3rd International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Carol Tenopir Chancellor's Professor School of Information Sciences, Director of Research and Director of the Center for Information and Communication Studies, College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, USA
Talk title: Beyond Usage: Measuring Library Outcomes and Value Short Biography Carol Tenopir is a professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Director of Research for the College of Communication and Information, and Director of the Center for Information and Communication Studies. Her areas of teaching and research include: information access and retrieval, electronic publishing, the information industry, online resources, and the impact of technology on reference librarians and scientists. She is the author of five books, including, Communication Patterns of Engineers, (IEEE/Wiley InterScience, 2004) with Donald W. King. Dr. Tenopir has published over 200 journal articles, is a frequent speaker at professional conferences, and since 1983 has written the «Online Databases» column for Library Journal. She is the recipient of the 1993 Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award from the American Society for Information Science/Institute for Scientific Information and the 2000 ALISE Award for Teaching Excellence. She also received the 2002 American Society for Information Science & Technology, Research Award and the 2004 International Information Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Tenopir holds a PhD degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.
Talk title:The story of Veria Library, creativity and innovation: providing adding value services to the citizen Short Biography Ioannis Trohopoulos, BA in Law, (University of Thessaloniki, 1982), MA in Public Law (University of Thessaloniki, 1985) and MLib in Library and Information Studies (University of Wales, Great Britain, 1990). He has been the director of Veria Central Public Library since 1990. From 1991 to 1996 he was also a lecturer (part-time) on Library Automation and Management at the Library school of the Technical University of Thessaloniki. In 1996, he received a scholarship from the United States Information Agency and worked for four months in the Clermont County Public Library in Ohio, U.S.A. From 1994 to 2004 he has been the national coordinator for six EU projects, namely the MOBILE (under the Libraries program), the PLDP (under the Phare program), Publica (under Libraries program) the ISTAR project (EU funded under Directorate-General XVI), the PULMAN Project (under the FP5 program) and the CALIMERA Project (under the FP6 program). From 2004 to 2007 he coordinated the Light Project, which was funded under Interreg III C East. From 2007 to 2009 he managed the European projects ENTITLE and UNTOLD, both funded under Grudvtiq programs. Currently he is the national coordinator of the EDLocal and AccessIT EU projects, both related with the development of digital libraries. In June 2010, he has been apointed as vice president of the National committee for Libraries, Archives and Educational Television at the ministry of Education. In August 2010 during the IFLA conference in Gothenburg, Sweden he received on behalf of Veria Central Public Library the award Access to Knowledge 2010 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Professor Kereti G. Rautangata
Talk title:Knowledge Discovery and Knowledge Creation. A Cultural and Universal Perspective Short Biography Professor Kereti G. Rautangata is of Maori heritage from Waikato in the north island of New Zealand. He has worked for Te Wananga o Aotearoa (TWOA), (Maori Tertiary Teaching Institute) for approximately 15 years as Lecturer and Head of Department for Whakairo (Maori wood carving), where he was instrumental, along with Tohunga (expert) Master wood carving magnate, Dr Paakaariki Harrison, in developing the first ever Bachelors degree for Whakairo. This milestone achievement was acknowledged with the first 18 foundational graduates being honoured in the inaugural graduation, 2004. In August 2000, Kereti was accorded Pouwhenua status (Supreme Carver. The highest level of priesthood) by the most senior fraternity of Master Carvers of New Zealand. He was also honoured by Te Wananga o Aotearoa as Adjunct Professor in April 2003. Then in August 2005 he was awarded the NZQA Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award for Excellence in Innovation for his many diverse life-time achievements. He is accomplished in Maori performing arts and Maori cultural ambassadorialships to various countries and events. Kereti has spent the past three years as a Whakairo researcher for TWOA, to investigate the most effective way to develop Higher Consciousness within humanity, via the profound art of Whakairo, and to assist sincere aspirants amongst our people to attain to EXPERIENTIAL TRANSCENDENTAL KNOWLEDGE. Currently, he oversees the national delivery for the Whakairo (wood carving) programme in TWOA. His primary passion is Whakairo. His other passion, equal to that, is as an Architectural Designer, in which he is qualified. He is also Director of his own Spiritual Warrior School, He Tua Toatanga, which he developed several years ago. As well, he is an accomplished composer of waiata (Maori songs). Some of his Publications include: Maori Architecture. A Carver′s Point of View, Auckland 1977; Te Papa Hono Tutaki, Poupou, 2004; Waharoa, 2004; Te Moko Tukupu Wananga a Rua i Te Wheke Rangi, 2003; Report on International Master Carver’s Wood Art Festival, Putten, The Netherlands, November 2003; Report on International Master Carvers Wood Symposium′, Lichtenstein, Germany, November 2003. He has presented nationally and internationally at conferences in Hungary, Canada, The Netherlands, USA, Micronesia, Sth Africa, and many more.
Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D Associate Professor, Library & Information Science, University of Southern Mississippi, USA
Talk title:Information Literacy in the Digital Age: An Evidence-Based Approach Short Biography Dr. Welsh is a native Mississippian who graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern Mississippi with a B.A. degree in anthropology and minors in social studies and classical studies. While at Southern Miss, she was a member of the Honors College as well as Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Theta Kappa, Lambda Alpha, Gamma Beta Phi, and Golden Key Honor Societies. She earned an M.L.I.S. and later a Ph.D. in communication and information from the University of Tennessee with a specialty in information sciences. She was a member of Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society and awarded the Hilton A. Smith Graduate Fellowship from UTK as well as Best Technical Project Award and Best Doctoral Paper Award from the School of Information Sciences. She has taught at Southern Miss since summer 2003 and has received the 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Education and Psychology, was one of 12 faculty chosen for the 2007-08 Learning Enhancement Center Podcasting Pilot Project, served as an assistant director for the Katrina Research Center, and served on the University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences Advisory Board. In addition to being published in scholarly journals and conference proceedings, she has authored several book chapters and is currently co-authoring a book on information literacy. Teaching and research interests include historical research, bibliometric research, information literacy, information retrieval, international librarianship, museum studies and archival studies.
Special Sessions - Workshops
You may send proposals for Special Sessions (4-6 papers) or Workshops (more than 2 sessions) including the title and a brief description to the Conference Committee at: secretariat@isast.org or from the electronic submission at the web page: http://www.isast.org/abstractpaperregister.html
Contributions may be realized through one of the following ways a. structured abstracts (not exceeding 500 words) and presentation; b. full papers (not exceeding 7,000 words); and c. posters (not exceeding 2,500 words). In all the above cases at least one of the authors ought to be registered in the conference. Abstracts and full papers should be submitted electronically within the timetable provided in the web page: http://www.isast.org/importantdates.html The abstracts and full papers should be in compliance to the author guidelines http://www.isast.org/abstractpaperregister.html
Empatic Workshop
Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning
SESSION TITLE: Information Literacy Policies: methodological aspects Coordinator: Prof. Carla Basili, The National Research Council, Italy, The European network on Information Literacy (EnIL), co-ordinator Scope & rationale: Aim of the session is to point out the strategic role of methodological approaches in Information Literacy Policy Analysis. Policy formulation and implementation is a complex process, deeply rooted in awareness of problems and prediction of impacts. The latter element constitutes the most fragile side of the process, since even the best model of prediction cannot cope against unexpected events. A vast amount of «policy theory» literature has been produced, which proposes different models for predicting realistic system behaviours, without ever reaching a common consensus. Alternatively, a major trend towards effective policy formulation is a pragmatic approach based on evidence: policies are adopted on the basis of what works rather than ideology or intuition. Despite its more pragmatic positioning with respect to policy theories, the evidence–based approach privileges data and data structures, which are analysed through a systematic process of enquiry. The methodological dimension is evidently crucial in this approach, as a way to perform policy analysis by applying scientific criteria.
