Digital Commons Network^™

Working For A Better World: The Librarian As A Change Agent, An Activist And A Social Entrepreneur, Mia H. Mathiasson, Henrik Jochumsen

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

For many years, the social role of librarians has been a topic of heated debates, both within the library field and within library research. Such debates have traditionally been about questions of neutrality and the professional identity in librarianship. Recently, visions of librarians as radical positive change agents (Lankes 2016) have influenced and shaped this debate, raising new questions about neutrality or “post-neutrality”, professional agency and personal and political ideologies. However, what does it mean to be a radical positive change agent? To expand our understanding of the librarian as a radical positive change agent, this paper introduces the concepts …

Mapping The Future: Scenario Planning For The Post-Pandemic Library, Matthew Finch

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

How do we create an atlas to map libraries' futures? In times of turmoil, when people don't even agree on what's happening around them, how can we bring key decisionmakers onto the same page? When tomorrow is uncertain and future conditions won't be like today's, foresight tools like scenario planning can help libraries & their communities to make wise choices in the face of the unknown.

This paper offers a scenario planning case study from the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, applying the Oxford Scenario Planning Approach. This method encourages decisionmakers to reframe their situation, revealing strategic blindspots which may …

Rural Resiliency Hubs: An Integrated, Community-Centered Approach To Addressing The Resiliency Divide Through Rural Public Libraries, Marcia A. Mardis, Eren E. Ozguven, Faye R. Jones, Mark Horner, Ellen Piekalkiewicz, Scott Pickett, John Mathias, Jessica De Leon

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Resilience is often treated as a single-dimension system attribute, or various dimensions of resilience are studied separately without considering multi-dimensionality. The increasing frequency of catastrophic natural or man-made disasters affecting rural areas demands holistic assessments of community vulnerability and assessment. Disproportionate effects of disasters on minorities, low-income, hard-to-reach, and vulnerable populations demand a community-oriented planning approach to address the “resilience divide.” Rural areas have many advantages, but low population density, coupled with dispersed infrastructures and community support networks, make these areas more affected by natural disasters. This paper will catalyze three key learnings from our current work in public librarians’ …

User Information Needs And Information Seeking Behaviour Of Physics Department At The University Of Burdwan, Amit Kumar Das, Dr. Sukumar Mandal

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose – The study found on the University of Burdwan physics department faculties and research scholars’ information needs and information seeking behaviour. The purpose is to find out the information needs, source use, satisfaction level, and improvement needs for library infrastructure, sources and services.

Methodology – In this information needs and seeking behaviour study, two sets online questionnaire has been developed to achieve the objective. Only physics faculties and regular registered research scholars (session 2011 – 2020) in the University of Burdwan have been selected as main respondents. Data has been collected using Google form. Online questionnaire have been served …

A Contextualization Of Editorial Misconduct In The Library And Information Science Academic Information Ecosystem, Lucy Santos Green, Melissa P. Johnston

Faculty Publications

In the last decade, one of the most effective tools applied in combating the erosion of public trust in academic research has been an increased level of transparency in the peer review and editorial process. Publicly available publication ethics guidelines and policies are vital in creating a transparent process that prevents unethical research, publication misconduct, manipulation of the communication of research to practitioners, and the erosion of public trust. This study investigated how these unethical practices, specifically those coded as editorial misconduct, bring the authenticity and integrity of the library and information science academic research digital record into question. Employing …

Journals On The Road: Open Access Or Non-Open Access?, Fatemeh Sohani, Maryam Shekofteh, Azam Shahbodaghi, Sara Jambarsang

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Introduction: The choice of open access (OA) or non-open access (non-OA) publishing model is a serious concern and challenge for authors and journals. Therefore, the present study aimed to review the scientific literature related to the challenges and opportunities of the OA publishing model compared to subscription-based and hybrid publishing models.

Methods: The present study is a narrative review. Articles were searched in various databases such as Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), and articles concerning the research topic were reviewed.

