Pathfinder (Journal)
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Chat Reference: A Review of Question Types and Its Implication to Staffing and Communication Strategies
Get PDFChat reference services have become increasingly important in libraries providing remote reference assistance to users. The success of these services depends on several factors, including staffing and training. This literature review examines the relationship between question types, the staffing model, and the areas of improvement related to these issues. It draws on various sources, including qualitative and quantitative studies on chat transcripts from different types of academic libraries. Regarding question types, chat reference services are best suited to straightforward and factual queries, while more complex or subjective questions may require other assistance. Chat reference providers should also know the medium\u27s limitations, such as difficulties displaying images or lengthy texts. In order to provide high-quality service, chat reference providers should ensure that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge, as well as appropriate levels of support and supervision. The review explores the advantages and disadvantages of student staffing in particular. Clear and effective communication strategies are also essential, including managing user expectations, providing timely responses, and following up as needed. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the literature around best practices for chat reference service providers, highlighting the importance of careful planning, implementation, and ongoing assessment
Co-Created and Student-led Teaching Materials: The FOODWAYS Research Project
Get PDFUndergraduate students\u27 research experience is important as it allows them to gain the necessary skills required for future opportunities. Affording students various opportunities to work with faculty on research during their undergraduate degree provides a rich learning opportunity. This paper advocates for student and faculty partnerships at the undergraduate level, where students and faculty work collaboratively. ITA235, Cucina Italiana: Italian History and Culture Through Food (University of Toronto Mississauga) acts as a model for student-led research, which includes a large component of student and faculty collaboration. The FOODWAYS project is a teaching resource currently being developed, and is housed within the course as an Experiential Learning (EL) opportunity. Through participating in the FOODWAYS research project, students have exposure to various digital humanities research methods and work in partnership with faculty and graduate student researchers to broaden their research skill set
Virtual Reality in Libraries: Does VR create a Safer Space for 2SLGTBQ+ and IBPOC people?
No full textResearch Question:
Can Virtual Reality (VR) Create a Fourth Space in Libraries that is a safer space for 2SLGTBQ+ and IBPOC people? Libraries are considered third places between work and home, if there is access to VR could that create a fourth space for individuals with intersectional identities to explore in library settings
How are Art Librarians Using Information Literacy Instruction to Support Art Studio Students?
Get PDFThis literature review examines how art librarians are using information literacy instruction (ILI) to support student research and information needs in art studio practices. The review contextualizes the topic, and identifies current strategies, gaps, and considerations for areas of future growth for a student population that is often underserved by libraries. The review thematically considers the impact of standards and frameworks on ILI in the arts and current strategies in art information literacy instruction. Findings include a need for growth and literature on the subject, disconnects between literature from the field of art, art history, and librarianship, and that recent competency documents have resulted in significant and beneficial pedagogical shifts, concluding that there are many promising future areas of growth and innovative potential for ILI in studio art contexts
The Role of Special Collections in Climate Change Movements
Get PDFThis presentation examines the role that special collections can play in documenting climate change literature over the course of history. We chose to focus on artist books in particular due to their unique trait as a format found almost exclusively within special collections libraries. We connect artist books to other collections within Bruce Peel Special Collections to create a narrative of climate change across cultures, time, and social movements. This narrative focuses on the past, present, and future of climate change, showcasing how special collections libraries provide new perspectives on how we should view the role we have to play in climate change. We believe the creation of this narrative shows how collecting literature and archives is an active form of combatting climate misinformation. In particular, we believe connecting this narrative through artist books is a way to challenge dominant narratives due to the role of artist books in counterculture and alternate ways of viewing knowledge
Indigenous Video Games in Libraries
Get PDFThere is a recent movement known as Indigenous Futurisms that examines Indigenous perspectives within the context of technology. In relation to this, video gaming continues to be one of the fastest growing forms of new media, yet diversity in the industry is still an issue. There is especially apparent with a lack of proper representation of Indigenous video game characters and Indigenous storylines. While this is starting to change with the recent rise of a handful of Indigenous owned gaming studios and creators, there are still challenges around accessibility for game play. Video games made by Indigenous creators or with Indigenous characters are for the most part non-existent in most public library collections. When we discuss decolonization in libraries, video games as a popular form of media are often overlooked and not viewed as valuable educational tools that encourage literacy and creativity. This paper suggests changes that can be made to ensure that video games that share Indigenous Knowledges and traditions or are made by Indigenous creators are made accessible and are represented in library collections and spaces
