Library and Information Science Commons^™

Notes From The Editor, Derek Stadler

Urban Library Journal

I am very pleased to welcome you to the second issue of the 30^th volume of Urban Library Journal, which is a collection of proceedings from the LACUNY Institute held on Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, 2024. The theme of the Institute was “Moving Beyond the Challenged Librarian: Then and Now.” It explored challenges faced by librarians and information professionals across our profession. Presentations delved into the complexities surrounding intellectual freedom, censorship, and the role of librarians in navigating these challenges.

Increasing Discovery Of Cuny Archival Collections Through Metadata, Kristen Fredericksen, Natalie Milbrodt

Publications and Research

At the time of this SUNYLA mid-winter meeting, the City University of New York enters Year 2 of a three-year, 2-million-dollar Mellon Foundation-funded project to explore and strengthen archival collections across their 30+ libraries and research institutes. A major part of this project is to set up a shared instance of Archives Space that includes every repository across the university. This panel will explore the approach of a working group whose goal is to integrate 18 existing individual ArchivesSpace instances into a shared, multi-repository instance. This requires metadata normalization, dataset clean-up, and a series of policy decisions the group reaches …

Transform A Library Corner Into A Social Learning Space, Junli Diao

Open Educational Resources

This library project proposal outlines the essential steps to convert a library corner into a leisure reading space. The proposal includes opening narrative, justifications, work plan, outcome assessment, and budget estimation.

Bibliographic Instruction And The Need For “Librarian-First” Oer Repositories, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Building A Professional Learning Community To Improve Technical Services Librarians' Teaching Preparedness, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

The Applied Improvement Project (AIP) was conducted to address the inconsistency of academic librarians’ teaching engagement on the AIP site. The problem of practice was framed as the gap between having all librarians prepared to teach and technical services librarians’ unpreparedness to teach. The implemented intervention was developing a professional learning community among technical services librarians of different generations with a variety of teaching experiences to increase teaching preparedness by sharing, discussing, and reflecting. The learning topics covered library teaching basics, motivating students, self-assessment, planning to teach, using Wikipedia, embedded librarianship and credit-bearing courses, teaching and research, and building a …

Cuny Academic Works: A Basic Guide For Authors, Jojo Karlin

Open Educational Resources

These basic slides provide steps to submit your work to CUNY Academic Works. These slides are intended for CUNY affiliates to demonstrate basic steps for uploading works.

Spring 2025 Oer Seminar, Pamela Thielman, Katherine Tsan

Open Educational Resources

This slide presentation was created by Pamela Thielman and Katherine Tsan for the Baruch College Center for Teaching and Learning.

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Urgent Expertise, Explored Together: A Scholarly Communication Peer-Mentoring Group, Alex Crowley, Lily Susman, Rosemary Farrell, Michael Kahn, Carrie Jedlicka, Eric Silberberg, Michelle Ehrenpreis, Marta Bladek, Jill Cirasella

Publications and Research

In Spring 2025, the authors participated in a structured peer-mentoring program designed to deepen their knowledge of scholarly communication topics and issues. In this article, based on our panel at the 2025 LACUNY Institute, we share our perspectives on the program and discuss how current events are making scholarly communication expertise more essential than ever.

Educating The Educators: Six Frames For Three Identities, Eric Silberberg, Laura Cameron, Christina Jones, Amy James, Alison Lehner-Quam, Robin Ewing, Margaret Gregor

Publications and Research

Educating tomorrow’s teachers is a complex and evolving process. !ey are preservice teachers in undergraduate programs, current teachers pursuing career advancement in master’s programs, and aspiring educational researchers in doctoral programs. Perhaps nowhere else on campus does information literacy instruction have more potential to affect generations of information users than when librarians educate the educators as education students will, in turn, impart information literacy skills to the students in their classrooms for many years.

