Digital Commons Network^™

Creating Web-Based Augmented Reality Experiences In The Academic Library, Beryl White-Bing

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

Hampered by constantly evolving applications, the cost of commercial applications, and the mechanics of having to download yet another application to a smart device, the use of augmented reality (AR) has been a struggle for this academic librarian in promoting resources, teaching content, and encouraging widespread general use of this immersive technology. Then, a random conversation with a creative and technology-oriented multimedia artist changed my perspective on this very useful and immersive tool. He introduced the concept and use of web-based augmented reality and the possibility of its use, not just in creative ways to produce art, but in other …

Beyond The Books: Virtual Reality In Academic Libraries, Beryl White-Bing

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

Explore how academic libraries are revolutionizing education with Virtual Reality (VR). This session showcases the integration of VR experiences at the University of North Florida's Virtual Learning Center, offering a hands-on approach to enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. Discover how VR stations can transform traditional instruction, bringing abstract concepts to life and providing immersive learning experiences across disciplines. Attendees will gain insights into setting up a VR-enabled learning space, selecting educational VR content, and incorporating these technologies into curriculum design. Whether you're a library professional or an educator, this session will empower you to harness the power of VR …

Living Heritage, Resilience And Ethically Informed Infrastructures In Malawi, Martha B. Lerski, Frank Puluputu Mwale

Publications and Research

Rooted in a rural community’s needs, this paper explores how historically, and ethically informed infrastructures can support community engagement towards identification, documentation, and dissemination of local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change. The paper examines climate adaptation and sustainability issues through the lenses of community organizing and Library & Information Science best practices. It draws on a growing body of literature identifying a role for expanded epistemological and subject discipline perspectives. While the impacts of climate on material culture are increasingly recognized, intangible, and biocultural heritage have not received as much attention. Living heritage traditions and knowledge systems …

I'M So Glad We Had This Time Together: A Memoir [Book Review], Jj Pionke

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

Maurice Vellekoop's I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together: A Memoir is a recounting of his realization and embracing of his homosexuality ultimately through getting therapy for his depression.

Preserving The Groove: Identifying & Preserving Grooved Media, Michael Bean, Michael Bean

LWLC Faculty Research

Preserving the Groove” is an introductory workshop on the identification, handling, and preservation of grooved sound media. The session covers three primary formats shellac, acetate, and vinyl while also touching on lesser-known and historically significant discs such as transcription discs, Bone Records, and Vitaphone soundtracks. Attendees will learn how to distinguish between formats, understand their playback requirements, and apply best practices for cleaning, storage, and digitization. Emphasis is placed on the physical vulnerabilities of each medium and the importance of preservation in archival and personal collections alike.

Making Decisions Across Collections: The Prioritization Matrix, Annie Benefiel, Andrea Van Dyke

Scholarship and Professional Work

No abstract provided.

Telling The Library’S Story: A Step-By-Step Tutorial For Using Data Visualization To Show Impact On Teaching And Learning, David Vickers Loertscher, Michelle Young

Learning Hub

This tutorial introduces school librarians to the use of data visualization tools for documenting and communicating their impact on teaching and learning. By leveraging accessible platforms like Google Forms and Google Sheets, the authors demonstrate how librarians can build dashboards and real-time visual reports to showcase co-teaching, instructional collaboration, and student engagement. The tutorial features real-world examples, highlights common data sources already available to librarians, and argues that dynamic visual storytelling is a powerful alternative to traditional library statistics.

Training Programmes And Staff Development: A Survey Of Library And Information Science (Lis) Professional Bodies In Nigeria, Scholastica C. Ukwoma Phd, Rebecca Chidimma Ojobor (Corresponding Author) Phd, Victoria N. Okafor Prof., Ezinne Njoku Phd

Urban Library Journal

This study explores the training programs provided by the Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) and the Nigerian Library Association Information Technology Section (NLAIT). It evaluates their scope, relevance to the field of librarianship, challenges faced, and strategies to enhance participation. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was utilized. From a target population of 600 librarians, a sample size of 120 respondents was randomly selected following the guidelines of Gall, Gall, and Borg (2003). Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire, achieving a 66.7% response rate (80 respondents). The collected data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, …

