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A recent trend in public libraries' children's services emphasizes the role of promoting school readiness. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the school readiness efforts present in storytime programs, this study observed and scored 68 public library preschool storytime sessions presented by 35 storytime providers across three states using the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) measure. The CLASS evaluates adult-child interactions in learning environments within three domains related to positive outcomes in children's school readiness: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Additionally, the study examined whether differences among CLASS scores were influenced by the population density of the library community, the storytime provider's degree status and educational level, the provider's prior teaching experience, the provider's years of experience in children's services, and the number of children participating in the storytime session. Results revealed that storytime providers score well in the CLASS's emotional support and classroom organization dimensions but have room for improvement in the content-focused instructional support domain. Of the factors examined, only years of experience in children's services was found to influence a provider's CLASS score. These findings suggest that professional development programs should focus on preparing librarians to teach and model school readiness skills during storytime.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many public libraries offered virtual storytimes (VSTs). Who proposed, authorized, and developed these programs? What impact did they have in the short term and long term? To find out, we created a survey on the decision and evaluation processes behind VST. We received 415 responses from children's librarians throughout the United States. Our findings indicate that children's librarians exercised keen administrative and management skills in launching VSTs and the programs prioritized children's socioemotional development and learning. However, assessment of the programs is somewhat lacking as libraries tended to focus on outputs like the number of views rather than more meaningful indicators of program value for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study examines the structure of Web space in the field of library and information science using multivariate analysis of social tags from the Website, Delicious.com. A few studies have examined mathematical modelling of tags, mainly examining tagging in terms of tripartite graphs, pattern tracing and descriptive statistics. This study is one of the few studies to employ multivariate analysis in investigating dimensions of Web spaces based on social tagging data. Method: This study examines the post data collected from a set of library and information science related Websites bookmarked on Delicious.com using a Web crawler. Post data consist of the URL, usernames, tags and comments assigned by users of Delicious.com. The collected tag data were analysed based on multivariate methods, such as multidimensional scaling and structural equation modelling. Analysis: Collected data were first analysed using multidimensional scaling to explore initial relationships amongst the selected Websites. Then, confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equation modelling was employed to examine the hierarchical structure of the library and information science Web space. Results: Social tag data exhibit different dimensions in the Web space of the library and information science field. In addition, social tags confirmed the hierarchical structure of the field by showing significantly stronger relationships between the sites with similar characteristics. That is, the structure of the tagging data shows similar connections to those present in the real world. Conclusions: This study suggests a new statistical approach in social tagging and Web space analysis studies. Tag information can be used to explain the hierarchical structure of a certain domain. Methodologically, this study suggests that structural equation modelling can be a compelling method to explore hierarchical structures of nodes on the Web space.

Introduction: This study explores blind users' unique help-seeking situations in interacting with digital libraries. In particular, help-seeking situations were investigated at both the physical and cognitive levels. Method: Fifteen blind participants performed three search tasks, including known- item search, specific information search, and exploratory search, using the selected digital library. Pre-questionnaire, pre- and post-interviews, transaction logs and think-aloud protocols were used to collect data. Analysis: Open coding analysis was used to identify help-seeking situations the physical and cognitive levels. Results: The study identified seventeen help-seeking situations that blind users encountered while using digital libraries, including nine at the physical level and eight at the cognitive level. To be more specific, physical help-seeking situations were categorised into: 1) difficulty accessing information, 2) difficulty identifying current status and path, and 3) difficulty evaluating information efficiently. Cognitive help-seeking situations were classified into: 1) confusion about multiple programs and structures, 2) difficulty understanding information, 3) difficulty understanding or using digital library features, and 4) avoidance of specific formats or approaches. Conclusion: The identified help-seeking situations reveal a gap between current digital library design practices and special needs of blind users. Practical implications for the design of help features for more blind-friendly digital libraries are suggested based on the findings.

Technology use is widespread in the lives of children and families, and parents and caregivers express concern about children's safety and development in relation to technology use. Children's librarians have a unique role to play in guiding the technology use of children and families, yet little is known about how public library programs facilitate children's digital literacy. This study sought to uncover librarians' purposes for using technology in programs with young children as well as the supporting factors and barriers they encountered in attempting to do so. Findings reveal 10 purposes for integrating technology into public library storytime programs and 15 factors across four dimensions that facilitate and/or inhibit its inclusion. If librarians are to embrace the media mentor role with confidence and the necessary knowledge and skills required of the task, much greater attention should be devoted to the responsibility and more support in the way of professional development and resources is necessary., INTRODUCTION Technology use is widespread in the lives of children and families. From a very early age, children in highly developed countries across the world regularly interact with technology and [...]

AbstractObjective: This study investigated mental health issues among higher education students to identify key concepts, topics, and trends over three periods of time: Period 1 (2000–2009), Period 2 (2010–2019), and Period 3 (2020–May 2024). Methods: The study collected 11,732 bibliographic records from Scopus and Web of Science, published between January 2000 and May 2024, and employed textual analysis methods, including keyword co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, and topic modeling. Results: In Period 1, general topics related to mental health disorders and treatments were identified. Period 2 showed prominence of well-being and help-seeking, as well as the emergence of digital mental health. Period 3 emphasized the impact of COVID-19 and increased technology usage. Conclusions: Based on the findings, we discussed the significance of the study and practical implications for clinicians and policymakers, as well as methodological implications for researchers. Additionally, the limitations of the study and future research were addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the selection of information sources and to identify factors associated with the resource selection of undergraduate students for academic search tasks. Also, user perceptions of some factors, such as credibility, usefulness, accessibility and familiarity, were examined to classify resources by their characteristics. Method: A self-generated diary method was employed with 233 undergraduate students in achieving their academic search tasks. Analysis: The collected diary data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. A qualitative analysis was used to explore factors influencing resource selection, while a quantitative analysis was used for investigating the characteristics of resources. Results: This study reaffirmed recent information usage trends that online sources are preferred by university students in their academic searches. This study identified twenty nine factors in four different dimensions, including information type, resource feature, search strategy, and interaction with others. Moreover, perceptions of users were investigated quantitatively focusing on usefulness, credibility, accessibility, familiarity with source, satisfaction, and intention of continuous use. Conclusions: Multiple factors are influencing the resource selection of undergraduate students and those factors vary in different types of sources in academic search tasks. The findings of the study suggest some insights in how to guide undergraduates to choose better information resources for their academic search tasks. (Contains 9 tables and 2 figures.)