Results: OA challenges were divided into five general categories: 1. Providing publishing fees 2. Fewer citations to OA articles …

Public Libraries Revolutionizing And Empowering Societies During The Covid 19 Pandemic Period : With Special Reference To Valapattanam Gp Library, Kerala, Matty Balagopal, Viijesh Vijayan, Joseph M K

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study throws light to the innovative and transformational methods adopted by public libraries to respond towards the community needs and up holds its social responsibilities with its users during the COVID 19 pandemic period. Valapatanam GP Library is the best example of public libraries which defeat Covid 19 with the application of powerful and renovated technology tools for community support and satisfaction through un interpreted connection with the users. It adopted various new tactics to overcome the pandemic difficulties and keep the users stay with the world of knowledge and recreation. The role of VPGP library limited not only …

Back To The Future! Library History As Forecast: Discovering Core Concepts Of Librarianship In The Public Library’S Past, Sara Wingate Gray

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Back to the Future! Library History as Forecast: Discovering Core Concepts of Librarianship in the Public Library’s Past

UNESCO and IFLA have a longstanding history in influencing librarianship from an international perspective: their joint ‘Public Library Manifesto’ (1994) describes “well-informed citizens”, with the ability to “exercise their democratic rights and to play an active role in society” as “depend[ing] on … free and unlimited access to knowledge, thought, culture and information” (UNESCO/IFLA, 1994). Without such savvy citizenry, the manifesto suggests, “[f]reedom, prosperity and the development of society” as fundamental human values may come to be in flux. Positioning the public …

Lanthorn, Vol. 56, No. 09, October 18, 2021, Grand Valley State University

Volume 56, August 2, 2021 - April 18, 2022

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Community Information Needs Of Agriculturists In Mysore Region Public Libraries, Karnataka, India: A Study, Siddaramu P

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Agriculturists need different types of community information in their day to day life. Community information helps the agriculturists to enhancing the productivity, profitability, stability and sustainability of the farming systems. Public library is the democratic institution which can accomplish the community information needs of agriculturists. This study was carried out to investigate the community information needs of agriculturists in Mysore Region. The present paper attempts to ascertain the background of the agriculturists and their community information needs in Mysore Region Public Libraries. The majority of the agriculturists said that they need always information on preparing the land for the cultivation …

Role Of Library Professionals In Information Dissemination During National Lockdown: A Case Study In Reference To Recent Pandemic, Subhajit Panda, Renuka Sharma

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries play an important role in the everyday life of students and faculty. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected higher education, including libraries systems & services. This global pandemic almost changes the entire working style of the library from traditional to online. The purpose of this study was to explore the response of the Libraries and LIS professionals during the COVID -19 pandemic and determine their working practices, services practices, and strategies applied and role-played. Libraries see their individual and collective roles of societal and educational dimensions during these uncertain times. The study also made recommendations for the betterment of …

Records Management Practices In Nigerian Public Universities: The Challenges, Jika Saidu Muhammad, Endang Fitriyah Mannan Mrs, Babagana Ibrahim Farashi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined records management practices in public universities of Nigeria. Qualitative research using a single case study approach with a semi-structured interview technique was used to extract data from 14 stakeholders in records and information management regarding the research topic. Software for qualitative research analysis ATLAS-ti 7.0 was used to aid the data analysis. The result of the study among others shows that RIM is predominantly conducted manually in the university with a lot of challenges. Various circumstances have contributed to these challenges; the most prominent among these is the lack of standard RIM policy to guide and control …

Communication During A Crisis: Keeping Our Patrons Informed During The Covid-19 Pandemic, John P. Delooper, Michelle Ehrenpreis

Urban Library Journal

This article discusses the Leonard Lief Library’s communications strategy to keep its patrons informed during the COVID-19 crisis. The Leonard Lief Library at Lehman College (CUNY) made use of its website, social media, and research guides to effectively convey timely information about service changes, library resources, and to improve outreach activities to our patron community while the library’s physical building was closed to its students, faculty, and staff.

Didactic Physician Assistant Students’ Perceptions Of Evidence-Based Medicine Resources, Brittany Heer, Chris Gillette, Chis Roman, M. Jane Mcdaniel

Scholarship and Professional Work

This is a poster for a presentation at the virtual Midwest/MCMLA Joint Annual Meeting on October 15, 2021.

