This descriptive study analyzes results from an 18-item survey that assessed students' usage and perceptions of library reference services at a comprehensive public metropolitan university. Among 235 surveys completed between November 2016 and January 2017, the majority of respondents represented the "Generation Z" population of college students, 18 to 24 years of age. Quantitative and qualitative findings revealed patterns of reference service usage, perceptions of librarians, and barriers and facilitators to seeking help from a librarian. These findings can inform decision making to improve marketing and outreach to students regarding general reference services, reference models, and liaison roles.
Readers of Searching the Grey Literature: A Handbook for Searching Reports, Working Papers, and Other Unpublished Research should come away with a basic knowledge of the range and complexity of grey literature, as well as where it falls within the larger picture of information.
PurposeThe purpose of this case study is to demonstrate a current model, as well as explore future models, for integrating institutional repositories (IRs) in higher education goals at the University of Toledo.
Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study that uses literature review as an exploratory framework for new approaches while reflecting on existing literature to present the current practical framework for using IRs.
FindingsThe digital environment has pushed academic institutions toward new strategies for curating their record on scholarship and preserving their heritage collections, using their IRs. Innovative approaches are also vital to curating the IR content digitally to facilitate access to those contents in ways that was not possible a few decades ago. Surveys and existing literature point to increasing uses of IRs despite abstinence from considering open access for scholarly activity among faculty concerned about copyright, plagiarism and sustainability. Staffing and funding IR initiatives are important factors in sustaining the curation of scholarship in the digital environment.
Practical implicationsIRs with open access publishing, expert gallery and digital library features place academic libraries in a central role as partners in digital scholarship.
Originality/valueThis case study presents an original approach to incorporating the IR into the curation of digital content while also considering potential uses of knowledge management approaches for data and knowledge sharing in an academic environment.
Assembling the Pieces of a Systematic Review: A Guide for Librarians is a well-written book by qualified authors that serves as a manual for conducting reviews or forming and managing a review service, regardless of skill level.
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