Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (Journal)
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Engaging Students Who Have Insufficient Library Resources: A Case of a Secondary School in Lahore, Pakistan
No full textAcademic Librarians in Spanish-Speaking Latin America See a Growing Need for Librarian Role in Scholarly Publishing Literacy
No full textA Review of:Buitrago Ciro, J. (2022). How are academic libraries in Spanish-speaking Latin America responding to new models of scholarly communication and predatory publishing? Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(3), 373–388. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211016533Objective – To examine the current state of knowledge among academic librarians in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America regarding open access and predatory publishing. Furthermore, the study sought to explore actions or potential plans among this group that could allow them to better assist researchers with these aspects of scholarly publishing literacy.
Design – An online survey, followed by interviews with self-selected participants.
Setting – Academic libraries in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
Subjects – 104 librarians in the online survey and seven librarians in the interviews, each holding a position in an academic library in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Methods – An anonymous survey in Spanish consisting of 34 required questions was built with SurveyMonkey and distributed to participants between 30 July 2020 and 20 September 2020. Survey respondents were directed to contact the author via email if they wished to participate in follow-up interviews. Interviews were then conducted in Spanish over Zoom between 10 October 2020 and 10 November 2020, and the transcripts were coded and analyzed with NVivo.
Main Results – Of the survey’s respondents, 31.73% indicated that their library has a scholarly communication librarian, 29.81% noted that the library receives requests for assistance with finding journals in which to publish at least once per week, and 16.35% reported this type of request at least 1-2 times per month. In specific regard to predatory publishing, almost 52.88% of respondents indicated that they never receive questions on this topic, and 25.00% answered that users seek this kind of information less than once per month. Additionally, 31.73% responded that information on predatory publishing is not available at their library, and 42.31% rated their own knowledge of predatory publishing as fair to very poor. Finally, 44.23% reported plans to develop training or information to educate their institution’s research communities about predatory publishing, and 2.88% planned to recruit a scholarly communications specialist. In interviews, all participants agreed that exchanging information with other institutions with more knowledge and services related to predatory publishing would be beneficial. Three interviewees saw a general role for the library in providing information on predatory publishing, and three others indicated that this should be a leadership role when working in conjunction with other departments. All participants saw a lack of knowledge about predatory publishing as one of the primary difficulties for academic libraries, and three reported that the survey itself had led them to recognize the importance of the library’s role in scholarly communication literacy and create plans for their library to assist researchers in regard to predatory publishing.
Conclusion – Academic libraries in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America are not yet offering robust support for researchers concerning predatory publishing, but there is growing recognition of the issue, as well as interest in further developing expertise among librarians. Collaboration and exchanges of information with other institutions with more developed resources related to predatory publishing is viewed positively and may build upon existing knowledge of open access publishing
Vanished Open Access Journals; Why Preservation Is Needed
No full textA Review of:Laakso, M., Matthias, L., & Jahn, N. (2021). Open is not forever: A study of vanished open access journals. Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 72(9), 1099–1112. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24460
Objective – To determine the number of open access journals that have vanished from the web and to summarize their publishing lifespan, geographical and disciplinary characteristics.
Design – A descriptive research study.
Setting – The internet and internet archive.
Subjects – Open access journals.
Methods – To identify vanished open access (OA) journals, vanished was defined by the authors as “a journal that published at least one volume as immediate OA after which production ceased, and the journal, together with the published full-text documents, disappeared from the web.” If the journal content partially existed, it would be considered as vanished if <50% was available during 12 months of data collection which occurred September 2019–September 3, 2020. In 2020, the OA journal list was created by searching Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory, and Scopus title lists. The list was cross-referenced with database records from DOAJ from 2010–2012, 2012–2014, and 2014–2019; Ulrichsweb title lists from May 24, 2012, and July 3, 2018; and Scopus title lists from February 2014 and April 2018, to determine the missing titles. Previous research by the primary author and two peers, and previous publications, also contributed to the list of vanished journals. Data was collected manually, and duplicates were removed. Authors searched the Keepers Registry to be sure that the journal content was not preserved or accessible. Only titles with an ISSN number were kept in the final list. The authors then searched indexing databases and Google to find the vanished journal’s website, then accessed the website through the Internet Archive\u27s Wayback Machine to gather the information such as the year founded, last year of publication, last year available online, language, country, affiliation, and academic discipline.
