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Librarians within the Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) annually publish conference papers for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The existing ASEE rubric was not sufficient for our members, so we developed a new rubric as a charged committee for this task. We briefly discuss the sparse literature in this area, focusing on the use of rubrics and the rationale behind them. Due to this lack of literature, our committee primarily utilized additional sources such as rubrics found from other professional organizations in STEM and library fields. Our rubric is designed to encourage substantive feedback and growth of authors during the process, while clarifying the expectations for submissions. This rubric consists of overall guidance and specific needs, with flexibility for the different research methods and applications expected (i.e. work-in-progress/completed research, quantitative/qualitative, etc.). We implemented this rubric successfully for the 2021 conference cycle, but will further refine it as needed, based on feedback following future conferences. With scarce literature on conference peer review, we hope by sharing our work, others may also consider and improve their organizations' processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated the perceived role of digital theological library and term paper counselling in undergraduate religious education students' academic success in the federal universities in southeast Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A structured questionnaire developed by the researchers was used for data collection. 166 undergraduate religious education students were chosen as respondents in this research. The results showed that items on the perceived role of digital theological library and term paper counselling were all accepted by the students as means of achieving academic success. There was a significant difference in the perceived role of the digital theological library in achieving academic success among religious education students by the university. There was a significant difference in the perceived role of term paper counselling in achieving academic success among religious education students based on university. There was also a significant difference in the perceived role of university librarians in achieving academic success among religious education students based on university. The researchers noted that these findings have implications for university librarians across the universities and it was recommended that the use of digital theological libraries for academic purposes and term paper counselling should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pregled is the property of University of Sarajevo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The University of California, Irvine's (UCI) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Librarian partnered with UCI's New Venture Competition to provide embedded research support for teams participating in the competition, including a research workshop and individual team research consultations. To assess the impact of these library services, a quantitative study of three years of competition scores was conducted involving a control group and two experimental groups; the difference in the experimental groups was the mode in which the services were provided: in-person and virtually. The study hypothesized that teams who received information literacy training (i.e., attended a research workshop and/or participated in a research consultation) earned higher Concept Paper scores, as well as higher evidence question scores (i.e., scores for a rubric question related to providing evidence in support of claims made in the Concept Paper), than teams who did not receive information literacy training. Statistical analysis showed significant increases in both Concept Paper scores and evidence question scores for both experimental groups when compared to the control group, indicating that information literacy training positively impacted teams' performance. Additional analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in teams' scores based on training delivery mode, in-person or virtual. The results are of value to librarians seeking to initiate partnerships with entrepreneurship competitions on campus, as well as entrepreneurship educators interested in enhancing existing entrepreneurship competitions by incorporating research and information literacy training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Universities Initiative (EUI) was established in 2017. Its aim is to strengthen strategic partnerships between higher education institutions across the EU by building networks of universities. At the end of 2023, there were already 50 European University Alliances gathering 430 higher education (HE) institutions. In each of these Alliances, academic libraries are members, too. These libraries are already involved in intra-alliance projects, and these alliances will probably happen more often due to the EU's project-driven approach. This practice paper is, to the authors' knowledge, the first attempt to describe another challenge that European academic libraries currently face i.e., project management practice. The alliance partner universities operate under distinct national laws and institutional practices, making it challenging to easily align them for effective cross-university collaborations. Familiarity with the theoretical principles of EU project management and project management methodology greatly facilitates the preparation of the proposal and the work of the project. It also allows more effective management of the project as a whole or its individual parts. This paper maps the challenges that work in international projects brings and provides suggestions on how EUI libraries can utilize project management techniques, while also aiming at showing the paths to facilitate cooperation. Drawing from an analysis of the literature on project management that might apply in library-led projects to strengthen communities of purpose, the paper is based on the example of the work experience on the project TRAIN4EU, that was co-led by the academic librarians from the University of Warsaw Library, Poland, and run by 4EU + universities. