A study of changing information needs of contemporary public library users in China

Public libraries should be vigilant and responsive to the ever changing information needs of their clientele functioning in a society undergoing through rapid change due to technological innovations. China is currently experiencing a social and technological transformation of great magnitude in terms of metamorphosing itself from a traditional society to one that is driven by information technologies. Our research study, taking this proposition into account, did a questionnaire survey on 954 library information users at five major public libraries. This research study has discovered that the information needs of public library users today reflect some of the peculiar characteristics of their society in changing times which is driven largely by the rapid development and application of new information technologies. It shows that there is a newly added demand emphasis on certain categories of library resources and services by the Chinese reading public. Our research findings have identified such needs basically in the following five functional areas of public libraries, namely, 1) Increased demands for economic resources, 2) rising expectations for more effective and efficient library services, 3) a convenient location and an amicable environment congenial to learning, 4) a suitable place for engaging in intellectual dialogues and in socialization, and 5) a few other technological amenities and information technology-based digital resources and facilities in addition to a rich repository of library materials in print format. Finally, our paper concludes its discussion with a few observation remarks about the changing trend of public libraries' visions, missions and operations vis-à-vis a contextual background of the ever heightened public expectations for getting quality information services in a timely manner in order for them to function effectively in an information-oriented society such as that of ours today.

Exploring the Three-dimensional Framework of Knowledge Service in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS)

The evolution of the society and economy has stimulated the development of Knowledge Service(KS), making it an indispensable solution to address future challenges facing libraries and information institutions. However at present, academic research on knowledge service is falling short and its definition is far from clear and complete. As such,this article proposes the Three-dimensional Framework Knowledge Service(TdFKS) for libraries and information institutions based on the knowledge value chain model. By making reliability analysis and mean value analysis of a questionnaire survey result, the article clarifies the structure of the three-dimensional framework and verifies the rationality of the TdFKS.

An Informetric analysis of web citation in Chinese journals of Library and Information Science in recent years

This paper selects 998 articles as its data sources from four Chinese core journals in the field of Library and Information Science from 2003 to 2007.Some pertinent aspects of reference citations particularly from web resources are selected for a focused analysis and discussion.This includes primarily such items as the number of web citations,web citations per each article,the distribution of domain names of web citations and also certain aspects about the institutional and/or geographical affiliations of the author.The evolving situation of utilizing online networked academic information resources in China is the central thematic discussion of this study.The writing of this paper is augmented by the explicatory presentation of 3 graphic figures,6 tables and 18 references.

An overview on the development of Chinese library and information science journals

This paper gives an overview of the history and the present status of Chinese library and information science journals, and introduces the operation and management of Chinese library and information science journals by taking Journal of Library Science In China, Library and Information Service, Journal of Academic Libraries, and Journal of Information Science as examples. Besides, six suggestions are given for the future development of Chinese library and information science journals.

Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science

(CJLIS,Chinese Title:《中国文献情报》)ISSN 1674-3393,CN 11570/G2;Price:$US 199/Volume Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(CJLIS)is the first and only Englishlanguage academic journal in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS)that has been published in China’s mainland so far.It aims to establish a platform for students,researchers and professionals in LIS and archive science to engage in intellectual dialogs and to share best professional practices of their experience.

Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(CJLIS) 正式更名为Journal of Data and Information Science(JDIS)

经国内外专家深入探讨和反复论证,经主管、主办单位同意,经国家新闻出版广电总局正式批准(新广出审[2015]1187号文),由中国科学院文献情报中心主办的Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science(《中国文献情报(英)》,CJLIS)将于2016年起正式更名为Journal of Data and Information Science(《数据与情报科学学报(英)》,JDIS)。作为国内唯一的图书馆学情报学领域英文学术期刊,CJLIS自2008年创刊以来,以刊发符合国际规范的高水平学术研究论文、推动中国图书馆学情报学学科发展为己任,组织优秀稿源、坚守学术规范、推动开放获取、严控评议流程,赢得了业界的充分肯定和广

A New Start for the Library and Information Services at CAS

The new modern library of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), situated in the central area of Science Town in Zhongguancun, Beijing, has just been put into operation. As the largest specialized library in China, the library has become one of paradises for China' s avid readers,offering a central repository and global gateway for the collection and dissemination of scientific and technical information.……

A comparative study of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs based on social network analysis

