Collaborative research services: a peer-led cohort approach

PurposePrior to 2020, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library's research services spanned multiple service points. Multiple locations were staffed by Library Student Research Assistants (LSRAs) and each location was supervised independently. While efforts to increase collaboration had been underway, much of the work and services remained siloed and often duplicated training and service hours.Design/methodology/approachWith the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), UCLA Library rapidly transitioned from entirely in-person to entirely online services. With multiple service points pivoting, UCLA was redundant to have multiple online desks providing Zoom appointments and that quickly became apparent. Moreover, transitioning in-person student work to remote work was paramount to providing both normal services to users and allowing LSRAs to keep jobs during a time of uncertainty and insecurity.FindingsWhile the authors' original consolidation of services and implementation of shared supervision was a result of the pandemic and primarily involved online services, the authors have maintained this shared approach and collaborative vision in returning to in-person services. For the past year, the authors have offered shared in-person (at two library locations) and online services. As subject-specific library locations begin to reopen their desks, the authors continue to identify ways to leverage shared supervision and a robust referral model for those on-site services while negotiating student staffing and the need for both general and subject-specific services.Originality/valueThe authors present a novel approach to peer-to-peer teaching and learning and research services and shared student worker supervision with services coordinated across multiple locations and disciplines within a large academic library serving a large student population.

Science video usage in a pandemic

During the pandemic, instruction moved online, and physical formats of media were unable to be used. This presented the opportunity to undertake a quantitative study on the use of streaming videos, particularly in the sciences, at Colorado College. The authors used vendor statistics for the last 5 years (2016–2017 to 2020–2021) and reviewed the time period of March–February, which is what the authors refer to as the covid year. By 2021, streaming videos were being used 25 times more than in 2016, and science videos were being streamed 26 times as much.

Guest editorial: The peer-led library

In an autoethnographic-inspired approach to their Library Student Ambassador Program, Pham and Muralles explore in their case study "Reimagining Peer Support and Engagement,” the growth and development of their program at California State University, East Bay and share recommendations and reflections from their ambassadors. Scripa and Spencer discuss the challenges and successes the team at the Pellissippi State Community College Libraries have had in launching their Pellissippi Ambassadors for Library Success program in "Introducing peer-to-peer reference services in a community college library.” Peer learning as a high impact practice As I and the authors within this issue agree, peer-led programs demonstrate key connecting points to high impact teaching and learning practices, allow opportunities for student employees to engage in career and professional formation activity, enhance a library's ability to engage with and provide outreach to underserved or underrepresented communities and break down traditional power structures, or barriers, that can be created by our traditional service models. In their article, "Shifting to a High Impact Practice-centered Student worker staffed Research Desk: a Hispanic Serving Institution Perspective,” Elizabeth DeZouche and Denise Santos discuss how their changes to the traditional desk model not only provided student consultants with a meaningful role but also helped them bridge the gap to their campus's mostly Hispanic, first-generation population.

A comparison study of topic modeling based literature analysis by using full texts and abstracts of scientific articles: a case of COVID-19 research

PurposeHow to extract useful information from a very large volume of literature is a great challenge for librarians. Topic modeling technique, which is a machine learning algorithm to uncover latent thematic structures from large collections of documents, is a widespread approach in literature analysis, especially with the rapid growth of academic literature. In this paper, a comparison of topic modeling based literature analysis has been done using full texts and s of articles.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a comparison study of topic modeling on full-text paper and corresponding to assess the influence of the different types of documents been used as input for topic modeling. In particular, the authors use the large volumes of COVID-19 research literature as a case study for topic modeling based literature analysis. The authors illustrate the research topics, research trends and topic similarity of COVID-19 research by using Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and topic visualization method.FindingsThe authors found 14 research topics for COVID-19 research. The authors also found that the topic similarity between using full-text paper and corresponding is higher when more documents are analyzed.Originality/valueFirst, this study contributes to the literature analysis approach. The comparison study can help us understand the influence of the different types of documents on the results of topic modeling analysis. Second, the authors present an overview of COVID-19 research by summarizing 14 research topics for it. This automated literature analysis can help specialists in the health and medical domain or other people to quickly grasp the structured morphology of the current studies for COVID-19.

