Reference is Dead, Long Live Reference: Electronic Collections in the Digital Age

The reference collection traditionally rewards serendipity by presenting key resources in a compact group. At the University of Manitoba Libraries, reference collection space is at a premium and, increasingly, electronic versions of reference materials are selected for purchase. However, our space saving comes at a cost: Our patrons can't browse electronic reference materials across various online platforms, and they miss out on potential serendipitous discoveries. This article will outline the problem, look at what Association of Research Libraries libraries offer as online reference collections, and offer possible solutions, including what we hope to do at the University of Manitoba Libraries.

Generation Z (born 1995-2010) members are digital residents who use technology and the internet more frequently than any previous generation to learn about their health. They are increasingly moving away from conventional methods of seeking health information as technology advances quickly and becomes more widely available, resulting in a more digitalized health care system. Similar to all groups, Generation Z has specific health care requirements and preferences, and their use of technology influences how they look for health information. However, they have often been overlooked in scholarly research. First, we aimed to identify the information-seeking preferences of older individuals and Generation Z (those between the ages of 18 and 26 years); second, we aimed to predict the effects of digital health literacy and health empowerment in both groups. We also aimed to identify factors that impact how both groups engage in digital health and remain in control of their own health. The Health Information National Trends Survey was adopted for further use in 2022. We analyzed 1862 valid data points by conducting a survey among Chinese respondents to address the research gap. A descriptive analysis, 2-tailed t test, and multiple linear regression were applied to the results. When compared with previous generations, Generation Z respondents (995/1862, 53.44%) were more likely to use the internet to find out about health-related topics, whereas earlier generations relied more on traditional media and interpersonal contact. Web-based information-seeking behavior is predicted by digital health literacy (Generation Z: β=.192, P<.001; older population: β=.337, P<.001). While this was happening, only seeking health information from physicians positively predicted health empowerment (Generation Z: β=.070, P=.002; older population: β=.089, P<.001). Despite more frequent use of the internet to learn about their health, Generation Z showed lower levels of health empowerment and less desire to look for health information, overall. This study examined and compared the health information-seeking behaviors of Generation Z and older individuals to improve their digital health literacy and health empowerment. The 2 groups demonstrated distinct preferences regarding their choice of information sources. Health empowerment and digital health literacy were both significantly related to information-seeking behaviors.

One of the valuable offerings of librarians in the digital age is the human intermediation of information needs. In physical libraries, these reference questions are answered, and few artifacts remain from the transaction; therefore, the knowledge created through the work of the librarian leaves with the patron. Due to the medium of communication, digital reference transactions capture the knowledge of information professionals. There are hundreds of digital reference services generating knowledge every day; however, the lack of a schema for archiving reference transactions from multiple services makes it difficult to create a fielded, searchable knowledge base. The development of such a schema would allow researchers to develop tools that practitioners can employ. In turn, this would create a collaborative environment for digital reference evaluation. The goal of this work is to outline the steps needed to develop this schema, present the results of a survey of digital reference services, explore some of the pitfalls in the process, and envision the future uses of this Digital Reference Electronic Warehouse. The future, and some might even say the present, for the library professional is the digital library Instead of waiting for the user to come to their information containers in a physical collection, librarians select high-quality materials for users to access through the Internet. It is relatively easy to put a collection of static files online, however, the library is more than just a collection of documents. A crucial part of a library is the human intermediary--the librarian. This intermediary connects the users to the information needed and can assist with advice about using the information retrieval systems and working with information. However, many users turn to Web search tools for their information retrieval needs. While these tools provide the user with Web pages that match a word on the topic, the quality of the results is questionable. Most Web search tools are for-profit companies and bombard users with advertising. In addition, search-engine optimizers work to place commercial sites at the top of lists; this has resulted in many searches leading to page after page of commercial results. This commercial information is appropriate for some informationseeking needs, and this is an area where the Web search tools excel. However, the search for noncommercial information can be frustrating. This is an opportunity for libraries. There clearly is a need for intermediation with the location of material online. Users have turned to question-based search tools such as Ask.com with the hopes of finding such assistance; however, these tools perform no better than a general search tool. There is another type of Web search tool that can take a user's question and match it to a set of results that are likely to be on topic with little advertising and no direct charge--a digital reference service. In fact, those teaching about Web search tools should always take the opportunity to present a digital reference service as a Web search tool with built-in intelligence. Many libraries have started services where they allow users to submit questions via e-mail or Web forms. Librarians research the question and provide an answer and related documents to the user. Some libraries offer this service using a live-chat model, where the user is interacting with a librarian with little time elapsing between question and response. These services are usually free, although the user base may be limited to users who are affiliated with the library offering the services. Yahoo! has also entered this domain with Yahoo! Answers, which is a community-based reference service. Users earn points for good answers. Google ran a reference service for a few years called Google Answers, in which those asking questions set a payment for an answer, but Google shut this service down in 2006. Some digital reference services, commonly known as AskA services, connect the user directly to an expert in the field instead of to a librarian. …

