Volume 52, Issue 3

A significant effect of the crisis in academic publishing is the decline in publication and purchase of the scholarly monograph in the humanities. As library collections of monographs in the humanities continue to shrink, humanities scholars are clearly confronting difficult challenges in performing and publishing their research. Analysis of viable solutions to the publishing crisis in general, and in the humanities in particular, requires concrete information about the current state of academic publishing. The purpose of this study is to provide some insight, through citation analysis, into current patterns of scholarly publishing in the field of nineteenth-century British and American literary studies. Emerging and shifting publication formats, currency in secondary materials, and existing core groups of authors, works, journals, and publishers were evaluated. By extending a sample selection method developed by Yeva Lindholm-Romantschuk and Julian Warner, this study examined 6,708 citations from both monographs and periodicals. The citations were first classified as references to primary or secondary materials. Citations to primary materials were tabulated according to publication format. For citations to secondary materials, the following aspects were identified and recorded: author, date, journal title (if applicable), publisher (if applicable), and publication format. The analysis showed that scholars in this field still generally fit the traditional profile of humanities scholars, using a large number of primary sources, drawing upon secondary sources from a broad age spectrum, and relying heavily on the monograph format for both primary and secondary materials. Electronic publishing is not generally considered a viable alternative to print publishing. Articles form an important aspect of literary research, but are not substitutes for monographs. Groups of core works and authors were not identifiable in this sample. However, significant core groups of journals and publishers do exist in this discourse community, and publishing is dominated by university presses. Because the sample was not randomized, the results of the study are not generalizable. However, the results map part of the territory of current scholarly communication in the humanities, provide information to illuminate further discussion of solutions to the publishing crisis in this field, and indicate areas for further research.

The nature of academic business pathfinders or subject guides mounted on the Internet was examined by qualitative content analysis. Specifically, the research sought to understand the concept, purposes and principles of pathfinders; the terminology representing pathfinders; the navigational pathway through the library Website to the pathfinders; and their common contents. Ten Canadian and ten American academic library Websites were sampled for pathfinders on three business topics: company, industry and marketing. Findings showed that the traditional term ‘pathfinder’ was not used on these academic Websites; instead ‘subject guides’ or ‘research guides’ were the most popular synonyms. The content analysis identified that subject guides have two basic functions, which are to facilitate access and to provide a search strategy. Four principles were found for creating Webmounted, subject guides: accessibility, consistency, selectivity, and transparency. The research also found that subject guides are important library finding tools as evidenced by the time and effort devoted to their creation, and their placement on valuable library homepage screen space.

The World Wide Web has emerged as a powerful tool to enhance navigation and communication over the Internet. Within the past few years, numerous Web-based digital reference services have been established by libraries. The goal of this study is to identify user needs as reflected in the queries they submit to these services. The study is user-centered and seeks to evaluate digital reference services from the users' perspectives. To address these issues, the paper examines digital reference questions received at a large university library in the Southeastern United States (SeU) from January to March 2001. Content analysis and descriptive statistics are used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that questions received by the digital reference service simulate questions received by traditional reference services; that digital reference service reaches only a small segment of the target population; and that the question submission form needs to be redesigned to better identify and prevent the loss of valuable user information. If the library is to succeed in delivering digital reference service and in defining the roles of reference librarians, it must enhance the quality of service to users in order to have a sustainable, competitive advantage in the provision of information in the digital realm.

With the advent of the Internet and info-communication technologies, academic libraries all over the world have been undergoing rapid changes to take advantage of new technology to meet the information needs of their users. However, the provision of technologies such as digital resources is only part of the management puzzle. The fostering of a learning culture for staff and students is equally important. The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Library in Singapore had been in the process of developing resources and services in order to better serve the university community since its inception in 1981. The researchers were curious to find out if the NTU library met the criteria of a learning organisation. This study concludes that the library had a majority of the characteristics characterising learning organisations. New mindsets had to be cultivated and greater trust fostered amongst the employees to leverage the library's knowledge assets. Individuals had to be rewarded based on their ability to collaborate, champion learning and share knowledge. The managers had to take on new roles to empower their staff to do their best work. Such changes were necessary in order to actualise the goal of becoming a world-class academic library.

This paper presents the findings of research conducted on the provision of information services to distance learners by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). The objective of the research was to discover how the Open University of Tanzania provides library and information services to its distance learners and the extent to which these services meet the needs of the learners. The study was done with a view to suggesting ways in which information provision at OUT could be improved. Data collection was done in the Dar es Salaam and Mwanza regions where a total number of 190 respondents were involved in the survey. Findings of the study reveal that the Open University of Tanzania has problems in meeting the information needs of its staff and students. The Main library does not have adequate resources while OUT Information Units at Regional Centres and Tanzania Library Services are poorly stocked. In addition, the few materials that are available do not reflect the curriculum. As a way of alleviating the problem, OUT students use the library services of other nearby institutions. Recommendations to improve the situation are given at the conclusion.