Digital Commons Network^™

Promoting Library Services And User Education With Digital Tools, Sarah-Anne Kennedy, Jennifer Flynn

Case studies: Digital Education

Library Services has adopted a Digital First Approach for Communications and Marketing focusing on primary channels such as the library website, LibGuides, plasma screens, and social media. Re-designed visual promotional materials direct users to online content for more information on how to engage with a service, resources, or support. This shift ensures that our content is accessible and streamlined for the digital age. All content is standardised to align with TU Dublin brand guidelines with accessibility features incorporated to support users with disabilities.

Leading And Collaborating In A Complex Space: Developing And Evaluating A Course Materials Program, Catherine Fraser Riehle, Melissa Gomis

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Librarians at a large public university describe ongoing efforts to develop a strategic, multi-pronged Libraries Course Materials Program to reduce course material costs for students. These efforts include the integration of course materials in the university’s learning management system in addition to offering course materials reviews, consultations, and grant opportunities for instructors. A pilot program in the College of Business provided a path for direct outreach to instructors as well as significant potential student cost savings and revealed challenges related to communication and recruitment. Authors share their approach to program evaluation for understanding and communicating impact and for estimating the …

Developing A Pandemic-Related Mental Health Micro-Collection For An Academic Library, Dee Anna Phares

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Academic library patrons dealing with the impact of trauma, depression, anxiety, or addiction spawned or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic require materials that address the unique conditions that have shaped mental health since late 2019. This paper demonstrates how one academic library endeavored to address patrons’ needs for mental health resources by developing a “Coping and COVID-19” micro-collection.

On The Provenance Of Software Systems: Automating Software Traceability With Knowledge Graph And Large Language Model Synergy, Tyler Procko

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The present dissertation delineates a system that enables those engaged in software development to automatically generate and maintain project life cycle provenance. All projects are implemented and made manifest with the development of artifacts, e.g., papers, code files, etc. Tools exist to accelerate artifact creation, but little focus is paid to the processes that produce them. In terms of Ontology, or, from Ancient Greek, the study of being, the two most basic entities in reality are Continuant and Occurrent, or, roughly, “Artifact” and “Process”. This dissertation posits that for any created artifact, its process of creation, i.e., its life …

Archiving The Lumad Schools Of Mindanao, Ryan Cezar Alcarde, Michelle Mikiko Pagaran, Victoria Nolasco

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

During the Duterte administration, Indigenous communities in Mindanao, striving to protect their ancestral lands from destructive logging, mining, and agro-industrial plantations, were subjected to attacks by military and paramilitary groups. This resulted in the enforced shutdown of 215 Lumad schools, whose ecocritical pedagogy molded Indigenous children into land protectors and environmental stewards. In response, the Mindanao Climate Justice Resource Facility (MCJRF) and former Lumad school volunteer teachers and students, Indigenous leaders, and supporters launched the “Lumad School Memory Project” in 2023. This research and archiving initiative aims to document the rich educational practices of the forcibly closed Lumad schools, ensuring …

The Library As A Hospitable Place: Hospitality And Welcoming Volunteers, Geesje Duursma, Erwin Losekoot, Gjalt De Jong

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Libraries use volunteers. Research indicates various barriers to volunteering. After these barriers have been overcome, it is of great importance that the volunteer is welcomed into the organization. Therefore, hospitality is not just about receiving patrons but also receiving (new) volunteers. For this study, concepts from volunteering were synthesized with hospitality concepts. This case study took place at a library in the northern part of the Netherlands. Data was collected from interviews with management and volunteers in a focus group discussion. The findings were triangulated with official documents from the library. A matrix of hospitality practices is proposed to help …

School Librarians Transferring What They Learned In Their Preparation Programs To Practice: Three Case Studies, Carl Adrian Harvey Ii