A review of:&#x0D; &#x0D; Bradford, Jane T., Barbara Costello, and Robert Lenholt. “Reference Service in the Digital Age: An Analysis of Sources Used to Answer Reference Questions.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 31.3 (May 2005): 263-72.&#x0D; &#x0D; Objective – To test the hypothesis that electronic sources are used by librarians more often than print sources to answer questions at the reference desk.&#x0D; &#x0D; Design – Use study.&#x0D; &#x0D; Setting – Small, private university in the United States.&#x0D; &#x0D; Subjects – Five full-time and two part-time librarians working at the reference desk for four months (two months in the fall of 2002, and two months in the spring of 2003).&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods – The study recorded every question asked by library patrons during the two study periods, with the exception of non-library related directional questions and hardware problems. For each question recorded, librarians, while working solo at the reference desk, paraphrased the question and recorded the source(s) used to answer each question. Although questions were recorded regardless of source – in person, via email, or by telephone – the medium in which each question was asked and answered was not recorded. For the first half of the study period (fall 2002 semester), librarians kept manual records that were subsequently transcribed into a spreadsheet by a student assistant. In the second half of the study period (spring 2003 semester), the librarians entered data directly into a spreadsheet. The study’s data monitor (who was also a study participant) was responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data and for assigning a category to each source. The source category ‘librarian’ was problematic in that it was unclear whether or not the actual source of the answer was the librarian or a source located by the librarian. After the first half of the study, the procedure was changed to require that a reference librarian was to label a source used to answer a question as ‘librarian’ only if the answer came from a librarian’s own knowledge, and if it did not require consultation of an outside source. Categories were generated on the fly, as the data monitor reviewed the recorded questions and sources. By the end of the study, 23 categories had emerged. While all sources for answers were categorized, questions themselves were not. During the second part of the study, the gender of the patron asking the question at the reference desk was also recorded.&#x0D; &#x0D; Main results –The results for the fall 2002 and spring 2003 semesters were similar. For the entire study period, librarians used a total of 3,487 sources to answer 2,491 questions. Sources fell into 23 different categories. The top 5 categories used to answer reference questions were databases (23.92%), librarians (23.6%), library catalogue (15.03%), internal Web page (12.27%), and reference books (9.38%). The top five categories accounted for 84.2% of all sources used. For 75% of the questions, librarians referred to a single source for an answer. Almost 60% of the sources used to answer questions were electronic. Of the internal Web pages used to answer questions, the library’s online journal title listings accounted for 76%. Reference books were used to answer questions in less than 10% of cases. Less than 2% of the library’s print reference collection (173 of 9,587 titles) was consulted to answer reference questions during the study period. The approximate 60:40 ratio of questions asked by female to male patrons corresponded to the university’s student body ratio.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion – The results of this study confirm the researchers’ hypothesis that librarians use electronic sources with greater frequency than they use print sources to answer patrons’ reference questions. The surprising finding in this study is the proportion (approximately one quarter) of reference questions answered by the librarians themselves, without the need to consult an outside source, either print or electronic. The study suggests that a large proportion of the reference collection goes unused in answering patrons’ questions and that librarians often answer a question using only a single a source of information. A reshelving study analyzing use of the reference collection is underway to supplement the results of the current study.&#x0D;

