Search

To document the change over time in African-American/Africana/Black Studies (AABS) librarianship in the United States, this study analyzed 71 position announcements published in physical and digital sources beginning in 1970 through 2019. Using content analysis, the author found that most AABS librarians should expect to have an MLIS and work in academic settings where they develop collections and provide reference services. This study hopes to fill a gap in the current research by exploring how these positions, the job market, and librarianship in this particular field have evolved. Administrators assessing staffing needs, faculty seeking collaborative partners, students interested in AABS librarianship, and anyone curious about the evolution of library work will find this study useful.

About half of Library and Information Science (LIS) journals continue to charge authors to publish articles open access (OA) or do not offer OA publishing at all. To further investigate the financial and other perceived barriers preventing these LIS journals from transitioning to no-publishing fee OA models, this exploratory project surveyed lead editors for each identified LIS journal. Results indicate most of the journals have not discussed transitioning to a no-publishing fee OA model, and that finances are the main barrier. Most also indicated a lack of awareness of their journal's budget. The most popular no-publishing fee OA model was Subscribe to Open.

This mixed methods study explored the impact of a collaborative experience on perceptions of school librarian candidates (SLCs) and preservice teacher candidates (PTCs) as they worked to integrate technology into lesson plans effectively. The group under investigation consisted of 83 PTCs in the teacher preparation program who were enrolled in selected sections of a required technology course and graduate students in a School of Library and Information Science preparation program at the same institution. Forty of the PTCs were part of the control group and 43 were in the treatment group, which received collaborative support from the SLCs. One important finding is that PTCs perceived SLCs as valuable resources for integrating technologies, particularly for designing lesson plans that integrated technology. Additionally, both PTCs and SLCs realized the importance of teacher-librarian collaboration (TLC) in their future campus roles. A key recommendation is for teacher education programs to embed opportunities for TLC experiences for improving PTCs' technology integration and lesson planning.

Despite ongoing efforts to improve database accessibility, aggregated database vendors concede that they do not have complete control over document accessibility. Instead, they point to the responsibility of journal publishers to deliver articles in an accessible format. This may increase the likelihood that users with disabilities will encounter articles that are not compatible with a screen reader. To better understand the extent of the problem, a document accessibility audit was conducted of randomly selected articles from EBSCO's Library & Information Source database. Full-text articles from 12 library science journals were evaluated against two measures of screen reader compatibility: HTML format (the optimal format for screen readers) and PDF accessibility conformance. Findings showed inconsistencies in HTML format availability for articles in the selected journals. Additionally, the entire sample of PDF articles failed to meet the minimum standard of PDF Universal Accessibility of containing a tagged structure. However, all PDF articles passed accessibility permissions tests, so could be made accessible retroactively by a third party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study library guides, as published on Springshare's LibGuides platform, new approaches are needed to expand the scope of the research, ensure comprehensiveness of data collection, and reduce bias for content analysis. Computational methods can be utilized to conduct a nuanced and thorough evaluation that critically assesses the resources promoted in library guides. Web-based library guides are curated by librarians to provide easy access to high-quality information and resources in a variety of formats to support the research needs of their users. Recent scholarship considers library guides as valuable resources and as de facto publications, highlighting the need for critical study. In this article, the authors present a novel model for comprehensively