Research Libraries – Page 4

"Guest Post — Shared Print & Sustainability through the Looking Glass"

The collective tolerance of decision-makers for investing significant resources in retaining collections of potential rather than immediate value is decreasing. The solution is to encourage a diversity of organizations to design services that increase or release the value of the print we steward. As long as print continues to be published, there will be opportunities to link authors, ideas, and publishing aesthetic trends as well as libraries and users. Transforming print collections at academic libraries identifies ways in which print collections can serve as learning tools, literacy aids, and opportunities for using print in new ways collections that aren’t on the fast track to digitization. The library community needs to investigate even more ways to innovate with print.

https://tinyurl.com/5byncjun

OCUL [Ontario Council of University Libraries] Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence Report and Strategy: Interim Report

This report describes use cases for machine learning relevant to the OCUL consortium and recommends projects utilizing machine learning technologies. It also considers key contextual issues such as ethical concerns, technical capacity, available expertise, and infrastructure needs. All sections are drafts with some sections more fully developed than others

https://tinyurl.com/38cjdn9p

"Using AI/Machine Learning to Extract Data from Japanese American Confinement Records"

Purpose: This paper examines the use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning to extract a more comprehensive data set from a structured “standardized” form used to document Japanese American incarcerees during World War II.

Setting/Participants/Resources: The Bancroft Library partnered with Densho, a community memory organization, and Doxie.AI to complete this work.

Brief Description: The project digitized the complete set of Form WRA-26 "individual record"’ for more than 110,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated in War Relocation Authority camps during WWII. The library utilized AI/machine learning to automate text extraction from over 220,000 images of a structured "standardized" form; our goal was to improve upon and collect information not previously recorded in the Japanese American Internee Data file held by the National Archives and Records Administration. The project team worked with technical, academic, legal, and community partners to address ethical and logistical issues raised by the data extraction process, and to assess appropriate access options for the dataset(s) and digitized records.

https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.850

"The Implementation of Keenious at Carnegie Mellon University"

n the fall of 2022, the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Libraries began investigating Keenious—an artificial intelligence (AI)-based article recommender tool&mdashfor a possible trial implementation to improve pathways to resource discovery and assist researchers in more effectively searching for relevant research. This process led to numerous discussions within the library regarding the unique nature of AI-based tools when compared with traditional library resources, including ethical questions surrounding data privacy, algorithmic transparency, and the impact on the research process. This case study explores these topics and how they were negotiated up to and immediately following CMU’s implementation of Keenious in January, 2023, and highlights the need for more frameworks for evaluating AI-based tools in academic settings.

https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.800

Paywall: "Evaluating the Performance of ChatGPT and Perplexity AI in Business Reference"

The Thomas Mahaffey Jr. Business Library conducted a study to assess the performance of two competing generative AI products, ChatGPT and Perplexity AI, in answering business reference questions. The study used a data set consisting of a sample of anonymized reference questions submitted through the library’s ServiceNow ticketing system between January 2018 and May 2022. The questions were input as prompts to each competing AI. . . . Results showed similar and underwhelming performance between each AI at the composite level. Analysis of scores in each individual scoring dimension showed greater variance in the score distributions between the competing AI. Through the evaluation process, key strengths, weaknesses, and trends emerged between each AI.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2024.2317534

Paywall: "Leveraging ChatGPT and Bard for Academic Librarians and Information Professionals: A Case Study of Developing Pedagogical Strategies Using Generative AI Models"

This study focuses on improving pedagogical strategies by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and library databases. Examples from ChatGPT and Bard were used to demonstrate the quality of information. A cross-examination using a research validation template was conducted; it revealed that no artificial hallucinations were produced. However, the information provided by both AI chatbots was slightly outdated based on organizational changes and did not provide an in-depth analysis of the company.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2024.2321729

"Using CHATGPT-Generated Essays in Library Instruction"

This case study details a library instruction activity developed by a team of academic librarians, which intended to leverage experiential learning to make students and faculty aware of the function, capabilities, and limitations of text-generating artificial intelligence (AI) tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The activity is described, with its development connected to key instructional theories and frameworks.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2024.102863

"Establishing a Library as an Open Science Partner for Economic Research through Impact-Oriented Public Relations Work"

The article describes how ZBW — Leibniz Information Centre for Economics is working to strengthen its perception as a competent partner and promoter of Open Science for its target group of economic researchers. This article describes the challenges, goals and opportunities of impact-oriented communication for libraries using the example of the ZBW. The article describes the path from the challenges and goals of the concrete communication activities and the evaluation of the impact-oriented communication work.

https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.15060

"E-book Acceptance by First-Year Undergraduate Students: A Longitudinal Examination and Implications for Library Researchers"

The frequency of electronic book usage by students, according to the research described here, appears fairly positive. On a six-level scale, ranging from 1 (I don’t use it at all) to 6 (I use it several times a week), the average score was 3.27, and the most frequent response, was "Use several times a month" (n = 84, 28 %). This suggests that, on average, students tend to use e-books approximately once or twice a month.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2024.102847

"Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative Releases Reports on Expenses of Making Data Publicly Accessible, Project Methodology"

