The study examines the views of architect experts and physically disabled users on the accessibility status of 14 public and university library buildings in Iran. The respondents rated on the availability of items listed in a checklist grouped under five categories: parking, ramps, interior layout, exclusive space and public space for the disabled. The checklist was based on the American Disability Act and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions checklist for libraries for the disabled. The results indicate that the point of view of both disabled users and architects on all criteria is similar except for the ratings on the ramp and the interior layout for the disabled in library buildings. Based on the architects’ responses, 53.8 percent of libraries did not provide ramps and 63.0 percent had no exclusive space for the disabled. Disabled users who rated higher on library accessibility were frequent visitors to the library. The provision of access and equipment met minimum compliant standards on the standard checklist, but there is room for improvements.

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An academic library is a spiritual home to support users in their pursuit of lifelong learning. This study approaches the issues from the visually impaired students’ (VIPs) perspective towards librarians’ support. This study was conducted by using the qualitative approach. Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions. For trustworthiness of data, member checking and audit from experts are also used. The participants of the study remarked that the librarians’ friendly behaviour provided them a sense of being accepted, valued, cared for, respected, and welcomed which fostered the creation of their sense of belonging.

Universities have had to develop new strategies to raise their profile in the international marketplace. In Malaysia, as in many other nations, publication in ISI‐ranked journals is a crucial factor. This focus is causing a strain on national journals that suffer from a lack of content, institutional support, and national recognition. This paper presents data about Malaysian journal publishing and the study questioned editors in chief of Malaysian journals to obtain opinions of the problems they encounter and possible solutions. Data were collected through interviews. The participants in the study highlighted four main issues that resulted in a weak publishing environment: institutional reputation building (academic reputation), researcher prestige/image building, lack of focus on local journal issues by legislators, and a weak publishing culture. The article concludes that the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education should pay attention to national initiatives in countries such as India and Australia that recognize national journals and reward researchers for publishing in them.

The number of students with disabilities enrolling in universities in Malaysia is increasing. Previous studies were library-focused, examining status of services provided for the disabled. This paper approaches the issue from the visually impaired person's (VIP) perspective. The questions this paper aims to answer are, What sort of use do VIPs make of their student volunteers? and, How does a service like student volunteers contribute to sense of belonging to the library? The study uses the qualitative approach. Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions with eighteen VIPs who are registered in a university library. For trustworthiness of data, prolonged engagement, member checking, and audit from experts are used. Student volunteers were perceived of having two main roles. Firstly, the VIPs perceived student volunteers as their academic saviours for searching, reading, borrowing and discussing assigned reading materials with them. Volunteers provided the VIPs with the opportunity to interact socially with sighted students, become their friends, interact socially outside reading times, and introduced them to other sighted students to help them find additional volunteer readers. These roles enrich VIPs' academic, social and emotional lives. VIPs expressed being grateful, felt cared for, respected, connected and belonging to the library and university student community.