gathering data about a specific genre of books from individual LibGuide pages and applying computational methods to explore the resultant data. Beginning with a pre-selected list of 159 books, we programmatically queried the titles using the LibGuides Community search engine. After cleaning and filtering the resultant data, we compiled a list of 20,484 book references (of which 6,212 are unique) on 1,529 LibGuide pages. By testing against inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure relevancy, we identified a total of 281 titles relevant to our topic. To gain insights for future study, citation analysis metrics are presented to reveal patterns of frequency, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling of books promoted in LibGuides. This proof-of-concept could be adopted for a variety of applications, including assessment of collections, public services, critical librarianship, and other complex questions to enable a richer and more thorough understanding of the information landscape of LibGuides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 learning quality of humans depends on the sense of contemplation. Textual documents are a huge part of the literature on contemplation which effortlessly creates perception. Automatic document class identification or organisation is a machine learning function to understand the psychological and emotional content of the text in a concise way. The problem of identification of documents falls in the field of library science, information science and artificial intelligence. The research progress of class identification of documents has been made in various most spoken languages. Numerous research works have been published in European and Asian languages. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to any less resource language, especially Bengali. Consequently, this work portrays an efficient topic modelling approach for Bengali document class identification. It proposes a Dirichlet-polynomial clustering model likelihood corpus distribution (LCD), which is based on a Bayesian numerical prototype. Experiments are done to prove the efficiency of LCD over various topic modelling algorithms, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), LDA with bag-of-words (LDA-BOW), latent semantic indexing (LSI), and hierarchical Dirichlet process (HDP). For performance evaluation, we considered five real-world datasets of Bengali corpora, such as science, sports, computer, season, and epic in this work. The coherence score of different modelling algorithms is compared to find the best model for each dataset separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research was conducted to measure the impact of organizational maturity on the main variables of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology among library and information science experts in the public libraries in Mashhad. It is applied research in terms of purpose and correlation-descriptive research in terms of the data collection method. The research statistical population included all library and information science experts in Mashhad city, which were selected as research samples using random sampling. The questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. The average variance extracted (AVE) was used to assess the validity of the questionnaire, and the composite reliability (CR) coefficient and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. The structural equation modeling method (partial least squares method) was used with Smart PLS software to test the research hypotheses and the research conceptual model. According to the results, it can be stated that the variable of organizational maturity has a significant and positive effect on the components of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, including performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, purposeful behavior, but this variable does not have a significant and positive effect on the effort expectancy. Organizational maturity affects the acceptance and use of technology by public library librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses themes that emerged from open forums hosted by the Medical Library Association's Vision 2048 Task Force from 2021 to 2023. Topics discussed include the importance of focusing on the needs of communities served by health information professionals, the recruitment of the next generation of health science librarians, and the use of data and artificial intelligence tools in library collections.

