https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/38014 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:28:26 GMT 2026-06-13T05:28:26Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39544 Title: The concept of joint-use for the local primary schools and branch public libraries Abstract: Public libraries and school libraries have varying but complementary roles. The mission of the public library is to provide a vast range of different information resources that cover all kinds of knowledge topics sought by the general public. It is used mainly for recreational interests and also for self-improvement and to look up information. School libraries aid students in the educational process of increasing their literacy and information- seeking skills. The collections are aimed to service the student and teacher population in the school and include material designed to aid the learning and teaching processes of a variety of subjects. In this long essay, we have examined the concept of joint-use libraries as a means of creating a comprehensive service to both public and school library users. We will be examining the literature and interviewing the principal administrative officers of Malta Libraries (ML) and the National Literacy Agency (NLA), in order to help us reach our final conclusions in this respect. Description: DIP.L.I.S. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39544 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39543 Title: The library learning commons concept in a Maltese school library : a case study Abstract: This case study investigates into the perceptions of a Maltese girls’ church secondary school community by proposing a cultural shift in the school library. Members of this community were presented with the Library Learning Commons concept and asked for their viewpoints if such concept were to be introduced in their school. Library Learning Commons is defined as a physical and/or virtual space that is constructive and conducive to learning in a participatory and collaborative practice. The paradigm shift proposed to participants stimulated critical discussions during focus groups sessions with the aim of understanding the perceptions and readiness of this school to consider adopting the concept. The participants’ discourses yielded an interesting amount of data for this research to help the researcher analyse the possibility of the concept’s introduction and the implications that comes with it. It transpired that there are ambivalent interpretations from constituents of this school. The general perception towards Library Learning Commons is quite positive, however, a number of pertinent issues that need attention prior to implementation were also brought forward and are worthy of consideration. Consequently, all the discourses were reflectively and dialectically analysed to extract valid conclusions to construct a theory of action. A number of recommendations were proposed. Description: DIP.L.I.S. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39543 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39541 Title: The academics' perceptions of open access : a case study at the University of Malta Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the University of Malta academics‘ perceptions of open access. A web-based survey was sent to all resident academics based at the University of Malta to gather quantitative data, whereas semi-structured interviews were conducted with scholars from different academic disciplines to collect qualitative data. Research questions that accompanied the study were designed to explore the awareness, attitudes and practice of both gold and green open access models, with a view to identify any areas that require fundamental awareness and support from the point of view of library and information services. Specific questions were posed by the researcher to understand whether the participating academics perceive any open access benefits and what kind of issues they face that discourage its practice. The results show that in general participants agree with the open access principle, though this positive outlook is not reflected substantially in their publishing activity and in self-archiving practice within the institutional repository. Key research findings suggest that journal quality with high impact factor often determines the academics‘ decision in which scholarly communication model they publish. Furthermore, academics need more awareness on particular open access areas. Sufficient institutional funds would incentivise academics to publish in OA journals, while usage statistics in the institutional repository would encourage more self-archiving. Description: DIP.L.I.S. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39541 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39540 Title: The implementation of a next generation library management system at the University of Malta Library Abstract: In today’s day and age of advanced information technology, next generation library systems are becoming increasingly significant within libraries, particularly academic ones. Indeed, many libraries across the world are revaluating the performance of their library technology systems, designed for the accomplishment of daily library operations. The core component driving such activity, has been the adoption of integrated library systems (ILSs), which focus on the applications that libraries use to acquire, describe, manage and provide access to their collections. Few years ago, at the core of libraries were print resources, and ILSs were built accordingly to meet such collection needs. However, libraries today have exponentially expanded their collections, the vast majority of which now embody electronic resources. Since it has been revealed that a good number of integrated library system (ILS) products are unable to reconfigure well enough to handle the integration of workflows for both print and electronic resources, a new set of products has emerged. These next generation library systems, also known as library services platforms, address the latest offerings in computer technologies and architecture, and offer a radical approach in order to streamline the management processes and workflows of electronic resources. The aim of this long-essay is to carry out a study on the implementation of a next generation library management system, Alma, at the University of Malta (UM) Library. To address this aim, three objectives were constructed. The objectives seek to establish the need to implement a next generation library system, explore the process of the implementation project and identify the support and training required. A qualitative case study approach, with the common practice of open-ended questions were employed for this study. Subsequently, as many libraries are still in the process of implementing a new library system, this study could also be of contribution to other academic libraries as it will provide insights on the experience of the UM Library. Description: DIP.L.I.S. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39540 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z