Colleen Cook, Fred Heath, Bruce Thompson and Duane Webster
The LibQUAL+TM instrument derives from the Gap Theory of Service Quality, and the SERVQUAL instrument. Grounded in the constructs of discrepancy theory, the SERVQUAL protocol…
Abstract
The LibQUAL+TM instrument derives from the Gap Theory of Service Quality, and the SERVQUAL instrument. Grounded in the constructs of discrepancy theory, the SERVQUAL protocol itself, is anchored by a singular precept: through a series of 22 questions the SERVQUAL instrument undertakes to measure the delivery of service quality across the five dimensions: reliability, assurance, empathy, responsiveness, tangibles. It has been established as defining the service quality construct.
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Discusses papers presented at the IFLA′s 1994 Conference whichdealt with new library technologies and library co‐operation, and theuniversity libraries′ subsection which was found…
Abstract
Discusses papers presented at the IFLA′s 1994 Conference which dealt with new library technologies and library co‐operation, and the university libraries′ subsection which was found to be relevant to the Caribbean. Internationally, universities face common problems. The most pressing are the direct results of spiralling costs combined with an increasing volume of information and the growing needs and expectations of users. Presents recommendations made at the Conference relating to a review of university policies, the management of intellectual property, electronic access to information, library twinning and personnel exchange programmes, and considers these recommendations in the light of recent developments at The University of the West Indies libraries and the wider Caribbean in general.
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Barbara Dewey and Jillian Keally
The paper aims to focus on organizational and institutional strategies, including a case study from the University of Tennessee, concerned with recruiting librarians from diverse…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to focus on organizational and institutional strategies, including a case study from the University of Tennessee, concerned with recruiting librarians from diverse backgrounds.
Design/methodology/approach
Programs from the Association for Research Libraries, the American Library Association, OCLC, and IFLA for recruiting librarians from diverse backgrounds are reviewed. An in‐depth case study of the University of Tennessee Diversity Libraries Residency Program is included to provide a detailed example of a successful program and its contributions locally and to the research library field.
Findings
The paper provides strategies and a catalyst for other organizations and institutions to develop robust recruitment programs for a diverse workforce in academic libraries.
Originality/value
This paper lays out strategies for robust diversity recruiting activities at the organizational and institutional level using the University of Tennessee's experiences as a basis for discussion.
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The task of the financial manager of a library is a formidable one. Wacht defines a financial manager as a person who manages the resources of an economic entity for the purposes…
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The task of the financial manager of a library is a formidable one. Wacht defines a financial manager as a person who manages the resources of an economic entity for the purposes of influencing the future outcome of its operations. The financial manager plays the major role in planning and measuring the organization's needs for funds, raising the necessary funds, and making certain that the funds acquired are properly employed. A financial manager must also estimate the future cash flow associated with individual projects, in addition to the funds necessary for the total operation of a library. Other duties include the evaluation of prospective new investments and programs on the organization's operations.
Writing in 1995, what seems from our vantage point an almost primitive moment in technological evolution, hypertext theorist, and fiction writer Catherine Marshall, with her…
Abstract
Writing in 1995, what seems from our vantage point an almost primitive moment in technological evolution, hypertext theorist, and fiction writer Catherine Marshall, with her colleague David Levy, presciently described modern libraries;The academic and public libraries most of us have grown up with are the products of innovation begun approximately 150 years ago. We would find libraries that existed prior to that time largely unrecognizable. It is certain that the introduction of digital technologies will again transform libraries, possibly beyond recognition by transforming the mix of materials in their collections and the methods by which these materials are maintained and used. But the better word for these evolving institutions is “libraries,” not digital libraries, for ultimately what must be preserved is the heterogeneity of materials and practices. As library materials and practices of the past have been diverse—more diverse than idealized accounts allow—so they no doubt will remain in the future (Levy and Marshall, 1995, p. 77).By reminding us that libraries were always much more than repositories of collated pages of print, Levy and Marshall highlight the characteristics of modern libraries that mark them not as something new and different, but as something wholly in keeping with the diversity of “traditional” library holdings. “Our idealized image of a library imbues it with qualities of fixity and permanence. This is hardly surprising, since the library is considered to be the Home of the Book, and books are by and large one of the more fixed, more permanent types of documents,” the authors write, but “libraries have always contained materials other than books. Special collections and archives are filled with unbound and handwritten ephemera—correspondence, photographs, and so on … [And] traditional libraries have long contained a diversity of technologies and media; today these include film and video, microfilm and microfiche, vellum and papyrus” (p.77). Now that libraries contain various forms of digital media as standard parts of their collections (electronic journals, electronic catalogs, digital images, digitized sound files), the distinction between “traditional” and “digital” libraries has lost much of its original use, and so has the distinction between traditional and new types of librarians, the stewards of the libraries in any and all forms.
