Volume 20, Number 4, 2025

EN:

Objective – Immigrants’ adjustment to U.S. society, also known as immigrant acculturation, is a vast area of study, but there are few studies relating to immigrant acculturation within the library and information science field.

Methods – Data from 131 survey responses and 20 interviews suggest that library workers are somewhat familiar with the immigrant acculturation process, but specific and evidence based training can further their knowledge.

Results – Insight on immigrant acculturation contextualizes immigrants’ realities and thus assists library workers in being aware of and responsive to the nuances of adjusting to and thriving in a new country like the U.S.

Conclusion – In the face of anti-immigration legislation and heightened xenophobic misinformation, librarians need professional development drawn from empirical investigations of immigrants’ acculturative experiences.

EN:

Objective – While LIS scholars have extensively studied the widespread disruptions to library instruction during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a relative dearth of research concerning the longer-term implications for teaching information literacy (IL). This exploratory survey sought to examine how faculty have introduced IL skills to students before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. After returning to in-person operations in 2021, the authors observed a change in how faculty have engaged with libraries to teach IL to their students.

Methods – Utilizing parallel survey instruments, we asked faculty and librarians for their perceptions of current and past practices with scheduling library IL sessions, evaluating student research skills and considering how they acquired those skills.

Results – Although responses showed an unsurprising decrease in library instruction requests during the pandemic lockdowns, faculty respondents noted a return to nearly pre-pandemic norms after the resumption of in-person operations. Teaching modality and use of research assignments did not appear to impact faculty IL scheduling behaviors, but differences in faculty and librarian responses highlighted potential disagreements about the impact of COVID-19 on faculty use of library instruction. Additional questioning indicates a disconnect between how faculty perceive student research skills and their reasons for scheduling library instruction, which suggests misperceptions of librarian expertise and differences in understanding how librarians should teach information literacy. Open-ended responses provided additional context to these issues, while identifying potential barriers and opportunities.

Conclusion – Overall, our findings indicate that, rather than fundamentally altering faculty approaches to information literacy, the COVID-19 disruptions revealed and exacerbated endemic problems with the prevalent one-shot model of library instruction.

EN:

Objective – This study sought to understand information literacy instruction tailored for first-year students of color in higher education, and the impact of that instruction on student performance and confidence levels.

Methods – The study was conducted at a four-year doctoral-granting higher education institution and was designed as a QUAL+quan convergent mixed-methods study. It utilized critical race theory (CRT) as its theoretical framework, a participatory action research (PAR) approach for its design, and critical pedagogical practices to tailor the instructional content and delivery. The instruction was designed as a multi-session information literacy workshop series delivered outside of the traditional classroom and was comprised of six one-hour sessions: an initial focus group, four information literacy sessions focusing on specific aspects of the research process, and semi-structured interviews.

Results – Data collected through discussions, open-ended activities with rubrics, and pre- and post-series surveys were analyzed to determine whether the instructional series impacted student learning outcomes. The results showed the series had a positive impact on student performance and their confidence levels pertaining to understanding and applying information literacy concepts.

Conclusion – The study is significant as it is the first to specifically utilize CRT and PAR in a multi-session information literacy workshop series for first-year students of color delivered outside of the traditional classroom setting and can serve as a model for other institutions.

EN:

Objective – Two academic libraries serving public universities in the United States faced a similar choice of whether to keep magnetic security gates in place and pay for their upkeep. To make informed decisions, researchers at Chicago State University (CSU) and Western Kentucky University Libraries (WKUL) ran concurrent studies with different models of cost-benefit analysis to determine whether magnetic security gates were worth the expense. Security gates were physically present but not functional at both institutions during the study. Exploring different methods of analysis provided opportunities to discuss whether security gates are effective at preventing collection shrink, identify issues in measuring the costs of theft, and explain why WKUL chose to remove magnetic security gates altogether.

