Abstract The expansion of Google Translate support to Philippine regional languages, including Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, and Waray, highlights the growing recognition of linguistic diversity in digital spaces. Despite these advances, AI tools’ effectiveness in handling regional linguistic diversity remains underexplored. Looking into AI’s capabilities to handle less-represented languages, this study investigates AI-driven research tools’ ability to process multilingual queries in these languages, focusing on how tools like ChatGPT, Elicit, and Semantic Scholar retrieve, translate, and interpret search queries. Through qualitative analysis, the study evaluates the effectiveness of these tools in retrieving relevant information and addressing linguistic complexities. Findings reveal that while ChatGPT provides relevant responses, they are often brief, lacking deeper contextual understanding. Elicit, on the other hand, produces accurate literal translations but struggles with irrelevant results, poor abstract summarization, and occasional confabulation. Semantic Scholar presents additional challenges, delivering inconsistent results with accuracy issues, a lack of translation features, and frequent hallucinations. The study emphasizes the need for AI systems to improve their ability to process regional linguistic contextual intricacies, advocating for the development of more inclusive and context-aware AI tools to enhance information access. As champions of information equity, librarians must take a proactive role by staying informed, experimenting with AI tools, and continuously refining their practice, shaping how AI influences knowledge access, ensuring inclusivity, and representation of diverse languages.
Abstract Initiatives for the preservation of digital data – fundamentally transforming musicological methodologies through enhanced analytical capabilities – require examination within the context of vocal performance research. The study examines two categories of digital resources: commercial services offering licensed recordings and cultural heritage archives designed for the preservation of music. Both types contribute to vocal pedagogy and enhance knowledge acquisition in the field of music. They provide valuable support for educational processes while also ensuring technical accessibility and convenience. Methodological frameworks based on mixed methods incorporate spectrographic analysis, performance assessment protocols, and comparative pedagogical evaluation. The experimental sample ( n = 297), stratified by vocal categories, involved a longitudinal intervention using three digital repositories (Naxos Music Library, iTunes, Chinese Music Archive). Students utilizing digital archives demonstrated superior acquisition of vocal knowledge (72 % achieving high proficiency levels compared to 37 % in control groups). Performance metrics exhibited a corresponding divergence (74 % reaching advanced mastery standards compared to 33 % in traditional instruction); statistical validation through Cohen’s d calculation (−0.481 for knowledge parameters, −0.427 for skill acquisition) confirmed the intervention’s effectiveness. Spectrographic comparisons revealed quantifiable transformations in performance (e.g., a 1.7 Hz deceleration of vibrato in the longitudinal cohort). These findings establish a theoretical foundation for “digital vocal archaeology,” wherein preservation strategies evolve into analytical instruments.
Large language models (LLMs) fundamentally challenge traditional information literacy frameworks through unreliable information generation, bias perpetuation, and disrupted authority structures. As these systems become integral to research, education, and decision-making, librarians should lead information stewardship in the AI era by applying core professional expertise in information evaluation, collection development, and reference intermediation to LLM environments. This paper presents a comprehensive framework positioning librarians as uniquely qualified LLM literacy leaders through established LIS competencies. It treats LLMs as information resources requiring systematic evaluation, applies reference techniques to AI interactions, and maintains professional ethics concerning intellectual freedom and equitable access. Grounded in recent literature, the proposed framework defines core competencies, outlines implementation pathways, and presents assessment strategies that support librarians in guiding communities through AI-mediated information environments. It demonstrates how established LIS professional skills provide an essential foundation for democratic information stewardship, ensuring that LLMs serve community needs while preserving standards of critical thinking. This positions LLM literacy as a natural extension of the librarian's professional identity, offering a forward-looking model for leadership in technologically mediated environments.
The increasing prevalence of elderly individuals creating short videos on the Internet has led to the emergence of the "Elderly Internet Celebrities" (EICs), which has captured significant social attention. This study investigates the information practices and underlying capital operations of EICs through field research and qualitative analysis of 27 elderly participants and 12 activity organizers. The study finds that EICs engage in various information practices, including information acquisition, utilization, creation, and sharing. During the information practices, three patterns gradually emerge, and the elderly successfully accumulate digital capital while also transforming it into economic, social, cultural, and symbolic capital. This article contributes to emphasizing the EICs' information creation and its collectiveness, taking the accumulation of capital as a criterion for evaluating EICs' information practices utility. It also highlights several challenges faced by EICs, including value extraction, low utility, structural exploitation, and inadequate mechanisms for securing digital labor's rights.
