Search

For the first time, data are used to explore the current degree of management feminization in Spain's leading archives and libraries. By examining male directors' perception of the possible implications of the profession's feminization on their work, this study contributes to research into the feminization of the archival profession and librarianship. The various results were cross-checked, revealing that both current data and 40-year-old data show a prevalence of female leadership and therefore feminized management in Spain's main archives and libraries. Pertinent contributions on the historical process of these professions' feminization in Spain are offered, together with surprising data on the low number of female directors in international professional organizations. [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]

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]

Much has been written about the demographic make-up of librarianship, which remains overwhelmingly white and female, but little has been discussed about the socioeconomic background of folks entering the field. In this column, I explore some of the ways that coming from a financially disadvantaged background can impact both entering the profession and the experience of working within it. A mix of practical and aspirational action items are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a survey of library and information professionals in positions of leadership regarding the skills and knowledge expected of MLS program graduates seeking employment in their organizations. The survey demonstrates that, as libraries and other information agencies continue to expand their role as a vital resource within a community, academic institution, or business, it is critical for prospective library employees to develop a balanced array of competencies that combines soft skills, such as adaptability, leadership potential and team orientation, as well as hard technical skills that have traditionally been important for daily library operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I seek to plumb the built-in civic engagement of libraries that sits alongside the efforts promoted in this issue. Key concepts are interrogated and democracy and democratic theory are the first, signaling the civic republican model of democracy and democratic citizenship, a model that is both old and durable, different from other forms of democratic theory. Second, modern conditions of democracy challenge the assumptions that civic republicanism rests on, leading to "polarization and cynicism." How they manifest for libraries is next explored. Operating as libraries, libraries engage democratic civic life in an important if overlooked way: equal respect—what it is and what it isn't and how it is made manifest in libraries from the library and information science literature. The concluding section ties together the strengths of libraries' support for democratic society in this essential aspect of the public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigated job demands and requirements in the American Library Association (ALA) job website. The states with the highest number of library and information science (LIS) job openings were California, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Washington. Academic libraries had the highest number of job openings, followed by Public libraries and Government libraries, respectively. The most sought-after LIS job categories were Administration/Management, Special Collections/Archives, Subject Specialist/Liaison, Information Literacy and Instruction, and Collection Development/Acquisitions. A significant majority of libraryrelated jobs required a Master's degree. These findings benefit LIS researchers, educators, professionals, and job seekers. [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]

The academic library is an institution in continual flux, with ever-growing demands and challenges for its leadership. Many leadership development texts focus on implementing selected styles or techniques in order to deal with these challenges. However, this article explores how developing reflexivity is an essential component of leadership development for academic library leaders. In order to develop this reflexivity, leaders must become disembedded via relational practices such as engaging within interstitial spaces. Discussion of the topic yields three suggested relational practices for leaders to become disembedded in their quest for reflexivity: (1) participating in regular strategic assessment; (2) cultivating faculty relationships; and (3) engaging in student outreach and embedded librarianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research impact librarianship is an area within the profession that continues to grow out of need for dedicated expertise of bibliometrics and other various assessment measures. There are numerous methods of creating or re-imagining research impact services. As is common practice within librarianship, sharing experiences and best practices for service provision, especially burgeoning services, is invaluable and informs other professionals about successes they can potentially adapt into their plans for doing similar work. The Libraries at the University of Houston is in the midst of creating a research visibility and impact program born out of an initiative to elevate the university's level of prestige and impact by developing personnel, programs, and practices to support research visibility and impact across the institution. This article discusses the University of Houston Libraries' process and progress toward formalizing research impact services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a university's information resource center, the library has always provided services for teachers and students. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on the relationship between the allocation of library resources and the competitiveness of universities in innovation and entrepreneurship (CUIE). Clarifying that relationship could help optimize library resources to enhance CUIE and enrich the empirical research system of library science. Based on clarifying the composition of library resources, correlation and regression analyses were used to verify the effect of library resource allocation on CUIE. The results show that human, academic, and spatial resources of the library can improve CUIE. The quality of human resources is more important than quantity for CUIE. For academic resources, electronic resources play a greater role than paper resources in CUIE, and spatial resources have the least effect. To maximize CUIE, the university library must optimize its resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The library profession in the United States faces many challenges in keeping up with diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. African Americans who are entering the library profession contribute to these efforts. This article presents the analysis of a survey of African American librarians in the United States conducted on October 23, 2019, and closed on February 1, 2020. It looks at the journey of African American librarians to the library profession. Survey takers were asked to describe their achievements in librarianship, how they entered the profession, future goals, and challenges. Analysis of survey responses is presented along with a brief literature review, followed by some suggestions for further research. We hope to increase the conversation on this topic and to contribute to diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. [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]

