School of Library & Information Studies

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    The development of the Standards for College Libraries
    (2004-05) Swinney, Victoria Kathleen; Swigger, Keith; Westbrook, Lynn
    This study traces the history and sources of the Standards for College Libraries from the first committee discussion in the late 1950' s to 2000. Changes in the leadership of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) strongly influenced the process of revising those standards. Changes in higher education standards and the practice of college librarianship also shaped the standards. Throughout all of the versions on the standards, basic support for the central role of the library in collegiate education and faculty status for librarians remained unchanged. The 1959 Standards for College Libraries represented a response to calls for policies and methods for improving smaller college libraries. They set ambitious goals with quantitative minima for all college libraries. An unsuccessful attempt to revise them responded to calls for more flexible standards focused on actual practice and avoided quantitative minima. A new committee developed a consensus document approved in 1975 that returned to quantitative minima and introduced a grading system that allowed libraries to compare their collection, staffing, and facilities to libraries serving similar institutions, with the majority of libraries receiving a grade of C. This scoring system and the omission of audiovisual materials from the collection formula drew considerable criticism. The new edition of the standards in 1986 maintained much of the structure and content of the 1975 standards, but addressed criticism of the scoring system and the omission of audiovisual materials from the collections formula by making it easier for libraries to receive a grade of A and adding audiovisual materials and resource sharing transactions to the collection standard. The increasing complexity of the ACRL and the rising influence of smaller units led to a shift in responsibility for the standards to the College Libraries Section Standards Committee in the 1990's. This group wrote a minor revision of the standards in 1995 and the final revision-of the standards in 2000. This final revision focused on individualized assessment and replaced national normative quantitative standards with suggestions for local quantitative assessment, while maintaining the vision of the library developed in the earlier standards.
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    Exploring the Schneider Family Book Award, 2004-2018: A case study history and content analysis
    (8/8/2019) Dornback, Sarah; Vardell, Sylvia M.
    The purpose of this case study was to examine the history of the Schneider Family Book Award and analyze the forty-six award-winning titles from 2004-2018 using a content analysis methodology. The Schneider Family Book Award honors literature written for a youth audience that portrays a disability experience and has been presented annually since 2004 by the American Library Association. Titles are selected in categories encompassing the intended age of the book’s audience: Young Children’s (ages 0-8), Middle Grades (ages 9-13), and Teen (ages 14-18). This award was started at the behest of Dr. Katherine Schneider, with the hope that it would encourage the writing and publication of more books for young people about disability. For the award as a whole, results indicate that the gender of the protagonists was evenly balanced between male (49%) and female (49%). A majority of protagonists are white or Caucasian in ethnicity (67.3%). Most protagonists have a disability (83.7%). Realistic fiction is the most common genre (63%). A low percentage of authors and illustrators who have won this award appear to have relevant life experience to the disability about which they write (19.6%). Few of the winning titles could be considered works of Own Voices (10.9%) – writing by persons with a disability about a character with the same disability. Descriptive statistics indicate differences between the three age categories for several variables. The gender of protagonists is split nearly evenly in the teen category (47.1% male, 52.9% female), but in the young children’s category, protagonists are overwhelmingly male (85.7%), and in the middle grades category the majority of protagonists are female (77.8%). The ethnicity of protagonists is predominantly white or Caucasian in the middle grades (83.3%) and teen (76.5%) categories, however in the young children’s category, only 35.7% of the protagonists are white or Caucasian. Realistic fiction is the most common genre found in the winning titles from the middle grades (76.5%) and teen categories (80%), but biography is the most frequently occurring genre in the young children’s category (42.9%). Chi-square analysis confirmed that the differences were statistically significant for the ethnicity and genre variables.
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    A study of the elements contributing to the success of regional publishers in Texas, 1975-1985
    (1987-12) Hughes, Sue Margaret; Turner, Frank L.; Schlessinger, Bernard S.; Short, J. Rodney; Charlton, Thomas L.; Sheldon, Brooke E.
