Search

As libraries, archives, and museums make unique digital collections openly available via digital library platforms, they expose these resources to users who may wish to cite them. Often several URLs are available for a single digital object, depending on which route a user took to find it, but the chosen citation URL should be the one most likely to persist over time. Catalyzed by recent digital collections migration initiatives at Indiana University Libraries, this study investigates the prevalence of persistent URLs for digital objects at peer institutions and examines the ways their platforms instruct users to cite them. This study reviewed institutional websites from the Digital Library Federation's (DLF) published list of 195 members and identified representative digital objects from unique digital collections navigable from each institution's main web page in order to determine persistent URL formats and citation options. Findings indicate an equal split between offering and not offering discernible persistent URLs with four major methods used: Handle, DOI, ARK, and PURL. Significant variation in labeling persistent URLs and inclusion in item-specific citations uncovered areas where the user experience could be improved for more reliable citation of these unique resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intriguing new opportunity for research into the nineteenth-century history of print culture, libraries, and local communities is performing full-text analyses on the corpus of books held by a specific library or group of libraries. Creating corpora using books that are known to have been owned by a given library at a given point in time is potentially feasible because digitized records of the books in several hundred nineteenth-century library collections are available in the form of scanned book catalogs: a book or pamphlet listing all of the books available in a particular library. However, there are two potential problems with using those book catalogs to create corpora. First, it is not clear whether most or all of the books that were in these collections have been digitized. Second, the prospect of identifying the digital representations of the books listed in the catalogs is daunting, given the diversity of cataloging practices at the time. This article will report on progress towards developing an automated method to match entries in early nineteenth-century book catalogs with digitized versions of those books, and will also provide estimates of the fractions of the library holdings that have been digitized and made available in the Google Books/HathiTrust corpus. [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]

Over the past decade, the financial crisis has led to reduced government funding for academic libraries in Greece. Now more than ever, it is imperative for library managers to improve their knowledge and understanding of cost behavior, in order to effectively deliver high quality services at decreasing costs. To do so, they need to apply clearly-defined costing methods, such as Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC), that allow them to identify the various costs involved in the library processes. In our study, we applied the TDABC method at the medium-sized library of the University of Macedonia (UoM), in Thessaloniki, Greece, to evaluate the costs of the Inter-library Loans (ILL) services. Since the library managers did not adopt a cost allocation method, the cost estimation of the UoM ILL services was rather simplistic and rudimentary. Our research provides empirical evidence of the advantages of TDABC in an academic library setting. Namely, the TDABC method can help library administrators decide how to successfully allocate the available resources and improve the efficiency of the library processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the burgeoning "collections as data" movement within the fields of digital libraries and digital humanities. Faculty at the University of Utah's Marriott Library are developing a collections as data strategy by leveraging existing Digital Library and Digital Matters programs. By selecting various digital collections, small- and large-scale approaches to developing open datasets are explored. Five case studies chronicling this strategy are reviewed, along with testing the datasets using various digital humanities methods, such as text mining, topic modeling, and GIS (geographic information system). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With higher education increasingly being online or having online components, it is important to ensure that online materials are accessible for persons with print and other disabilities. Library-related research has focused on the need for academic libraries to have accessible websites, in part to reach patrons who are participating in distance-education programs. A key component of a library's website, however, is the materials it avails to patrons through vendor platforms outside the direct control of the library, making it more involved to address accessibility concerns. Librarians must communicate the need for accessible digital files to vendors so they will prioritize it. In much the same way as contracted workers constructing a physical space for a federal or federally funded agency must follow ADA standards for accessibility, so software vendors should be required to design virtual spaces to be accessible. A main objective of this study was to determine a method of increasing the visibility of vendor accessibility documentation for the benefit of our users. It is important that we, as service providers for the public good, act as a bridge between vendors and the patrons we serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the most suitable acquisition model, or to decide whether or not the model they have already chosen is functioning efficiently and economically, librarians must carry out relevant evaluations of their current or potential acquisition models. In this study, an evaluation of the Cambridge evidence-based acquisition (EBA), was carried out at Hacettepe University Libraries between December 16, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Within the scope of the EBA, the number of e-books opened for access was 35,624, the number of unique books used was 2,462 and the number of the books purchased at the end of the model was 168. In total, the books were used 36,934 times. Ninety-three percent of the books were never used during the EBA model implementation term. While 52 percent of the books opened for access consisted of "books for research," 47 percent of the number of unique books used consisted of "coursebooks." Usage cost per unit was calculated as 0.82 USD, and the average book cost was calculated at 180 USD. Purchasing the books based on their list price was a reason for the high average book cost; nevertheless, one should consider that the entire collection of books was open for access for a year-long period of evaluation. In addition, one should not forget that further usage of e-books from the entire collection would decrease the unit cost of the books in the final purchase. During the implementation term, we observed that the Cambridge EBA Model was a suitable option for Hacettepe University Libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred fifteen academic libraries, all current members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), were