The importance of human FcyRI in mediating protection to malaria

The success of passive immunization suggests that antibody-based therapies will be effective at controlling malaria. We describe the development of fully human antibodies specific for Plasmodium falciparum by antibody repertoire cloning from phage display libraries generated from immune Gambian adults. Although these novel reagents bind with strong affinity to malaria parasites, it remains unclear if in vitro assays are predictive of functional immunity in humans, due to the lack of suitable animal models permissive for P. falciparum. A potentially useful solution described herein allows the antimalarial efficacy of human antibodies to be determined using rodent malaria parasites transgenic for P. falciparum antigens in mice also transgenic for human Fc-receptors. These human IgG1s cured animals of an otherwise lethal malaria infection, and protection was crucially dependent on human FcγRI. This important finding documents the capacity of FcγRI to mediate potent antimalaria immunity and supports the development of FcγRI-directed therapy for human malaria.

Mimtags: the use of phage display technology to produce novel protein-specific probes

In recent times the use of protein-specific probes in the field of proteomics has undergone evolutionary changes leading to the discovery of new probing techniques. Protein-specific probes serve two main purposes: epitope mapping and detection assays. One such technique is the use of phage display in the random selection of peptide mimotopes (mimtags) that can tag epitopes of proteins, replacing the use of monoclonal antibodies in detection systems. In this study, phage display technology was used to screen a random peptide library with a biologically active purified human interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) to identify mimtag candidates that interacted with these proteins. Once identified, the mimtags were commercially synthesised, biotinylated and used for in vitro immunoassays. We have used phage display to identify M13 phage clones that demonstrated specific binding to IL-4R and IL-13 cytokine. A consensus in binding sequences was observed and phage clones characterised had identical peptide sequence motifs. Only one was synthesised for use in further immunoassays, demonstrating significant binding to either IL-4R or IL-13. We have successfully shown the use of phage display to identify and characterise mimtags that specifically bind to their target epitope. Thus, this new method of probing proteins can be used in the future as a novel tool for immunoassay and detection technique, which is cheaper and more rapidly produced and therefore a better alternative to the use of monoclonal antibodies.

“My universe is here”: implications for the future of academic libraries from the results of a survey of researchers

One of the major challenges of university libraries is to adequately support the information needs of researchers. This paper outlines the results of a survey conducted by Deakin University Library into the information needs of researchers and the library’s perceived role and performance. The survey consisted of twenty-three interviews conducted with researchers, and its results challenged established ideas regarding researchers’ preference for print, age of resources required, and reliance on specialist rather than general or cross-disciplinary databases. Of note were the decreasing physical use of the library, the increasing importance of online resources and the changing need for library support services. The study raises some key questions relating to the future of libraries and the role of librarians.

Informing decision-making in libraries: informetric research as input to LIS education and practice.(Library and Information Science).

Findings from informetric research represent an important background resource to add to the mix of information useful for resolving difficult and ongoing problems in specific library environments or information service settings. This paper provides examples of informetric research that can be useful input to decision-making in the field of library management and information service provision. This overview takes four of the challenges that Michael Buckland outlined for library research as a way of guiding the discussion of ways that informetric work can be used to inform library decision-making. (1) References are made to relevant informetric work undertaken or conducted in Australia, by Australian researchers, or with Australian data.

Informetrics includes both quantitative and qualitative methods, which when used in combination can provide a rounded set of findings that has great validity for management, policy and service applications. Quantitative methodologies are generally based on bibliometric techniques, such as mining and analysis of data from various bibliographic and textual databases. Qualitative methods include survey, case study and historical approaches. Used in combination, each set of findings adds richness and other perspectives to an analysis.

