Library Science

The purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals assess Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) transliterated bibliographic information on current library catalogs. Two separate studies, a survey and an experiment, were conducted using the WorldCat system. Users noted that Romanization has many issues which can inhibit user's ability to understand the transliterated bibliographic information even when it is in the person's own native language and even when the individual had extensive experience with transliteration systems. The experimental results also supported these findings: participants had better results and satisfaction when looking for information written in English than when searching for transliterated information written in their native language. Implications for future research suggests a need to investigate user preferences for translation vs. transliteration of bibliographic information. This study proposes consideration of using English translation as a parallel link with CJK Romanization for bibliographic information.

There has been an enormous increase for information written in different languages by users from various backgrounds and disciplines. This chapter proposes a research design to examine multilingual information users' information behaviors when using a Cross Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) system. Development of a true CLIR is absolutely necessary so that the system would allow users to access information written in the user's languages of choice. Kuhlthau's Information Search Process (ISP) model was borrowed as a theoretical framework. Of particular concern are those users who want information represented by a language different than the users' original query or for those users who would like to retrieve additional information written in a second and/or third language or in a language which cannot be understood by them. This research is expected to yield a revised or new ISP model applicable to CLIR environments. It is expected that this study will also increase our understanding of CLIR users. The expected CLIR users include many of non-English speakers, especially users in developing countries who need this kind of CLIR system due to lack of materials in their own language. It is possible that the results of this research could inform CLIR system designers. The chapter is composed of purpose of study, literature review, theory, research questions, methodology, and discussion section. In the literature review section, pertinent research studies from information seeking behavior, cross language information retrieval, and general relevance studies are presented. Kuhlthau's ISP model is introduced in detail in the theory section. A possible application of Kuhlthau's ISP Model to the CLIR environment is presented in a table format. Research questions are developed from the literature reviews and Kuhlthau's model. Each research question, premises/assumptions, and its correspondent methodology are proposed in the methodology section. Limitations are discussed in the discussion section.

Bates' model integrated a biological and a socio-cultural perspective to argue that, in practice, information seeking does not follow a systematic search process but more commonly takes the form of “berry picking”, or finding information bit by bit using a range of sources. According to her theory, humans collect most of their information through passive, undirected behavior, while the remainder is generated using three types of behavior defined as monitoring, browsing and directed search. Bates argued that a process of sampling and selection that she refers to as “berry picking”, underlies most browsing and directed searches, and has evolved from traditional mating and foraging behaviors. The chapter discusses the diverse theoretical perspectives on which Bates' model is based, and its key contributions to Information Science.

At a recent administrative library council meeting of an urban university, a representative from that system's graduate program in library and information science indicated that the library management course could be refreshed. They asked how the campus library leaders could assist in updating that curriculum. Inspired by the vibrant activity of the Open Educational Recourses (OER) maelstrom across that university, it was suggested that the ailing management course could be updated with refreshed, current management concerns and delivered in an up-to-date and flexible OER package. The panel consisting of LIS educators and practitioners will discuss how this could be accomplished.

This paper examines the different barriers American Indians face in accessing government information, especially in the age of e-government. Issues considered include American Indians reliance on oral-based information, even in contemporary society; the historical relationships between the U.S. government and American Indian societies; and socio-economic problems of today. It concludes by offering a proscriptive examination of how other countries have improved access to their indigenous peoples and what the U.S. must do to remove access barriers.

An understanding existed in families that women would take over certain duties when men could not perform the tasks, because of either their duties in government or business.  Women helped keep the shops and farms, which their husbands typically managed.  The women in colonial Pennsylvania were not much different from their counterparts in other colonies in how and when they found opportunities that expanded their limited legal sphere of influence, which included entering contracts for property, participation in commerce, and comprehensive management of their households.

Colonial women typically accepted their place in society without rancor.  Society still expected women to live up to certain expectations regardless of their economic level.  Almost every woman accepted her subservient position in the family and community.  Her religious beliefs defined her through her daily responsibilities as she maintained a household and bore children, all while she deferred to her husband in all things. 

A woman could and did work in the male sphere while married, but she did so in her husband’s name unless and until she petitioned the court for the right to do otherwise.  Despite society’s convention to marry, some women did not.  They took advantage of the freedom the law allowed them in matters of business.  Widows in particular no longer had a husband in their life to help with certain tasks commonly associated with men.  The widows who chose not to remarry supported themselves and their children with businesses commonly managed in their homes.

The Federalists’ plan to reduce the new nation’s debt resulted in several crises, one of which was the Whiskey Rebellion.  The events that unfolded in western Pennsylvania could have happened along any of the frontier areas.  Virginia and Tennessee both felt the effects of the whiskey tax, but Pennsylvania, with its system of government that was the closest to true democracy, seemed to draw the most attention from government leaders.  The residents of Western Pennsylvania fought for the acknowledgement of their needs by the leaders in the East.  Specifically, the Whisky Boys, some of the men from Pennsylvania’s Western half, fought for the repeal of a law that mostly affected the people along the frontier border.  These same men became the focus of the federal government’s attention as it implemented its plan to unburden the new nation from its national debt.

The assignment for Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s LS 573: Integrated Technologies in Libraries class required a student to analyze the features of an ILS through an interview with a librarian who used the ILS, and review recent literature on the product and its customers.  Knowing what features librarians most commonly use in today’s libraries, and what additional problems faced by the libraries that current ILS systems do not address, could help a student or new librarian know not only the current problems, but also the trends.  A product review regarding the Polaris ILS provided insight into the product’s usefulness with regards to how it met a library and its patrons’ actual needs, and its ability to grow to meet the trends.

The assignment for Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s LS 504: Introduction to the Information Professions class required a student to review recent literature on a topic of interest, briefly comment on any controversial aspects, and provide possible solutions to a problem commonly found in libraries.  This student chose to discuss emerging technologies in today’s libraries.  Specifically, the ideas of generational differences in ability to learn and work with technology, and the impacts felt when change happens, are explored, and suggestions on the apparent generation divide in the library workplace are offered.

Knowledge is simply concrete information, its size and scope only limited by the seeker's curiosity and determination. The information may or may not be correct; we cannot assume it is true by its mere existence, as people have done with information on the Internet (and honestly throughout time). Further, those seeking knowledge may find themselves hindered by one or more obstacles, such as lack of access to a reliable source, or for that matter, knowing how to recognize a reliable source. On the other hand, understanding is recognized by one's ability to