Digital Commons Network^™

Enchanted April, Christopher V. Hollister, Allison Hosier, Jacqulyn A. Williams

Communications in Information Literacy

This editorial is a tribute to former CIL co-editor-in-chief, April Schweikhard.

From Novice To Expert: Exploring The Relationship Between Information Literacy Threshold Concepts And Epistemological Development, Amanda L. Folk

Communications in Information Literacy

The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education articulates the ways of thinking, knowing, and doing that are valued in the academic community. Prior to the Framework, several scholars explored the potential relationship between information literacy and epistemological development, or the ways in which learners develop their understanding of and positionality to knowledge creation. However, the intersections of information literacy and epistemological development have been underexamined in the era of the Framework. In this article, I analyze the Framework through the lens of two epistemological development models, the Epistemological Reflection Model (Baxter-Magolda, 1992) and Reflective Judgement Model (King …

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. …

Visual Literacy Instruction At Scale: Developing Asynchronous Learning Objects For First-Year Art And Design Students, Jacqueline Huddle, Sarah Carter

Communications in Information Literacy

While learning modules are not new to academic librarianship, student-centered, asynchronous learning modules are an innovative approach not commonly considered within the academic librarianship literature. This article discusses the development and implementation of visual literacy asynchronous learning modules created by two librarians for a cohort of first-year studio art students. In creating these modules, the goal was to offer studio art students visual literacy instruction specific to their personal interests and future careers. Specifically, this article discusses the module design process and how student-centered learning can be incorporated into modules in order to offer deep learning opportunities.

Fact-Checking As A Multi-Step Process: From Ambiguity Resolution To Claim Validation, Wenbo Wang

Dissertations

The spread of misinformation and disinformation has become a major concern, particularly with the rise of social media as a primary source of information for many people. Fact-checking—the process of verifying claims against credible evidence—has emerged as a critical safeguard against misinformation. Yet, the task is fraught with challenges: claims are often ambiguous, context-dependent, or composed of multiple intertwined assertions, while automated systems struggle to replicate the nuanced reasoning of human experts. This dissertation addresses these challenges by reimagining fact-checking as a multi-step, knowledge-guided process that systematically resolves ambiguity, decomposes complexity, and validates claims through structured reasoning. Additionally, the proposed …

Authorship Policy, Munster Technological University, Ireland

Policies & Procedures Documents

The purpose of this document is to define the university’s policy on assignment of authorship to research outputs arising from the university’s research and scholarly activities. This policy promotes integrity in the authorship of research outputs arising from the research and scholarship of staff and students aligned with university, national and international best practice.

Elbow Patches To Eye Patches: A Phenomenographic Study Of Scholarly Practices, Research Literature Access, And Academic Piracy, Lance Eaton

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Changes to academic publishing in the form of digital technologies and copyright law over the late 20th century have created increasing roadblocks for scholars to consistently and conveniently access research literature in their pursuit of scholarly work. As a result, academic pirate networks (APNs) such as Sci-Hub and Library Genesis have risen to fulfill the unmet needs of scholars. This study examined the experiences of scholars using APNs with a focus on how scholars make sense of their experiences with participating on APNs. By identifying meanings that scholars attributed to their participation on these networks, the study clarifies how these …

Co-Creating Ai Learning Solutions: A Qualitative Analysis Of Student And Faculty Deliverables In An Algorithmic Literacy Learning Community, Samantha Legrand, Zoeanna Mayhook, Jing Lu

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This research describes the conceptual development and insights from implementation of Partners for Algorithmic Literacy (PAL) - a groundbreaking student-faculty learning community model, facilitated by academic librarians, where undergraduates and instructors partner to co-design curricular plans integrating or interrogating AI in the classroom. In the fall of 2023 and 2024, two cohorts in this learning community were partnered. In weekly sessions, partners experimented with AI tools and engaged PAL’s novel Algorithmic Literacy Pedagogy Framework to guide their conversations and co-design process.

Employing qualitative content analysis, an in-depth exploration is underway to glean valuable insights from the student-faculty partners’ personal reflections, …

Review Of Stories On Skin: A Librarian’S Guide To Tattoos As Personal Archives, Steven Bingo

Journal of Western Archives

A book review of Terry Baxter and Libby Coyner-Tsosie’s book Stories on Skin: A Librarian’s Guide to Tattoos as Personal Archives.

