Libri - International Journal of Libraries and
Information Services
VOLUME 56, NUMBER 3, SEPTEMBER
2006
now online for
subscribers
at http://www.librijournal.org/2006-3toc.html
On Open Access in 12
months
Table of
Contents (Full abstracts
below)
Combining Quantitative Methods and Grounded Theory for
Researching E-Reverse Auctions
ANDREA LÖSCH (Winner of
LIBRI Best Student Paper Award 2006)
The Effect
of Open Access on Citation Impact: A Comparison Study Based on Web Citation
Analysis
YANJUN ZHANG
The Google Effect:
Googling, Blogging, Wikis and the Flattening of Expertise
TARA BRABAZON
Librarians and Technology
in Academic and Research Libraries in Kuwait: Perceptions and
Effects
CHARLENE L. AL-QALLAF
Management of Knowledge,
Information and Organizational Learning in University
Libraries
LUIS AHUMADA FIGUEROA AND ATILIO BUSTOS
GONZÁLEZ
Examining the Coverage of a
National Deposit Library: A Case Study in the Netherlands
HENK VOORBIJ AND ADRIAAN LEMMEN
ABSTRACTS:
Winner of LIBRI
Best Student Paper Award 2006
Combining Quantitative
Methods and Grounded Theory for Researching E-Reverse
Auctions
ANDREA LÖSCH
Abstract.
Even though many authors claim that e-reverse auctions (e-RAs) are detrimental
to the effective building and management of buyer-supplier relationships
(Emiliani and Stec 2004), not much is known about how specific characteristics
of e-RAs may contribute to such negative effects on buyer-seller relations (Jap
2003). This study sets out not only to provide a first investigation of context,
participants' information behaviour, and buyer-supplier relationships in e-RAs,
but also to illustrate new methods for theory building in the e-RA and
information systems domain. Following a grounded-theory approach, a
comprehensive online questionnaire was developed (Lösch and Lambert 2006) based
on the critical review of the literature and the results of a preceding
exploratory study (Lösch 2005). Usable responses were received from 89 buyers
and 54 suppliers, including both users and non-users of e-RAs. The data were
analyzed using a novel approach to quantitative analysis based on suggestions by
Glaser (1994). The re sults indicate that e-RAs have fewer negative effects on
buyer-supplier relationships than currently assumed. They also show how context
and the participants' information behaviour correlate with buyer-supplier
relationships, thus providing first suggestions for a better management of
e-RAs. The paper also thus provides a first illustration of how quantitative
methodology might be use fully applied to information systems research, an area
which is dominated by the use of qualitative methodology.
The Effect of Open
Access on Citation Impact: A Comparison Study Based on Web Citation
Analysis
YANJUN ZHANG
Abstract.
The academic impact advantage of Open Access (OA) is a prominent topic of debate
in the library and publishing communities. Web citations have been proposed as
comparable to, even replacements for, bibliographic citations in assessing the
academic impact of journals. In our study, we compare Web citations to articles
in an OA journal, the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC), and a
traditional access journal, New Media & Society (NMS), in the communication
discipline. Web citation counts for JCMC are significantly higher than those for
NMS. Furthermore, JCMC receives significantly higher Web citations from the
formal scholarly publications posted on the Web than NMS does. The types of Web
citations for journal articles were also examined. In the Web context, the
impact of a journal can be assessed using more than one type of source:
citations from scholarly articles, teaching materials and non-authoritative
documents. The OA journal has higher percentages of citations from the third
type, which suggests that, in addition to the research community, the impact
advantage of open access is also detectable among ordinary users participating
in Web-based academic communication. Moreover, our study also proves that the OA
journal has impact advantage in developing countries. Compared with NMS, JCMC
has more Web citations from developing countries.
