Reassessing Student Assessment During and Post-COVID-19: Experiences in the LIS Program

Library and Information Science (LIS) education is very different now from how we used to know it. Currently, reassessing student assessment has been at the heart of several experiments to do away with over-emphasis on retention, reproduction, and memorization. This article highlights both sides of the debate—traditional versus e-assessments—and answers critical questions about the controversial topic. The research draws on a viewpoint approach with dependence on the author's opinion and interpretation of the literature review in the pro-con discussion where both sides of a controversial traditional versus digital assessment topic are presented. We should not shy away from confronting uncomfortable truths. Assessment involves humanizing, power negotiation, empowerment, entitlement, persuasion, substitution, and student care. We require a multifaceted effort to seize the moment of COVID-19 to improve assessment by blending traditional and electronic forms. The originality is the enrichment and domestication of LIS education in a more nuanced discussion and evaluation of changes in student assessment brought on by the shift to online education during the pandemic. The conclusion indicates the need to meld traditional and innovative modes of assessment, which should be an ongoing part of any successful educational program modeled on context-specific needs.

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.

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.

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.

Introduction

First advanced in the field of psychology by Martin Seligman, positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000). [...]since at least the late 1980s, glimmers of the concept of joy have been found in the LIS literature, though these writings employed varying terminology and diverse conceptualizations over the decades. [...]he is the author of a chapter on "Joy" in The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology (2009). [...]the paper "Informed by Joy: A Christian Librarian's Reflection on C.S. Lewis" sees David Michels immersing himself in the information world of C. S. Lewis and exploring the role of information in both Lewis's and Michels's own lives of faith.

Introduction

[...]shifting ideologies surrounding "the family” inform and carry implications for economic, political, cultural, and social practices and activities. [...]of this dominance and influence of the family, this special issue centers on family-focused library and information science (LIS) research and is borne from conversations and reflections posed at a 2019 iConference Session for Interaction and Engagement of the same name. [...]in "Students and Parents: How Academic Libraries Serve a Growing Population,” Marta Bladek employs multiple sources of data to draw attention to the challenges and barriers postsecondary students who are also parents must contend with as they attempt to access academic library services and supports. [...]the articles in this issue also highlight the diverse areas within LIS that may be enriched by a consideration of the family context, including the study of information practices (Han;McKenzie;Ortiz-Myers and Costello), archival practices and personal information management (Krtalić, Dinneen, Liew, and Goulding), consumer health information (Charbonneau and Akers), reader response theory (Velez), early literacy (Prendergast and Sharkey), and library service provision (Bladek).

The width and depth of literacies for tackling the COVID-19 infodemic

PurposeA wide choice of varied information and data-based tools is reviewed in order to determine their ability treating symptoms of the COVID-19 infodemic. Several literacies and derived literacies, presumably having the ability to fulfil these roles are enumerated. There is also a review of the impact of applying deconstruction, understanding, and anticipation as well as of tools for mitigating overload phenomena, and communication overload.Design/methodology/approachThe article reviews literacies deemed to promise reducing the impact of the information crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsA non-exhaustive review of literature, taken from sources of varied disciplines, resulting from reverse snowballing and forward citation mining confirmed that there is a wide choice of solutions from among literacies, derived literacies and other approaches that have the potential to combat annoyance and anxiety, caused by the infodemic.Originality/valueNo other, published research has looked at such a wide range of literacies and derived literacies, as well as other, related approaches linked them to the COVID-19 infodemic.

ACCEPTANCE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the level of acceptance and attitude toward vaccination against COVID19 among academic librarians in Nigeria. It is guided by two objectives, two research questions and two null-hypothesis. The population of the study consisted of 7,287 certified librarians spread across Nigerian. Krejcie and Morgan's table for determining sample size for research activities was used, and a response rate of 231 was achieved out of the sample size of364. A non-probability sampling involving purposive sampling techniques was used. Self-developed questionnaire was designed using Google Form mobile application with 4-Points-Likert scale, which was administered to respondents on several LIS professional social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The instrument was subjected to reliability test by administering to 30 unregistered librarians in Nigeria using test-retest method. A Cronbach alpha value was obtained, r = 0.92. The study has established that the level of acceptance toward vaccination against COVID-19 was low and there were negative attitudes toward the vaccination among academic librarians in Nigeria. Moreover, the study found that there were significant relationship between academic librarians' socio-demographic characteristics and acceptance as well as attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. The study recommended massive public enlightenment campaign / sensitization on the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 as well as developing policies that could easily enforce taking the vaccines among the citizens.