The Spring 2025 Issue, Destiny Dehart, Laura K. Clark Hunt, Crystal Walker, Austin Bello, Lauren Nimon-Viola, Sarah Gonzalez

Fonds and Feathers

This issue, edited by Destiny DeHart, features “Advances in Storytelling” by Assistant Professor Laura K. Clark Hunt, Ph.D., “Evolving Storytelling in Libraries: Project Techne” by Crystal Walker, “Who’s Rewriting History” by Austin Bello, “Soldiers in Disguise: Women’s Stories from the Civil War” by Lauren Viola, “Once Upon a Map: Storytelling in Libraries with ARCGIS Storymaps” by Sara Gonzalez, “Mold in the Archives: How Bias Influences Stories” by Destiny DeHart, and interview with managing reference archivist Devin McGeehan Muchmore of the GLBT Historical Society. In addition, upcoming conferences are listed. A list of students who will graduate in December 2024 with …

Community Care: Raising The Profile Of The Library Through Programming, Deborah Beagle, Carrie Evans, Maxine Girard, Bridget Kennedy, Mike Mannheim

Librarian Publications

Starting in Spring 2024, librarians at Western New England University D’Amour Library began seeking ways to increase student engagement in response to a new focus on student wellness. Leveraging their own strengths and interests, they began hosting weekly Crochet, Crafting and First-Generation College Student drop-ins, which eventually grew into a total of five regular library programs. These programs have proven overwhelmingly popular, with scores of students attending per week. Additionally, the programs have raised the profile of the library across campus, enabled collaborations with other campus groups, and increased student connections. Staff morale has also been improved, as Librarians have …

Building Media Literacy In Adolescence: A Cognitive Behavioral Clinician's Manual To Combat Misinformation And Misdiagnosis During Sessions, Patricia Sacchetti

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper examines the role of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in countering misinformation that youth encounter on social media and other informal sources, with the goal of creating a manual for mental health clinicians. The use of CBT by clinicians working with adolescents to combat the issue of misinformation and misdiagnosis has received little attention in the literature. Mental health clinicians’ knowledge of media literacy as a psychological construct can foster an effective treatment style by building upon the foundation of well-established theory and practice, such as CBT. CBT is a multifaceted treatment that can help guide mental health clinicians …

Evaluating The Impact Of Information Literacy Workshops On Student Success, Amanda Shannon, Aaron Skira, Ying Chen, Matt Shreffler

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

Objective – This study was designed to identify the impact of standalone information literacy tutorials on student success indicators. The study was conducted in two different phases to compare findings across different modalities and to identify whether online, asynchronous delivery of substantively similar content affected outcomes.

Methods – Using institutional records from a mid-sized, Midwestern public university, and attendance and completion data from student participation in asynchronous library workshops, the authors used propensity score matching to construct a control group that mirrored library workshop participants based on like characteristics. Statistical analyses were then conducted comparing the GPA, semester completion, and …

Contributions Of California Teacher Librarians To Student Achievement, Keith Curry Lance, Caitlin Gerrity

Learning Hub

This article assesses the contributions of California Teacher Librarians (TLs) to student achievement, specifically in the area of English Language Arts and Literacy. This comparison-of-means analysis employed two major datasets: the California Department of Education (CDE) school library evaluation survey and California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data, both for the 2022-23 school year. This study found that students who met or exceeded ELA standards were more likely to be in schools with: a full-time, certified TL rather than a part-time TL or no TL; a TL–full- or part-time–rather than no TL; a TL staffing a single library …

Increasing Global South Knowledge Representation With Oa And Library Resource Sharing, J. Silvia Cho

Publications and Research

In this peer-review session, I present ideas to study and overcome barriers to digital interlibrary loan exchange with Latin America under Fair Use (and equivalent provisions). Materials published in Latin America and the Caribbean are more difficult to discover and access from the United States, creating silos and under-representation of points of view from these regions in Global North scholarship. Open Access is key towards overcoming barriers to access, but much of Southern knowledge continues to be in non-Open Access publications with traditional copyright. As a result, library resource sharing and interlibrary loan must facilitate a greater flow of Southern …

Shrink: Story Of A Fat Girl [Book Review], Jj Pionke

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

Shrink is a graphic memoir and graphic medicine title that chronicles one woman's journey with her fat body. Along the way, she educates the reader about the politics, history, health, medicine, and perspectives of fatness.

