Scholarly Communication Commons^™

Selection Of Spring And Fall 2024 Master’S Project Posters, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Students are required to create academic research posters on their capstone research project and present them in class. The following selection of the Master’s Project Capstone Posters are from LIS 695 in the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024.

Interview With Cyndee Landrum: Usm Slis Graduate And Acting Director Imls, Gabriel Morley, E.D.

SLIS Connecting

Cyndee Landrum, a 2006 graduate of the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at The University of Southern Mississippi was named acting director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent federal agency charged with supporting and empowering the country’s libraries. Dr. Morley interviewed her history and her perception of the future.

Website Accessibility In Mississippi Public Libraries, Jennifer Vance, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, significantly increasing the disabled community’s access to public life. Since then, life has branched out into digital and physical spaces. With this shift came the need to integrate accessibility considerations into web design, in the same way an architect would consider accessibility when drawing up plans for a new building. However, while buildings are usually designed by professionals, websites are often not. Libraries are no exception, as many may not have dedicated staff to design and maintain a website. In cases where they do have dedicated staff, they may …

Library Services For Patrons Experiencing Homelessness: An Examination Of Three Urban Libraries, Jason Lefebvre, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

The need to consider the most equitable way to provide services to people experiencing homelessness must also be balanced by how these services will affect staff in their daily duties. What can realistically be expected from a staff member when dealing with more complex social service issues? At times, the staff is tasked with answering questions that may fall outside their education and training. It is necessary to establish which needs in the community can successfully be provided by someone with an educational or professional background relating primarily to the Library and Information Science field, and which are better facilitated …

Teen Programming On Virginia Public Library Websites, Melissa Howley, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

communities they serve. As such, teen programs offer an assorted range of experiences tailored to the interests and needs of the local teen population. The state of Virginia, with a diverse geographical landscape, presents a unique case study from which teen programming can be examined. This study examined teen programming in public libraries across six different public library regions, as recognized by the Virginia Library Association (VLA) (The Library of Virginia [LVA], n.d.). Exploring these regional variations revealed valuable insights into how public libraries effectively adapt teen services as well as how these services can be enhanced to empower teens …

Internet Archive Website: Pulp Fiction Mystery Collection Analysis, Ramona Elder, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

Detective magazines were a source of entertainment and fascination for the working-class readers of the early 20th century (Smith, 2000). Their illustrated covers drawn by pulp artists, such as Dalton Stevens and Jerome Rozen, were made to be attractive. Caronia (2019) tells how weekly periodicals continued to circulate as the rise of detective stories grew in popularity before the first detective magazines were printed and published. It was the American writer Edgar Allen Poe who is credited with having written the first detective story when he published The Murders of the Rue Morgue in Graham’s Magazine in April 1841 giving …

Lgbtq+ Content In The Ala Top Most Challenged Books, Kaelynn Edmondson, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

2,571 titles were challenged in 2022, double what was recorded in 2021, but it was noted that 45.5 percent of all those titles were LGBTQ+ books (Perfas, 2022). The rise in challenges and the fact that almost half the books contained LGBTQ+ topics indicates that, within recent years, there has been a shift in the type of content and the speed at which challenges are happening in the United States. Books like Obie is Enough by Schuyler Bailar are banned in states that do not allow books that discuss gender identity, and in turn, these books cannot reach the audiences …

Graphic Novel Censorship, Tiffany Buono, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

Graphic novels have been growing in popularity and demand since they were first introduced as a format in 1978 by Will Eisner with his publication of A Contract with God (“Will Eisner”, n.d.). Graphic novels (GN) are a format of writing and illustration that spans fiction and non-fiction genres with many classic works being adapted into the format to encourage more young adult engagement. Yet, many libraries nationwide, including school and public libraries, lack a strong graphic novel collection. The American Library Association (ALA) is a national authority on issues related to intellectual freedom including the increase of challenges and …

Historical Use Of Libraries In Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment In The United Kingdom, Jessica Buckey, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

In the 19th and 20th centuries, libraries were a common amenity in psychiatric hospitals, particularly private ones. This paper sheds new light on the history of these libraries in inpatient psychiatric treatment centers. The prevailing medical philosophy held that occupation and moderate intellectual stimulation were important for recovery, a mode of thought culminating in the 20th century bibliotherapy movement. This is not a clinical study, and it assumes no stance on the therapeutic value of reading. Instead, it is a historical study of libraries in inpatient psychiatric centers: how these libraries were curated; how patient libraries, throughout their history, responded …

Mental Health And Well-Being In Academic Libraries: A Bibliometric Survey Of Scholarly Publications, 1994-2024, Rebecca Arthur, Mlis

