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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of patron aggressive behaviour toward library staff at the Main Library of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, and also to determine the causes of this kind of behaviour. The paper also aims to suggest solutions for tackling this problem.

A survey was conducted among those staff members who regularly interface with the library's clientele. A total of 40 questionnaires was sent to various categories of staff at the Main Library at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus. A total of 35 staff members responded.

Verbal abuse was the most prevalent form of aggressive behaviour towards library staff. Over 50 per cent of the respondents were concerned about the aggressive behaviour of library patrons. A common reason given for aggressive behaviour included: general frustration with the library; not being able to locate needed material; and being unable to borrow material from the library. The majority of the respondents had not received any kind of training in dealing with aggressive library patrons and indicated the need for this kind of training. Over 90 per cent were unaware of the existence of a library policy regarding patron aggressive behaviour.

It is suggested that further research be conducted to determine some of the causes of aggressive behaviour from the perspective of library patrons.

Libraries need to have clear policies regarding patron aggression. A breakdown in library procedures and systems can be a potential source of frustration and conflict.

This paper is a valuable contribution to this small body of scholarship. It examines some of the issues intrinsic to the academic life of the student as well as some of the factors inherent in the library operations that can cause some of the conflict that is often experienced in the academic library.

The purpose of this paper is to reset the performance bar for the Caribbean professional through the identification and classification of core competencies and skills sets for academic librarians at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

Competency documents published by various library profession organizations and academic libraries across various geographic regions were content analysed to identify the major skills and competencies of highly skilled professionals.

Core competencies selected for The UWI Mona Library are: first, uses professional knowledge and practice to lead staff and manage resources; second, identifies emerging trends and supports innovations; third, demonstrate willingness to embrace change and utilize best practices in service delivery; fourth, analyses situations for appropriate solutions; fifth, interacts positively and effectively with others; sixth, develops an environment that leads and manages change; seventh, manages and mentors staff; eight, sets clear goals and objectives while providing specific performance and feedback.

The competencies profile developed reflects the unique compositions of competencies required by academic librarians working in a twenty-first century, Caribbean, regional, academic/research environment.

This framework will effectively guide the exercises of employee selection and succession planning within the library organization. Ensuring that the best employees are selected augurs well for succession planning within an organization.

A competencies profile provides rationale for the provision of transparent employee selection criteria. The framework is intended to set meaningful professional development goals and align those goals with the vision, mission and objectives of organizations.

This paper presents the English-speaking Caribbean context for core competencies formulation and a listing of required competencies for The UWI, Mona Library professional.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the recent outreach service efforts of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Main Library in the form of a Hall of Residence Librarian Programme. The aim of the programme was to minimize library anxiety through partnership with the Office of Students Services.

The transition from the secondary to the tertiary level is not always the smoothest for some students. On the islands of the English-speaking Caribbean, such as Jamaica, it can be especially difficult as some matriculants have never used an automated library. These students often experience great difficulty in effectively using the library which may result in them shying away from doing so and thus negatively impact the quality of their work. The UWI, the UWI Main Library, Mona campus, Jamaica has sought to address this challenge through the development of an outreach project to the first-year students entitled the Halls of Residence Librarian (HRL) programme.

This new form of library outreach on The UWI Mona campus has yielded the offering of library services in new locations, strategic partnerships, increased interactions with the first-year students and a greater awareness of these students ' needs. Most importantly, it was very effective in reducing library anxiety among the first-year students.

The “low” turnout to Research Rescue was largely attributed to the fact that this programme was entirely optional for the students, and it was not affiliated with any compulsory course or class. There was also the issue of a lack of incentives to boost student attendance at these sessions.

This initiative is untested in the English-speaking Caribbean. The paper explores the outreach efforts of the library at the Mona campus of The UWI and seeks to add to the limited body of literature on Academic Library Outreach in the Caribbean.

This paper aims to investigate the kinds of resources used by students at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, to start their research and to find out their perception of the quality of the resources they use.

A survey was distributed manually to undergraduates, and the responses were collated and analysed using Excel software.

The findings revealed that Google was the resource most likely to be used by respondents to start their research, and the resource least used was the librarian (ask a librarian).

This represents original research for the Mona Campus. It is important in helping the library to understand an aspect of the research habits and preferences of the undergraduate community it serves and will help the library in further decision-making, as it seeks to build awareness among the undergraduate population, of the library resources available to them.