This report presents data on the average yearly cost of DMS activities for institutional units, as well as direct DMS expenses incurred by researchers per funded research project. These expenses were then analyzed together, showing an average combined overall cost of $2,500,000 (with total institutional expenses ranging from approximately $800,000 to over $6,000,000).

http://tinyurl.com/5xsw32we

"The University of North Carolina Selects Ex Libris Library Solutions"

As part of its transition to Ex Libris library platforms, UNC will implement:

Alma and Primo

Leganto, Ex Libris’ course resource management system

Library Mobile, Ex Libris’ integrated mobile library app and

Rapido, Ex Libris’ interlibrary loan system

http://tinyurl.com/rvumvpeh

White Paper: AI Perceptions at the University of Baltimore

This white paper, produced by the UBalt AI team, explores the perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and generative AI within the UBalt community. It aims to uncover how students, faculty, and staff view AI’s role and implications in the educational landscape. The university collaborated with Ithaka S+R to acquire established, reliable and valid surveys from the AI literature, which was then adapted by the UBalt AI team to meet the needs of our academic community. This survey included a blend of both quantitative and qualitative questions, ensuring a deep understanding of the respondents’ views. . . . The responses obtained were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as an exploratory qualitative analysis to extract meaningful insights, setting the stage for informed discussions and decision-making around AI in education.

http://tinyurl.com/mr47zx3j

"ChatGPT in Medical Libraries, Possibilities and Future Directions: An Integrative Review"

Positioned as a review, our study elucidates the applications of ChatGPT in medical libraries and discusses relevant considerations. The integration of ChatGPT into medical library services holds promise for enhancing information retrieval and user experience, benefiting library users and the broader medical community.

https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12518

"The Nelson Memorandum: How Two HELIOS Members Are Responding"

The fall 2023 Texas Open Science Summit (TOSS)9 raised awareness about the importance of the Nelson Memorandum and continued UT’s discussions about open scholarship and public access compliance, incentives, and good practices. This forum offered a publicly visible opportunity for scholars and open access advocates in the region and state of Texas to learn more about the federal Year of Open Science and support structures at UT. . . .

Building on a long history of open access support, the CSU Libraries has since created the Advanced Research and Scholarship Support group,10 providing resources for data management planning and openly sharing research outputs. The working group hosted the Opentober Event, highlighting initiatives and support services for furthering open scholarship and public access compliance at CSU.

https://tinyurl.com/4dtdjfjw

"TMU Libraries Immersion Studio: Overview of a Shared Immersive Tech Initiative to Enhance Education" (Video)

[This video] shares TMU’s [Toronto Metropolitan University’s] experience implementing a shared immersive extended reality environment to support teaching, learning, and research. The briefing includes specific domain examples and discusses the impact, limitations, and future of TMU’s Immersion Studio.

https://tinyurl.com/52664v32

From: "Edition Guide Coalition for Networked Information Pre-Recorded Project Briefing Series November 2023"e;

IFLA AI SIG: Developing a Library Strategic Response to Artificial Intelligence

The strategy most aligned to existing library practices and librarian identities, particularly in university, school and public libraries, is to take a lead role in promoting AI literacy. There is a widespread understanding that the public, as citizens and workers need to understand the new technologies. Students, whatever discipline they are studying, need such knowledge for employability. . . .

AI literacy is likely to include the ability to identify when AI is being used; to appreciate the differences between narrow and general AI; to understand what types of problem AI is good at solving; to understand how machine learning models are trained. It would also include awareness of ethical issues such as bias, privacy, explainability and social impact.

https://tinyurl.com/s6r6czrh

"Emerging Quality Assurance Practices in the Library of Congress Web Archives"

Building sustainable quality assurance practices is a challenge for today’s preservationists, who want to be sure that content preserved in web archives is not only the correct content, but in working order. This often means that archived web content should be replayed via Wayback rendering software in good fidelity when compared to the original website. The exponentially growing scale of web archives necessitates a multipronged approach to identify what is (and is not) being preserved, and where improvements can be made. This paper will explore actions that can take place iteratively throughout the web archiving life cycle, as part of a larger system of review where multiple individuals can contribute, including non-technical Library staff and subject matter experts. The processes described are part of a novel workflow in the Library of Congress Web Archiving Program.

https://tinyurl.com/2p9b4pve

"ARL Statistics 2022 Publications Describe Resources, Services of Member Libraries"

These three publications present information describing the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of 123 of the Association’s 126 member libraries in 2022. Of these 123 members, 118 are university libraries (16 in Canada and 102 in the US); the remaining 5 are governmental, nonprofit, and public research libraries in the US. The law and health sciences publications focus on the 72 law libraries and 57 medical libraries among the Association’s membership that completed the law and health sciences surveys.

https://tinyurl.com/mrxaej4e

"ARL Annual Salary Survey 2022 Reports Data on Professional Positions in Member Libraries"

