[Sigiii-l] FW: Contents of LIBRI December 2008

[i.m.johnson at rgu.ac.uk]

Contents of LIBRI: international journal of libraries and information services, 

vol. 58, number 4, December 2008

 

Libri is a long-established, peer-reviewed journal, which is widely indexed and is monitored by the ISI Citation Indexes.  

 

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CONTENTS (Full Abstracts below)


Editorial: Libri Best Student Paper Award 2008
     Nancy R. John, Ian M. Johnson and Svend Larsen

Knowledge Dissemination of Word-of-Mouth Research: Citation Analysis and Social Network
Analysis
     Tom M. Y. Lin and Chun-Wei Liao

Environmental Scanning in Botswana's SMEs: A Study of the Manufacturing Industry
     Boemo Nlayidzi Jorosi

Sharing Information Resources: a Study of School Clusters from Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa
     Sibongile Nzimande and Christine Stilwell

LIS Education and Web Services in the Public Sector: the Case of Spain
     Celia Chain-Navarro, Antonio Muñoz Cañavate and Verónica Salido Martínez 
    
The Effect of Mass Purchase on Document Supply Service at South Korean Medical Libraries
     Eun-Ja Shin

Information Literacy Development in Malaysia: A Review
     N.N. Edzan

Interaction and Impact of Electronic Information Resources on Qatar University Faculty
     Amer I. Kindilchie and Iman F. Samarraie

The Use of the Internet by Political Parties and Candidates in the 2007 Scottish Parliament
Election
     Rita Marcella, Graeme Baxter and Shih Cheah

    

ABSTRACTS


      Editorial: Libri Best Student Paper Award 2008
     Nancy R. John, Ian M. Johnson and Svend Larsen

     Knowledge Dissemination of Word-of-Mouth
Research: Citation Analysis and Social Network
Analysis
     Tom M. Y. Lin and Chun-Wei Liao

     Abstract. In the past 40 years, there have
been many studies related to word of mouth;
however, no reviews of the word-of-mouth
literatures have been found. This study
integrates the methods of citation analysis and
social network analysis to explore the citation
of word-of-mouth papers and further validates the
knowledge dissemination of word-of-mouth studies.
The results of the research reveal that the three
papers - Richins (1983), Brown and Reingen (1987)
and Herr, Kardes and Kim (1991) - were in more
centralized positions in the citation network. As
core papers in the word-of-mouth field, they play
critical roles in knowledge. These research
findings allow researchers to access studies
related to the word-of-mouth field from the past
40 years, and dissemination of word-of-mouth
knowledge helps researchers' control over future
research directions and the overall knowledge
contribution of the word-of-mouth field.

     Environmental Scanning in Botswana's SMEs: A
Study of the Manufacturing Industry
     Boemo Nlayidzi Jorosi

     Abstract. Environmental scanning (ES) is an
indispensable activity practiced by top
executives to align their organizations to
turbulent environments. However, although the
subject has generated a vast body of literature,
it remains an underdeveloped domain in
sub-Saharan Africa in general, and in Botswana in
particular. Consequently, there is a paucity of
literature on the subject and this has
unfortunately limited a fuller understanding of
how ES in transitional contexts is practiced. The
research reported here thus investigated the
scanning behaviour of CEOs of SMEs (Small and
Medium Enterprises) in Botswana's manufacturing
sector. Data were gathered via mail-delivered
questionnaires sent to respondents based in the
cities of Gaborone and Francistown. The key
findings of the study were: (1) the CEOs in the
study display a propensity to scan the task
environment with greater frequency focusing most
on the customer, competitor and suppliers
sectors; (2) CEOs in the sample are systematic
scanners and frequently use the continuous
scanning mode; (3) the sampled CEOs consider
personal sources (customers, business associates,
managers and sup pliers) as their preferred
sources of in formation; and (4) CEOs use a
mosaic of sources but tend to rely on personal
sources more than impersonal. Recommendations are
made for future research on CEO scanning.

     Sharing Information Resources: a Study of
School Clusters from Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa
     Sibongile Nzimande and Christine Stilwell

     Abstract. The purpose of this survey-based
study, undertaken at the Inkandla and Mbazwana
school clusters in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa,
was to investigate the awareness of community
members with regard to the concept of clustering.
The term community is used in the sense of a
social group of any size whose members reside in
a specific locality (Webster's on line dictionary
2008). They share government, and have a common
cultural and historical heritage. Although the
intention of the initiative was to increase
access to essential information resources, the
preparedness of the communities to share these
resources, to tolerate the hardships of
travelling long distances, to accept the
challenges and responsibilities and learn from
the lessons, were also part of the study. Access
to amenities like laboratories and libraries are
of ten viewed by policymakers, among others, as
unnecessary luxuries especially by those who were
deprived of these facilities in the course of
their education, but who managed nevertheless to
achieve success. A resource-based curriculum,
such as South Africa's Curriculum 2005, requires
an abundance of resources, but a lack of funding
prevents many schools from having all the
necessary resources to sup port the curriculum.
Creative ways of providing resources and
expertise have been conceived by education
departments and the clustering of schools to
encourage sharing is one such method used by the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. The
evolution of this clustering project took
different forms. Subsequent events showed that
the form taken either allowed for further growth
and development, or subjected the project to
failure and decay. Issues of acceptance by the
communities, particularly their awareness of the
vision and their preparedness to share resources,
interacted with problems of accessibility and
community dynamics to determine either the
success or failure of the project. Know l edge
gained from the study could be important for
other initiatives in similar contexts, but must
be applied with caution.

