Search

Institutional discovery environments now serve as central resource databases for researchers in the academic environment. Over the last several decades, there have been numerous discovery layer research inquiries centering primarily on user satisfaction measures of discovery system effectiveness. This study focuses on the creation of a largely automated method for evaluating discovery layer quality, utilizing the bibliographic sources from student research projects. Building on past research, the current study replaces a semiautomated Excel Fuzzy Lookup Add-In process with a fully scripted R-based approach, which employs the stringdist R package and applies the Jaro-Winkler distance metric as the matching evaluator. The researchers consider the error rate incurred by relying solely on an automated matching metric. They also use Open Refine for normalization processes and package the tools together on an OSF site for other institutions to use. Since the R-based approach does not require special processing or time and can be reproduced with minimal effort, it will allow future studies and users of our method to capture larger sample sizes, boosting validity. While the assessment process has been streamlined and shows promise, there remain issues in establishing solid connections between research paper bibliographies and discovery layer use. Subsequent research will focus on creating alternatives to paper titles as search proxies that better resemble genuine information-seeking behavior and comparing undergraduate and graduate student interactions within discovery environments., INTRODUCTION There is no denying the ubiquitous nature and importance of discovery environments (DEs) to academic libraries. And further, 'effective optimization of these search platforms should be one of the [...]

The aim of this study is to show student perception of the value of library reference and consultation work in the building of information literacy skills. Using student answers to questions about library research help received in a required first year course, the authors analyzed motivations for use of librarian aid, and the types of assistance sought and that ideally could have been utilized. The authors found students primarily received librarian help with locating books, and that students often believed they would have benefited from more in-depth assistance but did not ask for it.

Discovery environments are ubiquitous in academic libraries but studying their effectiveness and use in an academic environment has mostly centered around user satisfaction, experience, and task analysis. This study aims to create a quantitative, reproducible framework to test the relevancy of results and the overall success of Washington State University's discovery environment (Primo by Ex Libris). Within this framework, the authors use bibliographic citations from student research papers submitted as part of a required university class as the proxy for relevancy. In the context of this study, the researchers created a testing model that includes: (1) a process to produce machine-generated keywords from a corpus of research papers to compare against a set of human-created keywords, (2) a machine process to query a discovery environment to produce search result lists to compare against citation lists, and (3) four metrics to measure the comparative success of different search strategies and the relevancy of the results. This framework is used to move beyond a sentiment or task-based analysis to measure if materials cited in student papers appear in the results list of a production discovery environment. While this initial test of the framework produced fewer matches between researcher-generated search results and student bibliography sources than expected, the authors note that faceted searches represent a greater success rate when compared to open-ended searches. Future work will include comparative (A/B) testing of commonly deployed discovery layer configurations and limiters to measure the impact of local decisions on discovery layer efficacy as well as noting where in the results list a citation match occurs., INTRODUCTION Discovery environments are ubiquitous in academic libraries as all but two libraries in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) report using a discovery environment, and they continue to gain [...]

The Washington State University Honors College course, UH 290, "Science as a Way of Knowing," engages freshmen in scientific inquiry and scholarly literature research. The UH 290 instructor, a learning design consultant, and two librarians collaborated to develop and deliver the course's information literacy curriculum. The team used student surveys, research blogs, case studies, library instruction sessions, homework problem sets and exams. Students gained from scaffolded instruction including hands-on practice activities and feedback; embedded assessments informed adjustments to the course syllabus and activities. This case study details the progressively improved use of this approach and these tools over two semesters.

Public services librarians perform an increasingly diverse set of duties, and this study explores which job components are most important to librarians. The researchers surveyed public services librarians at ARL libraries to gather data on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence how public services librarians spend their time. The study examines librarian opinions about job aspects that are most personally satisfying and issues related to tenure and librarian education. The results show a disconnect between what librarians view as important to users and what is important for achieving tenure. The year of graduation also appears as a key factor in perceptions and practices, including a perceived lack of library school training for instruction work. (Contains 2 tables and 21 notes.)

As academic institutions have devoted increased efforts to information literacy skills assessment, more opportunities for collaboration between the library and other campus organizations have developed. The authors describe their experiences concerning a collaborative project to revise a credit-bearing information literacy course. Theoretical constructs are used to analyze the processess.

The pH dependence of kinetic parameters was determined in both reaction directions to obtain information about the acid-base chemical mechanism of serine acetyltransferase from Haemophilus influenzae (HiSAT). A general base catalytic mechanism is proposed for the serine acetyltransferase.

Two American geographers examine the evolution of Germany's geopolitical orientation in the aftermath of World War II, through the Cold War era, the war on terrorism, 9/ 11, and the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. Drawing on public statements by German officials, government documents, opinion polls, and media accounts, the authors analyze the country's increasing post-Cold War assertiveness in foreign policy and much greater autonomy from the United States. They also evaluate the plausibility of two proposed geopolitical scenarios: that Germany will become part of a Paris-Berlin-Moscow-Beijing axis and that Germany will adopt a Europeanist, rather than Atlanticist, orientation.

Removal of the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which commonly pollute wastewater has been observed upon incubation with white-rot fungi. To date, there is no consensus on what is the optimal fungal source for the enzymes that catalyze remediation of EDCs. Herein, two white-rot fungi cultures ( Lentinula edodes and Phanerochaete chrysosporium ) were tested for an ability to remove the pollutant 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). Mass spectrometry indicates a moderate removal of EE2 for simple potato dextrose cultures of both fungi within one week (50% EE2 remaining in L. edodes ; 57% remaining in P. chrysosporium ). Due to an absence of measured laccase activity from P. chrysosporium , it was hypothesized that the improved EE2 remediation in L. edodes was due to laccase. Supplementation of L. edodes cultures that improve production of laccase exhibit a corresponding increased ability to remove EE2 (20% EE2 remaining). P. chrysosporium cultures did not respond to supplementation accordingly (48% remaining). Consistent with laccase-specific remediation by L. edodes , incubations of EE2 in the presence of a purified laccase produced identical mass spectra to those observed from L. edodes cultures. The dominant soluble product observed for each has a mass consistent with hydroxylated EE2 ( m/z 313). To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of EE2 remediation by L. edodes culture. In addition, data indicate that the removal of EE2 is improved by increased production of the high-activity laccase secreted by the fungus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Washington State University Honors College course, UH 290, "Science as a Way of Knowing," engages freshmen in scientific inquiry and scholarly literature research. The UH 290 instructor, a learning design consultant, and two librarians collaborated to develop and deliver the course's information literacy curriculum. The team used student surveys, research blogs, case studies, library instruction sessions, homework problem sets and exams. Students gained from scaffolded instruction including hands-on practice activities and feedback; embedded assessments informed adjustments to the course syllabus and activities. This case study details the progressively improved use of this approach and these tools over two semesters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference librarians have converted a significant portion of library resources to electronic format and are now beginning to move the reference interview itself to the electronic environment. This study consisted of a survey carried out at two four-year public universities in the South Atlantic region. The survey inquired about university affiliates' awareness of, use of, and interest in reference services, with a particular focus on online chat reference (synchronous digital reference). Survey respondents reported strong prior use of face-to-face reference and a desire to use this service first when pursuing research topics. Awareness and use of the online chat reference service at each institution was comparatively low,but respondents forecasted the service would be among the most heavily used in ten years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]