Library & Information Science Research最新文献

Public libraries serve as important hubs for lifelong learning for older adults. Nevertheless, if library visits are perceived as discouraging and frustrating, they can be burdensome for this demographic. The perceptions of motivations influencing public library use among older adults was explored through 37 semi-structured interviews. Employing the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) motivation model, a qualitative approach was adopted. The analysis aims to shed light on the motivations and perceptions of elderly library users. The significance lies in being the pioneer in applying the ARCS motivation model to library use among older adults within the framework of public libraries, highlighting profound implications for library services catering to this demographic. The findings will contribute to new methodologies in library user research, increase knowledge and interest in public library use among older adults, and provide concrete suggestions for library administrators and policymakers.

Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer, yet few Americans test their homes for radon, particularly in rural areas. The academic team and community partners engaged the public library systems in four rural counties to offer digital radon detectors for check-out as a means of increasing the public's access to free radon testing. The check-out procedures and instructional materials were created through an iterative process, and library personnel were educated on radon and home radon testing prior to launching the lending program. Library patrons reported high usability, feasibility, and acceptability of the program. Library patron-staff interactions mainly included discussions about the logistics of radon testing. Given that public libraries are invested in making communities thrive and promoting health, providing library lending programs for radon detectors is a novel, feasible, and acceptable way to reduce the risk of lung cancer in the community.

While children's play has been theorized and examined by scholars across disciplines, limited attention has been focused on the presentation and inclusion of multi-age group play in informal learning environments such as public libraries. With increased recognition of the value and connection of play to learning for children in these spaces and the resources and services they offer, there is a need to understand more about how to identify and theorize group play in practitioner-led child and family programming - a common feature of many libraries and other informal learning environments. Expanding on previous play and playful learning literature, a coding scheme and criteria for identifying and categorizing playful learning in educator-designed group programming in informal learning environments is presented. This coding scheme is then applied to previous video-recordings of storytime programs in a public library, museum, and zoo environment. Future implications for the LIS field are presented.

Low adoption of rural public digital cultural services (RPDCS) is not conducive to realizing its true value. However, research on the factors influencing user adoption behavior of RPDCS does not consider the actual situation of rural users. Taking personal information theory as the theoretical basis, grounded theory was used to identify the influencing factor, and proposes the model and hypotheses. It is found that content factor includes information availability and information accessibility; boundary factor includes time, space and intellectual sophistication; and dynamic factor includes motivation and opportunity. The model was empirically examined and the hypotheses were tested. The findings indicate that dynamic factor influences boundary factor, and dynamic, boundary and content factor all influence user adoption behavior of RPDCS. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of the user adoption behavior of RPDCS and helps to improve the adoption rate and effectiveness of RPDCS.

While the Open Government Data (OGD) movement is flourishing globally, the large-scale utilization and value creation of OGD has not yet truly opened up. A multi-layered model of “open data - data utilization - data value creation”, aiming to reveal the synergistic evolution mechanisms between the three levels was proposed. The results show that: (1) From 2012 to 2021, a synergistic evolution mechanism occurs between the data-opening layer and the value-creating layer, with value generation as the order parameter. (2) From 2022 to 2035, there may be a shift in the dominance of the order parameter between the data-opening layer and the value-creating layer, and a new synergistic evolution mechanism between the data-opening layer and the data-utilizing layer might be generated. Therefore, the establishment of a synergistic evolution mechanism between the data-utilizing layer and the value-creating layer has the potential to increase the benefits of OGD ecosystems.

Robust information literacy (IL) self-efficacy is a cornerstone of effective learning. The effect of demographics on IL self-efficacy among Indonesian university students was studied, focusing on gender, age, and current university. Two hundred twenty-four students from four universities participated in this mixed-methods study. Quantitative data, collected through an online survey based on Kurbanoglu's IL self-efficacy scale, were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA. Qualitative data from follow-up surveys were thematically analyzed. Results indicate high IL self-efficacy. The university which students attended affected IL self-efficacy, while gender and age did not. Educational background, IL experiences, and access to information significantly influenced self-efficacy. The importance of IL skill development in a digital, information-rich world was demonstrated. Valuable insights into the effective use of a two-stage survey on IL self-efficacy tied to demographics are provided, aiming to promote educational equity, refine interventions, allocate resources, enhance curricula, shape policies, and equip students for the demands of the information age.

Gamification has proven to be useful in promoting engagement and performance in different domains. However, little research has been done to examine whether it is also useful for users in the context of information retrieval (IR). A gamified IR system (GIRS) prototype was developed and user study based on a lab-based quasi-experiment was conducted with Generation Z users to evaluate usability, interface design, and the factors that affected their evaluation and acceptance of the system. Fifty-eight participants completed three tasks, by which they went through different game elements embedded in the GIRS and finished the evaluation. Results indicate that Generation Z users prefer to adopt a GIRS embedded game elements they prefer. The gamified interface is useful, easy to use, easy to learn and satisfactory. The study developed a theoretical model to describe users' willingness to adopt a GIRS; gamification fulfillment and function practicability significantly shape users' willingness to accept the system. The findings demonstrated that incorporating game elements users prefer to use into IR system interface design is promising.

Public libraries are important informational, cultural, social, and educational institutions. Although the research has shown their significant presence, value, and effectiveness in providing services for their communities, there is the persistent questioning of value and efficiency of public libraries by some, which leads to continuous and severe funding cuts for public libraries. This study addresses the efficiency issue of public libraries. The previous research on this issue is inconclusive because of deficiencies in methodologies, such as the use of circulation as the single measure for library outputs while ignoring all other library services. This study applies a well-established cost function with multiple output measures to over 1600 public libraries in the United States. This study concludes that public libraries as a whole operate efficiently and argues for sustained and continuous funding for public libraries.

Stakeholders such as funders, data centers and data curators need specific and detailed evidence to support and justify the value of their existing or proposed open data policies and practices. A questionnaire-based evaluation framework was designed through systematic review and expert interviews, focusing on the scientific, economic, and societal values of open research data. Specifically, scientific value was sub-categorized into 24 statements centering around research process, quantity, quality, efficiency, and impact. Economic value included 6 statements related to cost savings and increased returns, while societal value was divided into 7 statements focused on efficiency and quality. The questionnaire survey was conducted among 219 stakeholders from 22 countries/regions. On average, participants (strongly) agreed that open research data has scientific (83.97%), economic (76.94%), and societal (86.89%) value, all 37 statements of the framework were supported and confirmed. This framework is one of the most comprehensive and systematic tools for measuring data value, which can offer support to diverse stakeholders, especially funders, data centers, and data curators in managing and promoting open data systems.