Rejuvenating aging studies in academic libraries
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to identify resources essential gerontology (aging studies) resources and liaison strategies that provide guidance for academic librarians working with faculty and students in this highly interdisciplinary field.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of gerontology faculty was surveyed to identify important materials, including preferred journals, databases, reference books, and sources of grey literature for gerontology research and teaching. Gerontology faculty information seeking behaviors, including faculty-librarian partnership, were also examined.
Findings
Results confirm that faculty teaching in gerontology use a wide variety of resources in their teaching and research. Faculty identified frequently used journals, reference materials, databases as well as sources of grey literature produced by non-profits, special interest group/lobbying organizations, educational organizations, and/or government agencies.
Research limitations/implications
Surveying faculty from undergraduate gerontology programs would have likely increased the number of participants completing the online questionnaire, presumably increasing the reliability of the results.
Originality/value
Few studies identify the resources that faculty in gerontology graduate programs value and what services the library can provide or improve. This paper addresses these gaps and recognizes the need to support the growing number of interdisciplinary programs in gerontology.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
A special thank you to the gerontology faculty who participated in this study. The authors are also grateful to Angela Baker and Dominic Frazier from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education for their assistance; and to Cheri Folkner and Cheryl Oestreicher at Boise State University for their careful revisions.
Citation
Y. Antunez, M., E. Toevs, S. and A. Gains, M. (2014), "Rejuvenating aging studies in academic libraries", Collection Building, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 2-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/CB-09-2013-0034
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited