Volume 64, Issue 4

Public libraries have always been under pressure to earn their place in society - but can their benefit to the community be proven? Although the concept of social capital can be traced back to 1916, in the past 10 years social capital theory has been linked increasingly to the public library. Social capital refers to links between people in society - “networks, norms and trust” (Putnam 1996, 34) - which produce positive outcomes for the community as a whole. The purpose of this article is to investigate the library as place and the potential of the public library to create social capital. This comprises the examination of two cases, Edinburgh City Libraries in Edinburgh, Scotland and Kobenhavns Biblioteker in Copenhagen, Denmark in the form of a comparative case study. The methods used to elicit data included qualitative interviews with library managers, observation, and consultation of organizational documentation. The case study was limited by a small sample size, possibility of cultural bias, and lack of generalizability of evidence. Findings show that library staff in Edinburgh and Copenhagen are actively involved in creating social capital in a number of ways: through facilitating or organizing meetings, providing an informal meeting place, forging links between groups in the community, creating a welcoming environment, and by meeting community educational needs. It was found that Copenhagen and Edinburgh share in many characteristics, but have different attitudes to trust. Conclusions demonstrate that three main factors affect the library’s potential to create social capital; the library building and space, the library’s staff and volunteers, and the links that the library has with the community. It is recommended that further research should be carried out in the area of library as place and on the identification of factors generating social capital.

Despite the increasing popularity of Social Questions and Answers (SQA) sites among Chinese information seekers, there has been little previous exploration of this specific topic as it relates to library reference services. This study seeks an understanding of users’ choices in using SQA sites and library virtual reference (VR) service in meeting their information needs. It also aims to address some gaps in user evaluation and in the comparison of SQA and VR in previous research among information seekers in general, and among Chinese information seekers in particular. The study involved users of the largest Chinese SQA site, Baidu Knows. The results indicate that while SQA outperforms VR in most aspects - as evaluated by Chinese information seekers - VR stands out in two key areas of a virtual information service: quality and trust. Overall, while both SQA and VR have been utilized for various purposes and queries, each has been used more specifically for certain types of questions, and users choose between the two based on the information needs they have at hand. Finally, there is a discussion of the implications of the findings pertaining to libraries and reference services.

Analysis of knowledge management practices in a selected ministry in Kuwait showed that knowledge workers in the public sector identify personal contacts using traditional methods, but make heavy use of social networking tools and services to support personal networks. They communicate regularly with contacts that have expertise in their area of responsibility and prefer to follow up with those contacts whose work they admire. Knowledge workers perform a variety of activities on personal networks to strengthen knowledge management. However, a review of these activities indicates that there is a need to place more emphasis on collaborative learning through social bookmarks, reflecting and commenting on blogs, and editing wikis to provide effective support for knowledge management.

The paper presents the first national survey of public library services to three user groups in the context of children and young adults: hospital patients, prisoners, and persons with developmental disorders. The study was two-part: first the data on potential users and their characteristics was gathered. This was used to prepare the main survey of the existing public library services in Slovenia, undertaken in 2012 and 2013. The results show that of the three user groups in question, two (hospital patients and prisoners) are more localised, being the focus of individual public libraries working in the area where hospitals or prisons are located, while persons with developmental disorders are spread throughout the country and as such relevant to a larger number of libraries. The first two groups also have more potential for development, because Slovenian public libraries offer much richer services for users with developmental disorders. Nevertheless, positive trends were observed in most areas.

Considering the need for sound library and information services to be provided to all in the society of today, this research examined the status of prison library and information resources and facilities in Nigeria with a focus on the southeast geopolitical zone. Seven prison libraries in five States in the zone were used for the study. An observation checklist/ guide was used to collect the required data about the availability, adequacy and functionality of the human and material resources and facilities in these prison libraries. Data generated from the survey was quantitatively analyzed and interpreted in relation to the population of prisoners using the American Library Association’s ASCLA Standards for Adult Correctional Institution and Prison Libraries as a “bench mark”. Findings showed that although the different prisons had apartments for library and had some resources and facilities in place, these resources and facilities were grossly inadequate considering the population of prisoners being served. Facilities like library buildings in these prisons were not to standard, and reading tables and chairs, shelves and library collections (books, periodicals) were all very inadequate. Further findings showed gross inadequacy in number and qualifications of their human resources - librarians and other library workers. Recommendations were made towards enhancing the prison library resources and facilities.

