Library and Information Science Commons^™

Analysis Of Social Media Discussions On (#)Diet By Blue, Red, And Swing States In The U.S, Amir Karami, A. A. Dahl, J. G. Shaw, S. P. Valappil, G. Turner-Mcgrievy, H. Kharrazi, P. Bozorgi

Faculty Publications

The relationship between political affiliations and diet-related discussions on social media has not been studied on a population level. This study used a cost- and -time effective framework to leverage, aggregate, and analyze data from social media. This paper enhances our understanding of diet-related discussions with respect to political orientations in U.S. states. This mixed methods study used computational methods to collect tweets containing “diet” or “#diet” shared in a year, identified tweets posted by U.S. Twitter users, disclosed topics of tweets, and compared democratic, republican, and swing states based on the weight of topics. A qualitative method was employed …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Sexual Harassment Studies With Text Mining, Amir Karami, Melek Yildiz Spinel, C. Nicole White, Kayla Ford, Suzanne Swan

Faculty Publications

Sexual harassment has been the topic of thousands of research articles in the 20th and 21st centuries. Several review papers have been developed to synthesize the literature about sexual harassment. While traditional literature review studies provide valuable insights, these studies have some limitations including analyzing a limited number of papers, being time-consuming and labor-intensive, focusing on a few topics, and lacking temporal trend analysis. To address these limitations, this paper employs both computational and qualitative approaches to identify major research topics, explore temporal trends of sexual harassment topics over the past few decades, and point to future possible directions in …

Covid-19 Vaccine And Social Media In The U.S.: Exploring Emotions And Discussions On Twitter, Amir Karami, Michael Zhu, Bailey Goldschmidt, Hannah R. Boyajieff, Mahdi M. Najafabadi

Faculty Publications

The understanding of the public response to COVID-19 vaccines is the key success factor to control the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the public response, there is a need to explore public opinion. Traditional surveys are expensive and time-consuming, address limited health topics, and obtain small-scale data. Twitter can provide a great opportunity to understand public opinion regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The current study proposes an approach using computational and human coding methods to collect and analyze a large number of tweets to provide a wider perspective on the COVID-19 vaccine. This study identifies the sentiment of tweets using a machine learning …

Everyone, Everywhere, Every Time, Clayton A. Copeland Phd

Faculty Publications

The University of South Carolina’s Knowledge School has a commitment. The commitment: Everyone. Everywhere. Every time. The “Knowledge School” is about empowerment. It is about accessing abilities in everyone. It is about using abilities to ensure knowledge creation. And it is about using abilities to ensure equity. This chapter defines a philosophy rooted in tenets of universal access and design. It then highlights several initiatives in teaching, research, and service that put the philosophy into action.

“When It’S Time To Come Together, We Come Together”: Reconceptualizing Theories Of Self-Efficacy For Health Information Practices Within Lgbtqia+ Communities, Alexander N. Vera, Travis L. Wagner, Vanessa L. Kitzie

Student Publications

This chapter addresses the shortcomings of current self-efficacy models describing the health information practices of LGBTQIA+ communities. Informed by semi-structured interviews with 30 LGBTQIA+ community leaders from South Carolina, findings demonstrate how their self-efficacy operates beyond HIV/AIDS research while complicating traditional models that isolate an individual’s health information practices from their abundant communal experiences. Findings also suggest that participants engage with health information and resources in ways deemed unhealthy or harmful by healthcare providers. However, such practices are nuanced, and participants carefully navigate them, balancing concerns for community safety and well-being over traditional engagements with healthcare infrastructures. These findings have …

Sharpgrads: Development And Assessment Of A Research Skills Workshop Program For Graduate Students At The University Of South Carolina, Stacy L. Winchester, Amie D. Freeman

Faculty and Staff Publications

INTRODUCTION Academic libraries are placing increasing emphasis on the provision of instruction for graduate students in non-traditional research skills and competencies such as scholarly communication concepts, data management and visualization, and text mining. Since proficiency in these concepts is often expected of graduate students but training may not be offered in the classroom, the library is a natural home for such instruction. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM Librarians at the University of South Carolina created a two-day workshop series for graduate students called SHARPGrads. This paper describes the planning process, survey method used to develop and assess the program, and findings obtained …

