Pub Date : 2025-09-16DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103138
Chengyuan Yu
Although information literacy and academic writing have been considered associated abilities in the higher education context, the degree to which these two abilities are associated remains inconclusive. To add empirical evidence on the relationship between information literacy and academic writing, the present study drew on graduate students' responses to a self-assessment scale that measures the abilities of information literacy and academic writing processes and examined their relationship at the integrated and individual process levels. The two integrated constructs are highly correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0.815. The individual processes of information literacy and academic writing are correlated with moderately high to high coefficients, ranging from 0.548 to 0.755, which means that the processes of information literacy and academic writing are closely related. Evaluating and understanding information in information literacy processes are more associated with writing processes, suggesting that they are crucial in connecting these two constructs and making them an integrated process. This study is original in using a scale that treats information literacy and academic writing as an integrated process to reflect the real-world situation and goes beyond the textual evaluation of these two abilities.
{"title":"Revisiting the relationship between information literacy and academic writing: Evidence from a self-assessment scale","authors":"Chengyuan Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although information literacy and academic writing have been considered associated abilities in the higher education context, the degree to which these two abilities are associated remains inconclusive. To add empirical evidence on the relationship between information literacy and academic writing, the present study drew on graduate students' responses to a self-assessment scale that measures the abilities of information literacy and academic writing processes and examined their relationship at the integrated and individual process levels. The two integrated constructs are highly correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0.815. The individual processes of information literacy and academic writing are correlated with moderately high to high coefficients, ranging from 0.548 to 0.755, which means that the processes of information literacy and academic writing are closely related. Evaluating and understanding information in information literacy processes are more associated with writing processes, suggesting that they are crucial in connecting these two constructs and making them an integrated process. This study is original in using a scale that treats information literacy and academic writing as an integrated process to reflect the real-world situation and goes beyond the textual evaluation of these two abilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 6","pages":"Article 103138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145107697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103137
Binyad Maruf Abdulkadir Khaznadar , Lana Abubakr Ali
The university campus layout has a significant and continuous legacy as a place for education and learning. The academic library's location usually reflects its relevance to the university's campus. Understanding spatial factors can also help arrange academic libraries with the best locations for user satisfaction. This study examines the spatial configurations of educational campus buildings to determine how the library's location affects occupational efficiency and investigates the optimal architectural planning characteristics of university campuses that demonstrate outstanding library locations. The inspection employed mixed-methods analysis, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative data were collected through drawings, while quantitative data were gathered using Axial and VGA maps in Depthmap X10 to measure spatial and visual characteristics. The results show that spatial and visual connectivity, as well as prominent choices, influence campus design. A study concludes that, regardless of an excellent Isovist area, campus planning layouts require strong network paths for navigation. The study contributes to integrating the pedestrian planning network, mass functional distribution, and centralization for optimal use.
{"title":"The impact of academic library location on occupational efficiency: A comparison of the university's campus design","authors":"Binyad Maruf Abdulkadir Khaznadar , Lana Abubakr Ali","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The university campus layout has a significant and continuous legacy as a place for education and learning. The academic library's location usually reflects its relevance to the university's campus. Understanding spatial factors can also help arrange academic libraries with the best locations for user satisfaction. This study examines the spatial configurations of educational campus buildings to determine how the library's location affects occupational efficiency and investigates the optimal architectural planning characteristics of university campuses that demonstrate outstanding library locations. The inspection employed mixed-methods analysis, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative data were collected through drawings, while quantitative data were gathered using Axial and VGA maps in Depthmap X10 to measure spatial and visual characteristics. The results show that spatial and visual connectivity, as well as prominent choices, influence campus design. A study concludes that, regardless of an excellent Isovist area, campus planning layouts require strong network paths for navigation. The study contributes to integrating the pedestrian planning network, mass functional distribution, and centralization for optimal use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 6","pages":"Article 103137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103139
Joel Nakitare , Salome Mathangani , Grace Kamau
Even though universities generate a large amount of research data, many still face significant challenges in managing it due to inadequate legal and policy frameworks. This study aimed to critically analyse the legal and policy frameworks governing RDM in Kenyan universities to determine the maturity level using the Capability Maturity Model and recommend actions to optimise data management. A qualitative approach was adopted by interviewing heads of libraries and research units. Additionally, a bibliographic analysis of selected legal instruments at the national level and institutional research-affiliated policies was conducted. The review revealed the absence of a single national legal framework for RDM; instead, inadequate multifaceted laws exist. Key laws in the country with implications for data management include The Constitution of Kenya (2010), the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), The Science, Technology, and Innovation Act (2013), and the Commission for University Act (2012). None of the six studied universities had implemented an RDM policy at the university level, although one university had completed the development of a stand-alone RDM policy. The study strongly recommends developing and implementing a comprehensive RDM legal framework at the national level and RDM policies at the university level to address this gap.
