Library & Information Science Research最新文献

Participatory archive collection day events depend on the involvement of multiple groups of stakeholders who participate in the archives. However, there is little existing research on participatory initiatives that connect institutions to communities beyond literature that focuses on the logistics of such initiatives, making it unclear how archives can best connect to and serve communities through such initiatives. Using ethnographic field data collection and analysis, the role that the in-person collection day event plays in the construction of communities of records and memory in participatory archives was examined. Analysis of ethnographic observation data and semi-structured interviews shows that for participants, a sense of connection to community and to the archives is dependent on the collection day being an in-person outreach event. Findings also show that the event design can make some participants feel welcome while excluding others, possibly limiting the reach of the archives to diverse communities.

Although research shows that transgender people face information barriers when seeking gender-affirming care, few studies have investigated their experiences of information sharing and evaluation during patient provider interactions. Focusing on information triangulation and cognitive authorities, this interpretive phenomenological study analyzed data derived from interviews with 19 transgender individuals from Finland using qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that transgender people face several information sharing barriers when seeking gender-affirming care. Barriers were categorized to an atmosphere and transphobia, a lack of information, and the healthcare system itself. Transgender individuals use several information sources to gain information about gender-affirming care. Different information sources can have different authority roles. Based on these roles, information sources can be triangulated to gain information with which to make health-related decisions. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications for library and information science scholars attempting to reduce barriers to health information.

In the digital era where “everyone is an archivist,” everyone needs good archival literacy (AL). Without a clear consensus on AL's definition for the public, it is difficult to promote good archival practices. Therefore, an AL Framework for the Public (ALFP) in the context of China was constructed to clarify what type of archival knowledge, skills, and principles the public needs to learn to improve AL. Using the Delphi method, two rounds of consultations with experts were conducted to evaluate the necessity and clarity of a range of indexes. This information was used in an analytical hierarchy process to weight and revise the framework. The final ALFP framework comprises 31 indexes across six AL dimensions. Besides guiding AL programs aimed at the public, the ALFP can help archives and educational institutions design AL education and training programs.

Downloads have been considered as supplemental to citations in reflecting the impact of scientific research activities and scientific output, yet the motivations to download a specific publication has not been fully explored. In scientific evaluation practice, unclear motivations could lead to difficulties for evaluating the impact of academic literature without providing a cogent interpretation of downloads as an alternative metric. To fill this gap, an expanded Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate motivations for downloading academic literature was proposed and the effectiveness verified using questionnaire data containing 480 respondents. The results show that the degree of usefulness of literature to users and the degree of relevance of literature to users were the primary factors that drive users to download specific literature. Due to the consistency between downloading and citing in reflecting the usefulness, downloads is an effective metric to supplement citation metrics in evaluating the impact of academic literature.

Disregarding gender and LGBTQ perspectives at the undergraduate level perpetuates stereotypes and biases that jeopardize gender equality in society. Building on empirical evidence collected by an action-research project at the Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media at the University of Barcelona (Spain), this article provides a diagnosis of how teachers and students perceive and value gender and LGBTQ perspectives. Using a multi-method approach (focus group and field journals), this research identified a generalized interest in the incorporation of a gender perspective, although significant barriers are found when carrying it out. While teachers place more emphasis on issues of lack of training and institutional recognition, students value the incorporation of the gender and LGBTQ perspectives yet still observe important limitations. The research also evidences the opportunity of applying action-research projects in bringing together collective reflection and action, as well as the advantages of combining different qualitative methods.

Many public libraries provide makerspace services, where people can share tools and knowledge to create tangible items, yet the audience for these spaces is sometimes challenging to identify or maintain. Sometimes the spaces are less inclusive than intended or desired. This comparative case study examines user and library staff experiences in three makerspaces to determine the types of leisure the makerspaces support, and the types of makerspaces community members want. The study found that these spaces serve two audiences: those committed to a serious leisure use of the space, and those interested in casual leisure. These audiences each need different support, programs, and policies. Neither type of leisure was well supported in all three cases. This study situates the benefits of library makerspaces in the lives of the users and asks a series of questions orienting LIS toward a research agenda concerning serious and casual leisure.

It is important to widen the understanding of misinformation in different contexts. The findings of this qualitative study showed that official information can be misinformation. Official information, which is information concerning and/or coming from official services and processes, was studied with semi-structured interviews in two contexts in which support with information was needed. Four types of misinformation were found: outdated, conflicting, and incomplete information and perceived intimidation. Official information has characteristics related to structural factors, language, and terminology, as well as encounters that make it prone to misinformation. A typology of official misinformation was created to show the nuanced nature of misinformation and the different social, contextual, and situational factors surrounding misinformation. In-person support may be needed to tackle misinformation. Official information can be made clearer and more suited to different groups, which also diminishes the risk of misinformation.

Methodological innovations across social sciences are opening new avenues for conducting research designed to address real-world challenges. The benefits of utilizing the Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) approach in public libraries to resolve a persistent problem of practice, a lack of assessment tools to evaluate youth Computational Thinking (CT) programs, is demonstrated. Findings from a three-year, three-phased study utilizing the DBIR approach to design and implement a suite of assessment tools to assess CT programming in public libraries are presented. Guided by the four principles of the DBIR approach, this research produced new knowledge, including identifying CT program outcomes, challenges, and recommendations for designing and implementing assessment tools to measure the impact of public libraries' CT programming. Findings underscore the DBIR approach as a strategy for engaging with practitioners and helping shift their perspectives by resolving practice problems and facilitating the design of sustainable solutions.

Knowledge sharing plays a fundamental role in the mobile social media context. However, users are more likely to believe that their knowledge sharing is not worth the effort and time given high expectation of receiving some value in return. Social media have limited value if users are not willing to share knowledge. Knowledge sharing with the consideration of transactive memory system (TMS) from the perspectives of social capital and task visibility was examined. Building on prior theories and literature, a TMS knowledge sharing research model was developed. Data were collected from users of social media mobile apps. Results show that TMS is a valid second-order construct. From the social capital perspective, cognitive capital, relational capital and structural capital each have positive effects on TMS which further has a positive effect on knowledge sharing. From the task visibility perspective, knowledge sharing visibility has a positive effect on knowledge sharing.