Digital Commons Network^™

Conducting Effective Literature Searches And Writing Strong Abstracts, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This invited presentation for students at Poland's War Studies University communicates ideas on how Ph.D. students at this institution can enhance their research quality. Specific content includes formulating your research question, determining research aims and methodology, reviewing a research question checklist, understanding the meaning of search terms you propose to utilize, devising effective search strategies, consulting multiple varieties of information resources from multiple countries, finding gaps in literature, being able to distinguish between nuances in literature and data, writing succinct abstracts, and enhancing the clarity of your prose.

Library Data Storytelling And Information Wisdom, Kate Mcdowell

Bryant Jackson Lectureship

What can you tell about your library data as a story? Learn how to bring data stories to life for library advocacy of all types, from sustaining the library to transforming its work. Participants will learn about ongoing research identifying classic library stories told to persuade decision-makers as part of the Data Storytelling Toolkit for Libraries project (IMLS). Tools academic libraries can use include:

• Strategies to understand data storytelling uses for academic libraries
• Reach different kinds of audiences such as students, administrators, and funders
• Adapt narrative structures to communicate information and emotion at the same time

Dr. Kate McDowell’s interdisciplinary …

Lanthorn, Vol. 59, No. 15, April 14, 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.

The Role Of Libraries In The Fight Against Corruption, Ganiyu Idowu Buhari, Rotimi Adesina Egunjobi Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Corruption is simply a misuse of entrusted authority for personal benefit of self, family, friends and those who by rules do not deserve or qualify to get the benefit of that authority. The phenomenon which has been described as a universal one, presents itself in different forms like embezzlement, bribery, nepotism in public sector recruitment, promotion and access to public service, cronyism, vote-buying, political patronage, and judicial corruption. The effects of this phenomenon on the society are so monumental that a common platformmust be found to wage war against it, if our country’s plan for economic growth and development must …

Librarians’ Level Of Awareness And Perception Of Artificial Intelligence And Robotics In Federal University Libraries In Southeast, Nigeria, Emmanuel Chidiadi Onwubiko, Cecilia Chimezie Offor, Joy Nwadiogwa Onwumbiko

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The level of awareness and perception of AI and robotics by librarians are very paramount as to determining their applications and utilization or otherwise in any library. This study therefore aimed at determining librarians’ level of awareness and perception of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in federal universities in Southeast, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and was guided by three research questions. The population sample of the study was 50 librarians drawn from 5 federal universities libraries on Southeast, Nigeria selected through random sampling technique with the aid of research assistants from each of the universities while …

Msu Archives Hotdish: A Research Apprentice Program In The Archives, Daardi Sizemore Mixon, Heidi J. Southworth, Jamison Vierstraete

Library Services Publications

This session focuses on the ingredients used by the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato to make a successful Research Apprentice Program Hotdish. In 2024, the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato participated in the Undergraduate Research Center’s Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP). The RAP provides students new to research with opportunities to collaborate with faculty and staff on mentored research, scholarly, and creative projects. Daardi Mixon, University Archivist will discuss the development and implementation of the RAP program within the archives and how library and university strategic plans were incorporated into the outcomes with a focus on high-impact …

Hidden Heroes: Honoring And Preserving Memory Through Oral Histories, Joe Kinzer

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

What we collect and produce at the Fife Folklore Archives

• Local and regional history
• Cache Valley and the Intermountain West
• Immigrants, refugees, farmers, ranchers, old-time fiddlers, community activists, religious communities, Native American voices, veterans, cowboy poets, and more.

Fourth Industrial Revolution And The Future Of Nigeria Academic Libraries In The 21st Century: Review Of Literature, Esther Motunrayo Ekeh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

As the world is experiencing technological development, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is taking prominence in the provision of information to library users. This study covers the prospects and complications facing the academic libraries in Nigeria and the future of Libraries professionals. Reconnoitering this matter is crucial since 4IR has essentially altered how information is received and used by personages. Library professional is described as having knowledge of resources in all of their forms as well as the ability to acquire, organize, and disseminate these materials. The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is characterized by a greater degree of interconnection …

Awareness And Usage Of Electronic Database Among Faculty Of Management Sciences Academic Staff Of Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria., Esther Motunrayo Ekeh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This study examined the level of awareness and use of electronic databases among faculty of management sciences academic staff of Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos state, Nigeria. The objective of the study is to investigate the level of awareness and use of electronic databases by academic staff in the Faculty of Management sciences in Lagos State University, Ojo - Lagos State, Nigeria. Descriptive research design was employed with proportionate stratified random sampling. The population of the study was all the 105 academic staff in the university under study. A questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection and was …

The Gulf Coast Lgbt Radio And Television Digitization Project: Providing Equitable Access To Houston’S Lgbtq Broadcast History, Emily Vinson, Bethany Scott

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Initiated in 2020 with a multi-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access, The Gulf Coast LGBT Radio and Television Digitization Project aimed to digitize and preserve thousands of hours of LGBTQ broadcast history from the Houston, Texas area. Through meticulous inventorying, digitization, redaction, transcription, publication, promotion, and preservation processes, the project team navigated the delicate balance between equitable access and copyright compliance. The selected programs encapsulate decades of LGBTQ life and culture, covering a diverse array of topics crucial to understanding the community’s evolution in the region.