Main Results – Authors identified 154 completely vanished journal titles and 20 partially vanished journal titles, to total 174 verified titles. Journals originated from 47 countries; the majority were published in English (n=137), and most were from North America, Europe and Central Asia (n=109). Social sciences and humanities domain represented 52.3% or 91 titles, and the last publication year of most titles occurred between 2010 and 2014 (n=110). The authors estimated the average time of the last published issue to the last available time on the internet to be within 1 year for 68 titles and within 5 years for 144 titles.
Conclusion – Although the results represent a small number of the available OA journals at the time of the study (1.2%), it reinforces the authors’ theme that “open is not forever” and raises concern of the potential loss of scholarly work
Do Systemic Inequities Lead to Differences Between Information Behaviors of Older Adults in the USA and India During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
No full textA Review of:
Lund, B. D., & Maurya, S. K. (2022). How older adults in the USA and India seek information during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative study of information behavior. IFLA Journal, 48(1), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352211024675
Objective – To investigate and compare the information-seeking behaviors of older adults in one developing and one developed country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design – Structured interviews via Zoom (video), telephone, or email.
Setting – Two towns with moderately large populations (about 300,000), one in eastern India and one in the Midwest of the USA.
Subjects – Sixty adults ages 65 and older, 35 in the India cohort and 25 in the USA cohort.
Methods – The researchers recruited participants from the communities in which their respective institutions are located by using online advertisements in Facebook groups, local (print) advertisements/flyers, and word of mouth. The ten interview questions were informed by Dervin’s (1998) sense-making methodology and sought to identify a specific information need, behavior to address the need, and the influences on and outcomes of the behavior. They conducted the interviews in July and August of 2020, translated the questions into Hindi for Hindi-speaking participants, and analyzed responses using qualitative content analysis. Within each of the resulting themes and categories, the researchers compared the responses of American and Indian participants.
Main Results – The researchers found many significant differences between the information behaviors of Indian and American participants. Some of the biggest differences were in the information needs expressed by the participants, as well as the sources consulted and the reasons for consulting those sources. For example, when asked about the types of information needed, 77% of Indians focused on a “COVID and health-related” information need, as opposed to only 33% of Americans. And 37% of Americans indicated information needs related to “political and economic issues,” especially the upcoming 2020 election, as opposed to only 3% of Indians. When asked about sources, 28% of Indians consulted television, compared to only 6% of Americans. Web-based sources were generally used more by Americans, with 31% of Americans consulting websites, compared to 13% of Indians. In regard to their reasons for consulting a source, 28% of Indians chose a source based on availability, compared to only 9% of Americans. And 32% and 36% of Americans chose information based on ease and familiarity (“I know how to find it”), compared to only 18% and 13% of Indians, respectively. Only 3% of Indians met all their information needs, as opposed to 43% of Americans, and Indians were more likely to stop searching after encountering barriers. Americans had more confidence in their information behavior overall, and only 32% of Americans were interested in taking a class on how to find information, as opposed to 97% of Indians.
Conclusion – Older adults in developing and developed countries described very different information-seeking experiences. The disparities between the types of information sought, sources consulted, and barriers encountered highlight not only cultural differences, but also systemic inequities that exist between the information infrastructure of the two countries, especially as concerns access to computers and the Internet. The study points to areas for future improvement, including the need for interventions such as information literacy instruction
Swimming Upstream in the Academic Library: Exploring Faculty Needs for Library Streaming Media Collections
No full textObjective - To compare Portland State University’s (PSU) local experience of using streaming media to national and international trends identified in a large qualitative study by Ithaka S+R. This comparison will help librarians better understand if the PSU Library is meeting the needs of faculty with its streaming media collection through a series of faculty interviews.
