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Much has been written recently about the \"library as place.\" This essay approaches the question of library space philosophically, arguing that developing commercial attitudes toward space leads us away from more productive ways of conceiving libraries. A concept called Third Space is introduced, and its relevance to libraries and librarianship is explored. Third Space is defined and applied to various library concepts, especially information literacy. The article contends that thinking about Third Space can help libraries and librarians develop ways of working with increasingly diverse populations in increasingly dynamic contexts.

Purpose - This paper aims to describe the way participants in the hobby of gourmet cooking in the USA manage culinary information in their homes.Design methodology approach - The study utilizes domain analysis and serious leisure as a conceptual framework and employs an ethnographic approach. In total 20 gourmet cooks in the USA were interviewed at home and then their culinary information collections were documented through a guided tour and photographic inventory. The resulting ethnographic record was analyzed using grounded theory and NVivo software.Findings - The findings introduce the personal culinary library (PCL): a constellation of cooking-related information resources and information structures in the home of the gourmet cook, and an associated set of upkeep activities that increase with the collection's size. PCLs are shown to vary in content, scale, distribution in space, and their role in the hobby. The personal libraries are characterized as small, medium or large and case studies of each extreme are presented. Larger PCLs are cast as a bibliographic pyramid distributed throughout the home in the form of a mother lode, zone, recipe collection, and binder.Practical implications - Insights are provided into three areas: scientific ethnography as a methodology; a theory of documents in the hobby; and the changing role of information professionals given the increasing prevalence of home-based information collections.Originality value - This project provides an original conceptual framework and research method for the study of information in personal spaces such as the home, and describes information phenomena in a popular, serious leisure, hobby setting.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the application of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 features as exemplified through university library web sites around the world.Design methodology approach - The top 100 universities from the ranked list of 200 provided on the Times Higher Education web site were considered for collection of data and from this list a selection was made of 57 of these universities. This selection was based on whether the site was in English and whether it had at least one Web 2.0 feature. For each of these universities their web sites were visited and data on their Web 2.0 features (such as Blogs, RSS, Instant Messaging, Wikis and the like) were collected and analyzed.Findings - Results reveal that 37 university libraries use RSS feeds for dissemination of library news, events and announcements and 15 university libraries provide blog space for users. Whereas wiki is the least applied Web 2.0 technology, with only one university using it, Instant Messaging is another most widely applied feature with 37 libraries already providing reference service through it. Podcast (used in three libraries) and Vidcast (used in six libraries) are yet to become popular facilities to be offered in university library web sites.Research limitations implications - The study is based on the university ranking for 2007, as the World Top 200 Universities 2008 was not published until October 2008 when this article was being finalized. However, this does not affect the outcome of the Web 2.0 features being utilized by the universities.Originality value - Most of the earlier studies on the subject deal with Web 2.0 tools and how they could be used in the library context. The present paper, however, provides concrete evidence of the application of Web 2.0 in university libraries. As such it should prove of interest to all types of libraries, even though its context is university libraries.

While the burgeoning trend in online social networks has gained much attention from the media, few studies in library science have yet to address the topic in depth. This article reports on a survey of 126 academic librarians concerning their perspectives toward Facebook.com, an online network for students. Findings suggest that librarians are overwhelmingly aware of the “Facebook phenomenon.” Those who are most enthusiastic about the potential of online social networking suggested ideas for using Facebook to promote library services and events. Few individuals reported problems or distractions as a result of patrons accessing Facebook in the library. When problems have arisen, strict regulation of access to the site seems unfavorable. While some librarians were excited about the possibilities of Facebook, the majority surveyed appeared to consider Facebook outside the purview of professional librarianship.

Processing backlogs continue to be a problem for archivists, and yet the problem is exacerbated by many of the traditional approaches to processing collections that archivists continue to practice. This research project reviewed the literature on archival processing and conducted surveys of processing practices to identify the scope of the problem and its impacts both on processing costs and on access to collections. The paper issues a call for archivists to rethink the way they process collections, particularly large contemporary collections. It challenges many of the assumptions archivists make about the importance of preservation activities in processing and the arrangement and description activities necessary to allow researchers to access collections effectively.

