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Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education and Academic Libraries: A Literature Review
No full textThis literature review explores the benefits and challenges of using AI in academic libraries. AI has the potential to make library operations more efficient and assist students with writing but can also wreak havoc in the academic library setting, leading to plagiarism and the spread of misinformation. The author describes three types of AI; how AI can assist librarians now and in the near future; AI as a disruptor in higher education; and how to mitigate some of the negative aspects of AI. There is often resistance or fear when new tools are introduced to society; however, it is important for academic librarians to understand and learn how to use these systems to their benefit
It’s Never Too Early: Hatchlings Program Reaches Expectant and Newborn Families
No full textJust twenty years ago, library programs for babies were rare occurrences, and many librarians were uncomfortable with the idea of presenting programs for children under age three and their caregivers. Now, research regarding the connection between early childhood experiences and brain development is widely known, and as a result, early literacy programming for infants and toddlers is an accepted part of mainstream library offerings. But why only start there? Research also tells us that a fetus can hear a mother’s voice while still in utero, and supports the Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) practices of talking and singing even before the baby is born. That’s why children’s librarian Carrie Sanders dreamed about creating a program for expectant parents
Building Stories: National Building Museum Opens Decade-Long Exhibit
No full textWhat can you find in children’s books? Quite a lot it seems—so much so that the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, has launched Building Stories, a multigenerational exhibition; the long-term exhibition that will bring kids and adults alike on an immersive exploration of the world of architecture, engineering, construction, and design found in the pages of children’s books
Imaginations and Imaginary Glass: Building an American Girl Doll Collection for Everyone
No full textIn the late 1990s, my mom took me on the train to downtown Chicago for an experiential birthday. Now nearly three decades from that afternoon at the American Girl store, with my eager eyes staring beyond the glass display at Samantha, I realize that many did not have a similar experience growing up. However, I could not have foreseen that the beloved dolls of my childhood would become a major part of my career as a youth services librarian or be part of a larger trend towards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives within public libraries
Patron Privacy Protections in Public Libraries: IT Professionals’ Points of View
No full textPublic libraries serve as crucial resources for the public to access information, with the safeguarding of patrons’ privacy being a longstanding and essential mission. This study builds on a previous survey that delved into the perspectives of public librarians and administrators on patron privacy protection. Our specific goal in this study was to identify the practices employed by Information Technology (IT) professionals and the challenges they face in safeguarding patrons’ privacy within public libraries. Conducting a comprehensive focus group study involving 33 IT professionals across 10 sessions, we sought to gain insights into their experiences and perspectives on protecting patrons’ privacy. Our findings reveal that IT professionals express concerns about patrons’ lack of awareness regarding the significance of privacy protection, placing staff in the challenging position of balancing convenient customer service with the imperative to protect patron privacy. Moreover, a notable challenge faced by IT professionals in libraries is the lack of training and technical knowledge among library staff to optimize technologies for ensuring patrons’ privacy. The study also highlights IT professionals’ reservations about the collection of patrons’ data by libraries or vendors, prompting a desire for a deeper understanding of both technical and nontechnical measures to enhance privacy protection. While our research sheds light on the concerns and practices of library IT professionals, we believe the insights gained can provide library administrators and policymakers to gauge the critical role of technology in privacy protection. By understanding these challenges, policymakers can modify and implement policies and practices to effectively enhance the protection of patrons’ privacy in public libraries
Editorial: Denormalizing Censorship Inside Carceral Facilities
No full textThe control of access to information is an intrinsic feature of American incarceration, established in the earliest models for contemporary juvenile detention centers, jails, and prisons. From claims to spiritual salvation to fears of disruption, censorship inside of carceral facilities has been implemented under assumptions of threat to social order—including through white supremacist ideas that the cultural, social, and political traditions and ideas of Black, Indigenous, and people of color must be suppressed. The arbitrary and convoluted nature of censorship inside, as illustrated in the commentaries and article in this issue, are part and parcel of the labyrinthine and opaque functions of carceral facilities
Book Review: Intellectual Freedom Stories from a Shifting Landscape
No full textIntellectual Freedom Stories from a Shifting Landscape is undoubtedly a compilation from the American Library Association of the time it was published (2020). There is, of course, a hyper focus on the instability of 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and a whole host of other incidents under former President Donald Trump and the political unrest that plagued the year and, I would argue, have not yet ceased here and now in 2024
Analysis and Redesign of the California State University, Stanislaus Library’s Government Resources LibGuide
No full textThe California State University, Stanislaus Library has been designated as a Federal Depository Library since 1964. During this time the Government Documents Collection at CSU Stanislaus has undergone massive changes, including a large weeding project prior to a complete library renovation that began in 2018, which forced the library to move to a small portable location on campus while the renovation was completed. Library staff have also continually evaluated the item selection profile for federal government documents to select more electronic item numbers and move the library to an electronic suite of government publications. Given that the library has been moving toward providing greater access to government information and publications online, the library needed to redesign their Government Resources Guide to better describe its Government Documents Collection and to provide researchers with a starting point for accessing government information online. In addition, the recent GPO decision to move toward an all-digital Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) provided an even greater impetus to develop a robust Government Resources LibGuide that would be meaningful to both the campus community and the broader community, which the library serves as an FDLP Depository Library
What Can U.S. Government Information Do for Me? Librarians Explain the Discovery and Use of Public Data, Documents, Maps and Images
No full textThe importance of government resources to information professionals cannot be overstated. What Can U.S. Government Information Do for Me? demonstrates the depth and breadth those resources can bring to researchers and how librarians can benefit from learning more about them. The editors are Tom Diamond, collections and materials selector librarian at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and Dominique Hallett, government information and STEM librarian at Arkansas State University. They introduce us to the volume with a long-familiar rhetoric evangelized by information professionals across the country and within multiple professional domains: “U.S. government publications are an incredible resource waiting to be used and discovered by the public” (p. 2). The book aims to provide information about US government resources, how to use them, and provide examples for use in our respective libraries. This up-to-date tome provides information about agencies and departments, what their websites contain, and what each provides. The editors describe the work as “hands-on” and practical, serving the needs of library workers in the government information environment at academic, public, school, federal, and special libraries. Some of the highlights of this book include curricular development examples and practical resources for educators to use in the classroom
From the Editor
No full textWelcome to volume 60 of RUSQ: A Journal of Reference and User Experience, the scholarly journal of the Reference and User Services Association. The journal launched in November of 1960 and was published quarterly through volume 59:2 (2019), when it went on hiatus. In 2021, I worked with the RUSA Office staff and then RUSA President Courtney McDonald to publish a joint RUSQ 59:3–4 to round out that volume. The same year, the RUSA Board commissioned a taskforce to explore the role of scholarly publishing in the division, and it was decided, based on surveys and interviews with RUSA members, sections, and the scholarly publishing world, that there was a strong interest in having RUSA publish a peer-reviewed journal that focused on reference and user services, drawn broadly and offering content for librarians in all types of libraries. I am honored to have been asked to step back into the role of editor, which I held from 2012 to 2018