Retail applications have become the key means for most online retailers to manage customer relationships. However, the possible dark side of this virtual customer relationship governance has rarely been examined. By drawing on coping theory, this study investigates the negative customer communication experience of virtual governance in the context of online post-sales services. Customers’ perceived knowledge hiding is investigated as a mediator, while customers’ fear of opportunism and product knowledge are introduced as moderators. Data is collected from 302 Chinese online consumers and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that in the post-sales service context, virtual governance increases the degree of relational conflict between customers and service providers through the mediation of customer perceived knowledge. In addition, customer product knowledge positively moderates the relationship between virtual governance and perceived knowledge hiding. These findings thus integrate different literature streams, improve the understanding of the application of virtual governance in the online post-sales service context, and expand the boundaries of relevant research.
This study analyzes China's library and information science (LIS) doctoral job market through the lens of alternative-academic (alt-ac) careers. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analysed 12,560 doctoral-level job postings from 607 institutions (2016-2024) with a BERT-BiLSTM-CRF model for entity recognition, followed by social network analysis. We identified four distinct alt-ac clusters - digital transformation, knowledge services, strategic intelligence, and cultural heritage - each demonstrating distinct evolution patterns. Network analysis revealed critical bridging roles, particularly data curation and subject librarians, that connect traditional academic functions with emerging professional domains. We developed a theoretical model explaining how alt-ac careers evolve through niche construction, knowledge brokering, and adaptive evolution mechanisms. Our findings suggest that alt-ac pathways function as complementary rather than alternative trajectories in the academic ecosystem. These findings inform doctoral education reform and labor market policy as China's information landscape undergoes rapid digital transformation.
In 2013, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) passed a Right to Information (RTI) Act. Government bodies, including public sector universities, were required to enforce the new law within four months of its enactment. A significant step in the implementation of the law was the appointment of Public Information Officers (PIOs). These were given the responsibility of ensuring that the communities served by the organization they represented could benefit from the new freedoms outlined under the RTI Act. This article reports on the findings of a series of interviews with the PIOs at 25 universities in KP. Transcripts of the interviews were subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis. The emergent theme that most related to the question of how PIOs in KP universities enact their roles under the RTI Act was that of boundary-spanning. In order to make information not only available but meaningful beyond the boundaries of their university, PIOs must act in seven boundary-spanning capacities: Officiator; Leadership in Information Synthesis; Linchpin; Accredited Representative; Information Intermediary; Cultural Ambassador; Mediator. These seven roles are described and discussed.
This paper asks: Can Library Science be a science? In response, it answers "yes" and illuminates how by integrating three sets of ideas-the phenomena addressed by Library Science, ontology identifying these phenomena, and theory about them. This integration illuminates a direction toward developing a scientific general theory of Library Science, one based upon ontology, that could depict, define, predict, and explain the phenomena of Library Science, especially as they occur through organizational librarianship occurring within organizations dedicated to librarianship, known as libraries. This ontology and its derived direction toward general theory encompasses several sets of Library Science phenomena: such organizational librarianship, especially its central phenomena; phenomena supporting and governing organizational librarianship's central phenomena; as well as contextual phenomena generating and affected by organizational librarianship. The ontology and derived theoretical direction also identify the relationships governing these phenomena. These include causal relationships, ones arising from the dynamics among Library Science's phenomena, and ones inherent to the phenomena's ontology.
Data storytelling serves as a powerful tool for public libraries to move from measurement to demonstrating impact. This article reports findings from an exploratory focus group conducted at the Austin Public Library followed by individual interviews with 11 staff members from six large urban public library systems. The data demonstrates that libraries have made progress in data management and public narrative, particularly in short-term goals such as data-informed decision-making, promoting special programs, or securing funding. But the data also indicates that public libraries have room to grow in terms of identifying and articulating main narratives that define the library's mission and long-term value. These main narratives are critical for guiding internal operations and strengthening connections with the external communities that public libraries serve. Public libraries are still facing a long journey from big data to bigger and more impactful stories. The data from these librarians offers broader insights for the field about how to translate data into narratives that demonstrate how public libraries work to serve the public good.
Learning Commons have become integral to university libraries, necessitating robust assessment tools to evaluate their effectiveness. This study developed and validated a comprehensive assessment tool for Learning Commons in university libraries. Building on a systematic review of recent literature, a questionnaire was developed encompassing nine key constructs: Layout, Amenities, Atmosphere, Functionality, Flexible Learning Spaces, Technology Integration, Information Resources, Expert Support Services, and Collaborative Learning Spaces. The questionnaire underwent rigorous content validity assessment, followed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using a sample of 500 university students. Results demonstrated excellent psychometric properties, with high reliability (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.977 to 0.981) and strong content validity (CVI = 0.98, CVR = 0.92). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a clear nine-factor structure, with factor loadings ranging from 0.419 to 0.801. Confirmatory factor analysis supported this structure, with factor loadings ranging from 0.316 to 0.513 and excellent model fit indices (CFI = 0.987, TLI = 0.976, RMSEA = 0.048). This study contributes a valid and reliable instrument for comprehensively assessing Learning Commons, addressing a significant gap in the field. The developed tool enables evidence-based decision-making in designing, implementing, and improving Learning Commons in university libraries, with implications for enhancing student learning experiences and outcomes.