This study examines the utilization and preference of popular Internet and communication technologies among students at Sam Houston State University (SHSU), a Carnegie Research Doctoral University in East Texas. The researchers wished to study the local relevance of various technology trends reported in librarianship literature and then to use the survey data to inform decisions regarding library service development. A survey was conducted to investigate student ownership of electronic devices and student usage of technologies such as text messaging, Twitter, RSS, podcasts, social networks, Second Life, and others. Survey results indicated that, while students do not wish to experience an overwhelming library presence on all social networking and Internet media, most do wish to have basic library services easily accessible through a few of the most popular social networking and Internet technologies. The investigators identified some unique trends in usage among their local population and have adjusted certain library services and plans in accordance with their findings. Other libraries are encouraged to study their own users and develop new services based on those users' needs rather than popular trends or surveys which may be based on radically different user groups.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show how different approaches to information literacy, such as are mediated through web-based tutorials, are used as tools in negotiating the information-seeking expertise of university librarians. Design/methodology/approach - A textual analysis of 31 web-based Scandinavian tutorials for information literacy has been conducted. The similarities and differences identified are analysed as linguistic expressions of different approaches to information literacy. The approaches are seen as constructions based on a dialogue between the empirical data and the theoretical departure points. Findings - Four approaches to information literacy emerge in the results: a source approach, a behaviour approach, a process approach, and a communication approach. The approaches entail different perspectives on information literacy. They impart diverging understandings of key concepts such as \"information\", \"information seeking\" and the \"user\". Practical implications - A reflective awareness of different approaches to information literacy is important for both researchers and LIS practitioners, since the approaches that come into play have practical consequences for the operation of user education. Originality/value - The present study supplements the information literacy research field by combining empirical findings with theoretical reflections.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to carry out a survey in order to better understand the nature of handheld mobile computing use by academic library users and to determine whether there is a significant demand for using the library services with these small screen devices.Design methodology approach - A survey is created to measure whether people want to access an OPAC with a small screen. Additionally, through open-ended questions, the survey attempts to gain a broader understanding of handheld mobile computing's impact on, and implications for, the services provided by academic libraries.Findings - A total of 58.4 percent of respondents who own a web-enabled handheld device indicate that they would use small screen devices, such as PDAs or web-enabled cell phones to search a library OPAC.Originality value - The increasing prevalence of handheld mobile computing devices such as PDAs and web-enabled cell phones warrants investigation as to its impact on libraries. This study examines an academic library user population and the potential demand for using the library's catalog with handheld mobile computing devices

The meaning or meanings of record, and the relationship of records to other concepts such as evidence and information, are continuing subjects of debate. This paper examines statements about the nature of the record made by writers and practitioners within the archives and records management community, and it identifies some of the ways in which understandings and emphases vary. After reviewing different attitudes to definition and the perception of meaning, it discusses the challenges of defining records in terms of evidence or information, and suggests that archivists and records managers may prefer to consider evidence and information as two of the many affordances that records provide to their users. It concludes by exploring the concept of representation and proposing an alternative characterization of records as persistent representations of activities.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show why studies of public libraries, regarding their possible contribution in creating social capital, are important for social capital research in general, and are important for library practice in particular.Design methodology approach - Building on the latest theoretical developments and empirical findings of social capital research, the role of the public library as a potential creator of social capital is discussed. Findings from both quantitative and qualitative empirical research are discussed, and also the need for further studies is presented.Findings - The paper reports quantitative macro-level results concerning whether public library expenditure can contribute in explaining social trust patterns in the OECD countries. However, to be able to ascertain this, numerous qualitative studies revealing the mechanisms actually generating generalized trust are needed. Preliminary qualitative interviews suggest that this approach can prove fruitful.Research limitations implications - The implications for further research into public libraries and the building of generalized trust are twofold: one the one hand, more specific research questions on the role libraries can be asked regarding accommodating diversity and increasing trust among diverse groups, e.g. immigrants. On the other hand, the suitability of the public library for investigating these questions makes the results relevant for social capital research in general.Practical implications - The library profession points to the importance of libraries for social capital and maintain that libraries have been overlooked in this matter. Strong sentiments like this should be ideal for implementation of research based library policies, strategies and activities for creating social capital.Originality value - What is new in this research is that studies of public libraries may contribute in resolving the impasse within contemporary social capital research where neither institutional nor societal perspectives seem to be able to verify how social capital is created.