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]

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]

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]

This text is a guest editorial that reflects on the influence and mentorship of Michael Buckland, a prominent figure in the field of library and information science. The author shares their personal experience of discovering Buckland's work and how it shaped their own research and career. They highlight Buckland's humility, curiosity, and willingness to take chances on others. The text also includes a brief mention of Buckland's concept of "information as thing" and its impact on the author's understanding of museum objects as documents. Overall, the text serves as a tribute to Buckland's mentorship and the lasting impact he has had on the field. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to analyze how the Neo-documentalist movement, initiated in 1996 by Michael Buckland, Boyd Rayward and Niels Lund, has evolved in its 27 years history, how the choice of documentation as name of the new program in Tromsø has made a difference in the LIS field and how different documentation scholars around the world has participated and approached the movement until now. Design/methodology/approach: The paper has approached the "Neo-documentalist movement" in a historical perspective from 1996 to 2023 discussing what difference does the choice of a concept make, when the concept of documentation is chosen instead of information in the name of a program and for the general discussion of the object of an academic field like Library and Information Science. Findings: The analysis shows that it did make a difference to choose the concept of documentation as name of the program in Tromsø and the Neo-documentalist movement contributed to a new focus and discussion of the informative objects, the documents and their creation, not only in Tromsø, but in different parts of the world across linguistic borders. Originality/value: The paper is original by the fact that it is the first time that the neo documentalist movement has been reviewed on a global scale across linguistic barriers. It has value by a discussion of the ways in which a choice of concept matter in relation to defining a field and the research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Michael Buckland's works have spanned theoretical, historical and practice-oriented foci and genre. This article focuses on some of his theoretical-historical works that span over 20 years, which demonstrate a reading and critique of European Documentation in terms of what has been called "Documentality." This turn to a philosophy of information called "Documentality" marks the moment of "neo-documentation." This article surveys this moment in Buckland's works by reading his articles "Information as Thing," "What is a 'Document'?", and "Documentality Beyond Documents." It shows the transition from Documentation as a philosophy of information as representation to Documentality as a philosophy of information as function and performance. Some concepts and works of Bruno Latour are used to illuminate this transition from Documentation to Documentality. Implications and further research directions are discussed at the end. Design/methodology/approach: Conceptual and historical analyses. Findings: The article follows a neo-documentalist transition in Buckland's works in the thinking of documents from an Otletian representationalist epistemology ("Documentation") to a functionalist and performative epistemology ("Documentality") for documents. Research limitations/implications: This is a conceptual work on a limited corpus in Buckland's oeuvre. It has a limited discussion of Documentality in the works of other writers, namely the works of Bernd Frohmann and Maurizio Ferraris. Practical implications: The article points to historical shifts in the study of documents in Library and Information Science. Social implications: Documentality critically and materially studies documents in sociotechnical information management systems and elsewhere. Originality/value: This work highlights the importance of the above works and the importance of the neo-documentalist perspective of Documentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to show that the neo-documentary – or complimentary – approach in Library and Information Science by no means is conservative, but highly necessary also in today's digitized media landscape. An example from a digitized photo archive is chosen to demonstrate the importance of a complimentary analysis that considers both material aspects as well as social and mental ones. Design/methodology/approach: By taking Jenna Hartel's description of the neo-documentary turn as point of departure, the paper focuses on one case, the portrait of Johannes Abrahamsen Motka taken by Sophus Tromholt in 1883 and discusses different versions of the photograph from glass plate negatives to digitized versions in different contexts and media. Findings: Many of the same paratextual elements can be found in different versions, also the digitized ones, to help the viewer to establish a historical context, but the images exhibited today are nevertheless no longer the same ones taken by Tromholt at the end of the 19th century. Not only have the material properties changed, but also – and probably even more important in most cases – the social and mental aspects. More re-contextualization is needed for today's audiences to recognize and understand a historical photograph taken in a colonial context. Focusing on document's material elements is not novel within the