Digital Commons Network^™

Library Year In Review 2024-2025, Saint Mary's College Of California

SMC Community Engagement

No abstract provided.

Team Approach To Increase Staff Happiness, Cindy Dancel, Chereeka Garner, Jason D. Phillips, Christopher Saclolo

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

"Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card" (Arthur Read) but can be quite a challenge when you work at the library. Check out this session to discover ways an employee driven, administration supported library committee has worked to increase employee morale, build community among new and veteran library staff members, and provide off campus networking opportunities with minimal planning, building wide collaboration, and budget limitations.

A Humanistic Approach To Graduate Student Research Consultations, Tyler Manolovitz

Journal of Graduate Librarianship

This paper examines the benefits of a humanistic approach to research consultations with graduate students due to their unique research needs and lived experiences. Graduate students undertake complex, long-term research projects that require sophisticated information literacy skills and specialized support. Beyond these technical needs, graduate students often experience library anxiety and academic pressure stemming from their varied backgrounds, demanding lives, and a wide range of research knowledge and experience. Personalized, one-on-one research consultations offer an ideal platform to address both the technical and emotional needs of graduate students. By infusing research consultations with humanistic principles, including empathy, authenticity, emotional intelligence, …

Wright State University Libraries Annual Report 2024 - 2025, Wright State University Libraries

University Libraries' Annual Reports

The 2024-2025 Annual Report by the Wright State University Libraries highlighting the various happenings at the University Libraries including staff updates, public services highlights, and events.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 04, September 22, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – current

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

Seamless Transitions: Enhancing Information Literacy Through Collaborative Professional Development, Katie Strand, Jen Kirk, Paul Daybell

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

This paper presents a case study of an initiative to create an open dialogue between secondary educators and academic librarians through the establishment of the biennial conference “Bridging the Gap” (BtG). The conference fosters collaboration, promotes professional development, and enhances the continuity of Information Literacy (IL) instruction through three distinct tracks: IL, Primary Source Literacy, and Digital Resources. The IL track focuses on collaborative strategies to enhance IL instruction and address the challenges faced by first-year university students. The Primary Source Literacy track highlights the importance of primary sources and how to integrate them into coursework. The Digital Resources track …

Building Student Historians: A University Archives Research Apprenticeship Program, Daardi Sizemore, Heidi J. Southworth, Jamison Vierstraete

Library Services Publications

This session focuses on the development of a student historian program in the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato. 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 learning practices and Diversity, …

Fostering Belonging Through Library Descriptions, Nicole Lewis, Sharolyn Swenson, Katie Yeo, Karen Glenn

Faculty Publications

In late 2023, the BYU Library adopted its Inclusive Metadata Policy as part of its commitment to fostering a campus culture of belonging. This policy reflects the Statement on Belonging, which affirms that we “value and embrace the variety of individual characteristics, life experiences and circumstances, perspectives, talents, and gifts of each member of the community and the richness and strength they bring to our community.”[1] Catalogers and archival processors at the library are engaging in practices of cultural humility to ensure that the language and frameworks we use to describe people, communities, and histories are inclusive and respectful. …

Beyond Description: Interrogating Narrative Elements In Archival Finding Aids, David J. Williams, Richard Kearney

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

As the archival profession evolves, attention is increasingly paid to the usability of its resources and services. User Experience, or UX, is a contemporary design practice gaining prominence among archivists interested in addressing usability. Information design, the process of organizing and presenting information for efficient and effective use, is a component of UX incorporating both the presentation and content of communication instruments, with plain language writing guidelines applied toward achieving this goal. A prominent information artifact produced by archivists is the finding aid, describing and inventorying archival collections. Those components of finding aids providing “access points” into collections—communicating the …

Associations Among Trauma Exposures, Workplace Factors, And Distress Responses In Archivists, Cheryl Regehr, Wendy Duff, Rachael Lefebvre

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

A growing body of research addresses the emotional impact on archivists from working directly with materials that contain depictions of human suffering and from working with researchers and donors whose own lives are depicted in the records. This study sought to determine the impact of exposures to potentially traumatizing events and ongoing work stressors on symptoms of post-traumatic stress and burnout in archivists, as well as whether organizational factors, including trauma-informed practices, are associated with levels of post-traumatic stress and burnout. Seventy-seven archivists participated in a web-based survey. Findings reveal moderate to strong associations between a variety of potentially distressing …