“It's Hard To See How These Would Be Harmful To Kids”: Public Library Staff Perceptions Of Child Development And Drag Queen Storytimes, Sarah Barriage, Vanessa Kitzie, Diana Floegel, Shannon M. Oltmann

Faculty Publications

This paper reports preliminary results of a survey of 458 US public library staff members regarding their perceptions of drag queen storytimes (DQS) and the ways in which these storytimes influence child development. The majority of respondents from libraries that have hosted at least one DQS agreed that DQS support healthy child development and positively influence children’s understanding of gender and/or sexuality, while respondents from libraries that have not hosted DQS were more likely to disagree or report being undecided. Specific ways in which respondents perceive DQS to influence child development are also analyzed.

“When Someone Sees Me, I Am Nothing Of The Norm”: Examining The Discursive Role Power Plays In Shaping Lgbtq+ Health Information Practices, Vanessa L. Kitzie, Travis L. Wagner, A. Nick Vera

Faculty Publications

This paper examines how discursive power shapes LGBTQ+ community health information practices. Informed by analysis of 10 information world maps drawn by SC LGBTQ+ community leaders, our findings indicate that while community can be a valuable construct to reject mainstream discourses of regulation and correction, it inevitably is fraught and not representative of all LGBTQ+ individuals. Findings can inform strategies for community leaders to facilitate more equitable information flow among members by identifying key structural elements impeding this flow at the community level.

Using The World Café Methodology To Support Community-Centric Research And Practice In Library And Information Science, Vanessa Kitzie, Jocelyn Pettigrew, Travis L. Wagner, Nick Vera

Faculty Publications

The World Café (TWC) methodology is a form of action research that develops collective knowledge among individuals and communities to address shared problems. TWC can complement LIS research and practice that is increasingly participatory and community centric. The potentials and pitfalls for TWC are illustrated by ongoing research examining public library service to LGBTQIA+ communities for health information. The authors used TWC in a community forum between LGBTQIA+ community leaders and librarians/paraprofessionals in [name removed for blind review]. Per TWC conventions, participants engaged in day-long rotating café-style table conversations that encouraged new ideas and collective dialog. Discussion centered on two …

It Starts At Home: Infusing Radical Empathy Into Graduate Education, Nicole A. Cooke, Kellee E. Warren, Molly Brown, Athena Jackson

Faculty Publications

This interview features a conversation between a library and information science educator (Cooke) and three archival and special collections professionals with varying levels of experience in the field (Warren, Brown, and Jackson). Among the goals of this frank conversation is to highlight the lived experiences of practicing archivists and educators and discuss why it is becoming increasingly important to talk about empathy, diversity, equity, and inclusion in greater context. As part of that context, we must discuss the need to continuously infuse these values into graduate education, professional development, research, writing, and peer mentoring. Espousing and implementing an ethics of …

Caroliniana Columns - Fall 2020 / Spring 2021, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society Newsletter - Columns

Contents:

South Caroliniana Library Renovation Progresses.... p. 1

Letter from the Dean of Libraries.... p. 2

The Charleston Renaissance.... p. 6

"Elizabeth Boatwright Coker's Life and Legacy".... p. 26

"I am more than jubilant!" First Ladies at USC: Some Delightful Memories.... p. 32

Letter from the Outgoing President.... p. 41

Report from the Director.... p. 42

Memorials & Honoraria.... p. 43

Are you a Member?.... p. 44

Struggling To Breathe: Covid-19, Protest, And The Lis Response, Amelia N. Gibson, Renate Chancellor, Nicole A. Cooke, Sarah Park Dahlen, Beth Patin, Yasmeen Shorish