LIS-field, but the so-called neo-documentary turn was also a reaction on political and technological developments during the 1980s and 1990s. The increased focus on understanding a document in a complimentary way has demonstrated its impact during the last decades and is, at the same time, still work in progress. Research limitations/implications: As a scholar in the humanities the author can only relate to and therefore analyze what the author can experience and observe on screen level. Originality/value: In providing a case study, this article illustrates the necessity of employing a complimentary approach when analyzing documents. This also implicates the claim that the neo-documentary turn – or complimentary as it rather should be called – by no means is a conservative one, but a highly necessary one in today's digitized media landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this article, the author discusses works from the French Documentation Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with regard to how it formulates bibliographic classification systems as documents. Significant writings by Suzanne Briet, Éric de Grolier and Robert Pagès are analyzed in the light of current document-theoretical concepts and discussions. Design/methodology/approach: Conceptual analysis. Findings: The French Documentation Movement provided a rich intellectual environment in the late 1940s and early 1950s, resulting in original works on documents and the ways these may be represented bibliographically. These works display a variety of approaches from object-oriented description to notational concept-synthesis, and definitions of classification systems as isomorph documents at the center of politically informed critique of modern society. Originality/value: The article brings together historical and conceptual elements in the analysis which have not previously been combined in Library and Information Science literature. In the analysis, the article discusses significant contributions to classification and document theory that hitherto have eluded attention from the wider international Library and Information Science research community. Through this, the article contributes to the currently ongoing conceptual discussion on documents and documentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The effectiveness of rhetorical structure is essential to communicate key messages in research articles (RAs). The interdisciplinary nature of library and information science (LIS) has led to unclear patterns and practice of using rhetorical structures. Understanding how RAs are constructed in LIS to facilitate effective scholarly communication is important. Numerous studies investigated the rhetorical structure of RAs in a range of disciplines, but LIS articles have not been well studied. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the authors encoded rhetorical structures to 2,216 articles in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology covering a period from 2001 to 2018 with the approaches of co-word analysis and visualization. The results show that the predominant rhetorical structures used by LIS researchers follow the sequence of Introduction-Literature Review-Methodology-Result-Discussion-Conclusion (ILMRDC). Findings: The authors' temporal examination reveals the shifts of evolutionary pattern of rhetorical structure in 2008 and 2014. More importantly, the authors' study demonstrates that rhetorical structures have varied greatly across research areas in LIS community. For example, scholarly communication and scientometrics studies tend to exclude literature review in articles. Originality/value: The present paper offers a first systematic examination of how rhetorical structures are used in a representative sample of a LIS journal, especially from a temporal perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and structural racism brought into focus health disparities and disproportionate impacts of disease on communities of color. Health equity has subsequently emerged as a priority. Recognizing that the future of health care will be informed by advanced information technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and algorithmic applications, the authors argue that to advance towards states of improved health equity, health information professionals need to engage in and encourage the conduct of research at the intersections of health equity, health disparities, and computational biomedical knowledge (CBK) applications. Recommendations are provided with a means to engage in this mobilization effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article describes the evolution of academic public health library services from standalone academic public health libraries in 2004 to centralized services by 2021. Methods: Five public health libraries serving public health graduate programs (SPH) at public and private institutions were visited in 2006-07. Visits comprised tours, semi-structured interviews with librarians and local health department staff, and collecting of contemporary print documents. We compiled and compared visit notes across libraries. In 2022, we reviewed online materials announcing library closure or transition for timing and how services were to be subsequently provided. Results: Libraries and SPH were co-located and most librarians maintained public health expertise though they did not have faculty appointments in their SPHs. Specialized statistical and geographic information systems (GIS) software and data were provided in partnership, often with other system libraries. Only two libraries had strong