Chair: Carla Basili, National Research Council, Rome, Italy Models of Information Literacy Policies in Higher Education Rapporteurs: Sabina Cisek, Maria Próchnicka, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland Selected methodological issues in creating the Information Literacy development strategies Rapporteur: Armando Malheiro da Silva, Faculty of Humanities, University of Porto, Portugal Information Literacy in the European Higher Education Area: epistemological and theoretical aspects
Panel on Strategic and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Information Literacy Skills Panelists: Angela Repanovici, Transilvania University Brasov, Romania Ane Landoy, Bergen University Library, Norway Manolis Koukourakis, Crete University Library, Greece
IL Workshop
Information Literacy (IL) in the curriculum Workshop IL Workshop contents will be based on UNESCO Training The Trainers in Information Literacy (TTT) workshops (http://albertkb.nl/unesco-ttt.html) and at the end of the day the participants are able to start formulating an IL policy for their organizations. Workshop instructor: Albert K. Boekhorst (www.albertkb.nl) Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands, Media Studies University of Pretoria, South Africa, Dept. Information Science IL Workshop is organized in cooperation between QQML International Conference and the IFLA-Information Literacy Section (http://www.ifla.org/information-literacy). Workshop “Information Literacy (IL) in the curriculum” contents: 1. Introduction participants 2. IL, why, what, how, when 3. Developing an IL policy: Why (what problems do participants encounter), Description present situation, Description desired situation, Transition project (Vision, Mission, Partners, etc) 4. Feedback 5. Conclusion The participants will several times, in small groups, prepare a part of the IL Policy document and report to the whole group. The actual content will be attuned according to the wishes/needs of the participants. Important information: IL Workshop language is English. IL Workshop is free of charge. A Certificate of attendance will be presented to all registered attendants. Participation is strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
For participation, please fill in the form and send it to: oikoang@yahoo.gr
An Institutional Response to the Evolvement of Open Access,Natalia Timiraos (BioMed Central) In the last year we have seen several positive global developments which have established open access as an important trend in the evolvement of scholarly communication. These can be seen at both governmental and funding level with several major funding agencies, RCUK (UK), OTKA (Hungary), NIH (USA), Swedish Research Council (Sweden), Wellcome (UK), having introduced mandatory policies requiring funded research to be deposited in an open access archive and encouraging publication of research results in open access journals. The traditional business model for scientific publishers relies on restricting access to published research, in order to recoup the costs of the publication process. This restriction of access to published research prevents full use being made of digital technologies, and is contrary to the interests of authors, funders and the academic community as a whole. The traditional subscription–based model is also becoming increasingly unsustainable, as growing amounts of research is being published whilst library budgets remain static. Open access journals, in which the costs associated with publication are generally covered by publication fees instead of subscription revenue, have grown rapidly in recent years. This increase is also evident in the institutional repository environment, whereby organizations are acknowledging the importance of institutional support for open access by implementing institutional repositories. The continuing growth of open access publishing depends heavily on how institutions manage their scholarly communication. Given this reality, it has become clear how important the role of the institution is in adjusting themselves and responding in a timely manner to the introduction of these policies. I will continue with the analysis of some of those institutional responses as a consequence of these changes, in terms of policy procedures and ways to support open access, by presenting some case studies written by institutions for both the green route and gold route to open access that aim to illustrate the innovations and efforts carried out by them in this regard. This will include demonstrations of institutions’ existing repositories. BioMed Central is an open access STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All research articles published by BioMed Central are archived without delay in PubMed Central and several other international archives. BioMed Central also allows authors to immediately deposit the official, final version of their published article in any suitable digital repository.
Sessions
SESSION TITLE: Using qualitative and quantitative methods in digital library education and research Coordinators: Sirje Virkus, Lecturer, sirvir@tlu.ee & Aira Lepik, Associate professor, aira.lepik@tlu.ee, Tallinn University, Institute of Information Studies, Estonia Scope & rationale: This session aims to encourage the discussions and provide examples of usage of qualitative and quantitative methods in digital library research. This session comprises eight papers, each of them will be presented by individual authors. Eight students explore in theirpapers social, economic, educational and organizational aspects of digital libraries and related issues in the different regions of the world - Africa, Asia, Latin-America, and Europe - using a quantitative and qualitative inquiry. The students’ papers of this session are based on research done within their Master Thesis projects in the Digital Library Learning (DILL) programme at Tallinn University. DILL is a two-year Master Programme for information professionals who intend to work in the complex world of digital libraries. DILL is offered in cooperation between Oslo University College (Norway), Tallinn University (Estonia), and Parma University (Italy).