The Theological Librarian’s Handbook is a multi-volume guide to the practice of theological librarianship. It is intended for use by library staff at theological and religious studies libraries who do not possess professional training in the field of library and information science. This handbook offers perspectives and advice from leading experts in the field and best practices from theological libraries all over the world. This volume introduces the reader to collection development in theological libraries and answers these basic questions: How does one understand one’s community in order to serve its information needs? What are the principles of decision-making about resources? How are these expressed in a useful policy document? How does commitment to diversity, equality, inclusion, and antiracism shape local collection practice? How can collaborative strategies be used to provide access to reference collections, special collections, and electronic collections?

This study aims to analyze the strategy for developing digital collections in school libraries. The method used is qualitative research with data collection techniques including observation, interviews, and documentation. The research was conducted at the Widura Library of Vocational High School 3 Yogyakarta. The study involved three informants, consisting of the head librarian and school library staff. The results show that the school library already has a digital collection as part of its development. The process of developing digital collections in school libraries includes analyzing user needs, mapping digital collection sources, and evaluating development. The development of digital collections is still limited to obtaining electronic school book collections from the Ministry of Education. Some strategies that can be implemented by school libraries include collaborating with other libraries and downloading digital collections that are available for free from digital collection providers.

In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) framework to achieve a 2.5% reduction in annual breast cancer mortality through its three key performance indicators of early screening, timely breast diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment management. National cancer registries serve as a vital tool for implementing the GBCI framework, providing a robust mechanism to track progress, evaluate outcomes, and ensure accountability in its execution. The objective of this study was to evaluate the status of cancer registries in West Africa as a marker for the region's preparedness to implement the GBCI framework. This narrative review searched for published literature in PubMed, international health and conference websites, and world population data sources using our search keywords to identify the status of cancer registries in West Africa. Published literature on Ghana's journey towards registry development was additionally utilized to develop a descriptive case analysis of the barriers and facilitators of registry development within the region. The only countries possessing a national registry in West Africa are Cape Verde and the Republic of Gambia. Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria possess sub-national registries, namely hospital-based and population-based registries with minimal catchment areas. In Ghana, the Kumasi Cancer Registry represents the country's only population-based registry. Partnerships with international organizations and participation in regional capacity building efforts have facilitated its maintenance of operations in cancer continuous data collection. Despite this, barriers to its expansion have included limited funding, challenges with data linkage across data collection sites, and a lack of an automatized electronic data collection system for cancer cases. Implementation of the GBCI framework crucially depends on routinely collected cancer data covering a country's entire population, highlighting the importance of national cancer registries. To date, all countries in West Africa, except two, lack national cancer registries and face barriers to implementation, including limited mortality data access, low funds, and difficulties with data linkage, as highlighted by the case study of Ghana. Future work should be dedicated towards (I) automatizing and standardizing the data collection systems among sub-national registries and (II) pursuing structured regional capacity-building training on robust cancer registration practices within West Africa.

