Books are the most important medium of communication in the humanities, a major medium in the social sciences, and a central component of academic library collections. This study examined humanities and social sciences books that won prizes from ten leading United States disciplinary associations between 2000 and 2009. The study extends earlier…

The study analyzed factors shaping adoption of technology in academic libraries in Kuwait. The research was based on interviews conducted with library directors, staff, and users, combined with observation and document analysis. A major aspect of the Kuwaiti context was a relative lack of financial restraints and an enthusiasm for technology…

This article presents a qualitative evaluation methodology of academic departments for library organizational learning and library enhancement planning. This evaluation used campus units' academic program review reports as a data source and employed collaborative content analysis by library liaisons to extract departmental strengths, weaknesses,…

The purpose of this study was to understand the organizational level decision factors in technology adoption in the context of digital libraries. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate the adoption of a specific technology, XML-based Web services, in digital libraries. Rogers' diffusion of innovations and Wenger's communities of…

The authors compared Web usability definitions, collected from library professionals at academic institutions of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) through online surveys in 2007 and 2012, to determine whether library practitioners' perspectives had altered as information technologies evolved during this time. The authors applied three…

Academic library websites contain a vast amount of complex content and, all too often, there is a lack of established process for creating, updating, and deleting that content. There is no clear vision or purpose to the content, and numerous staff members are expected to maintain content with little guidance. Because of this, many library websites…

This study evaluates whether or not community college libraries have in place the characteristics necessary to develop digital branch libraries to meet the expanding and changing needs of their publics. Using Hon and Grunig's (1999) relationship building criteria as a framework, 98 community college library websites were analyzed to determine…

This study examines the evolving roles and responsibilities of entry-level academic reference positions, as stated in recent job advertisements posted on the American Library Association's JobLIST Web site and other sources. Findings from a content analysis of these advertisements indicate that current entry-level reference positions in academic…

Purpose: This paper aims to survey the web sites of the academic libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (USA) regarding the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The websites of 100 member academic libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (USA) were surveyed. Findings: All libraries were found to be…

Tufts University Hirsh Health Sciences Library created a Facebook page and a corresponding managing committee in March 2010. Facebook Page Insights data collected from the library's Facebook page were statistically analyzed to investigate patterns of user engagement. The committee hoped to improve posting practices and increase user engagement…

Libraries are widely known as institutions that access, organize, and preserve collections of information. Libraries are also dynamic administrative entities that generate and exchange internal business information. From small operations with limited staff and technology to large, multidepartmental institutions with full IT support, libraries…

Presents results of a study undertaken for the state library of Maryland to develop a process for the development of a Maryland Digital Public Library. Highlights include planning; management; implementation requirements; networked environments; technical infrastructure issues; collection development; standards; information content; information…

Prior to 1997, the University of Oxford in Great Britain had approximately one hundred autonomous libraries with little coordination of services, collection development, or management among them. In that year a new director was hired with the mandate to integrate many of these libraries into one centralized system. Over the past seven years…

This study focuses on college and university library services provided to distance education students and a content analysis of library Web sites. The Web sites chosen were categorized by the amount of distance education the institution offered to students. Results indicated that the size of the institution had the strongest correlation to library…

This article reports the results of a quantitative and thematic content analysis of the organization of information literature in the "Library Quarterly" ("LQ") between its inception in 1931 and 2004. The majority of articles in this category were published in the first half of "LQ's" run. Prominent themes have included cataloging codes and the…