selected to participate in an online survey in an effort to better understand campus use of geographic data and geospatial technologies, and how libraries support this use. The survey was used to capture information regarding geographic needs of their respective campuses, the array of services they offer, and the education and training of geographic information services department staff members. The survey results, along with review of recent literature, were used to identify changes in geographic information services and support since 1997, when a similar survey was conducted by ARL. This new study has enabled recommendations to be made for building a successful geographic information service center within the campus library that offers a robust and comprehensive service and support model for all geographic information usage on campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Villanova University's Falvey Memorial Library developed a multiyear comprehensive and strategic collection review of print monographs. In this paper, the authors focus on the operational components of the project, such as generating potential deselection lists with GreenGlass, convening working groups to plan the project, developing strategies for faculty outreach and faculty collection review, and analyzing deselection and retention data. The authors share decision-making processes as well as lessons learned that were involved in the project design and implementation phases throughout the extensive collection review project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-generation college students have a profound impact both inside and outside the classroom on the strategic goals of universities, yet in-depth, firsthand information about their experiences are difficult for researchers and university administrators to find. Oral histories are a data-rich method of collecting narratives that legitimize the perspectives of underrepresented communities whose stories are often absent from the written record. This article provides a brief overview of first-generation populations, a review of literature relating to the increasing involvement of libraries and archives in capturing and preserving the stories of underdocumented communities in the twenty-first century, and shares three case studies of first-generation initiatives at public universities in California, Colorado, and Nebraska. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries around the world are cancelling big deal journal subscriptions at an increasing rate. This is primarily due to budgetary challenges, the unsustainable hyperinflationary pricing of these packages, and a need to move toward new open access models. It is a complex situation with many vested interests and stakeholders. Some libraries have been the target of angry backlash from faculty after such cancellations. The purpose of this qualitative study is to discover strategies for communicating to the campus community about collections cancellations so that they will better understand and support the library in making these difficult decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pernkopf Atlas of Anatomy consists of anatomical drawings created by Austrian physician Eduard Pernkopf, an active member of the Nazi Party during World War II. While the book was known for its highly detailed anatomical drawings, in the 1990s it was determined that Holocaust victims were likely used as subjects for the drawings. Using a survey, the authors aimed to gather information about the presence of this monograph in academic libraries today to provide best practice recommendations for academic libraries in their approach to ethically questionable materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the passage of the American Disabilities Act in 1990 and the coincident growth of the Internet, academic libraries have worked to provide electronic resources and services that are accessible to all patrons. Special collections are increasingly being added to these web-based library resources, and they must meet the same accessibility standards. The recent popularity surge of Web 2.0 technology, social media sites, and mobile devices has brought greater awareness about the challenges faced by those who use assistive technology for visual disabilities. This study examines the screen-reader accessibility of online special collections finding aids at 68 public US colleges and universities in the Association of Research Libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last several years, Google Earth and Google Maps have been adopted by many academic institutions as academic research and mapping tools. The authors were interested in discovering how popular the Google mapping products are in the academic library setting. A survey was conducted to establish the mapping products' popularity, and type of use in an academic library setting. Results show that over 90 percent of the respondents use Google Earth and Google Maps either to help answer research questions, to create and access finding aids, for instructional purposes or for promotion and marketing. The authors recommend expanding the mapping products' user base to include all reference and liaison librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After instituting major cuts to discipline-specific science abstracting and indexing (A&I) databases at an ARL library due to significant budget cuts, the author sought to determine if such cuts were being made by other academic libraries and what trends could be found in holdings of such databases. Annually, over the course of eight years, 108 ARL libraries and 74 Oberlin Group library website A-Z database lists were reviewed to look for the presence of 21 Science and Technology A&I databases. Additions and cancellations were recorded and verified. The results indicate little change in the holdings of several discipline-specific databases including MathsciNet, SciFinder Scholar, and GeoRef, while there were declines in holdings of several other databases including INSPEC, Biological Abstracts, and Compendex. Also measured were holdings of Proquest and EBSCO science A&I databases, which saw small declines in holdings, as well as holdings of comprehensive A&I databases Scopus and Web of Science, which saw a significant increase for Scopus holdings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries are increasingly purchasing electronic books (e-books) via demand driven acquisitions (DDA) programs. However, there is no guarantee about the quality of DDA titles. This is especially true for consortially managed DDA pools or when pools include all titles from selected publishers. This study analyzes data from EBSCO’s GOBI acquisitions platform to assess the quality of the pool and purchased titles from the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL) publisher-based DDA program. Results showed that most available and selected titles were appropriate for academic libraries. Popular and lower level academic titles made up a relatively small portion of the DDA pool but were selected at a proportionally higher rate than other titles. The DDA pool was weighted towards titles that had been previously purchased by few GOBI libraries, but users tended to select titles that had been purchased by more GOBI libraries. Implications of these results are discussed from the point of view of a consortium member