Digital Commons Network^™

Locating Free And Low-Cost Secondary Sources In Michigan, Cody James

Law Librarian Scholarship

Secondary sources are all the legal resources that describe what the law is without actually having the force of law. For example, treatises, law review articles, and practice series are secondary sources while statutes, regulations, and cases are primary sources. Although secondary sources are not binding authority, they provide valuable, up-to-date insight and commentary about existing laws. These insights are especially useful when handling matters outside of an attorney’s usual areas of practice.

Unfortunately, secondary sources are not cheap — consider that a full set of Michigan Civil Jurisprudence has a retail cost of $25,119. That said, a lot of …

Using Extended Two-Step Floating Catchment Area To Map Children’S Level Of Access To Physical Books In West Virginia, Heather A. Maxey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The state of West Virginia lacked a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the availability of physical books across the state. Access to reading material is vital to a child’s educational development as well as lifelong learning beyond childhood. To guide policy decisions and planning for outreach which addresses reading levels and beyond, I mapped levels of access stemming from socioeconomic barriers, spatial barriers, and an integrated index of both types of barriers. To map spatial access, I utilized a modified Extended Two-Step Floating Catchment Area model, deriving techniques from Hong et al’s 2023 article addressing access for health care in WV. …

Epistemological Insecurity In The Anthropocene, Dustin Purvis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation analyzes how increased mainstream awareness of climate change and other complex environmental phenomena transforms some of the basic tools we use to understand the world, including notions of agency, evidence, and causality. More specifically, this project highlights numerous contemporary literary and cultural narratives that formally and thematically depict impromptu systems of action and comprehension developed by humans confronting the unique forms of information overload that result from damaged and rapidly changing environments. Following critics like Ulrich Beck, Rob Nixon, and Stacy Alaimo, I suggest our current era of ecological instability and destructive environmental practices dictate what I refer …

Complex And Varied: Factors Related To The Research Productivity Of Academic Librarians In The United States, Kristin Hoffman, Selinda Adelle Berg, Kristine R. Brancolini, Marie Kennedy

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Academic librarians face multiple barriers in conducting the research that is expected in their work, yet they still manage to successfully complete it. This study aimed to identify the factors that contribute to their success. Through an online survey sent via email to a random sample of academic librarians in the United States, we gathered and analyzed quantitative data about education and experience, demographics, success factor statements, and research productivity to determine which factors are related to increased research output. We found that three categories of factors—Individual Attributes, Peers and Community, and Institutional Structures and Supports—contribute positively to overall research …

Poc In Lis Summit 2023 Impact Report, Aisha Conner-Gaten, Nataly Blas, Jennifer Masunaga, Marisa Ramirez, Jessea Young

Librarian Publications & Presentations

While there are many conferences for information workers, very few highlight the voices of marginalized identities and provide a platform for discussion for their research interests. According to a 2010 American Library Association survey, 88% of credentialed librarians identify as white. In our vision for this summit and the future of libraries, People of Color in Library and Information Science Summit at Loyola Marymount University encouraged the representation of diverse topics and perspectives and as a part of this work acknowledged that the racial disparities we see in the library and information science (LIS) field reflect inequities in other parts …

A Model Research Methods Training Program: Implications For The Curriculum, Kristine R. Brancolini, Marie Kennedy

Librarian Publications & Presentations

The majority of academic librarians in the US are employed by their insti-tutions either on tenure track, similar to teaching faculty, or they have some form of status that requires them to conduct and share the results of research to receive annual salary increases, achieve tenure or continuing employment, and/or gain promotion or enhanced ranking. Research published during the past two decades, however, confirms that most academic librarians enter the profession perceiving themselves to be unprepared for conducting research. To address deficiencies and alleviate anxieties surrounding research, the authors created a continuing educa-tion program for novice academic librarian researchers, the …

Working Towards Promotion To Full Professor: Strategies, Time Management, And Habits For Academic Librarian Mothers, Marta Bladek

Publications and Research

After briefly sharing my experience as an academic librarian mother, the chapter places it within the larger context of academia in which women, especially mothers, lag behind men in attaining the full professor rank. It then outlines the strategies that have enabled me to gradually make progress towards promotion. The chapter discusses strategies to use at the institutional level (familiarity with local requirements, personnel process and related trainings, as well as the availability of leaves and grants), at the departmental level (workflow adjustments, scheduling arrangements, and strategic choice of projects and service commitments), and then at the individual/personal level (seeking …

Workflow And Timelines For Etextbook Project, Rachel Park, Rachel E. Scott, Julie A. Murphy, Mallory Jallas, Anne Shelley

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

This document was created in 2021 as part of a textbook affordability project at Illinois State University’s Milner Library, in which the project team licensed available e-book copies of course textbooks. This modified version of our workflow and timeline has been generalized so library personnel at other institutions might easily adapt it for their own use. This timeline is built in part around when the textbook list for the upcoming semester is made available (at Illinois State University, our Office of the University Registrar makes textbook information publicly available online midway through the previous semester). The timings listed do not …

Milner Library Annual Report, 2023, Milner Library

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

Annual Report for Milner Library, Illinois State University.