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations based on TRAIN4EU practices, lessons learned, as well as pitfalls to avoid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents findings from a study into the attitudes and practices of pandemic‐era early career researchers (ECRs) in regard to obtaining access to the formally published scholarly literature, which focused on alternative providers, notably ResearchGate and Sci‐Hub. The study is a part of the Harbingers project that has been exploring the work lives and scholarly communication practices of ECRs in pre‐pandemic times and during the pandemic, and utilizes data from two rounds of interviews with around 170 ECRs from the sciences and social sciences in eight countries. Findings show that alternative providers, as represented by ResearchGate and Sci‐Hub, have become established and appear to be gaining ground. However, there are considerable country‐ and discipline‐associated differences. ECRs' country‐specific level of usage of the alternative providers is partly traceable to the adequacy of library provisions, although there are other factors at play in shaping ECRs' attitudes and practices, most notably convenience and time saving, as well as the fact that these platforms have become embedded in the scholarly dashboard. There is a dearth of evidence of the impact of the pandemic on ECRs' ways of obtaining scholarly papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the College Libraries Information Network (COLINET) Biennial Symposium, which is the longest-running academic librarian research-based symposium in Jamaica. The symposium, held under the theme "Resilient Libraries: Repositioning, Pivoting, Teaching and Learning," provided a platform for library and information professionals to network and discuss practices and training. This special issue of the Journal of Arts, Science and Technology (JAST) features selected papers from the symposium, covering topics such as repositioning libraries within institutions, teaching and learning, pivoting library services, and coping with challenging times. The papers highlight the research and practice of academic librarians in Jamaica, particularly their response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article expresses gratitude to the organizers, sponsors, and editorial board for their support in making the symposium and special issue possible. [Extracted from the article]

This paper aims to determine the impact of knowledge creation and sharing on use by librarians in federal universities in Nigeria. The study adopted the survey method of the correlation type, where 518 librarians were surveyed through a close-ended questionnaire, descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses. Findings indicate that significant relationships exist between knowledge creation and knowledge sharing (r=0.52), knowledge sharing and knowledge use (r=0.63) and knowledge creation and knowledge use (r=0.52), respectively. Knowledge created and shared by the librarians is used for better work performance. The paper adds value to the existing body of knowledge by proposing the need to understand the importance of knowledge creation and sharing as facilitators of knowledge use by librarians. This will, in turn, enhance service delivery to library patrons, thereby improving library patronage. This paper is limited to knowledge creation and sharing and its impact on knowledge use. Types of knowledge created and channels through which knowledge is shared are outside the focus of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Digital Humanities uses computational technologies and methods mainly to assist in humanities research. Digital Humanities projects often involve the use of archival collections, information/knowledge organisation and the utilisation of emerging technologies. Traditionally, libraries have played an essential role in teaching and learning, aiding students in information literacy and ensuring that faculty has full and easy access to materials. This paper proposes that the academic library must expand its reach in research, particularly regarding the Humanities. As libraries position themselves within an ever-changing paradigm, the questions emerge: How do they utilise the lessons and principles of Digital Humanities to augment, modify and enhance strategies and processes as they impact research within universities? What are the tools needed to implement Digital Humanities? What are the methods for implementation? What are the key benefits of Digital Humanities to the academic library? Additionally, this paper will explore how the academic library in the Caribbean can partner with faculty members in facilitating their research beyond locating needed resources and act as partners in the process. It will propose the creation of a Digital Humanities program outlining the steps involved, the benefits to be accrued from such a program, and the inevitable challenges involved and how best they can be overcome. Two things are evident and will be discussed at length, that the role of the academic library cannot remain static, and that Digital Humanities is one way to ensure that the necessary changes occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of the study is to investigate the application of online platforms by professional librarians for research visibility in Nigeria universities. Design/methodology/approach - The study adopted online survey method. Questionnaire was designed to collect data from respondents using Google form. Data was collected from 367 academic librarians both practicing and lecturing in 28 universities in Nigeria. Findings - The study revealed that majority