    The purpose of this study was to identify the elements which have contributed to the success of regional publishers during the years 1975-1985. For this research, regional was defined as falling within the geographical borders of Texas. A survey of regional publishers was made by means of a questionnaire to obtain information needed for this study. Included among the data gathered were quality and quantity of the monographs published, selection criteria and policies, marketing strategies, value of their books to future generations; and prizes/honors/awards won. The questionnaire returns were examined, tabulated, and evaluated to find those elements which successful regional publishers in Texas had in common and to which their success could be attributed. Attention was directed to critical successes and number of copies printed and sold of a particular title. Although the small, independent publishers in Texas have had a late start compared with those established in the last century on the Eastern seaboard, they are making a significant place for themselves not only on the local but also on the national and international scenes. Identifying the elements of success of these publishers begins and ends with the owner himself/herself. There have been few major changes in the ownership of these Texas presses in the last ten years, and the resulting continuity of management plus the consistency of their objectives have provided an admirable stability of operation. The reasons given for the founding of their Texas firms proved to be surprisingly uniform in that most owners mentioned they wanted to make certain information available to a wide audience, to publish high-quality books, to help new writers get started, or to see a subject covered that had not been addressed before. The owners have confidence in themselves and in their ability to make the correct decisions in order to present a quality product to the reading public. Above all, they want to control the process for the personal satisfaction they derive from it. They like books, they enjoy the independence of making all decisions, and they take great pride in the results.
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    A survey of the application of American Library Association school library standards in the facilities of secondary schools constructed in Dallas County, Texas after 1990
    (2001-05) Garrett, Linda; Carter, Elizabeth; McGregor, Joy
    This study investigated how secondary public school libraries in Dallas County, Texas, constructed since 1990, meet or fail to meet national library media center facility guidelines established by the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology in 1988. Nineteen secondary schools were identified as meeting the criteria and visited by the researcher to gather data. Visual observations were made as well as data gathered with a checklist based on Appendix C of Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs 1988. The literature review followed the historical development of secondary school library standards from 1920 to 1988. Each of the nineteen schools constructed in Dallas County, Texas was evaluated as to whether it met or failed to meet the latest facility standards published in 1988. The findings indicated the secondary schools met the standards in adequate space for the entrance/circulation area, computer workstations, stacks, reading room seating, workroom, and equipment storage. The standards were not met because of the lack of small group listening and viewing areas, maintenance repair area, media production laboratory, darkroom, audio studio, or large television studio in the schools visited. The researcher concluded with discussion and implications of the findings. The findings indicate the schools do not follow standards when designing library facilities. More thought should be given to the size of the facility and student population in order for the form of the facility to follow the function of the program to enhance student learning.
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    Bibliographic controls and services in Egypt: A survey and study with emphasis on the role of the Egyptian National Library
    (1978-12) Alawady, Sana M.; Bertalan, Frank J.; Sheldon, Brooke; Turner, Frank; Kunkle, Hannah; Nicosia, Alfonso; McFarland, John
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    An evaluation of audiovisual educational media programs in selected AAA high schools in the state of Missouri, 1977-1978
    (1979-05) Denman, Margaret Woods; Kunkle, Hannah; Nicosia, Alfonso; Bertalan, Frank; Marino, Samuel; Turner, Frank; Sheldon, Brooke; Stamper, Silas
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    An evaluation of the audiovisual (educational media) agencies, materials and equipment in selected public school of the state of Mississippi
    (1979-08) Palling, Barbara Roberta; Nicosia, Alfonso; Sheldon, Brooke; Miniter, John; Marino, Samuel; Bertalin, Frank; Palmore, Ted; Turner, Frank
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    The development of a retrospective national bibliography: A case study of El Salvador
    (1997-05) Calimano, Ivan E.; Curry, Evelyn L.; Rodriguez, Ketty; Longoria, Frank; Swigger, Keith
    The purpose of this case study was to provide a descriptive account of the development of the retrospective national bibliography of El Salvador. The publishing history of El Salvador is not as lengthy as that of other countries in Central America; it dates from 1824 when the printing press was introduced in the country. Hence, the case study of retrospective Salvadoran imprints was feasible. The researcher used as a platform recommendations of the 1977 International Congress on National Bibliographies (ICNB) organized by Unesco within the framework of its General Information Programme in collaboration with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and adapts it to the Salvadoran bibliographic situation. The objective was to create guidelines for the compilation of the retrospective national bibliography. The investigator spent approximately seven months in El Salvador examining its bibliographic infrastructure (e.g., identifying information and physical resources, library personnel, etc.). Further steps taken in the development of the guidelines were: the identification of a set of international standards for the retrospective bibliography (e.g., AACR2r, USMARC, etc.); the selection of a national library collection on which to apply the standards (i.e., the Gallardo Library in Nueva San Salvador); the adaptation of the standards to the local situation; the training of staff to use the international standards; the cataloging of a subset of documents (2,000 items were processed following the prescribed guidelines); and recommendations for the actual creation of the bibliography. Research outcomes have implications for cooperation among libraries in the country and the coordination of efforts to share resources. It is up to Salvadoran authorities and the local library community to continue this project--from the compilation of the retrospective bibliography through the eventual publication of a current national bibliography.