The Status of Women in STEM in Higher Education in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review 2020-2022

This study seeks to answer the question: What effects did COVID-19 have on the status of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in higher education in the United States? It presents a thematic review of the current literature regarding the social and professional impacts of the pandemic on this group from 2020 to 2022. The research briefly examines the challenges women in STEM faced pre-pandemic and then explores the repercussions of the pandemic to date. It reviews the literature published from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to present day. Recommendations for STEM librarians serving this population are discussed.

The impact of mobile shadow IT usage on knowledge protection: an exploratory study: Very Informal Newsletter on Library Automation

PurposeThe mobile shadow information technology (IT) phenomenon is both completely misunderstood and negatively explored by those participating inside the organizational ecosystem. It represents all internet-based software, any other solutions for communications or employees' sharing without any formal authorization or approval from the IT department. Such behavior can lead to a security breach of the organization's data privacy, as these risks could disseminate it without the organization fully knowing. Recent research identifies that shadow IT is rarely covered from the knowledge sharing and knowledge protection (KP) perspective. This paper aims to provide an insight on how mobile shadow IT as a phenomenon could impact KP of an organization as a whole.Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study based on a qualitative approach. The authors conducted interviews with 11 IT users to answer the main research question. The interview guidelines were divided into three parts: types of mobile shadow IT and occurrence;KP nature in the workplace;and mobile shadow IT impact on KP.FindingsThe research findings identified that most interviewees use mobile shadow IT without any notice or permission from their IT departments. This sharing also negatively impacts the KP in the organization. The most common mobile shadow IT applications are the clouded type like Dropbox, Google Drive and WhatsApp. Interviewees are using mobile shadow IT mainly because organizations do not provide suitable tools to communicate efficiently. The authors concluded that mobile shadow IT harms KP with no security and privacy on what is being shared because this process is unmonitored by the organization.Practical implicationsFor adequate knowledge and data protection, IT departments need to take more actions and efforts. This study can help IT decision-makers cope with the technology changes while understanding mobile shadow IT impacts. This study also offers insight regarding types of applications that can be used as an alternative tool for employees rather than using unauthorized applications. This research shows that medium-sized organizations are free to use these applications, which can cause damage to organizations.Originality/valueThis research is arguably among the first to explore the interviewees' perspectives on how mobile shadow IT impacts KP. This paper also provides theoretical and practical insights by identifying the three primary constructs and how mobile shadow IT usage can affect KP.

Investigating Awareness and Usage of Electronic Information Resources by the Engineering Students of NMIMS (Deemed to be University), Mumbai

During Covid-19 restrictions, electronic information resources have become a prominent source in the library. Most of the university academic activities heavily depend on electronic resources because they are easy to share, refer and communicate to the audience. This study investigates the awareness and usage of electronic information resources subscribed to by the university library. The well-designed online questionnaire helps to collect data from Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Integrated engineering programs. A total of 232 filled questionnaires were received for the study. The data analysis shows that 91.38 % of the respondents know that electronic resources are available in the library, and the internet speed (56.90 %) is a significant hindrance in using resources. The detailed analysis of this study was discussed, and suggestions were also given to improve the awareness and usage of electronic information resources.

Lecturers' Perception and Participation on E-learning Platform in Michael Otedola College of Primary Education During COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

The study investigated lecturers' perception and participation on e-learning platform in Michael Otedola College of Primary Education in Lagos State during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This is to ascertain the level of lecturers' perception and participation on the use of the college e-learning platforms. The descriptive research design was adopted, while total enumeration was used to select respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire tagged "Lecturers ' Perception and Participation in E-learning learning platform in Michael Otedola College of Primary Education during COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown (LPPMOCPEC19PL) with the reliability coefficient of 0.87 was used for data collected. Four research questions were answered in the course of the study. The result showed that lecturers' perception in elearning is high and their level of participation is also high in e-learning during CIVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Electricity supply, system breakdown and financial constrain were identified as factors militating against the use of the platform, while there is significant relationship between lecturers' perception and participation e-learning platform. Recommendations were made on how to improve lecturers' use of e-learning facilities.