Methods and Intervention - Two librarians from PSU participated in a large, collaborative, two-part study conducted by Ithaka S+R in 2022, with 23 other academic institutions in the United States, Canada, and Germany As part of this study, the authors conducted a series of interviews with faculty from PSU’s Social Work and Film Studies departments to gather qualitative data about their use, expectations, and priorities relating to streaming media in their teaching. Ithaka S+R provided guided interview questions, and librarians at PSU conducted interviews with departmental faculty. Local interview responses were compared to the interviews from the other 23 institutions.
Results - PSU Library had a higher rate of faculty satisfaction than in the larger survey. Discussions raised concerns around accessibility of content, which was novel to PSU, and did not meaningfully emerge in the broader study. Local findings did line up with broader trends in the form of concerns about cost, discoverability, and lack of diverse content.
Conclusions - The data collected by Ithaka S+R’s survey, which was the first part of their two-part study, is useful as it highlights the trends and attitudes of the greater academic library community. However, the second portion of the study’s guided interviews with campus faculty reinforced the importance of accessibility, the Library’s provision of resources, and the relationships between subject liaisons and departmental instructors. It emphasized that Portland State University’s Library has built a good foundation with faculty related to this area but has not been able to provide for every streaming instructional need. Reasons for this include limited acquisitions budgets, constraints of staff time, and market factors
Re-Purposing the Physical Space of an Academic Library in the Digital Era: A Case Study of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University, New Delhi (India)
No full textObjectives – The issue/return of books and other reading materials available on shelves in academic libraries has declined. Round-the-clock availability of information resources, high-speed internet, cheaper cost of data download, laptops, and smartphones are some of the reasons behind decreased usage of print reading materials. Users are spending more time studying, accessing e-resources, socializing with friends, and discussing with peer groups in the library building. Libraries in developed countries have already recognized the need of the hour and redesigned their spaces to create a variety of reading spaces, creative spaces, quiet spaces, and so forth in the existing building. But the libraries of the higher education institutions in India have not considered the users\u27 needs concerning the library space. No such study has been conducted at large universities in India. This study was conducted with library users of the central library of two large universities located in New Delhi to find users\u27 opinions and views to re-purpose the library space to meet users\u27 needs.
Methods – The survey method has been used to understand the use of the existing format of knowledge resources and the need of library users. The central point of the research questionnaire is to optimize the library space of the central libraries of the universities under study. Printed questionnaires were distributed to the users present in the reading halls of the libraries at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and Delhi University (DU), New Delhi, and online questionnaires were distributed to faculty members. The collected data were analyzed with Microsoft Excel, and various hypotheses were tested using non-parametric tests such as the sign test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results – Students and research scholars visit daily and spend more than four hours in the library building. They use their time in study, accessing e-resources in the reading halls of the library more than any other place. The users opined the reading halls should have wi-fi facilities, a power source to charge laptops and mobile phones, washrooms near every reading hall, a quiet reading space, and a clean ambient environment for long hours of study in the library building.
Conclusion – Library users in the 21st century want more physical space to study, concentrate, socialize, and learn in the informal learning environment. They need library space with the latest infrastructure to connect to the digital world to retrieve study materials and print copies of study materials. Educational institutions should create more varied reading spaces for serious reading, pleasure reading, in-depth reading, and interactive learning spaces in new library buildings
Factors Affecting Publication Impact and Citation Trends Over Time
No full textObjective – The researchers investigated whether faculty use of the references in articles had a relationship with the later impact of the publication (measured by citation counts). The paper also reported on additional factors that may influence the later impact of publications.
Methods – This researchers analyzed data for articles published by faculty at a large public university from 1995 to 2015. Data were obtained from the Scopus abstract and citation database and analyzed using SPSS27 to conduct Pearson’s correlations and regression analysis.