Copyright of Humanities & Educational Sciences Journal is the property of Humanities & Educational Sciences Journal 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.)

Throughout history, human beings have developed a variety of strategies to traverse the enormous knowledge space and locate specific information. Taking metaphorical use of space as a means of conceptualizing information, namely where numerous information reside could be regarded as a vast space, and the trail navigating through the space to find information could be seen as an information path. The referenceable order or structure within information space is crucial in the process of information revisiting. From oral culture, written culture to bits culture, the research intends as a review of diverse methods of information organization, storage and retrieval developed in Western civilization. By looking at representative knowledge management systems in the three cultures, the discussion would be approached from the perspectives of mnemotechnics, library science and computer science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with disabilities face daily barriers arising from the physical, material, or social environment in which they live. In order to make such an environment fully inclusive, accessibility must be guaranteed, the necessary adaptations must be made, and the abilities of each individual must be recognised. This article shows the results of a research carried out with the aim of checking whether libraries are responding to the needs of users with disabilities. It analyses the scientific production in this field over the last fifty years related to accessibility and inclusion initiatives aimed at guaranteeing access to information for people with disabilities according to the type of disability. This analysis is based on a systematic review of the use of the concepts of "accessibility" and "inclusion" related to "library" in the scientific production in the field of Library and Information Science in the databases of Web of Science, Scopus and Library Science Database, aiming to study the attention paid to people with disabilities and, in particular, to people with hearing disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial article of the magazine "Information, Culture and Society" celebrates its 50th edition, highlighting its commitment to quality and academic relevance. For 25 years, the magazine has been a space for interdisciplinary exchange in the field of Library Science and Information Sciences. Open access to publications is emphasized, which democratizes access to scientific and technical information. In addition, contributions are presented on topics such as digital preservation in Colombia, electronic documentation management, and local cultural policy in the Barcelona Library network, among others. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to identify and extract the professional competencies of the librarians of Iran's public libraries, and to determine the importance of each of them in order to prioritize and rank them. Method: This research is an applied study employing a mixed research methodology. The study divided in two distinct stage. In the initial phase, a purposive selection of 61 Persian and English articles was analyzed using the meta-synthesis method. Then 104 codes were extracted using experts' opinions, and the validity of these codes was confirmed through their content validity and their reliability was measured and confirmed with Cohen's Kappa test. During the quantitative stage, each factor was ranked by distributing the questionnaire among 62 experts and using Shannon's entropy method. Findings: This research reveals a pioneering exploration into the professional competencies of librarians in Iran's public libraries, resulting in the identification of four crucial factors, 10 main components, and an extensive 72 sub-components that categorize these competencies. The 'Ability' factor, consisting of specialized ability and thinking ability, emerges as a cornerstone with conceptualizations across 9 sub-components. The 'Feature' factor, consisting of occupational and behavioral characteristics, was conceptualized by 19 sub-components. The 'Skills' factor, including managerial, social, occupational, and technological skills, was conceptualized by 32 sub-components. Lastly, the 'Knowledge' factor, comprising knowledge related to society and specialized knowledge, was conceptualized by 12 sub-components. Quantitative analysis, using the innovative Shannon entropy method, provides a nuanced understanding of the significance attached to each competency. The results of this analysis shows that 'knowledge' holds the highest weight (0/2575), establishing it as the most critical competency for librarians in Iran's public libraries. Following closely, the 'Skill' factor secures the second position with a weight of 0/2545. 'Ability' and 'Characteristics' factors, with weights of 0.2498 and 0.2382, respectively, are ranked third and fourth. Originality/value: This research stands out in its original contribution to the field of library science by systematically identifying and prioritizing the professional competencies of librarians in Iran's public libraries. The comprehensive validation process, including content validity and reliability assessments, ensures the robustness of the identified competencies. The emphasis on specialized ability, thinking ability, occupational and behavioral characteristics, managerial, social, occupational, and technological skills, as well as knowledge related to society and specialized knowledge, shows a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted nature of librarianship. In summary, this research breaks new ground in the systematic exploration, categorization, and prioritization of professional competencies, offering a valuable framework for improving the competencies of librarians in the unique context of Iranian public libraries. These findings not only contribute to the academic understanding of librarianship but also offer practical insights for enhancing the proficiency of librarians in this context. Furthermore, the nuanced categorization and prioritization presented in this research provide a valuable framework for the ongoing development of professional competencies and qualifications in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching literature review skills in social work research course often utilises a one-shot instruction session such as a guest speaker from the library or a visit to the library. However, this model is not practical for students in asynchronous online courses. While it has become common for research courses to include assistance from libraries through one-shot instruction sessions, the effectiveness of such assistance, whether in the one-shot model or through embedded librarianship, has not been studied or shared in the social work education literature. This teaching note shares our experiences and lessons learned from an online undergraduate social work research course that adopted embedded librarianship. The collaboration with the librarian through the embedded librarianship had a noticeable impact on the quality of student assignments in the research course. As online education continues to grow rapidly in social work, embedded librarianship through technology presents a promising tool to help