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to provide a follow up to “Libraries on the Frontlines: Neutrality and Social Justice,” which was published in 2017. It addresses institutional responses to protests and uprising in the spring and summer of 2020 after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd—all of which occurred in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The article expands the previous call for libraries to take a stand for Black Lives. We describe the events of 2020 (a global pandemic, multiple murders of unarmed Black people, and the consequent global protests) and responses from …

“Library And Information Science” Literature In Web Of Science: What A Decade Tells Us About Scholarly Collaboration In The Field (2007-2016), Kim M. Thompson, Kasey Garrison, Carolina Santelices-Werchez, Paulina Arellano-Rojas, Danilo Reyes-Lillo

Faculty Publications

Ensuring access to published research is increasingly important for demonstrating research impact, supporting wide readership, creating interest in collaboration, and making way for funding opportunities. This article provides a bibliometric analysis of publications from 2007-2016 in the Web of Science (WOS) database to update understanding of recent international library science research as a means of discussing research impact and scientific collaboration. The methodology is a descriptive analysis of publications retrieved from the WOS database using keywords “library science” and WOS-generated subject descriptor “Information Science & Library Science.” Analysis focused on descriptive data related to our research questions including representation of …

Factors Influencing Intention To Introduce Accessibility In Makerspace Planning And Implementation, Heather Moorefield-Lang, Ana Dubnjakovic

Faculty and Staff Publications

Makerspaces continue to grow in popularity in public, academic, and school libraries. As makerspaces are included in library services, accessibility for all users is important. What motivates a school librarian to implement a makerspace accessible to all learners? Are they more likely to invest in accessibility if provided the necessary resources? In this study, researchers discuss which Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen 1985) variables significantly predict school librarians’ intentions to implement accessible makerspaces. Researchers also delve into how attitude towards accessibility in makerspaces influence the intention to implement accessible makerspace. Findings indicate identifying perceived behavior control is the principal predictor …

Inclusive Considerations For Optimal Online Learning In Times Of Disasters And Crises, Kim M. Thompson, Clayton A. Copeland

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caroliniana Columns – Spring 2020, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society Newsletter - Columns

Contents:

"Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the South of America"..... p. 1

Letter from the Dean of Librariaes..... p. 12

Letter from the President..... p. 13

Report from the Director..... p. 14

Are you a Member?..... p. 15

Memorials & Honoraria..... p. 15

South Caroliniana Library and the Pandemic..... p. 16

Claude Henry Neuffer and his WWII Diary..... p. 19

The Ocean's Menace..... p. 28

In Memoriam: Harvey Stuart Teal..... p. 36

Volunteering..... p. 38

Remembering Harvey Teal..... p. 40

Remembering a Day with Harvey Teal..... p. 42

Breaking News!..... p. 44

Perceptions Of Academic Librarians Toward Lgbtq Information Needs: An Exploratory Study, John Siegel, Martin Morris, Gregg A. Stevens

Faculty and Staff Publications

While previous studies have examined lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) information needs, none have addressed librarian confidence in addressing LGBTQ-themed information needs or the factors affecting this confidence. The authors used a mixed-methods survey to assess the knowledge and perspectives of academic librarians in responding to information inquiries related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Based on an exploratory factor analysis, three variables were identified: duty of care/vulnerability of inquirer, public visibility of work conducted, and personal biases and prejudices. These factors can reduce or otherwise influence the ability to meet LGBTQ information needs.

“In The Beginning, It Was Little Whispers...Now, We’Re Almost A Roar”: Conceptualizing A Model For Community And Self In Lgbtq+ Health Information Practices, Vanessa Kitzie, Travis L. Wagner, Alexander N. Vera

Faculty Publications

Although LGBTQ+ populations experience significant health challenges, little research exists that investigates their health from an informational perspective. Our study addresses this gap by exploring the health information practices of LGBTQ+ communities in South Carolina, focusing on how sociocultural context shapes these practices. Thirty semi-structured interviews with South Carolina LGBTQ+ community leaders analyzed using open qualitative coding informed the development of a conceptual framework describing their information practices. Findings show that participants engaged in two broad types of practices – protective and defensive – as responses to risks and barriers experienced, which are in turn produced by social and structural …