of the academic librarians have created profile on Google Scholar and also joined ResearchGate network. While, the platforms with the least profiles are Scopus and ORCID. Majority of the academic librarians agree that creating profile in the online platforms raises the profile of the author's institution, brings recognition to the author, influences author's institution ranking, increases readership of the paper (s), make articles reach greater audience, and attracts possible research funding. It also emerged that no institutional e-mail, no google e-mail, some academics not interested, don't know how to create profile on these platforms, no motivation from the institution, too busy to create my profile, and network challenges are some of the drawbacks associated with creating profile in the online platforms. The qualitative analysis revealed that publishing in open access, creating google scholar profile, and joining researchgate network, and publishing in journals that are indexed and abstracted were the popular ways to increase the visibility of one's paper. Research implications - This study will inform and educate scholars in the universities to see the need to register their presence on the web through creating profiles and linking their publications in these platforms. These platforms will no doubt enhance the academic evaluation and give additional weight to publications that are accessible globally. Originality/value - The study reported the extent academic librarians in Nigeria have created profiles on the research visibility platforms such as Google scholar, SCOPUS, researchgate, and ORCID. The findings will inform policy makers, administrators and academic staff to understand how the universities are performing in terms of scholarly activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the importance of involving academic librarians in the development of ethical AI policies. The Academic Librarian Framework for Ethical AI Policy Development (ALF Framework) is introduced, recognizing librarians' unique skills and expertise. The paper discusses the benefits of their involvement, including expertise in information ethics and privacy, practical experience with AI tools, and collaborations. It also addresses challenges, such as limited awareness, institutional resistance, resource constraints, interdisciplinary collaboration, and evolving AI technologies, offering practical solutions. By actively involving librarians, institutions can develop comprehensive and ethical AI policies that prioritize social responsibility and respect for human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the techniques for designing and managing the bibliographical database by using the Windows-based ISIS (WINISIS) library software package and specified the brief description of steps taken to create a database of all bibliographic materials as well as features of WINSIS are taken into consideration. The purpose of the paper is to be acquainted college librarians with the distinctive features of the Windows-based ISIS because Microsoft Windows is described as a graphical user environment, which gives the user more control over the work as well as enables the user to use more of the power of the computer. The author has applied practical methods to put forth the techniques for designing and managing the bibliographical database of Doctoral Theses by using WINISIS software package. The author has attempted to find out various aspects to describe the features of the various modules of Windows-based ISIS (WINSIS) library software which would be valuable for those college librarians who faced the crunch of budget and are distressed to manage databases, especially those colleges are situated in rural and tribal areas of India. This paper is originally based on the dissertation made by the author in Degree of Master of Philosophy which is recognized and essential in the research purview of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to investigate the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design. Online questionnaire, IRs investigation, and interview methods were used to collect data from the 21 university libraries that have developed IRs in Nigeria. The study revealed that only few universities have successfully developed open access IRs to preserve and manage their intellectual outputs emanating from their universities. Contents such as journal articles, theses/dissertations, and conference / workshop papers were found to be the most popular contents that are hosted in the IRs. The interview revealed that although few respondents mentioned having IR policy statements in areas such as access policy, submission policy, preservation policy, content policy and copyright policy, the majority mentioned not having any defined policy in their IR. Also in the interview, inadequate fund, challenge of collecting contents for the IR, shortage of skilled ICT personnel, and inadequate facilities were the most mentioned challenges encountered in the development of IRs in Nigeria. Findings from this study will inform University Librarians, university management and policy makers on the need to provide the necessary infrastructure and formulate policies for smooth development of institutional repositories to make research visible globally. The results will therefore provide important data and insight into the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in the context of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely access to guideline-recommended cancer treatment is known to be an indicator of the quality and accessibility of a cancer care system. Yet people who are socially disadvantaged experience inequities in access to cancer treatment that have significant impacts on cancer outcomes and quality of life. Among people experiencing the intersecting impacts of poor access to the social determinants of health and personal identities typically marginalized from society ('social disadvantage'), there are significant barriers to