Librarians tend to enter their chosen field at a later age than other professionals. Among other factors, this leads to an extended “professional adolescence”, which is also…
Abstract
Librarians tend to enter their chosen field at a later age than other professionals. Among other factors, this leads to an extended “professional adolescence”, which is also evident in the profession as a whole. Other experienced managers commenting on the proposition that librarians often demonstrate lack of professional maturity tended to agree, and offered their analyses of causes. The causes cited included: the tendency of academic librarians to mirror similar tendencies among faculty; the lack of significant consequences of choices and actions; failure to develop measures of effectiveness and accountability; and inward focus on the library and staff rather than on service to the user. Discusses potential behavioural and organizational changes, for both library managers and staff. Increasingly, the knowledge society requires mature professionalism among those information professionals who expect to have significant roles in it.
Details
Keywords
Hilary Dyer, Deborha Fossey and Kathryn McKee
The introduction of an automated library system brings changes in the working environment. If job design within the altered environment is not considered, the result can be…
Abstract
The introduction of an automated library system brings changes in the working environment. If job design within the altered environment is not considered, the result can be employee apathy/hostility and the use of the system in unplanned ways. The idea of ‘good’ job design takes into account the needs of the individual as well as the organisational objectives. Automation also affects staff structures. This paper examines, by means of a literature survey carried out for a master's dissertation, the need for, and principles of, job design and the effects automation can have, and discusses the possible influences on staff structures.
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with orientation to library facilities and services, instruction in the use of information resources, and research and computer skills that are related to retrieving and using information. This is the fourteenth review to be published in Reference Services Review and lists items in English published in 1987. A few items are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
As libraries and information centers grow in complexity and, in many cases, become big business, financial management skills take on increased importance for librarians and other…
Abstract
As libraries and information centers grow in complexity and, in many cases, become big business, financial management skills take on increased importance for librarians and other information workers. External and internal pressures like reductions in library budgets, escalation of costs faster than revenues, pressures from outside agencies for increased productivity, accountability, organizational efficiency and effectiveness have all pushed librarians to expand their competencies in the financial arena.
The following annotated list of materials on providing library orientation to users and instructing them in library and information skills is the tenth annual review of this…
Abstract
The following annotated list of materials on providing library orientation to users and instructing them in library and information skills is the tenth annual review of this literature and covers publications from 1983. A few items have not been annotated because the compiler was unable to secure a copy of these items.
The evolution of the concept of an Adaptive Network Library Interface is described and several technical and research issues are explored. The Adaptive Network Library Interface…
Abstract
The evolution of the concept of an Adaptive Network Library Interface is described and several technical and research issues are explored. The Adaptive Network Library Interface (ANLI) is a computer program that stands as a buffer between users of the library catalog and the catalog itself. This buffer unit maintains its own network of pointers from book to book, which it elicits from the users, interactively. It is hoped that such a buffer increases the value of the catalog for the users and provides librarians with new and useful information about the books in the collection. The relation to concepts such as hypertext and neural networks is explored as well.