“People Are Reading Your Work,": Scholarly Identity And Social Networking Sites, Marie L. Radford, Vanessa Kitzie, Stephanie Mikitish, Diana Floegel, Gary P. Radford, Lynn Silipigni Connaway

Faculty Publications

Scholarly identity refers to endeavors by scholars to promote their reputation, work, and networks using online platforms such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, and Twitter. This exploratory research investigates benefits and drawbacks of Scholarly Identity efforts and avenues for potential library support. Data from 30 semi-structured phone interviews with faculty, doctoral students, and academic librarians were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparisons method (Charmaz, 2014) and Goffman’s (1959, 1967) theoretical concept of impression management. Results reveal that use of online platforms enables academics to connect with others and disseminate their research. Scholarly Identity platforms have benefits, opportunities, and offer possibilities for developing …

Twitter And Research: A Systematic Literature Review Through Text Mining, Amir Karami, Morgan Lundy, Frank Webb, Yogesh K. Dwivedi

Faculty Publications

Researchers have collected Twitter data to study a wide range of topics. This growing body of literature, however, has not yet been reviewed systematically to synthesize Twitter-related papers. The existing literature review papers have been limited by constraints of traditional methods to manually select and analyze samples of topically related papers. The goals of this retrospective study are to identify dominant topics of Twitter-based research, summarize the temporal trend of topics, and interpret the evolution of topics withing the last ten years. This study systematically mines a large number of Twitter-based studies to characterize the relevant literature by an efficient …

Rethinking Curation In School Libraries And School Library Education: Critical, Conceptual, Collaborative, Jenna Spiering, Kate Lechtenberg

Faculty Publications

School library educators often assign a curation assignment to preservice school librarians in the university classroom. However, these projects emphasize a product created by librarians for teachers and learners, rather than the collaborative and critical process that the National School Library Standards suggest. In this paper, we draw on data from a qualitative inquiry of several courses for preservice school librarians, looking at both curation assignment descriptions and the final products. Through a systematic content analysis of these projects, we have found that these assignments often fall short in asking our learners to critically consider conceptual connections and diverse perspectives. …

Governed By Circumstances As They May Arise: A Short Reflection On The Knowledge School And Its Context, Jennifer Weil Arns

Faculty Publications

As technologies have moved forward and cultural assumptions have changed, we find ourselves at a moment of opportunity. Our sense of the word library is drawn from a rich array of service traditions and a value proposition based on the belief that libraries help those who use them advance in life, engage with others in their communities, and learn more about themselves and the world around them. The Knowledge School concept builds on this assumption and expands it with a broader challenge – a commitment to creating public value, changing communities, and educating those who feel a personal commitment to …

Critical Library Instruction As A Pedagogical Tool, Nicole A. Cooke

Faculty Publications

The opportunity to expand pedagogy is an especially good thing for library educators, particularly when library professionals do not have formal training as teachers and instructors. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our students to grow intellectually and share growth and new knowledge with others. We should be promoting and practicing critical self-reflection and thinking critically about and even critiquing the information we consume and the sources from which it originates. This is an ongoing and iterative process that requires that we consistently read and remain abreast of new and interdisciplinary ideas that can challenge and inform our practice. …

Is Authorship Sufficient For Today’S Collaborative Research? A Call For Contributor Roles, Nicole A. Vasilevsky, Ehsan Mohammadi, Mohammad Hosseini, Samantha Teplitzky, Violeta Ilik, Juliane Schneider, Barbara Kern, Julien Colomb, Scott C. Edmunds, Karen Gutzman, Daniel S. Himmelstein, Marijane White, Britton Smith, Lisa O'Keefe, Melissa Haendel, Kristi L. Holmes

Faculty Publications

Assigning authorship and recognizing contributions to scholarly works is challenging on many levels. Here we discuss ethical, social, and technical challenges to the concept of authorship that may impede the recognition of contributions to a scholarly work. Recent work in the field of authorship shows that shifting to a more inclusive contributorship approach may address these challenges. Recent efforts to enable better recognition of contributions to scholarship include the development of the Contributor Role Ontology (CRO), which extends the CRediT taxonomy and can be used in information systems for structuring contributions. We also introduce the Contributor Attribution Model (CAM), which …