{"title":"Research data management in Universities in Kenya: Critical analysis of the legal and policy frameworks","authors":"Joel Nakitare , Salome Mathangani , Grace Kamau","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Even though universities generate a large amount of research data, many still face significant challenges in managing it due to inadequate legal and policy frameworks. This study aimed to critically analyse the legal and policy frameworks governing RDM in Kenyan universities to determine the maturity level using the Capability Maturity Model and recommend actions to optimise data management. A qualitative approach was adopted by interviewing heads of libraries and research units. Additionally, a bibliographic analysis of selected legal instruments at the national level and institutional research-affiliated policies was conducted. The review revealed the absence of a single national legal framework for RDM; instead, inadequate multifaceted laws exist. Key laws in the country with implications for data management include The Constitution of Kenya (2010), the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), The Science, Technology, and Innovation Act (2013), and the Commission for University Act (2012). None of the six studied universities had implemented an RDM policy at the university level, although one university had completed the development of a stand-alone RDM policy. The study strongly recommends developing and implementing a comprehensive RDM legal framework at the national level and RDM policies at the university level to address this gap.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 6","pages":"Article 103139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103127
Jeanette Aprile , Danielle Aloia , Deborah A. Crooke , Marie T. Ascher
Objectives
The objective of this scoping review is to assist libraries in developing a collection policy for course-required textbooks informed by themes and outcomes recognized in the existing body of research.
Methods
The scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The team did an environmental scan, constructed a comprehensive search strategy in six databases, and conducted hand and cited-reference searching. Included papers were quantitative or qualitative studies with outcomes described and mapped to prevailing themes.
Results
Nine hundred twenty-three records were identified via database and cited reference searching. After deduplication, 760 records were screened, and 675 records were excluded. 85 full-text records were retrieved and after review, 29 records were further excluded. Fifty-six studies were included for review, most of which were case studies. Thirteen recurring themes were identified and grouped.
Conclusions
Libraries are increasingly enlisted in wider academic strategies to make education more affordable for students. Course reserves programs are often initiated or expanded at the request of student groups, sometimes motivating financial support from administration. Published studies have focused primarily on undergraduate settings. The scoping review provides recommendations for the development and management of textbook collections.
{"title":"The question of textbooks in academic libraries: To purchase or not? A scoping review","authors":"Jeanette Aprile , Danielle Aloia , Deborah A. Crooke , Marie T. Ascher","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>The objective of this scoping review is to assist libraries in developing a collection policy for course-required textbooks informed by themes and outcomes recognized in the existing body of research.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The team did an environmental scan, constructed a comprehensive search strategy in six databases, and conducted hand and cited-reference searching. Included papers were quantitative or qualitative studies with outcomes described and mapped to prevailing themes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Nine hundred twenty-three records were identified via database and cited reference searching. After deduplication, 760 records were screened, and 675 records were excluded. 85 full-text records were retrieved and after review, 29 records were further excluded. Fifty-six studies were included for review, most of which were case studies. Thirteen recurring themes were identified and grouped.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Libraries are increasingly enlisted in wider academic strategies to make education more affordable for students. Course reserves programs are often initiated or expanded at the request of student groups, sometimes motivating financial support from administration. Published studies have focused primarily on undergraduate settings. The scoping review provides recommendations for the development and management of textbook collections.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103127"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103128
Jingfeng Cui , Dejun Zheng , Wei Cheng , Jianghan Shi
A rigorous and effective evaluation of smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries is essential for informed decision-making and resource optimization, serving as a foundation for rational planning, the advancement of smartification, and the fulfillment of diverse user needs in the digital era. However, most existing studies rely on static evaluation methods, which are insufficient to capture the dynamic patterns and trends of service quality and lack effective monitoring tools in the context of evolving technologies and user demands. To address this gap, this study introduces a system dynamics approach to construct a dynamic evaluation model for smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries. The proposed model comprises three interrelated dimensions—service support, service content, and service effect—each represented by a set of quantifiable indicators. Causal loop diagrams and stock-flow models are employed to characterize the interactions and feedback mechanisms among these indicators. The results demonstrate that the model effectively captures the evolution process of service quality and provides a scientific basis and practical guidance for resource allocation, service optimization, and the advancement of smartification in academic libraries.