Results – The number of references included in publications and the number of citations articles received each year following publication have increased over time. Publications received a greater number of citations annually in their 6th to 10th years, compared to the first 5. The number of references included in an article had a weak correlation with the number of citations an article received. Grant funded articles included more references and later received more citations than non-grant funded articles. Several variables, including number of references used in an article, the number of co-authors, and whether the article was grant funded, were shown to correlate with the later impact of a publication.
Conclusion – Based on the results, researchers should seek out grant funding and generously incorporate literature into their co-authored publications to increase their publications\u27 potential for future impact. These factors may influence article quality, resulting in more citations over time. Further research is needed to better understand their influence and the influence of other factors
Public Libraries and Health Promotion Partnerships: Needs and Opportunities
No full textObjective – Across North America, public libraries have increasingly served their communities by working with partners to connect patrons to essential healthcare services, including preventative. However, little is known about the extent of these partnerships, or the need for them, as seen from the perspective of public library workers. In this study, we set out to address the following research question: What needs and opportunities are associated with health promotion partnerships involving public libraries?
Methods – Using snowball sampling techniques, in September 2021, 123 library workers from across the state of South Carolina in the United States (US) completed an online survey about their health partnerships and health-related continuing education needs; an additional 19 completed a portion of the survey.
Results – Key findings included that library capacity is limited, but the desire to support health via partnerships is strong. There is a need for health partnerships to increase library capacity to support health. Public libraries already offer a range of health-related services. Finally, disparities exist across regions and between urban and rural communities.
Conclusion – As an exploratory study based on a self-selecting sample of public library workers in a particular state of the US, this study has some limitations. Nonetheless, this article highlights implications for a variety of stakeholder groups, including library workers and administrators, funders, and policy makers, and researchers. For researchers, the primary implication is the need to better understand, both from the public library worker’s perspective and from the (actual or potential) health partner’s perspective, needs and opportunities associated with this form of partnership work
Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Populations Experience Unique Challenges in Health Information Environment Developed for Heteronormative Audience
No full textA Review of:
Tenny, C. S., Surkan, K. J., Gerido, L. H., & Betts-Green, D. (2021). A crisis of erasure: Transgender and gender-nonconforming populations navigating breast cancer health information. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 5(4), 132–149. https://doi.org/10.33137/ijidi.v5i4.37406
Objective – To understand the lived experiences of transgender and gender-nonconforming populations in seeking health information about breast cancer.
Design – Thematic literature review.
Setting – Four English-language databases featuring clinical, patient engagement, and library and information sciences (LIS) research.
Subjects – Twenty-one published articles.
Methods – The researchers chose three concepts (trans, LGBTQ+, and breast cancer), identified related terms for each, and used these terms to conduct literature searches in four databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Library Literature & Information Science Full Text, and Library, Information, Science & Technology Abstracts. Search results were reviewed for relevance to the research objective. The researchers applied grounded theory to analyze the 21 selected articles through open, axial, and selective (thematic) coding. The qualitative research software NVivo was used to perform thematic analysis of each article, and a shared codebook was developed to ensure saturation of axial themes and consistency of coding amongst researchers.
Main Results – Three overarching themes emerged from selective coding that exemplify experiences of transgender and gender-nonconforming persons seeking health information about breast cancer: access, erasure, and quality. Compared to their cisgender peers, these historically marginalized populations and their caregivers experience more difficulty accessing the already limited breast cancer information, healthcare, and support services suited to their needs. In particular, transgender and gender-nonconforming patients are often burdened with choosing between receiving health information and care designed for heteronormative persons and risking self-disclosure and possible discrimination by culturally incompetent health professionals.
Conclusion – The researchers noted the alarmingly limited resources available for gender-nonconforming patients seeking information and support for health matters other than mental health or sexually transmitted diseases. The researchers also called for increased efforts by LIS curriculums and professionals to study and understand the needs of transgender and gender-nonconforming patrons, and to improve the quality and quantity of information resources specifically dedicated to these unique populations