SLIS Connecting

Academic libraries are crucial pieces of the higher education system; national accreditation standards for colleges and universities require the existence of accessible library collections and knowledgeable, trained staff. Traditionally, the academic collections, both physical and digital, of these libraries have been their focal point, and the importance of the academic library on campus has been derived from its ability to provide instructional materials and support to students, faculty, and staff. However, the educational paradigm of academic librarianship has shifted as higher education has evolved throughout the twentieth century. Previously long-established pedagogies have become insufficient in the face of changing technologies …

From The Gas: Publications, Congratulations, And Presentations, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D., Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Includes book reviews by the graduate assistants for Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd, Wild Dreamers, and The Blonde Dies First. Highlights what SLIS faculty are reading, alumni updates, faculty publications and presentations, and student congratulations.

Spotlights: Faculty, Alumni, Festival, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D., Mary A. Osborne, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Meet Dr. Kaeli Gretter, alum Miranda Loper, and learn about the keynote speakers for the 2025 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival.

Slis Director's Report, Stacy L. Creel, Ph.D.

SLIS Connecting

Welcome to the Spring/Fall issue of SLIS Connecting.

Book Review: Decentering Whiteness In Libraries: A Framework For Inclusive Collection Management, Andrea Jamison, Shala K. Howell

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Redefining Reference Services In The 21st Century, Johanna Tunon

School of Information Student Research Journal

The role of reference services in libraries has evolved significantly in the 21st century, driven by technological advancements and changing user needs. This paper explores how reference services have transitioned from traditional, desk-centric interactions to encompass a wide array of platforms and tools, including digital innovations and generative AI. The decline in reference transactions has prompted librarians to adapt, shifting focus towards more complex consultations and instructional roles, while also navigating the blurred boundaries between reference assistance and formal instruction. The paper also examines the updated definitions and limitations of reference services by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), …

The Importance Of Graduate-Student-Led Academic Journals Within Library And Information Science, Odin Halvorson

School of Information Student Research Journal

Graduate-student-led academic journals play a crucial role in fostering early career researchers' engagement with scholarly discourse within the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). This paper highlights the significance of these journals by examining their contributions to professional development, peer review practices, and inclusivity. Through a case study of the Student Research Journal (SRJ) at San Jose State University’s iSchool, I demonstrate how student-led journals provide invaluable experiential learning opportunities in leadership, organization, and research skills. The SRJ exemplifies these benefits by achieving international recognition with minimal resources, showcasing its impact-to-cost ratio. This paper also discusses the journal's role …

Ischool Student Research Journal, Vol.14, Iss.2

School of Information Student Research Journal

Article citations within.

Conceptual Curiosity: Sense(Un)Making, Rebekah L. Cowell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Across disciplines, sensemaking is a theoretical and methodological research program, over forty years in development, that has been treated as a framework for understanding how humans behaviorally respond to external information sources and interpret to construct and actualize actionable outcomes; however, sensemaking is an interlinking process that does not operate in singularity–behaviorally or actionably–it is neurobiological (autonomous drive), cognitive (perceptual and predictive), and psychological (congruency in meaning).

This paper enlarges the conceptual framework for studying sensemaking and redefines it by addressing what sensemaking is, does, and needs. At the core of this conversation is addressing the absence of knowledge and …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Navigating Ethical Reflections Through The Evolution Of Information Profession Dreams, Rahmi Rahmi, Rusdan Kamil

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This study presents a longitudinal analysis of the ethical reflections and evolving professional aspirations of students in the Information Profession course at Universitas Indonesia. Through reflective writing exercises, 192 students explored their future career goals and addressed ethical challenges related to professional documentation, focusing on issues such as privacy, integrity, and responsibility. Using corpus analysis tools like AntConc, the research tracked changes in ethical concerns as students progressed in their studies, revealing an increasing awareness of ethical complexities, particularly in roles like archivist and data analyst. These findings offer valuable insights for developing profession-specific ethical guidelines for information professionals.

Preservation To Publisher: Flipping Textbooks Open Using The Und Scholarly Commons, Zeineb Yousif

Librarian Posters and Presentations

In 2017, the Chester Fritz Library launched our institutional repository, the UND Scholarly Commons. Our first publication was an open access edition of The History of North Dakota, a widely used state history book that we purchased the rights to publish digitally. After receiving scans of the print book from the publisher, we created PDF, EPUB, and MOBI versions of the book and disseminated it widely across OER indexing platforms.

We drew on this experience in 2023, when we partnered with North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction to release digital editions of a series of textbooks about the culture and …