Library and Information Science Commons^™

Information Consumption Among University Of Zambia Students In The Buildup To The 2021 Zambia General Elections, Abel M'Kulma

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study assessed the information behavior and information literacy skills of individuals during the 2021 General Election in Zambia. Similar studies have been conducted in the past in the United States of America and Europe whose results revealed that information literacy and civic engagement are related and extremely important to the political process. Using the SCONUL seven pillars of information literacy (2011), this study adopted qualitative research methods to interview fifteen (15) students of Library and Information Science and Records Management to determine their information behavior and information literacy skills during the 2021 Zambia General Election. Findings revealed that information …

A Lot On My Plate: Family Dishware Serving Up A History Of Global Commercialization, Grace Thanasiu

Student Projects from the Archives

The “Hearthside” shaped plate was created by the Homer Laughlin China Company sometime between 1963 and 1973. My family owns such a plate, and ours originally belonged to a set of plates that was “purchased” by my grandmother, Mary Ruhlin, with books and books full of redemption stamps. Redemption stamps were literal stamps that stores distributed to customers, who could later redeem them for cash or merchandise at affiliated redemption centers that partnered with grocery stores and businesses; redemption stamps functioned as a precursor to the modern loyalty card! The need for a reputable pottery company like Homer Laughlin to …

Humans Of Ua: A University Of Akron Unclass 2020, Kaylie Yaceczko

Student Projects from the Archives

No abstract provided.

Taking A Different Look At The University Of Akron: Researching In The Archives, Katelynn Olsen

Student Projects from the Archives

No abstract provided.

Survey Protocols To Examine Business Students’ Workplace Information Use During Internships And Co-Ops, Margaret Phillips, Heather Howard, Garrett Brewster

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

This document contains a survey protocol created in 2021 to study the information literacy experiences and needs of business student experiences during internships and co-ops.

Supporting Immigrant Information Needs When The Library Is Closed: A Case For Web-Based Newcomer Orientations, Corey J. Allender

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Supporting Immigrant Information Needs When the Library is Closed: A Case for Web-Based Newcomer Orientations

In the United States, immigrant communities have been hit especially hard by the economic, occupational, and social fallout that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. With libraries, government offices, and community centers closed, immigrants were left with far fewer options to satisfy their information needs during their initial adjustment to life in the United States.

In the early states of cultural adjustment, many newcomers face anxiety-inducing barriers that discourage interaction with libraries; as such, they often rely heavily on social networks for information (Wang et al., …

Public Information: Barrier Or Bridge?, Marie E. Eiriksson

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

A visit to a public space like a library is a journey through different professional spheres and domains. Your success might be defined by both the cityscape, the public transport system, the building itself as well as the staff and services offered at the library. All areas that are formed and described in different ways by public or private actors. Each step of the way may or may not be accessible and knowing how to avoid the gaps might mean the difference between success or failure.

For persons with disabilities, the access to useful and reliable information can be defining …

Third Place Libraries As A Space For Intercultural Participation: A Dynamic Learning Model For Creating Culturally Safe Environments, Marie D. Martel, Bob White

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

One of the main sources for re-conceptualizing the model of libraries, especially public libraries, as third places remains Robert Putnam in Better Together (2005) based on his work in Chicago Public Libraries, which he described as the "New Third Places". But what was new here when Putnam spoke of these "New Third Places"? He was then referring to the new context of diversity, and even super-diversity (Vertovec 2007), characteristic of our current societies. According to Putnam, the library as this "New Third Place" appears as a response to this problem of social distance and unease because it has this capacity …

Fostering Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion By Adopting Universal Design For Learning Principles In Academic Libraries, Stefanie Havelka, Rebecca Arzola

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Academic librarians support the Ethical Code of Conduct and have always embraced students and patrons with various abilities. This paper draws together research on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and showcases practical guidelines for academic library services. Since UDL is such a multifaceted framework, this article will not address all areas academic libraries can adopt it into their work practice. Instead, it will focus on the “traditional triad of public services: access, reference, and instruction.” (Coleman, Mallon, & Lo, 2015, p. 674)

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework explores accessibility, assistive technology, attitudinal barriers, collaboration, equity, and proactively adjusting …

Cultivating Innovation In African Public Libraries, Ramune Petuchovaite, Ugne Lipeikaite

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

To overcome daily challenges, many public libraries in developing and transition economy countries are using innovative approaches to deliver modern library services to meet user needs. Professional interaction between public librarians in the Global North and the Global South is relatively rare, and so the richness of experiences and innovative practices in the Global South often stays out of the sight of the international networks. Research on public library practices in lower resource countries is also scarce.

