Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Fu Hao”, “Fu Hao”, “Fuhao” Or “Fu Hao”? A Cataloger’S Navigation Of An Ancient Chinese Woman’S Name, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

Chinese language catalogers’ work is not only challenged by the revolution in cataloging standards and principles, but also by ancient Chinese names that emerged in archaeological discoveries and Chinese classic texts, which create a significant impact on records description and retrieval in terms of consistency and accuracy. This article takes an example of an ancient Chinese lady’s name that is inconsistently romanized and described in OCLC and attempts to explore the appropriate form in an authority record through the consulting both Western and Eastern scholarly practices. This article has a further investigation of the evolving history of pre-Qin Chinese names …

Open Scholarship For Open Education: Building The Justpublics@365 Pooc, Shawn(Ta) Smith-Cruz, Polly Thistlethwaite, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This article outlines the collaboration between librarians at the Graduate Center Library of the City University of New York (CUNY) and JustPublics@365 (http://justpublics365.commons.gc.cuny.edu/about/), an initiative designed to open scholarly communication in ways that connect to social justice activism, part of which involved producing an open, online interdisciplinary course with a geographical focus on East Harlem. This Participatory Open Online Course, or POOC, was developed locally without a licensed provider platform or licensed scholarly content. It was designed to be open to CUNY students, to citizens of East Harlem, and to a global public with an interest in social …

Automate The Internet With “If This Then That” (Ifttt), Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

The article evaluates a web-based service called "If This Then That" (IFTTT), which connects web services to each other in ways that have implications for academics.

Do We Speak The Same Language? A Study Of Faculty Perceptions Of Information Literacy, Jonathan Cope, Jesús E. Sanabria

Publications and Research

The authors analyze twenty in-depth interviews with faculty members about how they perceive information literacy (IL) to examine two key factors: how disciplinary background influences conceptions of IL among faculty members in academic departments and how the instructors’ perception of information literacy differs from that of professionals in library and information science. The investigators analyzed these interviews by utilizing a phenomenological method. The faculty members were interviewed at a four-year college, the College of Staten Island, and at a community college, the Bronx Community College, both part of the City University of New York.

A Low-Hassle, Low-Cost Method To Survey Student Attitudes About Library Space, Jennifer Poggiali, Madeline Cohen

Publications and Research

This article discusses how two members of the space planning committee at Lehman College library created a brief paper survey, distributed it to students in the library, and designed a Google spreadsheet to enable the committee to work as a group to compile results. We provide our survey tool as an example; explain how we simplified data compilation through a “quick and dirty” coding process; outline step-by-step instructions on how to design a Google spreadsheet that enables many librarians to input survey results consistently; and describe our mistakes and “lessons learned.” We believe our practical approach could be easily implemented …

Tech Services On The Web: Remember The Milk; Http://Www.Rememberthemilk.Com, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

Brief review of productivity app and website, Remember the Milk, with focus on tasks of technical services and electronic resources librarians.

Commuter Students Using Technology, Mariana Regalado, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

• A multi-year qualitative study of undergraduates at six colleges at the City University of New York focused on how, where, and when students accomplished their academic work and how the presence or absence of access to technology helped and hindered them.
• CUNY students have an average commute time of 45–60 minutes each way and typically use public transportation, making commuting a defining feature of undergraduate life at CUNY that offers both opportunities and challenges.
• The study sought to understand how students made time and found space to do their schoolwork outside of class, including their use of technology for coursework. …

Student Reading Practices In Print And Electronic Media, Nancy M. Foasberg

Publications and Research

This paper reports a diary-based qualitative study on college students’ reading habits with regard to print and electronic media. Students used a form to record information about their reading practices for twelve days, including length of reading event, location, format used, and the purpose of reading. Students tended to use print for academic and long-form reading and to engage with it more deeply. Although electronic resources were sometimes used for academic purposes, students often used them for shorter and nonacademic reading. Students found electronic media convenient, but most of them did not wish to switch to electronic media for their …