library using the DDA program as a supplement to its broader collections of print and e-books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the 2017 Big Ten Academic Alliance Library Conference's collective collection theme, the authors undertook a study to better understand the consortium's resource-sharing needs for Spanish and Portuguese materials published in Latin America. The authors employed multiple technologies to expedite gathering, reconciling, and analyzing data from different sources, making this project an excellent case study for consortial data analysis. In addition to presenting the methodology and key findings, the article encourages academic librarians to use resource-sharing data to inform cooperative collection development in area studies to build distinctive collections supporting consortial and national resource sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2003 the University of Mississippi Libraries made our MetaSearch tool publicly available. After a year of working with this product and integrating it into the library Web site, a wide variety of libraries interested in our implementation process and experiences began to call. Libraries interested in this product have included consortia, public, and academic libraries in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. This article was written in an effort to share the recommendations and concerns given. Much of the advice is general and could be applied to many of the MetaSearch tools available. Google Scholar and other open Web initiatives that could impact the future of MetaSearching are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Nevada Las Vegas Libraries engaged in three projects that helped identify areas of its website that had inhibited discovery of services and resources. These projects also helped generate staff interest in the Usability Working Group, which led these endeavors. The first project studied student responses to the site. The second focused on a usability test with the Libraries' peer research coaches and resulted in a presentation of those findings to the Libraries staff. The final project involved a specialized test, the results of which also were presented to staff. All three of these projects led to improvements to the website and will inform a larger redesign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have tried to identify factors that make electronic books (e-books) in academic libraries more likely to be used. For instance, are demand-driven acquisitions used more than titles in packages? Are e-books in the sciences used more than e-books on art? Most of these studies are limited to one or two variables. This study introduces logistic regression, which can incorporate multiple variables to determine which factors are the most useful in predicting e-book usage. The variables considered in this study are LC class, university press or other publisher and platform. In the collection studied, the classes with the highest odds of being used were A (General Works), followed by F (History of the Americas), H (Social Sciences) and Q (Math and Science). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines a study assessing and comparing the rate of use of nonreference print and electronic book collections acquired during the same time period at one academic library. Rate of use was examined for both collections by discipline and method of acquisition. The author found that 74 percent of print titles acquired in 2008–2009 had been used within their first six years in the collection, and that 27 percent of print books acquired between 2008 and 2014 had been used between July 2013 and November 2014. By contrast, only 12 percent of the e-books acquired between 2008 and 2014 were used during the same 17-month period. The author examines how different print and electronic collection development models might affect monograph use in academic libraries within the context of previously published research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ACRL’s “2016 Top Trends in Academic Libraries” noted a “shift to the incorporation and integration of more continuous, ongoing, flexible, and sustainable review of collections,” and “an increasing need” to align collection development with “institutional research and curricular requirements.” This article describes these trends playing out at a top-ranked research library. Given the library’s long history of collecting print books, the article examines the monographic acquisitions program from multiple angles, including circulation, expenditures, approval plans, and e-book usage. There are also suggestions for additional metrics to evaluate collections as a service, as well as questions posed to frame an ongoing research and assessment agenda. The models described in this case study and the proposed research and assessment agenda can be adapted by other academic libraries, both to fit local institutional needs and as collection development and “collections as a service” are increasingly realized within interinstitutional collaborative networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This citation analysis examines the ability of the local collection at the Pennsylvania State University to meet the needs of global and area studies researchers focusing on monographs published by faculty members on Latin American studies in a ten-year period. The study focuses on book use to address the tempting notion that packages and online sources can fully and universally support international and area studies across multiple disciplines. The author assessed the works cited by such criteria as availability at the University Libraries, language, place of publication, age of citation, and online availability. This study could inform collection development decisions and contributes to a general understanding of faculty research trends and the library's role in supporting the research related to Latin America across disciplines and academic units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why has the rise of the Internet--which drastically reduces the cost of distributing information--coincided with drastic increases in the prices that academic libraries pay for access to scholarly journals? This study argues that libraries are trapped in a collective action dilemma as defined by economist Mancur Olson in The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. To truly reduce their costs, librarians would have to build a shared online collection of scholarly resources jointly managed by the academic community as a whole, but individual academic institutions lack the private incentives necessary to invest in a shared collection. Thus, the management of online scholarly journals has been largely outsourced to publishers who have developed monopoly powers that allow them to increase subscription prices faster than the rate of inflation. Many librarians consider the open access movement the best response to increased subscription costs, but the current strategies employed to achieve open access also are undermined by collective action dilemmas. In conclusion, some alternative strategies are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the predictive relationship between library use by individual students and their retention status in university settings. The methodology builds on a small number of previous studies to examine library use at the individual level