The Google Effect:
Googling, Blogging, Wikis and the Flattening of Expertise
TARA BRABAZON
Abstract. This article presents the
consequences to librarians and teachers for the flattening of expertise, or the
Google Effect. As blogs continue to fill the Web with the bizarre daily rituals
and opinions of people who we would never bother speaking to at a party, let
alone invite into our homes, there has never been a greater need to stress the
importance of intelligence, education, credentials and credibility. The problem
is not only accuracy, but also the mediocrity initiated through the Google
Effect. The concern is not with the banality of information - there has always
been a plurality of sources in the analogue environment. The concern is the lack
of literacy skills and strategies to sort the trash from the relevant. This
paper addresses not only the social choices about computer use and information
literacy, but the intellectual choices we make in our professional lives as
teachers and librarians. In such a time, the Google Effect raises stark
questions about the value of reading, research, writing and
scholarship.
Librarians and Technology in Academic and Research
Libraries in Kuwait: Perceptions and Effects
CHARLENE L.
AL-QALLAF
Abstract. This study investigates the effect
technology has on librarians working in academic and research institutions in
Kuwait. The study addresses six job-related dimensions: (1) affective/
philosophical reactions, (2) personnel changes, (3) performance, workload, and
rewards, (4) training and learning activities, (5) management issues and (6)
sources of stress. A questionnaire distributed to 147 individuals yielded a 66
percent (n=97) response. Most of the participants are employed in public
institutions, female and work in the information services area. The findings
show that the respondents are optimistic about technology, believe that it
improves their job performance and are up to the challenges that technology
brings. However, they feel there is a lack of positive feedback from management
acknowledging their effort and performance. Lack of technically oriented
professional staff and technological breakdowns are the most frequently checked
stressors. Insufficient formal training programs create the highest level of
stress. Several recommendations are made for improving the workplace in a
techno-environment. Suggestions for future research are also given.
Management of
Knowledge, Information and Organizational Learning in University
Libraries
LUIS AHUMADA FIGUEROA AND ATILIO BUSTOS
GONZÁLEZ
Abstract. The dynamic advancement of
technological development and the importance of information and knowledge in
modern day society have determined that the principal competitive advantage of
an organization is the capacity to manage these resources adequately. The
abilities and knowledge that workers are capable of developing are transformed
into a resource that modern organizations value in a growing way. Educational
organizations, especially universities, must take advantage of their competitive
resources. That is to say, they must know how to make intensive use of their
knowledge in order to improve: the process of formation and learning of their
students, the generation of new knowledge produced by research and the
transference of said knowledge by means of publication and technical assistance.
The processes of management of knowledge, organizational learning and
information are intimately linked. Therefore, significant improvements can only
be obtained in organizations if synergies are generated between each one of
these processes. In order to study these three processes, the Universities'
Library Systems of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso were
selected as a unit of analysis, and considered as places of knowledge gathering,
documentation centres and active agents in the development of abilities in the
use and transference of information necessary to generate new learning and
knowledge. The principal objective of this investigation was to characterize the
management of information, knowledge and organizational learning in a
university's library system, analysing its relationship and the way that these
processes differ depending on variables such as department membership, the
characteristics of users that rely on them, etc. The efficient management of
organizational learning implies not only the use of previous knowledge but also
the creation of new knowledge within the framework of what are termed
communities of learning.
Examining the
Coverage of a National Deposit Library: A Case Study in the
Netherlands
HENK VOORBIJ AND ADRIAAN
LEMMEN
Abstract. Generally, the purpose of
deposit libraries is to gather all publications as part of the national cultural
heritage and preserve them for future generations. A study was undertaken to
determine the coverage of the deposit collection of the National Library of the
Netherlands. Coverage amounted to circa 95% for books with an ISBN and circa 70%
for books with out an ISBN. In both cases, the method of list checking was
applied. However, definitive statements cannot be made for three reasons:
uncertainties about the appropriateness of the checklists, difficulties in
assessing the relevance of missing titles and the possibility that coverage
increases over time due to late arrival of publications. Failure analysis showed
that lacunae were caused by occasional failures from publishers rather than a
structural lack of cooperation. Increasing coverage therefore would require
listchecking at a large scale on a yearly basis. Procedures are described to
reduce the workload on undertaking such a regular review. At present, no
comparable studies were identified in the published literature. The authors hope
that this paper will stimulate other countries to examine coverage of the
collection of their Deposit Libraries and to publish the results of any studies
that have been done. The methodology followed in this study may be helpful to
other countries wishing to perform similar studies.