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Understanding how demographic characteristics influence students' technology adaptation is crucial for effective online learning. This study explored the impact of these characteristics on distance education (DE) students' technology adaptation at a sub-Saharan African university. Using a descriptive survey design with a highreliability score (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.898), data were collected from 200 DE students across 14 study centres. The study tested seven hypotheses, employing statistical analyses like ANOVA, t-tests, and post hoc tests. Results revealed that while gender and employment status did not significantly affect technology adaptation, age, academic programme, academic level, and study centre did. Students aged 26-35 adapted better, with those in Mathematics and English programs showing higher adaptation scores compared to those in the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) program. Additionally, higher-level students and those from well-resourced study centres demonstrated superior adaptability. The study suggests providing targeted support based on age, academic programme, and study centre resources to enhance technology adaptation in DE. To further improve students' technology proficiency, the study recommends that DE institutions offer regular training sessions and workshops to help students navigate online platforms, use digital libraries, and maximize productivity tools.

Although many Nigerian universities are making efforts to provide access to digital library resources, the level of utilization of these resources have not been encouraging due to several factors. Information literacy has been identified as a major factor when considering the factors that enhance use of digital resources. In view of this, this study was designed to investigate how "information literacy skills" predict the utilization of digital library resource by university teaching staff. The study was built around two theoretical models, that is, SCONUL's information literacy model, and the Technology Acceptance Model. A correlational research design guided the study. The population consisted of 6,653 teaching staff from six federal universities in Southern, Nigeria, and six hundred and sixty-five (665) persons comprised the sample, proportionately chosen via stratified random sampling. The test instruments designed for this study were: Test tool titled "Skill Test on Information Literacy" (STIL), and a questionnaire titled "Usage of Digital Library Resources" (UDLR). The study used the Kuder-Richardson technique to determine the items' reliability yielding results of 0.77, 0.78, 0.75, 0.64, 0.81, and 0.81 for digital library resources usage. The study used multiple regression analysis for the research question. The findings revealed that in terms of extent, a weak positive relationship exists between the skills of university teaching staff in information literacy and utilization of digital library resources. On the whole, the findings showed a significant correlation between university teaching staff skills in information literacy and utilization of digital resources. It implies that in improving the usage of digital resources by university teaching staff, attention must be focused on their abilities to utilize these resources. It was recommended that librarians should have a strategy for training lecturers on digital skills as part of the overall plan for promoting the usage of digital resources by lecturers.

Digital and information literacy skills are necessary to succeed in today's knowledge economy but for the millions of people in the world without internet access, a frustratingCatch-22 exists: How can they develop digital literacy skills without internet access? When they get access, what good is the internet to them if they don't have the skills to use it productively? One answer is an offline digital library called SolarSPELL. This report from the field describes a series of instructional videos the author created to foster digital and information literacy skills among novice SolarSPELL users.

The purposes of research were to comparison of digital technology used for the instructional management during the COVID-19 pandemic during the New Normal period and the endemic COVID-19 during Next Normal period adopted by pre-service teachers; and to develop the landscape of digital technology used for instructional management during the New Normal and the Next Normal periods adopted by pre-service teachers. The participants included 400 pre-service teachers. The research tool was an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed by mean and standard deviation. The results showed the comparison of digital technology for the instructional management in the New Normal and the Next Normal as follows. Regarding the New Normal, the finding were: (a) some websites and applications such as Google Meet, Line, YouTube, and Facebook Messenger were used to communication with students; (b) some websites and applications, namely Google classroom, MS Teams, Moodle, and Thaimooc were used to send and receive student's works; (c) some learning management systems, namely Google classroom, MS Teams, Moodle, and Thaimooc were used; (d) some digital media libraries such as YouTube, Trueplookpanya, DLTV, Satellite Distance Education Foundation, SciMath Knowledge Library, and IPST were used; (e) some online measurement and evaluation tools such as Google Forms, Kahoot, Quizizz, and Microsoft Forms were used and (f) some teaching guidelines and tools, like Video assignment, General Activities, and Attendance be used later. Regarding the Next Normal, the finding were: (a) some websites and applications were used to communicate with students, including Line, Facebook, Messenger, Youtube and Google classroom; (b) some websites and applications like Line, Facebook Messenger, YouTube, and Google classroom were used to send and receive student's assignments; (c) some learning management systems like Google classroom, MS Teams, Moodle, Edmodo, and Thaimooc were also used; (d) some digital media libraries like Google classroom, YouTube, Trueplookpanya, OBEC Content Center -- NEDA, and DLTV (Satellite Distance Education Foundation) were also helpful; (e) some online measurement and evaluation tools like Google Forms, Kahoot, Quizizz, and Microsoft Forms were also used; and (f) some teaching guidelines and tools like Assignment, Announcements and Update, Student Support, and Grade Book will also be used later. The digital technology landscape consists of 6 parts: (1) the websites and applications used for communication with students; (2) the websites and applications provides for students to submit their assignments; (3) the learning management systems; (4) the digital media libraries; (5) the online measurement and evaluation tools; and (6) the teaching guidelines and tools to be used later.

Open educational resource (OER) initiatives have opened new avenues for educational opportunities, yet OER adoption levels globally remain low. Two significant obstacles to more widespread adoption of OER are the challenge of internet connectivity that nearly half the world's population still faces, and the lack of locally-relevant (e.g. in terms of language and curricula) OER resources. This article's contribution is twofold. First, it presents a qualitative landscape analysis of existing primary- and secondary-level Arabic-language digital OERs and of the initiatives that provide these resources. Second, it details applied research via a case study, wherein appropriate resources identified in the analysis were subsequently curated for inclusion in an offline digital library currently being used in schools in Northeast Syria that offers all Open resources. Results from the landscape analysis indicate a limited quantity of Arabic-language OER content available for primary and secondary education. Furthermore, multiple challenges hinder the adoption of OER in resource-constrained settings. Accordingly, recommendations are made that could help to improve these resources' ability to be used, particularly drawing from the article's applied case study for examples. Given the case study's application of providing locally-relevant OER resources in an offline setting, this article provides a real-world example of furthering open e-learning, despite infrastructural, linguistic, and socio-political challenges. As such, it advances research supporting innovative e-learning practice, and should be of interest for scholars and practitioners interested in furthering the adoption of open e-learning in low-resource settings globally.

This research explores lecturers' perceptions of digital libraries as a learning resource for the industrial era 4.0 that can be used anytime and anywhere to solve the low interest in developing lecturers because of the difficulty of accessing references to conventional libraries, which require lecturers to visit the library building. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 lecturers, and data analysis was performed using thematic analysis. The analysis results found four main themes: benefits, challenges, recommendations, and positive and negative impacts of digital libraries. The research concluded that the existence of a digital library can make it easy for lecturers to browse the references needed quickly, easily, and flexibly just by entering the library's website page. This research contributes to solving the problem of lecturers in Indonesia over the limited learning resources in conventional libraries that are difficult to access online and require particular visiting time because they have to come directly during library operating hours. Therefore, support from the government, university leaders, and the wider community is needed to develop a digital library system to facilitate lecturers in Indonesia having adequate learning resources for the industrial era 4.0.

This study examines cybersecurity awareness in universities by analyzing related research output across different disciplines at the University of Johannesburg. The diffusion of innovation theory is used in this study as a theoretical framework to explain how cybersecurity awareness diffuses across disciplines. The University of Johannesburg Institutional Repository database was the data source for this study. Variations in cybersecurity keyword searches and topic modeling techniques were used to identify the frequency and distribution of research output across different disciplines. The study reveals that cybersecurity awareness has diffused across various disciplines, including non-computer science disciplines such as business, accounting, and social sciences. However, there are significant differences in cybersecurity awareness across academic disciplines, highlighting the need for targeted efforts to promote cybersecurity awareness in underrepresented academic disciplines and for intra and interdisciplinary collaboration.

This paper seeks to illuminate new perspectives on the concept of crisis in globalised higher education (HE) by focusing on knowledge generated by doctoral research. Doctoral research is a significant part of research and knowledge building in HE, particularly in science, and doctoral students contribute to the research capacity and knowledge building of institutions. This source of knowledge offers alternative perspectives on crisis in HE, providing a rich source of research which is often under-consulted. Using the British Library's digital repository EThOS, a collection of around 637,000 doctoral studies carried out in British universities, the research harnesses Generative Artificial Intelligence approaches in order to analyse the ways in which crisis is defined and constructed in doctoral research since 2000. Through a pilot study using a prototype of a new AI tool, the paper offers both conceptual and methodological insights into constructions of crisis in this under-used field of research.

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

The Re-membering Blackness Digital Archive at the University of Scranton shares the university's racial story as part of a campus-wide initiative devoted to reconciliation and collective memory. By bringing together archival records on Black history in a thematic digital collection, the project presents a corrective lens through which the university community transformed its understanding of the historical Black experience on campus and considered how this history reverberates in the present. The initiative contributes to a growing collection of institutional research projects on African American history and the legacies of slavery and racism in higher education. This article considers the metaphor of archives as memory within critical archival literature, and it examines the relationship between archives and collective memory in the context of the University of Scranton's initiative to recover Black memory.