to determine if use of specific library services is predictive of retention for freshmen and sophomores. Binary logistic regression yielded results that indicate a strong positive predictive relationship between library use of any kind with both freshmen and sophomore retention. These results suggest that academic libraries add value to institutional retention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Studies and the broader discipline of sexuality studies are multidisciplinary fields that require a different approach to collection development in academic libraries. Many library collections budgets reflect the traditional divisions by academic department, and multidisciplinary fields often transcend these conventional boundaries. The concept of one selector for one department, while being a well-established and practical approach to collection building, is limited in breadth and scope and is not necessarily suitable for multidisciplinary fields. This study uses citation analysis to assess the LGBTQ collection at Concordia University Libraries, to ascertain collection strengths and weaknesses, and to recommend collaborative collection development as a viable method of building an excellent collection in a multidisciplinary subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study surveyed academic libraries across the United States to establish baseline data on their contributions to campus internationalization. Supplementing data from the American Council on Education (ACE) on internationalization of higher education, this research measured the level of international activities taking place in academic libraries and their role in campus internationalization efforts. The results of this study indicated that responding libraries contribute broadly to campus internationalizing efforts yet trail campuses in strategic planning and organizational support. Based on analysis of the results in comparison with ACE data, the authors provide suggestions for further library initiatives and research that focuses on international and global learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) programs have become a well-established approach toward integrating user involvement in the process of building academic library collections. However, these programs are in a constant state of evolution. A recent iteration in this evolution of ebook availability is the advent of large ebook collections whose contents libraries can lease, but not own only if they choose to do so. This study includes an investigation of patron usage and librarian ebook selection by comparing call number data generated by usage of three entities: (1) an ebrary PDA; (2) Academic Complete, which is a leased collection of e-books; and (3) subject librarian selections based on the YPB approval plan at Iowa State University. The context is provided through a description of the development and evolution of demand driven acquisitions programs with an analysis of where libraries have been and where they are going with enhancing the collection development in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the implementation of an online portal for recreational reading materials set up by the Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library, an academic library at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). The benefits of recreational reading, the use by the library of the Voyager integrated library system created by Ex Libris, and the importance of promoting the recreational reading materials, are examined.

In April 2010, the University of Colorado Boulder (CUB) Libraries implemented a patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) e-book program through Ingram Content Group's on the MyiLibrary platform. CUB's PDAprogram expanded to include all campuses within the University of Colorado (CU) system, launching a collaborative pilot project for shared purchasing and shared cataloging of e-books among five geographically separate and diverse CU libraries in December 2011. The PDA program affects the catalogs, cataloging departments, and cataloging workflows of each library. This paper describes the CU PDA program with a focus on how MARC records are prepared and distributed to the CU libraries, both before and after titles are purchased. It covers factors that impact editing and customization of the records such as the quality of vendor-supplied data, local needs, and best practices for Prospector, a regional unified catalog in which all CU system libraries participate. In addition, the authors share their strategies for detecting and correcting cataloging errors that occur and their methods for handling PDA titles duplicated in other e-book packages available at CU libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study about the integration of virtual reference and digital reference tools into academic libraries, focusing on the integration process at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It addresses the impact of the needs of library users on the integration process and provides information on the school's reexamination of the library's reference services.

Over time, the University Libraries at Bowling Green State University incorporated several departmental or satellite collections into the catalog, only to expunge them later at the request of either the department or the library administration. To avoid past problems, the library took a new approach to a request to catalog a collection of VHS cassettes and DVDs for the Dr. Ralph H. Wolfe Viewing Center. This paper describes how the authors used a lightweight content management system to create a video catalog database that the Viewing Center's staff could easily update and manage. The solution presented here might be useful for other libraries facing similar requests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public users represent a small but growing clientele in academic libraries. Many academic librarians grapple with the issue of serving public users, partially because of shrinking academic library budgets and growing user demands. This article presents data from a 2002 survey about public access in Florida academic libraries. A Web-based survey consisting of nine questions was sent to sixty-six libraries, of which thirty-six responded. Results show that while a majority of publicly and privately funded academic libraries allow public users to access their resources and services, many do not actively promote themselves to the community at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenal growth of distance-learning programs at colleges and universities has tremendous implications for providing library services to distance students. Academic libraries are trying to meet the accreditation requirements for providing "equivalent" library resources and services to on-campus students and distance learners. This article reviews the literature and presents an overview of distance-learning services offered by academic libraries. The impact of distance-learning and accreditation requirements on the work and roles of academic librarians is explored, and shifts in the roles of librarians serving distance learners and educators are discussed. The focus is on examining additional responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges encountered by academic librarians in serving distance learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]