Beyond The Bandwagon: Curating Cultural Memory At Milner Library, April K. Anderson-Zorn, Karmine Beecroft, Maureen Brunsdale, Brooke Bowers-Troutman, Sarah Coffman, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Kathryn Jasper, Lauren M. Lowell, Tara Lyons, Morgan Price, Mark Schmitt, Rachel E. Scott, Samantha Wolter, Angela Yon

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

Archival and manuscript materials record human experience; they document how people have lived, worked, interacted, and thought about the world. These unique or rare materials make visible the experience and impact of individuals and organizations within their respective cultural, geographical, historical, local, and educational milieu. By exploring such documents and objects, patrons can see and investigate these relationships firsthand. Primary sources form the bedrock of humanistic research, personal inquiry, and engaged teaching. With this volume, we invite you to explore the unique and rare materials housed in Milner Library’s Special Collections and Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield University Archives as well …

Reading Images With A Critical Eye: Teaching Strategies For Academic Librarians, Dana Statton Thompson, Stephanie Beene

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

From childhood on, we are taught how to read words on a printed page or, increasingly, on a screen. Reading text is also heavily reinforced across subjects throughout higher education. However, when it comes to instruction in visual information, such as charts, graphs, infographics, memes, or photographs, the same emphasis is not applied. (For the purposes of this chapter, we use the terms “visual information,” “images,” and “visual media” interchangeably to mean one or more of the various visual media with or without sound). By the time students enter college, they are underprepared to interpret images, let alone analyze, describe, …

Digital Archive Kits: Accessibility And Flexibility, Glenn Koelling

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This chapter describes the creation of the Archive Kit, which is a digital teaching tool. It consists of a collection of digitized letters from the University of New Mexico's special collections, a worksheet, and a lesson plan. The Archive Kit is designed to be accessible, flexible, and easy to set up. This chapter has two aims: 1) to present an inclusive and effective way of teaching with digital archives while explaining its flexibility as a pedagogical resource; and 2) to describe the nuts and bolts of creating an Archive Kit from ground up (choosing letters, digitizing, making it accessible, hosting, …

Display Of Plenty: Addressing Food Insecurity On Campus, Adrienne Warner, Sarita Cargas, Sarah Johnson

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This chapter describes how undergraduate students created an interactive display in an academic library to address food insecurity among students at their university. In the 2021 fall semester, students in the Honors College course, The Human Rights of Students, created a visual display to present and refine their work on raising awareness of food insecurity. Spurred by the 2020 University of New Mexico Basic Needs Report, they engaged others in conversation through digital and analog media to dispel stigma and promote resources. Not only did it raise awareness, their undergraduate research project embodies several social justice tenets found in the …

Milner Library Satisfaction Survey Results, 2023, Milner Library

Reports and White Papers - Milner Library

Static output of a dashboard created by Lindsey Skaggs and Chad Kahl (Data Services) with results from the 2023 Milner Library Satisfaction Survey, distributed in October 2023.

Textbook Affordability Initiatives And Open Educational Resources: Complementary Or Competing Approaches To A Persistent Problem?, Anne Shelley, Rachel E. Scott

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This presentation investigates library support for textbook affordability initiatives and Open Educational Resources (OER) to consider the relative opportunities and limitations of both approaches. The literature has shown that the cost of textbooks—which has increased far beyond the rate of inflation—can be an obstacle to student success, especially for students from underrepresented groups. By sharing findings from published literature and results from focus groups and interviews conducted with teaching faculty, the speakers highlight both the incentives faculty have to collaborate with librarians to address the increasing costs of assigned materials as well as the challenges they face in adopting an …

Exploring Faculty Perspectives On Text Selection And Textbook Affordability, Rachel E. Scott, Mallory Jallas, Julie A. Murphy, Rachel Park, Anne Shelley

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This paper reports the results of a pilot project conducted Spring 2021 in which Milner Library licensed 75 assigned texts to 52 courses at Illinois State University. The authors used the pilot as a springboard to explore faculty perspectives on textbook selection, textbook affordability, and the role of the academic library in addressing the rising cost of textbooks. The results highlight the strong, and often deeply personal, beliefs faculty hold about textbook selection and textbook affordability, reveal several obstacles to achieving affordable access to course readings, and demonstrate the willingness of some faculty to partner with librarians and other institutional …

If It Pleases The Court, I Present Exhibit One: An Evidence-Based Law Collection Evaluation, Chad M. Kahl

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Describes the evidence-based evaluation of a law collection supporting a paralegal program.

