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The final paper is Research-in-Practice paper and explores the B I Use of social media by academic libraries in Australia i b . Finally, there is also a Research-in-Practice paper describing the use of social media by academic libraries in Australia. We kick off 2023 with a rich issue consisting of diverse research papers that cover many aspects of Library and Information Science, including library history, library accessibility, library research and LIS education, and also a paper by a researcher and user of academic libraries detailing a complicated project about compiling sociology PhDs in Australia, which involved expert help from some amazing academic libraries and librarians. [Extracted from the article]

Drawing on a case study about a librarian/academic research and writing collaboration, this paper proposes why, despite a lack of explicit compulsion, academic librarians in Australia should choose to research and write for publication. It offers a reflection on the process as seen through the authors’ experience of a collaboration between academic librarians and a faculty academic, and considers the challenges and benefits in establishing a publishing track record. It argues that there are benefits in collaborative research for librarians with academics in generating research and publishing it to contribute to evidence-based practice, individual professional development and to contribute to their organisation’s publication output. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This purpose of this paper is to review literature from the digital humanities (DH), academic librarianship, and critical librarianship, focusing on potential roles for Australian academic librarians in the DH. After defining DH and its relationship with academic librarianship, the difference between service and collaborative models is discussed. This includes how service models characterise current perceptions of DH librarians' roles. Findings of this review indicate that there are, indeed, roles for librarians in the DH that can contribute to scholarly partnerships. These roles build on the shared values of librarianship and the humanities and are related to the critical and theoretical foundations of the DH. Critical librarianship provides a framework for roles that can contribute to knowledge production, not just to service provision. This framework can also work towards increasing representation and accessibility in DH scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians in academic libraries are required to support the activities of researchers during the entire scholarly communication life cycle. Although we have a deep understanding of all the stages of the process, we have not often directly experienced it for ourselves. The authors of this paper sought out the opportunity to participate in a research project in order to give them a new perspective on the research process and deepen their credibility with the academics they support. Lessons learned during this process may help other librarians decide if they would like to pursue similar opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the issue of digital capability at the research team level, specifically their ability to adapt to an uncertain digital future. Within higher education, there is a driving imperative to adapt to the new digital environment not only in areas involved in learning and teaching but also among research teams. While libraries play an important role in developing the digital literacy of researchers as individuals, little attention has been paid to the digital capability of the research team. A review of the literature was undertaken of digital transformation frameworks and models across business, government and higher education. No applicable models or frameworks were found to be suitable for a research team environment. A digital capability model was developed, drawing upon the critical elements discussed in the literature. This model enables library staff to assess the digital capability of the research team, allowing them to not only tailor their services to specific research teams but also driving changes to overall service offerings to better meet the needs of researchers across the organisation. Using this model changes the nature of library staff's conversation with research team leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of the Australian Library & Information Association's first issue of 2024 includes a variety of research papers, research-in-practice papers, an information-in-practice paper, and an obituary. One research paper explores how teacher librarians can teach with and about generative artificial intelligence (GAI), emphasizing the role of teacher librarians in fostering critical and ethical use of these tools. Another research paper presents the results of a national survey indicating that library and information practitioners are confident in their research abilities. The research-in-practice papers discuss topics such as transitioning to a team approach in library services, perceptions of artificial intelligence among Filipino academic librarians, and a proposed knowledge organization system for Laos ethnic groups. An information-in-practice paper examines the implementation of a proactive chat widget at the University of Wollongong Library, which proved valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue also includes an obituary for Professor Michael J. Ramsden, a significant figure in the library and information professions. Additionally, the issue features book reviews covering various themes, including online instruction, cataloguing, and the internationalization of academic libraries. [Extracted from the article]

