Remote storage has become an increasingly popular response to the overcrowding of open-stack areas in academic libraries. While many institutions have chosen this option and there has been much discussion about administration of such facilities, its impact on patrons is still unclear. Some potential user limitations of remote storage considered by this study are delayed retrieval, loss of browsability, and the barrier of making a retrieval request. The current study was conducted at the Chemistry and Art Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It observed the use of materials that had been selected for transfer to remote storage, where half of these selected materials were transferred to remote storage and the other half remained on open library stacks. After an average of approximately two months of observation, none of the selected books had circulated, suggesting that their selection for remote storage was appropriate.

This paper discusses the effects of stack end signage on user wayfinding success in searches in academic libraries. Site visits to the Chapel Hill Public Library and the Cameron Village Branch Library provided models for test signage for the study, as did the available literature on wayfinding and effective library signage. A three week study was conducted to survey the effects of three different iterations of signage on the success of subjects performing test searches—the subjects used the UNC Chapel Hill online catalog and the posted signage to locate materials in the Sloane Art Library. The results of the study were evaluated qualitatively and suggestions were made for further study and suggestions for elements of effective academic library signage were made.

This paper addresses inconsistencies in the research guides created by University Librarians at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Based on an analysis of descriptive data collected from a sample of guides, as well as search log data collected in the Fall 2004 academic term, it identifies elements that lack consistency, and gives an overview of guide content and format.

This paper aims to explore the current status of Internet Resources on Chinese studies among East Asian Libraries in the US. The author examined Internet Resources on Chinese Studies at the websites of 35 libraries by collecting data on the number of unique links, the kinds of websites included, the arrangement and classification of resources, the content and commonalities of the most frequently cited websites. Lists of link popularity are also complied to illustrate the current status of Internet Resources on Chinese Studies. Finally, a number of recommendations are proposed for further research.

This study describes a questionnaire survey of seven university libraries across the country. The study was conducted to determine the perceptions of librarians in regards to unaffiliated users, and how well librarians understand the policies at their institutions. The results show that while affiliated patrons are seen most in instructional sessions and at the reference desk, there is no dominating area of interaction with unaffiliated patrons. And despite the multitude of opinions surrounding how unaffiliated users are and should be treated compared to those associated with an institution, librarians still show a strong desire to treat all patrons as fairly as possible.

This paper examines stereographic images as scholarly resources, and begins with a brief history of the stereograph. A discussion and review of the literature related to the stereograph as well as the preservation of photographic objects follows the introduction. In addition to the literature review, collections of stereographs at four repositories were evaluated for usability: The Keystone-Mast Archive at the University of California, Riverside; The Eliot Elisofon Archive at the Smithsonian Institution; the George Eastman House; the Library of Congress. The paper ends with suggestions for future work with the stereograph, in order to facilitate access and use by researchers.

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate planning processes for academic library buildings and the outcomes of such processes. This is accomplished through a case study utilising discourse analysis. The main question is: How is a vision of an academic library implemented in and through a building? The case study is retrospective and focused on the building of a newlibrary at Kalmar University, Sweden, at the end of the 1990s. During this period, technological and educational developments and general societal change transformed the context of library planning and made way for renegotiations of the librarian profession.A critical realist approach characterises the study of visions, processes and the analysis of the various functions of the building. Results reveal the proactive nature of the activities of thelibrary director in Kalmar. Early in the process he formulated a vision in which he presents the library as an information resource, a meeting place between different user groups and a workplace intended to promote learning and knowledge. From a professional point of view, the vision implied a dehierarchisation of relations both within the library staff and between library staff and visitors. The vision was based on an interpretation of Swedish national educational policy, and architecturally manifested by an ambition to reduce the physical and psychologicalboundaries between library staff and visitors. The early formulation of the visiontogether with the clients’ use of architectural expertise facilitated the choice of architects.However during the process a need arose to anchor the decision in the library field. Efforts were made to address library expertise and to collect user comments from a broader academic field. Discourses concerning the university library as a workplace and a meeting place wereespecially evident in the strategies of the leading agents. The discourses uncovered in the study correspond to more general discourses which became prominent in society and higher education during the period in question. The library itself has met growing appreciation by users both from within and outside the university.The proactive leadership demonstrated by the library director in Kalmar was based on hegemony rather than coercion. This corresponds to contemporary tendencies. Hegemonic consent may persist even after changes in leadership. In Kalmar however, architectural solutions with insufficient support from the library staff have been reconstructed after changes in leadership.Future research on architectural planning processes may pay further attention to different discursive resources, social fields and the positions within them. / Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig granskning klockan 13.15 fredagen den 4 december 2009 i sal D207, Högskolan i Borås, Allégatan 1

This study presents the results of a usability test of reusable learning objects currently in development in the Instructional Services Department of the UNC-Chapel Hill University Library. The learning objects are Web-based learning modules that are part of a new project, Stories of the American South, and they aim to make digital primary source material more accessible by breaking it into manageable units and providing contextual information. Seven undergraduate students viewed three prototypes, each focused on a unique theme related to the history of the American South. The results suggested that the learning objects are generally usable in design and function, and participants’ responses to design and content were positive. Several changes are suggested to optimize the usability of the learning object prototypes, and further usability testing with other audiences is recommended.

This study evaluates monograph acquisition decisions at an academic health sciences library using circulation and acquisitions data. The goal was to provide insight regarding how to allocate library funds to support research and education in disciplines of interest to the library user base. Data analysis revealed that allocations in 13 subject areas should be reviewed as the cost of circulation was greater than the average cost of circulation of the sample and the average cost of monographs was higher in these subject areas than the average cost of monographs in the sample. In contrast, 13 subjects returned cost of circulation rates lower than the average cost of circulation of the sample. These subjects merit stable budget allocation or increased allocation depending upon collection needs. Overall, this study found that this library is allocating a majority of resources to subjects with above average rates of use.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie word die rol van interpersoonlike komrnunikasie in die funksionering van die algemene inligtingsdiens van die Unisa Biblioteek aan die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika ondersoek. 'n Kwantitatiewe meetinstrument word ontwikkel om gebruikertevredenheid met die hoofkomponente van die algemene inligtingsdiens, naamlik die inligtingsassistent, die inligting wat deur die klient ontvang word en die fisiese omgewing waarin die diens gelewer word, te evalueer. Daar word bevind dat 'n beduidende assosiasie bestaan tussen gebruikertevredenheid met die inligtingsassistent en gebruikertevredenheid met die inligting wat ontvang word. 'n Verkorte vrae lys word ontwerp en aanbevee 1 as 'n meetinstrument waarmee die bestuur gebruikertevredenheid met die algemene inligtingsdiens op 'n gereelde grondslag kan meet. / This study investigates the role of interpersonal communication in the functioning of the general information service provided by the Unisa Library at the University of South Africa. A quantitative measuring instrument is developed to evaluate user satisfaction with the main components of the general information service, that is the information assistant, the information received by the client and the physical surroundings in which the service is provided. It is found that a significant association exists between user satisfaction with the information assistant and user satisfaction with the information received. A shortened questionnaire is designed and recommended as a measuring instrument with which management can on a regular basis measure user satisfaction with the general information service. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)