connections to health departments--one with direct service agreements and another engaged in public health training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) Library examined its current acquisitions circulation rate over a period of five years (from 2017-2021) to determine whether materials being added met student and faculty needs as demonstrated by circulation patterns, and if there was a difference in circulation patterns between acquired print and e-books that might help the library determine where to better focus its resources: print or electronic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the state of the post-pandemic academic library job market in the Southeastern region of the United States. This analysis of academic librarian job advertisements collected from 2022 and 2023 reveals that while some new jobs have emerged there is a continued demand for traditional roles, prior work experience and the ALA-accredited master's degree. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are prominent in job advertisements despite some regional political opposition. Remote work options are limited, signaling a nuanced approach to work modality post-pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is substantial research about sources of burnout among academic librarians; however, very little addresses the impact of the local environment. Responding to regional and institutional shifts while still trying to uphold the values of librarianship such as providing confidential and free access to information can quickly lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion, classic symptoms of burnout. A panel discussion was presented at the Arkansas Library Association (ArLA) / Southeast Library Association (SELA) Joint Conference, on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Academic librarians from different Southern states discussed their local environments, their libraries' responses to recent events, and their strategies for working through burnout. Some of the aspirational outcomes from the discussion were: recognition that burnout is a common experience; how to find ways to serve patrons despite fluctuating hurdles; and understanding how personal burnout can impact the entire library organization. This article is a summation of the panelists' discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEM librarian roles are shifting to accommodate the changing academic research and education landscape within universities. To best support students and faculty, liaisons need to examine current practices within STEM librarianship, experiment with new models of information literacy, and consider how students are using the library. The following articles examine the roles of STEM librarians; the methods they use to connect with STEM students; and the way STEM students are interacting, or not interacting, with university libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the extent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, disinformation, and their effects on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among library and information science (LIS) professionals in Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative method that deployed a questionnaire-based survey research design. Two=hundred and twenty-two (222) LIS professionals in Nigeria participated in the survey. Constructed based, on the variables synthesised from various studies, the questionnaire was self-designed on Google web form and was posted on online platforms to collect data from the participants. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (structural equation modelling) with tables and charts adopted in the presentation of the results. Findings revealed that the extent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and disinformation among LIS professionals in, Nigeria was at a low level. Moreover, the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among LIS professionals in Nigeria was at a low level. Even at that low level, a striking finding was that COVID-19 vaccine misinformation had more positive effect (β = 0.357, p =0.001) on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy than COVID-19 vaccine disinformation had (β = 0.235, p =0.027). Moreover, COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and disinformation had jointly significantly predicted COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Efforts should be geared towards curbing disinformation and misinformation because they pose a grave danger to public health now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the evolution of a required Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) research methods course moving to a focus on evidence-based library and information practice (EBLIP). It describes how a research methods course was revised, beginning with results from a "typical" course review and morphing into work that is now informing a broader program review. Implications of this work include a reconsideration of how best to provide a quality education while allowing for grace for faculty and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on critical librarianship in the health library context. It critiquing societal norms; supporting critical thinking in academic and hospital libraries; advocating for inclusive and accurate indexing of Indigenous populations in research databases; highlights a case study involving the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus; and demonstrating how critical examination by information professionals led to impactful changes in information access and representation.