Academic libraries have long been called the heart of their campuses. As priorities have shifted away from print collections and other repository services, college libraries have expanded their services to be welcoming spaces that support students' sense of belonging and meet a wide range of needs. This is perhaps especially true of community college libraries, with the understanding that our students have unique needs, strengths, and challenges. This paper explores how academic libraries, including community college libraries, are contested spaces, with challenges to their physical footprint, pressure to innovate, and administrative ambivalence. Although the future of libraries in higher education is often focused on technological innovation, community college libraries are responding to the challenges they face with changing service models that meet students where they are and support the whole person. Additionally, the paper uses the Queensborough Community College's library as a case study on addressing students' basic needs and wellness during and after the COVID-19 pandemic closures. Embracing a campus-wide call to support students' sense of belonging, the QCC library recognized that even amidst budget cuts that shortened service hours and left vacant library faculty positions unfilled, the library was still open more than any other service on campus.

This article is inspired by a recent call for the establishment of "alliances for inter- and transdisciplinarity" issued by Julie Thompson Klein (2021) in this journal. Previously, in 2016, "Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies" published a Special Section devoted to Latin American experiences in interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. The concept of "regionalism" was elaborated as a means to orient collaborative practices based on mutual learning and cooperation. Using this concept as an inspiration, this article explores the works of a network of Latin American researchers and practitioners called "Nodo de Estudios sobre Interdisciplina y Transdisciplina" (Nodo ESIT). The aim of this collective, created in 2018, is to promote, connect, and strengthen inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and research in different countries within the region. The Nodo ESIT offers a shared virtual space for exchange and collaboration among societal and scientific actors from different fields (i.e., academia, social organizations, decision makers, and the private sector). It represents seven countries in Latin America, and integrates participants from some European countries, who are working in the region. Drawing from the concept of regionalism and expanding Klein's (2021) description of the similarities and differences among five international organizations, we elaborate on our network's opportunities and the challenges it has faced in the Latin American context. Two questions guide this work: (1) How can inter- and transdisciplinarity be supported and enhanced in marginalized contexts? and (2) What are the best practices already implemented to foster inter- and transdisciplinarity in Latin America? We present the Nodo ESIT as an exemplary case of regionalism for inter- and transdisciplinarity in Latin America. We conclude by identifying three lessons learned and strengths achieved from this initiative thanks to a special constellation of actors, contexts, and actions.

Learning to teach writing remains challenging for both student instructors and the experienced faculty, staff, and other professionals who mentor them. Many institutions have created local repositories of teaching-related materials such as syllabi and assignments, and some national efforts have also attempted to facilitate sharing resources to support instructor professional development. However, the labor-intensive nature of building digital resources has reduced the long-term effectiveness of these archives. Interdisciplinary approaches to building professional development resources can address these difficulties, creating more sustainable repositories and similar professional development resources. In this article, we describe the construction of the repository associated with the Corpus & Repository of Writing, a web-based archive of pedagogical materials from first year-writing courses at multiple institutions. We discuss the decisions we made regarding material and metadata collection, data processing, classification of materials, and interface design, and share insights from testing with administrators, teachers, and mentors keen on developing sustainable, equitable approaches to mentoring. By drawing from the methods of corpus linguistics and technical communication, and guiding our development processes with user-centered design, we offer a model for repository building that can shape mentoring, teaching, and research within and across diverse writing programs.

Grant programs that foster the use of open educational resources (OER) significantly reduce undergraduate student spending on textbooks per semester. The Zero-Cost Course Materials (ZCCM) grant program at the University of California, Merced (UC Merced), eliminated text costs and ensured access to course materials by replacing required commercial materials with OER and library licensed e-resources. The present study applies the COUP framework (cost, outcomes, usage, and perceptions) to evaluate the ZCCM program. The ZCCM program resulted in student cost savings and did not negatively impact student outcomes. Students in ZCCM courses demonstrated higher rates of course completion than students enrolled in previous sections. For the outcomes of final course grade, passing with a C- or better, and number of credit hours enrolled in, findings were comparable between the cohorts. Student usage and perception of course materials were gathered using a survey. Though students reported favorable views of zero-cost materials, they reported using them less frequently than commercial texts. This research contributes to a growing body of literature that confirms beneficial cost savings for students using zero-cost materials without jeopardizing students' success.