This article emanates from the independent evaluation of a South African library leadership education programme, run by the Centre for African Library Leadership (CALL). The programme’s rationale lies in the drive to transform South African librarianship in the face of a range of challenges - some of them inherited from the apartheid past, others shared with libraries throughout the world. The Carnegie Corporation-sponsored programme aimed at developing leadership insights and qualities in current and potential future library managers. The article reports on the evaluative methodology, which comprised a questionnaire survey of all course alumni, interviews of CALL managers, and five sets of focus group interviews with course alumni and alumni of the followup Train-the-Trainer courses. The very positive results of the questionnaire survey are described and analysed, and key themes and comments emerging from several openended questions are discussed. Triangulation is provided by in-depth comments from the five focus groups, and in the process important themes are uncovered. The distinctive strengths of the programme were found to be its sensitivity to the South African context and its “inside-out” approach to leadership training. In most aspects the programme was found to be very successful, although there was uncertainty about its further continuance and the roles of the Train-the-Trainer alumni. The evaluation suggests that the CALL programme should serve as a model for transformative leadership education in South Africa and beyond. Recommendations include continuation of such projects to a wider set of libraries and their staff, with further use of the experiential approach to training, theory grounded in hands-on practice, and emphasis on self-development and self-awareness. However, the full potential of such programmes can only be realised if senior library management buys in to the values of the programme, and is engaged in implementation plans.

Community libraries in Africa are growing in number, and are increasingly subject to academic research. The literature on community libraries spans 30 years, and this review shows how there has been a shift from conceptual to empirical publications. The early, conceptual literature stressed that community libraries should be by and for the community, support development, actively reach out, and provide relevant materials. These publications can to some extent be seen as reactions to the colonial legacy that national library services carried on after independence. The empirical research was analyzed using Kuhlthau’s (1999) framework for school libraries as a starting point. The major function of this framework is to provide a meta-analysis of the research, and further to relate this meta-analysis to the larger context in which this research is situated. The empirical literature reported mainly on student use. Much of the literature addressed lower-level issues, skills and outcomes, such as materials offered or borrowed, increased reading, and change in attitudes. However, limited attention was given to utilisation as an outcome. Attempts to find a causal relationship between library use and improved grades have been inconclusive. A major limitation of this framework is that it does not address the community aspect of these libraries that the empirical literature emphasized. This dual aspect of community libraries merits further exploration, and there is a need to develop theoretical frameworks that fit better with the realities of African communities and their libraries. There is also need for more research comparing community libraries across countries as well as within countries. The scholarly significance of this study is that is provides a comprehensive, critical review of the literature on community libraries in Africa and identifies caveats in the research literature. This will support future research on community libraries in Africa, an under-researched area.

The Tiv Tyumbun Magic Rite over time has been found useful for the treatment or removal of tambe (bewitchment), tyumbur (foolishness), geng or genggegen (disorders) and ukoghkogh (certain ailments) from people and for instilling normalcy and stability for the wellbeing of individuals. However, because of a lack of acquisition of audiovisual materials on the Tyumbun by public libraries, coupled with Christian religious interference, this important magic rite has been threatened with extinction. Therefore, this paper looks at acquisition of audiovisual materials on the Tiv Tyumbun Magic Rite and the role that the public library plays in trying to acquire and preserve this cultural heritage for posterity. The study sampled 105 library staff, library users, traditional priests and native doctors. Mean and standard deviation statistics were used to answer research questions, while chi-square was used for testing the hypotheses formulated at the 0.05 level of significance. It was discovered that public libraries do not acquire the Tiv magic rites of Ibyamegh, Iwya, Atseve, Waio, Igbye, Tyumbun, Akombu á Gbande, Kyurche, Vegh Akombu, and Atsuku. The study recommends that public libraries in Benue State should start acquiring audiovisual materials on the Tiv Tyumbun Magic Rite.