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    A comparative content analysis of the temporal sequences, points of view, and perspectives employed in the 1996 Best Books for Young Adults' novels and the 1996 Young Adults' Choices' novels
    (1997-12) Cox, Ruth; Carter, Betty; McGregor, Joy; Wilkes, Adeline
    The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the temporal sequences, points of view, and perspectives employed in the novels on the 1996 Best Books for Young Adults' (BBYA) list and the 1996 Young Adults' Choices' (YA Choices) list. An analysis form was created to record coded data in relation to frequency and length. The temporal data coded and analyzed include the predominant narrative, as well as the frequency and length of the dialogue and narrative past reference, future reference, and present reference temporal shifts employed. The predominant point of view and the frequency and length of the first person; second person; third person, limited; and third person, omniscient point of view shifts employed were coded and analyzed. The predominant perspective, and the frequency and length of perspective shifts were coded and analyzed. Comparisons were made between the two groups of novels in relation to the coded categories. The BBYA novels have significantly more temporal sequence shifts. Both the BBYA and YA Choices' novels include more dialogue temporal shifts than narrative temporal shifts. In relation to narrative temporal shifts, the BBYA novels include a greater number of narrative shifts per title than do the YA Choices' novels. The first person point of view is the most prevalent point of view employed in novels on both lists, although more frequently in the BBYA novels than in the YA Choices' novels. A majority of all the novels analyzed were written with a predominant point of view and perspective.
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    A naturalistic journey into the collaboratory: In search of understanding for prospective participants
    (1999-12) Twining, Joanne; D'Angelo, John; McGregor, Joy; Edwards, Don E.
    This study is a three-phase naturalistic probe of the information environment of the collaboratory and is intended to support the expansive, ecological research of others. The collaboratory is a “center without walls,” or a virtually collocated, collaborative laboratory where scientists, instruments, and data come together via computer network technology without regard to geographic location. In Phase One, an objective reality of the collaboratory is constructed from the documents made accessible through the world's libraries. Taxonomy construction and quantitative and qualitative data analysis are used to investigate and prove as practiced principles the assumptions of relative equality of contribution to collaboratory research by the hard and soft sciences, and the inherent interdisciplinarity of the collaboratory environment. An emergent theory of the collaboratory as an ungendered environment is developed. Phase Two creates a subjective reality of the collaboratory based on experiential immersion in the online environment. An evaluative instrument, the CIRAL matrix of criteria for inclusion as a collaboratory, is developed and tested, and four collaboratory site visits are developed. The collaboratory is found to be an instrumentally determined social environment, with each implementation unique in its combinations of communication modes and media, and each generating unique types of data stores. Phase Three constructs an intersubjective reality of the collaboratory during an electronic Delphi among collaboratory pioneers. The Delphi determines the “rules of the road” for the collaboratory and identifies skills collaboratory pioneers value in prospective participants. Phase Three identifies cognitive dissonance between the intersubjective reality of collaboratory pioneers and Phase One's findings of relative equality of contribution to, and ungenderedness of the collaboratory environment. Size of collaboratory is explored as a determining factor in preferences for balance between formal and informal communication modes, and structured and fluid experiment planning. The three realities are intertwined to construct a holistic, synoptic survey of the collaboratory as an emergent knowledge environment in which old science is done with new tools, but from which new science has yet emerged.
