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This paper uses mixed methods to scavenge and analyse lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and two‐spirit (LGBTQ2S) resources and visibility in public library branches on the periphery of the Vancouver city‐region in the suburban municipalities of Surrey, Burnaby, and New Westminster. It argues that in Canadian suburbs, where access to LGBTQ2S community resources are limited, libraries are simultaneously key public sites of engagement for LGBTQ2S people and places where they continue to face dominant socio‐cultural power relations of hetero and cis‐normativity that determine the availability, visibility, and accessibility of queer materials. Scavenging for queerness within virtual and material library spaces, this paper demonstrates that suburban libraries hold the promise of information and equity while also reinforcing LGBTQ2S absence, invisibility, and exclusion. The promise of social inclusion is carried forward by a few insider activist and ally librarians who act as political change agents within library systems and specific branches by creating queer‐friendly collections, spaces, and programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in digitized content available, new presidential research avails itself to more quantitative analysis. More digitized resources from government agencies and private and university repositories allow presidential scholars access to a broader universe of content. Data for analysis include digitized documents, oral histories, and data sets. Presidential scholars and researchers have the option to collaborate with programmers, computer scientists, and graduate students to become acquainted with current repositories and experiment with new technologies such as text mining and the R programming language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A knowledge map of digital library ( DL) research shows the semantic organization of DL research topics and also the evolution of the field. The research reported in this article aims to find the core topics and subtopics of DL research in order to build a knowledge map of the DL domain. The methodology is comprised of a four-step research process, and two knowledge organization methods (classification and thesaurus building) were used. A knowledge map covering 21 core topics and 1,015 subtopics of DL research was created and provides a systematic overview of DL research during the last two decades (1990-2010). We argue that the map can work as a knowledge platform to guide, evaluate, and improve the activities of DL research, education, and practices. Moreover, it can be transformed into a DL ontology for various applications. The research methodology can be used to map any human knowledge domain; it is a novel and scientific method for producing comprehensive and systematic knowledge maps based on literary warrant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from mechanical printing to electronic information dissemination amounts to a digital renaissance, enabling primary source documents to be reborn as electronic resources. For history scholars, this presents opportunities and challenges for preserving centuries-old original texts in a digital environment, supporting downloading and digital access and presenting original research. The Post-Reformation Digital Library (PRDL) serves as a case study, capturing a select set of resources on theology and philosophy of the 15th to 18th centuries from a variety of physical locations and digital libraries. Through digitization, digital access and systematic cataloging, the PRDL -- along with the database, social networking and dedicated website it has prompted -- are helping to overcome barriers to access. Though a modest initiative, the progress of the PRDL demonstrates possibilities for rediscovering historical materials and making them available for modern scholarly studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of the 113 academic libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) was administered to investigate whether Web usability Policies/Standards/Guidelines (PSGs) are in place, the levels of difficulty surrounding implementation, the impact of PSGs on actual usability practice, e.g., testing, resources, etc., and the relationship between ARL ranking and usability practice or PSGs. The response rate was over 74%. Results show that 25 (30%) libraries have PSGs dedicated to Web usability. Seventy-one (85%) libraries have conducted usability testing on their main Web sites, online public access catalogs (OPAC), or lower-level pages. Nevertheless, only seven libraries performed iterative testing of these platforms at pre-, during, and post-design stages. Statistical analysis indicates that having PSGs does not affect the amount of usability testing performed or the resources available for library Web usability initiatives. In addition, ARL ranking has no or little impact on PSGs, testing, or resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades, changes in technology have allowed academic medical center libraries to bring the world of biomedical information to the physician's computer desktop. Because digital libraries have grown so rapidly and in so many ways, some clinicians may be uncertain about the services and resources that are available to them. This article explains how clinical faculty can best utilize their library to support their research and patient care. It addresses some of the most common myths about the "new" medical library, and it highlights innovations in library resources and services that can help physicians to better access, use and manage medical information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined users’ views about the usability of digital libraries—current and perceived importance. Age, gender, prior experience with the Internet, college status, and digital library proficiency are the independent variables. Users’ current views about the usability of digital libraries and users’ perceived importance of digital library usability are treated as dependent variables. The Digital Library Usability Survey, a Likert-type instrument developed by Koohang, was used. The study's participants were 107 undergraduate students enrolled in an interdisciplinary and cross-functional degree programme at a large state university in the Midwest, USA. The collected data were analysed through statistical procedures. The overall results yielded significant differences for the variables of users’ prior experience with the Internet and users’ proficiency level with the digital library. The univariate results indicated a significant difference on the users’ perceived importance of digital library usability. However, digital library proficiency produced a significant difference on users’ current views about the digital library's usability. These results are discussed. Recommendations are made for practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usage and user feedback about a state digital library, in which the developers/designers, content providers, different types of libraries and their staffs, and a variety of user groups represent a loose federation of separate organizations with diverse expectations and needs, are investigated. Through corroboratory evidence from usage statistics of Internet-based database services available through the digital library, responses to a statewide-administered library survey, and a Web-based survey of end users, the authors identify contributing factors for the organizational usability of state digital libraries. The authors refine and enhance an organizational usability model for the unique environment of state digital libraries and identify three modes of interaction (influence, communication, activity) and the challenges each interaction presents: in addressing diverse player needs and expectations; the unequal awareness and training in using state digital libraries; and the lack of sufficient communication channels among players. In addition, the findings highlight the double-edged impact of physical libraries on the state digital library. The term and notion of the "half-life" index-number of literature obsolescence, as well as their borrowing from nuclear physics and adaptation into the literature of literature obsolescence, have up to now been attributed to the librarian Burton and the physicist Kebler and to their famous 1960 journal article. In this article it is documented that (1) Burton and Kebler in their 1960 article were not the first to use the term literature "half-life"; (2) it was not Burton and Kebler who borrowed the conception of "half-life" from nuclear physics and not them who adapted it into the literature of literature obsolescence; (3) in their 1960 article Burton and Kebler first made critical and later ambiguous statements, and finally attributed only "some validity" to the idea of literature half-life; (4) Burton and Kebler stated and... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]