Processing Government Data: Zip Codes, Python, And Openrefine, Frank Donnelly

Publications and Research

While there is a vast amount of useful US government data on the web, some of it is in a raw state that is not readily accessible to the average user. Data librarians can improve accessibility and usability for their patrons by processing data to create subsets of local interest and by appending geographic identifiers to help users select and aggregate data. This case study illustrates how census geography crosswalks, Python, and OpenRefine were used to create spreadsheets of non-profit organizations in New York City from the IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Masterfile. This paper illustrates the utility of Python for data …

An Examination Of Embedded Librarian Ideas And Practices: A Critical Bibliography., Carl R. Andrews

Publications and Research

Although this annotated bibliography is primarily targeted to library science professionals in an academic setting, the literature examined can very easily support secondary and college level general education teaching initiatives. The majority of the literature examined in the list comes from journal articles. The author focused primarily on actual case studies that take place in an undergraduate academic setting. Attention was paid to community colleges and schools where there are students in need of remediation. The author was also interested in seeking out literature that addressed the needs of student academic success after an embedded program was implemented. Non-traditional embedded …

The View From Interlibrary Loan Services: Catalyst For A Better Research Process, Beth Posner

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Researchgate And Academia.Edu: Academic Social Networks, Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

The article reviews the websites ResearchGate and Academia.edu, both of which are social networks.

Beyond A Common Approach: Teaching Students The Ethical Practice Of Reference, Lisa A. Ellis

Publications and Research

This article describes the creation and use of case studies to help teach the ethical practice of reference. There are considerations for applying the case study method in reference which require cumulative preparation through the study and reinforcement of reference values, functions, behaviors, and ethical codes. The strategies for writing ethical case studies in reference are detailed. Overall, case studies on the ethical practice of reference are valued for promoting reflection and active learning in library science students through analysis and discussion.

Where Roads Meet: Electronic Resources And The Current Information Management Climate, William M. Blick

Publications and Research

Information management is in flux. Electronic resources are now an essential aspect of Library operations. This presentation was designed to explain the role of electronic resources in an academic library. It traces the "life-cycle" of electronic resources and how the implementation of these resources is determined.

Flipping The Lehman College Classroom A Library – Business Department Collaboration, Madeline Cohen, Jennifer Poggiali, Deborah Sanders

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Information Literacy Instruction And Assessment : A Collaborate Design, Carlos Arguelles

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Opening Remarks To Outing Lorraine At The Schomburg Center, Shawn(Ta) Smith-Cruz

Publications and Research

This article is an edit of the opening remarks for the event held on May 22nd, 2014 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as part of the In The Life Series supplying Black LGBT programming coordinated by Steven Fullwood. Outing Lorraine included panelists: Alexis DeVeaux, Joi Gresham, and Steven Fullwood and was moderated by Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz. Opening remarks provide a biographical description of Lorraine Hansberry's life, prepare the audience for a conversation on the implications for "outing" a black iconic figure, details the purpose for use of primary and secondary sources when, and provides a bibliography for …

How Cuny Students Create And Negotiate Learning Spaces, Maura A. Smale, Mariana Regalado

Publications and Research

As commuters CUNY undergraduates employ various strategies to find time and space to be students. While students’ constraints may be invisible to faculty and staff, they may affect engagement in students’ academic work. We interviewed CUNY students to learn how they study in various locations. Knowledge of the student experience outside the classroom can inform strategies to increase student success.