social work students become familiar with literature search and library resources through learning by doing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the advances of the macro stage of the ongoing Curricular Innovation Project of the undergraduate programs of the Escuela Interamericana de Bibliotecología at the Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia. This project aims to build a curricular proposal that articulates in different dimensions, epistemological-theoretical, pedagogical, didactic, curricular, and administrative, the undergraduate programs in Archiving and Library Science, based on the participation of its key actors, the analysis of the context, and the institutional stamp. Methodologically, tension analysis was used, seeking to make a critical, situated, and historical reading of the theoretical, epistemological, and trend approaches, in order to maintain a balance between labor and social requirements with respect to vocations and institutional traditions. The advances are presented in terms of statements that guide the conception and institutional curricular action, and account for four central issues: the agreements of the articulating and specific objects of study, the identification and analysis of contemporary trends, the definition of graduation profiles, and the configuration of the pedagogical horizon. In the end, some recommendations are put forward to continue encouraging the journey, which can be synthesized into three issues: achieving articulation with the meso and micro curricular stages, advancing in the consolidation of the methodological memory of the project, and proposing administrative alternatives to face curricular innovation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profound changes due to Open-Access (OA) publications lead to organizational changes in universities and libraries. This study examines Israeli librarians' perceptions regarding their role and the academic library's role in promoting OA-publications, including the barriers, challenges, needs, and requirements necessary to promote OA publishing. Lack of a budget for OA-agreements, no cooperation from university management, and researchers' unfamiliarity with OA were among the most prominent barriers. Librarians see great importance in their role of advising researchers regarding OA. However, they insist on a regulated OA-policy at the national and institutional levels to strengthen their status as change-leaders of the OA-movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time and resources required to prepare archival collections for use by researchers is a source of constant frustration in archives and libraries. Almost always, aspirations and collections exceed limited resources. The last fifteen to twenty years have seen archivists and librarians putting great effort into increasing standardization and efficiency. However, there are few examples of applying techniques from other fields that are proven to increase productivity. This dual case study shows that applying Lean techniques, which were originally developed for automobile manufacturing, yields significant results: measurable reductions in processing time and resource use; increased adherence to standards; increased engagement in and willingness to change by staff; effective coordination across departments; and increased ability to meet the needs of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information design--incorporating research in graphic design, typography, visualization, and usability--is a user experience practice directly applicable to contemporary museums, libraries, and archives. Information design principles and guidelines improve engagement at every point of service, effectively and efficiently complementing the mission of knowledge organizations. This historical survey explores information design in the context of contemporary user experience design, and provides an overview of information design principles and guidelines developed over 40 years of research and professional application. Applying elements of information design to archival finding aids enhances usability, while also preserving descriptive and contextual structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an account of the making of KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). The first part discusses the work involved in establishing a lab as both a physical and a digital site for researchers to use digital collections at previously unimaginable scales. The second part explains how the lab has deployed the library's collections as data to produce high quality Swedish AI models, which constitute a significant new form of digital research infrastructure. We situate this work in the context of uneven AI coverage for smaller languages, and consider how the lab's models have contributed to the making of important AI infrastructure for the Swedish language. The conclusion raises the possibilities and challenges involved in continuing this type of library-based AI development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeking to better understand the longitudinal association between online usage of library-licensed content and short- and long-term student performance, we linked EZproxy logs to institutional university data to study how library usage impacts semester and cumulative GPAs. Panel linear mixed effects regression models indicate online library usage is significantly associated with both semester and cumulative GPAs. The library usage effect is larger for semester GPA, and varies by on- and off-campus residency. The effect on semester GPA is larger for off-campus students, while for cumulative GPA the effect is larger for on-campus students. Longitudinally linked library-institutional data offers key insights on the library's value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a 2021 Pew Research report, over 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use social media. Studies also show that higher education students use social media in both academic and everyday life. However, there is minimal research about how, or whether, librarians utilize social media in their library instruction as a source of information for students' academic work. We examined 162 responses to a survey sent to an uncounted number of librarians in higher education, asking them about their teaching practices regarding social media to enable us to answer the following research questions: (1) How are teaching librarians using social media as an information source in their instruction?; (2) What are the benefits teaching librarians perceive regarding the use of social media in instruction?; (3) What are the challenges teaching librarians perceive regarding the use of social media in instruction? The survey results showed that most librarians surveyed are not utilizing social media as an information source in their library instruction. Although our results cannot be generalized, our study sheds light on how librarians incorporate social media in information literacy (IL) instruction, the tension between scholarly literature and voices not considered authoritative, and librarians' perceptions of benefits and challenges to incorporating social media in library sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Odeere is the property of Edicoes UESB 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.)

