I am grateful to the Editor for giving me excuse to delve into the fossil record. I confidently hope that my article was written before most of The Australian Library Journal's present readership was born. I am happy to stay with my pragmatic attempt at a definition of research as an intensified search undertaken with the hope of finding something…

This paper reports the results of recent research examining the holdings of Australian research library collections recorded in the WorldCat database using OCLC WorldCat Collection Analysis software. The objectives of the research are: 1. To better understand the distribution of printed monographs amongst Australian research collections in order…

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the political and strategic skills needed by library leaders in today's library environment. The discussion is based on a small scale research project focused on opinions of skills needed by library leaders. The survey involved a questionnaire of librarianship students and library practitioners as well…

The necessity of library and information research is pointed up by referring to some of important categories of research now in progress. Reasons are advanced for the necessity such research in Australia and ways suggested in which students wishing to make a career research and practitioners anxious for research opportunities may be accommodated.…

Library history has constituted a significant portion of the research articles published in the "Australian Library Journal" and in "Australian Academic & Research Libraries". By contrast, archives history has attracted much less interest from researchers publishing in "Archives and Manuscripts". The author uses…

In 2002, the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), Higher Education Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee commissioned the National Library of Australia to analyse the uniqueness and overlap of Australian university library collections, comparing library collections in each state, using the National Bibliographic Database…

This paper looks at the complex web of interrelationships that is emerging as the library and information professions come to terms with the growing phenomenon of knowledge management. This is manifest at one level in the wider organisational and business context, and at another in the professional and employment spheres. Two of the authors are…

It comes as no surprise that different generations respond to and utilise emerging technology in vastly different ways. However as more Millennials take on leadership positions within academic libraries, their attitudes towards and uses of technology may bring conflicting expectations for leadership to the forefront. What are the generational…

While library patronage has seen some research it has never been explored in terms of human activity pattern analysis. This article traces the patronage of three campus libraries at a regional university in Australia in the context of other teaching and learning, such as the use of computer laboratories and assignment deadlines: it suggests not…

Four librarians from Irish university libraries completed the U.K. Future Leaders Programme (FLP) in 2010. In this article they recount their experience and assess the effect of the programme on their professional practice and the value for their institutions. The programme is explored in the context of the Irish higher education environment,…

This article reports on a study we conducted with first-year students in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne in 2003. Building upon our 2002 research ("Library Review," 2003, vol 52, no 5 pp209-217), we investigated the prior library instruction, information preferences and skills of students enrolled in first-year…

This paper reports on the outcomes of research assessing the nature and extent of print journal cancellations by Australian research libraries since 1990. The cancellation activity of two groups of libraries, one representing the national and state library sector and the other the university library sector, was examined. These two groups were…

Through focus group interviews, a valuable method of developing client-focused initiatives, the most immediate needs of the faculty staff and students were identified and the collaborative effort between the College of Health (COH) academic staff and the liaison librarian began. Four key areas were identified: information sources/information…