Purpose: This paper intends to explore a quantitative method for investigating the characteristics of information diffusion through social media like weblogs and microblogs.By using the social network analysis methods,we attempt to analyze the different characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs as well as the possible reasons of these differences.Design/methodology/approach: Using the social network analysis methods,this paper carries out an empirical study by taking the Chinese weblogs and microblogs in the field of Library and Information Science(LIS) as the research sample and employing measures such as network density,core/peripheral structure and centrality.Findings: Firstly,both bloggers and microbloggers maintain weak ties,and both of their social networks display a small-world effect. Secondly,compared with weblog users,microblog users are more interconnected,more equal and more capable of developing relationships with people outside their own social networks. Thirdly,the microblogging social network is more conducive to information diffusion than the blogging network,because of their differences in functions and the information flow mechanism. Finally,the communication mode emerged with microblogging,with the characteristics of micro-content,multi-channel information dissemination,dense and decentralized social network and content aggregation,will be one of the trends in the development of the information exchange platform in the future.Research limitations: The sample size needs to be increased so that samples are more representative. Errors may exist during the data collection. Moreover,the individual-level characteristics of the samples as well as the types of information exchanged need to be further studied.Practical implications: This preliminary study explores the characteristics of information diffusion in the network environment and verifies the feasibility of conducting a quantitative analysis of information diffusion through social media. In addition,it provides insight into the characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs and the possible reasons of these differences.Originality/value: We have analyzed the characteristics of information diffusion in weblogs and microblogs by using the social network analysis methods. This research will be useful for a quantitative analysis of the underlying mechanisms of information flow through social media in the network environment.

What Does Information Science Offer for Data Science Research?:A Review of Data and Information Ethics Literature

This paper reviews literature pertaining to the development of data science as a discipline,current issues with data bias and ethics,and the role that the discipline of information science may play in addressing these concerns.Information science research and researchers have much to offer for data science,owing to their background as transdisciplinary scholars who apply human-centered and social-behavioral perspectives to issues within natural science disciplines.Information science researchers have already contributed to a humanistic approach to data ethics within the literature and an emphasis on data science within information schools all but ensures that this literature will continue to grow in coming decades.This review article serves as a reference for the history,current progress,and potential future directions of data ethics research within the corpus of information science literature.

A preliminary study of Lib-PassPort:JALIS' regional interlibrary loan management system

This paper reviews the development of Lib-PassPort service program by Jiangsu Academic Library & Information System(JALIS). The service has realized a reader self-directed method of interlibrary loan of printed books at more than 130 university libraries within Jiangsu Province of China in the last 5 years and with a cumulative interlibrary circulation of nearly 190,000 volumes. The paper describes the framework of the clientele, structure, functions, policies, and management mechanisms of the services, and demonstrates its contribution to the improved accessibility of library materials in the region.

Analysis of Research Directions in the Field of Library Intelligence from the Perspective of Altmetrics

With the continuous development of science and technology, the academic communication of many scholars slowly shifts to the web, and people’s academic communication in social media gradually increases. Traditional metrics have a certain one-sidedness in the evaluation of disciplinary literature and cannot evaluate the impact of literature on the web;while Altmetrics can count how literature is followed and utilized on the web, which is a complement to the traditional measurement methods. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of academic literature based on Altmetrics, and combining it with traditional citation indicators can strengthen the credibility and objectivity of academic evaluation and promote better dissemination and communication of academic results. Against this research background, this paper combed through the most influential articles in the field of library and information science in recent years, analysed the literature on library intelligence in the WOS database, identified current research hotspots in the field of library and information science, and predicted potential research hotspots in the future. This study may provide a reference for the research and development of the discipline.

Introduction to information seeking behavior—A review of literature and field practice directions

The article tries to discover the major authors in the field of information seeking behavior via social network analysis. It is to be accomplished through a literature review and also by focusing on a graphic map showing the seven most productive coauthors in this field. Based on these seven authors' work, five probable research directions about information seeking behavior are discerned and presented.

Information service of special libraries in China:Current status and prospect

The article firstly summarizes the structure and development of special libraries in China.Then,the best practices of the documentation,information and consulting services of the Chinese special libraries in the digital and networking environment are provided.It finally explores the approaches for the special libraries to offer new professional services in order to meet the needs for knowledge-based services.

Current status and future development of Chinese Government Public Information Online

Since its launch last year, the Chinese Government Public Information Online(CGPIO) platform's basic construction has developed rapidly. This paper describes the technology and service status of the platform, analyzes its problems, and details the future development of the alliance platform in the future.