In 2010, the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) commissioned a major study into perceptions of public libraries in Africa, and found that …

Postdigital Librarianship, Michael Paulus

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic was an apocalyptic event. It was apocalyptic in the popular sense of the word, in that the pandemic was a sudden and global catastrophe. But the pandemic was also apocalyptic in a more literal sense, as an uncovering of deeper realities.[1] The pandemic quickly became an infodemic; it exposed and exacerbated systemic racial, economic, and other inequities; and it revealed the problems and potential of emerging technologies. Before the pandemic, it was already clear to many that it was past time “to reimagine what is possible.”[2] Now, as we emerge from the pandemic, there is …

Libraries As Pluralistic Public Spheres: Acknowledging Conflict To Promote Democratic Discourse, Lisa Engström

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

In library policies and library and information studies Habermas concept of public sphere is often used to highlight the public library as a place promoting democracy and inclusion by enabling interpersonal meetings between people with different lifestyles and background. Libraries are then conceived as accessible to all bridging social, economic, and cultural gaps, and promoting a perception of shared values between users (Aabø et al. 2010). I argue that vulnerable and excluded groups thereby may be hindered to form their own identity and to make their voices heard.

Accessibility and participation are core concepts when analysing libraries democratic potential. However, …

Peer Learning Experience To Grow Public Library Innovation: The Initiative For Young African Library Innovators, Ramune Petuchovaite, Ugne Lipeikaite

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

In 2014/15, we commissioned research into how and why public libraries innovate, and what encourages take-up of innovative practices by public libraries in developing countries. One of the main findings was that peer-to-peer activities are essential for public library innovation. Besides facilitating learning and ideas exchange, they create a platform for mutual support, when initiating a new service. Library visits, in which librarians can see innovative services 'in situ', and events like workshops and other training, and conferences, where they mingle and exchange practical experiences, and work together on projects, are effective channels for inspiring innovation (Femenía, A. M. G., …

Minimizing Harm While Maximizing Engagement: Using Identity Affinity Groups To Engage With Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Topics In Lis Courses, Sarah De La Rosa, Aaron Elkins, Tulip Majumdar, Vikki Orepitan, Rachel Simons, Andrew Vierkant

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

While diversity in the LIS field has made some progress during the last two decades (Kung et al., 2020), the whiteness of the discipline remains a problem (Brown et al., 2018) for patrons and practitioners. One way to address LIS’s whiteness problem is to better prepare pre-service librarians to effectively and respectfully engage with diverse communities (Jaeger et al., 2013) and LIS professionals of color (Mehra, 2020). However, the field still has progress to make in how it discusses diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) issues within LIS curricula (Pawley, 2006). Centering DEIJ topics with a humble and self-critical approach …

Eight Basic Literacies For Librarians: A New Normal Agenda For Librarianship Education, Lorri Mon

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Proposal Abstract: A New Normal Agenda in a COVID-Affected World

During the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries became a vital community support hub for information and broadband access. In March 2020 as K-12 schools and universities shifted to all-online classes, librarians taught people to use technologies, provided wireless hubs for classes and homework to those lacking home broadband digital access, and offered distance education test proctoring as well as online books, articles and databases. People sought information about sewing masks and making homemade hand sanitizer, and some library makerspaces 3-D printed face shields. Libraries partnered in health efforts to distribute free masks, …

Managing Without Capitalism: Transforming Library Leadership In Service Of Anti-Racism, Inclusion, And Equity, Heather Slania

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Library leaders at all levels are grappling with addressing institutional racism. Despite years of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) interventions and a recognition of the overwhelming whiteness of libraries, the profession is not a better or safer place for library workers of color, people from other marginalized communities, or anyone who has had to endure the normalized toxic library work environment.