It applies the Koufogiannakis & Brettle's Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) framework to review the law collection development evaluation process.

Wikipedia Pages For Underrepresented Archivists: Creating Representation Through An Saa Foundation Grant-Funded Documentation Project, Stephanie Collier, April Anderson-Zorn

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

In spring 2019, university archivist April Anderson-Zorn and special formats cataloger Eric Willey, both at Illinois State University (ISU), submitted a grant request to the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Foundation. The team requested funds to hire an ISU graduate student to create content for Wikipedia pages for underrepresented archivists. The grant aimed to fill a content gap on the site by including the biographies of female, Black, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented archivists to highlight their accomplishments in the profession. With the help of graduate student Stephanie Collier, the project surpassed its original goal of fifteen pages, with over forty …

Exploring Faculty Perspectives On Open Access At A Medium-Sized, American Doctoral University, Rachel E. Scott, Julie Murphy, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Chad E. Buckley, Anne Shelley

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Faculty hold widely varying perspectives on the benefits and challenges afforded by open access (OA) publishing. In the United States, conversations on OA models and strategy have been dominated by scholars affiliated with Carnegie R1 institutions. This article reports findings from interviews conducted with faculty at a Carnegie R2 institution, highlighting disciplinary and individual perspectives on the high costs and rich rewards afforded by OA. The results reiterate the persistence of a high degree of skepticism regarding the quality of peer review and business models associated with OA publishing. By exploring scholars’ perceptions of and experiences with OA publishing and …

School Library Advocacy: Enhancing Opportunities For All Learners, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

There is a lack of consistency in how school librarians understand and engage in advocacy for their programs and the profession (Burns, 2015; Lance & Kachel, 2018). It is important that school librarians demonstrate the positive impact they contribute to improving instruction for student learners and advancing access so that all learners have equal opportunities. The school library and school librarian should be available to each student (Kachel, 2021). The School Library Manifesto (2021) includes language to support a strong school library with a qualified school librarian. Advocacy goals can be highlighted throughout this critical set of school library guidelines. …

Are Library And Information Science Educators Teaching Accessibility? Content Analysis Of Syllabi, Kevin J. Mallary, Rea N. Simons, Clayton A. Copeland, Jackie Nikiema, Evan J. Dorman

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Library and information science (LIS) graduates are expected to serve patrons from diverse backgrounds, including disabled patrons. While serving patrons with disabilities is a core value of librarianship, graduates often feel unprepared to serve disabled patrons, suggesting that programs inadequately train students to design accessible services. This study’s authors analyzed hundreds of course descriptions and 73 syllabi from 20 North American LIS programs to determine how often accessibility and disability topics are covered and how educators teach accessibility. Findings indicate that accessibility and disability topics are mostly covered in electives, meaning students may never develop accessibility competencies during their programs. …

Maximizing Technology Acceptance Model In Accessing The Attitude Of Rural Farmers Using Ict Tools In Farming To Enhance Productivity, Francis Yao Anyan Dr., Michael Oppong Mr., Stephanie O. Ansah Mrs., Millicent Yengkangyi Ms., Akosua Boatemaa Adarkwa Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was conducted using a multi-stage sampling technique involving simple random sampling, a probability sampling method, purposive sampling, and snowball sampling, which are non-probability methods. Two regions, namely, the Greater Accra and Eastern were purposively selected for the study. In the Greater Accra Region, Ada East District was selected while in the Eastern Region Asuogyaman District. In Greater Accra, the study was conducted in six farming villages namely: Big Ada, Dogo, Kasseh, Addokope, Korlekope, and Bedeku. In Eastern regions, the study was conducted in Asogyaman, where Tortibo, Sappor, Yenease, Adina Donor, and Ankyease. A snowball strategy was relied on …

Self-Efficacy And Research Output Among Librarians In Polytechnic Libraries In South-South, Nigeria, Osaheni Oni Cln, Esharenana E. Adomi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose: This article examines the self-efficacy and research output of librarians in polytechnic libraries in South-South Nigeria.