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    The image of God in literature for children: A thematic content analysis of twentieth century fiction titles in a Christian context
    (2001-12) DeShay, Claudia Harrington; McGregor, Joy; Thomas, James; Snyder, Mary; Curry, Evelyn
    Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this study sought to identify and analyze fiction written for children and published in the twentieth century (1900–1999) through thematic content analysis, to determine the parental image or images of God, as understood in Judeo-Christian theology, represented in such books. The study also explored the centrality of God to the story and interaction between God and the fictional characters in these titles to determine the nature of that interaction. A search of the WorldCat database using the keywords God, juvenile, and fiction was combined with a search for titles that have the words God and fiction in the subject field to compensate for the fact that the term juvenile fiction was not employed in cataloging of materials before 1986. An instrument was developed to record and code data for the purpose of analysis. Based on the predominant operating images of God identified in research with children and adults, the study examined the image of God in stories for children as it pertains to God as (a) Provider, (b) Punisher, or (c) Passive Observer. The predominant image of God identified in the 103 books in this study is that of God as Provider, except for a few titles published in the 1970s and 1980s. Eleven aspects of God as Provider emerged from the books studied, the most frequent of which were God as Giver, God as Creator and God as Helper. While the results of this study indicate that the fictional literature of the twentieth century affirms the God of Love that experts deem so crucial to the child's self esteem and general well-being, they do not confirm all of the research findings pertaining to the child's perception of interaction with God. The data collected confirms research concerning the male protagonists and boys' perceptions of active interaction, but the data concerning females and passive interaction does not. The results also indicate that the appearance of the word “God” in a specific field of a bibliographic record does not accurately predict the level of centrality for that book.
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    An investigation of the perceived information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and the use of community public libraries among first-generation adult Korean immigrants living in the Dallas, Texas, area
    (2002-08) Rho, Jin-Ja; Westbrook, Lynn; MeGregor, Joy; Akin, Lynn
    The overall purpose of the study is to explore informational needs, information-seeking behaviors, and the use of community public libraries among first-generation adult Korean immigrants living in the Dallas, Texas, area. The subjects for the study consisted of thirty-six first-generation adult Korean immigrants living in the Dallas, Texas, area. Among the total thirty-six interviewees, half (9 males and 9 females) were randomly collected from the Dallas Korean resident directory. The remaining interviewees (9 males and 9 females) were collected with the help of three gatekeepers of Korean ethnic populations living in the Dallas, Texas, area. Data for the study were collected by means of a flexibly-structured, open-ended, face-to-face interview. The data were analyzed using both content analysis and the ethnographic summary approach according to the constant comparison method. The informational needs expressed by the respondents were classified into the following twelve topic areas: children's education, educational opportunities for career development, survival information, family relation matters, mainstream community information, business-related concerns, general legal aid, health insurance, housing information, basic computer skills, tax assistance, and English literacy improvement. The immigrants relied heavily on informal interpersonal Korean social networks as their primary informational source. Community public libraries were perceived as irrelevant and inconsequential places for their daily informational need situations. The immigrants simply did not realize the libraries existed for them, nor did they acknowledge any benefits of or necessity for a library for their lives. Although the adult Korean immigrants made limited use of public libraries for themselves, they were devoted users of the library for their children's school-related concerns, and most of the immigrants' library uses were almost entirely limited to their children's educational purposes. The importance of learning English was a constantly recurring theme during the interview process. The language barrier caused the immigrants to seek information from their own ethnic resources because their English proficiency affected their abilities to go beyond the same ethnic information environment. Also, the language barrier exacerbated the degree of the immigrants' social isolation and alienation from mainstream society.
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    Do “Quick Picks” book covers appeal to middle school readers? The impact of covers on self -selection of fiction books in the middle school library setting
    (2006-05) Jones, Leigh Ann; Vardell, Sylvia M.
