This article reports findings from the study of the international contribution to the system of library and information science communication in Poland in the years 2003-2005. The sample consists of articles published both in selected journals and collective works. Two important dimensions determining the internationalization of local scholarly communication are considered: direct contribution (foreign authors' articles and papers and their translations published in Poland) and indirect contribution (citedness of foreign authors' documents in articles and papers published in Poland). Bibliographic data about the geographical distribution and affiliation of foreign authors are gathered and analyzed. Furthermore, the findings of citation analysis are presented to determine the percentage share of citations received by foreign documents as well as to find out what is the structure of such citations regarding the language and form, which thematic areas are most replete with such citations and which foreign journals are most cited in Poland.
Background and goals
PurposeThe principal aim of the present study was to identify and model the subject structure of the research area on collaborative information behaviour (CIB).Design/methodology/approachA qualitative, inductive and exploratory approach was adopted, and the method of thematic analysis was used. This study was based on the analysis of 79 publications selected from the Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA) database in April 2019.FindingsCollaborative and collective information behaviours were differentiated, and the subject structure of the CIB research area was identified to contain collaborative activities oriented to both information access and content, their various conditions, means of conducting, experiences of selected communities and metascientific research on the area itself.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations result primarily from relying on the research material selected from the database (LISTA) focussed mainly on the issues of library and information science.Originality/valueThis study contributes by proposing an original model of the CIB research area representing its subject structure and providing a coherent list of subjects of interest to CIB researchers. Hopefully, it will also contribute to the harmonisation of terminology related to this research area and thus facilitate communication between CIB researchers and accelerate the cumulative development of scientific knowledge on CIB.
This article discusses the roles of academic library Web sites, summarises the findings of research aimed at comparing the contents and usability of Polish and American academic library Web sites and presents conclusions regarding the basic functions they perform. Twenty-five Polish and 25 American Web sites were evaluated according to a detailed questionnaire prepared specially for this purpose. In total, 275 different elements of academic library Web sites were evaluated and analysed, including 237 elements regarding their contents and 38 regarding their usability. It became evident that these groups of Web sites differ significantly as regards to the contents but their usability features are quite similar.
Purpose/Thesis: The article opens new research opportunities by going beyond the concept of the information user and contributing to the development of a research paradigm based on the idea of information agency. It proposes a theoretical framework for a new way of thinking about the subject of information processes.Approach/Methods: This conceptual article is based on theoretical considerations and synthetic, critical analyses of the concept of the information user alongside other ideas underlying the approach proposed here.Results and conclusions: The article establishes a theoretical framework for thinking about the information agent. The information agent is seen as a dynamic, heterogeneous, multifaced and inseparable system gaining agency in specific situations and losing it in others.Originality/Value: The article presents the original concept of an information agent together with initial suggestions regarding how to apply it to, and make it operable in, empirical research.
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