Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 681-693, September 2023.
In recent years, programmes and events have become one of the major services of public libraries. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive and detailed investigation of the types of programmes and events that occur in modern public libraries that provide new services, in addition to traditional services such as book lending. The Helsinki Central Library Oodi (Finland) was used as a case study and data posted on their webpage was collected for analysis. In Finland, as per the Library Act of 2017, public libraries are encouraged to hold programmes and events. Accordingly, various programmes and events are held at Oodi. A total of 1,330 events (excluding duplicates) took place between 13 August 2019 and 31 October 2020 and were coded using the open coding method and grouped into categories. Oodi provided users with many types of learning and experience opportunities through programmes and events, aiming to eliminate social disparities and ensure equality among citizens. Many programmes and events were held to provide citizens with a place for social interaction and dialogue, creating connections among them. The library’s traditional resource, that is, its collection, was central to many programmes and events. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the library has been contributing to the community by holding programmes and events online. This study is the first to comprehensively elucidate the contents of programmes and events held in a modern public library, which is expected to contribute to the further dissemination and development of these types of programmes and events. Furthermore, this study promotes research on specific programmes and events and encourage discussion regarding the linkages between events.
Category Archives: Journal of Librarianship and Information Science
Information disruptions and disruptive information sources in the practice of law: Obstacles in gathering information, through an Israeli lens
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 671-680, September 2023.
Lawyers must provide their clients with competent legal services and professional representation. However, in many cases, lawyers find it difficult to attain the necessary information to resolve legal concerns under their inquiry. Disruptive sources of information and faulty information are understudied features of professional information behavior, especially in the information-rich legal profession. The current research aims to explore these complexities and promote a fuller and more realistic understanding of the information-gathering practices of legal practitioners. Israel was chosen as a case since it upholds a thriving and active legal sector. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposive nationwide sampling of 25 practising lawyers in Israel, covering together over thirty different fields of legal practice with a fair diversity of other personal and professional attributes. The findings portray accessibility, content, and usability disruptions in lawyers’ information practices, as well as accentuate seven troublesome information sources in their use during legal work and their distinctive aspects of disruption. This study provides important insights regarding legal professionals’ erroneous information engagement and experience and reveals some of its inherent drawbacks; hence, supporting a more rounded understanding of the role of information in professional work behavior. Hopefully, the presented concepts and insights could also benefit other service-oriented information workers.
Lawyers must provide their clients with competent legal services and professional representation. However, in many cases, lawyers find it difficult to attain the necessary information to resolve legal concerns under their inquiry. Disruptive sources of information and faulty information are understudied features of professional information behavior, especially in the information-rich legal profession. The current research aims to explore these complexities and promote a fuller and more realistic understanding of the information-gathering practices of legal practitioners. Israel was chosen as a case since it upholds a thriving and active legal sector. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposive nationwide sampling of 25 practising lawyers in Israel, covering together over thirty different fields of legal practice with a fair diversity of other personal and professional attributes. The findings portray accessibility, content, and usability disruptions in lawyers’ information practices, as well as accentuate seven troublesome information sources in their use during legal work and their distinctive aspects of disruption. This study provides important insights regarding legal professionals’ erroneous information engagement and experience and reveals some of its inherent drawbacks; hence, supporting a more rounded understanding of the role of information in professional work behavior. Hopefully, the presented concepts and insights could also benefit other service-oriented information workers.
Purposive and non-purposive information behaviour on Instagram
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 634-657, September 2023.
User information behaviour on Instagram was explored via 274 responses to an online survey. Instagram is recognised as a powerful visual platform and consistently reports high engagement statistics across its variety of users. Research on Instagram to date has focussed on marketing communications theory, in particular its production of influencers as a new type of celebrity and source. The authors undertook an exploratory study to examine user interaction with the platform from the perspective of information behaviour research. The survey sought data relating to the rich body of information behaviour theory, particularly in relation to the needs or motivations underpinning information seeking, preferred sources of information and criteria for their evaluation, trust of Instagram creators and purposive and non-purposive engagement with information. An evolutionary model of information behaviour on Instagram is proposed, which draws on previous studies of information behaviour. The credibility of information on Instagram was a key theme in the survey findings, with respondents varying in the degree to which they trusted information on the platform and adopting complex, time-consuming and sometimes conflicting strategies to fact check where they felt reliability was important; future research exploring this further is recommended, to help understand the role and motivations of the information seeker in this process. The research also reveals a heightened blurring in comprehension surrounding the concepts of information and opinion amongst users and academics.