#BookTokMadeMeReadIt: young adult reading communities across an international, sociotechnical landscape

Purpose>This research article presents an exploratory case study of the sociotechnical landscape of BookTok, and how young people use it to connect with others around the books they love, or those they love to hate. By observing the interplay between young people, books, and the technology (TikTok) that connects them, this study aims to explore how blending analog and digital media tools makes reading social and fun.Design/methodology/approach>The authors selected three bestsellers available in English and Danish, and BookTokers who made related videos. This study used a qualitative, ethnographic (Pink, 2021) approach to explore interactions on the app. Inductive coding (Saldaña, 2021) helped the authors identify themes, and connect to areas of inquiry.Findings>During the pandemic, TikTok and BookTok offered young people opportunities for reading engagement in social, bookish communities by using technology to promote reading in print. In doing so, their actions made reading and being a reader highly entertaining.Research limitations/implications>As an exploratory case study, this research is not generalizable. But the findings will apply to future work on reading, publishing, and connected learning in a sociotechnical landscape.Practical implications>BookTok connects print and digital formats, offering innovative possibilities for young people’s connected learning and reading promotion in schools and libraries.Originality/value>Because TikTok is a relatively new tool, and its sub-community BookTok became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, research on this topic is still in its earliest stages.

Measuring Library Broadband Networks to Address Knowledge Gaps and Data Caps

In this paper, we present findings from a three-year research project funded by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services that examined how advanced broadband measurement capabilities can support the infrastructure and services needed to respond to the digital demands of public library users across the US. Previous studies have identified the ongoing broadband challenges of public libraries while also highlighting the increasing digital expectations of their patrons. However, few large-scale research efforts have collected automated, longitudinal measurement data on library broadband speeds and quality of service at a local, granular level inside public libraries over time, including when buildings are closed. This research seeks to address this gap in the literature through the following research question: How can public libraries utilize broadband measurement tools to develop a better understanding of the broadband speeds and quality of service that public libraries receive? In response, quantitative measurement data were gathered from an open-source broadband measurement system that was both developed for the research and deployed at 30 public libraries across the US. Findings from our analysis of the data revealed that Ookla measurements over time can confirm when the library's internet connection matches expected service levels and when they do not. When measurements are not consistent with expected service levels, libraries can observe the differences and correlate this with additional local information about the causes. Ongoing measurements conducted by the library enable local control and monitoring of this vital service and support critique and interrogation of the differences between internet measurement platforms. In addition, we learned that speed tests are useful for examining these trends but are only a small part of assessing an internet connection and how well it can be used for specific purposes. These findings have implications for state library agencies and federal policymakers interested in having access to data on observed versus advertised speeds and quality of service of public library broadband connections nationwide.

Learning About Real Experiences From Real Users: A Blueprint for Participatory Accessibility Testing

Bien qu'il soit essentiel pour les bibliothèques de respecter les normes d'accessibilité en ligne (par exemple, les Règles pour l'accessibilité des contenus Web 2.0), la conformité avec ces normes techniques ne garantit pas des expériences optimales ou équitables pour tous les utilisateurs des bibliothèques qui interagissent avec des espaces et des ressources en ligne. La littérature récente sur les tests d'accessibilité a reconnu l'importance d'inclure des personnes handicapées lors de l'évaluation et la conception d'objets et d'espaces numériques. Cette notion est en lien avec le principe de l'expérience utilisateur (EU) des bibliothèques où le fait de parler directement avec les utilisateurs de leurs expériences d'utilisation des services et ressources de la bibliothèque constitue le moyen le plus efficace de comprendre et donc d'améliorer l'expérience globale des bibliothèques. En 2020, le groupe de l'EU des bibliothèques de l'Université Western a lancé un essai pilote de tests d'accessibilité pour planifier, concevoir et réaliser des tests d'accessibilité participatifs avec les membres de la communauté universitaire qui s'étaient identifiés comme vivant avec un handicap. Trois tests d'accessibilité ont été conçus pour évaluer cinq objets numériques uniques et 14 sessions d'évaluation ont été réalisées avec huit participants. Une méthode d'évaluation participative et semi-dirigée a permis aux participants d'interagir librement avec les objets, de fournir des commentaires détaillés sur leur expérience en utilisant ces objets et de suggérer des améliorations aux éléments qu'ils trouvaient moins accessibles. Cet article comprend un survol des facteurs à considérer et des défis de l'initiative ainsi que les leçons tirées du processus d'obtention du financement, du recrutement des participants, de la conception des tests et de leur mise en oeuvre. Nous réfléchissons sur la valeur des tests d'accessibilité participatifs et faisons des recommandations sur la manière de mener des projets similaires dans d'autres bibliothèques.Alternate :Although it is crucial for libraries to meet required online accessibility standards (e.g., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0), compliance with these technical standards does not guarantee optimal or equitable experiences for all library users who interact with online spaces or materials. Recent literature on accessibility testing has acknowledged the value of including people with disabilities in testing and designing digital objects and spaces. This thinking aligns with the library-based user experience (UX) principle that talking directly to users about their experiences using library services and resources is the most effective way to understand and thereby improve the overall library experience. In 2020, the UX Group at Western Libraries undertook a pilot accessibility testing initiative to plan, design, and deliver participatory accessibility testing with campus community members who had self-identified as living with a range of disabilities. Three accessibility tests were designed to assess five distinct digital objects, and 14 testing sessions were completed with eight participants. A semistructured and participatory testing method allowed participants to freely interact with the testing objects, provide detailed feedback regarding their experiences using the objects, and recommend improvements to elements they found less accessible. This article includes an overview of considerations and challenges of the initiative as well as lessons learned in the process of securing funding, recruiting participants, designing the tests, and conducting testing. We reflect on the value of participatory accessibility testing and make recommendations for conducting similar projects at other libraries.