The Evolving Nature of Library Technical Services in Response to Outsourcing
Get PDFThe landscape of library technical services is evolving in response to the outsourcing of library work such as cataloguing, acquisitions, and processing. This literature review explores the body of research on the transitioning nature of library technical services and presents its findings with a thematic overview of the cost effectiveness of outsourcing, vendor quality control and evaluation, staffing levels, changing workloads, organizational restructuring, user experience, knowledge management as well as diversity, inclusion, and access. While the literature reveals little doubt that outsourcing has had a significant impact on library technical services, how can libraries guide their technical services teams forward through this transition? The themes explored here suggest that additional skillsets are necessary for increasingly complex workloads in response to changing library user needs. Library leadership will need to provide their staff with training and professional development to meet these changing needs all while having successful change management strategies in place that leverage existing skillsets and support the continued evolutionary landscape of library technical services
The Relationship Between a Historical Manuscript and its Digital Surrogate
Get PDFThrough the digitization of rare or special manuscripts, academics have researched the impact of digitization and its relationship with the physical manuscript itself. Past literature has focused on how the digital can complement the physical, the changing manuscript’s identity when its digitized, and past research around the quality of a digital surrogate. The importance of carefully considering the impact of the quality of a digitized manuscript is essential. However, every edition (physical or digital) changes in some way and moves further from the original, be it an issue with the digitization or pages being removed or altered in the physical manuscript. Though some scholars find that content may be lost when digitized, there can also be more information added by cataloguers. Ultimately, digital surrogates allow for wider access, but their quality must be considered and properly addressed in research. A researcher who is aware of and within their work clearly states the relationship between the digital surrogate and the physical manuscript will find that it is a great support for any researcher.
Public Libraries and the Social Inclusion of Homeless People: A Literature Review
Get PDFPublic libraries have an ethical and professional responsibility to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for their entire patron community, including those individuals experiencing homelessness, in part by providing equal and equitable access to information and library services. This literature review examines the small but growing body of LIS literature—both internationally and in the Canadian context—on the self-reported informational and social needs of people experiencing homelessness, and their use of public libraries. Key findings reveal that while some homeless people use public library spaces to meet basic physiological needs, most visit public libraries for many of the same reasons as their housed counterparts. Importantly, homeless library users indicated that spending time at the library contributed to their sense of belonging and social inclusion. The literature also demonstrated a clear trend toward partnerships between public libraries and professional support agencies to better address patrons’ needs. Services relevant to homeless people should be developed in consultation or collaboration with this target group to ensure that resulting recommendations are appropriate to their needs, reduce or remove barriers to equal access, and contribute positively to social inclusion
Public Library Play-based Early Literacy Programs: What is the Parental Experience?
Get PDFMany public libraries offer early literacy storytime programs to child patrons and their parents. Based on current research and best-practice periodicals, more children’s librarians are incorporating and modeling play-based activities in their storytime programs at the public library to emphasize the importance of parent-child interaction in guiding early literacy learning. Play as a method of learning is often underutilized and misunderstood by parents. This literature review aims to investigate the role of public libraries (and librarians) in informal early literacy education, the shift towards play-based practices in early literacy programs at the public library, the importance and significance of quality parent-child interaction in early literacy experiences, and the documentation of the experiences and perceptions of parents attending early literacy programs at the public library with their children. As previous studies correlate the benefits of parent-child interaction in play-based activities with early literacy learning, it is evident that further qualitative research into the actual experiences of parents attending play-based early literacy public library programs is needed in order to identify moreareas for improvement of public library services and storytime programs for child patrons and their parents