Electronic Management In University Libraries Under Corona Pandemic (Covid-19): Reality And Challenges, Hanan Ahmed Farag

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examines the experience of libraries at Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University during the period of the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) since early March 2020. The paper reviewed the reality of libraries during the crisis and highlighted the unknown challenges posed by the epidemic to the university digital services. The paper examines how libraries have adapted electronic management to support the university’s full online teaching and learning processes since March 2020. The impact of the use of electronic management on the performance of human resources at the Deanship of Library Affairs at Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University was …

Recent Advances In Wearable Sensing Technologies, Alfredo J. Perez, Sherali Zeadally

Information Science Faculty Publications

Wearable sensing technologies are having a worldwide impact on the creation of novel business opportunities and application services that are benefiting the common citizen. By using these technologies, people have transformed the way they live, interact with each other and their surroundings, their daily routines, and how they monitor their health conditions. We review recent advances in the area of wearable sensing technologies, focusing on aspects such as sensor technologies, communication infrastructures, service infrastructures, security, and privacy. We also review the use of consumer wearables during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus …

A Categorical Review Paper On Bibliometric And Citation Studies, Sobhagyawati Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In this paper, the review process was adopted by surveying the 50 research articles in the last 9 years (2006-2014) for the extraction of information about 7 sub-issues. A categorical review was done in the area of Bibliometric & Citation Studies for various issues like Single Journal studies, Subject area based publications studies, Citation or Index databases studies, Country based publications studies, Subject area based multiple journals studies, Institution-based publications studies, and Ph.D. Thesis publications studies. From the review, it was found that these studies indicate the merits and weaknesses of the journal which will be helpful for its further …

No Holds: How The Msu Libraries Website Team Made Telework Work, Julie D. Shedd, Troy Derego, Brock Balducci, Josh Tucker

UL Publications

In March 2020, work at libraries nationwide was upended as COVID safety measures closed public buildings and sent librarians home, often with little support or guidance as to what they could or should do during lockdown. Thankfully, the Digital Initiatives and Web Services team at Mississippi State University Libraries had already laid a foundation that made the transition to remote work quick and easy. From our home offices, we accomplished more work than we ever had in the library: a full redesign and deployment of the MSU Libraries website; usability testing and discussions with library faculty, staff, and student assistants; …

A Survey Of Researchers’ Needs And Priorities For Data Sharing, Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, James Harney, Lauren Cadwallader

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

One of the ways in which the publisher PLOS supports open science is via a stringent data availability policy established in 2014. Despite this policy, and more data sharing policies being introduced by other organizations, best practices for data sharing are adopted by a minority of researchers in their publications. Problems with effective research data sharing persist and these problems have been quantified by previous research as a lack of time, resources, incentives, and/or skills to share data.

In this study we built on this research by investigating the importance of tasks associated with data sharing, and researchers’ satisfaction with …

Problems And Prospects Of Automating Public Libraries In Ghana, Deborah Nyamewaah Amankwah Mrs., Albert Paa Kojo Ebi Bilson Mr., Georgina Awo Atoproke Ms.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Automation has become a very integral aspect of modern libraries. Automation of libraries is designed to replace traditional libraries with its numerous challenges, specifically for public libraries in Ghana. This study was conducted by reviewing different papers on prospects and challenges of library automation globally and specifically narrowed to Ghana. From the study, it was revealed that the main problems of automating libraries have been categorised under four main headings which are; No automation problem, pre automation problem, automation problem, and post automation problem. Other problems revealed were poor construction of databases, lack of provision of information literacy education among …

Reefer Madness In Business: What's The Library's Potential "Stash" For The 420 Industry?, Rebecca A. Smith

Midwest Business Librarian Summit (MBLS)

Lightning Talk about why business librarians will want to pay attention to the cannabis industry and a libguide of selected resources will be shared.

Lanthorn, Vol. 56, No. 08, October 11, 2021, Grand Valley State University

Volume 56, August 2, 2021 - April 18, 2022

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Undergraduate Students’ Use Of Electronic Resources In Academic Libraries In Selected Universities In Nigeria, Williams Nwagwu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The objective of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the use of electronic resources by undergraduate students in academic libraries in selected Universities in Oyo State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 352 undergraduate students, 51.42% females and 48.58% males, from three universities in Southwest Nigeria. Data was analysed using binary logistic regression to understand the odds that favour use or non-use of the resources. The model successfully distinguished between the types of electronic resources and use non-use of the e-resources, and only three of the ten variables namely e-books, reference books and reference database made unique statistically significant …

Framing Of And Attention To Covid-19 On Twitter: Thematic Analysis Of Hashtags, Iman Tahamtan, Devendra Potnis, Ehsan Mohammadi, Laura E. Miller, Vandana Singh

Faculty Publications

Background: Although past research has focused on COVID-19–related frames in the news media, such research may not accurately capture and represent the perspectives of people from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, research on the public attention to COVID-19 as reflected through frames on social media is scarce.