Rapid changes in most treatment fields and evidence-based medical trends emphasize the role of clinical librarian in providing information services to treatment teams. The new task of librarians in treatment teams has faced barriers and challenges. The current study was conducted to assess the obstacles and offer solutions for the implementation of the role of clinical librarian in Iranian hospitals. This qualitative study was conducted on 15 librarians with experience in work and research related to presenting information services to the treatment team. The librarians were interviewed using purposive, available sampling method. The data collection tool was a semistructured interview, which continued until data saturation, and data analysis was done using thematic analysis method. A total of 147 initial codes, 122 main codes, and 35 subcategories were extracted from analysis of 15 interviews. After detailed evaluation and integration of the subcategories, ten categories and two main themes were determined. The main barriers are related to the lack of support from executive organizations, the absence of appropriate training programs, and the shortage of skills to enter the treatment teams. These barriers have prevented the approval of clinical librarian as an independent job position. The mentioned strategies are dependent on the support of executive organizations in two sectors: Ministry of Health and hospitals in creating job titles and feeling the need for information specialists in medical teams, as well as universities in defining official and independent disciplines by developing appropriate educational programs and attracting qualified people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

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

The body of interdisciplinary research has become much fatter during the last three decades and a large number of theses, articles, books and even several interdisciplinary journals are published in various fields, including library and information science. There is also a significant tendency among universities to launch interdisciplinary courses and also among Iranian researchers for interdisciplinary studies. Now, doing a thesis with an interdisciplinary approach is a kind of innovation and an academic privilege. However, many researchers, supervisors, graduate students, and reviewers of articles or research projects are not aware of the requirements and frameworks of interdisciplinary research and, as a result, the evaluation methods of such studies. Compared to books and articles related to the evaluation of interdisciplinary studies in English that present various frameworks and methods, we lack examples in Persian language in this field. In this article, in the form of conceptual research method and by reviewing some related articles and books in Persian and English, a specific framework and criteria for evaluating interdisciplinary research based on the main and conventional parts of a research article have been introduced. Based on this, sections such as title, abstract, keywords, theoretical foundations, objectives, statement of the problem, questions or hypotheses, research background, methodology, findings, conclusions, and cited sources can be evaluated based on criteria. One can use this framework to identify concrete examples to check the extent to which researchers pay attention to interdisciplinary frameworks and approaches. The frameworks and criteria introduced in this article are useful for researchers, supervisors, students and referees of theses or scientific articles, including in the field of library and information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"null"

"null"

Scientific aspects of devising names of academic institutions and disciplines. The influence of politics and ideology in the post-war period on the choice of names in the case of the Commission for Bibliography and Library Science of the Wrocław Scientific Society, the Department of Library Science for the Employed, and the Chair of Library Science of the Bolesław Bierut University in Wrocław. To analyse this problem, the documentation preserved in the Archives of the University of Wrocław as well as academic papers about the centres educating librarians were used.

The aim of the study is to present the origins and development of academic institutions educat- ing librarians in Poland between 1945 and 2015, taking into account the institutional and scholarly aspects. In the first part of the paper the author presents the history of various institutions — university faculties, departments and institutes — arranged diachronically in three stages (1945–1974, 1975–1989, 1990–2015). She takes into account the circumstances of their establishment (including the legal framework), their organisers, staff, organisational structures and their changes. In addition, she points to other components of academic life influencing the work of academic library science centres, such as conferences and journals. In the second part, devoted to a discussion of bibliological and information-science research conducted at Polish universities, the author focuses on various issues, treating chronology only as an element organising descriptions of research processes at individual library studies centres. She identifies the areas of research, as well as changes in the thematic foci in the analysed period, citing selected scholars and their most important works. Like in part one, she also discusses the social, political and cultural determinants stimulating research processes, paying particular attention to the impact of new technologies and media. The author’s overview confirms the huge role the academic institutions engaged in library studies play in the consolidation of the position of bibliology as an academic discipline, but at the same time, she shows how the research profile of book studies has been changing in recent years, including issues associated with information science and new technologies.

The author of the paper explores the development of the concept of Polish post-war library science as an academic discipline and demonstrates the wealth of achievement in librarianship studies. Theoretical reflections on and the ongoing discussion about the scope of library science provide a background for the presentation of practical solutions applied in the work of libraries. The author presents library science concepts and the authors of important publications contributing to the development of the discipline, practical librarian tasks and the academic training of librarians. In addition, she analyses librarianship achievements with regard to the characteristic, statutory tasks and functions of libraries, as well as to typology, showing their significance to librarianship practice in Poland and to the quality of the academic training of librarians. There is also a brief description of the profile of the librarianship curriculum at the leading university-level institutions educating librarians.

The University of Louisville Libraries merged their Government Documents Department and Reference Department in 1999 to save money and improve efficiency. This was part of a larger trend in the 1990s and early 2000s of merging government documents departments with other library units or reference services. The merger resulted in changes to cataloging, reference services, and staff roles, but also led to a loss of expertise in government documents. While there were some positive outcomes, such as increased collaboration and awareness of government resources, there were also drawbacks, including a decrease in the quality of government documents reference services. The document provides historical perspectives, surveys, case studies, and opinions on the integration of government documents and reference services in academic libraries. [Extracted from the article]