Librarian contribution to systematic reviews and other evidence summaries is well-documented. Many libraries offer sophisticated support, including mediated search services. Tiered services are beginning to emerge, but few libraries offer fee-for-service models. This paper updates an earlier mediated search pilot delivered by the Health team at Deakin University library. The service has evolved to an expanded multi-tier model with a fee-for-service top tier. The tiers consist of online self-help and consultations through to proof-reading of searches, mediated search design and search translation. This new model was trialled and operationalised during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a time with greater researcher focus on reviews than on field or lab-based research due to lockdown restrictions. This increased demand contributed to service development. The multi-tier model provided opportunity for librarian skill development including peer upskilling and co-authorship. Recognition of librarian contribution is important in mediated searching. The multi-tier service will continue to evolve. There is currently appetite amongst researchers for fee-for-service mediated search. Deakin librarians have also been working with researchers in emerging automation and living reviews and these technologies are likely to impact future directions of the services. Growth in other disciplines may also influence service expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on a partnership between a Liaison Librarian and an Academic Developer working in a large tertiary institution. Working as outsiders to the discipline, we examine the synergies between the roles of Academic Developer and Liaison Librarian. In light of the rapidly changing nature of higher education, we examine the implications for our roles within the hierarchical nature of the academy and disciplinary tribalism. In doing so, we consider the ways our partnership enabled us to draw upon tacit knowledge to deepen our understandings of identity and how to negotiate change from the outside. We explore some of the shared issues and challenges we face as we endeavour to implement positive change in a continually evolving and complex environment. Such issues include the role of gender. We apply the concepts of ‘outsiderness’ and ‘unhomeliness’ as developed by Manathunga to critically reflect on our practice, and explore the challenges and potential of Academic Development and Library partnerships to enable continuous improvement in teaching and scholarship. Our experiences highlight the importance of collegiate conversations as enablers of critical reflection on practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, Deakin University Library Research Services Team and Faculty of Arts and Education Liaison Team developed a series of four capacity-building workshops on research impact and metrics for the academic staff in the School of Communication and Creative Arts, in collaboration with the Associate Head of School (Research). As part of the Library's Research Metrics and Advisory Service (ReMAS), the workshops were designed as the initial step of a long-term approach to meet the unique needs of academics in the creative disciplines, including visual arts, performing arts, creative writing, design, media and journalism. Using an autoethnographic approach, the paper examines, through critical reflections from the two key librarians involved, the impact of these workshops within the Library and among the academic community, including: facilitating academic capacity-building on research impact and metrics in creative disciplines, building internal and external collaborative relationships, and developing the Library's knowledge of and skills in designing tailored research impact and metrics services for researchers with non-traditional outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-increasing focus on user needs and experiences, librarians are compelled to reposition themselves as providers of services and support. With an increasingly service-oriented approach to the profession, librarians must view their work and services through lenses of critical inquiry, assessment, and thoughtful design. Above all libraries are increasingly expected to plan, deliver, and assess their services based on evidence and data, an approach to librarianship which demands greater attention in professional literature and best practices. This paper presents a literature review of reference data collection strategies and discussion of evidence-based practices in librarianship. A case study is then presented for one academic library's process of developing and implementing a new system to collect, classify, and analyse reference statistics. Named the TARP Model, this system allowed librarians at NYU Shanghai to understand user behaviours, train reference staff, assessing reference services and trends, and manage the logistics of providing reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As knowledge-intensive institutions, universities face many challenges resulting from today's highly dynamic technological environment. While the ways in which learners and researchers engage with digital information resources are complex and diverse, there is a keen awareness of the varying levels of information and digital literacy skills amongst students and academic staff. A university-wide approach to skills development, involving all stakeholders, has been recommended as a valid approach to addressing some of the issues. At the University of Queensland, the Library has led the way with the development of a future-focused strategic framework for information and digital literacy to help shape the University's academic policies and practices. After reviewing the principles that underpin the strategic framework (collaboration, alignment, innovation, sustainability and evaluation), the paper presents some of the key strategies which have been introduced to encourage the development of digital skills in the contexts of undergraduate teaching and learning, digital scholarship and eResearch. It is argued that there is great potential for library staff to extend their reach and serve as digital facilitators, connectors and collaborators, making a significant contribution to successful outcomes in many areas of contemporary academic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University librarians occupied an important role in facilitating our academic research project identifying and locating sociology PhDs completed in Australia from 2010–2019. This project was to be based on the supposedly straightforward collection of sociology doctorates to assess research publication practices during and post PhD. This collection process, however, proved to be complex, arduous and time-consuming. When we approached librarians for information or were referred to them by university administrators, their service ethic was evident. Structural university changes, however, sometimes