While Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are crucial for research integrity, the amount of librarian membership is limited. This study examines IRB rosters and membership criteria to describe librarian involvement. Surveys of IRB members assessed their views on the value of librarian membership and importance of literature review evaluation within IRB process. Results indicate low librarian representation and a de-emphasis on literature review importance to human subject research. These findings highlight need for increased librarian IRB involvement-including promoting importance of high-quality literature reviews-to further ensure human subject safety.
This paper presents the findings from a survey distributed at two academic institutions, exploring undergraduates' campus engagement, self-regulated learning, and definitions of academic success. The library was the most frequently visited campus service, and students used it for both academic and nonacademic activities. Students identified obtaining good grades as their top definition of academic success. Participation in library and campus activities, use of online library resources, social learning, and improved concentration were positively associated. These findings highlight the crucial role of academic libraries and their potential for collaboration with other campus units to support student success.
Discovery tools facilitate access to large-scale academic collections, yet their retrieval performance varies. This study presents a comparative analysis of three discovery tools-EBSCO Discovery Services (EDS), EKUAL Discovery Services (EKUAL DS), and Piri Discovery Services (Piri DS)-evaluating retrieval scope, ranking quality, and topical diversity index. The iSearch test collection, derived from arXiv articles, was used with predefined search queries. To assess coverage, the full arXiv corpus was queried to identify indexing differences. A total of 63 queries were executed, and retrieved lists were analyzed for relevance and ranking distribution. Expert-evaluated relevant articles were used to assess retrieval accuracy. Ranking was measured using Discounted Cumulative Gain (DCG) and Normalized DCG (NDCG), and topical diversity was evaluated using the Shannon Diversity Index. EDS and EKUAL DS retrieved identical results, while Piri DS retrieved fewer records, affecting its retrieval completeness. Piri DS ranked relevant articles higher, but with broader distribution. While all tools exhibited comparable ranking performance, EDS and EKUAL DS demonstrated greater topical diversity. These findings offer empirical insight into the strengths and limitations of discovery tools and support libraries in improving search efficiency and retrieval strategies.
This study sought to understand how R1 libraries define scholarship and creative activities and how they address quality of scholarship through a content analysis of promotion and tenure documentation. Peer review is the most common indicator of quality mentioned in the documents, followed by the geographical reach of scholarship and originality of the research. Other common scholarship criteria included the need to demonstrate sustained scholarship activity, while discussions of open access research were rare. Academic libraries that offer promotion and tenure should evaluate their documentation to ensure they provide clarity to candidates and are up to date.
To better serve first-year international students at the University at Buffalo in an embedded, one-credit information literacy (IL) research lab (iLab), undergraduate education librarians built upon a flipped and social constructivist model by employing universal design for learning (UDL). UDL framed the creation of multimodal content targeting trouble areas. The formal assessment instrument was also revised using a pre-and post-test model. Assessment results were used to guide UDL iteration from fall 2018 through fall 2019. The assessment measured the intended IL skills reliably across multiple classes of students. Between fall 2018 and fall 2019, students' pre-to post-test growth increased by 103.92%.
This study examines the evolving roles of academic librarians across Canada and the United States. Adapting a survey tool published in a prior Canadian study, the authors surveyed over 350 librarians in the United States, analyzing shifts in research support, teaching and learning, digital scholarship, user experience, and scholarly communication. Results indicate significant engagement in information discovery and digital scholarship, with a growing need for training in digital tools and data management. The resulting report highlights the crucial role of academic librarians in adapting to technological and educational changes, underscoring the necessity for ongoing professional development.
This study investigated the transformation of the library and information science (LIS) doctoral job market in China from an alternative academic (Alt-Ac) perspective. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed supply and demand dynamics, based on data from 21 LIS programs and 10,331 job postings. The findings revealed a rapid expansion of LIS doctoral education, with an increasing enrollment in firstlevel disciplines and self-established interdisciplinary second-level disciplines. On the demand side, Alt-Ac positions showed significant growth across diverse institutional settings, requiring skills in data analysis, research methodology, and interdisciplinary collaboration. These results underscore the growing viability of Alt-Ac careers for LIS doctoral graduates and the need for programs to adapt curricula accordingly.
This study investigates the experiences of Chinese international graduate students in assessing the credibilityof online information in the U.S.,focusing on theirchallenges and the underlying reasons forthese challenges. Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, information diaries, and focus group discussions, the research reveals that these students often struggle to assess the credibility of U.S. online content without being aware of their difficulties. The findings show that their judgments are influenced by their pre-existing understandings of authority and prior internet usage in China. Additionally, their sense of estrangement, stemming from their outsider status in an unfamiliar online environment, exacerbates these challenges. This study underscores the complex interplay of sociocultural, political, and educational factors in shaping their assessments. It recommends that U.S. higher education institutions incorporate culturally sensitive information literacy instruction to support international students from diverse backgrounds, thereby enhancing their academic experiences and empowering them as information-literate global citizens in a digital society.
Given current discussions in the field about librarians' engagement in research partnerships, this study examines the experiences of librarians at The Ohio State University, a doctoral university with very high research (R1), to better understand their preparation for the collaborations, the knowledge and skills they contributed, their roles on project teams, their motivation for joining teams, and the subsequent criteria they have adopted for determining participation on future projects. Interview and post-interview survey findings indicate librarians have developed their own strategies for determining their roles on research teams based on their individual strengths and that they have benefitted from the experiences overall. This study also reveals inconsistencies in support for this form of engagement and makes recommendations for libraries related to scoping involvement and establishing criteria for participation of librarians on research teams.
In response to a growing, cross-disciplinary demand for individuals to develop programming skills, libraries are expanding their educational offerings to provide coding support for learners from diverse backgrounds. Teaching learners how to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to code can enhance independent learning via real-time assistance and debugging support. Here, we describe the design, delivery, and assessment of a library workshop that teaches participants to leverage AI chatbots for learning Python. Python for All: Democratizing Coding Mastery with participants to use AI tools effectively and ethically. Workshop materials are available as open educational resources to support the democratization of coding education.
The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which libraries are disseminating open access (OA) through conducting a survey of the different library websites and systems of higher education institution (HEI) libraries in the Philippines. This also aims to identify the types, subject fields, quantity, and quality of the OA resources shared by private and public HEI libraries in terms of the links they embed in their websites and systems. The study employed a quantitative research design focusing on website analysis. The findings revealed that many libraries have established websites and systems that they use to embed information about OA resources. Most OA resource links disseminated by HEI libraries are multidisciplinary, and the majority of these are OA journals. Comparing the number of OA resources advertised by HEI libraries, private institutions tend to share more links. From the 2,917 OA resources embedded in 312 library websites, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) topped the most shared OA resource. Although librarians selected resources indexed in reputable databases, several resources were erroneous or flagged as predatory. Libraries need to improve their OA initiatives by increasing both the quality and quantity of the links they shared in their library management system (LMS) and content management systems (CMS). Librarians must also improve their knowledge about OA, predatory publishing, and indexing services to ensure the quality of OA resources being disseminated on their websites. The support of their institution of the resources needed by their library is also important for these initiatives to be implemented.
In 2024, 250 undergraduate students from a variety of majors completed an anonymous survey about their experiences using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Survey findings provide details on how students are using GenAI for college coursework, students' views of acceptable GenAI uses for assignments, and their opinions on GenAI and plagiarism. Results highlight a wide range of student perspectives, underscoring the need for greater foundational knowledge of GenAI among students. Data from this survey also reveals connections between AI literacy and information literacy through the concepts of evaluating information and using information ethically.
Using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, researchers analyzed whether there was a correlation between education student enrollment and curriculum materials center/collection (CMC) budget across eighty universities in the United States. Findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between those variables, although the relationship is weak. Universities with large education programs tend to have better-funded CMCs; however, variability across institutions is still significant. Findings suggest that many university CMCs may be comparatively underfunded based on student enrollment in education and historical trends.
This article examines the advantages and disadvantages of the tenure system in academic libraries and the perceptions of tenured and tenure-track librarians regarding their professional identities in relation to tenure. Utilizing the participants' descriptions of their professional experiences, the study aims to (a) critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of the tenure system and (b) understand how the status of tenure impacts librarians' professional identities within their respective institutions.
This study continues a series on publication patterns of refereed library and information science journal articles by United States academic librarians (USALs). Following previous studies conducted in 5-year increments starting in 1993, this study covers 52 journals from 2018 to 2022. The proportion of USAL-authored articles decreased despite an overall increase in USAL publications. Coauthorship and the percentage of USALs who publish three or more articles in 5 years increased. Large public research universities remain the most productive. The change in percentages of USAL and non-USAL articles in the studied journals points to differences in growth among journals. COVID-19 appeared to impede USAL productivity.
This study employs social network analysis (SNA) to visualize the relationships between liaison librarians and faculty at a university library. To enhance targeted outreach and support library engagement, this research aims to identify strong and weak departmental ties, liaisons who are central to the network, and strongly connected faculty. Findings reveal that longer-tenured liaisons generally maintain stronger connections, while active participation in campus activities enhances relationship-building. The results underscore the significance of fostering long-term institutional ties and suggest targeted outreach for departments with weaker connections. Future research could broaden the scope by including data from other library staff, exploring undirected networks, and cross-institutional comparisons.
This article examines undergraduate students' attitudes towards search data privacy in academic libraries, with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of members of underrepresented groups. Using the qualitative framework of interpretive description and constant comparative analysis, 27 undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University-an urban research institution in the southeastern region of the United States-were interviewed. Most students were comfortable with search data collection if it benefited them; however, a notable number of those who opposed it expressed strong concerns about potential harm to vulnerable or underrepresented groups. These privacy concerns were primarily voiced by members of marginalized groups, emphasizing the importance of considering student perspectives, especially those who may be most vulnerable to adverse effects of data use as academic libraries increasingly employ learning analytics and individual-level data. The purpose of this article is to amplify those voices.
Bibliometric and survey-based studies have documented different open access (OA) publishing practices among scholars across academic disciplines. This article reports on interviews conducted with arts and humanities scholars from the United States, and it explores how OA intersects with their research and publication practices. Beyond the considerable financial costs of OA publishing, findings demonstrate that arts and humanities scholars contend with opportunity, reputational, equity, and time costs as they consider and engage with OA publishing. The authors discuss the implications of these costs for librarians who facilitate the dissemination, discovery, and preservation of arts and humanities scholarship.
The purpose of this article is to establish a distinct definition of engagement for academic librarians and describe how a definition supports a clearer understanding of what is expected of librarians with engagement responsibilities. In observing a growing use of the term "engagement" over the last two decades, the authors noted how the term is frequently conflated with "outreach" and is rarely used in any discernibly distinct manner. This article traces the development and use of the term engagement in academic libraries, proposes a definition to disambiguate the term from outreach, and articulates the work of engagement for academic librarians.
