1981 IATUL Proceedings Copyright (c) 2013 Purdue University All rights reserved. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers Recent Events in 1981 IATUL Proceedings en-us Wed, 15 May 2013 19:52:39 PDT 3600 Communication Skills: The Role of the Library School http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/21 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/21 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST It is becoming increasingly necessary for the librarian to be an active communicator. We can no longer be content to assume and perpetuate the passive role which history and our own public image have assigned to us. The librarian needs to project his personality to create the optimum circumstances for transmitting and disseminating information.

Given that this is the case, a co-ordinated and intensive effort is needed to produce and train librarians capable of communicating easily and effectively with subordinates, peers, superiors and most important the community. It is suggested that such an effort could best be instigated in the library school, as the only channel through which all prospective entrants to the profession pass. This presumes a dynamic role, an initiative, on the part of the library schools; also an equation which balances enthusiasm and commitment on either side, both in library school staff and in students.

The role and function of one such library school, that at Manchester Polytechnic is examined in some detail, including such factors as eschewing the teacher - pupil syndrome, and communication practice through seminars and discussion. Also, our commitment to education for librarianship involving an awareness of communication theory and encouragement to observe communication practice, is analysed.

The transition from the library school student to professional librarian is discussed. It is suggested that if students are aware of communication and its purposes, they will be motivated to implement effective communication in a library context, to the benefit of themselves and of the community which they are serving. To this end, the image and attitude of the librarian must alter to reflect changes in society and in patterns of information provision. Our responsibility to society, and our interaction with it, is stressed.

Emphasis is laid on professional associations, and participation in their activities, as a means of becoming involved with society at a variety of levels. Involvement, communication and exchange of ideas to the enhancement of the profession is evaluated to round off the analysis of the positive role of library schools in general, and of Manchester in particular in the context of communication studies.

]]> B. Meakin A Computational Linguistics Approach to Conceptual Information Processing http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/20 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/20 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST Inger Bierschenk Technical cooperation Between Libraries and the Advanced Subscription Services http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/19 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/19 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST Arnoud de Kemp Dilemmas of Document Communication http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/18 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/18 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST The information explosion of the last century has had profound effects upon the entire society: The number of publications has increased enormously, and important consequences have been the development of bibliographic tools, of libraries and an improved cooperation between libraries. Computer technology has made a storage of bibliographic information in big, international data bases possible, and complex networks are now being established. As bibliographies and catalogues in their paper-ver si ons thus are disappearing, other sorts of literature are going to be replaced by on-line accessible data bases, and telephone directories, sales catalogues etc. are soon to disappear in their traditional form. The question is whether the "literature proper" - books and articles - are going to be computerized too. Already in 1969 F. W. Lancaster predicted that a complete change to a paperless society should be completed in 1990, and as late as 1979 Chris. Evans advocated exactly the same point-of-view. Other new media such as microforms, video-disks, teletext, and videotex are part of the ongoing diversification as far as information storage and transrnission is concern ed. At the EURIM 4 Conference, Brussels 1980, a half-way status was made, and John W. Senders reported of an experiment at producing an electronic periodical without any paper version at all. In the U.S. other experiments are recently being performed, aiming at storing the text of entire books (The Bible a.o.) by means of microprocessors to be used in connection with a reading plate device on which the text can be blown up. The explosive growth of literature has created a problem of abundance which cannot be solved by means of data bases and computerization alone: First the data bases usually give far too much information - too many references compared with the needs and capacities of the users. Second the very lack of redundancy of the output is at the same time a strength and a weakness seen in relation to the actual search situations: Apart from very specific subject inquiries performed by research workers, technicians, and other experts, the great majority of typical document search activities are best characterized by the facts that the users do not at all want information about all existing literature of a given subject. On the contrary: Users want to get one or a few, well selected articles relevant in the given context. It is, therefore, highly important, that user studies dealing with such badly defined search situations are being performed. They are, indeed, extremely common in public libraries with their mixed, and entirely heterogeneous clientèle; user studies of this kind could therefore reasonably be initiated in this type of libraries (T. Johansen, P. Ingwersen and P. Timmermann, 1980) (Annelise Mark Pejtersen (1980). Citation analyses show unambiguously that about half the articles published are never cited - that means: are never used by later research wor kers within the same subject field. Results of user studies - of any type - should be combined with comparative investigations of a number of information retrieval systerns (i.e.: bibliographies, indexes, abstract services, catalogues, data bases etc.); the Cranfield experiments indicate quite clear, that redundance-free or loss-free systems do not exist in the real world. And: Recall and precision are related factors.

]]> Axel Andersen Further to My Egg: The Story of an Australian Library Campaign http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/17 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/17 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Malcolm Fraser, once said:

"If books and libraries are to compete in the kind of world in which we find ourselves, and in the kind of world in which we must live, if they are to be allowed to make the contribution to the quality of life which I know is within the possibility of things in this area, a more active advocacy for books and for libraries and what they can achieve is required, because the 20th Century does not permit passive salesmanship to succeed".

And there is some truth in Mr. Fraser's assertion.

This paper describes how an organisation of library activists known as CROW (Concerned Residents of the Western suburbs of Adelaide) has gone about providing "a more active advocacy" for libraries, particularly public libraries.

