Research Guides in a Public Policy Environment

Davenport, Nancy; Vajs, Kristin M.

doi:10.1300/j120v08n20_04

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Another example of users' opinions not being reported is Davenport and Vajs' 1987 article describing how pathfinders were successfully used in a special library setting, that of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). One of their goals was to “…provide [their] clientele with the means to quickly meet some of their own information needs” (Davenport and Vajs, 1987, p. 56). In a special library environment, such as the CRS, where clients expect a high level of service, how did the clientele feel about having to meet their own information needs?…”

Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the core idea of pointing users to pathfinders from within the library's catalog was first implemented at MIT (Canfield, 1972), Jarvis' idea launched the printed guide onto the online format. Davenport and Vajs (1987, p. 60) also reported a wish to develop an online guide with direct links to the library's catalog.…”

Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another example of users" opinions not being reported is Davenport and Vajs" 1987 article describing how pathfinders were successfully used in a special library setting, that of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). One of their goals was to "…provide [their] clientele with the means to quickly meet some of their own information needs" (p. 56).…”

Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From paper to electronic, the evolution of pathfinders: a review of the literature

Vileno

2007

Reference Services Review

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature on pathfinders, from the 1970s to the present.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews a range of publications which describe the methodology of pathfinders, provide practical advice and information, present research results, to aid librarians and library administrators in how to best manage the production and marketing of pathfinders.FindingsIt was found that not much has been written on pathfinders. A few articles on traditional pathfinders were published between 1972 and 1995. In 1996, the electronic format took over. Most of the articles are of a practical nature although some describe empirical research. One void in the literature that has been found is librarians' lack of knowledge of users' needs and preferences. This results in much time and effort being dedicated to the production of pathfinders but without any consideration of users, thus discouraging them from using the available resources.Practical implicationsThis paper will be a useful source of information for librarians. It provides an overview of guidelines and best practices currently reported in the literature as well as the latest technical and educational trends.Originality/valueSuch an extensive review of the literature on pathfinders has not been done before. It provides practical information for librarians wanting to embark on the production of pathfinders. It also identifies possible areas of future study.

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Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Traditional Pathfindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From paper to electronic, the evolution of pathfinders: a review of the literature

Vileno

2007

Reference Services Review

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“…Bland (1990); Jarvis (1985) and Summerville (1990) discuss how subject guides may be integrated into the library catalogues. Davenport and Vajs (1987) outlined developments which include on-line guides that will have direct links to the Library of Congress SCORPIO system, while Colby et al (2001) present OCLC's initiatives concerning the incorporation of pathfinders to their services.…”

Section: Domain Analysis In Information Science 423mentioning

confidence: 99%

Domain analysis in information science

Hjørland

2002

Journal of Documentation

321

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What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information science to produce kinds of domain-specific knowledge? This article presents 11 approaches to domain analysis. Together these approaches make a unique competence for information specialists. The approaches are: producing literature guides and subject gateways; producing special classifications and thesauri; research on indexing and retrieving specialities; empirical user studies; bibliometrical studies; historical studies; document and genre studies; epistemological and critical studies; terminological studies, LSP (languages for special purposes), discourse studies; studies of structures and institutions in scientific communication; and domain analysis in professional cognition and artificial intelligence. Specific examples and selective reviews of literature are provided, and the strengths and drawbacks of each of these approaches are discussed.

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Research Guides in a Public Policy Environment

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

From paper to electronic, the evolution of pathfinders: a review of the literature

From paper to electronic, the evolution of pathfinders: a review of the literature

Domain analysis in information science

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