Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Digital Bookplates: Cataloging Processes And Workflows, Alie Visser

Western Libraries Publications

Historically, bookplates were found in the front of print monographs. Transitioning them to digital allows libraries to expand their visibility to researchers and to fundraising activities within institutions. Digital bookplates offer significant opportunities to honor or memorialize individuals with gifts to libraries at varying donation levels. This article discusses digital bookplates in an academic library and provides examples of the cataloging, metadata, and web processes involved in maintaining and collaborating on this active fundraising program. A previous article on this topic was published in 2012 and this article provides an update to its procedures and workflows a decade later.

Discourse, Power Dynamics, And Risk Amplification In Disaster Risk Management In Canada, Martins Oluwole Olu-Omotayo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The domain of disaster risk management is rife with discursive contentions, whereby dominant discourses amplify the powers of risk actors to precipitate and reinforce political, economic, and environmental inequalities that predispose different sections of the population to unequal disaster risk vulnerabilities. This thesis identified important actors (government, risk experts, media, and NGOs) that shape the power dynamics in disaster risk management in Canada and explained their roles, influences, and the dimensions in which their powers negotiate each other through risk discourses. The patterns of these power dynamics in the three aspects of power –communication, assessment, and social trust –were also …

Free And Open-Source Automated Open Access Preprint Harvesting, Jack Peplinski, Joanne Paterson, Courtney L. Waugh, Joshua M. Pearce

Western Libraries Publications

Universities are attempting to ensure that all of their research is publicly accessible because of funding mandates. Many universities have established campus open access (OA) repositories but are struggling with how to upload millions of manuscripts under numerous license agreements while also linking metadata to make them discoverable. To do this manually requires around 15 minutes per manuscript from an experienced librarian. The time and cost to do this campus-wide is prohibitive. To radically reduce the time and costs of this process and to harvest all past work, this article reports on the development and testing of a free and …

Safe Sharing For Sensitive Data, Kristi Thompson

Western Libraries Presentations

This workshop focused on the question of when and how human subjects' data can be safely shared. It introduced the basics of data anonymization and discussed how to tell if a dataset has been de-identified. Case studies of successful anonymization and some spectacular failures were shared

Getting Started Analyzing Data In Spss, Kristi Thompson

Western Libraries Presentations

SPSS is a popular package for analyzing data. This session will discuss how to get started on a simple quantitative analysis project using SPSS. Topics covered will include getting summary statistics, creating and modifying variables, creating graphs, running simple analyses, and interpreting SPSS output.

Palaces For The People: Mapping Public Libraries' Capacity For Social Connection And Inclusion, Nicole K. Dalmer, Pam Mckenzie, Paulette Rothbauer, Ebenezer Martin-Yeboah, Kevin Oswald

FIMS Publications

Public libraries are trusted community hubs that foster connections with individuals of different socioeconomic statuses; ages; ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural backgrounds; and sexual and gender identities. Located in diverse settings, library branches offer resources and programs that meet the specific needs of their communities who are navigating the effects of our increasingly asocial society. Libraries have been shown to cater to individuals contending with higher levels of social isolation and loneliness, as well as increased rates of mental illnesses and antisocial behaviours. The shift to online environments during COVID-19 has exacerbated feelings of disconnection. During these times of change, …

Pandemic-Related Stress And Information Overload Handbook, Alexia T. Baggetta

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The pandemic has affected every part of our lives over the past two years. Despite the fact that everyone's perspective on this matter varies, this research project was particularly helpful in examining how Western University students were affected. For the purpose of evaluating our findings, we defined information-related overload, which includes having too much, not enough, or difficulty finding information as our reference point. In addition to uncovering evidence of information overload, we also explored the impact of information and our interactions with others, institutional systems, and ourselves.

A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …

Honouring A Love Of Books And Reading In Library And Information Science, Paulette Rothbauer, Marni R. Harrington

FIMS Publications

This paper presents the findings of a research study into the “love of books” trope in Library and Information Science. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 MLIS students between February and August of 2019. Interview questions were designed to elicit motivations for entering the field and taking the degree. The study findings show that students’ decisions are animated by a love of books and reading, a love of libraries, and by a desire to work with and serve others. We argue that by putting love and desire at the centre of analysis the findings can be understand as positive affective …

Recreational Nastiness Or Playful Mischief? Contrasting Perspectives On Internet Trolling Between News Media And Avid Internet Users, Yimin Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The term “internet trolling” has come to encompass a wide range of disparate behaviours: ranging from abusive speech and computer hacking to sarcastic humour and friendly teasing. While some of these behaviours are clearly antisocial and, in extreme cases, criminal, others are harmless and can even be prosocial. Previous studies have shown that self-identified internet trollers tend to credit internet trolling’s poor reputation to misunderstanding and overreaction from people unfamiliar with internet culture and humour, whereas critics of trolling have argued that the term has been used to downplay and gloss over problematic transgressive behaviour. As the internet has come …

Digitizing And Cataloging A Corporate Annual Reports Collection: A Canadian Perspective, Alie Visser, Elizabeth Marshall, Joyce Cheung

Western Libraries Publications

Corporate annual reports provide a snapshot of a company's operations and financial status. Reviewing and comparing years of annual reports can provide a rich history of knowledge on a corporation. Preserving, storing, and digitizing Canadian annual reports has been a mission of the C.B. “Bud” Johnston Library in London, Ontario, Canada. In late 2019 when Western Libraries migrated to a new library services platform, Alma, there was a new opportunity to catalog and provide access to the digitized annual reports collection. This article describes a decade long plan to digitize the print collection by library staff and a subsequent project …

Research Project Rubric, Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Sample Wlura Application (Humanities), Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Bibliography Rubric, Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Research Reflections Rubric, Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Instructor Or Project Advisor Recommendation Form, Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Research Worksheet, Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Sample Wlura Application (Sciences), Wlura Adjudication Committee

WLURA Documents

No abstract provided.