Community Defining Archives: A Comparative View Of Community Archives Definitions, Britney Bibeault

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Defining community archives has been described as difficult in academic literature because of the wide range of activities the organizations do and who they represent, leading to a lack of an agreed-upon definition in the field. Until now, a comparison between how community archivists describe themselves and academic definitions of community archiving has not been undertaken. This paper explores the definitions of community archives given by practitioners in their digital community archives and compares them with academic literature. Using both qualitative thematic coding and quantitative word frequency counts, this study found Flinn (2007) and Flinn et al. (2009) definitions are …

Review Of Archiving Cultures: Heritage, Community And The Making Of Records And Memory, Emily Homolka

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This short, but densely packed, book aims to extend the disciplinary boundaries of archival studies and the ‘archive’ from its focus on tangible history, most commonly the written word, towards a more holistic understanding which allows for the inclusion of intangible, living culture in the ‘cultural archive.’ Archiving Cultures: Heritage, Community, and the Making of Records and Memory by Jeannette A. Bastian takes an interdisciplinary, transhistorical approach to reframe archivists’ understanding of a ‘record’ with the goal of creating archival equity between tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Review Of Dissonant Records: Close Listening To Literary Archives, Rachel C. Poppen

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In Dissonant Records: Close Listening to Literary Archives, Tanya E. Clement addresses the 150-year legacy of these audio records and provides a call to action for digital humanists and literary scholars to recognize the research value of archival audio records and to integrate close listening into their research practices. Consisting of case studies on five aspects of close listening (amplification, distortion, interference, compression, and reception), Clement uses these topics to discuss the method of close listening, the use of audio records in research, and access issues to audio recordings in archives.

Reconceptualizing Metadata Management As A Design Discipline, Rebecca B. French

Faculty Scholarship

Libraries are increasingly exploring design approaches, but their utility has been overlooked in the area of metadata management. This article argues that metadata management should be considered a design discipline. Key elements of design epistemology and their relevance to cataloging and metadata work are explored through a case study of developing a workflow to update OCLC numbers in a library catalog. Conceptualizing metadata management through the lens of design provides a new view of the field that expands possibilities for education, advocacy, research, and practice.

Active Learning And Notetaking, Joshua Levine

Library Staff Online Writings

This past summer, when I attended my third AALL Conference, I signed up to review a program for the ALL-SIS newsletter. I agreed to report on “AI in Law Libraries: Discussing Ethical Considerations and a Way Forward.” I had attended numerous presentations over three years, but this was the first time I analyzed a program in depth. I needed to make detailed notes about what the participants said, as well as what questions were asked and how the speakers responded to them. Then, I had to synthesize my notes and turn them into an effective program review, about 500-700 words …

From Weberian Rationalization To Javascript Components: Modularism In Academic Library Software, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

This paper considers modular approaches to building library software and situates these practices within the context of the rationalizing logics of modern programming. It briefly traces modularism through its elaboration in the social sciences, in computer science and ultimately describes it as it is deployed in contemporary academic libraries. Using the methodology of a case study, we consider some of the very tangible and pragmatic benefits of a modular approach, while also touching upon some of the broader implications. We find that the modularism is deeply integrated into modern software practice, and that it can help support the work of …

Hybrid Conferences As The Standard Offering Of Archival Organizations, Portia Vescio, Regina Bouley Sweeten, Kathleen Dull, Dylan Mcdonald, Jonathan Pringle

Journal of Western Archives

This case study documents the effort to plan and execute a fully hybrid annual meeting for the Society of Southwest Archivists in 2023. By making the conference accessible to both in-person and virtual attendees, the society moved toward greater inclusivity and equity by offering a professional development opportunity that was affordable and within the ability of a volunteer organization. The case study provides a blueprint for any archival organization to follow in creating hybrid meetings.