Public libraries in Ballarat : 1851-1900

This thesis analyses the development of the Ballarat East Free Library (1859), the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library (1859) and the City of Ballaarat Free Library (1878) within the broader context of public librarianship in Victoria between 1851-1900. Mechanics’ Institute libraries and free libraries represent the major derivatives of a nineteenth-century library model that emphasised the pursuit of lifelong learning, private reading and the enjoyment of genteel recreational facilities. The circumstances that led to the formation of an Institute and a free library in Ballarat in, 1,859 provide a unique opportunity to analyse the public library model for two reasons. These libraries were established in a remarkable goldfield city that enjoyed a number of economic and cultural advantages and secondly, the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library and the Ballarat East Free Library experienced such spectacular growth that by 1880 they were two of the largest public libraries in Australia. However, it is argued that this growth cycle could not be sustained due to a combination of factors including low membership levels, limited funding for recurrent expenditure purposes, and heightened dissatisfaction with the book collections. Libraries began to stagnate in the late-1880s and the magnitude of this collapse in Ballarat, and throughout the colony, was subsequently confirmed with the publication of a national survey of Australian libraries in 1935. The ‘Munn-Pitt’ report found that public libraries had provided a better service in 1880 than at any other time in the next six decades. Four conclusions are drawn in this comparative analysis of the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute Library, the Ballarat East Free Library, and to a lesser extent, the City of Ballaarat Free Library, between 1851-1900. Firstly, is it shown that the literature places considerable emphasis on the formation of public libraries but is far less critical of the long-term viability of the public library model as it evolved in Ballarat and throughout the colony in the nineteenth century. Secondly, whilst Ballarat and its library committees benefited from the city's prosperity and the entrepreneurial zeal of its pioneers, these same library committees were unable to overcome the structural flaws in the public library model or to dispel the widespread belief that libraries were elitist organisations. As a consequence, membership of the major libraries in Ballarat never exceeded 4% of the total population. Thirdly, it is acknowledged that an absence of records relating to book borrowing habits by individuals limits is a limiting factor, but this problem has been addressed, in part, by undertaking a comparative analysis of collection development policies, invoices, lists of popular authors and books, public comment and the book borrowing patterns of a number of comparable libraries in central Victoria. These resources provide a number of insights into the reading habits of library patrons in Ballarat in the late-nineteenth century. Finally, this thesis focuses on the management policies and practices of each library committee in Ballarat in order to move beyond the traditional explanation for the demise of nineteenth-century libraries and to propose an alternative explanation for the stagnation of public libraries in Ballarat in the mid-1880s. The traditional explanation for the demise of colonial libraries was the sudden reduction in government funding in the 1890s, whereas this thesis argues that a combination of factors, including the unresolved tensions with regard to libraries collection development policies, committee and municipal rivalry, and increasing conservatism, had already damaged the credibility of Ballarat’s libraries by the mid-1880s. It is argued that the intense rivalry between library committees resulted in an unnecessary duplication of services and an inadequate membership base. It is also argued that the increasingly conservative, un-cooperative and uninviting attitudes of these library committees discouraged patronage and as a direct consequence, membership and daily visitor rates of the free and Institute libraries in Ballarat plummeted by 80% between 1880-1900.

Academic libraries

Academic libraries are taken to refer here to two particular types of library: university libraries and those libraries which serve the vocational education and training (VET) sector through colleges or institutes of technical and further education (TAFE). (School libraries are dealt with in a separate chapter.) Universities cover undergraduate programs, principally Bachelors degrees, and postgraduate programs such as the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Masters degrees and doctoral programs. The main TAFE awards are Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma. Universities are largely funded by national government - the federal Commonwealth Government in Australia's case - although, as elsewhere, an increasing amount of university funding needs to come from non-government sources, particularly research funding. In Australia institutes of TAFE are funded by state and territory governments, although from 2005 the Federal Government began providing funding for the development of technical colleges outside the TAFE sector that would provide vocational education for secondary school age students. This latter development may well be affected by the change in federal government in late 2007.

The mission for academic libraries globally is to support the teaching, learning and (where appropriate) research activities of their parent institutions. In Australia and New Zealand, universities and their libraries have also had a long tradition of reaching out to the community, contributing to the cultural and intellectual life of the nation. Australia has thirty-nine universities; of which thirty-seven are public institutions and two are private. New Zealand has eight universities. The libraries supporting these institutions are diverse, of high quality and innovative. Based on 2005 figures, there are sixty-eight institutions in Australia's VET sector, with over 1,100 campuses, 1.7 million students and some eleven per cent of Australia's working age population accessing TAPE (Oakley & Vaugha 2007: 43).

Special libraries

In Australia and New Zealand, the term 'special library' refers to libraries that provide resources and services to employees of an organization or industry.  The majority have collections and/or services supporting a specific subject area.  These include, but are not limited to, libraries in government department, law firms, private companies, banking and finance institutions, research organizations, religious groups and professional associations.

Visions, illusions and facts : a reflection on the partnerships between academic libraries and vendors in the new information landscape

Is the industry in chaos? How do we to meet the future information needs of the international scholarly community?

The one certainty is that forecasting is never easy. Libraries, vendors and publishers are all working in a rapidly changing environment. It is a fair prediction that there will be fewer participants and less competition in the marketplace. The potential for libraries to be locked into one vendor for access to electronic journals is real. Whether this access will be in perpetuity, no one can give an absolute guarantee. Intellectual property rights, commercial viability and communication standards are all of concern.

We've seen the vision, what's happening now? The Australian academic and research library market has an international reputation for being informed, frank and through necessity, pragmatic. When planning information access and delivery for the next two to five years we are told libraries need a reasonable indication of what is real. Vendors, more than ever, are contributing to a shared understanding amongst libraries, publishers and vendors of the priorities and concerns of different sectors of the industry.

How can we help? The contribution of university libraries to student retention

The article discusses the Australian government's Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program. The program aims to encourage greater participation of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in higher education. The article identifies potential means by which a library may contribute to student retention and outlines one library's approach to investigating its contribution.