Information Seeking Behaviors, Attitudes, And Choices Of Academic Physicists, Ian D. Gordon, Debbie Chaves, Dylanne Dearborn, Shawn Hendrikx, Rebecca Hutchinson, Christopher Popovich, Michael White

Western Libraries Publications

Physicists in academic institutions utilize a variety of resources and strategies to seek, find, and use scholarly information and news. Using a sample of physicists, researchers surveyed 182 students and faculty at seven Canadian university institutions to explore self-perceived success rates, resources consulted, databases used, and use of social media and citation management systems. To complement the survey, 11 follow up interviews/focus groups were completed with participants to further uncover information-seeking behaviors, choices, strategies, and feelings around keeping up to date with information needs. According to survey results, a minority of physicists (15.4%) acknowledged that they were successfully keeping up …

Research & Scholarly Communication 2021-22 Report On Publishing Services, Courtney Waugh, Kristin Hoffmann, Emily Carlisle-Johnston, Kristi Thompson, Liz Hill

Western Libraries Publications

This report highlights the scope and impact of Western Libraries’ publishing services as undertaken by members of the Research & Scholarly Communication Team (RSC) for the period May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022, in the areas of: Scholarship@Western repository services, journal publishing services, support for open educational resources (OER), and open data publishing.

Complex And Varied: Factors Related To The Research Productivity Of Academic Librarians In The United States, Kristin Hoffmann, Selinda Adelle Berg, Kristine R. Brancolini, Marie R. Kennedy

Western Libraries Publications

Academic librarians face multiple barriers in conducting the research that is expected in their work, yet they still manage to successfully complete it. This study aimed to identify the factors that contribute to their success. Through an online survey sent via email to a random sample of academic librarians in the United States, we gathered and analyzed quantitative data about education and experience, demographics, success factor statements, and research productivity to determine which factors are related to increased research output. We found that three categories of factors—Individual Attributes, Peers and Community, and Institutional Structures and Supports—contribute positively to overall research …

Understanding The Enumerated World: Making Sense Of Data As An Information Source, Kristi Thompson, Elizabeth Hill, Alexandra Cooper

Western Libraries Publications

Chapter in ACRL publication The Data Literacy Cookbook.

This recipe is a guide to preparing an instructional session aimed at postsecondary students in the social or health sciences or related disciplines on locating, evaluating, and using secondary data sources as information resources. Who collects data? Where can you access them? Why are data available on some topics and not others? Why are some statistics available at a detailed level of geography and others only nationally? What are some key limitations of official statistics, and where can information be found to fill in the gaps? This recipe uses these questions to …

Digital Media Use And Social Inclusion: A Case Study Of East York Older Adults, Anabel Quan-Haase, Molly-Gloria Harper, Alice Hwang

FIMS Publications

Digital media is essential to sustaining communication with various types of social ties. However, older adults (aged 65+) are reported to be the least likely to use digital media. While statistics show that older adults are increasingly using more digital media, evidence shows this is predominately aging long-term users of digital media rather than older adults adopting new digital media. To investigate this “grey divide” and adoption of digital media by older adults, this study qualitatively analyses semi-structured interviews of 41 individuals aged 65 and older from the East York region of Toronto, Canada. Our findings suggest that satisfaction with …

Towards A Critical Turn In Library Ux, Alison Hicks, Karen P. Nicholson, Maura Seale

FIMS Publications

In the past decade, cataloguing and classification and information literacy have experienced a critical turn, acknowledging the political, economic, and social forces that shape complex information environments. Library user experience (UX) has yet to undergo such a transformation, however; instead, it continues to be seen as a toolkit of value-neutral approaches for evaluating and improving library services and spaces to enhance user satisfaction and engagement. Library UX draws upon ethnography but is also informed by the principles and values of usability and design. Little attention has been paid to the origins or epistemological underpinnings of UX as a construct, the …

The Ghosts Of Bindings Past: Micro-Computed X-Ray Tomography For The Study Of Bookbinding, J. D. Sargan, Jessica L. Lockhart, Andrew Nelson, D. L. Meert-Williston, Alexandra Gillespie

Western Libraries Publications

This essay describes the results of a new application of micro-computed X-ray tomography (µCT) to conduct nondestructive investigations of the binding structures of premodern books. This application addresses a twofold challenge in the study of historic bindings and their construction. Few premodern books survive in their original bindings. Moreover, until recently, when books were rebound, the original structures were rarely documented, and the remains were usually discarded. Where original bindings do remain in situ, much of their structure is, by design, hidden. Particulars of construction may be surmised; but without destructive disbinding, little can be proven. µCT enables an exploratory, …

What’S Hiding In The Spine? A Study Of Adhesives In Medieval Books Using Mass Spectrometry, Alice Hutton Sharp, Sarah Fiddyment, Anne Lama, Jessica Lockhart, Deborah Meert-Williston, Melissa Moreton, Lauren Williams, Alexandra Gillespie

Western Libraries Publications

Glues, and in particular glued spines, are notable features of late medieval European books, yet little research has been done into how they were sourced, produced, and used. In this article we present preliminary results from using the paleoproteomic methods of Electromagnetic Zooarchaeology through Mass Spectrometry (eZooMS) and Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) to identify the source species for animal glues used in late medieval books. We first introduce readers to the principal kinds of glue used in medieval craftsmanship and what is known about their use in bookbinding, principally from the discipline of book conservation. We describe the micro-sampling methods …