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

ALA/AASL/CAEP standards are used to determine what preservice school librarians in nationally recognized programs are taught in their preparation programs. School librarian preparation programs follow standards to ensure their graduates are prepared and ready for their positions. The standards provide consistency in how school librarians are prepared across the country as preparation programs must provide data to demonstrate how their students have met those standards for national recognition. However, once the students complete the program and move on to their positions in K-12 schools, what happens? Do students transfer what they have learned in their preparation programs? What challenges or …

Tracking Social Media Platform Shifts In Academic Libraries, 2019-2025 [Dataset], Holly M. Surbaugh

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The author created this supplementary data file during a research study completed in January 2025. For a sample of 233 university libraries located in the United States, the author examined current and archived versions of the organizations’ websites and noted changes in links to library-specific accounts on popular social media platforms. The goal of this research was to explore how academic libraries have responded to a period of significant change and disruption in the social media landscape. The Excel file contains the final version of the compiled data, including URLs for the reviewed websites and Internet Archive Wayback Machine captures …

Lanthorn, Vol. 59, No. 14, March 31, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 59, August 5, 2024 – April 14, 2025

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

Lung Segmentation With Lightweight Convolutional Attention Residual U-Net, Meftahul Jannat, Shaikh Afnan Birahim, Mohammad Asif Hasan, Tonmoy Roy, Lubna Sultana, Hasan Sarker, Samia Fairuz, Hanaa A. Abdallah

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Examining chest radiograph images (CXR) is an intricate and time-consuming process, sometimes requiring the identification of many anomalies at the same time. Lung segmentation is key to overcoming this challenge through different deep learning (DL) techniques. Many researchers are working to improve the performance and efficiency of lung segmentation models. This article presents a DL-based approach to accurately identify the lung mask region in CXR images to assist radiologists in recognizing early signs of high-risk lung diseases. Methods: This paper proposes a novel technique, Lightweight Residual U-Net, combining the strengths of the convolutional block attention module (CBAM), the Atrous …

Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In The Construction Industry Among Undergraduate Construction Management Students: Case Study--A Study Of Future Leaders, Jonghoon Kim, Soomin Park, Sarah H. Moukhliss, Kwonsik Song, Dan Koo

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

This study investigates the perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) among undergraduate construction management students who are poised to become future leaders in the construction industry. As the industry increasingly adopts AI technologies to enhance project planning, design, site management, and safety, understanding students’ attitudes toward these innovations becomes crucial. This research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative data to capture the students’ insights on AI’s potential applications, benefits, and challenges within the construction sector. Findings indicate that while students recognize AI’s transformative potential to improve efficiency and safety in construction processes, they also express concerns regarding …

Politics, Traditional Librarianship, Progressive Librarianship, And Conflicting Visions Of Services For Children, Bill Crowley

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper addresses the ongoing challenges within public library youth services between programs of Traditional Librarianship, heavily influenced by local religious and political realities, and Progressive Librarianship, a secular approach aiming to remedy perceived past library failures. At the risk of oversimplification, Traditional Librarianship, the original American public library philosophy, long prioritized helping youth develop into educated citizens with a strong moral foundation. Within the limits of generalizing, Progressive Librarianship can be considered a change-oriented philosophy seeking to provide youth services committed to social justice and a reversal of power relationships to the benefit of those previously underserved. The effects …

Promotion Of Accessible Library Resources: Perspectives And Literature Review On Cooperation With Campus Partners To Better Serve Students With Disabilities, Barbara M. Pope, Samantha Thompson-Franklin

Faculty Submissions

Accessibility in academic libraries touches on many different issues, such as access to buildings and facilities, websites, software, hardware, and the library’s collections. This article reviews the literature on accessibility in higher education, focusing on the topic of cooperation among departments on university and college campuses with the goal of better serving students with disabilities. These entities include the academic library, student disability services, and teaching faculty, among other possibilities. Students with disabilities attending institutions of higher education without accessible library resources and services and students who are unaware of available resources and services may be unable to fully participate …

Data Management Foundations And Analysis In Your Research, Richard Quiroz

University Library Publications and Presentations

This presentation was originally given on March 18th, 2025 as part of the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine mini-series "Best Practices in Medical Research".