Students of the Digital Library Learning (DILL) Master programme:
Marcial R. Batiancila, student, mbatiancila@gmail.com, The Digital Library Professionals’ Learning Culture: A Qualitative Study of the Community of Practice in Europe Lin Bian, student, gracelinbian@yahoo.com, How Knowledge Management and Knowledge Sharing Facilitate Innovation? Danijel Cuturic, student, d.cuturic@gmail.com, European Navigator: Users’ Expectations for the European Library Nithin Lakshmana, student, nithinlaxman@gmail.com, Access to Knowledge in India Ezerea Kulisooma, student, kezerea@yahoo.com, Cost Factors/Financial Implications of KM in Business Organisations Andrew Wabwezi, student, wabwezia29@yahoo.co.uk, The Correlation between Knowledge Sharing and Innovation in Higher Education: A Case Study of Tallinn University Juan Daniel Machin Mastromatteo, student, judamasmas@gmail.com, Exploring Users’ Information Behavior in Social Networks Mehrnoosh Vahdat, student, mehrvah@gmail.com, A Study of Image Quality, Authenticity, and Metadata Characteristics of Photogrammetric Three-Dimensional Data in Cultural Heritage Domain.
SESSION TITLE: Advocacy, networking and influencing: methodologies for building the evidence base in library and information services (LIS) Convenor: Dr. Judith Broady-Preston, Director of Research, Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK Scope & rationale: Issues relating to assessing the impact of LIS, demonstrating the worth and value of LIS, especially in relation to advocacy activity by and for LIS, are of contemporary interest in relation to the global information profession. This section seeks papers which explore, identify and evaluate research methodologies and methods to build the evidence base and equip the profession to:
–network effectively, –influence the political agenda, –advocate effectively either as individual professionals or on behalf of specific services
A broad interpretation of the theme is encouraged and any enquiries as to relevance or suitability should be addressed to the Section convenor - jbp@aber.ac.uk The theme of this section builds on issues explored in a one day session at the IFLA 2010 Conference in Gothenburg, and to be explored again at IFLA 2011.
SESSION TITLE: Library management and marketing Coordinator: Dr. Angela Repanovici, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Scope & rationale: Leadership in managing services for diverse and complex groups of patrons In this session we are looking to learn from best practices from libraries that have demanding, diverse and complex groups of patrons. How will academic libraries balance between demands from scholars from different traditions; the bookish humanities and the more journal-oriented Social Sciences? Is there anything to learn about catering for the different emphasis placed on bibliometrics as a tool for funding agencies? On what basis will the academic libraries that are in this kind of situation act and make decisions? Performance indicators Libraries, as well as other organizations, are under close scrutiny from patrons and funding agencies. The library manager needs some tools for assessing the performance of the library, both as itself and benchmarked with others. In this session we are looking for papers on best practice on performance indicators. What are good and useful indicators for performance for different kinds of libraries? How can library leaders and managers utilize the information derived from such indicators to improve the library services? Can performance indicators be used to market the library to stake holders? Evaluation Library leaders have to find some ways of gaining systematic information about the activities in their libraries. Staff meets users every day, so there is no shortage of impressions, ideas and mental images, if one as a leader can find a way to utilize this. Often, though, this information will be ad hoc and qualitative rather than systematic and quantitative, and as such less useful for improvement and bench marking in a library. What are efficient ways of evaluation for libraries? What examples of best practice can we find of different evaluation methods for different purposes? User education The traditional approach to library patron education is being challenged by several factors. One is the enormous amount of information that is available from libraries; so much, that it is not possible for anyone, not even the librarians themselves, to keep abreast of the development. Another challenge is the growing concern from stake holders and funding bodies that the population should become more computer literate and information literate, and seeing libraries as useful tools for this purpose. In this session we will look for papers describing best practises within the field of user education.
Librarian education in information literacy. Case study from the Romanian Library Association by Angela Repanovici. Abstract: User education is a priority in the informational society. Information literacy becomes more than a user orientating course, it is a way for students to survive the explosion of information and every day changes of technology. For these reasons the Romanian Library Association organised a 3 days information literacy course for 20 librarians, the representatives of the most important university and public libraries. The course structure was conceived and planned taking in consideration the changes imposed by open access to scientific information and new open sources of information, like institutional repositories. The 20 librarians trained their colleagues, between at least 5 and maximum 10 librarians in each library. A qualitative marketing research was done to see the results of this cascading instruction. In this article the course structure, the organising of the course, the participants, lectors and final results of marketing research will be presented. Keywords: Information literacy, User education, Opens access principle, Institutional repository and marketing research Performance indicators in libraries: Concrete and practical use by Halvor Kongshavn, Ane Lnadoy and Johanne Raade.
