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This essay uses the reprocessing of the "Luis Alberto Sánchez papers," the collection of a prominent Peruvian politician and author housed at Penn State University, to argue that ethical and reparative processing needs should be prioritized within an archives' overall extensible processing program. The author explores the tension between two differing threads within the archival literature of: (1) using minimal or extensible processing practices to efficiently process backlogs; and (2) of acknowledging the power of archivists in shaping the historical record and their ethical responsibilities towards communities represented within their collections. This essay argues that archivists should prioritize collections where archival practices have perpetuated in obfuscating or marginalizing the records of traditionally underrepresented communities. It also argues that prioritizing this work capitalizes on the inherent flexibility within an extensible processing framework.

The paper mill crisis, which is polluting the scholarly literature with fake papers, has led to record-breaking article retractions and continues to erode trust in science. While publishers and other scholarly publishing stakeholders have mobilized to address this grave threat to research and publishing integrity, action from the library community has been lacking. This article explores the ongoing impact of the paper mill crisis and its causes. It also reviews the steps being taken across the sector to address it. This includes actions taken by publishers, integrity sleuths and organizations like Retraction Watch, NISO and STM. Based on the severity of the crisis and the current response, this article recommends actions libraries can take to help address the crisis and clean up the mess paper mills have made in the scholarly literature. At a time of declining trust and growing threats facing society, it is critical that all scholarly publishing stakeholders, including librarians, help hold the line on publishing integrity and restore trust in science.

To improve customer service, some academic libraries have used a service philosophy statement to foster a shared understanding of service standards. The authors conducted semistructured interviews with heads of public services at academic libraries to understand how the service philosophy statement was used in practice and its impact on staff behavior and service quality. Findings indicated that the statement indeed helped staff cultivate a shared understanding, that public service leaders displayed a macro-level understanding of how a statement influences their service culture, and that there is no agreed-upon model for implementation.

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

The paper examined the challenges of maintenance of paper based archival information materials and strategies for enhancement in academic libraries in South East, Nigeria which doubled as the objectives of the study. Descriptive survey research method was used for the study. The population consisted of 277 library staff in academic libraries of government owned institutions. Questionnaire and structured interview guide was used to collect data which was analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyze data generated for the two research questions while ttest was used for the hypothesis. Real limits of numbers were used to determine the bench mark. The major findings of the study showed the challenges involved in maintenance of archival materials to include inadequate funding and tropical climate that breeds insects. The strategies involved in archival maintenance practices include: recruiting adequate personnel in libraries, provision of maintenance policies, adequate funding of libraries for proper maintenance of archives, proper control of insect by the use of insecticides and adequate training of maintenance personnel. The hypothesis tested revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings between the male and female library staff in respect to strategies for maintenance practices of paper based archival paper materials in the academic libraries. The paper recommended that the library administrators should engage qualified and competent staff on the field of Library and Information Science and ICT to ensure adequate maintenance of archival materials in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed checkout data from hardback and paperback volumes in the BYU library to determine if there was a difference in circulation rates. Based on usage from 2000 through 2020, hardback volumes are no more likely to circulate than paperbacks over that 20 year range, regardless of when the book was added to the collection or its subject (i.e. humanities, sciences, or social sciences). Also, the average number of circulations for these volumes was low enough that damage to a paperback book was unlikely. Given the lower price of paperbacks, academic library budgets may be better served buying paperbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I The Rise of AI: Implications and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Libraries i . I Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Handbook for Academic Libraries i . I Using Technology in the Library Workplace: An Introduction for Support Staff i . I The Disaster Planning Handbook for Libraries i . [Extracted from the article]

In a faculty-focused, or "teach the teachers" (TTT) model of information literacy (IL), librarians would spend a significant portion of their time on faculty development. To support the adoption of this approach, there needs to be evidence that librarians can act effectively as faculty developers and that faculty development (also referred to as academic or educational development) can produce positive changes in teaching practices and student learning. This paper explores the faculty development literature in order to better understand the potential of the faculty-focused model of IL. Two research questions guided the review. What can the literature on the effectiveness of faculty development tell us about the potential of the faculty development approach to IL? Additionally, what insight can the literature on the background, experiences, and identity of faculty developers provide to our understanding of librarians acting as faculty developers? The analysis provides indications that a model of IL instruction focused on faculty could support increased integration of IL into the curriculum, as well as additional evidence that faculty development should be considered a viable role for librarians. However, the review also surfaced concerns about the identity and status of developers and the challenges of assessing faculty development that are relevant to librarians' adoption of the faculty-focused model of IL. By exploring the faculty development literature as part of a consideration of the TTT approach to IL, this paper provides a valuable perspective to the ongoing debates about the future of IL.

An increasingly complex and demanding research landscape has seen university libraries rapidly evolve their services. While research data management, bibliometrics, and research impact services have predominantly featured in the literature to date, the full scope of support libraries are currently providing to their institutions is unknown. This paper aims to present an up-to-date view of the scope and extent of research support services by university libraries across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. A coding process analyzed content data from university library websites. Eleven research support areas were identified. Service delivery is split between synchronous and asynchronous modes. This paper describes a lived experience of an evidence-based library and information practice approach to improving research support services at two Australian university libraries, and while it highlights continued maturation of research support services, more research is needed to better understand influences on service development.

This paper investigates the moderating influence of library size on the relationship between library space attributes and learning satisfaction. Employing a quantitative methodology, a sample of 196 university library users in Ghana was selected to investigate the perceived impact of repurposed library spaces on learning satisfaction. The author conducted an empirical analysis to examine how organizational size (the total number of workers at a particular location) moderates the association between library space attributes (including access and linkages [physical location and proximity to campus resources], usage patterns [highlights the hours when users are most active and displays when a specific app is utilized during the day], sociability [the propensity and corresponding abilities to look for friendship, interact with others, and take part in social activities], and comfort [a state of physically ease and freedom from pain or constraint]) and the learning satisfaction of users. The research, administered through a closed-ended questionnaire, underscored the significant influence of access and linkages, usage patterns, sociability, and the physical environment on users' satisfaction levels. These four library space attributes together accounted for 13.1% of the variance in learning satisfaction, according to a multiple regression study conducted with SPSS version 27. Nevertheless, moderation analysis showed that there was no statistically significant relationship (p = 0.3370) between the characteristics of the library space and learning satisfaction through organizational size. The paper recommends adaptations to library designs to better align with the evolving learning needs of university library users in Ghana. A notable suggestion is the transformation of university libraries into dynamic physical spaces known as "learning commons" on campuses.

This paper is based on the findings of a doctoral study that aimed to examine the role of continuing professional development (CPD) in enhancing digital transformation in selected university libraries in Uganda. One of the ways of effecting digital transformation is to continuously build the technological competencies of the librarians working in academic institutions through attending technology-related CPD. The study adopted a mixed methods approach with a convergent parallel design for collecting qualitative and quantitative data from six universities in Uganda. Quantitative data were collected from 76 librarians with a minimum degree-level qualification from the six selected universities. Qualitative data were obtained from six University Librarians working in these universities. The study findings indicated several challenges hindering librarians from participating in technology-related CPDs such as lack of management support, lack of personal interest, limited funding, and lack of opportunities, among others. The implementation of digital transformation within university libraries in Uganda was also reported to be beset by a lack of competent staff, limited management support, lack of funds, and technological gaps. Therefore, this paper presents a proposed model to address challenges hindering the digital transformation and the participation in technology-related continuing professional development activities within academic libraries. The proposed model is based on the study findings, and it draws from Watkin and Marsick's learning organisation model, andragogy theory, the technology-organisation-environment framework, and extant literature. The model will guide academic libraries in the implementation of a conducive environment to necessitate staff development and implementation of digital transformation.

This paper analyses the role of libraries in the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more specifically, the impact and level of implementation of UNESCO's (2019) OER Recommendation in Higher Education libraries. This study, the result of a joint undertaking between a national R&D project and SPARC Europe, is based on an online survey, disseminated amongst the European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) and uses a descriptive research methodology. The results highlight the implementation actions being taken by university libraries (n = 136) in each of the five areas of action of UNESCO's Recommendation. We find that the main contributions are being made in the areas of capacity building and Open Education policies, but that considerable work has yet to be done in terms of promoting inclusiveness and the sustainability of OER. Thus, the full implementation of UNESCO's recommendation requires a greater commitment on the part of librarians to joint actions undertaken via international networks and projects, as well as greater institutional commitment and the building of interdepartmental alliances.

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 post-observation 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.

Considering the importance of subject retrieval for scientific visibility, and the need to guide authors in self-archiving their papers in institutional repositories of university libraries, this study observed the patterns and strategies used by authors while indexing for keyword assignment. The study examined four categories of analysis: criteria for keyword assignment; use of controlled vocabulary for keyword assignment; understanding of the importance of keywords; and ordering criteria and function of assigned keywords. The study found that, while assigning keywords, authors: consider fundamental concepts for representing significant content of the text; act as domain expert indexers; and are unaware that keyword assignment is an indexing process that requires controlled vocabularies. The research suggests that institutional repositories implement a hybrid information representation and retrieval system to allow for both the representation of more specific subjects of knowledge domains, as well as controlled vocabulary indexing terms.

The purpose of this study was to assess students' satisfaction with the practices and implementation of nonregular education programs (NREPs) with particular regard to Haramaya University (HU), Ethiopia. To achieve the aim of the study, an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design, which initially allows collecting quantitative data and then qualitative data for elaboration on the quantitative data, was used. The study used a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire for quantitative inquiries from 741-students belonging to different centres, and follow-up with 20 interview participants purposefully selected to elaborate those results in more detail. In the quantitative phase, four features were considered as predictors of students' satisfaction with service quality: (a) academic issues, (b) administrative issues, (c) resources/facilities, and (d) assessment and feedback issues. In the qualitative follow-up, the semi-structured interviews outlined three major themes: (a) overall teaching-learning, (b) administrative and management issues, and (c) learning support facilities. The paper used descriptive statistics to interpret the quantitative data and thematic content analysis to interpret the qualitative data. The findings are presented sequentially following the order of the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data presented in the paper. The conclusions and relevant recommendations are also stated at the end of the paper.

This paper aims to determine the satisfaction level of DVM students of Benguet State University with the resources of the Veterinary Medicine Library and their usage of these resources. It also aims to determine students' access to and utilization of scientific papers. A structured survey was adapted to gather data from fifty-seven (57) 2021 graduating DVM students. Data were interpreted using frequency count, percentage, ranking, and mean. The study confirms that the resources of the Veterinary Medicine library fulfill the academic needs of DVM students of Benguet State University. A strong need to enhance Internet connectivity in the library was also reflected in the results. Moreover, results show that students tend to read scientific papers for the reason that they are being required. The students' self-assessment result positioned themselves neutral when asked regarding their ability to interpret data from scientific papers and whether they find it easy to read scientific papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatbots have experienced significant growth over the past decade, with a proliferation of new applications across various domains. Previous studies also demonstrate the trend of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, being adopted in libraries. The purpose of this study is to determine the current research priorities and findings in the field of chatbots in libraries. A systematic literature review was performed utilising the PRISMA checklist and the databases Scopus and Web of Science, identifying 5734 records. Upon conducting the first screening, abstract screening, full-text assessment, and quality assessments guided by the CASP appraisal checklist, 19 papers were deemed suitable for inclusion in the review. The results of the review indicate that the majority of the existing studies were empirical in nature (primarily adopting qualitative methods) and technology reviews with a focus on reviewing the implementation and maintenance, design, evaluation, characteristics, and application of chatbots. The chatbots of interest were mainly text-based and guided chatbots, with closed-source tools with access portals mostly built on library web pages or integrated with social software. The research findings primarily concerned the development models and necessary tools and technologies, the application of chatbots in libraries. Our systematic review also suggests that studies on chatbots in libraries are still in the early stages. [This paper was presented at the 2023 Libraries in the Digital Age (LIDA) International Conference (Osijek, Croatia, May 24-26, 2023).]

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]

Comics and cartoons are valued in twenty-first century popular culture and are increasingly used as 'Applied Comics' to help communicate key messages and information in society. However, there is less evidence of cartoons and comics being used to communicate with and engage library users in learning, information literacy (IL) and research support. This paper explores case studies of how several different projects have utilised comics as a medium to deliver key messages about library services to support teaching and research at Cambridge University Libraries. The paper examines the use of comics and cartoons in a library context framed in a theory of comics and visual learning. The reception and output of the comics and cartoons with different audiences at Cambridge University Libraries is explored and the paper proposes that further research could be done to examine the potential of comics in communication and IL.

This study examined the use of past examination question papers (PEQPs) among students and their overall recall rate during examinations. It employed the descriptive survey research design and used all the 255 undergraduate students who visit the library in Private Universities such as Novena University Library Ogume, Western Delta University, Oghara, Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Library, Agbrha -Otor James Hope University, Edwin Clak University Library, Kaigbodo; Sports University, Library Idumuje, Ugboko, Margaret Lawrence University, Umunede Library, and Admirality University of Nigeria, Library Ibusa Ugwashi-Uku for PEQPs. Data for the study were collected in two phases over a period of two academic semesters with the first phase focusing on respondents' collection of PEQPs, and the second phase requiring them to complete a questionnaire designed to elicit information on why they use PEQPs, what they gain and the overall outcome of their reliance on same. The study found that fresher rely more on (PEQPs), and most students use PEQPs as study guides as against pretesting themselves before an examination, the respondents do not see reliance on PEQPs as a major factor leading to improved academic performance of undergraduate students and this affects their perception of the effect PEQPs on their overall academic outcome. The study therefore concludes that as important as PEQPs usage seems to be, improper usage of same could be detrimental to the undergraduate users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares the results of semi-structured interviews with 30 community college librarians who have instruction duties. The interviews explored these librarians' perceptions of students' information literacy (IL) strengths and weaknesses as well as their views of students' self-perceptions. Participants believe that students are confident in their ability to find information and are proficient in using technology to find information. Participants consider students' overconfidence to be an IL weakness along with: not understanding the research process; being overwhelmed by information; and, in some cases, having poor reading comprehension skills. Views are mixed as to whether students' IL skills vary based on their program of study.

This paper introduces a Patron Counting and Analysis (PCA) system that leverages Wi-Fi-connection data to monitor space utilization and analyze visitor patterns in academic libraries. The PCA system offers real-time crowding information to the public and a comprehensive visitor analysis dashboard for library administrators. The system's development was driven by the need for occupancy restrictions during the pandemic, ensuring a spacious environment for library visitors as well as balancing between efficient utilization and adhering to social distancing regulations. Traditional methods of patron behavior performance and library spatial analysis, such as manual head counting or card-swiping systems, often incur additional costs for labor, hardware installation, or software subscription. The PCA system, however, utilizes existing Wi-Fi-connection data, providing a cost-effective solution to represent patron demographics and spatial usage. Limitations may arise when patrons do not carry Wi-Fi-enabled devices or during periods of low Wi-Fi service functionality. Implemented in Node.js and integrated with Python Flask framework and related libraries, the PCA system was piloted at the King Library in Miami University, successfully demonstrating a high validity compared to manually collected data. It filters out noise and redundancy, visualizes the occupancy index meter in real time, and generates statistical reports by linking user IDs with demographic information. The PCA system's reliability was validated through manually head counting data collected at the King Library in Miami University, establishing it as a reliable tool for library space management and patron analysis.

Estimates of the price or value of the individual journals within a full-text database may be useful to librarians engaged in serials reviews or other collection development projects, to scholars investigating the determinants of journal prices, and to publishers seeking to rationalize their pricing strategies. This paper evaluates six methods of apportioning the cost of a full-text database among the individual journals in the database--methods based on variables such as journal size, total citations, Journal Impact Factor (JIF) percentile, and single-journal list price. Each method is evaluated based on how well the resulting prices can be predicted by the determinants of journal prices identified in previous research. Although the six methods yield similar results, the single best option is to use price estimates that account for JIF percentile. If citation data are not available and cannot be estimated, the best alternative is to rely on the equal-value assumption--to split the total price equally among the wanted journals in the database.

Academic libraries are experiencing drastic changes due to unprecedented advancements in technology. This advancement has caused changes in users' information-seeking behavior, increased information competitors, and easy access and availability to free information on the internet. It is unfortunate that all this is happening amidst the dwindling financial support libraries receive from their parent organization. These variations, such as the digital shift and remote access, changing user expectations, open access movement, the need for data management and preservation models are causing havoc and disruption to academic libraries; therefore, academic libraries need to justify their position and relevancy. This paper discusses the conundrum academic libraries face and suggests why and how they should adopt entrepreneurial practices.

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.