Objective: This study identified the frames about the COVID-19 pandemic in the public discourse on Twitter, which voices diverse opinions. This study also investigated the amount of public attention to those frames on Twitter.

Methods: We collected 22 trending hashtags related to COVID-19 in the United States and 694,582 tweets written in English containing these …

A Framework For Anti-Racist Information Literacy Instruction: Exemplar, Process, And Structure, Kristen Borysewicz, Devon Olson

Librarian Posters and Presentations

Are instructional librarians having needed conversations with patrons about how research can perpetuate systemic discrimination and racism? A framework developed collaboratively between UND librarians and focused on exemplar, process, and structure provides a starting point. Learn how you can interrogate the conceptual processes and information architecture behind academic knowledge dissemination systems in order to foster a more anti-racist, equitable, and critical form of information literacy.

Using Fad Diets To Teach Information Evaluation, Jonathan D. Carlson, Annie Larson, Laura Bauer

Libraries Staff Publications

In Spring 2021, the librarian presenters partnered with Laura Bauer, a Nutrition faculty member, to teach students in introductory Nutrition classes information evaluation skills. The instructor's assignment originally asked the class of non-science major students to find a recipe online that met a personal nutrition goal based on current recommendations. The assignment evolved for a class of pre-health science students into an evaluative assignment where students were asked to research a fad diet online and compare those findings with the scholarly literature, all while considering diet culture through a social justice lens. In this session we'll discuss how the librarians …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Mobile App Usage In Medical Students, Emily Weyant, Nakia Woodward, Rick Wallace, Aaron Castle

Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Conference

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine both the usefulness of librarian instruction on mobile apps and student preference for mobile apps during 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations.

Methods: An electronic RedCap survey was administered to students for the purpose of gathering baseline information on library-provided mobile apps and instruction. This brief survey was given to 3rd year medical students at the beginning of this school year (2021-2022) with a second follow-up survey scheduled for later in the academic year. (spring 22) The students were asked questions about their mobile app usage and preferences as well as …

We’Re Virtually There: Providing Health Sciences Education And Wellness Through Virtual Reality Experiences, Lachelle Smith, Gail Kouame, Jennifer Davis

Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Conference

Faculty librarians at the Greenblatt Library implemented two innovative approaches for incorporating virtual reality (VR) experiences in health sciences education. The first project involves using VR to develop an escape room that introduces players to research data management principles and best practices. The second project incorporates curriculum-based VR experiences developed for the university’s undergraduate medical students and makes them available through a public space in the health sciences library. The library is centrally located on campus and is open extended hours, allowing for increased access to the VR experiences. Additionally, because burnout and stress are common in the health sciences, …

The Status Of Scholarly Efforts Of Librarians In Health Literacy: A Bibliometric Analysis, Alexandria Wilson, Courtney Wombles, R. Eric Heidel, Kelsey Grabeel

Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Conference

Objective: In order to determine the status of scholarly efforts on health literacy by librarians, researchers examined the characteristics of health literacy publications authored by librarians from 2000 to 2020.

Methods: Bibliometrics were used to assess the productivity, affiliations, collaboration, and citation metrics of librarians in health literacy-related research. Data were collected using the Scopus database and articles were screened for inclusion in Rayyan software before importation into Microsoft Excel for analysis. SPSS statistical software used to run basic descriptive statistics.

Results: Of 797 search results, 460 publications met the inclusion criteria of librarian authorship. There was a significant linear …

Medical Resident Resource Use Trends: Looking At The Past To Inform Future Decisions, David Petersen, Martha Earl, Alexandria Wilson

Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Conference

Objective:

Since 2006, the University of Tennessee’s Preston Medical Library (PML) has collected survey feedback from exiting residents. One question asks residents which types of articles or sources they use to find information. In this study, we examine responses to this question, assessing the change in resident utilization of resources to better inform future library decisions on instruction and marketing.

Methods:

Surveys were distributed to exiting residents through targeted emails or at the required exit process in the library. The question asked them to select which types of articles or sources they used to find information from among the 16 …