Jessica E. Moyer and Jennifer Thiele
This paper aims to provide an overview of current research on the use of e‐books and e‐book readers as they gain popularity in libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of current research on the use of e‐books and e‐book readers as they gain popularity in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a literature review and a case study of a public library which has a Kindle lending program. An e‐book case study is examined, highlighting a mid‐sized public library which implemented a Kindle e‐book lending program. The article includes a follow‐up discussion as to how libraries are including digital content in their collections, and changing the way they do business to accommodate the new technologies that people are increasingly asking for. The paper also gives tools for librarians looking to start their own e‐book lending program, and provide additional information on what resources are currently available.
Findings
One conclusion can be made. E‐books will not be going away any time soon. The Kindle lending program at the library has been extremely successful and well received by patrons
Research limitations/implications
Because of this very small case study approach, the research results may not be generalizable.
Originality/value
This research trend is new, and has not had much study. It gives a wide variety of opportunity for pilot studies, and subsequent ones.
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Jessica E. Moyer and Terry L. Weech
To provide a comparative review of the teaching of Readers' Advisory Services in schools of library and information science in selected schools in the USA, Canada and Europe.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide a comparative review of the teaching of Readers' Advisory Services in schools of library and information science in selected schools in the USA, Canada and Europe.
Design/methodology/approach
After reviewing the literature, schools are selected based on their known activity in providing readers' advisory service courses or on their national ranking (in the case of US schools) to provide a snapshot of current level of readers' advisory instruction.
Findings
Instruction in readers' advisory services is a very small part of the total curriculum in schools examined. Librarians who wish to gain more insight to readers' advisory services must depend on continuing education opportunities, such as workshops and conference programs, not on courses in the curriculum of schools of library and information science.
Originality/value
This paper raises questions as to the relationship between library and information science curricula and the needs of practicing librarians to provide services to leisure readers. It finds that, despite an increased interest in providing readers' advisory services in libraries, library education is not responding to that need and continuing education and training programs are essential to providing librarians who are well prepared to serve leisure readers. For schools which are contemplating adding coursework in these areas, the case studies detail courses as they are offered at other institutions.
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Keren Dali, Clarissa Vannier and Lindsay Douglass
Addressed to the audience of LIS educators at all levels, from full-time and adjunct faculty teaching in LIS programs, to librarians and library consultants delivering…
Abstract
Purpose
Addressed to the audience of LIS educators at all levels, from full-time and adjunct faculty teaching in LIS programs, to librarians and library consultants delivering professional development training, to practitioners who work with readers in all types of libraries, this article makes a case for replacing the term “readers' advisory” with the term “Reading Experience (RE) librarianship” as a designator of the current professional practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Using historical and discursive analysis based on the extensive literature review, this article argues that a number of factors call for the change in terminology: changes in the human factor (i.e., changes in readers and reading behavior; and changes in relationships between readers and librarians) and changes in the library environment (the rise of “experience” in libraries; a greater commitment to outreach and community engagement; and the fact that librarians are already practicing RE librarianship without recognizing it as such). It also examines the role of LIS educators in fostering and supporting RE librarianship.
Findings
On the one hand, the new terminology will be more reflective of the work that reader service librarians currently do, thus doing justice to a wide range of activities and expanded roles of librarians; on the other hand, it will serve as an imperative and a motivator to further transform reader services from in-house interactions with and programs for avid readers into a true community engagement, with much broader goals, scope and reach.
Originality/value
The article stands to coin a new professional term for the transformed library practice, thus recording a radical change in longstanding professional activities and encouraging new community-oriented thinking about the expanded role of librarians in promoting reading in diverse social environments.
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Jennifer Thiele and Jessica Moyer
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main contents of the 20th BOBCATSSS Symposium held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in January 2012, with the theme of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main contents of the 20th BOBCATSSS Symposium held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in January 2012, with the theme of “Information in e‐motion”.
Design/methodology/approach
The report provides a concise viewpoint of the overall impact of the conference.
Findings
The conference focused on the e‐environment, and debated new challenges and roles for librarians and information professionals.
Originality/value
This symposium is one of the few conferences in the world where students are the main characters and participate as organisers, reviewers, and presenters of the contributions. Reports on such conferences are of interest to students, to teachers and to professionals.
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Lynne Rudasill and Jessica Moyer
This article presents an overview of the historical development of information security policies promulgated by a variety of governments and agencies. After a brief history of the…
Abstract
This article presents an overview of the historical development of information security policies promulgated by a variety of governments and agencies. After a brief history of the development of government technology policy in the electronic age, and a review of the possible cyber‐security threats to today's military and civilian populations, policy documents from the organization for economic co‐operation and development, the European Union, and the USA are described and compared. Analysis of the policy documents shows some similarities in the manner by which national and supra‐national political agencies are reacting to the threat of cyber‐attack. The paper alerts the library community to possible compromise in the systems with which we work, and provides some understanding of the process by which the government is reacting to threats. It concludes by encouraging the librarian to become more actively involved and informed concerning the development of government policies in this area.
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This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the…
Abstract
This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the available evidence to inform the provision of effective services in complex child protection cases. It starts by noting how differences in the approach to service provision in different jurisdictions affect both the nature of research conducted and its transferability across national boundaries. It then summarises the characteristics both of parents who are likely to maltreat their children and also of the children most likely to be maltreated. The factors that make some families ‘hard to engage’ or ‘hard to help/change’ are then discussed, as are the essential elements of effective professional practice in child protection. Particular attention is paid to effective approaches to helping families and young people who are hard to identify or engage.
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Marjorie C. Feinson and Tamar Ben Dror
Purpose and methodology – Many adult women struggle with serious eating problems (EPs) and obesity is increasing, yet, little is known about the origins of EPs, which often begin…
Abstract
Purpose and methodology – Many adult women struggle with serious eating problems (EPs) and obesity is increasing, yet, little is known about the origins of EPs, which often begin in childhood. Personal Narratives with 25 Israeli Jewish women in recovery from EPs explore (a) types of childhood experiences, (b) the connection between childhood experiences and subsequent EPs, and (c) why food!
Findings a.Analyses of personal narratives uncover a broad range of emotionally abusive experiences in childhood (CEA) including continuous criticism about body shape and weight, emotional neglect and abandonment, death or illness in the family in the absence of a nurturing adult, conflict and tension surrounding parental divorce or dysfunctional marriage, geographic dislocation, and aftermath of the Holocaust.b.Interviewees explicitly identified CEA as the cause of their turning to food for comfort in childhood and subsequently developing lifelong EPs.c.Why food! It was easily accessible, its sweetness took away the pain - temporarily, children replicated parents' unhealthy relationship with food, it was abundant and central in Jewish cultural, ethnic and religious traditions.
Research Implications – This research documents the critical contribution of emotionally abusive experiences in childhood to the development of EPs and confirms the need for additional research.
Practical Implications – The findings warrant a shift in policies and practices to address the role of emotional abuse in the development and maintenance of EPs. Moreover, policies focused on obesity, particularly among youth, need to recognize the contribution of CEA – in addition to poor dietary choices and lack of exercise.