accessing cancer, many of which compound one another, making cancer treatment extremely difficult to access. Although some research has focused on barriers to accessing cancer treatment among people who are socially disadvantaged, it is not entirely clear what, if anything, is being done to mitigate these barriers and improve access to care. Increasingly, there is a need to design cancer treatment services and models of care that are flexible, tailored to meet the needs of patients, and innovative in reaching out to socially disadvantaged groups. In this paper, we report the protocol for a planned scoping review which aims to answer the following question: What services, models of care, or interventions have been developed to improve access to or receipt of cancer treatment for adults who are socially disadvantaged? Based on the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley, this scoping review is planned in six iterative stages. A comprehensive search strategy will be developed by an academic librarian. OVID Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL (using EBSCOhost) and Scopus will be searched for peer-reviewed published literature; advanced searches in Google will be done to identify relevant online grey literature reports. Descriptive and thematic analysis methods will be used to analyze extracted data. Findings will provide a better understanding of the range and nature of strategies developed to mitigate barriers to accessing cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nursing home residents often have life limiting illnesses in combination with multiple comorbidities, cognitive deficits, and frailty. Due to these complex characteristics, a high proportion of nursing home residents require palliative care. However, many do not receive palliative care relative to this need resulting in unmet care needs. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no literature reviews to synthesise the evidence on how nursing home staff identify unmet palliative care needs and to determine what guidelines, policies, and frameworks on identifying unmet palliative care needs of nursing home residents are available. Aim: The aim of this scoping review is to map and summarise the evidence on identifying unmet palliative care needs of residents in nursing homes. Methods: This scoping review will be guided by the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The search will be conducted in CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, APA PsycINFO, and APA PsycArticles. A search of grey literature will also be conducted in databases such as CareSearch, Trip, GuidelineCentral, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence website. The search strategy will be developed in conjunction with an academic librarian. Piloting of the screening process will be conducted to ensure agreement among the team on the eligibility criteria. Covidence software will be used to facilitate deduplication, screening, and blind reviewing. Four reviewers will conduct title and abstract screening. Six reviewers will conduct full text screening. Any conflicts will be resolved by a reviewer not involved in the conflict. One reviewer will conduct data extraction using pre-established data extraction tables. Results will be synthesised, and a narrative synthesis will be used to illustrate the findings of this review. Data will be presented visually using tables, figures, and word clouds, as appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The advancement of technology has brought much uncertainty in the access and utilization of information resources in academic libraries. This research sought to determine the extent to which academic libraries in Kenya engage in innovation and use innovative strategies. In addition, this study aims to identify the specific innovation practices and strategies used by these libraries to ensure they effectively address users' information needs and remain relevant within the Kenyan context. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a qualitative research design. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews that targeted key personnel in the academic library system, including the university librarian, the circulation librarian and the digital/systems librarian. In total, 21 respondents were interviewed in this study. Additional data was gathered by examining primary documents such as academic library policies, university websites and library brochures, among other sources. The study used purposive sampling techniques to select the population sample and the theoretical saturation to determine the sample size. Findings: The study revealed a pressing need for change in the academic library landscape in Kenya. It established that the concept of innovation and innovation strategies is still new in academic libraries in Kenya, and libraries are still confined to traditional and routine duties. There is a lack of appropriate strategies for enhancing innovation practices/strategies in academic libraries. The paper, therefore, strongly recommends the reorganization of academic libraries in Kenya. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is the first to analyze innovation strategies and practices in academic libraries in Kenya. This study sheds light on the puzzles facing most academic libraries in Kenya regarding innovation and innovation strategies. It introduces the importance of academic libraries to embrace innovation as a strategy to avoid disruptive innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was carried out to investigate research visibility of academic librarians in Imo State: factors, strategies, and challenges. The study was guided by 5 research objectives. The researchers adopted descriptive research survey. The population of the study comprised of 155 academic librarians in 9 institutions of higher learning in Imo State. Both online and face to face questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Out of 155 copies of questionnaire distributed in both soft and hardcopies, 133 responses were received. The outcome of the study showed that the number of peer reviewed publications, citation for journal publications, journal impact factors, frequency of citation, increased visibility via open access, and journal location are the factors considered by the librarians in choosing where to publish their papers as all the items showed positive means above the criterion mean of 2.50. Again, researchgate, academia, LinkedIn, Mendeley, blog, tweeter and Google scholar are the academic social networking platforms used by the librarians in sharing academic publications. Furthermore, the opportunity for feedback, collaboration, research reputation, job opportunities, promotion and career advancement are the benefits of research visibility to librarians. In the same vein, paper presentation at conferences, collaboration with other authors, public lectures, publishing on widely read journals, maintaining online identity and tracking scholarly impact metrics are the strategies for enhancing research visibility of the librarians. Finally, lack of computer literacy, cost implications of paper publications, lack of awareness of social networking platforms, non-accessibility to other people's work, inability to track impact metrics, inability to manage online identity as well as lack of registered institutional e-mail were seen as challenges facing research visibility of the librarians. The study concludes that every librarian should strive to be visible, and the researchers recommended that all librarians should identify with all the social networking platforms and publish in widely read journals to track their online identity metrics for easy visibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the perceptions of Spanish academic libraries regarding Open Science (OS). OS is irrupting into academia and academic librarians need to support researchers. On the other side, researchers need to be ready to change their scientific behaviour in relation to publications and research data. We conducted a focus group with 8 academic librarians. We also sent a survey to (N = 67) academic libraries, obtaining a response rate of 71.6%. In the survey, we asked for drivers and constraints for OS services as well as for any training taking place. Our results show that facilitators are the system relationships (SD = 4.74) and internal promotion of systems relationships (SD = 4.54). In relation to the level of knowledge of OS, both researchers (SD = 3.27) and librarians have a high level in terms of the OA area (SD = 4.15) but little development of the rest of the components of OS. On the other hand, in relation to training librarians, results indicated that OA (SD = 4.79), Open Data (SD = 4.79) and new evaluation models (SD = 4.79) should be part of the training for researchers. The results of the focus group reinforce some of the indicators mentioned. We conclude that academic libraries may train researchers in OS through the acquisition of new skills and trainers-training and with the strategic support of the university. We argue that academic incentives and a change in research accreditation are also needed to shift researchers' perceptions in relation to OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The goal of this paper is to gain a deeper insight into the phenomenon of providing assistance to students in the information seeking process from the perspective of students as library users who turn to librarians for help when performing tasks related to their coursework. Approach/Methodology. The paper presents the results of research conducted using the method of semi-structured interviews with twenty undergraduate and graduate students from fi ve Croatian universities. The focus is on the phenomenon of assistance in information seeking observed from a students' perspective, primarily using phenomenography as the research approach. Research also emphasises students' perspective on the importance of the information seeking process, their expectations of librarian assistance and diffi culties they encounter during the process. Authors use the results to create a context important for understanding the phenomenon. Results. The research results show that students recognize the importance of the information seeking process and believe that it helps them acquire new knowledge and skills. They expect a wide range of assistance from librarians - from help related to sources (referring to sources and relevant works) to help related to the information seeking process itself (teaching and advising). Students experience the help of librarians as: (1) support in seeking, (2) discovery of (useful) works, (3) "instant" help in seeking and (4) facilitation of seeking. The paper, after reviewing theoretical foundations, presents the obtained categories of student perceptions and experiences. Practical implications. Presented results can help librarians to understand and provide assistance to students in the information seeking process, as well as in planning the development of information services in university and other higher education libraries.....Originality/Value. This research provides insight into students' perceptions and expectations of librarian assistance in the information seeking process and how they experience such assistance, which has not yet been conducted in the context of Croatian higher education and university libraries. The categories obtained from this research open up space for further study of students' perspectives on the phenomenon of librarian assistance in the context of the information seeking process and, more generally, on services providing assistance to students in the information seeking process as part of the academic educational process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles on the topics including examine how experienced and apprentice weavers engage with information to make hand-woven materials; and librarians understand the faculty developer context to ensure that models such as Teach the Trainer/.

Information technology has influenced scholarly communication and how higher education institutions assess research impact. This has extended the role that the academic library plays in supporting researchers in the research life cycle. These global trends have impacted academic libraries in Africa too, albeit to different extents. This paper reports from the literature and empirical findings of a single aspect of a wider study on research impact assessment that enquired into best practices for assessing research impact in higher education institutions in Africa and the evolving role of academic libraries in support of research impact assessment. The paper draws from a qualitative aspect of the wider mixed-methods study informed by research impact theory, and specifically findings from semistructured interviews with relevant stakeholders such as academic librarians, university research office personnel, and African research council managers. The paper concludes that librarians traditionally have been well placed to play a pivotal role in research impact assessment due to their professional competencies. Academic libraries will continue to evolve and in doing so play a significant role in the research life cycle of higher education knowledge systems. African academic libraries need to contextualize research impact assessment such that it speaks to the research needs of African contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Academic Library & Information Science is the property of Anhui University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper examined the emergence and important role of blended librarianship as a fulcrum of relevance for librarians in Nigerian universities. It x-rayed the global trends in blended librarianship vis-à-vis the Nigerian situation. Furthermore, the study considered perceived challenges libraries may be confronted with in deploying relevant ICT infrastructure geared towards transitioning from traditional to hybrid services provision for the successful implementation of blended librarianship. The paper recommended the design and implementation of an appropriate framework for the development of ICTs in Nigerian universities, urgency in the acquisition of new skill sets by academic librarians in Nigeria, while also calling on relevant stakeholders to review the current curricula of Nigerian library schools to reflect current realities in the work place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physicists in academic institutions utilize a variety of resources and strategies to seek, find, and use scholarly information and news. Using a sample of physicists, researchers surveyed 182 students and faculty at seven Canadian university institutions to explore self-perceived success rates, resources consulted, databases used, and use of social media and citation management systems. To complement the survey, 11 follow up interviews/focus groups were completed with participants to further uncover information-seeking behaviors, choices, strategies, and feelings around keeping up to date with information needs. According to survey results, a minority of physicists (15.4%) acknowledged that they were successfully keeping up to date. However, a significant number of physicists (28.6%) indicated that they were unsuccessful and could do better in remaining current with information needs. Co-investigators, using qualitative analyses, identified four emergent themes: (1) There are "too many papers – and not enough time" to effectively search, evaluate and read scholarly papers of interest; (2) Staying up to date is important especially in competitive research areas; (3) Graduate students seek information differently than faculty and experienced researchers; and (4) The arXiv database is important to many physicists. Additional minor themes included physics-related publishing is constantly evolving; physicists use a variety of information-seeking behaviors; and, information-seeking methods can differ between physics subdisciplines. This study aims to shed light on opportunities for academic librarians to identify and meet physicists' evolving information behaviors, attitudes, choices, and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small branch of a large academic library is in the process of relocating from one area of campus to another. Although the new space is drastically smaller than what they currently have, the librarian wishes to build upon the small maker area that was recently created for the relaxation and enjoyment of patrons. With the SCAFFOLD makerspace design framework, this new area will be created using the latest research in making and learning, keeping inclusivity at the forefront of all activities. This paper describes the current maker area, what the plans are for the new space, and how that space will be designed using this new SCAFFOLD method. It is hoped that this project can be replicated by any academic librarian wishing to add a small yet useful makerspace while staying within their budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a snapshot of United States academic libraries in 2020 and explores longitudinal trends in staffing and expenditures for 1996 to 2020. The authors merged and analyzed academic library data from the National Center for Education Statistics from over 4,000 postsecondary institutions. Characteristics are explored by region and maps are provided. Total inflation-adjusted library expenditures have increased steadily for all regions from 1996 to 2020, including in the two major expenditure categories of staffing and collections. In the Northeast and West, averages are markedly higher in staffing and total expenditures than the other two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians are concerned about patron privacy and the confidentiality of library records. Many libraries also have other types of sensitive or restricted data. One of the biggest risks to the data a library