Anthi Katsirikou, Christos Skiadas, Apostolos Apostolou and Giannis Rompogiannakis
Observes that in today’s digital world, not many things continue to operate in the traditional manner. This is because the ways of living and working demand new technology, new…
Abstract
Observes that in today’s digital world, not many things continue to operate in the traditional manner. This is because the ways of living and working demand new technology, new tools and new methods. This is the case for libraries too. They have to adapt to this new digital world because their traditional way of working with books and papers cannot cover any more new customer demands and their applications. The advent of the virtual library is usually presented as a positive development for library users. Presents a new way of organizing such a virtual library, an interactive support software and an application using fractals and chaos models of the way this new approach can be used. Focuses on such applications because their important feature is not their final picture but the way in which this picture is generated, and changes through time.
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Aristeidis Meletiou and Anthi Katsirikou
This paper aims to describe a data analysis methodology using data‐ and knowledge‐mining techniques focused on libraries. It concerns data analysis techniques in general, as well…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe a data analysis methodology using data‐ and knowledge‐mining techniques focused on libraries. It concerns data analysis techniques in general, as well as ways in which they could be applied to library management. The ultimate purpose of this data process is to make the exported information useful to decision makers, so as to help them with decision making and strategy planning. This will lead to a more efficient organisation of the internal processing, and to improvement of the services offered in a library.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologies based on knowledge and data mining are used to analyse the real data in one specific case study library (Library of Technical University of Crete, Greece) in order to describe the concept better. The results obtained concern the extraction of information about the inter‐relations of data and the definition of factors that can be used in library management and strategic planning. The scope of the paper is to show how data coming from libraries can be analysed to give useful results for decision‐makers, in order to improve the services they offer.
Findings
The paper provides a detailed list of all existing data resources in a library and describes step‐by‐step an analysis methodology based on processes of knowledge discovery and mining from given data. It refers to general principles that should be used for choosing the data to be processed and for defining the way the data should be combined and connected.
Research limitations/implications
The research reported in this paper can be extended to define other new indicators regarding the quality of services offered to libraries by using a greater amount of data for analysis.
Practical implications
Changes should be made in the way of choosing data for analysis. The way of choosing data here is based on a methodology according to knowledge and data‐mining principles. A definition of new indicators about the quality of services in libraries should be derived from this methodology.
Originality/value
The new thinking in the paper is in the way librarians and decision‐makers in libraries have to use data. The paper shows a way of choosing data that will be able to produce useful conclusions after a well‐described analysis. The paper will be useful for librarians and library managers who want to plan strategies for improving the services they offer.
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Knowledge management (KM) is a current technique in organisational theory and management. The knowledge‐based organisation is the organisation of the future and libraries have…
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Knowledge management (KM) is a current technique in organisational theory and management. The knowledge‐based organisation is the organisation of the future and libraries have much to learn from industry and business. The rules and tools of KM contribute to information and knowledge sharing and delivery throughout the world, as globalisation facilitates communication. Consortia, consisting of libraries of various strengths, power, age, collection, staff experience and specialisation, can operate using the concepts of KM in order to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency, as well as to share the expertise developed in the services of member libraries. Either at the organisational level or in the provision of services to users, the members of the library consortia could gain more benefit if they viewed themselves as a trans‐organisational scheme of a knowledge‐based community. The paper describes such a model drawn from industry and from the theory of the firm, adjusted to the library’s context and functions. It will also make a brief reference concerning the benefits of implementing the model.
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Anthi Katsirikou and Christos H. Skiadas
Describes the impact of chaos theory in social systems and the phenomena that result from it, drawing attention to related phenomena in the state of the library today. It then…
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Describes the impact of chaos theory in social systems and the phenomena that result from it, drawing attention to related phenomena in the state of the library today. It then considers the factors that lead library systems to exhibit chaotic behaviour. These factors are the plethora of technological tools and the variety of software and interfaces, the dependence of resource providers and the increasing supply and diversity of information resources. The changes dictated by these factors influence the internal operations of the library, communication between libraries, the methods and channels of providing user services, the time taken to access information and knowledge, and the numbers and variety of users and their unique ways of searching. In conclusion, the organisational changes in libraries dictated by the unpredictability and instability of the present state are identified, including the organisational transition of library management, staff education concerning the new tools and resources, and user education about assist search techniques.
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This review reports on the first Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference held in Chania, Crete, Greece.
Abstract
Purpose
This review reports on the first Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference held in Chania, Crete, Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach is anthropological participant observation.
Findings
Approximately 150 attendees from 50 different countries participated and exchanged ideas, methodologies, and techniques related to library research.
Practical implications
Presentation of research related to various types of libraries is a way to disseminate research results as well as promote and stimulate further research.
Originality/value
There is a need to expand the body of both qualitative and quantitative LIS research related to library research, particularly the evaluation of library services.