Making Electronic Databases Functional On The Library Website: A Practical Approach, Kanu A. Nagra

Publications and Research

This paper presents a process on making electronic databases functional on the library website for on and off campus access for optimum use. It covers the steps after the price, license terms and conditions are finalized between library and vendor and the decision is made by library and subject experts to subscribe or purchase the database. The operational workflow steps can be challenging for new professionals when implementing it for the first time. The step by step approach provided in this paper is meant to help new professionals in strategic planning, organizing the structure and management of library databases provision, …

Beyond Satisfaction: Understanding And Promoting The Instructor-Librarian Relationship, Margaret Bausman, Sarah Laleman Ward, John Pell

Publications and Research

This article reports upon the assessment and research activities undertaken by a research group of faculty librarians at Hunter College regarding the perceptions, awareness, and usage of library services by non-librarian faculty members. Given the initial directive to measure faculty satisfaction with library services, the research group developed an ongoing action-research protocol to pursue more meaningful assessments of faculty awareness and use of library services and resources. The researchers employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, gathering data through informal information groups with faculty members and through an online survey measuring faculty awareness of library resources and services (Faculty Awareness of …

Requests About Explosives And Illicit Drugs: A New Paradigm, Philip Barnett Ph.D.

Publications and Research

Addresses what reference librarians should do when patrons ask for information about explosives or dangerous drugs. Explores how reference librarians can possibly deter people from dangerous, unmediated searches by proactively providing information and actual examples on the dangers and risks of making and using these materials.

Two Tech Services Wikis @ Cuny, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Glis 709 Revisited, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

The author describes a 2012 follow-up research project, where he revisited and re-implemented a survey project that had originally been done in 1992.

Markdown For Librarians And Academics, Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

The article offers information related to Markdown, a flexible markup language that allows text to be easily converted to different formats and has implications as a way to make academic content mroe shareable.

Engaging With Research And Resources In Music History Courses, Jennifer Oates

Publications and Research

With the ever-expanding sea of resources available to students today, it is now more important than ever to teach students how to navigate, assess, and interpret resources. Given the ease of access to information, students tend to seek out the path of least resistance, most often a Google search and/or Wikipedia. Their unfamiliarity with print resources, such as thematic catalogues, means they are missing out on significant music scholarship that is not available online or through Google. Today’s students have grown up searching the internet. The single-search approach of a web search leaves many students confused by terms like …

Open Access, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

This article describes some problems with the traditional system of scholarly journal publishing and explains how scholars can make their works open access, or freely available online. It also discusses some of the benefits of open access, as well as some of the challenges to achieving widespread openness.

Out With The Old, In With The New: Best Practices For Replacing Library Signage, Mark Aaron Polger, Amy F. Stempler

Publications and Research

Signage is an essential way of communicating with users and is a vital way to alert patrons to important information, news, upcoming events, policies, and directions. Literature on library signage has emphasized the importance of consistency and clarity, to avoid clutter and contradictory messaging, and the need for buy-in from library staff, faculty and patrons. However, few scholarly studies address user preferences in signage. This article fills the void between theory and practice, and offers step-by-step details for revamping signage, specifically in an academic library. At the heart of the authors’ thesis is that library signs are living documents. Libraries …

Engaging Academics And Reimagining Scholarly Communication For The Public Good: A Report, Jessie Daniels, Polly Thistlethwaite

Publications and Research

JustPublics@365 began as a discussion about how an interdisciplinary group of scholars at the Graduate Center, CUNY (located at 365 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan) might be able to bring their work together to foster greater social justice by sharing it in the public sphere.

We live in an era in which inequality is rampant. Media reports on inequality often gain little traction in a 24-hour news cycle dominated by the trivial. Activists work to address inequality in a myriad of ways, online and on the ground, but often lack connections to research or media that could further their cause. Key …

Discovering Jewish Studies Collections In Academic Libraries: A Practical Guide, Izabella Taler

Publications and Research

The U.S. colleges and universities offering non-sectarian educational programs in Jewish Studies rely on the support of their academic libraries for research materials and library services. For college libraries which use Library of Congress Classification scheme, it is a common practice to integrate "studies" resources into their general library collections. Since Jewish Studies sources span a vast number of subjects within all major disciplines, shelving integration leads to the dispersion of all relevant sources and such dispersion in turn leads to a variety of problems for library professionals and library users. For collection development librarians the problems range from lack …

Review Of The Book The Swastika’S Darkening Shadow: Voices Before The Holocaust, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Review of the book The swastika’s darkening shadow: Voices before the Holocaust.