This study analyses the frequencies of inclusion of digital literary-educational proposals on the diversification of sex/gender/sexuality expectations by in-service Spanish teachers of secondary education (n=436), and the predictors that determine this inclusion. Based on the application of the instrument Digital Literary Education and the Construction of Gender Identities (DLECGI), the study is developed in non-experimental designs of a cross-sectional nature, and at the relational, explanatory and predictive levels of research, insofar as it seeks to reveal the socio-demographic, formative and didactic causes of the phenomenon or event of interest, and its degree of occurrence. The results obtained indicate the existence of a profile of teachers who promote the recommendation of this type of digital reading based on their belonging to non-binary gender groups with previous training in co-education and equality, and with explicit didactic stances on controversial issues. Likewise, the relationship between socio-demographic variables and the didactic positioning of teachers on the recommendation of digital readings on affective-sexual diversity shows that initial and/or ongoing specific training in co-education and equality is a key predictor of this relationship. These findings attest to the fact that the visibility and recognition of identity plurality in literary education necessarily involves the proposal of counter-hegemonic models regarding gender and affective-sexual identity. In this regard, teacher training must continue to progress towards the adoption of inclusive didactic approaches within the framework of educational principles for democratic citizenship, regardless of the gender or personal and social identity that defines these teachers.

This article examines the structural disparities between the archives at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and Michigan State University (MSU). While Nigerian archivists work to preserve their institutions' local content, they must contend with cultural and infrastructural constraints foreign to their American counterparts. To elucidate these differences, this analysis builds upon Stoler's 'archival turn' framework which shifts the gaze on archives to consider them as subjects of inquiry rather than mere sources of data. Reflecting on my own experience working with physical archives at UNN and MSU, along with digital artifacts from these institutions' websites, I analyze the contents and accessibility of hardcopy and digital collections at both universities. In conclusion, I argue that the ongoing and uneven footprint of imperialism, both socio-cultural and infrastructural, results in an unequal distribution of Trouillot's 'archival power' amongst global institutions like UNN and MSU. Additionally, I highlight means by which some Nigerian scholars have contested imperialism to reclaim ownership over their own archival contents and narratives.

This study's aim was to examine the difficulties that undergraduate students had while doing their research in online distance learning environment. This study used a descriptive research design and was quantitative in nature. By using census all 247 students enrolled in different undergraduate degree programs in department of education were selected who have completed research projects as a part of their degree program at Virtual University of Pakistan. In the questionnaire, students were asked about problems faced by them in three domains i.e. student-related, supervisor-related and institution-related. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study revealed that during research conduction the problems faced by students are; lack of discussion with supervisor, lack of time for research, lack of digital library resources, insufficient content and lack of direction, tool/questionnaire selection, accessing resources, unwillingness of participants and problems in writing and reporting the results. The findings highlighted the problems of resources that hindered students' smooth learning progress at VU. It is recommended that institute may provide digital library resources and also upload the theses on its website so students can get help from different sources during research conduction.

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.

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.

February 12, 1924, is a landmark date in the annals of American music. The story of that snowy afternoon in New York has become almost legendary -- and the tale has undoubtedly become embellished in its telling and retelling over the past 100 years. The occasion was a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music," presented by Paul Whiteman and his Palais Royal Orchestra. According to program annotator Hugh C. Ernst (Whiteman's business manager), the so-called experiment was to be "purely educational," and it was Whiteman's aim to demonstrate "the tremendous strides which have been made in popular music" in the previous decade or so, with the apparent goal of increasing the presence of American vernacular music in the concert hall. The "jazz concerto" became "Rhapsody in Blue," by far the most memorable feature of the "Experiment in Modern Music." The mythology surrounding a notice had appeared in the "New York Tribune" announcing that the concert would be evaluated by a panel of judges "who will pass on 'What Is American Music?'" The notice went on to say that "George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto." The "jazz concerto" became "Rhapsody in Blue," by far the most memorable feature of the "Experiment in Modern Music." The mythology surrounding the work quickly developed, but as with many myths and urban legends, the story of "Rhapsody in Blue" has its basis in fact. The original manuscripts in the Music Division of the Library of Congress tell part of the story. These manuscripts start with several undated sketches for the opening theme of "Rhapsody in Blue" in a manuscript sketchbook that dates from 1924 and 1925. The only complete manuscript for the "Rhapsody" in Gershwin's own handwriting (fifty-six pages, for piano solo, with the jazz band part reduced for a second piano) has the date January 7, 1924, on its first page; this date is only three days after the "New York Tribune" announcement on January 4. "Rhapsody in Blue" has inspired much scholarly inquiry over the years. But if Whiteman hoped that his "Experiment in Modern Music" might help to bring American popular music into the concert hall, he could not possibly have imagined the extent to which the new "jazz concerto" would become world famous through recordings, sheet music, articles, and books, and that it indeed would become an iconic representation of its era. If challenged to compose for an "Experiment in Modern Music" concert today, as the author proposes, what might students create?