Methods – At CSU, we measured loss over a six-month period on a sample set of 110 monographs. The cost of replacing missing books, including labor and incidentals, was used to approximate the cost of shrink in an equivalent percentage of materials from the main collection housed in open stacks. We compared the expected cost of replacing the security gates to the estimated cost of shrink to determine how much loss security gates would need to prevent to justify the cost of maintaining security gates. While the sample was neither randomized nor large enough to draw conclusions, trialing this model of cost comparison presented an opportunity for discussion.

WKUL had a practice of running a near continuous inventory prior to this study. In 2024, staff inventoried the entire collection held in open stacks. This provided a precise number of how many items went missing during that timeframe. We compared the number of missing items to the quoted cost of annual service and maintenance fees to determine whether maintaining security gates would justify the cost. Simply dividing the annual service fees by the number of missing items provided a dollar value per missing item that security gates would have had to save in order to justify their expense.

Results – The calculated annual cost of collection shrink at CSU is $136,335, much more than the estimated $85,121 to replace the magnetic security gates. Inferring a similar rate of shrink to the sample set, despite the problems with the method, suggests that new security gates would have to prevent 62.44% of total loss to pay for themselves in the first year, 33.66% in two years, and 24.07% over three years. While we did not draw firm conclusions from this trial analysis, it is evident that security gates would likely save money over the span of a few years.

WKUL found that 99 individual items went missing from all collections housed in open stacks over 2024. The quoted annual subscription fee for the four sets of security gates at WKUL is $8,894. These data suggest that security gates at WKUL must prevent an average of $89.83 in lost value per missing item to justify the annual fees alone. Another way of describing this is that if each item that went missing cost $89.83, security gates would have to stop 100% of collection shrink to make up for their annual subscription fees. A more likely scenario is that security gates would have prevented 50% of the collection shrink, and materials would have had to carry an average value of $179.66 for security gates to pay for themselves.

Conclusion – At first glance, the data from CSU suggests that magnetic security gates have the potential to prevent enough collection loss that they pay for themselves. The library at CSU has an annual operating budget of just over $2 million, and an annual loss of nearly $140,000 in value would be unsustainable. However, the data from WKUL suggest it would be difficult to justify the annual subscription fees, let alone the cost of replacing defunct hardware. Further inquiry and discussion are needed to explore variables not covered in this study, including employee theft, security gate efficacy, the lifecycle of library materials, and how security gates may affect students’ feelings of belonging and inclusion.

EN:

Objective – The purpose of this study was to compare student use of two library research guides, one created in Springshare’s LibGuides platform with a multi-page layout and one created using a single-page Adobe Express website. The researchers sought to explore how LibGuides’ library-first design and embedded features would enable successful student navigation versus Adobe Express’ simpler, website-style layout that might be more familiar to users yet lacks the ability to integrate fully with the broader library Web presence.

Methods – The study used a qualitative usability test to answer the research questions. Two groups of six users each were assigned to complete tasks using one of the two platforms. Researchers designed test guides for the study mirroring real-world content and layout, following best practices of design and institutional guidelines within each system. During test sessions, users followed a “think-aloud” protocol, allowing researchers to transcribe and code comments to identify patterns in students’ feedback. Pretest and posttest questionnaires were also used to assess participants’ prior experience and subsequent perceptions.

Results – Users’ posttest responses indicated they found both guides easy to use. However, there were a few differences between their use of LibGuides and Adobe Express during the sessions. Users of Adobe Express commented favorably on its clean aesthetic, though users appreciated both guides’ collation of resources. Adobe Express users experienced higher rates of task success, fewer instances of confusion, and a clearer differentiation between the guide and broader library resources. Many themes that surfaced in sessions related to user behaviour overlapped between the two platforms, such as a preference for searching over browsing, gravitation toward familiar tools, and not reading all content.

Conclusion – Neither guide fully enabled universal task success, and each brought its own set of challenges for users. Moreover, users in both test groups failed to fully engage with all content. Librarians designing research guides should consider the context and purpose of creation, as well as users’ existing information literacy skills and mental models, when selecting platforms, layouts, and designs.

EN:

Objective – This article discusses the use of a visual timeline activity in qualitative research investigating a process. This was part of a larger project exploring the experience of former library staff and their searches for academic librarian positions. It will also discuss the impact a visual method had in shaping the quality of the data.

