IOPN Journals (Illinois Open Publishing Network)
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Intersecting Disciplines: Should LIS Competencies Include Social Work?
Get PDFSocial work in librarianship is a phenomenon that has gained momentum in public libraries since the first known social worker began working at the San Francisco Public Library in 2009. Few LIS programs offer courses to address this evolving phenomenon, yet librarians and library staff nationwide have expressed the need to have training in social work to help them meet the needs of their users. To date, there are only three universities (Dominican University, University of Michigan and Middle Tennessee State University) that offer dual degree programs and even fewer universities that offer social work librarianship courses. With the concern of librarians not feeling equipped to address the social needs of library users (eg. depression, anxiety, suicide, health issues, substance abuse, poverty) this paper emphasizes the critical need for LIS programs to adapt their curriculum to adequately prepare future librarians for public librarianship.
What do Liaison Librarians Do? An Exploration into the Tasks and Perceptions of the Role
Get PDFLiaison librarianship is one of the most common roles in academic libraries, but it is one which is not as central to LIS education as expected. Given the significant investment students make obtaining their master’s degrees, programs need to ensure that students are well prepared for the job market; however, studies indicate that many LIS students and professionals do not feel their programs have adequately prepared them for it. This work explores the main tasks performed by academic librarians as well as how these professionals perceive their role, with the purpose of providing information useful for LIS faculty in curriculum creation
How e-book vendors attract publishers and academic libraries to their platforms: A critical discourse analysis of vendors’ websites
Get PDFAcademic libraries primarily obtain access to e-books through vendors, rather than individual publishers. These vendors work as intermediary by connecting publishers as the content providers with academic libraries as consumers. Many LIS studies examine how libraries select e-book vendors, and a few research explore how publishers choose vendors to disseminate their e-resources; however, much less is known about vendors’ strategies used to attract both publishers and academic libraries.
We have collected over 150 webpages related to e-book products from six major e-book vendors in humanities and social sciences—EBSCO, ProQuest, ProjectMUSE, JSTOR, ACLS, and De Gruyter, and grouped them based on three categories: 1) webpages without targeting a particular group of audience; 2) webpages designed for academic libraries/ librarians; 3) webpages designed for publishers. We then adopt Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis, by moving beyond the examination of the literal meanings of the text, to explore how meaning is constructed at local, institutional, and societal levels. Specifically, we will examine three dimensions of the text: micro (description of the text), meso (interpretation of the meaning of the text), and macro (explanation of the relations between discourse and social context). This discourse analysis will systematically focus on these vendors’ self-identifications and how they market and communicate their missions and distinctions from other vendors to both publishers and libraries. We will present preliminary findings from the critical discourse analysis
Make data flow: Understanding the (re)usability of research data
Get PDFOpening data and making datasets reusable is an extremely important and urgent need, especially as we move towards more data-driven studies worldwide. Various stakeholders are involved in the life cycle of data (re)use, including data providers/sharers, data (re)users, data managers/curators, and funding agencies. In response to the divergent demands of these stakeholders, data repositories have been established to bridge their needs and facilitate the cycle of data sharing and (re)use. However, recent studies have shown that data is being shared and (re)used through open data repositories at much lower levels than expected. This underscores a fundamental and often overlooked challenge in research data management, inviting a deeper and more comparative examination of the perspectives of various stakeholders on data (re)use. Using a mixed-method approach that includes metadata analysis, interview-based qualitative studies, and quantitative bibliometric analysis, this project first delves into the facilitating and inhibiting factors affecting a dataset\u27s potential for (re)use, considering the perspectives of both data (re)users and data curators. It will then identify and elucidate the disparities between data (re)users and data curators, proposing suggestions for future data curation efforts. The findings will prompt data curators and data repositories to re-examine their current metadata frameworks and data curation practices, aligning them more closely with the actual needs of data (re)users. Moreover, this effort will make the flow of research data moves more smoothly within our academic communities, and contribute to the building of a more inclusive, equitable, open, and user-friendly research infrastructure
Navigating the Modern Libraryscape: The Changing Roles, Labor, and Education of Public Librarians
Get PDFPublic libraries and their staff have recently faced a wide array of challenges. Some of these challenges include supporting services for incarcerated individuals, unhoused patrons, and others experiencing crises (American Library Association, 2023; Gross et al., 2024; Knox, 2023; Wahler and Johnson, 2024). These recent challenges give us, as scholars and educators, an opportunity to take a step back and trace the dynamic work of public library professionals. In response, public library workers take on a variety of tasks. These may involve connecting patrons to social service resources, partnering with community organizations, or creating programs to support specific community needs and interests. Some of this work undertaken by public library staff involves routine, everyday tasks. Other labor is in response to community crises. Understanding this work is central to our ability to consider how the realities of public library work impact LIS scholarship and education. This panel provides a space for open conversation among panelists and the ALISE community to address the following overarching questions:
What does the work of public librarianship look like, in terms of roles and labor?
How can a better understanding of these roles and the reality of public library work inform how we approach LIS scholarship and teaching?
Our panel will consider several aspects of public library work, with a view toward connecting theory, research, and practical workforce preparation.