     LIS Education and Web Services in the Public Sector: the Case of Spain
     Celia Chain-Navarro, Antonio Muñoz Cañavate
and Verónica Salido Martínez 246

     Abstract. This article deals with the need to
define the public administration sector as a
major provider of Web-based job-placement re
sources in the field of corporate information
management for Spanish graduates in librarianship
and information science. The Web as an instrument
of information dissemination gives the citizen
who uses it many advantages. Unlike other
information services where the flow of
information is targeted at a specific part of the
population, the Public Administration Sector
generates information that is, or should be,
useful to any citizen, regardless of his or her
situation or profession. Throughout life, one has
to interact with local, regional, and national
Public Administrative units. Sometimes the
process is direct between a citizen and the staff
of these units, but on other occasions the
Administration itself has to structure the flow
of information to the citizen. The Web has become
an effective tool in this sense, but who are the
professionals managing these information
resources? The present work will show that
Spanish universities offering courses in
librarianship and information science have
remained unaware of these new job opportunities
that have arisen in recent years. Data used to
support this conclusion are: 1) Spanish reports
on the job market for librarianship and
information science graduates, 2) study plans at
the different levels of higher education in Spain
(first, second, and third cycles of university),
and 3) the educational qualifications of the
website administrators of Spain's provincial
capitals, a typical sample of Spanish public
administrative units.

     The Effect of Mass Purchase on Document
Supply Service at South Korean Medical Libraries
     Eun-Ja Shin

     Abstract. The appearance of KESLI (Korea
Electronic Site License Initiative), an
electronic journals consortium, has allowed South
Korean medical libraries to expand the
availability of foreign academic journals
dramatically. The growth in subscription journals
has had a considerable impact on various library
services, especially document supply service
(DSS). Many studies have already reported that
DSS has decreased as a result of electronic
journal bundles provided by consortia, but this
study shows the matter in a new light. The author
performed an analysis to verify the direction
that DSS has moved in the past five years at
South Korean medical libraries, especially among
KMLA (Korean Medical Library Association)
members. Even though consortial purchasing has
become the general practice, results show that
DSS for 2006 was approximately 11% higher than
for 2002. But we have to take note of the
findings that DSS in these libraries has not
increased from 2004, and has even decreased. In
particular, DSS for 2006 decreased 43% as the
volume peaked in 2003. Mass purchase by the
consortium may be playing a great role in
bringing about the decline in DSS. As mass
purchase allows users to access not only current
issues but also back issues anytime and anywhere,
users can easily get needed articles that in the
past could only be accessed by requesting copies
from other libraries.

     Information Literacy Development in Malaysia: A Review
     N.N. Edzan

     Abstract. This paper traces the development
of information literacy initiatives at the
various levels within the Malaysian educational
system. Information literacy has been embedded
within the Malaysian educational system for some
time. Information literacy means information
skills delivered by the teachers at both the
primary and secondary levels. Subsequently, in -
formation literacy competencies are further
imparted to under graduates and postgraduates by
various academic libraries. The paper looks at
the formulation of the National Information
Technology Agenda and the initial emergence of
information literacy initiatives within Malaysian
society. Efforts are being made by various
entities to create an information literate
society in line with the government's aim of
attaining Vision 2020 - the creation of a civil
society whereby all citizens will be information
literate and well-equipped as knowledge workers.

     Interaction and Impact of Electronic
Information Resources on Qatar University Faculty
     Amer I. Kindilchie and Iman F. Samarraie

     Abstract. This article identifies trends
among faculty members at Qa tar University in
utilizing electronic information resources to
develop their teaching, research and personal
knowledge. The University Library subscribes to
30 specialized electronic databases. In addition,
the Library provides all faculty members with
free access to its electronic resources through
the University Network both on campus and off
campus. A questionnaire distributed to all
faculty members (around 600) during the academic
year 2006-2007 revealed that the data bases and
e-resources provided by the University were not
well utilized by the entire faculty, although
they are making a difference to the work of some
of the University's faculty members. The
University Library needs to under take a review
to identify other databases that may be needed,
to promote the use of e-resources in teaching and
learning, and to develop the search skills of
faculty and students.

     The Use of the Internet by Political Parties
and Candidates in the 2007 Scottish Parliament
Election
     Rita Marcella, Graeme Baxter and Shih Cheah

     Abstract. This paper reports the results of a
study which investigated the use of the Internet
by political parties and individual candidates as
part of their campaigns for election to the
Scottish Parliament in 2007. This was a
comparative, follow-up study to one conducted
prior to the previous Scottish Parliamentary
election in 2003. Two methodologies were used in
gathering data. Firstly, the content of the
websites of 27 political parties and 12
individual candidates was analysed to identify
the ways in which political participation by the
Scottish public was encouraged via the provision
of information and of opportunities for
interaction, debate and feedback. Secondly, a
series of email enquiries, based around key
policy issues, was directed at political parties
and individual candidates, to measure the speed
and extent of response, as well as any efforts
made towards the creation of an ongoing
relationship with potential voters. The results
indicate that the Internet was used mainly for
the dissemination of information and ideas rather
than for their exchange.

 

 
Ian M. Johnson
Professor, Department of Information Management
Aberdeen Business School
The Robert Gordon University
Garthdee Road
ABERDEEN AB10 7QE
Great Britain
 
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