Leaders are stuck and previous interventions have failed primarily due to two factors:

• Modern libraries (and the institutions that hold them) were constructed as tools of white supremacy.

• Library leadership and management concepts/practices are rooted in capitalism.

Numerous …

Moving Beyond World Music: An Exploration Of Non-Western Music Cataloging Practices In Higher Education And Where To Go From Here, Alastair L. Canavan

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

The term “world music” has been used for decades as a catchall genre to describe any form of music outside of Western classical. As a byproduct of the eurocentrism pervasive throughout academia, its use furthers a bubble that others or ignores Non-Western cultures and their music. By examining the public-facing catalogs of 13 university libraries across 10 different countries to determine to what extent Non-Western music is included in their collections, how it is cataloged, and if the term “world music” is used to do so, the specific cataloging practices and norms that perpetuate a bias toward Western classical music …

Public Sphere Institutions Or Safe Spaces — Can Libraries Be Both?, Kira M. Del Mar

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Public libraries have often been viewed as integral parts of the Habermasian public sphere and arenas for democratic dialogue. At the same time, they are also frequently declared safe spaces for marginalized groups, almost as a given. Situated in the specific context of Norwegian public libraries and with a focus on LGBTQIA+ users, I will examine tensions between these two theoretical approaches to the public library space.

Visibility across differences is a common thread running through the Nordic literature on libraries and the public sphere. Ragnar Audunson writes, for example, that libraries are low-intensive meeting places “with a potential of …

Building Bridges: The Role Of The Relational Librarian, Sunniva Evjen

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Building bridges: the role of the relational librarian

The link between interpersonal trust, participation, social capital and democracy is evident through scholarly work in different research areas (see for example Sullivan & Transue 1999). These concepts are also relevant to discuss in relation to “improved communities”, not least in connection to the recent “social turn” of public libraries, which encompasses an understanding of the library as “a locus and an enabler of social processes in the interpersonal sense” (Nolin & Söderholm 2015). Both public library practice and research has sought to discover how libraries contribute to community-building activities, which in …

Libraries Advancing Social Justice And Improving The Health Care Of The Lgbtqai+ Communities, Kayo Denda, Daniel Delmonaco, Victoria Wagner

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

LGBTQAI+ communities have faced discrimination in health care due to inadequate medical care, unfair health insurance policies and entrenched prejudice. To remedy this situation, many medical schools and hospitals have created co-curricular interventions, such as events and programs and new staff positions to address this issue. This librarian-led collaboration challenges and advances the discussion on comprehensive LGBTQAI+ health care and promotes deeper understanding of LGBTQAI+ communities by transforming health professionals’ cultural competency and compassionate health care practices towards equity and social justice.

This project – Babs Siperstein Humanities and Medicine Series - was born when the faculty affiliated with the …

Progressive Librarianship In “Red” America, Bill Crowley

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

Progressive Librarianship in “Red” America

Abstract

A number of library-related illusions remain in the wake of Biden’s defeat of Trump in the 2020 presidential election. While it is tempting for progressives to see “Trump Country” as consisting only of the states won by the former president, over 38 million of the more than 74,000,000 votes for Trump were cast in states won by Biden. Additionally, librarians who are overwhelmingly liberal, cherish such beliefs as (1) documented facts are able to change the minds of opponents, and (2) critical theories will somehow be acceptable for guiding service in communities dominated by …

A Case For Open Educational Resources (Oers) For Liberation: Leveraging Librarians And Library Skills, Aisling Coyne, Amy Fitzpatrick

New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021

This paper will establish the case for Open Educational Resources (OER) for Liberation for Ireland, and the leveraging of librarians in pursuit of creating a database of Open resources for public good and public liberation within the context of post-neutrality librarianship. The researchers have conducted a literature review of existing OER initiatives and emerging areas of Open Education. The review is underpinned by the philosophical and pedagogical motivations of Open, with a keen focus on equity, access and accessibility. Through this research, it has been found that there is a strong framework available for establishing a national OER initiative, and …