The goal of this article is to identify how publicness is shaped in the library context, with a view to creating a rough analytical framework to use as the basis for the subsequent creation of a model for evaluating the publicness of public access libraries. The article is based on a review of the literature. The results show that a library shapes its publicness in the three ways in which it presents itself as public: 1) as a public space; this incorporates elements that go beyond open access for all and involves processes of space use, space management, and space design; 2) as an object of representation through art, commerce, and social manifestations, and as an object of public debate that roughly converges on the library’s mission, value, public and staff; and 3) as a collective subject, which can be split into the community as agent, the library staff, and legitimating and regulating institutions. What makes this study original is that it frames the library as public from stances that look beyond the issue of public or private ownership, thus shifting the focus from government-run public libraries to public access libraries.
This report is the second of two articles that present findings from a survey of public libraries in eight states across the U.S., selected for regional diversity, which included questions meant to provide insight into changes in American public library services during and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings in this article focus on the provision of internet access, internet-enabled technologies, and related training and assistance during the pandemic and changes to these services after the peak of the infection period. The study also provides baseline data on public library services involving internet-enabled computer technologies, showing the status quo in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest that city and suburban public libraries were better able to shift services related to computer access and training to remote formats than libraries in rural areas and towns. Libraries in more populated areas were also more likely to loan physical technologies, such as Wi-Fi hotspots and laptop computers, for home usage during the pandemic. Despite differences across libraries in different locales, though, the overall responses show that public libraries are still considered to be valuable sources for internet and computer access and assistance in their communities.
Graphic novels occupy an interesting intersection in libraries where they are both popular to read and popular to challenge or censor. Graphic novels are often the subject of great scrutiny, from their ability to channel and reflect inclusivity and empathy to their capacity to be taken out of context due to their highly visual nature. Interestingly, emerging technology developments such as Generative AI also pose surprising challenges for graphic novels, their creators, and the library communities that these works reside in. In the context of queries and challenges levelled against graphic novels in libraries, this article synthesizes a review of relevant literature and creative autoethnography in the form of reflective writing vignettes to explore the experiences of working in libraries and what these subjective stories reveal about graphic novel collections, their uses, and their perceived value. In doing so, graphic novels are critiqued for library engagement potential, while autoethnography is considered for its ability to elevate and analyze lived experience in research.
COVID-19 affected libraries and accelerated online library services. Technology, disinformation, and fake news, along with shrinking budgets created additional challenges. Embracing knowledge management (KM) can be one of the ways through which libraries can survive, but also innovate, grow, and thrive. Through an open-ended survey of 109 librarians from 21 countries, this study investigated library challenges and perceptions of librarians on whether KM can help mitigate some of these challenges. The study found that libraries continue to face a myriad of challenges, many linked to budget constraints. More than half of the participants had heard of KM before and indicated having a knowledge sharing culture, top management support, and technology infrastructure for knowledge sharing. About 40 % said they did not have KM practices. Most felt that adopting KM should be helpful to the library. The proposed model of perceived helpfulness of KM should enable KM mechanisms for the library.
To address the current food crisis, information on agricultural sustainability is essential. Most research on technology user behavior has focused on areas such as e-commerce and gaming. However, the specific role of knowledge exchange related to agricultural consumer markets and business operations on agricultural nonprofit websites remains unclear. The current study investigated how users’ perceived value, trust, and shared vision affect their knowledge sharing through their intention to use. A total of 516 valid responses from users on the agricultural nonprofit website MBAtalk were collected for analysis. The proposed mediation model indicated that intention to use is the strongest factor predicting knowledge sharing, followed by epistemic value, trust in benevolence, shared vision, and social value. This study contributes to the information and communication literature by identifying the mediating role of intention to use and the antecedents of knowledge sharing on nonprofit websites. Consequently, a theoretical foundation for online knowledge sharing is established.