Methods – In 2023, the author conducted in-depth virtual interviews with 22 former library staff working in U.S.-based academic libraries about their experiences applying for academic librarian positions. A timeline worksheet was incorporated into the interviews, in which participants were asked to chronologically plot out their searches, as well as discuss significance of their selections. Both transcripts and timelines were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, with the derived codes applied to both. Timelines were analyzed for visual connection to themes.

Results – Participants used the timelines as a way to explain steps taken during their job searches, eventually leading to the start of their new jobs. Completing the activity helped participants recall moments from their searches during the interview. They also used the visual format to express the emotions they felt and their sense of passing time. Issues that arose while conducting the activity included some participants’ fears of “doing [the activity] wrong,” as well as limitations of the digital tool used to lead the interviews.

Conclusion – Qualitative research in library science can benefit from the use of visual methods like timelines, especially for research on procedural aspects of working in academic librarianship. While practical matters such as extra time and material needs may hamper a researcher’s desire to use them, visual data can supplement oral interview transcripts.

EN:

Objective – The objective of this scoping review is to synthesize the existing literature on the accuracy of formatting American Psychological Association (APA) Style references, with a focus on how accuracy has been defined and measured across studies. Specifically, the review aims to identify commonly reported formatting errors, evaluate the transparency and reproducibility of research methods, and assess whether standard assessment tools have been proposed or developed. Additionally, the review gathers the discipline and geographic location of study authors and examined how issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are addressed in this body of research.

Methods – The review followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews, with a registered protocol on the Open Science Framework. A comprehensive search strategy was executed in the following academic databases: Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, CINAHL Plus with Full-Text, Education Source Complete, LISTA, ProQuest Platform Search, and the Web of Science Core Collection. This was supplemented with Google and Google Scholar searches. Initial searches were conducted in May 2023 and updated in November 2024. Eligibility criteria included English-language studies that assessed APA Style formatting accuracy in reference list entries. Two independent reviewers conducted all phases of screening and data extraction, with discrepancies resolved through consensus or third-party adjudication. Citation searching was also employed, yielding additional studies. Data extracted included publication details, source types, accuracy measures, and identified biases.

Results – Out of the included 32 studies, most were authored by researchers in Library Science and published in North America between 2006 and 2024. APA Manual editions from the 3rd to the 7th were represented. Reference sources most often came from student papers (41%), followed by article reference lists and databases. The most frequently analyzed source types were journal articles and books. Fourteen studies evaluated automated tools that create references, including tools embedded in databases, citation managers, and AI tools such as ChatGPT. Seventeen types of errors were pre-identified and nine additional error types were noted from the included studies. However, error classification terminology varied widely across studies, limiting comparability. While some studies used comprehensive checklists to assess accuracy, only a few tools were accessible, and no standardized, widely accepted assessment method emerged. Formatting accuracy was quantified using 64 different types of metrics, with inconsistent use of normalized measures. Only one study explicitly addressed a DEI-related issue—mis-formatting of names from non-Western cultures—highlighting an underexplored area of concern. Citation searching was notably effective in identifying studies not indexed in major databases.

Conclusion – This review reveals a fragmented research landscape regarding how formatting accuracy of APA references is measured and described. There is no consensus on assessment methodology, terminology, or reporting metrics, making it difficult to benchmark or compare results across studies. The findings underscore the need for standardized, source-specific tools to assess formatting accuracy and call attention to the role of librarians and educators in addressing this gap. Additionally, more attention must be paid to equity considerations, particularly related to name formatting conventions. Consistent terminology, inclusive practices, and evidence based tools are essential for advancing citation literacy and supporting academic integrity.

EN:

Objective – This research investigates how a rural community library contributes to sustainability education by generating practice-based evidence promoting environmental literacy that is participatory, culturally grounded, and responsive to local contexts. The study focuses on Perpustakaan Alam Malabar in Mekarsari Village, West Java, Indonesia and examines how the library integrates ecopedagogical strategies to foster ecological awareness within the community.