{"title":"A dynamic perspective-based study on constructing an evaluation model for smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries","authors":"Jingfeng Cui , Dejun Zheng , Wei Cheng , Jianghan Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A rigorous and effective evaluation of smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries is essential for informed decision-making and resource optimization, serving as a foundation for rational planning, the advancement of smartification, and the fulfillment of diverse user needs in the digital era. However, most existing studies rely on static evaluation methods, which are insufficient to capture the dynamic patterns and trends of service quality and lack effective monitoring tools in the context of evolving technologies and user demands. To address this gap, this study introduces a system dynamics approach to construct a dynamic evaluation model for smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries. The proposed model comprises three interrelated dimensions—service support, service content, and service effect—each represented by a set of quantifiable indicators. Causal loop diagrams and stock-flow models are employed to characterize the interactions and feedback mechanisms among these indicators. The results demonstrate that the model effectively captures the evolution process of service quality and provides a scientific basis and practical guidance for resource allocation, service optimization, and the advancement of smartification in academic libraries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103128"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103100
Rende Li , Sumin Feng
As an important carrier for cultivating innovative talents and improving the teamwork ability of college students, more and more scholars have paid attention to university research competitions, but most of the previous studies have focused on how the design of scientific research competitions can better improve the effect of talent training, while ignoring what academic resources students are eager to obtain in scientific research competitions from the perspective of students, and what effective support can be provided by instructors such as librarians and professors in scientific research competitions. This study examines how academic librarians’ and professors’ resources and abilities influence scientific research competition collaboration, and explores AI tools’ supporting role. Three scientific research competition cooperation networks involving 40 consultants and 318 students between 2022 and 2024 were analyzed using exponential random graph models (ERGM). We found that students prefer librarians with strong information retrieval skills, literature resources, and library facilities, while valuing professors’ teaching experience, framework guidance, and progress control abilities, while librarians’ research experience, data resources, and professors’ ask disassembly and subject knowledge depth were not the characteristics that were considered in scientific research competition collaboration. Students with complementary competition skills tend to select the same advisors, with disciplinary homophily observed in advisor selection. For AI tools, reading/writing capabilities, code logic, conversational fluency, and translation features were most valued. The difference is that we found that the picture generation capabilities does not play an obvious role in the research competition. The findings demonstrate the distinct roles of librarians and professors in competitions and highlight the importance of skill complementarity in team formation.
{"title":"Academic librarians in research competitions: A network analysis of resource provision and collaborative dynamics","authors":"Rende Li , Sumin Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an important carrier for cultivating innovative talents and improving the teamwork ability of college students, more and more scholars have paid attention to university research competitions, but most of the previous studies have focused on how the design of scientific research competitions can better improve the effect of talent training, while ignoring what academic resources students are eager to obtain in scientific research competitions from the perspective of students, and what effective support can be provided by instructors such as librarians and professors in scientific research competitions. This study examines how academic librarians’ and professors’ resources and abilities influence scientific research competition collaboration, and explores AI tools’ supporting role. Three scientific research competition cooperation networks involving 40 consultants and 318 students between 2022 and 2024 were analyzed using exponential random graph models (ERGM). We found that students prefer librarians with strong information retrieval skills, literature resources, and library facilities, while valuing professors’ teaching experience, framework guidance, and progress control abilities, while librarians’ research experience, data resources, and professors’ ask disassembly and subject knowledge depth were not the characteristics that were considered in scientific research competition collaboration. Students with complementary competition skills tend to select the same advisors, with disciplinary homophily observed in advisor selection. For AI tools, reading/writing capabilities, code logic, conversational fluency, and translation features were most valued. The difference is that we found that the picture generation capabilities does not play an obvious role in the research competition. The findings demonstrate the distinct roles of librarians and professors in competitions and highlight the importance of skill complementarity in team formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103100"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-28DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103126
Ye Yuan, A.M.K. Yanti Idaya, A. Noorhidawati, Yi-Shuai Xu, Guan Wang
