Editorial

Citation

Baker, D. (2015), "Editorial", New Library World, Vol. 116 No. 5/6. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-11-2014-0129

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: New Library World, Volume 116, Issue 5/6

Recent issues of New Library World have focussed on the future role of the library in general and as a social institution in particular. The paper by Einasto that opens this double issue continues this theme in the context of the continued turbulence in the environment in which libraries have to operate. How can a library satisfy the needs of modern society? Einasto uses communication theories to analyse and identify the ways in which library services should develop to answer this question. The fundamental library-user power relationship is being transformed through new modes of access in favour of the user. Librarians therefore have to understand this change and adapt or adopt participatory approaches and open dialogue with users to determine new functions and services for the library.

Dali and Alsabbagh draw attention in their article to the wealth of information about translators that is typically contained in libraries’ bibliographic records and which can be used to offer enhanced advisory services to users as well as improved stock selection and collection development. Although based on six major Canadian public libraries, the findings have much broader application with regard to literature translated into English.

Many universities in the Western world – not least in the UK – have significant numbers of international students. Generic information literacy training of these students may be a challenge, given cultural and language differences. Lahlafi and Rushton provide a valuable exploration – through a case study – of the transferability of active learning and teaching techniques with special reference to groups of home and international students. Learning workshop activities and the use of mobile phones in the classroom were used to enhance student engagement in the training. Embeddedness combined with enjoyment to provide enhanced training techniques that have the potential to improve students’ academic abilities and learning skills.

Nicholas and others describe a very different kind of outreach to students at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The authors look at the ways in which the university library can aid the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Minimising “library anxiety” was the goal of UWI’s halls of residence programme. While the experiment requires further validation, it is clear that there is potential for the approach to help first-year students in particular to develop information literacy skills as they embark on their university careers.

Staying in the Caribbean, Nero looks at the ways in which indexing methods are used to describe special collections and manuscripts in the area’s national and university libraries.

If libraries are to develop in the future, then so must librarians. Attebury reviews relevant literature in the field of adult education, as it relates to the professional development of academic librarians.

The double issue concludes with Bruce Massis’ viewpoint column on enhanced expectation by students of the academic library in the Internet age. The librarian has a key role to play in ensuring that students appreciate not only speed of access but also understand the importance of quality of content.

David Michael Baker