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To best serve LGBTQ+ students in an academic library, it is necessary to develop a list of best practices. While there is ample literature on the topic of the needs of LGBTQ+ students in academic libraries and how to address those needs, there is no readily accessible list of evidence-based best practices for general implementation. To address this need, the author identified an initial pool of 210 articles published in library journals between 2000 and 2022. Of those 210 articles, 109 articles met all conditions for further review. A total of 21 articles within the review pool contained specific recommendations for serving LGBTQ+ students. Those 21 articles were assessed, and their findings were compiled to create a list of evidence-based best practices for serving LGBTQ+ students in academic libraries.

Introduction: Assessment plays a significant role in managing a successful institutional repository (IR). This study combined the results of a faculty survey that measured faculty awareness of and participation in the IR of a single, state masters-granting institution with information regarding content type and downloads to draw conclusions regarding the composition and usage of the IR at this institution. Method: A survey was sent to 856 faculty members at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) that asked questions regarding awareness of the IR and participation in the IR demonstrated through deposit and access of materials. Statistics regarding content type and full-text downloads were collected from the repository platform. Collected data were compared with previous studies at other similar institutions to determine similitude or difference between this IR and other IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions. Results & Discussion: Faculty awareness of and participation in the IR at FHSU is higher than that of other institutions, as shown in previous surveys, even though overall faculty participation remains low. The content of the IR is largely consistent with other similar institutions. Conclusion: The faculty survey combined with information regarding repository usage demonstrates that the FHSU Scholars Repository serves a different purpose for both faculty and users than designers envisioned. Efforts to force the IR to resemble that of a research institution may be misplaced. Further research on the content makeup of IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions is needed to establish commonalities among smaller institutions.

Introduction: Assessment plays a significant role in managing a successful institutional repository (IR). This study combined the results of a faculty survey that measured faculty awareness of and participation in the IR of a single, state masters-granting institution with information regarding content type and downloads to draw conclusions regarding the composition and usage of the IR at this institution. Method: A survey was sent to 856 faculty members at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) that asked questions regarding awareness of the IR and participation in the IR demonstrated through deposit and access of materials. Statistics regarding content type and full-text downloads were collected from the repository platform. Collected data were compared with previous studies at other similar institutions to determine similitude or difference between this IR and other IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions. Results & Discussion: Faculty awareness of and participation in the IR at FHSU is higher than that of other institutions, as shown in previous surveys, even though overall faculty participation remains low. The content of the IR is largely consistent with other similar institutions. Conclusion: The faculty survey combined with information regarding repository usage demonstrates that the FHSU Scholars Repository serves a different purpose for both faculty and users than designers envisioned. Efforts to force the IR to resemble that of a research institution may be misplaced. Further research on the content makeup of IRs at masters and baccalaureate institutions is needed to establish commonalities among smaller institutions.

Memories: The Crew of the USS Abner Read DD-526 captures the experiences of sailors who served aboard the USS Abner Read. Collected over the course of decade, this collection features more than 120 interviews with sailors who fought aboard the Abner Read during the War in the Pacific. First-hand accounts of life on the ship, the incident at Kiska, and the sinking of the ship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf all feature prominently in this edited volume. There are amusing anecdotes, mundane details, and graphic descriptions of the horrors of war. Though only in service for twenty-one months, the experiences aboard the USS Abner Read changed the lives of everyone who served on her.

Analog audio materials present unique preservation and access challenges for even the largest libraries. These challenges are magnified for smaller institutions where budgets, staffing, and equipment limit what can be achieved. Because in-house migration to digital of analog audio is often out of reach for smaller institutions, the choice is between finding the room in the budget to out-source a project, or sit by and watch important materials decay. Cost is the most significant barrier to audio migration. Audio preservation labs can charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars to migrate analog to digital. Top-tier audio preservation equipment is equally expensive. When faced with the decomposition of an oral history collection recorded on cassette tape, one library decided that where there was a will, there was a way. The College of Education One-Room Schoolhouse Oral History Collection consisted of 247 audio cassettes containing interviews with one-room school house teachers from 68 counties in Kansas. The cassette tapes in this collection were between 20-40 years old and generally inaccessible for research due to fear the tapes could be damaged during playback. This case study looks at how a single Digital Curation Librarian with no audio digitization experience migrated nearly 200 hours of audio to digital using a $40 audio converter from Amazon and a campus subscription to Adobe Audition. This case study covers the decision to digitize the collection, the digitization process including audio clean-up, metadata collection and creation, presentation of the collection in CONTENTdm, and final preservation of audio files. The project took 20 months to complete and resulted in significant lessons learned that have informed decisions regarding future audio conversion projects.

Military and veteran students face unique challenges when coming into an academic environment. Libraries can play a role in easing those transition challenges. Fort Hays State University is a comprehensive state teaching university. Roughly 6% of the student population, both on-campus and virtual, identifies as a currently serving military member or a veteran. The university as a whole is designated as a Military Friendly School and participates in the Department of Education 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success initiative. Forsyth Library supports these efforts through library-specific initiatives that help military and veteran students connect with academic resources and become acclimated to the academic environment. This paper outlines how Forsyth Library has taken specific steps to address the unique educational needs of military and veteran students, and shares ideas for working with various campus organizations involved in the military and veteran student community.

Analog audio materials present unique preservation and access challenges for even the largest libraries. These challenges are magnified for smaller institutions where budgets, staffing, and equipment limit what can be achieved. Because in-house migration to digital of analog audio is often out of reach for smaller institutions, the choice is between finding the room in the budget to out-source a project, or sit by and watch important materials decay. Cost is the most significant barrier to audio migration. Audio preservation labs can charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars to migrate analog to digital. Top-tier audio preservation equipment is equally expensive. When faced with the decomposition of an oral history collection recorded on cassette tape, one library decided that where there was a will, there was a way. The College of Education One-Room Schoolhouse Oral History Collection consisted of 247 audio cassettes containing interviews with one-room school house teachers from 68 counties in Kansas. The cassette tapes in this collection were between 20-40 years old and generally inaccessible for research due to fear the tapes could be damaged during playback. This case study looks at how a single Digital Curation Librarian with no audio digitization experience migrated nearly 200 hours of audio to digital using a $40 audio converter from Amazon and a campus subscription to Adobe Audition. This case study covers the decision to digitize the collection, the digitization process including audio clean-up, metadata collection and creation, presentation of the collection in CONTENTdm, and final preservation of audio files. The project took 20 months to complete and resulted in significant lessons learned that have informed decisions regarding future audio conversion projects.

Military and veteran students face unique challenges when coming into an academic environment. Libraries can play a role in easing those transition challenges. Fort Hays State University is a comprehensive state teaching university. Roughly 6% of the student population, both on-campus and virtual, identifies as a currently serving military member or a veteran. The university as a whole is designated as a Military Friendly School and participates in the Department of Education 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success initiative. Forsyth Library supports these efforts through library-specific initiatives that help military and veteran students connect with academic resources and become acclimated to the academic environment. This paper outlines how Forsyth Library has taken specific steps to address the unique educational needs of military and veteran students, and shares ideas for working with various campus organizations involved in the military and veteran student community.