With the continuous progress of open science and the refinement of research data policies, research data management has become an important component of the modern scientific ecosystem. This study aims to: (i) systematically analyze the publication characteristics of RDM-related research, (ii) identify its key research topics and to reveal its semantic structures and thematic features. To achieve this, a combination of bibliometric analysis and BERTopic-based topic modeling was applied to 1154 RDM-related articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 2005 to 2024. The results show a notable increase in RDM research outputs since the FAIR principles were introduced in 2016, with journals coming from the fields of library science, information science, and medical informatics highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Analysis of international collaboration shows that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany occupy a central position, with increasingly diverse patterns of global collaboration. The BERTopic modeling identified 18 representative topics, which were divided into four semantically coherent research directions: Cluster 1 focuses on institutional services, capacity development, and platform support; Cluster 2 focuses on data citation, research assessment, and collaboration networks, emphasizing the role of RDM in assessing impact and scholarly collaboration; Cluster 3 addresses data sharing, reuse and misuse, highlighting governance challenges related to data use norms and risk control; Cluster 4 covers open science strategies, open access publishing and journal data policies, highlighting how RDM is increasingly embedded in scholarly communication. This study fills gaps in previous reviews on subject hierarchy and semantic modeling and provides theoretical insights and methodological support for strengthening research data governance and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
随着开放科学的不断推进和科研数据政策的不断细化，科研数据管理已成为现代科学生态系统的重要组成部分。本研究旨在：(1)系统分析rdm相关研究的发表特征；(2)确定rdm的重点研究课题，揭示rdm的语义结构和主题特征。为了实现这一目标，将文献计量分析和基于bertopic的主题建模相结合，应用于2005年至2024年在Web of Science数据库中索引的1154篇rdm相关文章。结果显示，自2016年引入FAIR原则以来，RDM研究产出显著增加，来自图书馆学、信息科学和医学信息学领域的期刊突出了该领域的跨学科性质。国际合作分析显示，美国、英国和德国占据中心地位，全球合作模式日益多样化。BERTopic模型确定了18个代表性主题，并将其划分为四个语义一致的研究方向：集群1侧重于机构服务、能力发展和平台支持；集群2侧重于数据引用、研究评估和合作网络，强调RDM在评估影响和学术合作中的作用；集群3解决数据共享、重用和滥用问题，强调与数据使用规范和风险控制相关的治理挑战；集群4涵盖了开放科学策略、开放获取出版和期刊数据政策，突出了RDM如何越来越多地嵌入到学术交流中。本研究填补了以往研究在学科层次和语义建模方面的空白，为加强研究数据治理和促进跨学科合作提供了理论见解和方法支持。
{"title":"Unveiling the dynamics of research data management: Insights from bibliometric and BERTopic analysis","authors":"Ye Yuan, A.M.K. Yanti Idaya, A. Noorhidawati, Yi-Shuai Xu, Guan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103126","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103126","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the continuous progress of open science and the refinement of research data policies, research data management has become an important component of the modern scientific ecosystem. This study aims to: (i) systematically analyze the publication characteristics of RDM-related research, (ii) identify its key research topics and to reveal its semantic structures and thematic features. To achieve this, a combination of bibliometric analysis and BERTopic-based topic modeling was applied to 1154 RDM-related articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 2005 to 2024. The results show a notable increase in RDM research outputs since the FAIR principles were introduced in 2016, with journals coming from the fields of library science, information science, and medical informatics highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Analysis of international collaboration shows that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany occupy a central position, with increasingly diverse patterns of global collaboration. The BERTopic modeling identified 18 representative topics, which were divided into four semantically coherent research directions: Cluster 1 focuses on institutional services, capacity development, and platform support; Cluster 2 focuses on data citation, research assessment, and collaboration networks, emphasizing the role of RDM in assessing impact and scholarly collaboration; Cluster 3 addresses data sharing, reuse and misuse, highlighting governance challenges related to data use norms and risk control; Cluster 4 covers open science strategies, open access publishing and journal data policies, highlighting how RDM is increasingly embedded in scholarly communication. This study fills gaps in previous reviews on subject hierarchy and semantic modeling and provides theoretical insights and methodological support for strengthening research data governance and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103126"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-28DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103125
Sarah T. Zipf
New technology is often associated with increased productivity. However, when technology is centered over that of human-interaction, it can create unintentional consequences that impact library workers' effectiveness and feelings of burnout. This study seeks to understand these effects by examining the intersection of burnout, feelings about technology, and the impact it all has on academic library workers' sense of effectiveness. Using a scale to measure technostress, including ranked and open-ended responses, fifty-four surveys were collected from academic library workers. Findings demonstrate that academic libraries are technocented environments and are influenced by technology related stressors, such as constant connectivity, disruption, and role overload. Even though academic library workers describe improved productivity, technology overuse negatively effects library workers' wellbeing. Academic leaders seeking to foster well-0being must account for how new and existing technologies mediate library workers' ability to sustain relational focus with patrons and colleagues. This consideration is essential when adopting technologies aimed at improving technology effectiveness. This study offers academic library leadership considerations for creating human-centered approaches when using and adapting new technology.