Strategy instruction is essential in the literature of language learning/learner strategies. This paper employs a literature review to determine how much strategy instruction is addressed in language learning research in Saudi Arabia, how many instruments have been used and what kind of strategies are taught. A search was conducted on articles from 1950 to 2020 through the Saudi Digital Library. From an initial 297 records, 17 (5.7%) studies met the review criteria. This small number reflects the shortage of language learning strategy instruction in Saudi Arabia. The reviewed studies also targeted different variables in their strategy instructions, which shows that they were developed based on personal discretion. The most taught strategies are reading strategies and then vocabulary/spelling strategies. The least taught strategies, however, are social and motivational strategies. Only one of the studies utilized a standardized measure for one of its dependent variables after instruction. Thus, it was difficult to make comparisons across the studies. It is recommended that Saudi strategy researchers include strategy instruction in their investigation of language learning strategies and calculate the duration of their instruction in hours for clarity. They should also explain in detail what intervention is used, why and how they conducted the instruction. In addition, strategy instruction is a demanding task that requires a multi-method data collection approach.

The PhD by retrospective published work remains an under-researched area within doctoral education. Introduced into the United Kingdom (UK) in 1966, this variant of PhD is one of several models of doctoral qualification that exist across the globe that include published research in the final submission. Although the retrospective model is an established way of obtaining a PhD through the inclusion of published research it has, together with the prospective 'three-paper' PhD, remained largely peripheral within the British HE sector. This paper places the discussion of this variant of the PhD by published work into its intellectual and instrumental contexts through an examination of epistemological and environmental drivers. This paper is informed by data generated through a series of online surveys of the regulations across the HE sector, the British Library's EThOS database, and responses from 20 universities.

The Duke University Clinical and Translational Science Institute Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERI) created an e-Library in 2018. This e-Library was developed in response to requests from academic researchers and the community for reliable, easily accessible information about community-engaged research approaches and concepts. It was vetted by internal and external partners. The e-Library's goal is to compile and organize nationally relevant community-engaged research resources to build bi-directional capacity between diverse community collaborators and the academic research community. Key elements of the e-Library's development included a selection of LibGuides as the platform; iterative community input; adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic; and modification of this resource as needs grow and change.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to revisit previous design principles and guidelines for online makerspaces in public libraries (Kim et al., 2020) and expand the design principles with more updated implications and examples from the literature published during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors reviewed recently published papers about online transitions of makerspaces, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, summarized their implications and deduced applicable design principles and guidelines. Findings: This paper proposes updated design principles and guidelines based on four key areas: Program and service design; Tools and materials; Facilitation; and Logistic support. These updated design principles considered a wider range of patrons that public library makerspaces may serve, the digital divide issues and logistic concerns that should be addressed beyond the scope of a single makerspace. Originality/value: This paper compiles various lessons learned and strategies regarding online makerspaces and maker programming for public libraries and provides helpful design principles and guidelines for the continued use of online components for makerspace services and programs.

Aim/Purpose: This article explores the critical need for adaptable educational models in times of crisis, focusing on strategies to overcome infrastructural and digital inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: By examining a case study of an offline digital library project implemented in South Sudan, this paper seeks to examine the impact of an offline digital educational solution for low-resource and crisis situations. Methodology: The authors utilize a mixed-methods approach, integrating both qualitative interviews and quantitative data analysis, to evaluate the use and impact of the SolarSPELL Initiative's offline digital libraries in South Sudan. Contribution: This study contributes to our understanding of digital and information literacy within crisis contexts, highlighting the vital role of localized, offline content. Findings: The findings demonstrate that offline digital solutions can effectively mitigate educational disruptions by providing an accessible means to continue education during emergencies. Recommendations for Practitioners: Recommendations for practitioners include the adoption of robust offline digital learning solutions to promote educational continuity. Recommendation for Researchers: The authors recommend that researchers continue investigating the potential of offline digital educational solutions for low-resource and crisis situations. Impact on Society: Ultimately, this article finds that offline digital libraries, when paired with skill-building, are a viable means to lessen digital disparities and promote educational continuity in times of crisis and beyond. Future Research: The study suggests further exploration into the long-term impacts of such interventions on learning outcomes.