Academic Stress and Coping Mechanism among LIS students during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Route to Resilience and Recuperation

The COVID-19 pandemic is considered as one of the most extraordinary disruptions, lifechanging situations that had taken the entire world to an uninterrupted standstill in 2020. The pandemic had brought radically transformed the functioning of the universities globally. In India, sudden lockdown caused a move from the physical classroom to virtual learning, affecting academic stress, anxiety, fear, helplessness, and life quality among university students. A total number of 212 students of library and information science from various universities in Haryana enrolled in the study. The cross-sectional study examines the student's socio-demographic data, attitudes towards academic stress, and adopting various coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data of 193 (91.04%) were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Nevertheless the study limitation, findings provided relevant data of academic stress and online education experience of the students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students utilized various coping strategies to cope with academic stress to maintain life quality. Furthermore, university students are satisfied with the measure adopted by the Government to mitigate the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also suggested a plan to design of online learning structure, students' well-being, online stress management programs, and training of effective coping mechanisms that would support alleviating academic stress during a worldwide pandemic.

Efficiency of MOOCs in Leveraging Access and Quality Library and Information Science Education in the Era of COVID-19 in Eswatini

Library and information science (LIS) education in Eswatini is not yet grounded. Although several interventions exist to improve the quality of LIS education in Eswatini, there have not been many attempts to systematically adapt and integrate massive open online courses (MOOCs) in LIS education. This article presents strategies that can be used in Eswatini to adapt and integrate MOOCs to enhance the quality of LIS education. These strategies are the first steps toward assisting higher education institutions in Eswatini to utilize the potential of MOOCs to improve the quality of LIS education. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

"My Mom Recommended It to Me": Understanding Homeschoolers' Information Practices

A traditional motivation was to educate based on values, beliefs, and pedagogies that were different from what traditional American public schools offered.3 However, there are other, more diversified reasons to homeschool, including ensuring a learning environment protected from violence, drugs, and negative peer pressure;meeting the unique educational or disability needs of each child;offering flexibility and freedom;providing racial protection and racially focused education;reducing distractions;and supporting focused learning.4 Despite the overall small population of homeschoolers in the United States, the population of homeschoolers has grown rapidly due to school closures since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic in While research on homeschoolers in Library and Information Science (LIS) is scant, these very few studies showed that homeschoolers were traditionally strong supporters and users of their local public library, although usage was to varying degrees.6 In a recent study, Sarah Pannone indicated homeschoolers' need and desire for more programs and curriculum-related resources.7 One of these much-needed programs for homeschoolers is information literacy programs in public libraries, as researchers have shown young people today have inadequate skills to evaluate information on the Web and think critically about their information environment.8 Information literacy is essential in learning in all kinds of educational settings and workplaces, as it involves high-order critical thinking skills and meta-competency, which, according to Annemaree Lloyd, is knowing the strategies of interacting with information effectively in specific contexts.9 Information literacy skills also help people identify fake news.10 The need for in-depth information literacy education is increasingly more urgent in today's information environment. "13 While this way of defining information literacy can be instrumental for educators and practitioners,14 researchers in LIS have challenged this skills-based model of information literacy.15 Prior research showed that when information literacy instructions were focused on these decontextualized skills-such as finding information from a set of specific information sources and using sources in a preferred order-students were not prepared to handle the complex information environment in out-of-school settings and everyday life.16 Students might experience challenges, such as synthesizing information, evaluating sources, understanding the relevance of information, and coping with information overload.17 To overcome the limitation of this traditional skills-based information literacy model, Lloyd argued for a broad view-to approach information literacy as "a way of knowing" that was socially and culturally practiced within a specific community.18 For instance, Lloyd found that ambulance officers who were in training demonstrated their information literacy through their increasingly dynamic use of information sources as they became more experienced, drawing upon not only textual information (e.g., textbooks), but also information distributed in their social networks (e.g., collective professional values) and embodied information (e.g., body senses).19 Using this sociocultural approach to information literacy, Jessica Elmore and Peter Stordy interviewed five parents and children (ages 8 through 17) in the United Kingdom to understand these homeschooled young people's information literacy experiences.20 Their findings showed that for homeschoolers to be information literate, it was a natural and social process embedded in practical tasks, rather than a prescribed learning experience. "21 A literature review on information seeking reveals a lack of consensus among researchers in using the terms of information behavior and information practices in LIS.22 According to Reijo Savolainen, information behavior studies took a cognitive perspective, focusing on how an individual's information needs triggered his/her information seeking and use, and thus focused on active information seeking.23 On the other hand, research on information practices viewed information seeking and use as actions embedded in one's social practices, which were bounded by one's experiences, knowledge, values, interests, tasks, and other sociocultural factors.24 Pamela McKenzie took a constructionist approach to study context-specific information practices among pregnant women.25 Her findings showed information practices involved not only active seeking and active scanning, but also being introduced through other people and by non-directed monitoring (e.g., being informed serendipitously by overhearing from the TV). [...]information seeking included the "seeking of orienting information that can serve the need of monitoring everyday events" and the "seeking of problem-specific information that may be used for solving individual problems or performing specific tasks."

