Library and Information Science Commons^™

Culture Shock: Librarians' Response To Web Scale Search, David Howard, Constance Wiebrands

Research outputs pre 2011

In common with many other academic libraries, search tools such as the library catalogue, link resolver and federated search are utilised at Edith Cowan University Library to enable access to its collections and subscribed resources. It could be argued that these tools reflect methods of organising information from an earlier, pre-Internet era, and as such, they "make sense" to librarians. However, these tools are not simple to use or navigate, particularly when compared to Google, which, studies show, tends to be the first search tool of choice for many students and academic staff. Recognising that easier methods of accessing and …

Learning 2.0: A Catalyst For Library Organisational Change, Julia Gross, Lynette Leslie

Research outputs pre 2011

The purpose of this paper is to describe “what happened” with round two of the implementation of Learning 2.0 with a large and diverse group of library staff at Edith Cowan University (ECU) Library during 2007/2008. A previous paper reported on a study of the suitability of the 23 Things Learning 2.0 program for a small group of early adopters in the ECU Library. This follow-up paper reports challenges that library management faced when the remaining staff were given the 23 Things Learning 2.0 program. All remaining library staff members were encouraged to undertake the program, but take-up was not …

The Australian School Libraries Research Project : A Snapshot Of Australian School Libraries, Report 1, Barbara Combes

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Website Usability: A Window Into A Learning Environment, Julia Gross, Lynette Leslie

Research outputs pre 2011

Academic library websites provide a vital online learning environment for students. They should follow sound design principles, provide functionality, and ease of navigation. As part of a strategy to make effective changes to the library website, Edith Cowan University Library wanted to gather evidence to discover how users went about locating information resources accessible from its website. Concerns existed amongst the library staff about how intuitive it was to locate the various information resources provided. This paper will outline the action research process taken to test the website heuristics to determine what improvements were needed in the design. Using Jakob …

An Academic Library Partnership In The Indian Ocean Region, Julia Gross, Aminath Riyaz

Research outputs pre 2011

The emergence of a global marketplace in education offers valuable partnership opportunities. Libraries in small developing countries often do not have a critical mass of library professionals to share knowledge and to provide advice and collegial support. This case study describes a World Bank funded “Link Institution Arrangement”, which established a library partnership between an academic library in Western Australia and one in the Republic of Maldives. The authors describe the state of libraries and the emerging library profession in the Maldives. They also reveal ways in which the partners explored development issues facing an isolated academic library, shared knowledge …

Regional Libraries Online Project : Survey, Glenn Watkins, Kitty Delaney, Gail Woods

Research outputs pre 2011

The Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA) implemented their Regional Libraries Online Project in 1997 to provide public Internet access to 11 regional libraries in Western Australia. This report highlights major trends and issues that arose during the implementation of the project...

Upgrading Search Strategy Skills: Unit One: Developing Search Strategies For Online Searching: A Continuing Professional Development Course For Library And Information Service Managers, Gulten S. Wagner

Research outputs pre 2011

Information retrieval systems are complex systems requiring specialised training. The process of translating an information request into the language of a computer in an online, CD-ROM or network environment is called a search strategy development. Information retrieval systems operate on the principle of a set of matching functions taking place at high speed. The skill and knowledge of the searcher are the main determinants in obtaining the best results from an information retrieval system.

Upgrading Search Strategy Skills: Unit Three: Developing Search Strategies For Searching Some Of The Indexes Of The World Wide Web: A Continuing Professional Development For Library And Information Service Managers, Gulten S. Wagner

Research outputs pre 2011

This Unit is designed to provide information professionals with some basic search skills in searching the indexes of the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW can accessed through the public Internet. WWW's resources are organised to provide easy access to users by means of formatted texts, sound, images and other links. This unit will concentrate on some of the better developed search engines of the WWW. It will enable the participants to design Boolean logic-based search strategies to retrieve required information.

The World Wide Web, was put together through a series of protocols developed by Tim Berners-Lee at the European …

Upgrading Search Strategy Skills: Unit Two: Developing Search Strategies For Cd-Rom Encylopedias: A Continuing Professional Development Course For Library And Information Service Managers, Gulten S. Wagner

Research outputs pre 2011

This Unit Two focuses on the development of search strategies in using CD-ROM encyclopedias. A thorough introduction to the basics of searching with Boolean logical operators is provided in Unit One. CD-ROM encyclopedia publishers not only update their products annually but some now provide monthly online updating facilities from the Internet. In this very dynamic environment it is rather difficult to evaluate their search facilities as improvements take place constantly.

The Unit develops strategies to take full advantage of the text and multimedia materials stored in the various indexes of an electronic encyclopedia, as well as methods for evaluating the …