{"title":"The price of productivity: Burnout and technostress among academic library workers","authors":"Sarah T. Zipf","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103125","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103125","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New technology is often associated with increased productivity. However, when technology is centered over that of human-interaction, it can create unintentional consequences that impact library workers' effectiveness and feelings of burnout. This study seeks to understand these effects by examining the intersection of burnout, feelings about technology, and the impact it all has on academic library workers' sense of effectiveness. Using a scale to measure technostress, including ranked and open-ended responses, fifty-four surveys were collected from academic library workers. Findings demonstrate that academic libraries are technocented environments and are influenced by technology related stressors, such as constant connectivity, disruption, and role overload. Even though academic library workers describe improved productivity, technology overuse negatively effects library workers' wellbeing. Academic leaders seeking to foster well-0being must account for how new and existing technologies mediate library workers' ability to sustain relational focus with patrons and colleagues. This consideration is essential when adopting technologies aimed at improving technology effectiveness. This study offers academic library leadership considerations for creating human-centered approaches when using and adapting new technology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-23DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103124
Alexander J. Carroll , Joshua Borycz , Nicole K. Stephens , Amanda R. Lowery
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators view science process skills like designing hypotheses, finding relevant technical information, synthesizing literature, analyzing data, visualizing results, and presenting findings as among the most valuable things a novice scientist can learn within the undergraduate curriculum. These skills overlap considerably with the competencies academic librarians categorize as information literacy skills: formulating research questions, assessing information needs, organizing information, synthesizing multiple sources, and communicating findings across multiple different media formats. We explored whether laboratory courses were an effective context for information and data literacy by scaffolding instructional interventions across three years of the undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) curriculum. Utilizing a longitudinal pre-test/post-test design, we analyzed students' performance on multiple-choice and open-response assessments to evaluate their knowledge gains and retention over time. Our results indicated statistically significant improvements in students' ability to identify appropriate information sources and relevant library-licensed resources for different types of technical information. This suggests that science and engineering students can benefit from having librarians consistently offer guest-lectures throughout their academic careers, if these instructional interventions are customized to align with the specific tasks students will be expected to complete within their coursework. These findings also emphasize the importance of librarians and STEM educators collaborating to design instructional interventions together to create customized learning experiences that align with course objectives.
{"title":"Scaffolded information literacy and data literacy instruction within undergraduate science and engineering laboratory courses: A longitudinal assessment","authors":"Alexander J. Carroll , Joshua Borycz , Nicole K. Stephens , Amanda R. Lowery","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103124","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103124","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators view science process skills like designing hypotheses, finding relevant technical information, synthesizing literature, analyzing data, visualizing results, and presenting findings as among the most valuable things a novice scientist can learn within the undergraduate curriculum. These skills overlap considerably with the competencies academic librarians categorize as information literacy skills: formulating research questions, assessing information needs, organizing information, synthesizing multiple sources, and communicating findings across multiple different media formats. We explored whether laboratory courses were an effective context for information and data literacy by scaffolding instructional interventions across three years of the undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) curriculum. Utilizing a longitudinal pre-test/post-test design, we analyzed students' performance on multiple-choice and open-response assessments to evaluate their knowledge gains and retention over time. Our results indicated statistically significant improvements in students' ability to identify appropriate information sources and relevant library-licensed resources for different types of technical information. This suggests that science and engineering students can benefit from having librarians consistently offer guest-lectures throughout their academic careers, if these instructional interventions are customized to align with the specific tasks students will be expected to complete within their coursework. These findings also emphasize the importance of librarians and STEM educators collaborating to design instructional interventions together to create customized learning experiences that align with course objectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103124"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-21DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103123
Leo Van Hove
A recent article by Camp et al. (2025) proposes measuring the impact of counterfeit citations in academic databases using a variant of Metcalfe's law. While insightful, the metric exhibits suboptimal properties: the loss in value increases disproportionately with database size, and the value of a fully contaminated database remains strictly positive. I propose an alternative metric that retains the network logic of Metcalfe's law while addressing both issues. This metric, however, rests on key assumptions that merit empirical scrutiny, including the relative impact of fake versus valid citations as well as the broader applicability of Metcalfe's law to citation networks.
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