SESSION TITLE: Reference services: responding to users? changing needs and information behaviour Coordinator: Dr. Maria G. N. Musoke, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, East Africa Scope & rationale: Reference service is a core library function that has been around for a long time. However, due to various paradigm shifts and rapid advances in information technology, the library users? needs and information behaviour are changing, and the reference librarian has to keep abreast the changes. This session focuses on reference services in all types of libraries to support various target groups. The session will highlight the changing role of the information professional in the provision of reference services to meet the changing needs of library users. Furthermore, the session will explore innovative and new ways resulting from reference services research, case studies, practical outcomes, lessons learned, etc, and how different libraries have effectively and efficiently provided the reference services in a changing information environment. Examples are: - Evidence based reference services; - Dissemination of reference services research; - Redefining the role of the information professional in the provision of reference services in a digital era; - Re-tooling the reference librarian to respond to the changing needs; - Technology advances and library users’ changing behaviour for reference services; - Innovative ways of reference services provision in low resource countries libraries.
SESSION TITLE: Historical and comparative case studies related to librarianship Coordinator: Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Library & Information Science, University of Southern Mississippi, USA Scope & rationale: Historiography is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as «the writing of history». Krzys defined library historiography as «the writing of the history of agencies, people, and movements within or contributing to the development of librarianship; written history of those agencies, people, or movements» (1975, p. 294). This session will focus on historiographies or comparative case studies related to libraries, special collections, or library programs/services. Krzys, Richard (1975) «Library Historiography.» Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science 15: 294-330.
SESSION TITLE: Bibliometric research Coordinator: Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Library & Information Science University of Southern Mississippi, USA Scope & rationale: Bibliometrics literally means «the measurement of books» but it has come to mean the analysis of patterns of information related to usage data or publication data in print or electronic format. This session will focus on research such as citation analysis and content analysis of scholarly literature, Web sites, databases, or colllections.
SESSION TITLE: Managing Change in Academic Libraries in a Strategic Way: The nature of evidence for change management Convenor: Stephen Town Scope & rationale: This set of presentations will focus on how libraries are managing change in a strategic way by highlighting the ARL Scenarios activity, how this activity can inform performance measurement and metrics and how value based propositions can be derived in the form of a value based scorecard for libraries. For example we will examine how a library scorecard would look like for the library in 2030 assuming different scenarios for the future of scholarly communication and information transfer. The concept of the value scorecard has been articulated before in papers by Stephen Town; ARL has recently embarked in articulating four different scenarios for 2030 that have implications for the future of research libraries. This set of presentations will articulate different value metrics for research libraries under the different scenarios and also will highlight what libraries are doing nowadays in terms of assessment activities that could point to their future viability and sustainability. Last, an examination of the ClimateQUAL assessment protocol used to assess organizational climate and diversity is also discussed. The ARL User Guide on Scenario Planning and its value in relation to assessment activities by Martha Kyrillidou Libraries values as emerging in the four scenarios articulated in the ARL User Guide on Scenario Planning and their relation to the Transcendent Value of Libraries by Stephen Town and Martha Kyrillidou Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment: A Value-based Approach Manifested through the ARL ClimateQUAL assessment protocol by Paul Hanges and Martha Kyrillidou
Stephen Town is Director of Information and University Librarian at the University of York, UK Martha Kyrillidou is Senior Director of ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), USA Paul Hanges is Professor at the Industrial Organizational Psychology Department at the University of Maryland, USA
SESSION TITLE:Organizing Libraries for Effective Decision Making: the Role of Library Assessment through Four Case Studies Convenor: Martha Kyrillidou Scope & rationale: This set of four presentations will focus on how libraries are organized for assessment and how they capture and articulate their value proposition. Case studies from Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Manitoba, and the University of York (UK) will inform this panel and provide perspectives on how libraries are managing change in a strategic way using data to support their decision making activities.