Through analysis of the language, this study aimed to investigate the current practice of using songs in public library storytimes. Language interactions in 68 storytime programs involving 652 child participants were observed and transcribed. Then, textual analysis was conducted to examine the language of singing songs, focusing on how language used in singing songs differs from spoken language in storytime programs. Specifically, the study compared sentence and grammar structure between singing and non-singing language and explored how topics and themes covered in singing language compare with those of spoken language. In addition, the study examined singing accompanied by use of props and movements. The findings of this study indicate that the language of singing in storytime programs is rich; thereby, signaling the power of singing with young children as means to advance language development. Practical implications and strategies for maximizing integration of singing in storytimes and other informal learning activities for young children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore to which extent data mining research would be associated with the library and information science (LIS) discipline. This study aims to identify data mining related subject terms and topics in representative LIS scholarly publications. Design/methodology/approach: A large set of bibliographic records over 38,000 was collected from a scholarly database representing the fields of LIS and the data mining, respectively. A multitude of text mining techniques were applied to investigate prevailing subject terms and research topics, such as influential term analysis and Dirichlet multinomial regression topic modeling. Findings: The findings of this study revealed the relationship between the LIS and data mining research domains. Various data mining method terms were observed in recent LIS publications, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and neural networks. The topic modeling result identified prevailing data mining related research topics in LIS, such as machine learning, deep learning, big data and among others. In addition, this study investigated the trends of popular topics in LIS over time in the recent decade. Originality/value: This investigation is one of a few studies that empirically investigated the relationships between the LIS and data mining research domains. Multiple text mining techniques were employed to delineate to which extent the two research domains would be associated with each other based on both at the term-level and topic-level analysis. Methodologically, the study identified influential terms in each domain using multiple feature selection indices. In addition, Dirichlet multinomial regression was applied to explore LIS topics in relation to data mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research suggests that exposure to diverse books that feature the lived experiences of people with marginalized or underrepresented identities influences how children perceive their own value and the significance of others who do and do not look like them. Library associations have recently called for greater attention to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion to be reflected across all aspects of library services and programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the print materials used in public library storytime programs to identify the extent to which storytime exposes children to diverse people. Results indicate that, across all categories examined, books shared in storytimes are lacking in terms of diversity. The authors conclude that librarians need to be much more intentional in their efforts to diversify services and programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing popularity of social media, online reviews have become one of the primary information sources for book selection. Prior studies have analyzed online reviews, mostly in the domain of business. However, little research has examined the content of online book reviews of children's books. Book reviews generated by book readers contain different aspects of information, such as opinions, feedback, or emotional responses, from the perspectives of readers. This study explores what aspects of the books are addressed in readers' reviews, and then it intends to identify categorical features or facets of online book reviews of children's books. We employed a textual analysis approach including the latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling to analyze the content of book reviews. The results indicate that online book reviews exhibit different facets of the books, which can be used as access points by potential readers to help them select relevant books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore multiple factors that are associated with social media use by public librarians for marketing purposes. Based on the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behavior, the effects of five factors—usefulness, ease of use, attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control—on social media use intention were examined. A survey was conducted, and 462 valid responses were collected from public librarians across the United States. The findings revealed that all five factors have a significant impact on librarians' intention to engage in social media activities for library marketing. Perceived behavioral control factors were the most influential on social media use intention. Both practical and theoretical implications are discussed based on the findings of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation criteria and appropriate measures are critical to the success of digital library evaluation. The key problem is a lack of specific measures, especially from a heuristic perspective, corresponding to diverse dimensions and criteria. This study explored a variety of measures for digital library evaluation focusing on their appropriateness. It also compared the similarities and differences in perceptions of the appropriateness of digital library evaluation measures of two groups. Sixty-one participants were recruited representing scholars and academic digital librarians. The participants were instructed to fill in an in-depth survey consisting of 174 measures associated with 10 evaluation dimensions and 82 criteria. The findings of this study highlight the most appropriate measures in each dimension and show significant agreement in identifying appropriate measures by digital library scholars and librarians. Differences in the rating of the measures were found between the two groups in the dimensions of "interface design," "system and technology," "effects on users," "administration," "user engagement," and "context." The significance of this study lies not only in the integration of the perspectives on measures from both researchers and practitioners, but also in providing an inclusive list of measures to guide practitioners to effectively evaluate digital libraries in academic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the needs of researchers for data-related assistance and investigates their research data management behavior. A survey was conducted, and 186 valid responses were collected from faculty, researchers, and graduate students across different disciplines at a research university. The services for which researchers perceive the greatest need include assistance with quantitative analysis and data visualization. Overall, the need for data-related assistance is relatively higher among health scientists, while humanities researchers demonstrate the lowest need. This study also investigated the data formats used, data documentation and storage practices, and data-sharing behavior of researchers. We found that researchers rarely use metadata standards, but rely more on a standard file-naming scheme. As to data sharing, respondents are likely to share their data personally upon request or as supplementary materials to journal publications. The findings of this study will be useful for planning user-centered research data services in academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]