Copyright (c) 2009 University of Nebraska - Lincoln All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac Recent documents in Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) en-us Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:25:34 PST 3600 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/311 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/311 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:45:18 PST Studies show that strong leaders are needed for the future's strong libraries and other organizations. Employees working at all levels of the organization, not just the titled leaders, will be making decisions that affect the library's mission and future. Employees working at all levels of an organization, therefore, will need to develop the leadership skills to make these decisions. Even without formal leadership training opportunities, a person can begin their personal leadership training. The purpose of this article is to provide historical background on leadership, identify skills and characteristics of leaders, and to provide practical tips for gaining leadership skills regardless of job title or position. Rebecca McElrath http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/310 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/310 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:24:42 PST Information technology (IT) plays an essential role in academic libraries. The presence of quality IT resources affects the status of the library. The present study describes the availability of IT infrastructure and online resources in dental college libraries of Haryana State, India, and highlights the causes, problems, and solutions in application IT. Chetan Sharma http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/309 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/309 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:44:15 PST This paper analyzes the available evidence to develop a model of the archetypal academic librarian. It compares three periods to do so: (1) pre-Alexandrian Mesopotamian information institutions, focusing on the seventh century BCE Library of Assurbanipal (considered by many scholars to be the first universal or national library), (2) the Great Library of Alexandria (hereafter referred to as "the Library"), and (3) the twenty-first century American academic library. While the basic functions of the librarian have remained constant over thousands of years, one critical element, however, is missing as an integral element of modern academic librarianship, the creation of new theoretical knowledge through scholarship on the part of the librarians. Stephen E. Bales http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/308 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/308 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:54:09 PST Libraries use classification systems to arrange library materials in a logical order and provide users better access. Formal structured classification systems have been developed for this purpose. Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Charles Ammi Cutter's Expansive Classification (EC), The Subject Classification (SC) of James Duff Brown, Library of Congress Classification (LCC), Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), Henry E. Bliss's Bibliographic Classification (BC), and S. R. Ranganathan's Colon Classification (CC) are internationally known standard library classification systems. All these systems lack proper placement and coverage of materials being published on topics relevant to Islam. Islam is an area of extensive publication activity. Therefore, libraries with rich collections on Islam face the problem of classification. In response of this problem, different libraries have adopted different types of practices and systems. This trend has created problems of access and retrieval for the users of these collections. This study was conducted to address this problem. Scholars in library and information science and scholars in Islamic studies were selected as participants. Their opinions on potential solutions of the problem along with ways to coordination among stakeholders have been analysed. Haroon Idrees http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/307 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/307 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:54:07 PST The art of writing for publication is an intimidating concept for many beginning, tenure-track professors. This article is written to outline the essential writing tools for building a successful scholarly foundation in higher education. Writing ideas, such as identifying a topic and getting started, understanding the traits of high-quality writing, collaborating with colleagues, reviewing the literature and journals, and revising and resubmitting, are discussed. Just as knowledgeable contractors understand how tools work and can use the appropriate ones for various building tasks; scholarly writers must understand the required tools for high-quality intellectual writing and use those tools on a daily basis to add important, scholarly written material to their professional fields of study. Kelli R. Paquette http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/306 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/306 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:49:19 PST A growing awareness of the importance of biodiversity has brought international attention to seed collecting, saving, and information sharing. Scientists are continually learning more about seeds at the most basic biological level, and this new knowledge is raising questions about the taxonomic systems scientists have used since the 1700s. Contemporary seed metadata is a complex and diverse area for study.This begins by looking at the taxonomic systems employed by botanists and discussing current trends and issues in that area of seed metadata. The most prominent seed metadata standards are examined. Third, the emerging field of bioinformatics is addressed, and the impact of biodiversity impact on seed metadata is explored by looking at the major seed collecting and saving organizations and projects. Erin Wilson http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/305 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/305 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:41:16 PST Librarians spend most of their time engaging in some form of communication. This paper article highlights practical approaches, suggestions, and explanations of effective communication in academic libraries. It suggests ways of improving the academic library services through appropriate communication techniques. J. A. Bolarinwa http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/304 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/304 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:53:28 PST This study examined the management of change in cataloguing practices in Covenant University and University of Lagos , Nigeria. Thirty-five respondents who were current cataloguers and those who had worked as cataloguers were purposively sampled for the study. A descriptive survey method using a self-constructed questionnaire was used. Results showed that there have been major changes in cataloguing practices among cataloguers in these institutions over the years (online cataloguing, cataloguing of internet & electronic files, copy-cataloguing, different metadata structures, introduction of OPAC etc). Other major findings revealed by the study include: the involvement of non-professionals in cataloguing practices, there is little or no form of resource-sharing among cataloguers in the two libraries. The study concluded that cataloguing practices have witnessed radical transformations over the years as a result of the introduction of ICT. It recommended funding the libraries through corporate social responsibility initiatives as a departure from total dependence on government funding. Also, libraries should ensure that their bibliographical records are visible on the web. This forms the basis for the crystallization of true virtual library. Felicia Yusuf http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/303 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/303 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:03:12 PST This paper investigated the relationship among preservation knowledge, perception and attitude of library personnel towards preservation of information resources in Nigerian federal university libraries. Simple random sampling technique was used to select twenty university libraries from the twenty four federal university libraries in Nigeria. All the 660 library personnel in the selected libraries constituted the study sample. Data was collected by a questionnaire administered on the 660 personnel out of which 510 copies were returned. The response rate was 77.3%. The study found that knowledge and perception of library personnel about preservation of information resources correlate significantly with their attitude towards preservation. The study also established that a significant relationship exists between age of library personnel and their perception of preservation. The study concludes that knowledge and perception of preservation of information resources jointly influence attitude towards preservation of information resources. It is therefore recommended that the library management should improve the attitude of the personnel through training and development. Samson Oyeniyi Akande http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/302 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/302 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:58:18 PST Information provision for sustainable development in Africa 's rural communities is of great importance to government and their ministries. Rural communities are used to oral communication, which includes storytelling, meetings, messages through town criers, and others. Western methods of information provision, including libraries, museums, and so on, are alien to rural communities who are mainly illiterate. The Bayelsa State Gover Abraham Tabor Etebu