Volume 65, Issue 1 -

Over the past few decades, organizational learning has become a significant concept for the development of organizations. Numerous scholars and experts in librarianship have advocated the importance of creating a learning library for handling various challenges, such as the rapid development of the Internet and digital technology. However, an effective learning organization relies on a positive learning culture and starts with an individual’s commitment to learn. This study investigated the learning methods that are commonly adopted by staff in Taiwan’s university and college libraries, measuring their values regarding the organizational learning culture and knowledge performance, and exploring the relationships among individual learning methods, organizational learning culture, and knowledge performance in these libraries. Based on the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) and previous studies, this study designed and conducted a questionnaire survey of 478 library employees in 162 universities and colleges across Taiwan. Some key findings of this study included: (1) the individual learning method of “self-learning by using Internet resources” is adopted most frequently by library staff in Taiwan’s universities and colleges; (2) the overall values of staff members regarding their organizational learning cultures are not strong; (3) the two dimensions “creating continuous learning opportunities” and “creating systems to capture and share learning” can influence the methods of library staffs’ learning formally and informally, and they can positively contribute to enhance the knowledge performance of the library. In addition, informal learning methods are likely to enhance organizational knowledge performance.

The Hairytales of Heroboy programme was implemented in two communities, one metropolitan and one regional, in Western Australia in 2012. The programme, which targeted the reading skills of six- to nine-year-old children, aimed to encourage them to read for pleasure, to build their reading confidence and to improve their literacy skills. The programme was managed by librarians in each community who made contact with children in their local schools to encourage their participation. Teachers in the local schools were provided with Teachers’ Guides of activities to use which supported the work of the librarians. In the metropolitan setting, eight school sites and 28 students participated in the programme evaluation. In the regional setting, two school sites and nine students participated. A qualitative approach to gathering and analysing data was used in an evaluation of the implementation of the programme. This paper provides an outline of the delivery model used in each community and a summary of the perspectives of librarians, teachers, students and their parents/carers. It also provides a discussion of the range of issues that had an impact on the implementation of the programme in each community. The evaluation found the programme was engaging for the participants through the provision of interesting materials, and could have had greater impact if stronger partnerships between the libraries and the schools had been developed.

The inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) literature in school media centers can be controversial, but such material can be beneficial in helping LGBT students come to terms with their sexuality and with helping to foster understanding in non-LGBT students. To examine the extent of such collections in school media centers, this research conducted a checklist exercise to examine the holdings of school libraries in two very different states, one in the northeastern United States and one in the southern United States. The study examined variables that may correlate with the number of LGBT books available in the libraries; these variables were size of school enrollment, type of locale, the existence of a fairness ordinance, demographic diversity, and political affiliation.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the use of social media tools to enhance inclusion and outreach activities in libraries. The study also examined the existence of policies that encouraged the use of social media and the challenges that libraries face when integrating social media into their services. Invitations to participate in a survey were sent to 110 libraries in Greater China, Switzerland, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to investigate the use of social media tools in their inclusion/outreach programmes and librarians’ perceptions of their usefulness. Libraries were selected on the basis of indicating on their websites that they used social media. From the 110 libraries that were invited to participate in the survey, 28 responses were received and analysed. Among these, academic libraries made up 68% of the respondents, and the remaining 32% were from public libraries. The findings indicated that the libraries had already incorporated social media tools into their services, and, to some extent, for inclusion/outreach activities. In general, participants in this study indicated an acknowledgement of the benefits of using social media and an inclination to apply social media in the future, although the libraries and librarians faced the challenge of equipping themselves well in order to keep abreast of these technologies. The study highlighted the lack of specific policies that clarified the responsibilities of libraries in promoting social inclusion. Institutionalizing specific policies on the use of social media tools in libraries could be done either using a top-down and/or a bottom-up approach.

This paper examines the numerous benefits of digital scholarly communication made visible through institutional repositories (IRs) that have become trendy in institutions of higher learning in developed countries of the world. In line with its vision to be a leading centre of academic excellence in Africa and the world, the University of Botswana (UB) established its own IR known as the UB Research, Innovation and Scholarship Archive (UBRISA). This paper discusses the challenges of profiling digital scholarly communication on UBRISA, a technology brimming with potential but which UB staff has largely ignored. The consequences of this neglect are seen in the paltry submissions to it during its four years of existence. The paper explains the implementation policy, and the involvement and functions of a tripartite team that drives UBRISA. The paper notes that the problem of tardiness experienced in populating the digital repositories of other institutions is also deeply rooted in UB. It shares some failed efforts made to populate UBRISA through the instrument of the performance management system – an annual contract which the academic staff members sign at the beginning of the year. The paper then analyses the efforts of the Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme (SCAP) that worked with UB in training its staff regarding the operation of the IR, and also established a workflow process for vetting, describing and uploading content to the IR so that UB scholarship could become more visible to the world. Some recommendations are also offered.

This paper is culled from a doctoral study that investigated the development and management of digital libraries in selected academic libraries in Ghana. In this article, the authors report on the value that faculty members place on access to and use of digital resources and their implications for library services in three Ghanaian universities. The survey method was used to administer a structured questionnaire to 230 faculty members. Using convenience sampling, 10% of faculty were selected from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Cape Coast. Univariate and bivariate analyses were done to construct frequencies and establish relationships among respondents. Findings showed that less than half of the faculty members were aware of and used digital resources such as the online databases, institutional repositories, the library’s website and the online public access catalogue (OPAC). Nevertheless, the impact of the resources on them was very positive. The study recommended the need for university librarians to interact with faculty during orientation sessions for new faculty as well as new heads of departments. Additionally, subject librarians should work closely with departmental heads to be allocated periods for presentation on available digital resources, their usefulness for their own career enhancement and for their teaching role. The underlying implications of this study show that more advocacies are required from university libraries to enhance the use of digital resources.

Artisanal and small-scale mining constitutes a significant component of the mining sector activities in Nigeria. Many studies have been carried out on the artisanal and small-scale mining, but the studies focused mainly on exploration, excavation, exploitation and marketing of mined minerals, among others. The results of the studies, however, show that the miners are not provided with adequate safety information they require to minimize mining-related accidents and illnesses. In view of this observation, this study looks at the information behaviour of these miners. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, this study examines specifically the information-seeking behaviour of 357 artisanal and small-scale miners in selected locations in Nigeria using a questionnaire, interviews and observations as the instruments for data collection. More than 95% of the miners reported the need for safety information and that they currently rely on their colleagues, who they also consider as most useful, for such information. Besides perceiving themselves as capable of performing information seeking and using safety information, more than 84% of the miners would actually invest in seeking for safety information. Miners who are married, and work full-time and have tertiary education reported seeking information the most; the information behaviour of those miners who have tertiary education is influenced largely by their positive attitudes towards what others feel about their actions ( B = 0.20, p = 0.023). Miners who have higher education should be trained on safety information behaviours, and then be used to extend their training to other miners. Government agencies that take oversight of the activities of the miners should endeavour to separate their roles as information providers from their compliance and regulatory roles in order to promote interaction between the agencies and the miners.