Education students inhabit three overlapping identities as they progress through degree programs: as students fulfilling assignments, professionals conducting evidence-based research, and future teachers responsible for teaching …

Review Of Platform Power And Libraries, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Lbsci 702: Information Sources And Service: General, Nafiz Z. Shuva

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Foreword: Censorship Is A Drag, Emily Drabinski

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Battle Of The Chatbots: An Exploratory Comparison Of Chatgpt, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity And Huggingchat, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

This exploratory study compares the output of the free versions of six generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity and HuggingChat. Five questions were submitted to all of the chatbots and examined according to the length of the response, tone of the response, and any additional features provided by the chatbots such as citations, web links, and helpful follow-up questions. This comparison found that Perplexity excelled at responding to all of the questions though others provided strong outputs as well, pointing to the possible importance of using multiple chatbot for answers and for continually examining different chatbots given …

Lbsci 723: Advanced Subject Cataloging And Classification, Shuheng Wu

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Review Of Digital Degrowth: Technology In The Age Of Survival, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Bib Record In The Age Of Digital Reproduction, Michael Kirby

Publications and Research

Taking both structural and thematic inspiration from Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” this article posits that the movement from physical card catalogs to ALSs [Automated library systems] and ILSs [Integrated library systems] was not solely the result of technological progress. Rather, this transition had its genesis in a process Marx called primitive accumulation—in this case a form specific to the library profession. In other words, this article seeks to recast the history of digitized catalogs within libraries, seeing them, first and foremost, as harbingers of disenfranchisement and dispossession, specifically of catalogers. The article …

Problematic Behavior In Urban Public Libraries: Are Library Policies And Rules Keeping Staff And Patrons Safe?, Jessica Jackson

Urban Library Journal

Public librarians often encounter problematic patron behaviors that put staff and other patrons at risk of physical and psychological harm. A comparison of the user behavior policies at urban public libraries is a useful starting point for developing evidence-based best practices for ensuring that public libraries are safe spaces for all and can fulfill their missions to their communities.

Fostering Future Librarians: Best Practices For Remote Internships In A Post-Pandemic Library, Yoko Ferguson, Helena Marvin

Urban Library Journal

Remote library internships in cataloging and digital scholarship can be valuable for both librarians and students. Leveraging online tools, we provide learning opportunities to library school students regardless of their time zone. In this presentation we share best practices for post-pandemic internships that nurture future librarians while tackling challenging projects. This presentation, delivered at the 2024 LACUNY Institute, explored the implementation and benefits of remote internships in academic libraries. Provided here as conference proceedings is a PDF of the slides.

An archival version of the recorded presentation can be found at https://irl.umsl.edu/library-faculty/26/.

Coding With Those Who Show Up: Two Methodologies On Technical Committee Work, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

This paper considers our library’s attempt at applying a “laissez-faire leadership” model to technical committee work. Since its introduction in the 1990s, scholarship on laissez-faire leadership has historically viewed the concept very negatively. However, we argue here that many of these perspectives are straw man arguments that do not adequately consider the possibilities of a laissez-faire model. Following some dissenting voices in the literature, we would like to reclaim the laissez-faire model as a way to facilitate library technical work under certain very specific circumstances. This paper will describe the organizational context where these laissez-faire methods worked for us. Our …

Concierge: How The Pandemic Lockdown Changed The Face Of Access Services, Stephen J. Walker

Urban Library Journal

This article addresses the changes made in Access Services in an urban college library after reopening during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic the library witnessed a downturn in patron visits and physical textbook usage as classes remained mostly online. Access Services moved from being a fast-paced, high demand service desk of print textbooks and laptops to a slower user assistance library services unit. Reopening the library to the college community and creating a safe study space for students required preparation. Various key resources such as study rooms, calculators, phone chargers, and headsets became a higher priority for students post-lockdown. …

Notes From The Editor, Derek Stadler

Urban Library Journal

I am very pleased to welcome you to the first issue of the 30th volume of Urban Library Journal.