User information behaviour on Instagram was explored via 274 responses to an online survey. Instagram is recognised as a powerful visual platform and consistently reports high engagement statistics across its variety of users. Research on Instagram to date has focussed on marketing communications theory, in particular its production of influencers as a new type of celebrity and source. The authors undertook an exploratory study to examine user interaction with the platform from the perspective of information behaviour research. The survey sought data relating to the rich body of information behaviour theory, particularly in relation to the needs or motivations underpinning information seeking, preferred sources of information and criteria for their evaluation, trust of Instagram creators and purposive and non-purposive engagement with information. An evolutionary model of information behaviour on Instagram is proposed, which draws on previous studies of information behaviour. The credibility of information on Instagram was a key theme in the survey findings, with respondents varying in the degree to which they trusted information on the platform and adopting complex, time-consuming and sometimes conflicting strategies to fact check where they felt reliability was important; future research exploring this further is recommended, to help understand the role and motivations of the information seeker in this process. The research also reveals a heightened blurring in comprehension surrounding the concepts of information and opinion amongst users and academics.
A mapping review of literature on Blockchain usage by libraries: Challenges and opportunities
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 848-858, September 2023.
The Library and Information Science (LIS) community has started discussing some possible uses of Blockchain (BC) technologies in solving library-related problems and increasing the overall efficiency of libraries. This study aimed to systematically collect and review the relevant literature to comprehend the scope of BC for libraries, its benefits, as well as the challenges, and implications related to its use. The authors explored six reputed databases (Web of Science, Scopus, LISTA (Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts), LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and Google Scholar) to conduct this review. This study was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After the final data extraction, 21 documents were considered eligible for the systematic review. A systematic review of the selected works indicated that the usage of BC in libraries ranged from record-keeping to processing payments and ensuring security and transparency. Some of the opportunities that can be hunted from BC were the elimination of corruption, enhanced security, improved efficiency of services, and better time management. Literature also indicated that a lack of awareness of technology, unskilled staff, and financial constraints could impede the adoption of BC by libraries. It is hoped that this study would provide a holistic overview of BC technologies for libraries, thus improving the effectiveness of the decision-makers. This study is first that collected (systematically) and reviewed the literature on BC usage in libraries. The review will help educational institutions and library professionals understand the usage, challenges, and benefits of BC for libraries.
The Library and Information Science (LIS) community has started discussing some possible uses of Blockchain (BC) technologies in solving library-related problems and increasing the overall efficiency of libraries. This study aimed to systematically collect and review the relevant literature to comprehend the scope of BC for libraries, its benefits, as well as the challenges, and implications related to its use. The authors explored six reputed databases (Web of Science, Scopus, LISTA (Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts), LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and Google Scholar) to conduct this review. This study was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After the final data extraction, 21 documents were considered eligible for the systematic review. A systematic review of the selected works indicated that the usage of BC in libraries ranged from record-keeping to processing payments and ensuring security and transparency. Some of the opportunities that can be hunted from BC were the elimination of corruption, enhanced security, improved efficiency of services, and better time management. Literature also indicated that a lack of awareness of technology, unskilled staff, and financial constraints could impede the adoption of BC by libraries. It is hoped that this study would provide a holistic overview of BC technologies for libraries, thus improving the effectiveness of the decision-makers. This study is first that collected (systematically) and reviewed the literature on BC usage in libraries. The review will help educational institutions and library professionals understand the usage, challenges, and benefits of BC for libraries.
Infocommunicative literacy: Conceptual structure and applications
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 609-616, September 2023.
The objective of this article is to contribute to the theoretical and applied development of the area of Information Literacy, considering prominent changes in the informational environment, such as the culture of participation, constant connectivity, and the emergence of content generated by artificial intelligence. It is an environment that demands information literacy, but also the ability to interact and relate: communication literacy. This article situates infocommunicative literacy theoretically, articulating the three main bases that support this study: Information Literacy, New Media Literacy (NML), and Metaliteracy. From the systematization of these concepts, a conceptual structure accompanied by application propositions is suggested.
The objective of this article is to contribute to the theoretical and applied development of the area of Information Literacy, considering prominent changes in the informational environment, such as the culture of participation, constant connectivity, and the emergence of content generated by artificial intelligence. It is an environment that demands information literacy, but also the ability to interact and relate: communication literacy. This article situates infocommunicative literacy theoretically, articulating the three main bases that support this study: Information Literacy, New Media Literacy (NML), and Metaliteracy. From the systematization of these concepts, a conceptual structure accompanied by application propositions is suggested.
Delivering services in the new normal: Recording the experiences of UK public library staff during the COVID-19 pandemic
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 617-633, September 2023.
This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken in December 2021 and January 2022 related to public library staff in the United Kingdom and their experiences of COVID-19, exploring the lockdowns that were enabled, the subsequent re-openings, their mental health and their views for the future of the service post-COVID-19. Over 200 responses were received, and the findings indicate a range of views. The importance of the library as a community resource is evident in the comments from staff, and their observations of patrons on library re-openings. Findings also indicate concern for the future of the library service, and fear that new technologies like e-books may be seen as adequate replacements for the traditional library service. Findings also indicate staff face stress and mental health issues in terms of dealing with patrons while the virus remains highly prevalent.