Book Review: Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy In A Digital World, Amie D. Freeman

Faculty and Staff Publications

The topic of copyright is rarely far from a librarian's mind. Practitioners must navigate creator and user rights within the constraints of complex license and contract agreements in digital environments. Librarians have to understand, explain, educate, and apply copyright law on a regular basis, often without formal training. Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy in a Digital World is a notable work that endeavors to summarize, explain, and comment on many of the complicated copyright-related topics that librarians encounter in the digital realm.

Considering "Atmosphere" When Facilitating Information Seeking By People With Invisible Disabilities In Public Libraries, Rebecca Muir, Kim M. Thompson, Asim Qayyum

Faculty Publications

Twenty percent of Australians reported having a disability in 2015. Disability may occur at any time during the lifespan, however most disabilities are invisible. When a disability is invisible, or not immediately apparent to an outsider, individuals may need to self-identify to access inclusive services, or accommodation may never be offered at all.

When the perceived number of information seekers with a disability is low, information organisations may deem services unnecessary. Considering information access is a human right, information service providers and researchers need to seek low cost and low effort ways to facilitate information access and information seeking behaviors. …

Caroliniana Columns - Fall 2019, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society Newsletter - Columns

Contents:

"Justice for All: South Carolina and the American Civil Rights Movement"..... p. 1

Letter from the Dean of Libraries..... p.4

Letter from the President..... p. 4

Report from the Director..... p. 5

The Town Theatre in Columbia Celebrates its Centennial: Remembering its Beginnings and First Director, Daniel A. Reed..... p. 6

Gordon "Dick" Goodwin Collection..... p. 15

Town Theatre Through the Years..... p. 16

Historic Southern Naturalists: Bringing Southern History and Natural History Together Online..... p. 34

Hannah Hicks..... p. 40

Dana Landress..... p. 41

Eva McGraw..... p. 42

James Mackay..... p. 44

Andrew Zonderman..... p. 45

Memorials & …

The Role Of Culture And Folk Art In School Library Programming, Lucy Santos Green, Melissa Johnston

Faculty Publications

Exploring the practices of teacher librarians in other countries fosters new knowledge, contributing to global communities of practice. The need to equip today’s youth with complex 21st century skills has served as a catalyst for change in the traditional practices of school librarians all over the world. It is this necessary change that led to questions regarding school library practices at an international level and to the need to explore school librarianship on a global level. This research study explores ways program design grounded in cultural understanding, experiences, and ways of knowing the world, are applied by practicing school librarians …

Innovative Information Literacy Landscapes: Leveraging The Specialized Knowledge Of Lgbtq+ Communities In Research And Practice, Vanessa Kitzie

Faculty Publications

This paper examines how Knowledge School principles can help libraries develop a more nuanced understanding of how social and cultural differences shape knowledge production and dissimi-nation within LGBTQ+ communities. I focus on information literacy (IL), in which practitioners teach individuals to seek, evaluate, and use information. IL can empower communities by enhancing education, confidence, and decision-making. However, libraries often approach IL from a deficit, skills-based perspective by envisioning communities as lacking the requisite knowledge to fulfill their information needs. As a Knowledge School, we need to move away from one-size-fits-all approaches to librarianship. Through research, we can understand how communities …

Interrogating How Information (Re)Produces Systemic Barriers Within Lgbtq+ Communities To Inform Global Lis Education, Vanessa Kitzie, Travis L. Wagner, Nick Vera, Valerie Lookingbill

Faculty Publications

This preliminary research examines the health information practices of South Carolina LGBTQ+ communities. Findings have the following implications for LIS education at a global level: building cultural competency regarding the role of information in marginalizing certain populations, and training students to engage in user outreach and advocacy. These implications address a global need for LIS education to encompass social responsibility and inclusion into program curricula.