E-learning participation among Senior Secondary Students during COVID19 Pandemic Lockdown in Epe Local Government area of Lagos State

The study investigated e-learning participation among senior secondary school students during COVID-19 in Epe local government area of Lagos State. This is to ascertain the level of students' participation in using e-learning platforms in Epe local government area of Lagos State. The descriptive research design was adopted, while a multi-stage sampling procedure was used, stratified sampling technique was used to select senior secondary school in Epe local government area. While simple random sampling method was employed to select 195 students (116 males and 79 females) participant in the study. A structured questionnaire tagged "tagged Questionnaire on Senior Secondary Students E-learning Participation (QSSSELP) with the reliability coefficient of 0.98 was used for data collected. Three research questions were answered in the course of the study. The result showed that student level of participation in e-learning during CIVID-19 pandemic lockdown was low, despite the high level of benefit gained from using the platform and electricity supply, system breakdown and financial constrain were identified as factors militating against the use of the platform. Recommendations were made on how to improve students' use of el-learning facilities.

Exploring the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science

PurposeThis study aims to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science.Design/methodology/approachUsing publications in Web of Science core collection, this study combines informetrics and content analysis to reveal the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research in library and information science. The analyses are conducted by Pajek, VOSviewer and Gephi.FindingsThe health informatics research in library and information science can be divided into five subcommunities: health information needs and seeking behavior, application of bibliometrics in medicine, health information literacy, health information in social media and electronic health records. Research on health information literacy and health information in social media is the core of research. Most topics had a clear and continuous evolutionary venation. In the future, health information literacy and health information in social media will tend to be the mainstream. There is room for systematic development of research on health information needs and seeking behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the topic structure and evolutionary trends of health informatics research based on the perspective of library and information science. This study helps identify the concerns and contributions of library and information science to health informatics research and provides compelling evidence for researchers to understand the current state of research.

Data mining analytics investigate WeChat users' behaviours: online social media and social commerce development

PurposeAs of December 2021, WeChat had more than 1.2 billion active users worldwide, making it the most active online social media in mainland China. The term social commerce is used to describe new online sales through a mix of social networks and/or peer-to-peer communication or marketing strategies in terms of allowing consumers to satisfy their shopping behaviour through online social media. Thus, given the numerous active users, the development of online social media and social commerce on WeChat is a critical issue of internet research.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study takes WeChat as the online social media research object. Questionnaires for WeChat users in China were designed and distributed. All items are designed as nominal and ordinal scales (not Likert scale). The obtained data was put into a relational database (N = 2,342), and different meaningful patterns and rules were examined through data mining analytics, including clustering analysis and association rules, to explore the role of WeChat in the development of online social media and social commerce.FindingsPractical implications are presented according to the research findings of meaningful patterns and rules. In addition, alternatives to WeChat in terms of further development are also proposed according to the investigation findings of WeChat users' behaviour and preferences in China.Originality/valueThis study concludes that online social media, such as WeChat, will be able to transcend the current development pattern of most online social media and make good use of investigating users' behaviour and preferences, not only to stimulate the interaction of users in the social network, but also to create social commerce value in social sciences.