The median salary for professionals in US ARL university libraries in 2022 was $80,454, an increase of 4.0% over the 2021 median salary of $77,353. The US CPI rose 8.5% during the same period. The Canadian CPI rose 7.6%, and median salaries in Canadian university libraries increased 1.9% from $105,431 (Canadian dollars) to $107,426 (Canadian dollars). The median salary for US federal, nonprofit, and public ARL libraries decreased by 11.3 from $90,197 in 2021 to $80,009 in 2022.

https://tinyurl.com/bdzjh3ex

"Introducing the LC Labs Artificial Intelligence Planning Framework"

To account for these [AI] challenges and realities, LC Labs has been developing a planning framework to support the responsible exploration and potential adoption of AI at the Library. At a high level, the framework includes three planning phases: 1) Understand 2) Experiment and 3) Implement, each supports the evaluation of three elements of ML: 1) Data; 2) Models; and 3) People. We’ve developed a set of worksheets, questionnaires, and workshops to engage stakeholders and staff and identify priorities for future AI enhancements and services. The mechanisms, tools, collaborations, and artifacts together form the AI Planning Framework. Our hope in sharing the framework and associated tools in this initial version is to encourage others to try it out and to solicit additional feedback. We will continue updating and refining the framework as we learn more about the elements and phases of ML planning.

https://tinyurl.com/4wuakvjy

"US Repository Network Launches Pilot to Enhance Discoverability of Open Access Content in Repositories"

In November, the US Repository Network (USRN) will launch a pilot project aimed at improving the discoverability of articles in repositories. This pilot project involves the use of services from CORE, a not-for-profit aggregator based at Open University in the UK, to evaluate and improve local repository practices. Additional technical support will be provided by Antleaf Ltd.

As part of the project, CORE will aggregate the metadata and full text of articles from a subset of US repositories, allowing them to be findable through a centralized discovery service with prominent links back to the original full text of the repository. At the same time, the project will assess current practices related to metadata quality, the tracking of Open Access deposits, the use of PIDs, technical support for OAI-PMH, and the adoption of more recent protocols, such as FAIR Signposting. At the level of the centralized aggregation, CORE will enrich the existing US metadata with information from its larger international aggregation. A Dashboard service for participating institutions will be provided, enabling them to assess, validate and monitor their practices.

https://tinyurl.com/2utfpvj3

Scholarly Communication Librarianship and Open Knowledge

Scholarly Communication Librarianship and Open Knowledge is an open textbook and practitioner’s guide that collects theory, practice, and case studies from nearly 80 experts in scholarly communication and open education. Divided into three parts:

What is Scholarly Communication?

Scholarly Communication and Open Culture

Voices from the Field: Perspectives, Intersections, and Case Studies

The book delves into the economic, social, policy, and legal aspects of scholarly communication as well as open access, open data, open education, and open science and infrastructure. Practitioners provide insight into the relationship between university presses and academic libraries, defining collection development as operational scholarly communication, and promotion and tenure and the challenge for open access.

https://bit.ly/SCLAOK

Walt Crawford: "Cites & Insights: Use It or Lose It?"

During its peak years, C&I had quite a substantial readership–as many as 55,000 downloads for one particular essay. There were more than 600,000 downloads from 2013 through 2015 and (maybe) 800,000 downloads from 2016 through 2019. But only about 38,000 in 2019. I had sponsorship for five years, and never charged for access.

I always hoped that a few people or institutions would find C&I worth preserving—and the annual print volumes even had indexes (of a sort). No print volume has ever sold more than four copies. Four have sold none at all.

But I would like to trim my Lulu catalog. (To see the list, just go to lulu.com and search for "walt crawford." I see 51 results.) So here’s the deal: The Lulu (trade paperback) versions of any C&I volumes that have no sales between now and November 12, 2024 will be deleted.

Also see: "Essential Reading: Walt Crawford’s Books on Open Access."

https://tinyurl.com/2et9ajuh

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Paywall: "Analyzing the Relationship between Citation-Based Impact Metrics and Electronic Journal Usage: A Case Study"

We focus on the impact of major JIFs on local e-journal usage and propose an alternative approach to conventional methods for collection selectors. By treating journal usage patterns as panel data and employing fixed-effects regression models, we find that journal popularity has the greatest influence on local e-journal usage and the effects of impact factors on academic article usage can vary across different disciplines.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2023.2230166

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"IGI Global Releases Annual OA Survey Results on Researcher Perceptions Surrounding Open Access Publishing Support"

The survey was sent to over 200,000 worldwide researchers of all ages, experiences, fields, ethnicities, etc. . . .

Respondents were asked "What funding resources have you used for OA publishing?" and they had the ability to choose all resources that they have used.

As IGI Global had expected, the majority of respondents indicated they were "self-funded" at 48%, 8% stated "national funding body," 5% answered "international funding body," 18% indicated "my Institution/library/entity affiliated to my institution," 4.5% stated "non-profit institutions," 2% claimed they received funding through "private donors," 5% indicated "associations/societies," 2.5% indicated "business enterprise," 3.5% stated "foundations," 1% claimed "crowdfunding," 14% claimed they received a "publisher waiver," and 2% indicated they received funding from a "platinum open access publication" where the APC is waived by the publication. A large portion, 34% of respondents, had not used an OA funding resource.

https://tinyurl.com/mv4ty6hf

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |