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Institutional discovery environments now serve as central resource databases for researchers in the academic environment. Over the last several decades, there have been numerous discovery layer research inquiries centering primarily on user satisfaction measures of discovery system effectiveness. This study focuses on the creation of a largely automated method for evaluating discovery layer quality, utilizing the bibliographic sources from student research projects. Building on past research, the current study replaces a semiautomated Excel Fuzzy Lookup Add-In process with a fully scripted R-based approach, which employs the stringdist R package and applies the Jaro-Winkler distance metric as the matching evaluator. The researchers consider the error rate incurred by relying solely on an automated matching metric. They also use Open Refine for normalization processes and package the tools together on an OSF site for other institutions to use. Since the R-based approach does not require special processing or time and can be reproduced with minimal effort, it will allow future studies and users of our method to capture larger sample sizes, boosting validity. While the assessment process has been streamlined and shows promise, there remain issues in establishing solid connections between research paper bibliographies and discovery layer use. Subsequent research will focus on creating alternatives to paper titles as search proxies that better resemble genuine information-seeking behavior and comparing undergraduate and graduate student interactions within discovery environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to positively impact library and archives collections and services--enhancing reference, instruction, metadata creation, recommendations, and more. However, AI also has ethical implications. This paper presents an extensive literature and review analysis that examines AI projects implemented in library and archives settings, asking the following research questions: RQ1: How is artificial intelligence being used in libraries and archives practice? RQ2: What ethical concerns are being identified and addressed during AI implementation in libraries and archives? The results of this literature review show that AI implementation is growing in libraries and archives and that practitioners are using AI for increasingly varied purposes. We found that AI implementation was most common in large, academic libraries. Materials used in AI projects usually involved digitized and born digital text and images, though materials also ranged to include web archives, electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), and maps. AI was most often used for metadata extraction and reference and research services. Just over half of the papers included in the literature review mentioned ethics or values related issues in their discussions of AI implementation in libraries and archives, and only one-third of all resources discussed ethical issues beyond technical issues of accuracy and human-in-the-loop. Case studies relating to AI in libraries and archives are on the rise, and we expect subsequent discussions of relevant ethics and values to follow suit, particularly growing in the areas of cost considerations, transparency, reliability, policy and guidelines, bias, social justice, user communities, privacy, consent, accessibility, and access. As AI comes into more common usage, it will benefit the library and archives professions to not only consider ethics when implementing local projects, but to publicly discuss these ethical considerations in shared documentation and publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an anthology of papers from "The Power of New Voices" conference session, which features the work of early-career individuals in the field of rare books, manuscripts, and cultural heritage. The session was developed in response to calls for broader representation and opportunity for emerging voices. The anthology includes essays that were originally lightning talk presentations and were condensed from longer scholarship. One of the essays in the anthology discusses the challenges and importance of having a basic proficiency in the history of the book for special collections librarians who work with rare books. [Extracted from the article]

Digital heritage portal interfaces are generally similar to digital library and search engine interfaces in displaying search results as a list of brief metadata records. The knowledge organization and search result display of these systems are item-centric, with little support for identifying relationships between items. This paper proposes a knowledge graph system and visualization interface as a promising solution for digital heritage systems to support users in browsing related items, understanding the relationships between items, and synthesizing a narrative on an issue. The paper discusses design issues for the knowledge graph, graph database, and graph visualization, and offers recommendations based on the authors' experience in developing three knowledge graph systems for archive and digital humanities resources: the Zubir Said personal archive collection at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore; Singapore Pioneers social network; and Polyglot Medicine knowledge graph of Asian traditional and herbal medicine. Lessons learned from a small user study are incorporated in the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes librarian research on information visualization as well as general trends in the broader field, highlighting the most recent trends, important journals, and which subject disciplines are most involved with information visualization. By comparing librarian research to the broader field, the paper identifies opportunities for libraries to improve their information visualization support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The Miami University Libraries (MUL) developed an open-source Software Checkout system to allow patrons to make use of software licenses owned by the library. The system takes advantage of user-based licensing under the Software as a Service (SaaS) license model and vendor-created APIs to easily and legally assign access to users. The service currently supports Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro software. MUL has successfully used this software for three years. This article describes the expansion of offerings and the increasing use of the service over that time. Built on a model developed by Pixar for managing employee software licenses, the Software Checkout system is believed to be the first of its kind for circulating licenses to library patrons. Both this lending model and the open-source software developed by MUL are available to other libraries. This paper is intended to prompt libraries to take advantage of the legal and technical environment to expand software license sharing to other libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Press and the People: Cheap Print & Society in Scotland, 1500-1785" is a comprehensive survey of cheap print and popular literature in early modern Scotland. The book explores the relationship between increased book production and circulation, mass communication, and popular culture. It examines the emergence of a literate society in Scotland and the role of cheap prints in promoting literacy. The book also highlights the contributions of women printers and the importance of caddies and paper criers in sustaining the book trade. Overall, this book provides valuable insights into the history of cheap print in Scotland and its impact on society. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines the significance of social relationships between artists and special collections librarians in the acquisitions process, especially regarding ephemeral works. The ways the authors observed printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. interacting with librarians are both inspiration and case study in this paper. Interviews with librarians who worked with Kennedy reveal that some artists or makers are not aware of the value that their ephemeral materials hold for future research, teaching, and scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the potential of the Gamified Metaverse as a platform for promoting library services. The study compares the effectiveness of a traditional library program with a Metaverse- based library program in terms of knowledge acquisition and library anxiety. The research also examines students' perceptions of implementing gamification within the context of the Gamified Metaverse platform. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, including pre- and post-test analysis, statistical analysis, and qualitative data collection. The results indicate that both the traditional and Metaverse-based library programs effectively increased the participants' knowledge, with no significant difference between the two approaches. However, the Metaverse-based program was found to be less effective in facilitating interaction with librarians and reducing library anxiety. Additionally, students expressed positive perceptions of implementing gamification in the Gamified Metaverse platform, finding it engaging and motivating. These findings contribute to the understanding of the effect of the Metaverse as a tool for promoting library services and enhancing knowledge acquisition. However, it is not as effective in reducing library anxiety, particularly in terms of interaction with librarians and staff. It should be noted that the platform may have limitations such as high costs and potential side effects of virtual reality, making it more suitable as an additional tool for promoting library services, taking into account its feasibility and potential benefits for specific student populations and larger libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open access policies and mandates can be a useful tool in persuading faculty at higher education institutions around the globe to produce and share open scholarship. But are such policies widely written, accepted, and adopted? Leveraging information found on the Registry of Open Access Repositories Mandatory Archiving Policies, this paper analyzes open access policies at higher education institutions worldwide. The data indicate that Europe holds the most policies, while fewer policies have been enacted in the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and Asia due to a myriad of barriers. Overall, better strategies to promote open access are needed, and such strategies may not necessarily take the form of an open access policy. My own investigation of global open access policies has informed my practices with respect to open access. In this paper, I demonstrate how librarians acting as policy entrepreneurs can assist with the promotion of open access at their institutions and then conclude with suggestions, solutions, and pathways beyond policy adoption to promote and advocate for open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the artwork of Kara Walker, specifically her book "Freedom: a Fable," and its potential as a teaching tool for addressing issues of race and racism. The artwork uses the silhouette form to challenge traditional notions of Black American history and representation. The article emphasizes the value of artists' books in teaching critical literacy, as they engage with social, cultural, and political themes. It acknowledges the challenges and resistance that may arise when discussing race in the classroom, but highlights the importance of addressing these issues to promote critical and socially responsive research practices. The article also briefly mentions the need for diverse and inclusive collecting practices in academic libraries. [Extracted from the article]

This paper provides a historical literature review of the subject librarian position. The subject librarian position was originally created to support patrons in specific subjects. Since the position's creation, a subject librarian's foundational duties have consisted of collection development, reference, instruction, and liaison. Though liaison work has received increased emphasis, the subject librarian duties have been remarkably consistent through time. "Subject specialist" or "subject librarian" have been the most commonly used titles for the position, though recently "liaison" has become more common. The subject librarian position has persisted because it provides an important human connection to the library and because it is flexible and adaptive to change. Subject librarian positions vary in different libraries because each adapts the position to meet their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared print programs are helping their member libraries right-size their collections. As they do, there are concerns about the adverse impact of bibliographic inaccuracies. This paper studies bibliographic record inaccuracies and the resulting frequency of mismatches between an item owned and the record representing ownership. Through analysis of interlibrary loan (ILL) survey data, the authors found an overall low rate of bibliographic inaccuracy, and that inaccuracies rarely prevented library staff from verifying the ownership of the item. The authors review how this finding contributes to confidence in library holding records, which is necessary for evaluating the optimal number of copies in shared print networks and for minimizing the risk in withdrawal decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an ongoing focus on accessibility and usability, many academic libraries have developed new ways to improve services for students with disabilities. Library technical services departments contribute to the accessibility of library resources through materials selection, cataloging, and the acquisition of assistive technologies. Library partnerships with an institution’s office of disability services have also proven particularly effective and can help libraries to better identify potential barriers to accessibility and find workable solutions. For students with visual impairments, screen readers, magnifiers, voice recognition software, and braille texts are some of the methods that libraries can use to improve accessibility. This paper offers a case study of the collaboration between the Office of Disability Resources for Students and the University Libraries at the University of Memphis to make a discrete collection of braille textbooks more widely available to students, including the collection management considerations, system configurations, and cataloging procedures that went into the process. This case study provides a simple and cost-efficient example of how libraries can improve services for users with visual impairments that readers will find easy to implement in their own libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People change their names for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, gender transition, change in marital status, and religious conversion. Guidance on the metadata management of author name changes for the myriad resources in a library’s discovery system is elusive and absent. Executing metadata for name changes creates many challenges in a rapidly advancing infrastructure of emerging discovery technologies, aggregators with shared metadata in multiple schemas, and numerous formats in varied platforms. Moreover, it is difficult to find a balanced approach to ethically apply evolving cataloging and name authority control rules to suit the linked data environment. This case study examines an academic library’s process in creating guidance for implementing name changes. The paper reports on the stakeholders involved, resources consulted, dilemmas considered, and decisions made