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Despite ongoing efforts to improve database accessibility, aggregated database vendors concede that they do not have complete control over document accessibility. Instead, they point to the responsibility of journal publishers to deliver articles in an accessible format. This may increase the likelihood that users with disabilities will encounter articles that are not compatible with a screen reader. To better understand the extent of the problem, a document accessibility audit was conducted of randomly selected articles from EBSCO's Library & Information Source database. Full-text articles from 12 library science journals were evaluated against two measures of screen reader compatibility: HTML format (the optimal format for screen readers) and PDF accessibility conformance. Findings showed inconsistencies in HTML format availability for articles in the selected journals. Additionally, the entire sample of PDF articles failed to meet the minimum standard of PDF Universal Accessibility of containing a tagged structure. However, all PDF articles passed accessibility permissions tests, so could be made accessible retroactively by a third party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study library guides, as published on Springshare's LibGuides platform, new approaches are needed to expand the scope of the research, ensure comprehensiveness of data collection, and reduce bias for content analysis. Computational methods can be utilized to conduct a nuanced and thorough evaluation that critically assesses the resources promoted in library guides. Web-based library guides are curated by librarians to provide easy access to high-quality information and resources in a variety of formats to support the research needs of their users. Recent scholarship considers library guides as valuable resources and as de facto publications, highlighting the need for critical study. In this article, the authors present a novel model for comprehensively gathering data about a specific genre of books from individual LibGuide pages and applying computational methods to explore the resultant data. Beginning with a pre-selected list of 159 books, we programmatically queried the titles using the LibGuides Community search engine. After cleaning and filtering the resultant data, we compiled a list of 20,484 book references (of which 6,212 are unique) on 1,529 LibGuide pages. By testing against inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure relevancy, we identified a total of 281 titles relevant to our topic. To gain insights for future study, citation analysis metrics are presented to reveal patterns of frequency, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling of books promoted in LibGuides. This proof-of-concept could be adopted for a variety of applications, including assessment of collections, public services, critical librarianship, and other complex questions to enable a richer and more thorough understanding of the information landscape of LibGuides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of utility and technical quality, open-source software solutions have become a common option for many libraries. As barriers to adoption have been reduced and systems such as FOLIO appear poised to change the landscape of LIS technology, it is worth examining how the use of open source can support the normative core values of librarianship and to outline a strategy for critical engagement with the technology that is beneficial to patrons and libraries. Such a strategy will require further codification, institutionalization, and investigation of open source at many levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares website usability—specifically library users’ understanding of library terms—for fifty-one original research studies between 2012-2021, with the findings of John Kupersmith’s 2011 white paper “Library Terms That Users Understand.” Studies reported approximately twice as many terms that users didn’t understand than terms users did understand, with some terms appearing in both categories. Analysis of the findings suggests a majority of Kupersmith’s guidelines remain applicable to today’s online environment, with some adjustments related to technology advances. We propose an additional guideline that acknowledges the role non-library websites play in guiding how users interact with library terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profound changes due to Open-Access (OA) publications lead to organizational changes in universities and libraries. This study examines Israeli librarians' perceptions regarding their role and the academic library's role in promoting OA-publications, including the barriers, challenges, needs, and requirements necessary to promote OA publishing. Lack of a budget for OA-agreements, no cooperation from university management, and researchers' unfamiliarity with OA were among the most prominent barriers. Librarians see great importance in their role of advising researchers regarding OA. However, they insist on a regulated OA-policy at the national and institutional levels to strengthen their status as change-leaders of the OA-movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time and resources required to prepare archival collections for use by researchers is a source of constant frustration in archives and libraries. Almost always, aspirations and collections exceed limited resources. The last fifteen to twenty years have seen archivists and librarians putting great effort into increasing standardization and efficiency. However, there are few examples of applying techniques from other fields that are proven to increase productivity. This dual case study shows that applying Lean techniques, which were originally developed for automobile manufacturing, yields significant results: measurable reductions in processing time and resource use; increased adherence to standards; increased engagement in and willingness to change by staff; effective coordination across departments; and increased ability to meet the needs of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information design--incorporating research in graphic design, typography, visualization, and usability--is a user experience practice directly applicable to contemporary museums, libraries, and archives. Information design principles and guidelines improve engagement at every point of service, effectively and efficiently complementing the mission of knowledge organizations. This historical survey explores information design in the context of contemporary user experience design, and provides an overview of information