The project "Representation of Childhood at the Museums of Latvia, Integrated in the E-Learning Environment of Higher Education" was a response to the need for sources in the history of education that would accommodate the interests of students in educational sciences. The article aims at sharing the project experience in (1) mapping the history of childhood in museums, (2) building the digitised museum objects database, (3) integrating the database in learning environment, and (4) reflecting on the lessons learned through the project. The mapping was done in 30 museums, digitising 1190 artefacts and creating a "draft" database, which in 2021 was used by 74 master's students in educational sciences at the University of Latvia. We concluded that object-based childhood interpretation entails subjectivism in both the creation of museum collections and the choice of objects for the database. The objects selected by students revealed that educational science students are interested in less attractive sources for exhibitions as educational documentation and statistics. The project findings draw attention to the gaps in childhood history, for example, children with special needs are still "invisible", the material culture created by children themselves is poorly exhibited and the question about the 1990s as the "end" of childhood history in Latvia is open. The students' work with the database revealed challenges in history didactics; for example, how to prepare students for the "translation" of modern educational concepts into the language of history. Further development of the education history database depends on technical solutions, as well as on engaging students in systematic feeding of the database.

In recent years, the opportunities for academic libraries to engage as a partner in digital initiatives in academia have expanded significantly. The traditional focus on digitization, preservation, and dissemination of collections has developed and shifted considerably, bringing new strategies for adequately serving the changed academic needs, as well as building and utilizing different types of collections. The goal of this article is to elaborate on these strategic shifts by presenting one of Panitza Library's newest digital collections projects - the "Sound Library" of the American University in Bulgaria, thus sharing insights into the practical process.

This case study details how a community college library, in response to rising textbook costs and COVID-related closures, advocated for and received an increase in funding to provide online copies of many textbooks in its reserve collection. It also provides a glimpse into the roadblocks acquisitions librarians might encounter in trying to bolster online textbook collections, such as licensing issues, expense, and loan periods. The initiative resulted in a major expansion of access to etextbooks, particularly lower undergraduate titles from large textbook publishers. The new etextbooks varied greatly in popularity. Circulation statistics of print textbooks are presented along with usage data for etextbooks for the first year of this initiative. Initial statistics illustrate the potential popularity of etextbooks and also show the need for further investigation about which disciplines are best served by etextbook access, and how best to raise awareness of these titles for professors as well as students.

The library and information services of the twenty first century are rapidly changing education learning patterns because of the rapid development of electronic publishing libraries. However, the literature reveals the considerable unpredictability in experience, challenges, and awareness about E-resources among college students during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic scenario. In the aftermath of the pandemic, everyone has been forced to learn and teach E-resources in educational institutions worldwide. Along with their academic demands, college students are confronted by a lack of knowledge of handling e-learning resources and low network connectivity in remote regions. In this aspect, this study commenced to describe the experience, challenges, and awareness about e-learning resources. A descriptive and diagnostic research design was adopted and primary data was collected from college students through Google Forms with participant consent. The basic information about respondents, experience, challenges, and awareness of E-resources are tools of the study. The statistical analysis is to be carried out based on the study's objective. This analysis was used to identify influential factors and to explore the relationships between e-learning experience, and resource awareness. Subsequently, the analysis is used to discuss recommendations for enhancing the utilization of e-learning resources based on the study's findings.

The digitization of library and archive collections over the last two decades has enabled efforts to reform history education through the integration of primary sources. Currently the Library of Congress provides one of the largest digital collections of its kind. The authors' project, with support from the Library, provides social studies teachers with explicit guidance for teaching historical thinking. The authors, a group of university-based researchers and experienced social studies classroom teachers, conducted an iterative, action research study to identify learning trajectories in history education. In this article, the authors describe their process, introduce the learning trajectories matrix, and provide suggestions for integrating it into the classroom.

The paper aims to discuss ChatGPT and its role in academic libraries. It identifies the key areas where ChatGPT can be implemented in libraries to improve various services and the overall work experience of academics, along with the risk factors associated with ChatGPT. Research finds that ChatGPT can be aided with many library services such as collection development management, virtual reference services, digital information service and library discovery, research writing and publishing, research performance analysis and bibliometric services. It can be helpful for libraries to meet patron requirements, streamline the research process, and increase the efficiency of the library and staff. It reduces the workload of library staff to a certain extent rather than replacing the human librarians as various threats are associated with the ChatGPT, such as incorrect query responses, data protection, misuse, privacy, security, inaccessibility, limited technology comprehension and other ethical issues. It also discusses the limitations and challenges libraries may face while implementing the technology to impart various services. The importance of this study lies in the fact that it acknowledges the reality of ChatGPT and its limitations and how the library will be ready to cope with and deal with the technology in the future.

Academic libraries must provide accessible electronic and information technology to patrons using assistive technology to access library materials. Accessibility of scholarly material is particularly important in the STEM disciplines, where attrition rates of students with disabilities is higher than in other fields. In this study, the accessibility of STEM indexing databases was evaluated using the WAVE accessibility tool, and the frequency of errors, alerts, and features encountered during the completion of typical searching tasks for each database was noted. The use of accessibility-checking tools like WAVE can supplement other methods used to verify the accessibility of vendor-created library databases.