This paper presents a comprehensive case …

Future Of Academic Libraries And Lis Professionals In India, Vinayak Savatagi, Umesha Naik

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries authentically and authoritatively acquire, process, conserve, and make knowledge of all human endeavours accessible to all, regardless of sex, status, religion, race, or colour. Serving the information needs of its users & society as a whole is its principal function. Academic libraries & LIS professionals in India are going through a major transition because of new technology, changing user expectations, & different ways of teaching. In this study, we take a look at what the future holds for university libraries and the people who work in them. Digital curation, data management, or IT expertise are becoming increasingly important for …

Building Empathy Through Storytelling: A Living Library Program Focused On Women’S Health, Jess King, Belinda Boelter, Catherine Medici-Thiemann

Posters and Presentations: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

An academic health sciences library hosted a grant-funded living library program titled “Bringing Stories of Women’s Health to the Forefront.” With a campus that is increasingly focused on incorporating the humanities into medical education, the library added to this momentum by offering a program which encouraged empathy through the art of storytelling. The program was delivered via three routes: an in-person event for the city’s metro community, a virtual event for the university community and their clinical partners, and oral interview video recordings that are hosted on the library website. In order to host a successful event that met the …

Use Of Online Information Resources And Academic Staff Research Productivity In Public Universities In Ogun State, Dorcas Adebisi Rahman Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The research productivity of academic staff measures their status in the academic world. As a result this study investigated use of online information resources and academic staff research productivity. A survey research design was used, in which the population consist of academic staff in public universities in Ogun State. Proportionate random sampling technique was used to select 158 respondents that represented the sample size. SPSS was used for data analyses, using percentage, means and standard deviations. The study revealed that the respondents use online journals for article writing ( =3.56; std dev. =0.626); online databases for searching for articles ( …

Reframing Information Seeking In The Age Of Generative Ai: A Critical And Humanistic Approach, Joseph Kevin Sebastian

Library Faculty Research

Information-seeking has long been the subject of theoretical modeling, often drawing from cognitive, behavioral, computational, and even evolutionary perspectives to explain how individuals navigate, filter, and utilize information. Several dominant frameworks—Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process, Marcia Bates’ Berrypicking Model, Peter Pirolli & Stuart Card’s Information Foraging Theory, Kiyohiko Nakamura’s Information Criteria framework, and Ian Ruthven’s Information Shaping Theory —have provided structured ways of understanding how people interact with information environments. However, while these frameworks offer valuable insights, they often operate within mechanistic or efficiency-driven paradigms, which risk overlooking the complex, embodied, and socioculturally situated nature of human information behaviors. These …

Not Red Or Blue, But Green: The Political Economy Of Media Bias For Librarians And Educators, Becka Cooling

All Student Capstones

This capstone was completed in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Sociology.

Issue 58, Anna Nelson

NoteBooth

Spring 2025

Digitizing Pre-1978 Dissertations At Binghamton University Libraries, Erin Rushton, Caitlin Holton, Jamey Mcdermott

Library Scholarship

In 2023, Binghamton University Libraries initiated a project to digitize its pre-1978 dissertations and make them available in its institutional repository. This Communication on Practice provides an overview of the key decisions made before embarking on the project, the workflow, and the challenges encountered. We drew upon the experiences and lessons learned from other institutions to guide our process, and hope this paper will serve as a resource for those considering similar projects at their institutions.

Relationship Between Academic Influence And Institutional Cooperation In Specific Fields：Evidence From The Computer Science Domain, Yukai Yang, Yi Zhao, Chengzhi Zhang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/ significance]In scientific collaboration, institutions are the primary driving units of scientific research. Compared to intra-institutional collaboration, inter-institutional collaboration often has the potential to produce high-impact papers. Therefore, studying fine-grained collaboration at the institutional level holds significant importance.[Method/process]To explore the relationship between different types of institutional cooperation and academic influence, this paper classifies institutions and defines various types of cooperation. Using network analysis methods, it investigates the relationship between network indicators of different types of institutional cooperation and academic influence. [Result/conclusion]Taking the computer science domain as an example, the analysis of the relationship between network indicators of different types of …

Grand Valley Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 2, Spring 2025, Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley Magazine

Grand Valley Magazine is a quarterly publication about Grand Valley State University produced by University Communications since 2001.