Library Assessment at Columbia University by Damon Jaggars and Jennifer Rutner Qualitative assessment at Cornell University by Kornelia Tancheva Library Assessment at the University of Manitoba by Betty Braaksma and Pat Nicholls Performance Measurement and Metrics at the University of York, UK, by Stephen Town Martha Kyrillidou is Senior Director of ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), USA Damon E. Jaggars is Associate University Librarian for Collections and Services at the Columbia University Libraries, USA Jennifer Rutner is the Assessment & Marketing Librarian at Columbia University, USA Kornelia Tancheva is the Director of Olin and Uris Libraries at Cornell University, USA Betty Braaksma is the Coordinator of Information Literacy and Virtual Reference at the University of Manitoba Libraries, USA Pat Nicholls is the Coordinator responsible for the integrated library system installed at the University of Manitoba (SirsiDynix’ Symphony), USA Stephen Town is Director of Information and University Librarian at the University of York, UK
SESSION TITLE: Research tendencies in Ibero-American countries Coordinators: Egbert Sánchez Vanderkast, Researcher, University Librarianship Research Centre, National Autonomous University of Mexico, egbert@servidor.unam.mx and Ana Lucia Terra, Associate Professor, School of Industrial Studies and Management, Oporto Polytechnic Institute, Portugal, anaterra@eu.ipp.pt Scope & rationale: This session will present contributions from IberoAmerican countries. From Mexico the proposal includes two studies. One regards focus group as a method to approach access and information policy and to analyze results from three groups of 12 to 16 students to know what they considered as access to information. The other explains how qualitative methods had been used to approach users’ study in Mexico, with the intent to describe how critical incident, content analysis, focus group and case study had been used and its results.From Brazil the proposal include a study regarding a Documentary Reading Model for indexing of scientific texts and books, applying a cognitive approach with verbal protocol in the indexer’s education. From Portugal, the Quadripolar Method used to create a model of information literacy research and the results of a national survey (elit.pt project) will be analysed. The results of a comparative analysis of the information behaviour of European Document Centres users in Portugal and Spain, regarding issues like means and sources for accessing European information, types of documents and the subjects investigated most, will also be discussed.
Focus group: access and information policy, Egbert J. Sanchez Vanderkast (egbert@servidor.unam.mx) Qualitative methods use to approach users′ study in Mexico, Patricia Hernandez Salazar (phs75599@servidor.unam.mx) Documentary Reading Model for indexing of scientific texts and books: a cognitive approach with verbal protocol in the indexer′s education, Mariangela Spotti Lopes Fujita (fujita@marilia.unesp.br) The socio-cognitive context of the subject cataloger and his professional experience, Mariangela Spotti Lopes Fujita (fujita@marilia.unesp.br), Franciele Marques Redigolo (franbiblio@gmail.com), Noemi Oliveira Martinho (gleanom@yahoo.com), Paula Regina Dal′ Evedove (sud_dove@yahoo.com.br) The Quadripolar Method and information literacy research: the elit.pt project, Armando Malheiro da Silva (malheiro@letras.up.pt) Access and information behaviour of European Documentation Centres users in Portugal and Spain: a comparative study, Yolanda Martín Gonzalez (ymargon@usal.es), Ana Lucia Terra (anaterra@eu.ipp.pt)
SESSION TITLE: Public Libraries and Social Capital Convenor: Rumyana Koycheva Scope & rationale: It is one of the main functions of the public libraries as the most inclusive, accessible, safe and democratic public spaces to create social capital. At the same time the issue is underdeveloped in the library research. How far libraries as local entities contribute through their collections and services to the development and functioning of diverse communities such as ethnic ones, youth, teenagers, women, immigrants, elderly, people with disabilities, unemployed, grassroots and civic organizations, NGO’s, interest/discussion based groups, etc.? What strategies and methods libraries use to map, to reach and to attract their adjacent communities? Can we employ both qualitative and quantitative methods in measurement of libraries’ social capital and its impact on the cities and neighborhoods, and what sets of indicators may be applicable? The session is open to presentations, which try to identify, apply and/or evaluate methods and methodologies in the analysis and measurement of public libraries’ social capital. Please, contact me with abstract proposals at r.koycheva@mail.bg no later than February 14th.
Evaluation of Children-youth departments’ strategies and their social capital: A case study based on the experience of Sofia City Library, Irina Alexandrova. The Role of the Library Manager in the Deprived Communities’ Creation of Social Capital. The model of the Regional Library of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, Kalina Ivanova, Ivan Alexandrov. Assessment of public libraries inclusion strategies in developing social capital. Comparative case study based on the experience of two European public libraries: the Manchester City Library, Great Britain and the Bov Village Library, Bulgaria, Rumyana Koycheva. Nordic public libraries and immigrant communities. Case study: approaches and achievements in the development of social capital in Lansimaki Library, Finland, Margarita Vidinovska.