This study assessed how an academic library implemented lean principles to enhance its electronic resource workflows and processes. Twelve librarians who managed access to electronic resources at the library participated in the study. Data were collected through interviews and observation. Reflexive thematic data analysis revealed that knowledge and skills were necessary for librarians to function effectively. The systems for facilitating access to electronic resources were ineffective, and there was a need for procedures to be documented and streamlined to reduce waste through adopting lean concepts. This case study contributes to the literature on improving access to e-resources and professional practice.

This study investigates staffing competencies and collaboration for electronic resource management (ERM) in public and private university libraries in Ghana. Interviews were conducted with twenty-four library staff from two public and two private universities and three consortium executives. The findings revealed similarities and differences in staffing competencies and collaboration at the public and private case libraries and the reciprocal impacts of these concepts in ERM. This is one of the few studies that considers public and private university library staff competencies for ERM. The study provides an avenue for research into the reciprocal effects of competencies and collaboration in libraries.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has considerably increased among students, including students with vision impairment (SVI). There has been limited work on the information and digital needs of people with disabilities, particularly SVI who were studying for their masters or MPhil and were involved in research activities in Pakistan. This study is an effort to explore various obstacles, expected services and support for SVIs from their universities, libraries, and Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. This study is qualitative in nature, and an interview guide was used to collect data from the participants in Lahore, Pakistan. The results of this study showed that students with vision impairment use a variety of digital information resources. However, very few use the higher education commission of Pakistan subscribed databases due to restricted access and complex interfaces. The hindrances include lack of university support, limited training opportunities, non-availability of digital library services, and others. The participants highlighted a variety of needed library services and support from their departmental as well as central libraries. It is assumed that the results of this study will help the relevant authorities to make friendly policies and improve library services to facilitate the SVI.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on bibliometric research on the activities and services offered by distance libraries that serve distance learning institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis of scholarly communication has always been a valuable tool for researchers and policymakers in order to understand trends, gaps and patterns in a specific field. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis has been applied based on a well-known bibliometric tool called "VOSviewer." The articles that constitute the dataset of current research were drawn from two journals: the "Journal of Library Administration" and the "Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning." Findings: The bibliometric analysis applied in distance libraries showed that the researchers in this domain are mainly introverts and need to prioritize engaging in the scientific research process over merely publishing good practices. Although there are a lot of libraries serving distance learning institutions (formal and non-formal), there is a notable lack of activity in the scientific publication field. Originality/value: Distance libraries have played a significant role in supporting distance learning, and since distance education has become more important in the educational ecosystem, the analysis of its scholarly production would provide administrators, researchers and policymakers with insights for the next era of conventional libraries.

This study examines the correlational relationships between local journal authorship, local and external citation counts, full-text downloads, link-resolver clicks, and four global journal impact factor indices within an all-disciplines journal collection of 12,200 titles and six subject subsets at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Library. While earlier investigations of the relationships between usage (downloads) and citation metrics have been inconclusive, this study shows strong correlations in the all-disciplines set and most subject subsets. The normalized Eigenfactor was the only global impact factor index that correlated highly with local journal metrics. Some of the identified disciplinary variances among the six subject subsets may be explained by the journal publication aspirations of UIUC researchers. The correlations between authorship and local citations in the six specific subject subsets closely match national department or program rankings.

The purpose of this research is to get university students' views on a promising library and information education model. This study was designed in the phenomenological pattern, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of the research consists of 80 students studying at various universities in Kazakhstan in the 2021-2022 academic year. Research data were collected with a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The data were evaluated by content analysis method. As a result, it has been determined that the vast majority of university students sometimes use university libraries to access information. Majority of the students gained knowledge education and they categorised them as gaining the ability to access information, gaining the ability to use information, gaining critical thinking skills and gaining an understanding of accessing information in an ethical way. Students' views on creating a promising library are mostly in the direction of digital and traditional library options, print and digital-rich resource content, resource alternatives with language options, ease of access for the disabled, audiobook options in digital libraries and contemporary architectural design in traditional libraries. Students' views on the knowledge education model that should be created for a promising library are mostly providing information literacy and library access skills courses in each department, providing online orientation support, organising seminars on library practices in the university environment and the standards of accessing information through the library.

Deaf education in the United States began in 1817 with the bilingual co-leadership of Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. In 2018, Marianne Belsky and Nicole Sutliffe, a bilingual, deaf/hearing team, were officially appointed as co-leaders of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. In this article, Belsky and Sutliffe share the initiatives underway at Clerc Center to address critical issues facing deaf education today: collaboration, leadership, equity, reimagination, and community (CLERC). Each of these themes contributes to the final Clerc Center mission: excellence in deaf education across the United States.

