Vlasta Zabukovec

Education and training for digital librarians: A Slovenia/UK comparison

Purpose – To determine and compare approaches to the education and training of librarians for work in digital libraries. More precisely, to identify – in general terms, rather than specifically – the important competencies required by information professionals in creating and managing digital libraries, and in facilitating their use, and to assess how these competencies are treated in LIS education and training, and therefore how the capacities of the information professions are being developed.Design/methodology/approach – Literature analysis of the skill sets required by librarians working with digital materials. Evaluation of formal education and of professional development programmes in the UK and in Slovenia, to assess how these needs are being met.Findings – Both formal education and continuing development training are adapting to cover aspects of the digital library environment, both in the UK and in Slovenia. This is happening as part of the normal process of the redesign of degree programmes and ...

Paper or Electronic: Preferences of Slovenian Students

This paper presents Slovenia’s results as part of an international study investigating student preferences of class readings regarding format (print or electronic) and factors impacting these preferences and behaviours. Common beliefs are that digital media is about to prevail over print materials, but several studies have found the contrary: most students still prefer print format over digital for their academic readings. They feel their comprehension and retention is better in print, but they like the convenience and accessibility of electronic. This issue is relevant to both libraries and teachers and instructors. The main research question of this study is: What are students’ format preferences when engaging with their academic readings? Secondary questions ask about the factors that impact their behaviors. An online survey of 25 questions was distributed in spring 2015 to students in different disciplines and levels at three public universities. Results were obtained using descriptive statistical analysis.

Yugoslavian children in a situation of rapid economic changes

Abstract The object of this research was to examine the economic socialization of Yugoslavian children in a time of rapid economic and political changes. The analysis of the interviews showed that the level of knowledge of complex economic problems was rather limited, perhaps because the interview was oriented toward aspects of the economy which are not common in the Yugoslavian economic system. The level of economic understanding increased with age. While the knowledge of the youngest group was at a very concrete level, the older children gave a greater variety of more complex answers. Answers of all groups, especially those of the older ones, clearly reflect certain aspects, such as inflation, of the current economic conditions. In principle, the answers reveal the same characteristics of the economic socialization as reported by other authors.

Children's Literacy is Important, but What About Adult Reading Literacy?

We report on a study on adult reading literacy (RL), closely related to information literacy (IL) and very influential in IL development. The level of adult RL, especially its background, is much less investigated than RL of children and young. Existing studies indicate that the level of adult RL in Slovenia is not as high as we would like, which could in the long-term lead to social and economic consequences as well as hinder the principles of democracy and active citizenship. We investigated the factors connected with the adult RL: (1) experiences with past and current promotion of reading (R), attitudes regarding R, family literacy and RL; (2) practices and experiences in lifelong learning and related competences which are influential in the development and maintaining of RL and IL; (3) RL factors investigated in the OECD PIAAC study: content, cognitive strategies, contexts. Our online survey used various types of questions: single/multiple choice, Likert-scale, ranking, open-ended. The sample was purposive (snowball-type) (N = 260) and included adults of all ages, genders, educational and social levels and roles, and various types of housing and residential locations. We gathered information on how the adults perceive and utilize R in its various forms and contexts, what are their attitudes towards the promotion and promotors of R and RL (such as schools, libraries), what practices of lifelong learning and reading culture are present in the society, which contents, contexts of RL are most/least present and how developed are their various cognitive strategies related to RL. Our findings are informative for researchers and teachers in the field of literacies as well as planners of national educational and cultural policies.