Methods – A qualitative single-case study design was applied. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis and were analyzed using the interactive model developed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The researchers took part in several community-based programs hosted by the library, such as mobile literacy sessions (melapak), environmental discussions, film screenings, gardening activities, and the annual Rawat Bumi Festival. Data reliability was strengthened through triangulation and member checking.

Results – The findings indicate that Perpustakaan Alam Malabar has successfully redefined the library as a participatory learning hub that supports environmental literacy in everyday life. The library’s approach blends scientific insights with local wisdom and community-based action, creating an educational environment that stimulates cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement. Nonetheless, the model faces several constraints, including reduced local participation, a lack of institutional policy support, and the growing influence of external stakeholders. To navigate these challenges, the library has implemented adaptive strategies, including training local facilitators, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and promoting culturally responsive communication.

Conclusion – The study demonstrates that community libraries—especially in rural settings—can serve as effective platforms for sustainability education. The Perpustakaan Alam Malabar model offers a replicable, evidence informed model that practitioners can adapt to align literacy initiatives with ecological values and local engagement. In addition to its empirical contributions, the study advances a conceptual perspective on libraries as inclusive, transformative, and community-driven spaces for ecological learning and advocacy.

EN:

Objective – Scientifically researched information is often found in journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, which can be technical and challenging for those without training. Repackaging information into a simpler and preferred language can make it easier for undereducated rural communities to access. This narrative review investigates the strategies community libraries can adopt to repackage scientifically researched information for easier access by rural farming communities. This study contributes to the literature gap on research-based information repackaging by community libraries for rural development.

Methods – The literature search for this narrative review was conducted across several databases, electronic discovery tools, and individual journal articles. Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, Emerald, AGORA, Scopus, and Wiley collections were searched. Reference lists from various journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers were reviewed to select the desired studies for inclusion in this review.

Results – The findings highlight the challenges community libraries face in Africa when repackaging research-based information for farmers, as discussed in relation to those reported in other parts of the world. These challenges include a lack of information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure, limited budgets, the absence of relevant policies, low awareness, and inadequate skills among library staff. Additionally, community libraries are scarce in rural areas, and those that exist often lack updated, scientifically researched information. To address these issues, the study proposes strategies such as collaborating, considering community norms and cultures, training community librarians in digital and appropriate repackaging methods, and equipping rural libraries with reliable, research-based information and necessary ICT tools.

Conclusions – This study highlights the critical role of information repackaging in enhancing access to scientific farming knowledge for rural communities through community libraries. By translating complex information into user-friendly formats, libraries meet farmers' unique needs effectively. The integration of digital technologies further strengthens this process. The findings extend beyond the African context, as rural libraries worldwide face similar challenges in delivering context-specific knowledge, promoting information literacy, and engaging communities. Thus, the strategies highlighted in this study may be applied globally. Future research should explore the effectiveness of different repackaging strategies, the role of digital tools in various contexts, and the training needs of community librarians to optimize information delivery.

EN:

Objective – Transformative agreements (TAs) are agreements between publishers and institutions or consortia that combine reading access and open access (OA) publishing. They can take many forms, and the first agreement is believed to have started in 2014. This scoping review aims to identify and synthesize the existing research on TAs.

Methods – Following benchmarking and term harvesting, electronic searches were conducted in 48 databases and were complemented with handsearching and citation chaining which resulted in 1843 unique results. Results were screened with pre-registered inclusion and exclusion criteria which resulted in inclusion of 151 studies (80 case studies, 39 quantitative, 31 qualitative, and 1 theoretical).

Results – The heterogeneity of methods and findings of research on TAs made synthesis challenging. The synthesis was further complicated by the corpus including studies examining different time periods, publishers, agreement types, participating institutions, and more. Studies had varied intended audiences and research dissemination routes further complicating discovery and synthesis.

Conclusions – Despite the heterogeneity, some themes emerged, including TAs increase hybrid OA and that consortia can play an important role in negotiating and managing TAs. Successful implementation relies on a number of factors, including workflows for authors and those managing the agreements. Studies found that TAs are not leading to a transformation of the publishing system as a whole.