Soleymani, Mohammad Reza
(Assistant Professor, Librarianship and Information Science, Health Information Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. soleymani@mng.mui.ac.ir)
,
Akbari, Zahra
(Assistant Professor, English Department, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. akbari@mng.mui.ac.ir)
,
Mojiri, Shahin
(MA, Librarianship and Information Science, Health Information Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. shmojiri@yahoo.com)
Background: With the recent spread of virtual learning programs in universities, especially in the field of medical sciences, libraries play a crucial role to support these programs. This study aimed at investigating the skills required by librarians to support virtual learning programs in Isfahan U...
Background: With the recent spread of virtual learning programs in universities, especially in the field of medical sciences, libraries play a crucial role to support these programs. This study aimed at investigating the skills required by librarians to support virtual learning programs in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was an applied survey study. The population of the study includes all librarians working in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 89 librarians was selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire, the validity of which was confirmed by specialists in the fields of librarianship and information sciences and virtual learning, and its reliability was determined to be 0.92, using Cronbach's Alpha. The questionnaire consisted of 51 items designed to evaluate the librarians' virtual learning skills using Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the findings. Results: The findings of this study revealed that librarians had low level of skills with respect to the online reference services, and familiarity with virtual learning environment. They also showed low and average level of skills with respect to their general information technology, communication skills, ability to teach electronic information literacy and ability to create access to electronic resources. The results revealed no significant difference between the librarians of the two universities, or between male and female librarians. However, librarians with educational background in librarianship and information sciences were significantly more skillful and competent than their colleagues. Conclusion: Despite the crucial role of libraries in supporting virtual learning programs, the librarians in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences had low-level skills to play such an important role. Therefore, it is essential to provide on-the-job virtual training courses for librarians to improve their job performance and the quality of library services.
Background: With the recent spread of virtual learning programs in universities, especially in the field of medical sciences, libraries play a crucial role to support these programs. This study aimed at investigating the skills required by librarians to support virtual learning programs in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was an applied survey study. The population of the study includes all librarians working in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 89 librarians was selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire, the validity of which was confirmed by specialists in the fields of librarianship and information sciences and virtual learning, and its reliability was determined to be 0.92, using Cronbach's Alpha. The questionnaire consisted of 51 items designed to evaluate the librarians' virtual learning skills using Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the findings. Results: The findings of this study revealed that librarians had low level of skills with respect to the online reference services, and familiarity with virtual learning environment. They also showed low and average level of skills with respect to their general information technology, communication skills, ability to teach electronic information literacy and ability to create access to electronic resources. The results revealed no significant difference between the librarians of the two universities, or between male and female librarians. However, librarians with educational background in librarianship and information sciences were significantly more skillful and competent than their colleagues. Conclusion: Despite the crucial role of libraries in supporting virtual learning programs, the librarians in Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences had low-level skills to play such an important role. Therefore, it is essential to provide on-the-job virtual training courses for librarians to improve their job performance and the quality of library services.
1 Corbett A Brown A The Roles that Librarians and Libraries Play in Distance Education Settings Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration 2015 18 2
2 Lewis KO Cidon MJ Seto TL Chen H Mahan JD Leveraging e-learning in medical education Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care 2014 Jul 31 44 6 150 63
3 Zehry K Halder N Theodosiou L E-Learning in medical education in the United Kingdom Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 2011 Dec 31 15 3163 7
4 Yang L Orientation and functions of library in quality education of college International Education Studies 2011 4 2 195
5 Sacchanand C. Information literacy instruction to distance students in higher education: Librarians’ key role. proceeding of the 66 th IFLA Council and General Conference; 2002.
6 Cooper ID Crum JA New activities and changing roles of health sciences librarians: a systematic review, 1990-2012 J Med Lib Assoc 2013 Oct 1 101 4 268 77
7 Gholami T. Distance learning and digital libraries. Tehran: Ketabdar 2015.
8 Ritterbush J Assessing Academic Library Services to Distance Learners: A Literature Review of Perspectives from Librarians, Students, and Faculty The Reference Librarian 2014 55 1 26 36
9 Secker J. Electronic resources in the virtual learning environment: a practical guide for librarians. Translated by Majidi A. Tehran: Ketabdar; 2011.
10 Yang SQ Dalal HA Virtual reference: Where do academic libraries stand? Computers inlibraries 2015 35 4 4 10
11 Parirokh M Ilkhani M Evaluation of infrastructure and of librarians skills of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad to set up and Development of digital reference services Bulletin of information process and management 2014 30 1 121 149
12 Farhang nezhad M Bordbar Gh Librarians and information technology skills assessment and factors affecting it in public libraries Information research and public libraries 2013 19 2 169 188
13 Isfandiari-Moghaddam A Zohdi S Evaluation of digital librarians’ Skills and capabilities: A case study of academic librarians in Tabriz Library and Information 2012 16 3 191 216
14 Alinezhad M Sarmadi M Zandi B Shobeiri M Information literacy level and that’s role in student e-learning education process Information research and public libraries 2011 17 2 337 371
15 Gholami T. Digital reference services. Qom: Qom university; Tehran: Ketabdar 2010.
16 Soleymani MR Investigating the relationship between information literacy and academic performance among students Journal of education and health promotion 2014 3 95 9 25250361
17 Niran A Simisaye AO Oyefuga AB Relationship between perceived self-efficacy and information literacy among library and information science undergraduates in a Nigerian University of Education IFE Psycholog IA: An International Journal 2010 18 2 172 91
18 Davarpanah M, Ghasemi AH, Syamak M. Assessing students' information literacy. Tehran: Dabizesh; 2008.
19 Isfandiari-Moghaddam A Bayat B Digital libraries in the mirror of the literature: Issues and considerations The Electronic Library 2008 26 6 844 862
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.