Lanthorn, Vol. 60, No. 03, September 8, 2025, Grand Valley State University

Volume 60, August 4, 2025 – current

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

Student Newsletter Fall 2025, University Of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Faculty Newsletter Fall 2025, University Of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Information Security Awareness And Behavior Of Smartphone Users In The Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria, Funmilola Olubunmi Omotayo

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Today, there is a rapid increase in the number of people using the Internet via smartphones and relying on them for most of their daily activities. Consequently, smartphones are becoming the target of criminals for atrocious purposes. This study investigated the information security awareness and behavior of smartphone users in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Data was collected with a questionnaire from 400 respondents who were conveniently selected. Findings revealed that most smartphone users knew about the smartphone security features available on their phones. However, most also engaged in behaviors that threatened their information …

Open Educational Resources (Oer) Workshop Slides For The Center For Teaching & Learning Annual Seminar, Ian Mcdermott, Rena D. Grossman, Emma Handte

Open Educational Resources

LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) began receiving funds from a New York State Open Educational Resources (OER) grant in 2017. Since 2020 we have offered a spring OER Seminar through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The seminar invites instructors and staff to explore their past, current, or desired use of OER at LaGuardia. Seminar co-leaders present and discuss a variety of experiences with OER, from authoring a textbook to implementing OER in high enrollment courses. The five workshops have been co-led by the library in collaboration with faculty in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, …

Almost, Beyond, Or Alongside Fandom? An Alternative Frame For Qanon, Melissa D. Nelson

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This conceptual paper argues that parafandom offers a potentially useful framework to make sense of fannish forms of dis- or misinformation. To support this argument, I first provide an overview of dis- and misinformation and the ways that it has been studied within LIS and fan studies, respectively. From this scholarship, I identify several existing frameworks for studying atypical fan(dom)s, including research on ‘fans’ of QAnon. Finally, I offer a working definition of parafandom, concluding with several possibilities for its application in future FanLIS research.

How Subversive Is Shipping Really? An Analysis Of Heteronormative Elements In Same-Sex Relationships Focused On German-Language Anime And Manga Fan Fiction, Saskia Dreßler

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This study investigates whether German-language fan fictions featuring lesbian and gay characters within the anime and manga domain can be regarded as genuinely queer. It situates these fan works within the specific traditions and practices of German fandom. Employing qualitative content analysis, the research examines two prominent fandoms, Naruto and Sailor Moon, focusing on the presence of heteronormative narrative patterns in fan fiction with queer protagonists. The study analyzes which aspects of the original media are adapted and how these adaptations shape the portrayal of queer identities. Furthermore, fan comments are examined to assess the extent to which readers …

Five Years Of Fanlis: Papers From The Fanlis 2025 Symposium, Lyn Robinson, Ludi Price

Proceedings from the Document Academy

We began the FanLIS project in 2020, as a basis from which to study, understand and progress information communication as it relates to fan works. Most of us are fans of something, and thus we all have the potential to appreciate and enjoy the fiction, artwork, music, poetry, plays, games and interactive experiences crafted by creative fans within our area of interest, in both analogue and digital formats. Fandom is perhaps the ultimate inclusive discipline.

Library and information science (LIS) theory and practice consider authorship, publication, distribution, indexing, access, storage, preservation, document and management related policies, use, reception and understanding …

The Information Edge - Library Newsletter - September 2025, Sarah Burns-Feyl, Jennifer Rosenstein

University Library Newsletter

No abstract provided.

W&L Law Library Annual Report 2024-2025, The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

Law Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Government Documents Constitution Display 2025, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Constitution

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Enhancing Research And Innovation: Utrgv University Library's Ptrc Designation, Raquel Estrada

University Library Publications and Presentations

The UTRGV University Library, at both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses, has been officially designated as a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This designation marks a significant milestone, opening new doors for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship across UTRGV and the entire Rio Grande Valley. This poster is designed to celebrate and promote this exciting development by highlighting benefits to the RGV community, spotlighting the PTRC Libguide, and sharing details about the grand opening events.

Thrown Into The Deep End: A New Hire’S Survival Story From Their First Government Documents Event, Emily Gomez

University Library Publications and Presentations

New hire here—get ready for my survival story! This poster shares the real-life adventure of organizing a government documents promotional event from scratch. From digging up cool resources and designing a table that grabs attention, to partnering with fellow library staff on colorful posters and handouts—it was a fast-paced lesson in creativity, collaboration, and figuring things out as you go.