design principles and guidelines developed over 40 years of research and professional application. Applying elements of information design to archival finding aids enhances usability, while also preserving descriptive and contextual structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an account of the making of KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). The first part discusses the work involved in establishing a lab as both a physical and a digital site for researchers to use digital collections at previously unimaginable scales. The second part explains how the lab has deployed the library's collections as data to produce high quality Swedish AI models, which constitute a significant new form of digital research infrastructure. We situate this work in the context of uneven AI coverage for smaller languages, and consider how the lab's models have contributed to the making of important AI infrastructure for the Swedish language. The conclusion raises the possibilities and challenges involved in continuing this type of library-based AI development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeking to better understand the longitudinal association between online usage of library-licensed content and short- and long-term student performance, we linked EZproxy logs to institutional university data to study how library usage impacts semester and cumulative GPAs. Panel linear mixed effects regression models indicate online library usage is significantly associated with both semester and cumulative GPAs. The library usage effect is larger for semester GPA, and varies by on- and off-campus residency. The effect on semester GPA is larger for off-campus students, while for cumulative GPA the effect is larger for on-campus students. Longitudinally linked library-institutional data offers key insights on the library's value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a 2021 Pew Research report, over 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use social media. Studies also show that higher education students use social media in both academic and everyday life. However, there is minimal research about how, or whether, librarians utilize social media in their library instruction as a source of information for students' academic work. We examined 162 responses to a survey sent to an uncounted number of librarians in higher education, asking them about their teaching practices regarding social media to enable us to answer the following research questions: (1) How are teaching librarians using social media as an information source in their instruction?; (2) What are the benefits teaching librarians perceive regarding the use of social media in instruction?; (3) What are the challenges teaching librarians perceive regarding the use of social media in instruction? The survey results showed that most librarians surveyed are not utilizing social media as an information source in their library instruction. Although our results cannot be generalized, our study sheds light on how librarians incorporate social media in information literacy (IL) instruction, the tension between scholarly literature and voices not considered authoritative, and librarians' perceptions of benefits and challenges to incorporating social media in library sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library and information science has been at an infant stage in Pakistan, primarily in resource management, description, discovery, and access. The reasons are many, including the lack of interest and use of modern tools, techniques, and best practices by librarians in Pakistan. Finding a solution to these challenges requires a comprehensive study that identifies the current state of libraries in Pakistan. This paper fills this gap in the literature by reviewing the relevant literature published between 2015 and 2021 and selected through a rigorous search and selection methodology. It also analyzes the websites of 82 libraries in Pakistan through a theoretical framework based on various aspects. The findings of this study include: Libraries in Pakistan need a transition from traditional and limited solutions to more advanced information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled, user-friendly, and state-of-the-art systems to produce dynamic, consumable, and sharable knowledge space. They must adopt social semantic cataloging to bring all the stakeholders on a single platform. A libraries consortium should be developed to link users to local, multilingual, and multicultural collections for improved knowledge production, recording, sharing, acquisition, and dissemination. These findings benefit Pakistani libraries, librarians, information science professionals, and researchers in other developing countries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind providing insights into the current state of libraries in Pakistan through the study of their websites using a rigorous theoretical framework and in the light of the latest relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Louisville Libraries merged their Government Documents Department and Reference Department in 1999 to save money and improve efficiency. This was part of a larger trend in the 1990s and early 2000s of merging government documents departments with other library units or reference services. The merger resulted in changes to cataloging, reference services, and staff roles, but also led to a loss of expertise in government documents. While there were some positive outcomes, such as increased collaboration and awareness of government resources, there were also drawbacks, including a decrease in the quality of government documents reference services. The document provides historical perspectives, surveys, case studies, and opinions on the integration of government documents and reference services in academic libraries. [Extracted from the article]