The growth of digital technology has significantly shaped the way students learn. Surrounded by web-enhanced learning sources, various learning activities are available that have contributed to the change in students’ learning. Based on an interpretative approach of the Complexity Theory, the current qualitative case study aims to investigate how students learn English in the digital era. The sample consists of 42 students of a university in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. The instrument used for collecting the data includes (a) questionnaire used to examine the accessibility to the digital based learning of the students selected for the sample and (b) narrative frames to explore the students’ learning experiences in the digital era. The study reveals that students’ learning in the digital age is self-organizing which offers the tendency for the students to be autonomous. The study also affirms that the current in-class teaching and learning practices do not align with students’ learning experiences in the digital age. The students felt what they got in classes has failed to satisfy and enrich their understanding of the subject taught. It is thus, as an implication the study has, the integration of learning sources into digital learning sources is encouraged. Keywords : Digital age, Learning experiences, Complexity theory

This literature review synthesizes the findings of some two dozen studies of e-book usage by members of academic communities. The studies included in the review were conducted between 2006 and 2011 mostly at colleges and universities in the Anglophone world. The studies yielded different results as to the issue of awareness of e-books among members of the academic community, but otherwise the rate of agreement between the studies was high. Most of them found that academic users typically search e-books for discrete bits of information, a behavior summed up by the formula rather than read. They also show that such use of e-books is typical across disciplines, but that members of the humanities and social-sciences were on the whole less satisfied with e-books than their counterparts in the hard-sciences and business. The two main advantages of e-books cited by library patrons surveyed by the studies were searchability and around-the-clock availability. The most frequently cited disadvantages were difficulty of navigation and loss of ability to perform customary research practices such as perusing and shelf-browsing because of e-books' lack of physicality. The latter part of the review develops some implications of the rather than read formula and considers the impact the widespread adoption of handheld e-readers would have on academic libraries. In its concluding section, the review presents the studies' chief recommendations for academic libraries with regard to e-books, and offers suggestions for further investigation into their use by members of the academic community. Of all the changes the digital age has brought and will continue to bring to libraries, e-books have the potential to be the most drastic. The e-book is not just another way of conveying content that might otherwise be presented in physical form; the translation of the text of a book into digital format can be expected to alter, in subtle ways that we are only beginning to understand, one's fundamental experience of that content. As for libraries themselves, it is already clear that books that do not exist physically obviate the need for the performance of the basic functions for which libraries came into being in the first place: the gathering, harboring, and displaying of physical volumes. Thus, while libraries have accommodated themselves to such changes in their traditional profile as the disappearance of physical journals into the digital realm and the shrinking of once-imposing reference collections, the possibility of a sweeping e-book revolution that has been predicted for over a decade presents a basic challenge to the library's very identity. Understandably, academic librarians have been keen to get a handle on this phenomenon with the potential to remake the library so fundamentally, even though it has not been until recently that e-books have made more than halting inroads into most collections. From the early days of e-books, librarians have published studies of how patrons in academic settings relate to this now format, sporadically at first but now in sufficient numbers to warrant a synthesis. (1) The purpose of this literature review is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive review of those studies. Most of them, even the most recent, do not--and indeed cannot--take into account the ways in which those practices and attitudes may continue to evolve if handheld reading devices or tablets become a standard device for most users. Nevertheless they provide valuable insight into how academics at all levels are currently responding to the e-books provided by EBrary, Netlibrary, Springer, Ebook Library, and the other sources for the online e-books held by most academic libraries. More than two dozen studies have been published in the last decade that probe patrons' attitudes and behaviors with respect to e-books. This survey concentrates on usage studies done since 2006, as these are more likely to reflect the current experience of users in academic libraries. …

<i>Questions and Answers: Strategies for Using the Electronic Reference Collection</i>. Linda C. Smith

In 2009, e-book usage statistics were evaluated at Laurentian University, Canada, to provide a better understanding in how the e-book collection has been utilized as well as to give direction for further collection development. The number of e-books, the number of viewings and the number of searches were examined. The size of the collection grew from a single book in 2002 to more than 60,000 in 2008. The pattern of purchase varied from that of bulk purchasing of large e-book collections to a more selective purchase from 2005 to 2007 and then back to that of bulk purchasing in 2008. Both viewings and searches have increased from year to year at a greater pace than the size e-book collection. The number of searches also appeared to provide a viable means to measure the use of an e-book collection rather than relying entirely on viewings or downloads. Ratios were calculated when comparing viewings and searches to the size of the collection. The largest viewings per e-book and searches per e-book ratios were observed in those years when purchasing was done more selectively. It is also clear that the electronic reference collection has seen far greater use then the electronic monographs. Furthermore, usage of electronic monographs also appeared to be directly proportional to the size of the collection.

