Journal of Academic Librarianship最新文献

This study explored the relationship between the leadership styles adopted by academic librarians and their openness to artificial intelligence (AI). The purpose was to discern whether particular leadership approaches influence librarians' attitudes and acceptance of AI technologies in higher education. Data was collected from 50 librarians across four Arab countries. Two distinct questionnaires were administered to the participants: the first focused on their perceptions of AI, exploring attitudes, beliefs, and understanding of AI technologies, while the second implemented the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5×) to assess the librarians' leadership styles. Correlational analysis, inferential statistics including structural equation model, and regression analysis were employed leading to explore the predictive power of various leadership styles on librarians' openness to AI. Findings suggest that the implementation of AI in academic libraries is most likely to occur under transformational leadership, with transactional leadership being associated with suboptimal outcomes; a noteworthy association is observed between the perception of ease of use and the adoption of laissez-faire leadership. The insights derived from this study hold particular significance for the development of librarians' professional training programs, offering valuable guidance on fostering adaptive leadership strategies that align with the evolving landscape of AI integration within academic library settings.

This article explores four elements integral to effective leadership in libraries: investing in relationships, communicating effectively, encouraging self-determination, and learning from our collaborators. Based on the author's experience leading in libraries, and integrating scholarship from fields such as organizational studies, the article asserts that librarians in leading positions can positively impact their organizational cultures. By understanding that the construction of social reality is a collaborative process, librarians work to nurture inclusivity and self-determination among colleagues and coworkers. The article posits that relationships are the defining characteristic of our leadership and calls for librarians to develop this aspect of their professional work.

This paper presents the findings of a seven-year longitudinal survey conducted from 2016 to 2022, examining e-book acceptance among first-year undergraduate students in the information management program. Targeting students who were new to their educational journey and had minimal exposure to academic contexts, the study used convenience sampling to gather data from 301 participants. Employing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we assessed four dimensions of e-book acceptance: Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Attitude Towards Using, and Behavioral Intention to Use E-books. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) validated these dimensions, indicating a robust model applicable to a broader undergraduate student population. The results highlighted strong interrelations among these factors, with significant implications for academic librarians. Notably, from their initial exposure, students associated e-books primarily with a source of new information, rather than as a time-saving tool. Although e-books were perceived as easy to use, this aspect did not strongly influence students' attitudes and intentions to use them as much as their perceived usefulness did. The study reveals that students, particularly in social sciences, have long viewed e-books as a vital technology for exploratory knowledge acquisition. While they perceive e-books as easy to use, this perception likely stems from their habitual use for managing learning activities, rather than from recognizing any added value of the technology itself.

This study investigated the status and challenges of developing institutional repositories in Nigerian university libraries and the influence on their rankings. It adopted a survey research design carried out in South-East Nigeria. Twenty three universities comprising of 10 publicly funded universities and 13 funded by private and faith-based organizations. Instrument for data collections were structured questionnaire, interview, and analysis of relevant websites. Findings showed among others that the universities were at different levels of implementation of IR; only 26 % of the universities have fully implemented IR. Majority of the libraries lack ICT infrastructure and skilled staff for adoption of institutional repositories; and D-Space is most popular software used. The study also revealed that universities with functional repositories have better ranking nationally and globally.

Systematic reviews are a growing area of faculty and graduate student research. Academic libraries can anticipate more questions from their research communities regarding this advanced research methodology. This article details a framework for developing interdisciplinary programmatic instruction for systematic reviews. Scaffolded workshop series are identified as an effective method for providing this type of research assistance. The use of bibliometric data is identified as an assessment practice librarians can implement to inform programmatic direction and growth. Included within this framework are discussions on building a community of practice to ensure program development is both comprehensive and sustainable. The proposed framework will guide librarians as they develop an instruction program to assist researchers with systematic reviews across disciplines.

This article explores the impact of librarian-led OER initiatives on faculty development and textbook affordability at Nevada State University. It reveals how such programs reshape instructor perceptions of librarians' roles, showcasing their value in course development through improved pedagogy and student access to course materials. These efforts have positioned the Library as a pivotal entity in institutional discussions around course material affordability.