Internet Usage During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study on the Students of Information Science and Library Management in the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Purpose The COVID-19 epidemic significantly impacted daily life and led to the adoption of significant steps to stop the virus's spread. Educational institutions and social gatherings were placed on prolonged lockdown, with people continuing to maintain physical distance. As a result, students of all classes are highly engaged in using the internet. In this article, the usage of the internet of the student's Information Science and Library Management, University of Rajshahi are studied. The aim of the present study was to examine the usage of the internet during the post-pandemic. Furthermore, this research aims to investigate the internet usage rate, career development, academic development through the internet, the efficiency of online classes etc. Methods A questionnaire data collection method was used. The respondents were randomly selected from the department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Rajshahi. For the research, some data were entered and analyzed using SPSS and Biblioshiny software. Findings The research shows that the respondent had an average age of 23. The results of this paper show that the data of students are relatively valuable, and it shows that students had not only wasted their valuable time using the internet aimlessly but students had developed their career besides academic improvement. Students had developed many extra-knowledges through the internet, such as, language learning, IT skills, reading e-books habit etc. COVID-19 influenced the daily life of students as internet usage impacted on both positive and negative sides. However, most of the respondents were in rural places during the pandemic. Limitations The first barrier was time and financial supports for conducting the study. In addition, the study was conducted on a limited sample. The further research can be conducted within a broader area.

Status of Blended Library Services at the University of Baguio

Blended library services are reinforced by academic librarians to deal with the challenges that come from the changes caused by the pandemic. Transformation is reflected through information and communication technologies that are in constant development and available to users remotely. This study discusses the extent of usage and effectiveness of blended library services at the University of Baguio library by the students, faculty, nonteaching, and other library users. Blended library services covered online platforms, online resources, online circulation, online reference service, online information literacy (IL), and online want list form. This study used a descriptive research design to gather the information that will systematically describe the current status of the UB library online services. A survey questionnaire formatted in google form was employed to gather the needed information. The findings of the study reveal that the blended library services of the university have been utilized - much utilized by the users, specifically canvas LMS resources of online resources, online document delivery of online circulation and the library e-mail: library@e.ubaguio.edu of online reference service, other feature of blended library services have not been used to their full advantage. Furthermore, the blended library services are highly effective as assessed by the faculty, non-teaching staff, and other library users. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Library strongly endorses additional databases and integration of these databases, library guides, and library services in the canvas LMS;regular posting of the blended services in the UB library social media account and platform for easier accessibility on the part library users;lastly, re-evaluate the way the development, manage and deliver marketing strategies of the blended services.

Work-Life Balance (WLB): a select study of women library professionals in an Indian Metropolitan city

This research study was primarily designed to study the work-life balance of women library professionals in the metropolitan city of Pune in India from Maharashtra State. The primary purpose of the study is to explore the tough challenges faced by women librarians in maintaining a balance between their personal and professional life during the pre and post covid period. The study has examined various factors affecting the work-life balance of the respondents during the pre and post covid period using the quantitative research design. Further, the use of the survey research method and snowball sampling technique for the data collection purpose where the sample of 30 women librarians is been studied during the pre-covid period, the method of convenience sampling is utilized to get the responses of the respondents using the unstructured interview technique the virtual model. The study concluded that there is a high level of stress (66%) among the women librarian respondents during the post covid period due to work and life balance factors, 70% of librarians mentioned the increased workload due to a changed focus for increased online subscriptions and more electronic media acquisitions, and the pressure for upgradation. The study has observed that about 46 % of women library professionals giving time for self-attention, and 43% of women librarians are exercising daily;indicating the need to give self-attention.

Storybook Worlds Made Real: Essays on the Places Inspired by Children's Narratives ed. by Kathy Merlock Jackson and Mark I. West (review)

Any of us Fairytale and Fantasy aficionados know how well these tales burn into our hearts and provide us with countless hours of daydreaming material, but it is the potential of greatness that these stories open up for our often times limited waking life. Storybook worlds, as much as they are for our own nostalgia and connection to a natural world, serve as a money-making machine for industries that prey upon the scarcity of these literary spaces. With this book being released during a pandemic era, the impeccable timing allows for readers who have grown comfortable within the four walls of their home to travel through worlds that have been inaccessible during lockdowns and quarantines. The book allows for a strong sense of living vicariously through the eyes of the authors in the collections and takes readers through a journey of reflection and adventure that has simply not been an option for many of us post COVID-19. There is something for every reader in this collection, and in many ways some of the essays in this collection highlight the risk of these beautiful worlds being made into a media entity so far removed from the stories that taught empathy for all life, meaningful contemplation, and a deep respect for the natural world around us.