The Challenge of Acquisitions in the Digital Age Martha Whittaker (bio) In the digital world, every decision a librarian makes about library materials—from the initial purchase to the library promotional material about the acquisition—has a very direct impact on how those resources will be used. In purchasing an electronic resource, the librarian must be familiar with licensing models, system requirements, file compatibility, authentication, proxy servers, and interface design. The mission of a librarian is, as always, to provide information access and preservation. That has not changed in the digital age, but the ways in which we do those things have changed radically. I do not think acquisitions librarians have ever considered their jobs simple. The value the library adds to the scholarly process has always been apparent; in many ways in the print-only world we had a lock on the way people acquired and used scholarly information. Today, thanks to the innovations of Web 2.0, people access information using the tools that they choose and in the ways that they like to use them. Electronic resources have freed people from coming to the library since they now have other ways to get the desired information. YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, and information portals are becoming extremely popular distribution channels for information. For many people, if it is not online in the online space they regularly use, it is non-existent, or at least irrelevant. Acquisitions librarians must learn new skills and do so while continuing to perform those duties that are required to manage a print collection. The time and skills needed to manage a print collection do not go away. Print is not going away. Digital is not replacing print, per se, but rather augmenting it and changing the way it is used. There is simply a new set of skills to be mastered. Librarians need to be Web-savvy, but that has been true for a long time. Now they also need to keep abreast of technological changes such as social networking tools. [End Page 439] For example, tagging and reader-submitted reviews are becoming accepted ways of using the “wisdom of the crowd” to assist in collection development decision-making. Librarians also need the skills to read and understand licensing agreements, to discern the implications of access versus ownership, and to evaluate the benefits of archiving versus perpetual access. Challenges in Acquistions in the Digital Age • Pricing models have been turned upside down. Serious dialogue is needed between publishers and librarians to advance the understanding of business models on the production side and economic realities on the consumer side. Librarians have been complaining for too long. We need creative proposals for sharing the risk and the gain with our colleagues in the publishing world. This creativity is possible only if it is informed by knowledge. • The preservation of networked resources and electronic materials has requirements that are still being defined. We must pay attention to interoperability among various systems and platforms, ensure accessibility, and promote formats that are flexible and scalable. • The metrics used to measure the value of a resource are new, and we are still learning how to interpret them. The data are different from vendor to vendor and sometimes are not available or within our control. Some people assume that collecting usage statistics in the digital environment might be easier than in the paper world—computers are good at counting—but, in fact, that is not the case. Computer-captured data theoretically allow us to calculate metrics like cost-per-use. The problem lies with the fact that we are never comparing apples with apples. Differences among publisher interfaces, variations among aggregator interfaces, and duplication within the library’s electronic collection mean that numbers for one title may be different from those of another for reasons that have nothing to do with the intrinsic value of the content. • When we are evaluating e-resources and making contacts with publishers and content suppliers, we need to come to them with our own demands for the usage rules and requirements for the materials that they are selling. We cannot simply sit back passively and accept the terms of use that vendors offer...

The digitization of African materials has made it easier than ever for students to engage with primary source documentation and undertake original research. Digitizing sources and using digital sources to teach African history has great pedagogical value, but must be done ethically. This article suggests a model for collaborative and publicly-engaged scholarship, demonstrating the potential of transnational projects and shared knowledge production while maintaining sensitivity towards questions of the hegemony of the North. The study draws on experience of a virtual internship project between North American-based university students and the South African non-profit South African History Online (SAHO).