Participating in collaborative scientific research through citizen science, a component of open science, holds significance for both citizen scientists and professional researchers. Yet, the advantages for those orchestrating citizen science initiatives are often overlooked. Organizers encompass a diverse range, including governmental entities, non-governmental organizations, corporations, universities, and institutions like libraries. For libraries, citizen science holds importance by fostering heightened civic and research interests, promoting scientific publishing, and contributing to overall scientific progress. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the specific ways in which citizen science can benefit libraries and how libraries can effectively utilize citizen science to achieve their goals. The paper is based on a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles that discuss the direct benefits of citizen science on libraries. A list of the main benefits of citizen science for libraries has been compiled from the literature. Additionally, the reasons why it is crucial for libraries to communicate the benefits of citizen science for their operations have been highlighted, particularly in terms of encouraging other libraries to actively engage in citizen science projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the library and information science (LIS) literature, there are examples of librarians leading educational development initiatives, often centered on information literacy (IL). However, there does not appear to have been significant exploration in the educational development literature of librarians acting as educational developers. This article is intended fill this gap by providing an overview of academic librarians' engagement with educational development and offering a brief case study of a librarian who is involved in educational development, followed by discussion of key questions and potential implications that are raised when considering librarians acting in this role. The goal is to open up a dialogue between and among educational developers and librarians about the role of librarians in educational development. This may also encourage discussion among educational developers about how the field should be defined and who qualifies as an educational developer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of 10 formulas for calculating intraocular lens (IOL) power in cataract eye with an axial length (AL) of more than 28.0 mm. Methods: We searched scientific databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library for research published over the past 5 years, up to Sept 2023. The inclusion criteria were case series studies that compared different formulas (Barrett II, EVO, Kane, Hill-RBF, Haigis, Hoffer Q, Holladay 1, SRK/T, Holladay 1 w-k and SRK/T w-k), in patients with extremely long AL undergoing uncomplicated cataract surgery with IOL implantation. The mean difference (MD) of mean absolute error (MAE) and the odds ratio (OR) of both the percentage of eyes within ±0.50D of prediction error (PPE±0.50D) and the percentage of eyes within ±1.00D of prediction error (PPE±1.00D) among different formulas were pooled using meta-analysis. Results: A total of 11 studies, involving 1376 eyes, were included to evaluate the 10 formulas mentioned above. Among these formulas, Barrett II, EVO, Kane, and Hill-RBF demonstrated significantly lower MAE values compared to SRK/T. Furthermore, Kane and Hill-RBF had lower MAE values than EVO. Additionally, Barrett II and Kane yielded significantly lower MAE values than Haigis while Hill-RBF showed significantly lower MAE values than Holladay 1. Moreover, Hill-RBF showed the highest values for both PPE±0.50D and PPE±1.00D, followed by Kane. Both EVO and Kane had higher values of PPE±0.50D and PPE±1.00D compared to Haigis and SRK/T. Conclusion: The Wang-Koch adjusted formulas and new-generation formulas have shown potential for higher accuracy in predicting IOL power for cataract patients with extremely long AL compared to traditional formulas. Based on the current limited clinical studies, Hill-RBF and Kane formulas seem to be a better choice for eyes with extremely long AL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. We aimed to summarize what is currently known with regard to causal modifiable risk factors associated with CAD in populations of diverse ancestries through conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization (MR) studies on CAD. Methods: The databases Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched on the 19th and 20th of December 2022 for MR studies with CAD as a primary outcome; keywords of the search strategy included "coronary artery disease" and "mendelian randomization". Studies were included if they were published in the English language, included only human participants, employed Mendelian randomization as the primary methodology and studied CAD as the outcome of interest. The exclusion criteria resulted in the removal of studies that did not align with the predefined inclusion criteria, as well as studies which were systematic reviews themselves, and used the same exposure and outcome source as another study. An ancestry-specific meta-analysis was subsequently conducted on studies which investigated either body mass index, lipid traits, blood pressure or type 2 diabetes as an exposure variable. Assessment of publication bias and sensitivity analyses was conducted for risk of bias assessment in the included studies. Results: A total of 1781 studies were identified through the database searches after de-duplication was performed, with 47 studies included in the quantitative synthesis after eligibility screening. Approximately 80% of all included study participants for MR studies on CAD were of European descent irrespective of the exposure of interest, while no study included individuals of African ancestry. We found no evidence of differences in terms of direction of causation between ancestry groups; however, the strength of the respective relationships between each exposure and CAD were different, with this finding most evident when blood pressure was the exposure of interest. Conclusions: Findings from this review suggest that patterns regarding the causational relationship between modifiable risk factors and CAD do not differ in terms of direction when compared across diverse ancestry populations. Differences in the observed strengths of the respective relationships however are indicative of the value of increasing representation in non-European populations, as novel genetic pathways or functional SNPs relating to CAD may be uncovered through a more global analysis. Systematic review registration: The protocol for this systematic review was registered to the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) and is publicly available online (CRD42021272726). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]