Wanda V. Dole

Values for librarians in the information age: an expanded examination

The library profession has been concerned with ethical issues since its beginning. Ethical issues raised in the early years dealt primarily with librarians’ responsibility to the employer or patron. The focus later shifted to questions of professional identity, organisational environment, and social responsibilities. Rapid technological change and the advent of the information age are forcing the library profession to rethink its mission and responsibilities. This paper expands research on a survey of librarians’ ethical values reported by Dole and Hurych (forthcoming) at the 1998 EEI21 Symposium. In the 1998 study, they conducted a survey of North American librarians and librarians at a conference in the Crimea (Ukraine) to examine the values considered most important by each group and to identify differences in the priorities of values assigned by the groups studied. They found that all three groups held similar values. The current study replicates the 1998 survey among librarians throughout the world. Additional professional and demographic data were collected during the second iteration to support consideration of professional training, library experience and type, and professional responsibilities as possible factors contributing to value formation.

Using performance measurement for decision making in mid‐sized academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess whether Becks research method and instruments, which were carried out in 2002 in larger and more research‐based libraries, are applicable to academic libraries of other types and sizes.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports the results of a year‐long study on the impact of assessment on library decision making in nine small to medium sized academic libraries in the USA. The study replicates Susan J. Becks 2002 study on the impact of assessment on decision making in nine Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries in North America which was carried out in larger and more research‐based libraries. Directors and key administrators were interviewed to gather qualitative data. Two survey instruments were used to gather quantitative data: Becks “Factors in decision‐making” survey and “Do you have a culture of assessment?” survey adapted from Amos Lakos (University of California at Los Angeles) and Betsy Wilson (University of Washington) – 1998;...

The Evidence in Hand: report of the Task Force on the Artifact in Library Collections

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Management of Library and Archival Security: From the Outside Looking In

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