    Middle school students use a variety of methods to self-select fiction books in the school library setting. Among these are choosing the book by an appealing cover, the author, the genre, the cover blurb, the length, its place in a series, or by recommendation from a friend or librarian. By using the covers of the fiction books reviewed for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders of the 2005 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list, this quantitative study sought to determine how book covers impact the self-selection strategies of middle school readers and whether specific aspects of the covers hold appeal to these students. The study also explored the relationship of grade, gender, and level of reading enjoyment on the selection of fiction books. A self-selected sample of 250 students from a north central Texas middle school completed an online questionnaire using covers from the 2005 Quick Picks list. Students indicated specific elements they liked and marked which of the 19 books they would check out based on merits of the cover alone. These readers specified how they usually choose fiction books in the school library and noted whether they love, like, or didn't like to read. Data from questionnaires were statistically analyzed, and by using a nonparametric analysis, the Friedman post hoc test, it was determined that cover was the most influential factor for readers in this study. By using modal responses for specific attributes, it was learned that students prefer font more often than the elements of character(s) or pictures, colors, design, or mood. A student's grade and his/her level of reading enjoyment were not shown to be statistically significant. Females were slightly more impacted by covers than were males. Librarians who wish to be effective in readers' advisory must read widely and may wish to incorporate the images of, and information about, book covers into their booktalks for students.
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    Measuring academic library efficiency and alignment with institutional resource utilization priorities using data envelopment analysis: An analysis of institutions of higher education in Texas and their libraries
    (2012-12) Shupala, Christine; Swigger, Keith; Akin, Lynn; Golden, Janine
    Academic and library administrators are increasingly required to demonstrate efficiency in programs, services, and operations as well as effectiveness. An important component of efficiency measurement is identification of a relevant peer group against which to compare the administrative unit to determine relative efficiency. The two-fold purpose of this study is to identify efficiencies related to teaching and research in academic libraries and institutions of higher education (IHEs) and to determine the usefulness of data envelopment analysis (DEA) as an efficiency measurement tool for the academic administrator. Using a population of academic libraries and IHEs in Texas as a case study, variables were identified that represented the teaching- and research- related inputs and outputs for IHEs and academic libraries. Three separate models types were developed for each administrative level in each year of the two-year study. The first focused on teaching efficiency; the second focused on research efficiency; the third combined teaching and research to examine overall efficiency. Separate variables were selected for each administrative level to represent the teaching- and research-related inputs and outputs for the administrative level. Data were gathered for 2007 and 2008 for both academic libraries and IHEs to permit model stability testing. Each model was completed once in each study year. A total of twelve individual models were completed across the two years of study. In the first phase of the study, variables were selected based on an extensive review of the literature and the researcher's professional judgment, following the process the academic administrator might employ to select variables. All variables for each model were calculated, transformed as needed, and tested for isotonicity using a correlation matrix. Variables were entered into the DEA analysis tool and relative efficiency scores were calculated using input-oriented CCR-CRS and BCC-VRS models. The initial calculations indicated that scale was a factor in efficiency and BCC-VRS was employed to determine final efficiency scores. Discrimination in each model was increased using a backward removal of variables procedure. Each model identified the relative efficiency of the academic libraries and IHEs in the study population. In the second phase of the study efficiency scores for the population of IHEs and academic libraries were subjected to statistical analysis. Related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank tests and Spearman's rho correlations were performed to test the stability of the model and identify both significant differences in and correlations of scores at each administrative level across years. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to identify relationships in efficiency scores across administrative levels in each year of the study. An institutional control filter was applied to all analyses to determine the extent to which institutional control influenced its efficiency score. Additional analyses were conducted using Spearman's rho and Holms sequential Bonferroni to determine the influence of institution size and Carnegie degree classification on efficiency scores. Results of the DEA process and analysis identified the method's strengths and pitfalls. The process highlighted the influence of population size and homogeneity, of data availability and imbalances, and of the method used to increase model discrimination. Difficulties arising from these influences were addressed and final efficiency scores were presented. Statistical analyses identified general trends in efficiency at both the academic library and the IHE levels of administration and suggest that size, classification, and control may influence efficiency. While results of the study indicate that the complexity of DEA may limit its usefulness to academic administrators, the study provides a foundation from which additional efficiency analysis tools may be developed in the context of an overall assessment plan. Academic and library administrators wishing to pursue DEA analysis will find this study useful as they identify variables, processes, populations, data, and relevant DEA models. The study also provides a foundation for future research in IHE and library efficiency analysis and highlights research opportunities in data collection and preparation, variable selection, population identification, and discrimination methods.
