Library and Information Science Commons^™

Recommender Systems For Multimedia Libraries: An Evaluation Of Different Models For Datamining Usage Data, Raquel Oliveira Araujo

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Many recommender systems exist today to help users deal with the large growth in the amount of information available in the Internet. Most of these recommender systems use collaborative filtering or content-based techniques to present new material that would be of interest to a user. While these methods have proven to be effective, they have not been designed specifically for multimedia collections. In this study we present a new method to find recommendations that is not dependent on traditional Information Retrieval (IR) methods and compare it to algorithms that do rely on traditional IR methods. We evaluated these algorithms using …

The Use Of Blocking Software Or Internet Filters In Southern New Jersey Public Libraries, Suzi I. Freedman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if public libraries in southern New Jersey have installed blocking software or filters on their Internet computers and, specifically, to find out what types of filters or blocking software they were currently using in their libraries. The study wanted to see how satisfied librarians were with their filters or blocking software. The study also looked at whether or not public libraries in southern New Jersey have written Acceptable Use Policies which define access to the Internet for some or all of their patrons, including children under the age of eighteen. Finally, the …

The Hidden Library Curriculum: Children's Electronic Pathfinder Analysis And Information Literacy Skills, Collette Baldasare

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this survey investigation was to ascertain the degree of conformity of selected public library electronic pathfinder collections for children in the United States and Canada to assess format, components, and readability and whether the collections were effectively constructed to be used as starting points for further research. This research paper explains the relationship of instructional design models, information literacy skills, and the analysis of selected resources. An email questionnaire was mailed to ten libraries within the United States and Canada. The email questionnaire is a modified version of a survey sent to academic libraries by Grimes and …

New Jersey Public Libraries And Funding, Mary Elizabeth Reeves Fine

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine New Jersey public libraries with budgets exceeding $3 million dollars and find out their sources of funding. In particular, with the financial climate of many state libraries' budgets being cut, the mailed questionnaire focused on whether 18 public libraries out of a selection of 21 libraries in New Jersey have established endowment funds or deferred giving plans. Results found that only a few libraries have funding other than local community tax revenue. Most library directors acknowledge that fundraising is a viable way to diversify their income, and that in concept it …

Young Adult Public Library Services In Southern New Jersey, Lesa Keener

Theses and Dissertations

In 1995 the National Center for Educational Statistics, conducted a survey on young adult librarianship entitled, Services and Resources for Children and Young Adults in Public Libraries. The survey showed that while 23% of the patrons that used public libraries were YAs, ages 12-17, they lacked librarians, services, resources and areas designed specifically for their age group. The researcher conducted a 2004 survey based on the NCES 1995 study to compare results to see if there were any improvements.The researcher e-mailed 84 descriptive surveys to public library members of the SJRLC and NJYAC, the responses totaled 38, or …

A Study Of Cooperative Relationships Between Small Business Development Centers And Public Libraries, Nancy Polhamus

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the variety and levels of services provided to the clients of local Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) by selected medium-size and large public libraries in the Delaware Valley region. The twelve responding libraries reported a wide variety in the levels of service provided to the local small business community. Librarians reported participating with their local SBDC by providing facilities, reference materials, staff with special training and/or experience in business reference service, staff participation in programs, and combinations of these services. Three libraries reported providing no services at all to support SBDC programs …

The Future Of Print And Electronic Periodicals In High School Media Centers, Judy Angelo

Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study was to determine if southern New Jersey public high school media centers had reduced, increased, or left the same the number of print and electronic subscriptions to periodicals. The selected periodicals that were available online through EBSCOhost were compared to those purchased in print format by high school media specialists. Questionnaires were sent to 70 South Jersey high school media specialists, asking about their print and electronic periodical usage, and their storage procedures, if any, for back issues of periodicals. The media specialists were asked to comment on their behaviors. The data were analyzed …

Use Of The Ebscohost Database In Grades Three Through Five, Allyson F. Cogan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine how the electronic databases available in EBSCOhost, Primary Search, MasterFile Premier, and Searchasaurus, were being used in teaching information skills to the students in grades three through five. The study involved the media specialists who were members of South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative teaching in elementary schools serving grades three through five. A total of 103 surveys were mailed out with a total of 59 media specialists returning them.

Data analysis was achieved by entering the survey results into the SPSS version 11.1 statistical analysis program. Totals and percentages were computed with …

Animación A La Lectura Recreativa En Niños Desplazados Por La Violencia En La Biblioteca Del Centro Local De Desarrollo Integral De Jerusalén Celodije Y La Difusión De La Información De Los Documentos Del Fondo Acumulado De La Administración De Aduanas A Través De Las Estrategias De Mercadeo, Alexandra Celis Avila

Sistemas de Información, Bibliotecología y Archivística

No abstract provided.

Public Libraries: Is Independence Better?, Gayle Hornaday

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since the origin of public libraries in the United States during the nineteenth century, they have been primarily supported by public taxation, due to their intended purpose of benefiting all of society, and especially the economically disadvantaged. Public libraries are provided in much the same spirit as public education, to uphold the American value that knowledge and information should be equally available to all, without regard to individual ability to pay. The dilemma of how to pay for library services has involved considerable debate in the library community about the implementation of user fees to supplement revenue, as an alternative …

[A Library Policy Manual For Selah School District Libraries, Selah, Washington], Roberta Jean Gustafson

All Graduate Projects

This project was undertaken to develop a library policy manual for the Selah School District libraries. Topics were collected from a variety of venues, manuals on the Internet,the.librarian list serv LM-NET, American.LibraryAssociation and the Washington Library Media Association. Lists generated from these sources were then narrowed down to the important management and operations topics. It was determined that substitutes in the library would need the information to manage the library, utilize the checkout system and enforce library policies, therefore those sections are in the front of the manual. Those policies that are part of the Selah School District Board Policies …

Beginning A Book Swap Room: A Quantitative And Qualitative Study, Mari Lynn Stangland

All Graduate Projects

Many children do not have adequate access to print. To rectify this in her school, the author created an ongoing Book Swap Room. The author documented the reading growth of students by looking at their reading test data in conjunction with records of the number of books traded in the Room. A family survey was used on three occasions to determine book ownership in the home of students, and a student survey was used to determine whether the Book Swap Room was achieving its desired goal of reinforcing book ownership. Though results were mixed and inconclusive, the author has seen …

Factors Influencing Academics' Usage Of Electronic Journals, Margaret Krikorian

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Through a survey of academics at Edith Cowan University, Australia, this study explored their usage of and attitudes towards academic electronic journals (EJs). The data provided insights into the way academics were using EJs at the time of the study and their thoughts on how they will use them in the future. The emergence of academics publishing their work in EJs is a fairly recent phenomenon compared to the established tradition of publishing in paper-based journals. Many publishers have also begun to replace paper journals with electronic ones and many librarians have begun incorporating EJs into their resource collections. Librarians …

A Case Study Of The Libraries In The Vanguard Learning Colleges, Linda G. Swaine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of a learning-centered library from the perspective of the libraries in the 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges which were participants in the Learning College Project sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College. The 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges were: Cascadia Community College (WA), Community College of Baltimore County (MD), Community College of Denver (CO), Humber College, (Ontario), Kirkwood Community College (IA), Lane Community College, OR), Madison Area Technical College (WI), Moraine Valley Community College (IL), Palomar College (CA), Richland College (TX), Sinclair Community College (OH), and Valencia Community College (FL). Furthermore, …