SESSION TITLE: Adding Rigor to Program Evaluation: A Mixed Methods Approach to Evaluating Library Leadership Development Programs
Scope & rationale: Recently, libraries have been concerned about management succession and a future leadership deficit. Precipitated by research as well as demographic data, much has been written both about the shortage of qualified library leaders and about the need for training and development programs to mitigate a leadership crisis. Libraries and the library profession have responded with a wide variety of leadership training and development programs. Traditionally, most of these programs have not undertaken a rigorous and formal evaluation such that the results or outcomes of the interventions are not always clear. Leadership development programs outside of libraries share the void of formal program evaluation. A more rigorous evaluation methodology is required if we are to determine whether these programs meet their objectives and result in better library leaders. Furthermore, a more robust evaluation framework would permit insights as to why programs work or why they fail to achieve their desired outcomes. With the right evaluation framework, and a clear presentation of the evaluation methodology, program evaluation can provide intelligence not only for the program being evaluated but for a myriad of other existing and potential programs. The session explores the use of a mixed methods research methodology and design to conduct program evaluation. In particular, the application of this approach and the accompanying evaluation for a library leadership development program will be presented. The session will outlines the weaknesses in traditional evaluation methods and contrast and compare these to the benefits of the more robust design. The session will also review the implementation challenges and costs associated with this mixed methods approach. The session will conclude by demonstrating the transferability of this evaluation framework to the evaluation of other library programs.
Name(s) and contact information for all presenters: Mary-Jo Romaniuk, Chief Librarian (Acting), Adjunct Professor – School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta, Canada Mary-Jo.Romaniuk@ualberta.ca Ernest B. Ingles, FRSC, Vice Provost, & Director of the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta, Canada, Ernie.Ingles@ualberta.ca
SESSION TITLE: Performance Measurement and Competitiveness Scope & rationale: This session aims to declare the relationships between performance indicators and performance results. Especially it examines: The criteria of performance indicators (PI) selection for libraries and the kinds of PI. The different methodologies proposed for library assessment, The technological effect, Financial indicators, Organizational performance, The comparison among governmental and non-governmental organizations' performance.
SESSION TITLE: Financial Management for Excellence Scope & rationale: This session seeks about how libraries and information centres are currently budgeting. Some relevant topics are: Survey research, interviewees and annual reports, within a single library and/or samples of libraries and information centres across multiple countries, are the methodological tools, Budgeting processes, in connection with the operational and strategic planning, are primarily the conceptual organizational problem that usually justifies the Excellency, Cost assessment and cost effectiveness are crucial decision making factors that justify the competitiveness of the organization, Fund raising methods, best practices and lessons learned, Risks Assessment and Control measures.
SESSION TITLE: Development and Assessment of Digital Repositories Scope & rationale: Establishing quality control into digital libraries, institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, learning object repositories or cultural heritage repositories meant various complex issues including technical support for quality evaluation, automation of quality assessment for log files or implementation of the their organizational framework. Nowadays, Librarians and Information specialists are challenged to manage and organize these digital libraries, storage, digital knowledge mining, digital reference services, electronic information services, and manage the archive and their access. The session is targeted shedding light on trusted digital repositories and their challenges, such as: Preservation of their records for the next generations. Demonstration on fiscal responsibility and sustainability. Development of new metrics of their usages. Evaluation and best practices.
SESSION TITLE: Technology transfer and Innovation in library management Scope & rationale: The recent technological developments and the economic crisis have their impact to libraries and the interdependent context they act. The session seeks the strategies and lessons learned relevant to libraries management for survival. The transformation of the library involves initiatives and the organization commitment. Consequently, the redesign of responsibilities for the staff is a matter for research. Innovative management Human resources management Competence management Communications in organizations Intercultural management Information technology and knowledge management Library's ethics and social responsibility.