The purpose of this presentation is to provide an introductory overview of Data management practices you may incorporate into your research project with a strong leaning to medical research. Following the Research Data Management Lifecycle, this presentation is divided up into five main sections detailing the research project phases for preparation, collection and organization, security and storage, analysis, and discoverability. Each section covers an overview of the research data management phase, …

Artificial Intelligence In Research, Erica Finch, Stephanie Western

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

Has your paper been used to train an AI model? Almost certainly

Artificial-intelligence developers are buying access to valuable data sets that contain research papers – raising uncomfortable questions about copyright.

Lanthorn, Vol. 59, No. 13, March 17, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 59, August 5, 2024 – April 14, 2025

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

University Librarians’ Level Of Familiarity With And Use Of Web 2.0 Technologies: The Case Study Of Two Iranian Universities, Hadis Khedri

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present study aimed to determine the level of familiarity with and use of Web 2.0 technologies among librarians at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and the University of Isfahan. This research is applied in terms of its objective and descriptive in terms of its method. The statistical population of the study consisted of 135 librarians working in the libraries of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and the University of Isfahan. Due to the limited number of participants, total population sampling was conducted. Data were collected using the “Library 2.0 Tools” questionnaire, developed by Hosseini Shoar and Bahrami …

Primary Source Analysis: Using Digitized Time-Motion Study Films In The Undergraduate Business Classroom To Build Primary Source Literacy, Annette Bochenek, Renusree Varma Mudduluru

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This paper details a study conducted in the context of a large Midwestern university’s undergraduate business class, employing the ACRL RBMS-SAA Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy in a guided in-class activity using digitized primary sources. Students participated in an introductory lesson pertaining to primary sources and their connection to business, followed by viewing and analyzing digitized clips from Frank and Lillian Gilbreth’s time-motion studies. In addition, they completed a reflective discussion board post, illuminating their connections to the ACRL RBMS-SAA Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy core ideas of the analytical, ethical, theoretical, and practical. Potential affective experiences were also examined …

Promotional Techniques For Marketing Academic Library Product And Services, Fisayo Adesola Adekunle Mr., Bright Ajayi Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This paper clarifies the marketing techniques used to promote the product and services offered by academic libraries. Users are kept informed about the information resources accessible at the library by marketing of the services and information resources offered by the library. Library-produced materials such as reading lists, bibliographies, flyers, brochures, library e-mail, websites, posters, and other materials; special programs and events such as library orientation, workshops, and seminars; and social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and blogs are some of the promotional techniques used in marketing library resources. Marketing library product and services improves user perception of the …

Everyday Life Information Behavior, Health Information Seeking, And Hiv And Sti Awareness Among People Who Inject Drugs (Pwid), Nafiz Z. Shuva, Radia Taisir, Parvez Sazzad Mallick

Publications and Research

This study aims to explore the everyday life and health information behavior of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Bangladesh, as well as the effectiveness of HIV and STI informational programs in promoting safe injecting and sexual behavior. The study received 97 completed survey responses and conducted two focus group discussions (FGDs) with 13 PWID. Using de Certeau's everyday life practices framework, the study aims to understand the tactical information strategies of PWID in the context of a developing country where access to government services and trust in authorities may be significantly limited among marginalized populations. PWID's information needs focused …

The Southern Miss Bower Academic Center: A Recent Academic Library-Athletics Partnership, Blake Denton

Faculty Publications

In 2019, A. Blake Denton published a literature review that identified and described 35 partnerships between academic libraries and athletics programs at higher education institutions in the United States, 20 of which were established for library marketing and development purposes. Recognizing that the literature documenting marketing and development partnerships was dated, he published a study in 2021 that provided updated, more comprehensive accounts for eight participating institutions and an analysis of the evolving nature of their relationships over time. This third article analyzes the partnership at the University of Southern Mississippi that resulted in the relocation of the athletics program’s …

Beyond Rules And Tools: Imagining A Design Approach To Metadata Management Training, Rebecca B. French

Libraries

Professional development offerings for cataloging and metadata practitioners primarily focus on "rules and tools" - the standards, guidelines, and software applications commonly used in the field. These areas of knowledge are important and foundational, but professionals also need competence in synthesizing this information to solve metadata problems. In this presentation, I will explore design epistemology as a way of understanding metadata management. I will apply design concepts and methods to reimagine metadata training and provide suggestions for on-the-job training approaches that support the development of these harder-to-teach skills.

