In order to better grasp the needs of library users and provide them with more accurate knowledge services, combining the characteristics of university libraries, this article applies library small data to personalized recommendation and proposes a small data fusion algorithm model for library personalized recommendation. This model combines the…

Library quality is no longer evaluated solely on the value of its collections, as user perceptions of service quality play an increasingly important role in defining overall library value. This paper presents a retooling of the LibQUAL+ survey instrument, blending the gap measurement model with perceptual congruence model studies from information…

Introduction: Our aim is to compare the advantages and problems of e-book acquisition identified in research literature to those experienced by two Swedish university libraries. Method: A literature review was used to identify the main issues related to acquisition of e-books by academic libraries. The data for comparison were collected through…

Many studies of information-seeking habits of engineers focus on understanding the similarities and differences between scientists and engineers. This study explores the information-seeking behavior of academic engineering faculty from twenty public research universities. This investigation includes an examination of how frequently engineer- ing…

The circulation records from 1997/98 to 2007/08 for UCLA and from 2000/01 to 2007/08 for Pasadena City College (PCC) were analyzed to examine patterns in the use of print materials during a period of increasingly available online digital information resources. The analysis included examinations of longitudinal circulation patterns broken down by…

Increasing demand for biotechnology and biomedical resources prompted the Engineering Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) to complete a collection assessment of the journals, books, and other resources provided by the University Libraries. This paper presents a variety of methods for evaluating library collections and describes…

As individuals become more and more comfortable mediating all kinds of situations online and through various technologies, their virtual selves increasingly overlap their "real" lives. Posting a "happy birthday!" message on Facebook is as automatic as dropping a card in the mail. E-mailing relevant links to co-workers happens as naturally as…

Using the results for participating Association of Research Libraries from the 2006 LibQUAL+[R] library service quality survey, we examine the service priorities of library staff (for example, whether desired scores for each survey item are above or below average) and the extent to which they are aligned with the priorities of undergraduates,…

The present study was conducted to explore library users' desired service quality levels on the twenty-two core LibQUAL+ items. Specifically, we explored similarities and differences in users' desired library service quality levels across user groups (i.e., undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty), across geographic locations (i.e.,…

Discusses alternative methods of providing public library service to one-house stop clients of mobile libraries in the United Kingdom. Investigated books by mail, village shop libraries, extending housebound service, and transporting clients to the library; calculated costs to compare with mobile library cost; and surveyed staff and client…

Discussion of customer expectations of library service quality and SERVQUAL as a measurement tool focuses on two studies: one that compared a survey of Chinese university students' expectations of service quality to New Zealand students; and one that investigated national culture as a source of attitudes to customer service. (Author/LRW)

Argues that bookstores are not superior and do not pose a threat to libraries. Discusses what libraries can learn from bookstores; where bookstores fall short; low wages of bookstore clerks; misshelving problems in bookstores due to the classification system; how the library classification system can be improved; and libraries' strengths. (AEF)

Librarianship's worldview or philosophy preconditions understanding of ideas such as core value, diversity, and equity. Adherents to the orthodox version of this worldview restrict minority interests while aspiring to become a scientific profession. Those in favor of a modified version of the worldview support cultural diversity and non-positivist…

Although Spanish interlibrary loans (ILL) have increased from 100 to 525 per 100,000 inhabitants, there are still many problems to resolve. Examines a plan developed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) Library Network to improve ILL services. Provides a comparative analysis of ILL services from 1992-1995. Includes charts…

Discusses kinds of problems public librarians encounter in the process of providing legal and health information. Data are compared from two surveys of reference librarians who provide legal and health information services in Ontario (Canada) public libraries, and implications for collection development are suggested. (17 references) (LRW)