Selected Artificial Intelligence Provisions In U.S. Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The 2025 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple provisions relating to artificial intelligence (AI). These congressionally mandated provisions direct various sections of the Department of Defense (DOD) and individual U.S. armed service branches to execute congressional intent for AI policymaking. Examples of such intent include identifying and planning DOD's AI workforce, demonstrating AI biotechnology applications for national security, improving the human usability of AI systems, and establishing an AI security center. This presentation will note that reports on these initiatives must be prepared for relevant congressional oversight committees, and, in many cases, are in many cases, publicly released …

Instructional Strategies In Virtual Reference Services To Support User Learning In Indonesian Universities, Nove Eka Variant Anna

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study aims to investigate the instructional strategies used in Virtual Reference Services (VRS) to support users' learning in Indonesian universities. The focus of the study is to explore the librarians' understanding of their roles as instructors in virtual reference service and the practices of instructional strategies used in VRS. Finally, the study identifies the opportunities and improvements in instruction strategies to generate the initiatives to advance the instructional strategies in VRS.  The theoretical lens that is used in this research is Just-in-Time Learning (JITL), which consists of four characteristics: flexible, uses real-world cases, provides learning materials, and is customised …

School Libraries In South Australia: 2024 Census, Katherine Dix, Tamara Van Der Zant

School and system improvement

The School Libraries in South Australia: 2024 Census offers a snapshot of the current state, challenges, and evolving roles of school libraries and their staffing in South Australia. Conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) at the behest of the School Library Association of South Australia (SLASA), this census builds upon the foundational 2019 survey (Dix et al., 2020), providing a comparative analysis that highlights significant trends, progress, and ongoing challenges over the past five years. Over 600 school librarians and principals across all sectors—Government, Catholic, and Independent—were surveyed in late-2024, investigating how school libraries have adapted in …

An End-To-End Concatenated Cnn Attention Model For The Classification Of Lung Cancer With Xai Techniques, Fariha Haque, Mohammad Asif Hasan, Md. Abu Ismali Siddique, Tonmoy Roy, Tonmoy Kanti Shaha, Yamina Islam, Avijit Paul, Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In the field of medical imaging, deep learning (DL) techniques have made significant contributions to the detection and classification of various cancers. Identifying the precise regions in medical images containing cancerous cells plays a crucial role in the diagnostic process. Early and accurate cancer detection is essential for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes. However, manual diagnosis is labor-intensive, requiring the specialized expertise of radiologists, and the increasing number of cancer cases presents challenges in processing large volumes of image data efficiently. To address these challenges, an end-to-end concatenated Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) attention model has been proposed for automatic …

Is Manifestation Just A Secular Tawakkul?, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

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In recent years, the concept of manifestation has surged in popularity — especially among Gen Z and millennials. Vision boards, affirmation journals, scripting, and social media reels promise that if you just 'believe it hard enough,' the universe will deliver your desires. Rooted in the New Thought movement and later popularized by books like The Secret, manifestation is often promoted as a spiritual law: think positively, align your energy, and attract what you want.

But as I sat with friends over karak tea last night, we found ourselves deep in conversation about this very trend. One of them …

Ai And Ethical Use Implication For Research, Kelley Plass, Sierra Campbell

May Institute

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives, especially for students. While there are valid debates about the advantages and disadvantages of students using AI for their assignments, such as comparing tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT, one aspect that often goes unexamined is the information sources that AI relies on. AI is now integrated into search engines like Google and Bing, making it accessible to everyone. Additionally, with the emergence of AI research tools like ResearchRabbit, AI's role in everyday activities continues to expand beyond easily accessible resources such as subscription databases. AI is now an optional …

Giving Oral Histories New Life Through Community Archiving Collaborations, Marianne Swierenga, Amy Bocko

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

Oral Histories conducted by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum have found a new life through a collaborative partnership with WMU Libraries. Recorded on VHS in 1995, oral histories from Jewish resort owners in South Haven, Michigan, were digitized, described, and published openly in ScholarWorks, WMU’s institutional repository. This poster describes how the collaboration began, the workflow between institutions, and the resulting final product.

Creating Space For Climate Justice In Library And Information Science, Tami Oliphant, Tyler Youngman, Dan Hackborn, Lisa Nathan, Beth Patin

The Lender Center for Social Justice

This article explores the role of LIS in promoting climate justice, advocating for inclusive and sustainable information practices that address environmental inequities.

Mfgat: Map-Free Trajectory Prediction With Graph Attention Networks For Autonomous Vehicles, Zehra Gunindi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Accurate trajectory prediction is a key component for ensuring safe and efficient navigation of autonomous vehicles in complex traffic scenarios. While traditional methods rely heavily on high-definition (HD) maps, these approaches face significant challenges, including high costs, limited availability, and susceptibility to rapid obsolescence. This thesis proposes an end-to-end, map-free trajectory prediction model that leverages Graph Attention Networks (GAT) to dynamically capture spatial-temporal interactions among road agents, eliminating the need for HD maps.The research introduces UNLVTraj, a novel LiDAR-based dataset collected around the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, specifically along Cottage Grove Street, Harmon Avenue, and Maryland Parkway. This …

The Joy Of Quitting [Book Review], Jj Pionke

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

The Joy of Quitting is a day in the life kind of comic of Keiler Roberts where she focuses on child-rearing, relationships, her art, multiple sclerosis, depression, and many other topics.

