Library and Information Science Commons^™

Academic Library Succession Planning In The University Of California (Uc) System, Crystal Goldman

Dissertations

The Library and Information Science (LIS) literature has made clear that academic libraries in the U.S. have experienced decades of hiring freezes and budget cuts that reduced staffing overall and eliminated many middle management positions. Consequently, now that baby boomer library managers and administrators are beginning to retire, there are few qualified applicants to replace them. Thus, many in the LIS field have called for better succession planning by top-level library administrators (e.g., Deans, Directors, University Librarians). Few studies, however, have directly addressed this issue by examining these administrators’ perceptions or behavior regarding succession planning. This study begins to fill …

Evaluating Foundational Components Of Research Consultations In An Academic Library Research Center, Ryan F. Buller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As our society continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate, our higher education institutions, and the services they provide, must keep pace with societal changes in order to ensure that those services stay current and relevant. This program evaluation examines one such service, the research consultation model in University Libraries at the University of Denver. This evaluation was situated within the Human Ecological Theory Framework, to help understand how different environments can impact the recognition and value placed upon the foundational components of the service. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used to determine what the foundational components of …

Accessibility And Academic Libraries: A Comparative Case Study, Claire Burrows

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although individuals with disabilities represent more than 22% of the Canadian population over the age of 15, they remain underrepresented in higher education, and especially in the university setting. Although some library and information science (LIS) research has focused on creating accessible webpages, resources for individuals with print disabilities, and the physical infrastructure of libraries, few studies have included the perspectives of disabled individuals themselves or attempted to understand how libraries are conceptualizing disability and accessibility. By incorporating a disability-studies lens into this study, we can develop a more comprehensive understanding of the obstacles that arise in the pursuit of …

Academic Librarians And The Space/Time Of Information Literacy, The Neoliberal University, And The Global Knowledge Economy, Karen P. Nicholson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative research study explores how academic librarians working in Canadian public research-intensive universities experience the space/time of information literacy, the neoliberal university, and the knowledge economy. Information literacy lies at the intersection of higher education and the knowledge economy: it became a priority for librarians in Anglo-American countries in the 1980s in the context of neoliberal educational reforms intended to better prepare skilled workers for the “information society” (Behrens, 1994; Birdsall, 1994).

The shift from Fordist modes of production to flexible accumulation, characterized by the expansion of capital into new markets, flexible workers, and just-in-time inventories, made possible by …

Support For Open Access In The Humanities: An Analysis Of Current Approaches, Abbey Kayleen Elder

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the ways scholarly communication librarians at academic libraries support humanities faculty at their institutions who are interested in open access. This was accomplished through a mixed method survey of scholarly communication librarians, that is librarians who offer outreach and education to faculty about open access and similar scholarly publishing innovations. The study was conducted to learn about the types of resources available for faculty interested in open access, and to specifically learn more about the types of support available for open access in the humanities. This follows other studies that have explored …

Measures Of Alienation From Work Process In Academic Libraries In The Information Age, Zorian M. Sasyk

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how alienation from work process, or work alienation, varies among work area specializations in academic libraries. Rooted in Marxist theory, the study utilizes the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire mapped to specific measures of alienation as a survey tool to measure the relative alienation of library workers at Master’s level universities in the United States. Data collected is analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics, including cross-tabulations. Findings of the study indicate that there is some variation in work alienation among library work classifications and work areas, with higher alienation found for paraprofessionals, administrators, and library workers in multiple areas or roles. …

Academic Library Resources And Services For Online Distance Learners: An Exploratory Study, Roseanne Michele Sasso

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study distance learning library resources and services as provided by member institutions belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) were examined. The goals of this study were (a) to identify the types of distance learning library resources and services being provided, and (b) to gain insight into the experiences and perspectives of Association of Research Libraries’ library personnel in delivering library resources and services to their distance learning library patrons. This exploratory study consisted of two phases, where both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Phase one involved a content analysis of member institution’s distance learning websites …

The Essence Of The Library At A Public Research University As Seen Through Key Constituents’ Lived Experiences, George Joseph Fowler

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

“The library is the heart of the university” is an oft-repeated metaphor used to describe the role or centrality of the library. The implication is that the library is central to the university’s teaching, research, and service mission. This concept, though previously generally accepted without authoritative proof, is facing numerous challenges to its validity. There has been considerable research and talk about how to make the library central, again. Much has been focused on what to do, rather than why.

As John Budd stated in 1995, “grounded study of the use of libraries, say, or of the transmission of information …

Librarians’ Use Of Instructional Design Methods In Creating Information Literacy Instruction, Michael W. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to determine whether instruction librarians in the United States and Canada were using instructional design (ID) methods, and to identify potential explanations for their adoption or rejection of those methods. The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) served as the theoretical framework for the study. Research questions examined the relationship between respondents’ reported use of ID methods and the following factors: (a) behavioral, normative, and control beliefs, (b) demographic factors, and (c) professional identity as teachers. A survey adapted from Ajjan and Hartshorne (2008) and from Julien and Genuis (2011) …

The Effects Of Academic Libraries’ Resource, Expenditure, And Service Decisions On Library Use: An Analysis Of Acrl And Nces Data, Jody C. Fagan

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Academic libraries are key contributors to the instructional and research missions of their parent institutions, but often struggle to demonstrate specifically what they do and how that affects institutional outcomes. High-impact educational practices are one area where libraries make a difference, but where explicit connections between activities and outcomes are not always articulated. Faculty and graduate student research is another area where libraries’ contribution makes logical sense, but specific relationships are not necessarily drawn. Libraries may place different emphasis on these two areas, effectively choosing different business strategies, to support their institutions’ missions. Two national surveys collect data about library …

Innovation In Academic Libraries During A Time Of Crisis, Dane Michael Ward

Theses and Dissertations

During a period of rapid social and technological change, academic Academic libraries and librarianship are experiencing a period of great change, or crisis, influenced by multiple factors including emerging technologies, declining budgets, and changing information. More than a transitory historical phase, these changes represents a fundamental transition between paradigms (Kuhn, 1962). Academic libraries and librarianship are moving from a paradigm focused on collections and books to a paradigm focused on learning. Within this context, innovations are new processes, services and products that facilitate this transition to the new paradigm.

Beyond this definitional work, the work serves as an exploration of …

Organizational Leadership In Academic Libraries : Identifying Culture Types And Leadership Roles, Monica Garcia Brooks

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to identify organizational culture types and leadership roles among research and non-research libraries in higher education institutions in the United States and to reveal trends that can assist in enacting needed organizational change. Organizational culture and leadership are two intertwined concepts that are strongly aligned with the human element of any supervisory experience. According to Crosby, they help “nurture effective and humane organizations” (Crosby, 2004). This research project sought to test the claims brought forth by library researchers such as Kaarts-Brown et al. in which they reported a tie between the library manager’s ability …