The Machiavellian Govpub Librarian: The Value Of Internal Promotion Aka How A Politically Unsavvy Librarian Learned The Necessity Of Promoting To Colleagues, Laura Baker

Library Research and Publications

This poster communicates ways and reasons for promoting the government documents collections WITHIN the library and influencing decision makers. Librarians go to great lengths to promote our collections to patrons, but what about to our directors and co-workers? When our library had a change of leadership, our status as a depository was questioned. In the book The Machiavellian Librarian by Aho and Bennet, the editors contend that librarians need to boost their ability to influence decision makers. They suggest that, minus his misanthropic extremes, Machiavelli – a master at politics—has many things to teach others about the fine art of …

Faculty Newsletter Fall 2021, University Of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Framing The Frame: "Information Has Value" For Business Library Instruction, Gary Arave, Lumarie Guth, Ilana Stonebraker, Grace Liu

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

Four business librarians will share their experiences of retooling th ACRL Information Literacy frame "Information Has Value." This presentation will focus on four different learning approaches, pillars of persuasive argumentation, critical thinking discussions, a matrix, and role-play. One librarian outlines some of the problems with student understanding of the value of information based on the experience of teaching a massive 2500-student onboarding course for incoming Freshmen in which “Information Has Value” is addressed from both rhetorical and practical angles. Another librarian will present how they use “Information Has Value” in processes of reflection for decision making, exploring the frame through …

Nirf Ranking 2020: A Webometric Analysis Of Websites Of Top 10 Medical Institutions, Naveen Chaparwal, P.S. Rajput

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examines the top 10 Indian Medical Institute websites ranked in NIRF (National Institutes Ranking Framework) 2020. The study focused on webometric analysis, which examines the domain, domain age, all three types of web impacts factors and Alexa traffic rank of websites etc. To collect data in this study, various small SEO tools such as smallsetools.com and dulichecker.com had used to find out domain age, page speed, domain authority, page authority and total, internal and external links of Medical Institute websites covered in this study. Findings revealed that the "All India Institute of Medical Sciences" institute website having the …

Awareness Of E-Learning Among Library And Information Science Professionals In University Of Kerala And Mahatma Gandhi University: A Comparative Study, Alfi S J, Mini Devi B

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study was designed to examine awareness of e-learning among LIS professionals in University of Kerala and Mahatma Gandhi University: A comparative study. The study intended with an aim to explore the awareness, attitude and problems faced in the utilisation of e-learning. Closed ended questionnaire was used to collect the data from respondents. The study includes the library professionals of the central and 43 teaching department libraries in the UoK and central and 25 teaching department libraries of MGU. Among the 112 questionnaires distributed, 104 were completely answered and returned. The findings of the study revealed that half of the …

Impact Of Covid 19 On Library Services In Us Pharmacy Programs, Sherrill Brown, Julie Kalabalik Hoganson, Ivan Portillo

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

"The COVID 19 pandemic resulted in many academic libraries closing physical spaces and the reduction of personnel due to quarantine measures. The potential reduction in library services could have a negative impact on research by pharmacy faculty"

Digital Literacy Skills Among Users Of State Central Library, Thiruvananthapuram: An Investigative Study, Sreelekshmi V M, Mini Devi B

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study aims to ascertain digital literacy skills of users of State Central Library, Thiruvananthapuram. Data were collected using questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 160 members, out of which 150 are received with required details. It is observed that the respondents possess essential digital literacy skills. Majority of users were students and they have basic knowledge about digital materials and also used e-resources. Internet based resources and services are widely used. Google chrome is the most preferred web browser. Facebook is the social networking site used by the majority of respondents. Most of the library users identified the …

Evaluation Of Scholarly Information Retrieval Using Precision And Recall, Kiran Butt, Abid Hussain

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Introduction: An information retrieval system is widely usedtolocate the information for academic, research and reference purposes by the internet users in a library or Information services department.

Aims of Study: This study aims to analyze the search engine’s behavior on a given query and results for scholarly information, followed by examining precision and recall.

Design/Method: The present study was conducted in a controlled environment where three search engines were selected to examine its recall and precision against 50 queries with basic and advance searching queries. The queries were executed in all search engines. This quantitative study was used on the …