Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Intellectual Freedom In Academic Libraries: Surveying Deans About Its Significance, Shannon M. Oltmann

Information Science Faculty Publications

In this study, deans and directors of academic libraries were surveyed about intellectual freedom. The survey found that most respondents said they rarely think about intellectual freedom yet said it was “somewhat” or “very” important in their libraries. Most did not have formal intellectual freedom policies; they often relied on statements from the American Library Association or other library organizations. Copyright/intellectual property, privacy, plagiarism, and academic freedom were the most important concerns related to intellectual freedom. Although this study shed some light on intellectual freedom in academic libraries, further work remains to be done.

Re-Conceiving Time In Reference And Information Services Work: A Qualitative Secondary Analysis, Jenny Bossaller, C. Sean Burns, Amy Vanscoy

Information Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the sociology of time to understand how time is perceived by academic librarians who provide reference and information service (RIS).

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) of two phenomenological studies about the experience of RIS in academic libraries. The authors used QSA to re-analyze the interview transcripts to develop themes related to the perception of time.

Findings

Three themes about the experience of time in RIS work were identified. Participants experience time as discrete, bounded moments but sometimes experience threads through these moments that provide continuity, time is …

Where Do We Go From Here?: Informing Academic Library Staffing Through Reference Transaction Analysis, Bradley Wade Bishop, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Information Science Faculty Publications

This study conducted a systematic sample of every 70th reference transaction from over a three-year period and analyzed 1,852 reference transactions asked at an academic library system's fifteen f2f service points as well as via telephone, e-mail, and chat. Findings indicate two-thirds of the total questions asked were location-based questions about the library. Also, 80.2 percent of location-based questions and 77.2 percent of subject-based questions were asked f2f. Analysis of location-based reference questions informs effective deployment of librarians and staff at library service points as well as the development of mobile library apps.

The Internet Has Changed, Like, Everything, Joseph B. Miller

Information Science Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pc Security In A Networked World, Joseph B. Miller

Information Science Faculty Publications

Over the last decade, the personal computer has been transformed from an isolated word processor and number cruncher into a communications device. The emergence of the Web, the expansion of broadband connectivity, and new versions of the Windows operating system have made it possible to share information and files around the world with the click of a mouse. So, the good news is that it is now easier than ever to connect to any other host on the Internet to share information or to set up your own Internet based information services. However, this is also the bad news because …