This study was to determine the relationship between e-library and quality assurance in the Federal Government Colleges (unity schools) in Rivers and Bayelsa states, Nigeria. The population comprised of the teachers and students (SS3 and JS3) of the six unity schools in Rivers and Bayelsa States Nigeria numbering 3186 (teachers 1019, students 2167). A research sample of 637 was used through proportional stratified random sampling technique using 20%. A self-designed questionnaire known as E-library and Quality Assurance Questionnaire (ELQAQ) was used to elicit information from the respondents. Three research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated. Mean, rank order, standard deviation and z-test were used to find solution to the research questions and the hypothesis. The major findings of the study include that Federal Ministry of Education (F.M.E.) is a pacesetter of quality education, the library (print or non-print/digital) is the heart beat of the school system as it increases ones reading habit, e-library has the capacity of storing large content of information which can be accessed from anywhere, not all unity school (under study) have functional e-library, the print library is still useful, unity school teachers and students prefer a blend of the print and e-library as both have their advantages. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the print library should not be relegated but upgraded periodically to complement the digital library for quality service delivery, the Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria should endeavor to complete and equip the e-libraries as planned, the Inspectorate division of the F.M.E. should always inspect schools facilities for quality assurance, more qualified ICT teachers should be recruited in the unity schools (as model schools) to promote computer literacy and the F.M.E. should implement effective and regular capacity building in the unity schools of Nigeria to maintain qualitative education as quality teachers produce quality students.

This study investigates how children can develop information literacy (IL) skills even before they learn how to read and write. In the project we used a combination of participatory observation and action research-inspired trialling of digital tools. Kindergarteners were given iPads and access to the app Book Creator to create their own digital stories. The electronic books were gathered and made available to the other children in the class, making a custom local digital library for the kindergarten. This article suggests a new way of considering IL as an emergent literacy, or even perhaps "emergent information literacy."

The introduction of open educational resources (OER) provides new opportunities for learners worldwide to access high-quality educational materials at the lowest cost. As a developing country, Vietnam is one of the countries that can most benefit from the OER movement. However, the concept of OER in Vietnam remains little known to the public, with few institutional OER repositories (IOER) developed. This study contends that IOER development in Vietnam is complicated and constrained by many contextual difficulties; it was designed to explore the challenges and opportunities. After a literature review, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders. Building on the findings from the literature, this study found that IOER development in Vietnam is constrained by five categories of challenges: (a) technological and infrastructure matters, (b) economic constraints, (c) sociocultural characteristics, (d) pedagogical concerns, and (e) legal limitations. Many of these challenges are not identified in the literature and provide insights into potential implications and solutions for future IOER in Vietnam and other countries.

Nowadays, blended learning represents a combination of both e-learning and Face-to-Face learning approaches, which has been considered as an emerging concept of modern education. It has been regarded as a prominent alternative learning approach compared to the conventional e-learning approach. The degree of satisfaction of students with blended learning played a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of adopted techniques for blended learning. Therefore, this study examines a number of key factors that affect students' satisfaction within a blended learning environment among undergraduate students involved in a private university in Saudi Arabia. In this paper, a comprehensive online questionnaire is used to assess the impact of blended learning based on seven factors of the blended learning environment. The respondents for this study are generally 221 young undergraduate students with an average age of 20-30 years old. The collected data is analysed by using SmartPLS 3. The results reveal that students are mostly satisfied with the blended learning factors, particularly, with the convergence of the Face-to-Face and Videoconferencing classes and the role of their instructors. Those students are moderately satisfied with the SIS, the online forums, and their course materials and modules, and least satisfied with the LMS and the E-library factors. Accordingly, the suggested recommendations pertaining to the future research are highlighted where this paper offers useful insights for future researchers based on different empirical evidences.

This paper investigates the relevance of electronic resources and improved access for effective distance learning and continuing education. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The total population of the study comprises 7,125 registered students of the National Open University of Nigeria. A convenience sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 379 respondents. Structured questionnaires were distributed to the respondents through a research assistant, and only 320 valid responses were returned and used for the study. The study used frequency counts and percentages as statistical measures for data analysis. Findings revealed that students access e-resources regularly. Electronic resources were also relevant as they provide students with up-to-date information, complete information from different sources, speedy and easy access to information, and more. Access to electronic resources can be improved through the following means: provision of useful Internet/server to enhance the accessibility of e-resources, online user guideline for accessing e-resources, creation of user-friendly interfaces for easy access to online contents. It was recommended that audio and video conference chats be made available to students to connect librarians for assistance when the need arises; compulsory user-education and orientation program should also be conducted for students on the use of electronic resources.