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.

Caroliniana Columns - Spring 2025, University Libraries--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society Newsletter - Columns

Have Digital Exhibit, Will Travel: “Forest to Furniture” featured at Sumter Museum in early 2025 … p.3

Officers at War: Rethinking Southern Masculinity, Honor, and Violence in the Civil War Era / Dr. Patrick F. Doyle … p.10

Researching Politics, Finance, and Agricultural Subsidies in the Jim Crow Era / Robert Ferguson … p.14

The Unsung Heroes of History / Beth Bilderback … p.16

Primary Sources: Authors Rely on SCL Holdings for Their Research … p.20

The Cost of the Vote: George Elmore and the Battle for the Ballot … p.20

Empowering Communities: How Electric Cooperatives Transformed Rural South Carolina …

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 …

Centering Users By Design: Implementing An Iterative Usability Testing Program, Lindsey Skaggs

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Libraries are increasingly employing usability testing to inform the design of their websites, discovery layers, and digital services, but designing and facilitating testing can be intimidating for libraries without UX expertise or designated staff. This poster will explain how a librarian designed and facilitated an iterative seven-test Usability Testing Program over one academic year and outline how librarians new to UX can implement a similar program. Results from each test will be shared, demonstrating how the collected data was used to improve the library’s website and discovery layer and center the user experience.

Archeota, Spring/Summer 2025, Nicholas Haynes, Stacy L. Vandenput, Jesse Jacobs

Archeota

Archeota is a platform for SJSU iSchool students to contribute to the archival conversation. It is written BY students, FOR students. It provides substantive content on archival concerns and issues and promotes professional development in the field of archival studies. Archeota upholds the core values of the archival profession. Contents: Happy 10th Birthday Archeota! Celebrating Archeota's 10 Year Anniversary by Gwendolyn Smith Beyond Survival: The Fragility of Context in Digital Archives by Nicholas Haynes “Records Doulas” and the Case for Patient Records Advocacy: An Emerging Role for Archivists by Stacy L. Vandenput Preserving Play: Memory, Meaning, and the Soul of …

Research On Quantitative Evaluation Of Artificial Intelligence Policy Texts In The Yangtze River Delta Region, Ying Zhou, Danjie Yang, Mei Jiang, Xiaochun Zhao

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance]The quantitative evaluation of existing effective artificial intelligence (AI) policies aims to provide reference for government department to formulate scientific and reasonable AI policies and promote the development of AI. [Method/process]Taking 10 AI policies in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2015 to 2024 as the research samples, the text mining method is used to construct the evaluation index system of AI policies in the Yangtze River Delta region, and conduct quantitative evaluation by combining the PMC index model. [Result/conclusion]The study found that from a macro policy text perspective, the average PMC index of the 10 AI policy samples in …

Healing Histories: Implementing Trauma-Informed Care Practices In Libraries To Support Resilience And Recovery, Cearra Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the impact of public library closure on the Edgewood community in Columbia, South Carolina, an area with a rich history and significant ties to the two nearby historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Benedict College and Allen University. It explored the intergenerational effects of historical trauma through the lens of collective memory, as documented in oral histories from community members and public library staff. The research aimed to understand the implications of the library's absence in a marginalized community context, emphasizing how such closures can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Through oral histories, questionnaires, and interviews, the findings reveal …

Stories Between The Stacks: Current Black Women School Librarians' Lived Experiences, Cynthia R. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Black women school librarians navigate complex professional landscapes shaped by their lived experiences, intersecting identities, and systemic barriers. Despite their significant contributions to school librarianship, their perspectives remain largely absent from scholarly work. This qualitative study explored how the lived experiences and positionalities of Black women school librarians shape their practices. It addressed the critical gap in research on Black women school librarians. Grounded in Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) and guided by Black feminist-womanist storytelling, this study employs a narrative approach to explore the experiences of four Black women school librarians in the Southeastern Region of the United States. Data …

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 …

Ai And Prompt Engineering For Library Discovery Services, James Day

Publications

We have seen the rise of generative artificial intelligence in the form of Large Language Models (LLMs) to provide answers to users’ queries. Services such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini have quickly become accepted and adopted in the research process. Now library vendors are adding artificial intelligence (AI) to their discovery services to allow for natural language queries to produce generative results. However, the AI model used for discovery services differs from normal LLMs in a significant way that has several positive benefits, but it affects how prompts are written. Library discovery services use a model called Retrieval- Augmented Generation …

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 …