Topic Detection Based on Weak Tie Analysis： A Case Study of LIS Research

Purpose: Based on the weak tie theory, this paper proposes a series of connection indicators Acof weak tie subnets and weak tie nodes to detect research topics, recognize their connections, and understand their evolution.Design/methodology/approach: First, keywords are extracted from article titles and preprocessed. Second, high-frequency keywords are selected to generate weak tie co-occurrence networks. By removing the internal lines of clustered sub-topic networks, we focus on the analysis of weak tie subnets’ composition and functions and the weak tie nodes’ roles.Findings: The research topics’ clusters and themes changed yearly; the subnets clustered with technique-related and methodology-related topics have been the core, important subnets for years; while close subnets are highly independent, research topics are generally concentrated and most topics are application-related; the roles and functions of nodes and weak ties are diversified.Research limitations: The parameter values are somewhat inconsistent; the weak tie subnets and nodes are classified based on empirical observations, and the conclusions are not verified or compared to other methods.Practical implications: The research is valuable for detecting important research topics as well as their roles, interrelations, and evolution trends. Originality/value: To contribute to the strength of weak tie theory, the research translates weak and strong ties concepts to co-occurrence strength, and analyzes weak ties’ functions. Also, the research proposes a quantitative method to classify and measure the topics’ clusters and nodes.

Academic institutional repositories in China:A survey of CALIS member libraries

Purpose: China Academic Library & Information System(CALIS) planned to launch an institutional repository(IR) project to promote IR development and open access at colleges and universities in China. In order to get to know the current state of IRs in academic institutions, with the help of Peking University Library, CALIS Administrative Center conducted this survey.Design/methodology/approach: We conducted an online survey of CALIS member libraries.Findings: Firstly, the development of IRs at China's colleges and universities is still in its infancy. Secondly, the Chinese colleges and universities have reached a consensus on the objective for having an IR. Thirdly, they are having high expectations of IR functions. Fourthly,they prefer to establish a centralized IR system at a minimum cost. Finally, there are both similarities and differences between the Chinese academic institutions and their counterparts in other countries in the state of IR development.Research limitations: The questionnaire needs to be improved because there is a lack of enough questions for those who do not plan to build an IR. Comparatively lower rate of valid questionnaire return can affect the accuracy of the results. It is hard to go into an in-depth discussion only based on the data collected from this questionnaire survey, and consequently,the findings from the survey can hardly present an accurate and comprehensive picture of the current state of IR development in the academic sector in China.Practical implications: The survey results provide essential foundation for CALIS IR project,and meanwhile the research can serve as a reference source for the future studies of the development of IRs at China's colleges and universities.Originality/value: It is the first national survey focused on the development of IRs in academic institutions in China.

CALIS service framework and its implementation

In relation to the service strategies, service systems, and service items provided by CALIS, this paper introduced the service architecture of China Academic Library and Information System(CALIS). Based on this, the authors analyzed several services of CALIS, such as online union cataloging service, cooperative purchasing service, western journal current contents service, and interlibrary loan and document delivery services, as well as their effectiveness. In addition, future CALIS service strategies are also discussed in this paper.

A comparative study on institutional collaboration characteristics in EM and LIS in China

Purpose： This study analyzes the current status of institutional cooperation in economics and management （EM） and library and information science （LIS） in China.Design/methodology/approach： Based on the Chinese Social Science Citation Index （CSSCI） database, we constructed institutional collaboration networks in EM and LIS, and analyzed the collaboration characteristics through social network analysis.Findings： In the development and evolution of the collaboration network of institutions in humanities and social sciences, EM is always at the center. It has extensive cooperation relationships with other fields. The position of LIS has also become centralized, and its interdisciplinary cooperation has increased. For both EM and LIS, we observed ＂small-world＂ and ＂scale-free＂ networks, indicating full communication and mature development in both disciplines. Based on a comparison of two institutions in the two fields, we confirmed the comprehensive development in EM and the extensive information exchange in LIS.Research limitations： We collected data only from humanities and social sciences, but did not consider the connection between EM and natural sciences, or between LIS and natural sciences. In addition, the paper lacks analysis of institutional collaboration at the micro level.Practical implications： The paper provides insights into the institutional cooperation characteristics in EM and LIS in China.Originality/value： The paper offers a new perspective on the characteristics of institutional collaboration in China.

Detecting the research diversity of researchers in library and information science:An exploratory study

Metrics have emerged as an important tool for quantitatively evaluating researchers from a variety of perspectives,including research impact,research quality,interdisciplinarity,and cross-disciplinarity.Especially in the field of library and information science,many previous studies have highlighted the characteristics of researchers in this field.However,only a minority of the studies address the aspect of diversity in research topics.The purpose of this study is to(1)evaluate the topic diversity of researchers in library and information science and(2)examine the relationships between the researcher topic diversity and research impact.We propose an indicator to quantify author topic diversity,which we refer to as author topic diversity(ATD).Latent Dirichlet Allocation(LDA)is used to detect topics in the field,while cosine similarity is used to calculate the diversity of research topics in a given researcher’s publications.The results show that topic diversity in the field of library and information science varies greatly from author to author.In addition,weak positive correlations are found between the ATD and citation indicators,suggesting that engaging in diversified topics may lead to higher research impact.