maintains is a cyberattack. These attacks can be of many different types but one of the most common and impactful is a ransomware attack. This paper looks at the issue of cybersecurity in libraries and offers some recommendations of steps librarians can take in order to better protect their libraries from the risk of a cyberattack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates that a library instruction observation instrument can effectively foster critical self-reflection among academic library faculty and staff on their teaching practices. The paper outlines the instrument's design, which gathers low inference observations on instructors' use of questioning as a pedagogical strategy based on recommendations from the LIS and education literature. To test and refine the instrument's design, the instructors' utilised the instrument to collect data from classes taught by five participating instructors, who, during postobservation interviews, engaged in thoughtful reflections on their class planning, student participation, and teaching philosophy. They also provided valuable critiques of the usefulness of the instrument. Through analysing the observee reflections and the data from the observation instrument, this study aims to provide academic libraries with a method to incorporate an observation instrument in a peer observation program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is titled adoption of alternative funding sources for Nigerian Academic Libraries outside Government Sources in the Post-Recession Economy. The paper dwelt on alternative funding of academic libraries in Nigeria and why it has become imperative in the post-recession economy of Nigeria. It has been reported in this paper that funding allocation to tertiary education and particularly academic libraries in Nigeria as a result of economic recession has been notoriously weak. This paper highlighted key funding alternative sources that can bring out the academic libraries in Nigeria from the wood, these include: call for library grants, call for alumni intervention, donations from philanthropists, gifts and fundraising and so on. The paper also stressed the reasons why it is important for library schools in Nigeria to encourage grant proposal writing to training librarians. In conclusion, this paper is going to be an eye opener in generating fund for the survival of academic libraries for practicing librarians in academic libraries in Nigeria and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries are meant to acquire, provide and disseminate information resources to satisfy their patron's information needs. A potent means in which librarians in academic libraries can optimize for their work and services as well as maintain their relevance is through social media. The purpose of this paper is to expose library and information personnel in academic libraries to the effective utilization of social media as an effective tool for re-defining and transforming academic library services in the 21st century. The specific objectives are to identify the types of social media used for effective library service provision in academic libraries, to identify the roles of social media in libraries, to identify the skills needed by librarians to effectively sustain library services through social media, to identify the major challenges associated with social media as a tool for service delivery and to develop strategies for effective adoption and utilization of social media as a tool for library service delivery. The methodology adopted is content analysis. The study was done by related literature review in which related articles on social media in academic libraries were analyzed. Hence, the study reviewed and analyzed the content of 21 articles in which topical issues based on this paper were addressed. The study revealed that social media are powerful tools that can enhance and promote library services. To be able to stay relevant in the socially networked environment and meet the growing needs of its patrons in the 21st century, it has become imperative for academic libraries to explore and adopt social media, which has become a library technology that has the capacity to expand the frontiers of library service delivery as well as to reach the hitherto unreached categories of patrons. The study recommended that academic libraries personnel should efficiently explore and adopt various social media platforms that are suitable for their community so as to grow the visibility and social media presence of their libraries and as well, reach out to every member of their community. Furthermore, adequate budgetary provision for the purchase and maintenance of technologies and facilities to effectively drive the social media implementation for service delivery is imperative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeing how the changes and restrictions of professional activity brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t essentially altered the librarian role, but rather the manner in which their professional mission is executed, this paper questions the role of academic librarians in the educational process of the faculty units in Sarajevo during the pandemic. The research encompasses a survey based on the sample of 30 fully-fledged faculty member libraries of the University of Sarajevo whose results, along with the theoretical foundations of the research subject, will serve the purpose of providing a hypothesis verification, as well as strategic recommendations. Keeping in mind the professional task of librarians as a support to the learning process and research, this paper begins with the hypothesis that the librarians of the University of Sarajevo organizational units are not involved enough in the process of teaching, learning, creating or the posting of educational material on the open educational resource (OER) platforms.The importance of these results lies in the better understanding of the possibilities which academic librarians (due to their