Have You Gone Taraweeh Hopping?, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"Ramadan in Southern California is something truly special. It has a rhythm, a taste, and an energy that is both unique and unforgettable. With the growing Muslim community comes an unmatched diversity of cultures, traditions, and, most notably, an array of Ramadan experiences that bring people together in ways that feel deeply meaningful."

Building A Regional Library-Led Case Competition: Reflections From Librarians And Vendor Partners, Zoeanna A. Mayhook, Annette Bochenek, Elizabeth Grauel, Hunter Minser, Terence O’Neill, Ilana Stonebraker, Juan Vasquez

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Libraries are increasingly involved in supporting and facilitating case competitions, leading to competitions that emphasize decision-making and understanding of a larger ecosystem of information. This paper examines existing literature on the topics of librarian support for case competitions, the growing trend of library-led case competitions, and the expanded role of libraries in support of entrepreneurs, students, and faculty in entrepreneurial programs. The conversation is expanded through a discussion of the Midwest Entrepreneurship Case Competition (MECC), a library-led case competition that prioritized the participation of undergraduate students and grew from a local to a regional event. Vendor engagement, case development, competition …

Are You An Archivist? : Zines As A Method Of Archiving, Riley Natalova

Student Zines

Zines have started to be seen as an important contribution to archives with other ephemera like flyers and pamphlets. They are especially prominent in archives that focus on preserving the experiences of marginalized communities and highlighting social movements where zines were often utilized as a mode of expression and organizing. While many archives include zines as part of their collection, many zines are miniature archives themselves.

I argue that zines are the most accessible way to archive and that they are an important tool for the future of archives and libraries, especially during a time of mass censorship. I created …

Volume 45, Issue 1, March 2025 Olac Newsletter, Laura Kane Mcelfresh, Michael Herrick, Meghan Bergin, Diana Eynon, Nerissa Lindsey, Alex Whelan, Tanesa King, Jan Mayo, Lisa Romano, Morris Levy, Bruce Evans

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized March 2025 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

Uni Scholarworks Readership Snapshot, February 2025, Bepress

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence: Considerations For Library Public Service Delivery, Annie Bélanger

Scholarly Papers and Articles

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives and discussions about the future. This column will explore the evolution of Rangathan’s Five Laws of Library Science to the modern reality of continued technological advancements and adoptions in libraries. The column will then explore how service delivery, informed by Rangathan’s Five Laws of Library Science, contends with technological advances. The column will further explore considerations and implications for artificial intelligence within the realm of service delivery and the understanding of digital literacy. The column will provide an emphasis on artificial intelligence's possible impacts on personalization and automation of services, …

Law Library Blog (March 2025): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law Library

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Are Emojis The New Words? A Sentiment Analysis Of Social Media Brand Conversations, Yashodhan Karulkar, Dev T. Vora, Siddharth Vaddepalli, Yash Thakur

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Emojis have become an increasingly important aspect of consumer-brand interactions in the Indian subcontinent. However, the impact of emoji use on brand image and mental health remains underexplored, particularly in emerging economies like India, where structured research on this topic is limited. To address this gap, the present study analyzes over 4,600 consumer tweets related to 19 prominent brands across eleven industries. Using VADER sentiment analysis, the research develops a metric to assess consumer sentiment and brand engagement in relation to emoji usage. The findings indicate that effective integration of emojis contributes to positive consumer sentiment and enhanced brand engagement. …