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    Communication of community college library promotion to distance learners: Librarians' practices and perceptions as determined via e-surveys and telephone interviews
    (2008-12) Austin, Sandra; Akin, Lynn; Battle, Joel; Jeng, Ling Hwey
    Distance learners' lack of knowledge about available library resources and services is the research problem addressed in this study. It is significant to Library and Information Studies because library professionals are called upon to consider and examine their methods and practices of how they create a presence among their distance learners. This signals librarians to make adjustments to bridge the gap between what is available and students' actual use of the library. This research sought to find out how community college libraries might establish a presence among new distance education students that would result in their greater use of library resources and services. How librarians feel they achieve library promotion to distance education students and the extent to which promotion is carried out for the purpose of reaching those students are the focus of this study. Information is provided concerning how community college libraries can promote themselves among new distance learners via means that may positively impact use of library resources and services. The Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) 2005 Academic Library Trends & Statistics (Associate's Colleges) was used to acquire the population of academic institutions used in this study. A pretest of the research instrument, a questionnaire, concerning the promotion practices of community college libraries in regard to distance learners, was conducted. Every fifth institution listed among those in the population was selected for participation in the pretest, with a total of fifty-four being selected. As a result of the pretest findings, the questionnaire was revised for the actual research study. The research sample of 204 libraries was sent an initial email message, which was the cover letter, and an attachment to the cover letter that contained the questionnaire. A follow-up message was sent to libraries that did not respond initially. Overall, thirty percent of the sample responded to the electronic questionnaire The data were tabulated, Once tabulated, the data were placed onto charts that describe the activity of the libraries' promotion activities, as related to distance learners. These statistics were examined to show the relationships among library promotions, distance learners, and the promoted benefits of the library services and materials. Pearson Correlation two-tailed tests were used to show relationships among particular variables and the overall growth of distance education library usage resulting from promotion efforts. Telephone interviews with librarians of the community colleges followed administration of the questionnaire. Of the fifty-nine questionnaire respondents, a sample of twenty librarians was interviewed concerning their library promotion practices. This sample was selected based upon the systematic sampling method. Sixteen of the twenty librarians were successfully contacted and interviewed. The data from the telephone interviews were tabulated and analyzed to show the commonality among responses and to show the differences that illuminate what some of the forces are behind library promotion to distance learners: what is practiced, what is not practiced and why not, and how promotion is accomplished. As a result of the findings, it may be concluded that the majority of libraries in the study use more than one means of creating initial communications between the library and distance learners and that growth has also occurred in the use of library resources and services among distance education students. Data indicate that promoted benefits that correspond with the promoted product also positively impact consumption of the product, in that the benefit is of a utilitarian or a hedonic nature in regard to consumer needs. Those libraries that used only one means of promotion or none at all, experienced usage losses, no growth, or very little growth. The telephone interviews revealed that while libraries are incorporating innovatively proactive means of reaching and serving distance learners, more planning, initiatives, and library awareness assessments are needed for furthering the presence of the library among distance learners. Such efforts could prove to increase library usage and student productivity.
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    Peer-reviewed required: The role of bibliographic requirements in the undergraduate research assignment
    (8/22/2018) Ormsbee-Hale, Trenton Davis; Perryman, Carol L.