The Value of Belonging: A Comparison of Professional Organizations' Membership Benefits

The abundance of library associations provides many choices to academic librarians about where and how to belong. This exploratory article identifies and compares benefits of library professional organizations through content analysis of the groups' websites. Examination of the benefits described on the websites of 76 organizations indicates that they have a high degree of overlap. Many benefits are also achievable by participating in other external professional activities. While data were collected just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thematic analysis of these benefits provides a framework for comparing the value of participation in formal and informal professional communities.

Comparing health consumer search behavior and scientific research productivity related to COVID-19 vaccines in the USA: an infodemiology study

PurposeWhile vaccines are an effective preventative measure to defend against the spread and harmful symptoms of COVID-19, information about COVID vaccines can be difficult to find and conflicting in its coverage of vaccines' benefits and risks. This study aims to examine the extent to which Americans are searching for information about the three major vaccine producers (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen) in relation to the amount of reliable scholarly information that has been produced about each one.Design/methodology/approachData were retrieved from Google Trends for the US Web users alongside scientific research output of the US scientists toward three Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. The authors searched for descriptive statistical analyses to detect coronavirus-seeking behavior versus coronavirus releases in the USA from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021.FindingsOf the three COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer has attracted more attention from the US population. However, the greatest number of articles about COVID-19 vaccines published by the US scholars belonged to Moderna (M = 8.17), with Pfizer (M = 7.75) having slightly less, and Janssen (M = 0.83) well behind. A positive association was found between COVID-19 vaccine information-seeking behavior (ISB) on Google and the amount of research produced about that vaccine (P <0.001).Research limitations/implicationsAs the researchers use the single search engine, Google, to retrieve data from the USA, thus, selection bias will be existing as Google only gathers the data of people who chose to get the information by using this search engine.Practical implicationsIf the policymakers in the US Department of Health and Human Services or the US CDC desire to improve the country's health ISB and the scientific publication behavior (SPB) of the US researchers regarding COVID-19 vaccines studies, they should reference the results of such a study.Originality/valueFrom an infodemiological viewpoint, these findings may support the health policymakers, as well as researchers who work on COVID-19 vaccines in the USA.

Assessing challenges to the mobile wallet usage in India: an interpretive structural modelling approach

PurposeMobile-based payment is increasing exponentially but in the developing country like India, consumers' perception is highly positive in daily cash transaction. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the important challenges for mobile wallet (m-wallet) implementation in India. In the wake of COVID-19, one of the transmission mechanisms of this virus has been the coins and paper money passed between a buyer and a seller. As such m-wallet considered as a convenience of payment has become a necessity in light of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors explored 19 unique sets of challenges selected from the literature and collected data from 14 experts from private sector, multinational corporations and mixed private and public partnership who have significant knowledge and experience of mobile payment implementation and use in their respective organisations. Also, the authors have used Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) methodology in developing a hierarchal model for the identified challenges. The authors implemented Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis to classify the identified challenges.FindingsThe ISM-based framework is divided into nine different hierarchical levels. "Lack of strong regulatory compliance (Ch6)” has been recognised as the most important challenge, which inhibited the mobile wallet implementation, whereas "Perception of customers about the value of using mobile wallets (Ch11)” is the most dependent critical challenge. There are seven hierarchical layers in between the top and the bottom level with the varied number of challenges based on their driving and dependence power.Originality/valueThis is the first research to the best of our knowledge that has not only comprehensively reviewed the m-wallet literature but also employed a unique ISM-MICMAC-based approach to develop a framework of challenges for the m-wallet implementation.