The article focuses on exploring the relationship between information literacy, information access, and artificial intelligence in today's information landscape. Topics include the evolution and standards of information literacy; challenges and responsibilities in education; the critical aspect of information access; the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on information management; and highlighting its benefits and ethical considerations.

In 1949 and again in 1951, staff from the privately endowed Newberry Library in Chicago travelled to the UK and Continental Europe on lengthy buying trips that were designed to take advantage of depressed post-war book markets. They hoped thereby to bypass middlemen in the book trade (most of them New York dealers) and to establish long-term relationships with European booksellers that would allow them to build research collections on a large scale. The Newberry shoppers were relatively early in this opportunistic sort of buying, but their project reflects the kind of aggressive acquisitions American libraries would undertake across the next two decades. Along the way, institutional buying transformed the antiquarian trade from an elite, largely bibliophile concern into a massive supply chain for modern historical research. This essay explores the rich sources for the Newberry's acquisitions in these years by way of exemplifying the broader phenomenon, that Americans were driving an unprecedented boom in the antiquarian book trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A country-focused study can be defined as a type of study in which the article's topic is limited to a particular country. Based on the assumption that a country-focused article contains one or more country names in the title or keywords (CNtk), the objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of country-focused articles in Library and Information Science (LIS) journals. For this study, we selected 30 journals from the Scimago Journal Rank with the highest h-index scores to empirically investigate LIS articles with CNtk. The respective bibliographic records of these journals from 2010 to 2020 were downloaded from Scopus. In terms of subject categories, journals that addressed scientific and technical topics published fewer country-focused articles. In contrast, those on culture, society and government published a higher number of country-focused articles. One exception to this generalisation is that country-focused studies were found to be highly prevalent in certain technical subjects, such as bibliometrics. Although additional empirical evidence is needed for other fields of study, the proposed method seems valuable in analysing journal characteristics since it provides country-specific information about the published articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conference of study and training courses in the field of information and library science [Konferenz der Informations- und Bibliothekswissenschaftlichen Ausbildungs- und Studiengänge, in short KIBA] celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. A great opportunity for us to outline KIBA's activities and developments over the years, with a focus on study programs in the area of library and information sciences, and to take a look ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses perceptions regarding the roles of PhD- and MLS (or MLIS)-holding librarians within academic libraries in the United States gathered via a survey conducted in 2019. Based on a review of previous literature and the results of the survey—which present mixed opinions about PhD holders as librarians—the authors provide recommendations for ways libraries can effectively address some of the tensions regarding the role of PhD holders within academic librarianship. This article is useful for librarians of all educational backgrounds, PhD holders who are considering the transition to a library career, and library administrators involved in the hiring process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on improving validity in quantitative research articles, highlighting the importance of thorough sampling design, consideration of statistical assumptions, and the significance of effect size in interpreting research outcomes accurately. It discusses how authors can address common issues to ensure the quality and credibility of their quantitative research findings.

Background: Tranexamic acid (TA) is a new and promising drug for the treatment of melasma. Objectives: This network meta‐analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety of various ways of administration of TA on melasma. Methods: We collected researches from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Melasma area severity index (MASI) is used to evaluate the severity of melasma. After treatment with different TA administration methods, a difference in MASI is named ΔMASI. We evaluate the curative effect by comparing the ΔMASI of different TA administration methods at a certain time point. Results: At the Weeks 4, 8, and 12 and the last follow‐up, the ΔMASI of oral TA combined with routine topical agents (oTA + RTA) was higher than that of intradermal TA (iTA), topical TA (tTA) as well as microneedling TA (MNsTA), with statistical significance. At the 8th week, the ΔMASI of oTA was higher than that of iTA, with statistical significance. Compared with placebo, oTA showed statistically significant differences at Week 4, while tTA, iTA, and MNsTA showed statistically significant differences starting from Week 8. Conclusions: Among various ways of administration of TA, oTA + RTA has the best effect on melasma. In the short term, the curative effect of oTA is better than that of iTA, and the onset time of oTA is faster than that of tTA, iTA and MNsTA. In the long run, the curative effect of TA alone has nothing to do with the mode of administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping literature review explored specific themes connected to the evolving nature of academic business librarianship (career paths and educational backgrounds, services and job roles, self-assessment, and professional development) with the goal to determine the state of existing literature. Following careful review, two areas of business librarianship—self-assessment and professional development—were identified as lacking in overall research literature. Literature regarding career paths and educational backgrounds, as well as services and job roles demonstrated notable gaps and need for timely revision. Future directions for research in emerging areas of academic business librarianship are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many considerations to take before embarking on a new project or creating a new community partnership. Many such considerations are undocumented and not widely taught in Master of Library and Information Science programs. This article fills in the gap with suggested steps to take before implementing a new service or partnership. Recommendations stem from the author's own experiences and aim to help public library workers—from staff to administration—avoid possible pitfalls and become effective advocates for focus and intentionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]