    This study explored what impact requiring the use of peer-reviewed articles for an undergraduate research assignment had on the makeup of students’ bibliographies and how they integrated their information sources. Utilizing a nonequivalent control group design, unit essays were collected from two sections of the same undergraduate political science course at a public university in Texas. The experimental group was required to use a minimum number of peer-reviewed sources while the control group was not. A sample of 44 documents was collected. The collected essays underwent citation analysis and content analysis to investigate potential differences in bibliographic behavior and how students engage with their sources within the body of their essays. The citation analysis revealed that the students who were required to include peer-reviewed sources did cite significantly more peer-reviewed articles than the control group. They also referred to their peer-reviewed sources more frequently in the body of their essays than the students in the control group referred to their peer-reviewed sources. The content analysis, however, revealed that synthesis of and engagement with outside information sources was similarly infrequent and homogeneous in both groups, which suggests deeper information literacy challenges faced by the students.
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    Examining the fieldwork experience from the site supervisor perspective: A mixed-methods study using Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development theory
    (2013-05) Brannon, Sian; Akin, Lynn; Swigger, Keith; Golden, Janine
    The purpose of this study was to identify feelings and behaviors of fieldwork supervisors in public libraries using Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development theory as a background for design, analysis, and discussion of results. This research sought to find out how fieldwork supervisors perform initial assessments of their fieldwork students, what activities and assignments are conducted during the experience, how the supervisors assess the students, and how they feel about their role in the process. The study began with an online survey (77 respondents), continued with 25 interviews, and concluded with a content analysis of 47 evaluation forms provided by library and information science education programs. Results of the survey and interviews were compared to the evaluation forms and the American Library Association's Core Competences of Librarianship. Results give a better understanding of the thoughts and actions of fieldwork supervisors in public libraries, and a new fieldwork evaluation form is proposed.
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    The management of change in the information age: Approaches of academic library directors in the United States
    (2010-05) Yi, Zhixian; Swigger, Keith; McElrath, Eileen; Yang, Philip Q.
    Rapid changes in information technology affect all areas of academic libraries, from acquisitions to cataloging, research, and online learning. To ensure that libraries run smoothly and meet the current needs of all students, faculty, and staff, directors must learn to effectively manage constant and evolving change. Researchers Bolman and Deal studied numerous business and education directors and discovered that they used four distinct approaches when managing change: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. Structural leaders rely on formal rules, while human resource leaders strive to satisfy human needs. Political leaders use power and conflict, while symbolic leaders create rituals and celebrate the future. When supervising change, leaders and managers used either one (single), two (dual), or three or more (multiple) of these approaches. The change was either planned or unexpected. Using Bolman and Deal's research as a guideline, this study examines how academic library directors manage change. The study also examines the factors that may influence management approaches: (1) demographics (age, gender); (2) human capital (education, length of employment); and (3) library characteristics (size, type). An email survey was sent to 1,010 directors randomly selected from various degree-granting colleges and universities within the United States; 596 (59%) responded. The survey was based on a review of library literature and on Bolman and Deal's change management model. Multiple choice questions tracked the directors' experiences with change management, the approaches used, and the factors that may have influenced these approaches. When applicable, directors were also encouraged to write their own views and experiences. This allowed for any "other" possible categories outside of the Bolman and Deal model. The collected quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (bivariate crosstabulations, chi-square tests, correlations, binary and multinomial logistic regressions). Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the relationships between a dependent variable with multiple categories and more than two predictors. The qualitative data from the open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis. Initially 18 directors, chosen by stratified random sampling, participated in a pilot study of the email survey via surveymonkey.com. Following their suggestions and comments, revisions were made to the survey before it was applied to the large-scale study in a similar manner. This study has confirmed that change is generally managed in academic libraries from structural, human resource, political, symbolic or multiple perspectives. Most directors managed both planned and unplanned change and used multiple approaches. The structural and human resource approaches were the most frequently used single approaches, although dual approaches were also common A correlation and regression analysis confirms that demographics, human capital, and library variables play significant roles in managing change. Regression results show that older directors were more likely to use multiple approaches during change management than younger ones. Directors who oversaw more subordinates were more likely to use multiple approaches to manage change in information technology, and to make change decisions than their counterparts. Those who worked for an institution offering a higher academic degree were more likely than their counterparts to use multiple approaches to plan change, and to resolve conflicts during the change process. The results allow a better understanding of directors' attitudes, behaviors, and approaches to managing change in academic libraries. Directors may use the results to reflect on different options of management strategy and balance the weight of these influences. Librarians may better understand different management techniques and approaches. Hopefully, this study will stimulate more research on the subject.
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    Rhyme or reason? Identifying distinguishing features of elementary school library poetry collections
    (2009-05) Enochs, Elizabeth Lee; Vardell, Sylvia M.; Hoffman, Gretchen; Hillbun, Janet
    This research arose from a long-standing, scholarly concern that the poetry collections in many elementary school libraries decline in condition and size over time. To gauge the ability of elementary school poetry collections to support current pedagogy, this research analyzed the poetry holdings of seventy-two libraries in one school district, and answered the question: What are the distinguishing features of elementary school library poetry collections? Nearly ninety percent of the schools' poetry collections were less than half the recommended size. Most of the poetry collections were near the fourteen-year age limit for a standards compliant school library collection, and circulation of poetry over one school year totaled less than one percent of the average library's circulation for that school year. Age of the poetry collection was a significant predictor of circulation, but size was not. It was unlikely that these elementary school library poetry collections could support current poetry pedagogy.
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    The narrative voice in the children's fantasy novels of E. Nesbit
    (2010-05) Sloan, Ann; Vardell, Sylvia M.; Cahill, Maria; Bray, Kaye
    The study sought to examine E. Nesbit's unique narrative style in addressing her young readers. Nesbit brought a fresh voice to her books that made a connection between her and her readers that lasted for generations. This study explored her methods in achieving this literary technique. By employing both narratological research methods and descriptive content analysis of E. Nesbit's fantasy novels, the researcher sought to show Nesbit's substantial contribution to the development of fiction for children. This study focused on Nesbit's narrative style in her children's fantasy novels. Its purpose was to explore the question: what characterizes her narrative style? Children's books center on narrative: in a sense they are about narrative — and until relatively recently, narrative has been the poor relation in both theory and criticism (Hunt 1990). Compared to other contemporary directions of inquiry, narrative theory is still taking its very first steps within children's literature criticism (Nikolajeva 2003). The narrative style of an author is what puts the reader into an implicit relationship with the author. Narratology, the study of the narrative, helps to answer questions that arise from reading children's literature: why narrative appeals, how the storyteller tells her story, what keeps the reader turning the page, and how to recognize what is important for the narrative. Nesbit had a distinctive narrative style which created a bond with her readers. This study utilized narratology to understand that narrative style. The study found that Nesbit spent much of her writing career in finding a voice by which to address the new child reader (Hunt 2001, 461). The strong emphasis she placed on the partnership of narrator and narratee made the child's interests rather than the adult's the real concern in her stories (Wall 1991, 149). This was borne out by the findings of the content analysis. The variables, drawn from narratology, that were used in the content analysis were: mediated narrator; focalization; emotional distance; and tone. The results reflect what may be concluded from a critical analysis of her eight children's fantasy novels: Nesbit used the mediated narrator technique frequently to engage her narratee in her stories; focalization was on the child character; there was no emotional distance between the narrator and the narratee; and the tone in her early and late novels was humorous while the House of Arden books were more serious. Emotional distance was not used for these analyses or any further analyses because it was found that the author was never emotionally distant from the child. Crosstabulations were conducted between the categorical variables across the eight books to reveal any significant relationships. The mediated narrator, which engaged the narratee in direct dialogue, stepping out of the story for conversation, occurred 12.4%, in total, for all eight books. This engagement of the narratee is characteristic of Nesbit, as it established a conversation with the implied child reader. Focalization, in which the narrative was told from the children's point of view or was focused on the children, occurred 91%, in total, for all eight books. There was no emotional distance established in any of the books between the narrator and the narratee. She always saw matters from the point of view of the child; there was never any distance between them. Finally, the tone was humorous 89.3% in the eight books; the later books were more serious. In the Arden books and in scenes in The Story of the Amulet, Nesbit addressed her social concerns to varying degrees. She shaped her narratives to create the illusion of speaking to the narratee directly by constantly taking the narratee into her confidence by sharing information and insights into the characters and actions in the book (Wall 1991).