Design, methodology, and approach: This study adopted an ex-post facto research design and used a questionnaire to collect data from librarians in Polytechnic Libraries in South-South, Nigeria.

Findings: This study showed a moderate relationship between self-efficacy and the research output of librarians in polytechnic libraries in southern Nigeria. The study also revealed that self-efficacy will significantly predict research output among librarians in polytechnic libraries in southern Nigeria.

Originality/value: This study generated significant findings that are capable of encouraging polytechnic management …

Library Security Management As A Predictor For Combating Book Theft And Vandalism Among Undergraduates In University Libraries In Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria., Oluwabukunmi Serah Oyelola, Temitope Daniel Onakoya, Tunde Idris Yusuf

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study examined library security mechanisms as a predictor for combating book theft and vandalism among undergraduates in university libraries in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. The survey design was adopted in the study, the study population consisted 16,293 undergraduates from the University of Ibadan, Kola Daisi University and Lead City University. The systematic sampling with sampling fraction of 5% was used to select a sample of 353 undergraduates used in the study. The questionnaire was used for data collection and data collected were analysed using frequency counts, item analysis and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The study revealed that the security …

Adoption And Utilisation Of Artificial Intelligence By Librarians In University Libraries In Southern Nigeria, Ogochukwu T. Emiri

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated how librarians working in the various university libraries in Southern Nigeria adopted and used artificial intelligence. The researcher was able to retrieve 704 copies of the 848 questionnaires that were given to the responders. However, the return rate was 83%, which is a respectable amount. The descriptive statistics approach was used to analyse the data that the questionnaire produced. The results showed that there has been little adoption of AI in university libraries in Southern Nigeria. The research also reveals that security scanning devices at university libraries' entrances and exits are the most prevalent AIs, while other …

James White Library Celebrates Its 85th Anniversary, Margaret Adeogun

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dissemination Of Agro-Based Information By Telecentres Among Selected Rural Farmers In Tanzania With A Focus On Moshi Rural District, Kilimanjaro Region, Neema Florence Mosha Dr, Edith Talina Luhanga Dr, Pascal Nade Dr, Patrick Ngulube Prof

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study assessed the role of Telecentres in the dissemination of agro-based information among selected farmers in rural areas of Tanzania. A cross-sectional study design was conducted in Moshi Rural District, in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. A total of 442 rural farmers aged 21-60 years were randomly selected as study respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents. The study found that 205 (55%) respondents were not aware of the existence and services offered among Telecentres, whereas only 12 (7%) respondents reported visiting Telecentres once per day, and 70 (41%) once per year. A total of 140 respondents selected computer …

Library Website As An Indicator Of Academic Excellence: A Web Analysis Of The Leading Iits In India, Abhishek Rai, Manendra Kumar Singh, Anudha Lepcha

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study aims to understand the services and web-based library resources of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) libraries. Each library included in the study has a specific webpage and provides standard library information. The content characteristics of the websites of the top five Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) libraries, according to the NIRF ranking 2023, are assessed in this study. We create a systematic checklist to achieve the study's goals, utilizing the availability of literature. The study focuses primarily on the webpages of the selected IIT libraries, examining aspects such as webpage framework, style, layout, library services, and content. It …

We Didn’T Know: How A Mid-Career Research Project Taught Us About Disability, Advocacy, And Ourselves, Lee Ann Fullington, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

We—Lee Ann and Jill—are mid-career faculty librarians at different campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY), and we are both hard of hearing. Lee Ann has bilateral hearing loss and uses two hearing aids; Jill has single-sided hearing loss and uses only one. However, even with hearing aids, which do not restore normal hearing, our hearing loss complicates our lives at work and in the broader world. This chapter describes how we found community in each other, how our conversations about hearing loss led to a mid-career research collaboration, and how that collaboration launched us into a larger …

Fabrication And Errors In The Bibliographic Citations Generated By Chatgpt, William H. Walters, Esther Isabelle Wilder

Publications and Research

Although chatbots such as ChatGPT can facilitate cost-effective text generation and editing, factually incorrect responses (hallucinations) limit their utility. This study evaluates one particular type of hallucination: fabricated bibliographic citations that do not represent actual scholarly works. We used ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 to produce short literature reviews on 42 multidisciplinary topics, compiling data on the 636 bibliographic citations (references) found in the 84 papers. We then searched multiple databases and websites to determine the prevalence of fabricated citations, to identify errors in the citations to non-fabricated papers, and to evaluate adherence to APA citation format. Within this set of documents, …