Editorial: Special selection on bibliometrics and literature review

Chuang and Kuan (2022) also examined the impact of collaboration patterns, research productivity patterns and publication patterns for management information systems (MIS) research in Taiwan. (2022) used a systematic literature review (SLR) to provide the viewpoint of privacy and security concerns mentioned in the current state-of-the-art mobile app recommendation domain. [...]we are currently preparing for a special issue on “Contemporary Learning behaviors on mobile devices and social media,” and interested readers and researchers, please consider submitting your manuscripts related to this special issue for peer review.

Exploring COVID-19 research papers published on journals in the field of LIS

As the COVID-19 pandemic prevails, research related to COVID-19 has spread beyond medicine, health science, and biology to almost all academic fields. Library and information science is one of the most active fields that publish COVID-19-related research papers. This study examined 696 research papers related to COVID-19 whose journal being categorized as “information science & library science” by Web of Science. The result of bibliometric analysis showed that the publications were active and on the rise. Most papers were published in English and produced in the United States. According to the keyword clustering map produced by semantic network analysis, two fields, bibliometrics and health communication, were publishing research papers related to COVID-19 most actively. Moreover, the most productive journal was a library and information science journal focusing on health informatics. Additionally, a tendency was found that researchers preferred to publish on journals with high impact factors. Compared with non-COVID-19-related research papers, there was a significant decrease of “time for acceptance” of COVID-19-related papers, and the proportion of open access was relatively high. Confronting the global crisis of COVID-19, the library and information science field also made efforts and challenges to resolve the slow peer-review, delayed publishing, and high paywalls, which have been recognized as a “chronic diseases” of the academic publishing ecosystem. It is expected that these endeavors can serve as a turning point to reconsider and innovate the traditional research-publishing lifecycle. © The Author(s) 2022.

An Uneasy, Challenging, Yet Meaningful Experience: A Reflection on a Face-to-Face to Online Synchronous COVID-19 Course Transition

During the 2020 spring semester, as COVID-19 infection rates increased, universities and colleges closed campuses and moved courses online. All of these responses occurred as the Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and other national and global health organizations attempted to understand this new and deadly illness. Library and Information Science (LIS) schools were, in particular, ready for this unexpected education shift with their long history of online learning and online engagement. This article is both a reflection on and analysis of the teaching experiences of the author during this period of crisis.

Material-Mind-Method: On the Teaching of Reference Teaching Reference: Continuing to Learn

Teaching reference during the pandemic can lead to revising course content, management, and delivery. Contact with students leads to the greatest lessons learned. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Challenges, opportunities and prospects of university libraries in the global scenario of uncertainty: Unilibnsd editor's view

The global scenario of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how quickly university libraries can respond to changes in the educational and research ecosystems of their institutions. The new (6th) issue of the journal “University Library at a New Stage of Social Communications Development. Conference Proceedings” is exactly about this. The papers discuss new behaviours / work of library staff based on digital communication technologies, our projects, our goals, our hopes, as well as our doubts and concerns for the maximum contribution of libraries to the development of university communities in a constantly changing world. Full-length articles about the most interesting world library and information practices and ideas were selected, reviewed and recommended by members of the international editorial board of the similarly-named conference (UniLibNSD-2021), which was held in a hybrid format on October 7-8, 2021 in Dnipro, Ukraine. The title “University Library at a New Stage of Social Communications Development. Conference Proceedings” has been accepted in Scopus (2021). © T. O. Kolesnykova, 2021.