emphasized role in the process of research and scientific work in relation to primary and high school libraries, whose funds mainly consist of obligatory textbook literature or required reading editions) can provide and improve upon when it comes to the question of professional responsibility in the pandemic learning conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in Africa. An online questionnaire and institutional repository site investigation methods were used to collect data from 134 university libraries in English-speaking countries in Africa. The study finds that there is an increasing wave of development of institutional repositories in English-speaking countries in Africa. The majority of the institutional repositories contain high numbers of theses and dissertations, followed by journal articles and conference and workshop papers. The challenges that are identified include inadequate facilities, unstable Internet connectivity, a lack of funds, an irregular power supply, collecting material for institutional repositories, a lack of skilled information and communications technology personnel, copyright issues and an absence of institutional repository policies. The results from the study provide important data and insight into the development of institutional repositories in university libraries in the context of developing countries, and offer suggestions for university librarians and management teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In diesem Artikel soll gezeigt werden, dass Bibliothekar*innen heutzutage ein verlässliches Instrument in der Hand haben, um auf einen Blick den „Marktwert" eines in Buchform publizierten wissenschaftlichen Gesamtwerkes einzuschätzen. Dieses hier diskutierte und getestete Instrument ist „WorldCat Identities", ein frei zugängliches bibliometrisches Instrument von OCLC WorldCat, das heute in der szientometrischen und bibliometrischen Literatur schon als geeignete Messskala für den Einfluss eines Gesamtwerkes benutzt wird. Gerade für die Geisteswissenschaften und die kontinentaleuropäischen Sozialwissenschaften, wo Zeitschriftenaufsätze noch nicht jene überragende Rolle in der Einschätzung einer wissenschaftlichen Leistung spielen, bietet dieses System ungeahnte und für die Bibliothekswissenschaft strategische Möglichkeiten, sich bei der Objektivierung der Beurteilung der Bedeutung eines Gesamtwerkes einzubringen. Der Beitrag stellt allgemeine Aspekte des Systems „WorldCat Identities" vor und diskutiert anschließend die Anwendung in der Politikwissenschaft. Grundlage ist ein Sample von über 100 habilitierten österreichischen Politikwissenschaftler*innen und Preisträger*innen des Skytte-Preises. The article argues that librarians today have a reliable tool at hand to assess the "market value" of a body of scholarly work published in book form at one glance. "WorldCat Identities" is a freely available bibliometric tool under OCLC WorldCat already used for scientometric and bibliometric literature as an apt instrument to measure the global influence of complete works. Humanities and continental European social sciences, where journal papers do not (yet) play a major role in assessing the academic performance and achievement of researchers, could particularly benefit from this system, which, from the perspective of library science also offers an amazing strategic opportunity to get involved in assessing the importance of a body of work more objectively. The paper introduces general aspects of the "WorldCat Identities" system and discusses its application in political science contexts, based on a sample of more than 100 habilitated Austrian political scientists and laureates of the Skytte Prize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expounds the application and perceived impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic libraries in Nigeria. Libraries especially in developing countries may become moribund in the 21 century unless they begin to harness new, smart and intelligent technologies for improved operations and service delivery. This research adopted a literature-based approach to x-ray the applications and perceived impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic libraries in Nigeria. Through a systematic analysis and review of literature, the study brought to limelight the current state of AI integration in academic libraries in Nigeria and its possible impact on library services, collections, users, professionals and general library operations and services. The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic libraries has the potential to revolutionize library operations and services. Some of the identifies AI tools include: Natural Language Recognition, Robotics, Big Data, Data Mining, Chatbot, Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition and Expert system. Findings from the study revealed that the application of AI in academic libraries have the potentials to increases productivity, improved customer satisfaction through personalization, easy availability and accessibility of information, easy collaboration and knowledge sharing, virtual assistance and chatbots, and ultimately increase overall operational effectiveness. This paper also explored some of the challenges associated with the application of AI technologies in academic libraries in Nigeria such as poor ICT skills and technical expertise, high initial costs of implementation, phobia for job displacement, epileptic power supply, poor maintenance culture, resistance to change, poor network connectivity, privacy and ethical implications, etc. To maximize the potential benefits of AI applications in academic libraries in Nigeria, it is crucial for these libraries to implement appropriate planning, guidelines and regulations on AI use as well as training and retraining of academic librarians to acquire the required ICT skills, knowledge and competence in order to adapt in the present digital and changing library environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]