The article is a review of the book &amp;ldquo;What is Digital History?&amp;rdquo; by Salmi H. which discusses digital history, a new field in history, and defines its framework. The review considers a range of issues related to digital sources, their typology, approaches to the formation of the source base and their criticism. The article analyzes the author&amp;rsquo;s attitude to digitized historical sources based on original analogous sources and born-digital ones as well as methods of their processing used by contemporary historians. These aspects have a direct impact on present day historical research and must be taken into account by historians. The review also addresses the author's views on epistemology and hermeneutics which are increasingly important in the digital age. &amp;nbsp;The topics named are unevenly distributed in the book. Sources of a new type are considered in detail in the chapter &amp;ldquo;The Digital Past: Sources and Problems&amp;rdquo;. Other issues are studied in the rest of chapters and in less detail. The review is complemented with examples of other projects and modern publications that were not included in the text of the reviewed book, but are essential for the topic as a whole.

This issue of Libellarium includes papers from the invited speakers who gave lectures at the Summer School in User Studies (SSUS) organized by the Department of Information Sciences and held at the University of Zadar, 11. - 14. April, 2012. The SSUS is associated with the Knowledge Society and Information Transfer PhD programme at the Department of Information Sciences at the University of Zadar. This programme is designed for Croatian and international doctoral students in the field of theories and studies of information needs and use, as well as the field of reading and learning concepts and strategies in digital environment. The main goal of the Summer School 2012 was to introduce the participants to the most recent research, the latest developments and the newly emerged concepts in the fields of users’ information behaviour, learning and education in the digital age, information literacy theories and concepts, as well as the reading paradigms. In the recent times the information society changes rapidly which influences processing and the approaches to information while it changes the existing paradigms of learning and education. New literacies emerge and reading, as the key competency necessary to access the information, changes its forms and practices. The SUSS organized the above mentioned issues in three segments: Users’ information behaviour, Literacy and reading in the digital environment, and Learning and education in the digital age. In the Users’ information behaviour segment this issue of Libellarium contains articles from two invited speakers and two doctoral students who discuss the subject from different viewpoints. Paul Sturges starts with the assumption that people are much more dependent than they realise on information and ideas that are acquired and processed by areas of the brain, not always immediately accessible to the conscious mind. Polona Vilar discusses information behaviour of scholars and scholarly practice influenced by increased accessibility of digital resources and tools. Doctoral students Dora Rubinic and Darko Lacovic base their literature reviews on the specific context of university students’ information behaviour. The former review deals with information behavior of university students in general, while the latter one deals with university students’ information behaviour in relation to the role of academic libraries. Four invited speakers discuss literacy and reading in the digital environment. Livija Knaflic presents literacy as a complex phenomenon and focuses her work toward psychological aspects of literacy. Sonja Spiranec investigates information literacy in the context of Web 2.0 which transformed information environments into complex and unstructured places so the contexts of information literacy are being re-examined and reshaped respectively. Ivanka Kuic writes about the postmodern theoretical approaches to the reader and the validity of these approaches in the digital environment while emphasizing that existing concepts of the reader and reading adapt to electronic environment, because the electronic text deconstructs the printed one and it changes the way of reading. Vita Mozuraite discusses these rapid changes in the reading paradigm in the age of e-book to which the young readers are especially susceptible considering their frequent use of the internet. The changes in information environment influence learning. This fact demands careful consideration from education experts in order to achieve the maximal degree of the rich media environment contribution to the quality of education. Hence, Milan Matijevic writes about the influence the e-environment has on the new curriculum paradigms. These papers are the starting point for the new directions of thought about the changes in the digital environment that reflect on information behaviour, learning and the related practices. The papers were received in 2012/2013 and were peer reviewed in 2013/2014. * Department of Information Sciences, University of Zadar, Croatia e-mail: istricev@unizd.hr