Bringing The Library Into Brightspace, Stephen Francoeur, Rebecca Hyams, John Delooper, Robin Naughton, Eric Silberberg

Publications and Research

This panel presentation highlights collaboration among CUNY libraries and LMS administrators to automate integration of library course reserves, research guides and other web-based services into Brightspace. The presentation begins discussing how learning tools interoperability (LTI) integration provides library resources to students at their point of need. It then describes the technical requirements to automate and customize the Springshare LTI library platform within Brightspace. The panel concludes with examples from several campuses demonstrating what this integration looks like.

It’S So Liberating To Do The Work: Education In Archives Creates Space For People With Disabilities, Jen Hoyer, Julia Pelaez

Publications and Research

What are the barriers and possibilities archives education presents to the disabilities community? More specifically, how can archives education and teaching with primary sources provide opportunities for disabled students that they might not find in mainstream education settings? What matters when working with students with disabilities in archives, and what does it feel like to be a disabled educator in an archive? How can education in archives provide opportunities for vulnerability, connection, and liberation? Sharing a passion for the possibilities of education work in archives and special collections, Jen Hoyer and Julia Pelaez sat down for a conversation about these …

Creating A Homemade Mobile Augmented Reality Game In A Community College Library: An Open Source Approach, Carrie Jedlicka, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

Librarians at Kingsborough Community College created a mobile augmented reality activity for new students, to orient them to the library space and to provide a fun, welcoming experience. Rather than using a commercial app, the librarians built the activity using open source tools and resources already at-hand, specifically AR.js and A-Frame (both JavaScript libraries), and LibGuides. Based on student feedback, librarians found that participants enjoyed the activity and that it helped familiarize them with library locations and services. This project demonstrates that librarians have the capacity to build their own open source augmented reality activities in-house.

More Than A Place For Social Capital Creation: Public Library As A Place For Immigrants’ Social Integration, Nafiz Z. Shuva

Publications and Research

Studies have shown that public libraries, one of the most trusted social institutions, play an important role in helping immigrants adjust to their host country. Although there have been quite a few international studies reporting the role that public libraries play in newcomers lives in the host country, few studies, especially in the context of the U.S., comprehensively reported local public libraries’ role in newcomers’ social integration. Previous studies on immigrants’ usage of public libraries have mainly focused on highlighting public libraries as meeting places that facilitate social capital creation for newcomers or describing the usage of public libraries among …

Bite-Size Market Research Tools: Micro Surveys And Usability Studies, Mark Aaron Polger

Publications and Research

Library marketing activities should always be informed with user data. When conducting market research, you don't need a large sample to see the "big" picture. Developing scalable micro assessments such as mini surveys, usability studies, interviews, and focus groups with only a few questions can add value to your library's marketing and outreach efforts. With quantitative research, you are expected to have a large sample. However, that is not the case when conducting market research. In this presentation, micro assessments will be shown to be more effective, easier to manage, and garners more responses than more lengthier surveys.

Evaluation Of Undergraduate Research Topic Skill Development, Vanessa Arce, Katelyn Angell

Publications and Research

Inspired by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy frame Research as Inquiry, Lehman College Library conducted an assessment to measure its undergraduate students’ ability to formulate research questions that are appropriately scaled, encourage critical inquiry, and can be supported by available information resources. Using a sample of first-year students enrolled in an English composition class, the assessment revealed that students performed best at locating information resources and struggled most with scaling down a topic. Lessons learned from this study can be extrapolated to outside institutions to improve information literacy learning outcomes.

Lacuny Interlibrary Loan Roundtable, November 2024, Silvia Cho, Tokunbo Adeshina, Lacuny

Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

I Didn't Know You Could Do That In Alma!, Kristen Fredericksen

Publications and Research

Alma is constantly evolving, and it can be difficult to keep up with every feature. This session is a roundup of useful settings and tools in Alma that you may have missed. All areas of Alma functionality will be covered, including acquisitions, discovery, fulfillment, and resource management. Attendees are guaranteed to learn at least one new thing.