CROW's measures, many of which have been deliberately lighthearted and eccentric - in order to gain mass media attention - have not been without some success, but this must be viewed against a background of severe national deficiency.

This paper describes the "pressure tactics" currently being applied, by CROW, in order to raise the library consciousness of our national leaders and of Australian society as a whole.

]]> Arthur Mortimer Public Relations of Scientific Libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/16 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/16 Thu, 16 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST Up until now, scientific libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany have been very reserved about public relations. One of the reasons for this attitude has been insecurity about the application of the specific methods used in public relations. For this reason the Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut (West Berlin) organized a project in 1978 that is meant to create the methodological preconditions for public relations in scientific libraries. The methods are to be tried out first in a model of local public relations at one library. The Hessische Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek (Hessian State and University Library) in Darmstadt has been chosen to serve as this model library.

Public relations of scientific libraries have two objectives.

1. Public relations aimed at the external public. These include:

  • a corporate idendity, containing an emblem if at all possible
  • cooperation with the press
  • public relations aimed especlally at the university
  • exhibitions and other cultural events
  • publications
  • cooperation with other institutions.

2. Public relations within the library:

  • a uniform system of signs for orientation and direction
  • point-of-use instructions
  • information bulletins for users and employees of the library.

Effective public relations require personnel and money. That is why the financing administrations have to be convinced of the effective benefit of public relations.

]]> Y. A. Haase Libraries and the Communication of Information: The Jamaican Situation http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/15 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/15 Tue, 14 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST Libraries and information systems in Third World countries are often neglected as they are not considered priority areas. To create an environment for the communication of information, not only must library and information services be developed - illiteracy must also be eradicated.

Jamaica has taken positive action to achieve these goals through the Jamaica Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL) and by the appointment of a Council to make recommendations for the co-ordination of is lands' library and information services. A Plan proposing a group of networks, has been formulated by the Council, and has been adopted by the Government for implementation. Through technical assistance the programme for the development of the networks is now underway.

Effective information transfer and communication will necessitate the use of the new technology. With few exceptions, very little, in regard to automation, has been implemented in Jamaican libraries.

]]> Yvonne T. Lawrence The Technological University Library's Communication with its Public http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/14 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/14 Tue, 14 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST University libraries are channels of communication which must themselves communicate with their publics, of which the most important are members of the institution and people outside it who draw upon its resources.

Dislike of the commercial overtones of the promotion of services need not inhibit communication between the library and its public.

The technological university library is favourably placed to develop communication in the broadest sense.

Communication should go beyond the accepted techniques of instruction and user education to inculcate more generally applicable attitudes, needed as the bulk of information renders the preservation of human values more important.

]]> A. C. Bubb User Studies in Connection with the Development of a Decentralized Library Network http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/13 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/13 Tue, 14 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST This paper examines the development of university departmental libraries in Scandinavia, and traces the influence of the German seminar libraries. This has led to the establishment of a number of library networks. Financial restraints have resulted in a number of studies of departmental library networks, with a view to possible rationalization. This paper describes studies of the attitudes of library users, at Chalmers University, towards computerization of literature resources and cooperation between the main library and the departmental libraries. It was shown that users were apprehensive of centralization and negative to any increase in administrative processes. At the same time computerization of literature resources was regarded positively. In view of these attitudes, and the increasing availability of computer equipment on the campus, it was suggested that the development of a coordinated decentralized library network based on the needs of users, could lead to considerable rationalization in the handling of literature resources at Chalmers.

]]> Nancy Fjallbrant et al. Communicating Scientific Information Through a University Library Network http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/12 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/1981/papers/12 Tue, 14 Apr 1981 00:00:00 PST Besides the widely accepted connotation of primary and secondary sources of scientific information it is postulated that a tertiary source may be identified. These three categories are defined and their role is related to (i) the pursuit of fundamental research at the frontier of knowiedge, (ii) the assimilation of the established discoveries into the traditional body of scientific literature and (iii) archiving for posterity.

It is no longer possible completely to separate these categories nor to identify distinct media responsible for information transfer and storage. However, we can identify a hierarchy of media and each element within the hierarchy can be defined. In Oxford, printed materials are categorized thus: books, periodical parts, pamphlets (bound), sheets and photographic material. All of these elements have provided media for scientific communication, but there are others of importance not represented here, viz: (i) private communieation in manuscript form, (ii) other "unpublished" material e.g. preprints and conference abstracts, (iii) unwritten communications of which the most important are private conversation, unpublished conferences and colloquia and (iv) electronic databanks and machine-readable files.

The university library system represents a substantial academic investment yet it contributes very little to the support of the primary category of communication. In Oxford, (as elsewhere) science departmental libraries assist in the distribution and collection of ephemera but this is not an exclusive activity.

The "electronic journal", whose inception was heralded as marking the eventual replacement for the printed scientific journal extant since 1665, has not so far found many supporters; but experiments continue. Computer-based information networks are now evolving commercially as well as privately and libraries are participating in this latest method for communicating information. The characteristies of a communications network for Oxford science libraries are described. What use will this be for scientific information transfer is a matter of considerable importance. What effect will such developments have on the future role of university libraries?

]]> Dennis Shaw