This study seeks to extend wicked problems analysis within the context of a library's support for virtual reality (VR) and the related extended reality (XR) emerging technologies. The researchers conducted 11 interviews with 13 librarians, embedded IT staff, and/or faculty members who were involved in administering, managing, or planning a virtual reality lab or classroom in a library (or similar unit) in a higher education setting. The qualitative analysis of the interviews identified clusters of challenges, which are categorized as either emergent (but solvable) such as portability and training; complicated (but possible) such as licensing and ethics: and/or wicked (but tameable). The respondents framed their role in supporting the wickedness of VR/XR in three basic ways: library as gateway, library as learning partner, and library as maker. Five taming strategies were suggested from this research to help librarians wrestle with these challenges of advocating for a vision of VR/XR on their respective campuses. This research also hints at a larger role for librarians in the research of technology diffusion and what that might mean to their role in higher education in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Conference on Cataloging Principles (Paris, 1961) led to wide acceptance of Seymour Lubetzky's distinction between books and works, where books denoted particular physical objects and works concerned conceptual abstractions associated with the creative labor of particular authors. Lubetzky's formulation of works is included in many of the world's cataloging frameworks, including the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). Several conceptual and practical difficulties arise from the widespread adoption of Lubetzkian works in practices associated with knowledge organization. However, FRBR and other knowledge organization frameworks that utilize works as central entities could be made more useable and useful if work, as an organizing principle, were de-emphasized and seen as one among many concepts used for aggregating sets and supersets of objects according to how likely they are to be useful to users of knowledge organization tools like catalogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many academic libraries collect art exhibition catalogues and juvenile books to support the curriculum, but academic library review sources and book vendors have limited coverage of these niche areas. For more than a decade, Wichita State University has used purchase plans from Worldwide Art Books and Junior Library Guild to acquire print books. This paper discusses the assessment of both plans, how experience with this assessment has influenced development of an assessment plan, and reasons other libraries may want to assess their own niche collecting plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Board of Directors approved the Core Competencies for Cataloging and Metadata Professional Librarians, hereafter referred to as the "Core Competencies," in January 2017. The Core Competencies lists the skills required of professionals performing cataloging and metadata work in libraries of all types. In the six years since the document's release, the cataloging and metadata community has adopted new cataloging standards, experimented with new tools, and engaged in conversations and reparative efforts around inclusive metadata. In this paper, we, the authors of the Core Competencies, report the results of our survey research that assessed the current use of the document within the cataloging and metadata community and solicited comments on ways in which the document might be revised. We conclude with recommendations for immediate changes to the document, and for its future use and maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital humanities (DH) remain a growing area of interest among researchers and a locus of new positions within libraries, especially academic libraries, as well as archives, museums, and cultural heritage organizations. In response to this demand, many programs that train information professionals have developed specific curricula around DH. This paper analyzes courses offered within two overlapping contexts: American Library Association (ALA) accredited programs and iSchools. In addition to documenting the scope and extent of DH courses in these settings, we also analyze their contents, relating our findings to previous research, including analysis of job ads and interviews with professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the evolution of current interests and emerging characteristics in library and information science (LIS) from Chinese iSchools, including an analysis of the LIS landscape, space distribution, citation, emerging characteristics, and collaborations. This study considers a non-parametric approach to outline the structure of the iSchool movement in China, while clustering analysis helped us obtain information about the descriptions generated within unsupervised learning groups. It was found that Chinese iSchools play an intermediary role in the international development of Chinese LIS, which further promotes the dissemination and exchange of knowledge and international cooperation in LIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate what semiotic analysis can reveal about how welcoming and inclusive a science library space is for patrons. A space was examined in terms of its messaging to patrons of various genders, abilities, races, ethnicities, nationalities, and disciplines. Findings are presented about the space's messaging regarding the disciplines it serves, inclusion of patrons from minoritized demographics, and general expectations of visitors. Recommendations for library practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a mixed-methods study of the methods and maturity of user experience (UX) practice in academic libraries. The authors apply qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistical analysis to a research dataset derived from a survey of UX practitioners. Results reveal the type and extent of UX methods currently in use by practitioners in academic libraries. Themes extracted from the survey responses also reveal a set of factors that influence the development of UX maturity. Analysis and discussion focus on organizational characteristics that influence UX methods and maturity. The authors conclude by offering a library-focused maturity scale with recommended practices for advancing UX maturity in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to understand the viewpoints and attitudes of researchers at Louisiana State University toward the new public search interface from SirsiDynix, Enterprise. Fifteen university constituents participated in user studies to provide feedback while completing common research tasks. Particularly of interest to the librarian observers were identifying and characterizing where problems were expressed by the participants as they utilized the new interface. This study was approached within the framework of the cognitive load theory and user experience (UX). Problems that were discovered are discussed along with remedies, in addition to areas for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Challenges of Library Web Design There will always be obstacles and challenges that stand in your way. Building mental strength will help you develop resilience to those potential hazards [...]