You Are Here: Defining Our Hidden Born-Digital Backlog, Andrew Mcdonnell

Library Presentations

The digital archivist position was created at the University of Kentucky two years ago to help create and refine workflows and process born-digital collections in our manuscripts and university archives collections. While much of the initial work of these last two years was on newly acquired collections and materials, in the decades prior, a variety of born-digital materials on physical media had been gathered in hybrid collections and stored and described in myriad ways. This presentation will demonstrate my processes for discovering and assessing unmigrated born-digital materials on physical media hidden throughout our collection. The process is built on documentation …

It's Lonely At The Centre Of The Earth [Book Review], Jessica D. Gilbert Redman

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth focuses on the author/artist’s battle with depression and anxiety—and the overwhelming urge to end her own life. Readers who are dealing with anxiety or depression will recognize themselves over and over again, as they read the graphic novel and identify the myriad of ways they themselves are trying to function and “make it” in a world that doesn’t seem to be built for them—or to understand them.

Mulberry Leaf Disease Detection By Cnn-Vit With Xai Integration, Mohammad Asif Hasan, Fariha Haque, Hasan Sarker, Rafae Abdullah, Tonmoy Roy, Nishat Taaha, Yeasin Arafat, Abdul Karim Patwary, Mominul Ahsan, Julfikar Haider

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Mulberry leaf disease detection is vital for maintaining the health and productivity of mulberry crops. In this paper, a novel approach was proposed by integrating explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques with a convolutional neural network (CNN) and vision transformer (ViT) for effective mulberry leaf disease classification with three disease classes. Initially, in this proposed CNN-ViT model, features are extracted using a customized CNN architecture, and then the extracted features are fed into ViT for leaf disease classification in a more streamlined approach. The CNN-ViT model achieved promising results with a projection dimension of 64, utilizing 8 heads and 8 transformer …

New Definitions Of Library Use: Experimentation, Discovery, And Creation (Edc) Within A Library, Holt Zaugg

Faculty Publications

Why did you do this activity, project, or research?

Over the last decade, libraries have shifted from being primarily repositories for information and resources to active learning centers. Physical resources (e.g., books, journals, manuscripts) have moved to online access. Librarian roles have adjusted how they help patrons find and access resources in their local library and beyond, resulting in impactful input on research, learning, and scholarly endeavors. Additionally, due to a reduced need for storing materials, libraries have developed collaborative and innovative spaces to meet patrons’ needs. These spaces include group study rooms, experiential studios, makerspaces, green rooms, and podcast …

The Library Is Open: Making The Case For Academic Libraries As The Planning Hub For Frederick Douglass Day, Shaina V. Anderson

Urban Library Journal

This case study showcases the value of having a library act as the central planning and event location at a public, land-grant university. Frederick Douglass Day is a hybrid day of “…collective action for Black history” (Center for Black Digital Research, n.d.) that was founded by Dr. Jim Casey, an African American Studies faculty member at Pennsylvania State University. It is a day where students and community members from higher education institutions, archival institutions, and museums from around the world log onto a transcription program and participate in transcribing historical documents. Some of the participants are assigned to be “transcribers” …

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

From Cynicism To Trust: Strategies For Teaching Students Source Evaluation Skills, Mandi Goodsett, Melanie Gagich

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Concerns about the spread and adoption of misinformation abound, and academic librarians have played a part in trying to stem the tide through information literacy instruction. However, teaching students how to evaluate sources can be complicated—teaching fact-checking skills may be insufficient if it increases students’ overall cynicism about information ecosystems. This study explores how teaching fact-checking and lateral reading skills, along with instruction about “bias filters,” can help to reduce the cynicism of first year writing students, while also increasing their misinformation detection skills. Results are mixed, but teaching about the information creation process and “bias filters” is especially promising. …

Uni Scholarworks Readership Snapshot, May 2025, Bepress

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

No abstract provided.