Curriculum SIG: The Ethics and Evolution of Truth and Information
Get PDFThe Curriculum SIG will examine how library science education curricula can prepare future librarians to engage with the ethics and evolution of truth and information. The session will begin with presentations of each paper, followed by an interactive discussion inviting attendees to participate in an open dialogue and Q&A with the presenters about the issues raised by the papers, implications for practice, and potential areas for future research.
Dr. Natalie Taylor will deliver a presentation titled “Core Competencies, Core Courses: How Accredited MLIS Programs Interpret the ALA’s Core Competencies through their Curriculum.” This paper aims to examine the way that the 66 accredited degree programs describe their programs’ relationship with the ALA Core Competencies (ALACCs) and whether these descriptions can demonstrate a measurement of the influence of the ALACCs on curriculum. This finding will serve two purposes: 1) a representation of the strength (or weakness) of the connection between the library profession (as represented by the American Library Association) and MLIS degree programs and 2) a better understanding of how the curriculum of these programs represents the competencies called for by ALA.
Dr. Cynthia Stogdill and Dr. Elizabeth Burns will present “Information Literacy: A Case Study in Inquiry Instruction.” Information literacy is a set of skills we expect school librarians to teach K-12 learners. AASL embeds these competencies within their instructional standards for learners and school librarians however, there is little agreement on a model of inquiry that should be used with K-12 learners. Further, there is little consistency in pre-service school librarian information literacy instruction. This exploratory case study examines the information literacy instructional models used with one cohort of pre-service school librarians. Findings discuss practices that can be shared and further developed for LIS education.
Dr. Rhonda Clark, Dr. Xiaofeng Li, and Dr. Angela Jones will present “A Study of US Public Library Strategic Plans: Trends and Trajectories.” This paper reports the results of a content analysis, reviewing strategic plans from public libraries across multiple states in the U.S. The presenters will make recommendations based on their analysis to help library educators teach an effective writing style for strategic plans. They will also advocate for the importance of strategic planning as a necessary skill in the curriculum. Additionally, they will invite attendees to discuss how library schools implement curriculum development through strategic planning.
Overall, these presentations will provide valuable insights into how library science education programs address core competencies, information literacy instruction, and strategic planning to better prepare future librarians for the evolving challenges of the profession
Navigating the Complexities of AI Writing Detection: Comparing the Perception between Students and Instructors
Get PDFThe integration of AI generated content into academic research and paper writing has revolutionized scholarly practices, granting students unprecedented access to information and writing support. However, this advancement has also raised serious concerns regarding plagiarism and academic integrity, leading to the emergence of AI detection services. Despite the proliferation of these tools, questions persist about the reliability and consistency of the services, posing challenges to upholding academic integrity. Additionally, the use of grammar check programs like Grammarly by students has introduced further complexities, as their outputs may sometimes resemble those produced by AI writers, blurring distinctions between original work and automated assistance. This research poster investigates and compares the perceptions and attitudes of students and instructors towards AI writers and AI writing detection programs. By examining the perceived usefulness, trustworthiness, and efficiency of AI detection services in preventing plagiarism and promoting academic integrity, the research seeks to uncover divergent attitudes and perceptions between these two groups. Employing quantitative research methods, including surveys with students and instructors, this study delves into the actual use of AI writing detection services. Specifically, by exploring and comparing the perceptions and attitudes towards these technologies between the two groups, the research aims to uncover potential gaps and areas for improvement. Ultimately, the findings of this study aim to inform the development of strategies and guidelines to enhance AI writing detection services, thereby fostering a culture of academic integrity in the digital age
Navigating the Challenges of Legacy Data: A Systematic Literature Analysis
Get PDFLegacy data is data collected systematically in the past, for which contemporary use and reuse are at-risk, difficult, or impossible due to issues such as missing metadata, obsolete storage media, outdated file formats, and unsupported software. As we introduced in Buchanan, et al. (2023), there is a demonstrated need for more systematic understanding of legacy research data efforts and the value of these data and efforts as perceived across stakeholder groups. We are conducting a literature analysis of publications on the topics of legacy research data use, preservation, curation, and management. Using an established search query and online literature databases, we retrieved and manually reviewed a pool of 1,338 results and identified 69 papers that fit the following criteria for our study: peer-reviewed articles published in the last 15 years including studies discussing methodologies and best practices; studies that describe repurposing legacy data; studies focusing on storage or archival methods for older data; and studies that discuss software and migration challenges. We are analyzing the sample of papers using content analysis and bibliometric methods, focusing on references to individuals involved, processes, data types, formats, locations, and problems being addressed
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Coverage in Technology-focused Courses
Get PDFDiversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) is a controversial topic. Technological improvements help to incorporate DEIA to everyday life, but it also comes with its own problems like algorithmic bias, and legal issues. Computing technology is not neutral; adversely affecting marginalized groups through policy decisions and their creators’ unconscious biases; the limitations of the programs and equipment. The American Library Association Core Competences (ALACCs) require basic knowledge on social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion gained through LIS education. This study will analyze technology-focused Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) courses to assess how DEIA principles are addressed in the light of ALACCs in technology requirement. Syllabi from select ALA accredited MLIS programs on the Eastern United States are collected. Preliminary results will be presented at the Conference. Efforts to collect the remaining syllabuses are continuing. Study hopes to fill a major gap by providing a concrete data about technological biases that inversely affect specific populations as well as possible remedies to it.