US history has featured many periods of greatly enhanced efforts to ban books, such as during the Comstock era, World War I, and the McCarthy era of the 1950s. Similar to previous periods, the book banning movement that has arisen during the novel coronavirus pandemic of the 2020s has featured widespread efforts to ban many books, particularly those representing certain marginalized experiences, from schools and libraries. However, this current tidal wave of ban booking has added the new and disturbing dimension of laws being considered in state legislatures that would actually create civil and criminal penalties for librarians if banned books were available in the library. These proposed laws are part of much broader legislative efforts at the state and national levels to limit the ability of libraries to construct collections and provide services that meet the needs of their communities. Though there have been some lingering, but unfounded, concerns that librarians might be criminally liable for incorrect information in the library collection and some national security laws have created potential legal jeopardy for librarians in extremely specific circumstances, these new proposed laws are the first that would create widespread legal liabilities for librarians. This article considers the nature of these proposed laws, the larger context that has generated them, and the implications if passed into law, including the Missouri law that has gone into effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library and librarian involvement in digital humanities (DH) has grown over the past few years. However, it is unclear whether current library and information studies (LIS) programs are properly preparing students for this type of work. This study analyzed course offerings at Canadian ALA-accredited LIS programs. While Canadian ALA-accredited LIS programs offer DH-relevant courses, the number of courses offered and their range/scope vary greatly among institutions. Although many are teaching the technical skills required by the field of DH librarianship, collaboration and project management training remain elusive in most programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the Spring 2020 semester, academic institutions in the United States shifted rapidly to virtual instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift forced the libraries associated with these institutions to create innovative ways to reach faculty, staff, and students in an online mode. At the University of Memphis, librarians enhanced many existing online services and developed new ones. This study tracks the utilization of these services by online instructors during the span of one year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The methods were mixed, involving a survey soliciting information from online instructors using both qualitative and quantitative methods and follow-up interviews conducted privately and virtually with teaching faculty and staff. This article presents the findings of this research and details the plans for further action at the University of Memphis to enhance and promote library services to online faculty. The plan involves increasing the level of online marketing, involvement with faculty training, and the enhancement of existing services, specifically embedded librarianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current LGBTQIA+-hostile political climate highlights a growing need among school librarians for evidence-based support addressing inclusive professional practices. To establish a baseline of studies providing this evidence and to identify areas where further research is needed, this study used systematic literature review methodology to examine international empirical research in the field of school and youth librarianship published between the years of 2009 and 2021. The study's objectives were to identify and categorize published empirical research on LGBTQIA+ topics in school and youth librarianship and to identify and categorize gaps in that research, proposing focuses for future research studies. Findings determined that little research has been done to examine LGBTQIA+ inclusive school library services for youth. Also revealed was a monolithic approach to the discussion of LGBTQIA+ identities and expressions. More research in this area and the employment of diverse methodologies to uncover a detailed and expansive picture of what LGBTQIA+ inclusive service means are desperately needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author looks at some studies that relate to technology within academic libraries. A report discussed how power structures are reinforced by having a front of the room or other configurations can enrich planning and assessment efforts. A study discussed how libraries can use open source software to balance the field against profit-based licensing models. A report focused on the crucial distinction between user-centered design and emancipatory design.

Librarianship is constantly confronted with unexpected and quickly evolving sociotechnical challenges, yet the documents that define the core professional competencies for librarians are infrequently updated. Based upon survey responses collected from 383 working librarians located in the United States, we describe a set of gaps between current competency guidelines and current library realities with regard to practice, management, communication, career development, relations, and personal attributes. We argue that professional library organizations, educators, and policymakers could formulate more relevant and impactful core competency documents by deliberately integrating the on-the-ground insights of librarians’ lived experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary debates within American librarianship, and in the country at large, often frame intellectual freedom and social justice as competing or opposed values, but looking back to earlier moments in the intellectual history of libraries and the country demonstrates the fundamental and interdependent relationship that exists between civil liberties and civil rights. In the early Cold War period, librarians and the American Library Association (ALA) engaged in an activist campaign to protect intellectual freedom from threats like anti-communist censorship and loyalty oaths. At the same time, historian and public intellectual Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom laid out a program of radical centrism, capturing the intellectual currents that informed ALA documents like the 1948 Library Bill of Rights and 1953's The Freedom to Read. Revisiting Schlesinger's work underscores the extent to which, both historically and in the present, racism and oppression represent primary barriers to the intellectual freedom of Americans and provides an opportunity to explore new framings of fundamental values within the library profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the first national survey that creates a baseline for documenting the experience of working with rare books in libraries without Association of Research Libraries (ARL) membership: a group of libraries that make up about half the field of librarians working with rare books. Scarcely studied despite decades of comparable studies of their ARL library colleagues, librarians working in non-ARL rare book collections have comparable demographics, professional training, and standards for their work as their peers in ARL libraries. Their experiences doing the work in non-ARL libraries demonstrate a significant disparity in resources for acquisitions, security, staffing, and fundraising. These experiences of half of the special collections professionals in the field require further study, reintroducing their narratives into our understanding of “what rare books librarianship looks like.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As librarians consider ways to engage students in research, particularly those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), it's increasingly apparent that the transactional nature of the one-shot instructional model is inadequate for fostering thoughtful and critical discussions about information literacy and the scholarly publishing cycle. The one-shot also amplifies librarians' attendant anxieties related to quantitative data collection and capitalistic work expectations. Additionally, socially constructed ideas around time, along with narrow epistemic perspectives that center Western thought, stanch librarians' abilities to critically teach students about the research process. Incorporating autoethnography to exemplify the concepts discussed in the paper, the authors argue for a slow, relational approach that deprioritizes widget-like technical training in favor of student and librarian reflection, redresses epistemic injustices in scholarly research, and, most importantly, celebrates multiple epistemologies and expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the application of relationship and relational thinking to academic librarians' teaching practices through Harriet L. Schwartz's model of relational or Connected Teaching in his book "Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Matering in Higher Education." Topics include views on one-shot or a one-time-only information literacy workshop, arguments on the duration of teaching interactions to Connected Teaching, and the application of Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT).