoritative discourse librarians are talked of as experts who have the knowledge to guide users to the ”right” literature. In the neutral discourse the librarians role is to be open to all different kinds of literature that may be demanded by users. In librarians talk, as seen in previous studies, the mediation of today was often talked of as oriented towards performative experiences and a more personal role for the librarian. The traditional roles of librarian as mediator and user as recipient were being loosened up as there was talk of more user engagement in the mediation. This way of talking about the mediation however, was not that evident in the interviews with users. One could say that the users had a more conservative view. The public library does'nt have to be either a place that only values high quality literature or only happenings and user engagement. It should be the library's role to communicate more complex pictures of the library to the public. It should also be a task for libraries and people who do research on libraries to listen to the voices of real users, even if they don't always come with simple answers to how the library should develop their work with mediating fiction. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the information seeking behaviour of graduate students at Uppsala University, Sweden. Using a qualitative method I gain deeper knowledge of the students’ information behaviour. Method – I interview four master students concerning their information seeking. Two of the students are from the social sciences and two from the medical sciences. Findings – The findings show that students primarily use electronic information resources. The students prefer to access scientific articles electronically, and they rarely use printed books in their studies. The students prefer to use library databases over Google Scholar. The reason for this is not only the access to material, but also that they prefer the more advanced search options provided by the library. Further results show that the students tend to avoid interaction with librarians. Paper type – Two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

The main object of this paper is an attempt to illustrate the present situation of TeheranUniversity Central Library and its 17 faculty libraries. The main aspects of these librarieswhich will be discussed are collections, staffing, management, shelving, cataloguing and thelibrary users. The findings of a survey which was conducted by the author in Iran in thesummer 1995 form the main basis of the discussions.Some of the problems in these libraries are mentioned and the possible solutions arerecommended.The study also examines the role and effect of the Islamic Revolution and de-westernizationpolicy of the present regime on these libraries.A historical background of higher education, foundation of the University of Teheran,librarianship and the whole range of libraries in Iran are discussed briefly.

Thesis (M. INF.) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / The purpose of this research is to investigate the information needs of rural communities in Bushbuckridge. Investing information of communities is vital because information plays an important role in enabling communities to meet their development needs, such as employment, education, health, safety, food security, and leisure. Libraries are therefore instrumental in helping library users to meet these needs. The study utilised triangulated (quantitative) and (qualitative) research methods. Participants in this study included 100 library users, four librarians and one library manager drawn from four local libraries through a combination of random (probability) and purposive (non-probability) sampling. The quantitative part of the study i.e. survey measured the perceptions of users on library services through questionnaires, while unstructured interviews elicited the experiences of librarians in addressing the information needs of library users in the four libraries of Bushbuckridge. Findings from the survey revealed, inter alia, that: most (65%) users had access to library services, although high travelling costs were a major barrier for those living in remote villages; a large number of users (60%) still depended on librarians to help them find information, while a growing number of users (33% had begun using computers and the internet to meet their information needs; the most important reasons for using the library were: assignments, study and careers, and, the majority of users in all four libraries were generally satisfied with the quality of the services rendered, although significant improvements were required in the supply of materials and water. Findings from interviews with librarians demonstrated that significant steps had been taken to address information needs of users across the four libraries. Common examples include: books and materials; computers and internet services; study groups; user training, and outreach programmes – although these were hampered by shortage of staff and vehicles. Cross-cutting problems included delays in purchasing of library materials; shortage of water and low perceptions about the benefits of library services in the community. In light of these results, it was concluded that information needs of library users had been partially met, with greater room for improvement in areas like human resources, information technology, transport and procurement systems and processes. The research findings have demonstrated that if provided well, library information services may help reduce the challenges of illiteracy, poverty and unemployment in this area. In light of these findings, the study recommended, inter alia, that the skills of library staff along with procurement systems and processes be upgraded in order to satisfy the information needs of library users in the study area. The study further recommended that outreach programmes be scaled up to increase awareness in the community about the role and benefits of library services in facilitating community development, particularly in Bushbuckridge where challenges of illiteracy, poverty and unemployment continue unabated.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cambridge, 1994. / Title from Web site (viewed on Oct. 19, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this master's thesis is to study public libraries' marketing on the social media site Twitter. To achieve this goal, the Twitter accounts of four Swedish public libraries were studied for several months. The four libraries that were studied consist of Stockholm library, Lidingö library, Malmö library, and Gothenburg library. The marketing theory that inspired me is called the seven Ps of marketing, which is a marketing mix that is specifically developed for service industries. My main sources in the application of the theory have been the works of Ned Potter and Eileen Elliott de Sáez, which combine marketing with the field of library and information science. Netnography, a qualitative method that studies online communities, has been applied as methodology. The methods that have been used consist of online observations and e-mail interviews. It was seen that the libraries use Twitter as a marketing tool to attain more users and to strengthen their ties with the existing users. Through Twitter, libraries promote their products to users. The communication between the library and its users becomes an important factor in marketing the library on Twitter. It was observed that users play an active role in marketing the library on Twitter. Users not only shape the marketing of the library through their responses but they also contribute to the marketing of the library by retweeting libraries' tweets or "mentioning" the libraries on Twitter. This is a two years master's thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera folkbibliotekens marknadsföring på det sociala mediet Twitter. För att uppnå detta mål, har aktiviteterna på fyra specifika folkbiblioteks Twitterkonton studerades i drygt fyra månader. De fyra folkbiblioteken vars Twitterkonton undersöktes består av Stockholms stadsbibliotek, Lidingö stadsbibliotek och Malmö stadsbibliotek samt Stadsbiblioteket Göteborg. Den marknadsföringsteori som inspirerade mig kallas för de sju P:na, vilket är en marknadsmix som är speciellt utvecklad för tjänstebranscher. Mina huvudsakliga källor i tillämpningen av teorin har varit verk av Ned Potter och Eileen Elliott de Sáez som kombinerar marknadsföring med biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap. Netnografi, en kvalitativ metod som studerar samhället på Internet, applicerades som metodik. Online-observationer och e-post-intervjuer har även utförts som en del av analysmetoden. Resultaten visar att biblioteken använder Twitter som ett marknadsföringsverktyg för att nå fler användare, göra reklam för sina produkter och för att stärka sina band med de befintliga användarna. Kommunikationen mellan biblioteken och dess användare blir en viktig faktor i marknadsföringen av biblioteket på Twitter. Användarna spelar en viktig roll, eftersom de både formar marknadsföringen av biblioteket genom sin respons och bidrar till ökad reklam för biblioteket genom att retweeta deras tweets eller nämna biblioteken i sina egna tweets. Detta är en tvåårig masteruppsats inom programmet Arkivvetenskap, Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap samt Musei- och kulturvetenskap.