SESSION TITLE: The Change of Libraries and the Managerial techniques Scope & rationale: Libraries are in a phase of continuing changes. The challenge of competitiveness and excellence guide to modern management strategies. In order to survive, libraries start re-thinking and redesigning their administrative services. It is a matter of research, how does organisational culture and structure effect on the choice and implementation of modern managerial processes. It is also researchable if libraries resist or not to the improvement of efficiency and the flexibility of organisational structure, Human resources management, Organizational challenges, Strategic management, Re-engineering change in higher education, Fast-responded library, Learning organization.
SESSION TITLE: Information literacy: Information sharing, Democracy and lifelong learning Scope & rationale: The session seeks the new trends in information literacy, the innovative ideas and the methods of the implementation and the assessment of information literate people. The session focuses on the following topics: Information Literacy and citizenship, Strategic approaches to Information Literacy, New pedagogic challenges for libraries Collaborative work between librarians and academic staff, Independent learning skills, online information skills and lifelong learning, Concepts of learning, teaching and the developments in networked technology, Staff development and Information Literacy, New areas of practice and research, Information literacy projects on special scientific disciplines, Advocacy, marketing and promotion, Benchmarking, Evaluation and assessment.
SESSION TITLE: Library Cooperation: Problems and Challenges at the beginning of the 21st century Scope & rationale: Library?s cooperation should be developed widely. The relations among libraries are dependent on the network environment and technology. However, the cooperation and needs organizational infrastructure and human support. Some common items on library cooperation and sharing are the following: Union catalog and storage equipment, Collection policy and collection development, Joint acquisitions (purchasing, access, inter-library loan and document delivery), Joint digitization?s projects, Local, regional and country heritage, Human resource in local, regional and country level, Organizational culture The management and the economics of the cooperation.
SESSION TITLE: Information and Knowledge Services Scope & rationale: The importance of the Information and Knowledge Services advanced because of the support of technology. The new conditions bring new theories and technologies, new processes, tools and standards, and team work. Especially, the session focuses on: Resource development policy, Resource project description, Research and development of the services, Knowledge discovery and knowledge creation, Knowledge mining, Team building and management.
SESSION TITLE: Human resources and competencies for the 21st century Scope & rationale: The qualities of library director and of the staff are crucial for the success of knowledge innovation. A variety of multilateral skills are requested for the achievement of the competitiveness. On the other hand, staff development is prerequisite in order that they fulfill innovative, flexible goals. Topics: Staff training, Creativity skills, Lessons learned, Ideas exchange, Core competencies, Fast response organisation, Reorganisation restructure, The impact of internal and external factors, Expectations satisfaction services system analysis, Advocacy of profession and professionals.
SESSION TITLE: Technology in the Communication: an interactive tool for development Scope & rationale: The session discusses the change that come in libraries, museums and archives by using technology. One of them is Web 2.0 which brings Library 2.0 and Culture 2.0. There are open topics for discussion, such as the organizational structure, the management of changes, the strategy and the potential users? policy. Topics: New audiences, new target groups, potential users. Social networks and social cohesion. The diversity and the participation to library?s initiatives. The scientific knowledge and sustain cultural participation. New models of interaction and participation for future libraries, archives and museums. Effective models of participation and collaboration to improve services and products. Analytical Communication and Knowledge Management. Means and methods for Knowledge Communication.
SESSION TITLE: E-Learning and the contribution of the libraries, archives and museums Scope & rationale: The session seeks the effect of the e-learning to the operation of libraries, archives and museums. It also seeks how libraries, archives and museums distribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of e-learning projects. Topics: The value of learning and the new educational concept Purposes and Objectives of E-learning Educational, technological, organizational processes New roles of the library and new services Distance learning and the role of the library Knowledge Based Systems and their Applications Knowledge Communication and Learning Evaluation methodologies Effect on Research, Peer review publishing.
SESSION TITLE: Scholarly Information and the new communication technologies Scope & rationale: The session aims to find out the context of scholarly communication, the influence of new technologies and innovative business models to research activities and knowledge dissemination. Topics: Knowledge Reception, Depreciation, Evaluation and Estimation, Conceptual and Organizational Perspectives of Knowledge Communication, Library services and operations relevant to the scholarly communication process, Creation, organization and structure of scholarly resources, Preservation, archives, retrieval, availability, Scholarly communications campaigns, Benefits of researchers, faculties, students, Library's lessons learned, The needs of scholars, students, the academy, and society, New Publishing Models, Processes and Systems, Open Access and Open Source.