This project examines field station libraries, an undescribed type of library associated with terrestrial and marine field stations. Field stations typically support ecology, geology, and related disciplines with housing, laboratories, and research facilities, which may include various levels of library support. In summer 2022, researchers, instructors, and staff at the University of Michigan Biological Station were interviewed about the library resources and services they use while working and teaching at the field station. Library resources were used throughout teaching and research activities, with one-shot instruction and in-person reference support as the primary contact points between the library and the field station community. The field station library was further defined by the community's need for GIS assistance, map librarianship, research data management, and prior on-site research stored in the institutional repository. Course-based research and place-based research significantly shaped the community's information needs when working at the field station. When characterizing the information and library service needs of the field station community, these services should be placed at the core. While this directly applies to terrestrial field stations, the findings may be applicable to ecology and geology librarianship more generally.

Information literacy has become an essential element of the student learning process due to the current information overload that university students face. The world is in the information age where the options for access to information is changing daily. University students need to be information literate to be able to use information responsibly and ethically. This article describes the third cycle of an action research study that sought to investigate the merit of integrating information literacy that is aligned to an acceptable framework into the curriculum of an institution of higher learning by assessing students' perceptions before and after an information literacy intervention. First-year undergraduate students at University of Guyana responded to an online questionnaire and participated in online interviews to share perceptions of their information literacy competencies during the second semester of academic year 2021/2022. SPSS was used to analyze the quantitative data and the qualitative data was coded to identify common themes. The results of the study revealed information literacy courses positively impacted students' perceptions of their information literacy self-efficacy, skills, and attitudes.

This article reveals the workplace learning tendencies of librarians working in state universities in Turkey in terms of gender variable. Workplace learning tendencies of librarians were categorized under three headings: interests and needs for learning, learning styles and obstacles encountered in learning processes. The research was conducted by comparison type relational survey model. In the data collection stage, a 5-point scale questionnaire consisting of 30 statements with proven validity and reliability was used. Through SPSS 22.0 program, central tendency and dispersion measures were applied in the analysis of the data process. The research population consisted of 525 librarians working in state universities in Turkey. From this population, 245 librarians were reached through simple random sampling method. The findings of the study show that compared to male librarians, female librarians think that librarianship requires continuous learning. Furthermore, while female librarians are willing to receive in-service training on professional and technological innovations, male employees tend to maintain these processes in self-directed and heutagogical approaches, and they prefer to receive in-service training in the fields of personal development and actuality. Finally, female employees state that they allocate less time for learning processes in the workplace than male employees due to the workload and obstacles they face in the workplace. The fact that the number of female librarians is higher than that of male librarians did not create any change in the context of gender. Researchers suggest applying workplace learning tendencies questionnaire to different occupational groups for future studies. This study is multidisciplinary research that deals with librarians' workplace learning in the framework of gender differences. It is anticipated that this research will contribute to the literature, since there are few studies in which the librarianship profession is handled by different disciplines.

Job control encompasses a range of dimensions that reflect the extent to which employees have the freedom and discretion to make decisions about their work. Job control includes control over tasks, scheduling, work pacing, physical environment, decision-making, interaction, and mobility. A web survey was administered to academic librarians with instruction responsibilities. The survey included a previously developed scale for measuring job control and several key demographic and job characteristic questions that were hypothesized to impact job control. 307 academic instruction librarians completed the job control scale. Analyzing each item in the job control scale, teaching workload, status, income, years at institution and in libraries, teacher training, union representation, and tenure status have statistically significant effects on responses to at least one question in the scale. Through analysis of the average response among academic instruction librarians in the sample, control over decision-making, including allocation of resources and salaries, and interactions appear to be two places where managers and library leaders may focus improvements. Control over the amount of money academic instruction librarians earn and over how their work is evaluated were the lowest across the 22 items in the job control scale. As library leaders and managers consider the practical implications of job control research on their work, earnings, evaluation processes, and interactions or interruptions may be key areas to enact changes or provide further transparency and shared decision-making.