in the development of the library’s author name change guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following decades of critiques of subject heading terminology, recent years have seen several experimental approaches to updating subject headings in library catalogs. Most of these projects have raised significant questions about scalability, however, as they are both time and labor-intensive. This paper presents a collaborative project between Emory Libraries and Backstage Library Works to add Homosaurus terms to the Emory Libraries catalog through an automated process. Though the experiment produced useful results, it ultimately failed to substantively alter most bibliographic descriptions. The results of this project underscore the need for caution and human oversight of automated processes, as well as more substantive support for cataloging initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a content analysis of all the 63 articles published under the Readers' Advisory (RA) column of the journal Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ). The analysis aimed to study the topics discussed in the articles; learn the trends by analyzing the article-related statistics such as themes, types, and length; and find the patterns by analyzing the author-related statistics such as collaboration, geographic base, affiliation, and frequency (multiple contributions to the column). Findings showed that the RA column published fairly regularly (81.9%). Thematically, maximum articles centered on depicting the variety of RA practices (31.7%); and guidance about numerous RA tools available in print and online (15.9%) for all types of librarians to help provide better RA service. Most articles were soleauthored (88.9%), maximum authors were from the United States (81%), and most were affiliated with the public library sector (47.6%). The column editors were actively involved in the column. This paper is the first to attempt the content analysis of the complete RA column since its commencement. This in-depth analysis shows the journey of RA service during the first two decades of the 21st century by denoting the common themes as well as unique topics discussed in the column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the research project funded by the Young Adult Library Association’s 2021 Frances Henne Research Grant. It sought to explore whether the reading of mystery fiction novels influenced teens’ online misinformation practices; and if so, how. Data collection involved an international survey of readers of Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike series (alternate title Wells & Wong Mysteries) and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Several themes in teens’ responses were represented in the categories of online misinformation practices and mystery fiction reading for both book series, but there was a divergence in the broader attitudes of respondents between book series. From these findings, a series of original activities to support information literacy education for use in library and school contexts were produced with the support of an accredited librarian consultant. This study contributes to our broader understanding of teens’ online misinformation practices and reading practices through incorporating their voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most academic libraries perform some level of collection assessment for e-resources. However, traditional e-resource assessment procedures pose multiple challenges related to their adaptability, transparency, and sustainability. At the Valley Library at Oregon State University, a multi-tiered assessment process is continually revised and refined to reflect the changing scholarly communication landscape and address the needs of both our library and our community. This paper discusses how this collection assessment system is currently set up, and outlines the challenges, benefits, and future considerations for other libraries interested in adapting their own e-resource assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past three decades, the holdings of rare books and special collections departments have come to be known as “distinctive collections.” Running parallel to this development has been the adoption of the term “hidden collections” to designate backlogs of unprocessed rare books and special collections materials, and an increased awareness of providing access to these materials. This paper examines the literature to explore the development of the trend for rare books and special collections to be called “distinctive collections” and for backlogs to be referred to as “hidden collections.” It also discusses factors that can contribute to the development of rare book backlogs including the need for trained staff and fuller levels of cataloging required to adequately describe the artifactual values of rare books in bibliographic records. [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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British Library hack and its response serve as a clear example of the vulnerability of institutions of higher learning to such attacks and the importance of maintaining an open dialogue with the public during recovery. This open dialogue is currently lacking as universities attempt to move on and cover up these attacks quickly. This paper aims to start the conversation by providing three examples of institutions that went through a hack that left their services down for a significant period, how it affected those they serve, how they responded, and what information was made public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the implementation of dramatic play areas at the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers, WI, and their significant role in children's development. Topics include the educational benefits of play in enhancing conflict resolution and comprehension, the library's engagement with the community to create a safe environment for families, and the various themed play centers that promote creativity and learning.

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. [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]

Special collections libraries sometimes include games among their collections. However, games pose a challenge to catalogers, who are typically trained in printed formats. There is no single standard for cataloging games for special collections libraries. "Best Practices for Cataloging Objects Using RDA and MARC 21," published by Online Audiovisual Catalogers, focuses on circulating collections. The Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials manuals provide guidance on describing resources as artifacts but do not provide instructions for cataloging three-dimensional objects. As a result, special collections catalogers describing games at the item level draw instructions from multiple standards. This article describes the process of cataloging a game collection. Using two items from the collection as illustrative examples, the article shows how instructions from RDA, the OLAC Best Practices, and the DCRM manuals were used together to provide users with information to identify resources and to improve discovery of games in the library's catalog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel collections-based outreach model for special collections, underscoring the vital role of outreach in linking unique and distinctive collections (UDCs) with existing interest groups. Drawing from a series of successful events, focused on knitting, held at the McGill University Library between 2021 and 2023, the model recommends the use of creative initiatives to engage pre-existing communities. These initiatives attracted a global audience, extending far beyond the university campus, and fostered connections between cultural heritage collections and specialized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]