Empowering Community Voices, Kyle Morgan

Cal Poly Humboldt Library

No abstract provided.

Personal Information Sharing Behavior Using Social Media: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2007-2024, Ashraf Sharif, Khalid Mahmood, Shafiq Ur Rehman

Libraries

This study explores personal information sharing behavior publication patterns and trends on social media from 2007-2024 with an aim to highlight the annual growth of personal information sharing behavior (PISB) on social media platforms, key patterns in the PISB literature in terms of frequently cited authors, countries, institutions, sources, highly cited papers, collaboration and authorship patterns, thematic evolution, keyword and key factor analysis (such as countries, sources, and keywords). We used Scopus database for data extraction, and 1020 pertinent records were chosen. The data was evaluated with Microsoft Excel, Access, Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software. The United States of America is …

Volume 45, Number 2, June 2025 Olac Newsletter, Laura Kane Mcelfresh, Michael Herrick, Janelle Zetty, Tanesa King, Nerissa Lindsey, Diana Eynon, Lisa Romano, Amanda Mack, Michelle Cronquist, Morris Levy

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized June 2025 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

"Some Level Of Skill For Life": Secondary Teacher Librarians Supporting Student Information Literacy Skill Transfer Beyond Secondary School, Kasey L. Garrison, Kay Oddone

Communications in Information Literacy

Students entering higher education are expected to transfer information literacy skills and knowledge developed through their primary schooling and sharpened in their secondary years. However, the constant evolution of the information landscape means the mastery of these skills presents challenges for students to develop and teachers to teach. Through interviews, this phenomenological study examines the perspectives and practices of 19 Australian secondary teacher librarians supporting student information literacy skill transfer in school and life contexts and considers important changes in the teaching of these skills. Findings suggest time and content overload are preventing integration across subjects and limiting students’ ability …

Can Tanzanian Neurosurgeons Access Tanzanian Neurosurgical Literature? A Systematic Review And Survey Of Neurosurgical Publications, Sabas Romani R, Woodfield Julie, Ikwuegbuenyi Chibuikem Anthony, Cadieux Magalie, Shayo Consolata, Shabhay Zarina, Rabiel Happiness, Beverly Cheserem, Bwemelo Joel, Wright Drew N

General Surgery, East Africa

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Free and open access to research data and findings promotes equity in access to healthcare knowledge and equity in patient care and treatment. To benefit the health care of the population studied, research findings must be accessible to clinicians, academics, and policymakers serving those populations. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of published Tanzanian neurosurgical data and its accessibility to those practicing within the country.

METHODS: A systematic review of all published neurosurgical studies from Tanzania was conducted. Authorship, funding, and open-access status were recorded. Tanzanian neurosurgeons were surveyed by telephone …

Generative Ai For College Students: A Collaboratively Developed Online Microcourse On Genai In The College Classroom, Amber Willenborg, Tessa Withorn

Communications in Information Literacy

Academic libraries have taken a variety of approaches to addressing the opportunities and challenges of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education. For universities that have no standard policy around GenAI, instructors are left with little guidance on how to teach students about GenAI in the classroom and may have varying levels of comfort with GenAI and its applications. To address the need for more instruction around GenAI, a team of librarians and university writing center and digital media suite staff took an innovative approach to teaching AI literacy by creating a six-lesson microcourse in their learning management system all …

From Cynicism To Trust: Strategies For Teaching Students Source Evaluation Skills, Mandi Goodsett, Melanie Gagich

Communications in Information Literacy

Concerns about the spread and adoption of misinformation abound, and academic librarians have played a part in trying to stem the tide through information literacy instruction. However, teaching students how to evaluate sources can be complicated—teaching fact-checking skills may be insufficient if it increases students’ overall cynicism about information ecosystems. This study explores how teaching fact-checking and lateral reading skills, along with instruction about “bias filters,” can help to reduce the cynicism of first year writing students, while also increasing their misinformation detection skills. Results are mixed, but teaching about the information creation process and “bias filters” is especially promising. …