Reports on the OCLC Users Council meeting of October 2‐4, 1994,which discussed, among other things: OCLC efforts to enhance PRISM;conversion work in Europe and in the Asia/Pacific…
Abstract
Reports on the OCLC Users Council meeting of October 2‐4, 1994, which discussed, among other things: OCLC efforts to enhance PRISM; conversion work in Europe and in the Asia/Pacific region; the growth of FirstSearch; electronic library strategies; and research libraries projects.
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The following is an annotated list of materials that discuss the ways in which librarians can provide library users with orientation to facilities and services, and instruct them…
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The following is an annotated list of materials that discuss the ways in which librarians can provide library users with orientation to facilities and services, and instruct them in library information and computer skills. This is RSR's 11th annual review of this literature, and covers publications from 1984. A few items from 1983 have been included because of their significance, and because they were not available for review last year. Several items were not annotated because the compiler was unable to secure them.
This commentary aims to identify the myopic drift of the marketing discipline and to opine on the areas in which the leadership of service scholars is needed. The authors identify…
Abstract
Purpose
This commentary aims to identify the myopic drift of the marketing discipline and to opine on the areas in which the leadership of service scholars is needed. The authors identify specific areas where the input of service scholars is needed to enable the discipline to better contribute to users, providers, and society. For example, the growing gap between marketing scholarship and practical business needs is acknowledged, emphasizing the unique position of service scholars to bridge this divide. While consumer well-being is crucial, the exclusive focus on behavioral science is critiqued. Marketing’s roots are deeply connected to economics, shaping consumer choices, and service scholars can help revive marketing’s essence.
Design/methodology/approach
Personal reflections and historical literature assessment.
Findings
The services discipline is caught in the general myopic behavioral drift of the marketing discipline. However, they are well positioned to reverse the trend by seeking leadership in PhD programs, journal editorships and review boards, faculty recruiting, hiring and promotion, and by continuing its engagement with industry professionals.
Research limitations/implications
The authors suggest extensive goals for service scholars. To accomplish these goals, it will be necessary to challenge the increasing behavioral drift of the majority of existing scholars in the discipline.
Originality/value
This work is original and controversial. It is meant to inspire discussion and focus attention on the problems inherent in the increasingly myopic behavioral orientation of the members of the discipline’s academic community.
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Nkosivile Madinga, Duanne Aspeling and Siphiwe Dlamini
This study aims to investigate the factors influencing consumer attitudes towards purchasing sustainable fashion. In particular, the authors examine the impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the factors influencing consumer attitudes towards purchasing sustainable fashion. In particular, the authors examine the impact of self-transcendence and self-enhancement values on consumer attitudes towards purchasing sustainable fashion. The authors also examine the enablers (environmental concern, durability and fashion leadership) and barriers (fashion consciousness and price sensitivity) of sustainable fashion purchase behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a Web-based self-administered survey to collect data from 350 millennials. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse data.
Findings
The findings indicate no substantial impact of self-transcendence values on attitudes towards sustainable fashion – while self-transcendence values exerted a notable effect on sustainable purchasing behaviour and environmental concerns. Furthermore, the results revealed no relationship between individuals’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion and their purchasing behaviour, whereas a strong relationship has been established between environmental concerns and attitudes towards sustainable fashion.
Practical implications
It provides empirical insights into factors that are pertinent in understating barriers and drivers of sustainable fashion behaviour among millennials.
Originality/value
This study uses the value-attitude-behaviour hierarchy to understand the purchase intentions of sustainable fashion, extending the range of sustainable consumption factors associated with attitudes and behaviour gaps.