Volume 71, Issue 1

The COVID-19 pandemic is an international public health crisis without precedent in the last century. The novelty and rapid spread of the virus have added a new urgency to the availability and distribution of reliable information to help curb its fatal potential. As seasoned and trusted purveyors of reliable public information, librarians have attempted to respond to the “infodemic” of fake news, disinformation, and propaganda with a variety of strategies, but the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge because of the deadly stakes involved. The seriousness of the current situation requires that librarians and associated professionals re-evaluate the ethical basis of their approach to information provision to counter the growing prominence of conspiracy theories in the public sphere and official decision making. This paper analyzes the conspiracy mindset and specific COVID-19 conspiracy theories in discussing how libraries might address the problems of truth and untruth in ethically sound ways. As a contribution to the re-evaluation we propose, the paper presents an ethical framework based on alethic rights—or rights to truth—as conceived by Italian philosopher Franca D’Agostini and how these might inform professional approaches that support personal safety, open knowledge, and social justice.

The study sought to assess user expectations and acceptance of library services at the African Union Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The study, which targeted 94 library users, employed LibQUAL and SERVQUAL protocols to collect data, which were subsequently analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that users have the lowest expectations of the physical aspects of the library, namely the library as a place and of its tangibles . By contrast, users had the highest expectations in aspects associated with people and of the library collection, namely the effect of service , information control , responsiveness and reliability . The study recommends the allocation of resources in a way that ensures that the human aspects of the library remain at high levels of service quality, while shortcomings related to information control, library space and equipment should be addressed. Further, the library should invest in electronic content that users can access remotely. The findings have implications for information practice, in that studying user expectations enables libraries to understand individual and group expectations. These, in turn, will inform decision-making processes in respect of service provision, and provide justification and accountability for the resources used during such service provision.

This research investigated health and safety information behaviour of miners working at Makarwal Coal Mines, district Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan. A survey method using a questionnaire was deployed for data collection from 136 coal workers. Descriptive statistics were applied for data analysis using SPSS. The results indicated that the miners’ information needs were cantered mainly on protection equipment, mining diseases, healthcare services, geological hazards, accidents associated with mining and modern mining techniques. These miners relied overwhelmingly on interpersonal relationships with fellow miners and friends for safety information followed by television and radio. A good number of the survey participants also utilized internet and social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. as information source. There was little evidence of the use of audio/visual materials, seminar/workshops, associations, government agencies, and printed materials for information acquisition. Computer illiteracy, poor financial conditions, lack of time, language barriers, lack of awareness and knowledge about safety information and non-availability of relevant materials were perceived as the major constraints in acquiring safety information. The results will not only be useful for planning a need-based information infrastructure for miners but also for policymakers, NGOs and human rights organizations working for rural development and uplifting occupational health. This research contributed in the existing research on miners’ information behaviour as only a few studies appeared.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) marks the new, advanced era of development in humankind, and globally countries are in the process of ensuring their citizenry’s readiness. In South Africa, various governmental departments, organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations (NPOs) are making efforts, through their plans, talks and actions, to attain this status for all her people, particularly women in rural areas. However, the development of women in the rural areas for empowerment remains a concern in developing countries. Consequently, there is a dire need to ensure the developmental status for women in rural areas in the advent of the 4IR, and this paper seeks to demonstrate that information and knowledge may be instrumental in empowering women in rural areas to strive in the 4IR. Accordingly, information and knowledge are a critical resource contributing to the empowerment of women in rural areas for their development. An exploratory question is raised to determine whether South Africa is ready for Fourth Industrial Revolution. The outcome of this paper will contribute to the body of knowledge advocating the importance of information and knowledge in the empowerment of women in rural areas. Significantly, it will generate insights for policymakers on the important role of information and knowledge for women’s development.

This study explored the integration of mobile augmented reality (AR) into reading in elementary schools. With the reflective messages designed using AR (termed as reflective AR), children were guided to process the story content through preview, reading, and review of the content. The study focused on the enhancement of children’s reading comprehension using reflective AR and the implementation processes of reading with reflective AR experienced by teachers and children. A blended research approach was used for data collection. Via the quantitative approach, the reading comprehension scores of the children in the reflective AR and control group (without reflective AR) were compared. Via the qualitative approach, observations and interviews with the teachers from four elementary schools were conducted. It was observed that students achieved better reading scores when using the reflective AR approach ( p  < 0.001). Both teachers and students enjoyed the AR reading exploration. Teachers were devoted to planning the settings required in the reading exploration. Reading via the AR approach of preview–reading–review engaged children in the reading content. From the study, the implementation of AR reflective reading provides a model to guide children’s reading. However, the research is preliminary and might have sampling limitations for generalization. Future research on diverse learning settings is needed.

Public libraries hold an increasing number of events, where they face the very important, but often neglected, challenge of evaluation. This paper presents various studies performed to evaluate events for adults at the largest public library in Slovenia, Mestna knjižnica Ljubljana (Ljubljana City Library). A combination of methods was used: content analysis of library website and promotional brochures, interviews with both attendees and librarians, observation of events and a relatively large survey. Additionally, based on this research, seven personas representing typical user groups of events for adults were developed. While attendees were generally highly satisfied with the existing events, our research found room for improvement, especially regarding planning for particular user groups, scheduling and topical diversity of events and promotion aimed at both existing and potential visitors. Based on this research, Ljubljana City Library prepared guidelines for their future events for adults. Additionally, the general outline of the evaluation should be of benefit to any library regardless of type, size or location.

Social capital is a concept that has attracted increased interest among researchers in social science. It was originally introduced to sociological literature in the 1970s by Pierre Bourdieu. The term “social capital” is used to signify a set of specific behaviours and social interactions that many researchers associate with a positive impact on various aspects of human life. These include: democracy, economic development, effective governance, development of communities, education and culture, individual and public health and wellbeing, or even crime prevention. It is often claimed now that libraries as institutions intended to satisfy the intellectual needs of a society and stimulate social development may participate in the development of this capital. The paper presents the results of research on individual social capital of librarians in 20 countries across the world.