Libraries account for about 7 % of the total information market, which in terms of quantity makes them a significant part of this market. The roles they have been performing for centuries and for which they have been paid tremendous amounts of money, are in this modern world put under question. Nevertheless, the predictions that had been made about the slow extinction of print were proven false. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that more books are being published now than at any time before the advent of the Internet, and libraries are busier than ever. Search engines (e.g. Google) are quite a challenge and they attract more users than library catalogues. Also online bookstores, which are much better at presenting their content to customers, have been successfully competing with libraries. The latter, however, may keep a leading role if they focus on what they do best and stop doing things that others do better. In any case, libraries have to embrace the World Wide Web as a tool without which they cannot fight for customers’ attention. While search engines have proved to be more effective with reference activities, linking of publishers with online bookstores turned out to be more successful in basic cataloguing. By linking all of their catalogues, libraries have to make their collections containing billions of titles accessible, and redirect their professional resources into the task of subject cataloguing the wealth of knowledge that lies hidden between the covers. It is vital to digitise as many materials as possible, and with improved knowledge organisation make them more easily usable and more widely available. Combining irreplaceable tradition of preserving the recorded knowledge in the world with effective use of ICT tools, libraries can set up an information system (Bookle) which will give them an undisputable advantage over their competitors in the information marketplace.
Hospital libraries are essential for providing professional information and help with professional work and research to healthcare staff and for supporting patients. Following IFLA recommendations and other standards, they are expected to offer access to information as well as activities that relax, entertain and aid the healing process. Reading during hospitalization can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, while promoting recovery.
Dobreknjige.si is an online platform designed for readers seeking high-quality fiction and non-fiction recommendations. As a national project of Slovenian public libraries, it helps users organize their reading and connect with fellow readers, and promotes a vibrant reading culture. The portal attracts over two million visits annually, with its popularity steadily increasing. After a decade of operation, a major upgrade became necessary due to outdated technology, limited development possibilities and the need to meet modern user expectations.
The paper describes the methodology of a study of reading habits and reading culture of librarians and library management in Slovenian libraries, which is a part of a broader survey in the project Reading role models: reading habits of professional staff in kindergartens, schools and faculties and public libraries – i.e. a study of all professionals involved in and influencing reading literacy and reading culture, as well as of students for these professions.
Kranj City Library is the central regional library, which, among other things, implements programs for reading literacy, information literacy, lifelong learning and intergenerational cooperation. In this context, we joined the international project Libraries of Emotions with the aim of introducing an innovative reading promotion service. In the paper, the project and the process of implementing practical content were presented.
Kranj City Library is one of the largest Slovenian public libraries, which, like most Slovenian libraries, also deals with the debts of its users. Prohit Claims Management Agency helps us to collect the debts. Before collection by an external contractor, we first carry out a series of procedures in the library to collect the debts ourselves. We regularly monitor the debts of library users and inform them about their debts.
Foreign research reports low use of mobile devices for reading e-texts among students, so we investigated mobile reading behaviour among UL students. Since the results of the online survey showed that low use of mobile devices for reading e-texts is also characteristic of UL students, we wanted to investigate in more detail the reasons and barriers to the use of mobile devices for reading e-texts.
Participation in professional events in the fields of reading literacy and reading culture has a positive impact on boosting professional self-confidence. The available data reflects the accessibility of professional events for the promotion of reading literacy and reading culture in Slovenia. Practitioners attend such training, but at the same time, they doubt their competence to encourage and plan the development of reading literacy and reading culture.
User experience is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the quality of services, products and even bibliographic information systems. Due to the lack of comprehensive research into user experience in bibliographic information systems, we developed a questionnaire, covering all key dimensions and aspects of user experience and taking into account the specificities of bibliographic information systems.
In 2019, the Public Library of Užice conducted a survey to assess the level of user knowledge of the search process in COBISS/OPAC (now COBISS+). The survey consisted of the following segments: user profile, most commonly used access points, use of screen tips and ease of searching, and user evaluation of the search results obtained.
In this paper we discuss the competencies of librarians and informatologists, terminological disagreements as well as attempts to investigate the various paths of influence on academic education in the field of Information sciences.
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