impacted librarians' ability to locate and retrieve sociology PhD theses. Successive technological changes had often fragmented catalogue and repository data, affecting librarians' ability to trace PhDs. Loss of library staff impacted universities' collective memory of where and how theses were stored or could be accessed. The rich interactive process between researchers and librarians in this project is explored through reviewing the corpus of emails and other exchanges developing strategies to overcome barriers tracking down completed PhD theses within Departments of Sociology or their iterations in interdisciplinary Schools of Social Sciences containing sociology 'disciplines', 'programmes' or individual sociologists. The present manuscript aims to chronicle the intricacies of gathering data on completed Australia sociology PhDs with the assistance of librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerted efforts are being directed towards academic integrity in Australia's higher education sector. University students encounter many challenges as they progress through their tertiary studies. Some of those challenges are seemingly allayed by increasingly easy opportunities to engage in deliberate or inadvertent unethical scholarly behaviours, such as contract cheating, plagiarism, or collusion. Academic librarians have much expertise to offer to the development and implementation of sustainable and scalable learning and teaching strategies as part of university-wide approaches to managing academic integrity. This article offers a case study of the development and trial of an educative strategy by a library at an Australian regional university in the form of a self-paced, online learning activity for coursework students. It demonstrates the important role of libraries and librarians in contributing to the development of evidence-based, educative approaches for preventing and reducing incidents of academic misconduct. The case study shows the critical role of librarians in engaging with students and staff in awareness raising and capacity building around ethical scholarly behaviour as students work towards those graduate attributes that form the basis for professional integrity. The article also confirms the valuable contribution librarians make to learning, teaching, and research beyond traditional academic understandings of the role of librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a history of national bibliographic policy discussion in Australia, from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day, assessing the contribution this discussion has made to the development of international bibliographic standards. In earlier times, various factors worked against progress towards standardisation and policy innovation, including the extant Anglo-American codes and inherited bibliographic conventions, the difficulties of establishing a national cataloguing agency, and the tyranny of distance experienced by national cataloguing committees. In the mid-twentieth century, Australian cataloguers became more involved in international bibliographic developments, but it was the advent of Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) cataloguing in Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s, that gave them a much stronger voice both within and outside the country, as records became much more sharable. Tensions between institutional and individual cataloguing views were eased through the establishment of the Australian Committee on Cataloguing, which represented both, while a broader level of engagement was successfully fostered by the Cataloguers Sections of the Library Association of Australia. This engagement has weakened in recent times, but this is symptomatic of a more general trend towards the globalisation of cataloguing and metadata, whereby national policy discussions are less relevant than are discussions in particular domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a study of an authentic assessment task in an Australian business school, where the 2015 ACRL framework for information literacy was applied to support the development of critical thought. Contextualised in an ongoing, meaningful partnership between a liaison librarian and an academic, the study involved pre- and post-engagement evaluation of learners’ decision-making about information sources that would best support a business presentation to a senior executive team. The pre- and post-evaluations were mediated by engagement with learners on the constructed and contextual nature of authority, which involved a detailed set of guidelines and online discussion facilitated by an information services librarian and the academic convening the subject. We found that students are already sensitive to a constructivist paradigm in selecting information sources. However, the depth of critical enquiry in evaluating ‘authority’ was uneven. Notwithstanding the robustness of the guidelines that we developed to support the evaluation of information sources, we found that it is important to provide further support to learners in working through the application of a constructivist frame. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Charles Darwin University Library is directly helping to sustain and preserve Aboriginal language and cultural materials that encounter many hurdles for their long-term survival. The library is supporting an ARC-funded project known as the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages, by providing a repository, web application, digitisation programme and professional advice. The collaboration between the library and research team addressed a number of challenges in relation to appropriate ways to represent complex and variable metadata, widely varying content from diverse sources and in various conditions, and in making these fragile and endangered materials accessible to a global audience. The open access archive now includes thousands of items in dozens of Northern Territory Indigenous languages, providing a sustainable repository for researchers and allowing Indigenous communities to share their languages, histories, knowledge and practices around the world. The project serves as a rich case study demonstrating how academic libraries can work with researchers to support the archiving of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]