The Haunting Of Alejandra [Book Review], Amanda Boyer

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

This review explores V. Castro’s The Haunting of Alejandra as a powerful portrayal of postpartum depression and generational trauma through the lens of horror and magical realism. Drawing on personal experience, the review highlights how the novel offers an unflinching look at the emotional weight of motherhood and the lasting impact of inherited pain.

History Internships In The Library: A Multiple Modules Model, Karen Glenn, Rebecca A. Wiederhold, Valerie Buck, Nicole Lewis, Katie Yeo

Faculty Publications

The BYU Library became aware of the history department’s need for internship opportunities that were on campus, paid, and relevant to historical research and potential employment opportunities. This presentation outlined how our library team developed internships to meet the needs of the history and family history majors, integrating into their larger, coordinated internship program. Students can select up to three modules to work on during their internship, giving them experience with multiple types of history related work done in libraries. We identified existing projects in our department to meet both the needs and interests of students in the history major …

Making Sense Of All Your Data: Working With Statistics Across Systems, Tokunbo Adeshina, Silvia Cho

Publications and Research

The City University of New York (CUNY) relies on multiple resource sharing solutions to meet user information needs. How library users interact with resources and submit information requests helps shape library processes for interpreting statistics, ensuring that resource sharing services remain accessible, discoverable, and user friendly. With 21 library institution zones sharing collections and operating a robust inter-campus lending system within its consortium, ensuring uniformity in data reporting is essential. This session presents an overview of how we reconcile data from all our resource sharing programs to get a more accurate and descriptive picture of all our resource sharing activities. …

The Fundamentals To Reintroducing Fun At Work: A Collaborative Team Approach To Addressing Library Staff Dissatisfaction, Unhappiness, And Burnout, Chereeka Garner, Cynthia Dancel, 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.

From Paywalls To Practice: Accessing And Using Evidence For Community Impact, Jayme Walters, Becky Thoms, Kacy Lundstrom, Rachel Blume

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Leaders and practitioners have a responsibility to utilize reputable, up-to-date research to inform their work in communities. However, peer-reviewed literature is often hidden behind paywalls, with an average cost of $30-$50 per article. An increase in predatory publishing has also made it difficult for readers to decipher reliable articles from those that are of poor quality. Additionally, even when openly accessible to readers, peer-reviewed articles are generally written by academic researchers for other academic researchers, resulting in articles that are too dense both in length and readability. This workshop will equip participants with practical strategies for locating and identifying quality, …

Degrees In Action: Utilizing Public Relations Students' Expertise To Expand The Reach Of Oer, Taylor "Lainie" Allen, Shelley Wigley

UTA Libraries Staff Publications - Archive

Students' expertise plays a crucial role in promoting Open Educational Resources (OER). The “Degrees in Action: Utilizing Public Relations Students' Expertise to Expand the Reach of OER” poser presentation highlights a collaboration between a Public Relations (PR) Campaigns Course and OER and Digital Scholarship Department. PR students were empowered to apply their skills in developing and executing a public awareness campaign that highlighted the benefits and availability of OER on the University of Texas in Arlington campus.

Through strategic planning, creative messaging, event coordination, and student/faculty surveys, the PR students gained hands-on experience in communication and advocacy while addressing the …

Common Challenges Faced By Early-Career Researchers In Latin American And Small U.S. Universities, Daniela Cejas, Fatima Rodriguez Acosta, Juan Rivera-Correa

Publications and Research

Early-career researchers from Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and small U.S. universities are underrepresented in international scientific databases. They have geographical importance, infectious disease endemicity, and exceptional researchers in microbiology, but these factors do not translate to representation in high-impact scientific publications. Many reasons could be involved, including financial burdens such as the inability to pay article processing charges. Additional teaching, institutional, and service responsibilities also highly influence their research productivity. Despite this, they are expected to publish high-impact articles, and their career development highly depends on it. There is an opportunity for global peer collaboration to tackle this inequity and …

The Volume Of Information, Joshua Levine

Library Staff Online Writings

Judge Roy Bean was a legendary justice of the peace in Texas, known as the “Law West of the Pecos.” However, he was not known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the law. Judge Bean “had only one law book, a copy of the Revised Statutes of Texas, printed in 1879, as authorized by the Sixteenth Texas Legislature.” He relied exclusively on that book, and “[e]ven though the legislature sent him new books every two years, reflecting new laws, he burned them. He said he liked the old book better and he like those laws better, too.”

Book Review: Creating Inclusive Libraries By Applying Universal Design: A Guide By Carli Spina, Hannah P. Martin

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Ischool Student Research Journal, Vol. 15, Iss. 1

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Overdue: Reckoning With The Public Library, Amanda C. Davidson

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.