This paper examines the figure of the predator in the discourse on “predatory publishing” as an instrument of ideological production, epistemic policing, and geographic exclusion. First introduced by the American librarian Jeffrey Beall in 2010 to describe open access publishers that, in his view, exploit scholarly communication for profit while bypassing quality control, the term has since acquired symbolic weight. While ostensibly used to denote deceptive or substandard publishing practices, the label has become associated with the “global South,” reinforcing a spatial imaginary of corruption at the academic periphery. In this context, the predator, as metaphor, condenses institutional anxieties about legitimacy and authority in the global academic order. Through a close reading of Beall’s writings on the subject, the analysis traces a discourse of paranoia, in which imitation – rather than direct opposition – renders the predatory subject suspect. Drawing on postcolonial theory and critiques of academic imperialism, the paper argues that the predator functions as a mimetic threat: it reproduces the surface markers of scholarly legitimacy while remaining epistemically disqualified. This figuration enables forms of academic policing – via blacklists, indexing decisions, and institutional policies – that uphold Northern hegemony under the guise of safeguarding quality. In conclusion, the discourse on “predatory” publishing is situated within a broader crisis of academic legitimacy, where the imperative to secure “real” science against contamination reflects a cultural logic of purity increasingly visible in contemporary protectionism, where the predator, rather than an aberration, appears as a necessary fiction through which the academic order manages its own contradictions.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the daily parenting information-seeking behaviors of rural mothers in China, to elucidate the mechanisms that drive their interactions with information, and identify the barriers they face during this process. This study employs ELIS (everyday life information seeking)as its methodological framework and utilizes a fieldwork methodology to explore the parenting information needs, the information sources, and the process of information screening and utilization among thirty-four rural mothers in their everyday lives. The interview data was analyzed using qualitative data coding analysis to extract insights and draw conclusions. This study reveals that the parenting information needs of rural mothers concentrate on childrens’ nutrition and schooling, and their emotional and psychological well-being have often been neglected. Regarding information source selection, there is a rising trend in the use of short video searches, however, rural mothers generally prefer offline, interpersonal sources of information. During the information screening process, a notable herd mentality is observed. Rural mothers’ use of information is often influenced by feudal superstitions from the older generation. The findings provide a guideline to assist information providers, government agencies, and other stakeholders about the parenting information needs of rural mothers. This research also suggests ways in which stakeholders may improve parenting information services to better understand and serve rural mothers.
This study aims to understand the factors influencing academic integrity in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A seven-factor measurement model was developed, hypothesizing the relationship between TPB constructs – e.g., perceived behavioral control (PBC), past behavior (PB), moral obligations (MO), social norms (SN), information literacy (IL)—and GenAI adoption. It was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings showed that both PBC (β = 0.223, CR = 4.234, p=<0.05) and SN (β = 0.508, CR = 5.644, p=<0.05) significantly increased behavioral intention. MO (β = -0.273, CR = -4.234, p=<0.05) and IL (β = -0.253, CR = -3.386, p=<0.05) helped uphold academic integrity. A strong association was found between behavioral intention (BI) and GenAI adoption (AD) for academic dishonesty (β = 0.651, CR = 11.780, p = 0.000). The findings suggest that protecting academic integrity needs a multi-tiered approach, including implementing AI literacy programs, research, and critical thinking training, implementing strong plagiarism detection tools, developing and maintaining comprehensive and adaptable guidelines for the ethical use of GenAI, citation management training, and cultivating a culture valuing academic honesty and originality.
This study investigates the perceived impact of procrastination on academic performance among undergraduate BBA students and evaluates the effectiveness of AI tools in mitigating procrastination. A structured questionnaire was administered to 202 respondents from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce (Autonomous), Bengaluru. Results indicate that procrastination is prevalent, with assignments (58.9 %) and research tasks (53 %) being the most frequently delayed. The primary causes of procrastination include lack of motivation (54 %), distractions (47 %), and overwhelming workload (31.2 %). AI tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly were widely used, with factor analysis identifying two key dimensions of AI effectiveness: Reduce Distractions and Task Completion. While no significant gender-based differences were observed, older students perceived AI tools as more effective in enhancing task management (p = 0.041). Simplified task breakdowns, task prioritization, and AI-generated summaries were identified as the most beneficial AI features. The study highlights the need for increased integration of AI tools into academic workflows, along with structured guidelines and digital literacy programs to maximize their perceived impact on reducing procrastination and enhancing academic performance.
While Wikipedia is a widely used source for medical and health information, few studies have examined disparities in perceived information quality based on gender, race, and age. This study investigates how Wikipedia users evaluate the quality of health-related content and whether perceptions differ across these sociodemographic groups. A total of 321 adult Wikipedia readers and contributors participated in a survey assessing five dimensions of information quality: presentation, trustworthiness, reliability, currency, and topic coverage. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to evaluate perceived quality and identify group differences. Overall, both genders viewed the quality of Wikipedia’s health information positively. However, statistically significant gender differences were identified across the five quality factors, with males reporting higher ratings than females. Significant differences between White and non-White participants were also found in four of the five dimensions, excluding currency, with non-White participants reporting lower perceptions of quality. No significant age-based differences were identified. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how different demographic groups assess health content on Wikipedia. By highlighting disparities in perceptions, this study provides valuable insights for improving Wikipedia’s inclusivity and trustworthiness in health communication.