This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken in December 2021 and January 2022 related to public library staff in the United Kingdom and their experiences of COVID-19, exploring the lockdowns that were enabled, the subsequent re-openings, their mental health and their views for the future of the service post-COVID-19. Over 200 responses were received, and the findings indicate a range of views. The importance of the library as a community resource is evident in the comments from staff, and their observations of patrons on library re-openings. Findings also indicate concern for the future of the library service, and fear that new technologies like e-books may be seen as adequate replacements for the traditional library service. Findings also indicate staff face stress and mental health issues in terms of dealing with patrons while the virus remains highly prevalent.
Using current research information systems to investigate data acquisition and data sharing practices of computer scientists
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 596-608, September 2023.
Without sufficient information about research data practices occurring in a particular research organisation, there is a risk of mismatching research data service efforts with the needs of its researchers. This study describes how data acquiring and data sharing occurring within a particular research organisation can be investigated by using current research information system publication data. The case study organisation’s current research information system was used to identify the sample of investigated articles. A sample of 193 journal articles published by researchers in the computer science department of the case study’s university during 2019 were extracted for scrutiny from the current research information system. For these 193 articles, a classification of the main study types was developed to accommodate the multidisciplinary nature of the case department’s research agenda. Furthermore, a coding framework was developed to capture the key elements of data acquiring and data sharing. The articles representing life sciences and computational research relatively frequently reused open data, whereas data acquisition of experimental research, human interaction studies and human intervention studies often relied on collecting original data. Data sharing also differed between the computationally intensive study types of life sciences and computational research and the study types relying on collection of original data. Research data were not available for reuse in only a minority of life science (n = 2; 7%) and computational research (n = 15; 14%) studies. The study types of experimental research, human interaction studies and human intervention studies less frequently made their data available for reuse. The findings suggest that research organisations representing computer sciences may include different subfields that have their own cultures of data sharing. This study demonstrates that analyses of publications listed in current research information systems provide detailed descriptions how the affiliated researchers acquire and share research data.
Without sufficient information about research data practices occurring in a particular research organisation, there is a risk of mismatching research data service efforts with the needs of its researchers. This study describes how data acquiring and data sharing occurring within a particular research organisation can be investigated by using current research information system publication data. The case study organisation’s current research information system was used to identify the sample of investigated articles. A sample of 193 journal articles published by researchers in the computer science department of the case study’s university during 2019 were extracted for scrutiny from the current research information system. For these 193 articles, a classification of the main study types was developed to accommodate the multidisciplinary nature of the case department’s research agenda. Furthermore, a coding framework was developed to capture the key elements of data acquiring and data sharing. The articles representing life sciences and computational research relatively frequently reused open data, whereas data acquisition of experimental research, human interaction studies and human intervention studies often relied on collecting original data. Data sharing also differed between the computationally intensive study types of life sciences and computational research and the study types relying on collection of original data. Research data were not available for reuse in only a minority of life science (n = 2; 7%) and computational research (n = 15; 14%) studies. The study types of experimental research, human interaction studies and human intervention studies less frequently made their data available for reuse. The findings suggest that research organisations representing computer sciences may include different subfields that have their own cultures of data sharing. This study demonstrates that analyses of publications listed in current research information systems provide detailed descriptions how the affiliated researchers acquire and share research data.
Leveraging information literacy: Mapping the conceptual influence and appropriation of information literacy in other disciplinary landscapes
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 548-566, September 2023.
Information literacy forms a key concept within Library and Information Science, where it forms the focus of scholarship, conferences, journals and teaching librarian practice, alike. However, little is known about how other fields and disciplines have employed these outputs within their own research and practice. This paper examines how the concept of information literacy has been leveraged into the discourses of non-Library and Information Science disciplinary landscapes. This is achieved through a qualitative mapping of five different fields and disciplines, including Higher Education, Management and Business, Public Health, Nursing and Psychology, to identify how information literacy terminology, definitions, theories and frameworks have travelled across scholarly and practice boundaries to become appropriated into other disciplinary landscapes. The aim of this collaborative work is to develop an indicative rather than an exhaustive understanding of what travels within information literacy research and practice and to strengthen the Library and Information Science narrative on the impact of information literacy activities.
Information literacy forms a key concept within Library and Information Science, where it forms the focus of scholarship, conferences, journals and teaching librarian practice, alike. However, little is known about how other fields and disciplines have employed these outputs within their own research and practice. This paper examines how the concept of information literacy has been leveraged into the discourses of non-Library and Information Science disciplinary landscapes. This is achieved through a qualitative mapping of five different fields and disciplines, including Higher Education, Management and Business, Public Health, Nursing and Psychology, to identify how information literacy terminology, definitions, theories and frameworks have travelled across scholarly and practice boundaries to become appropriated into other disciplinary landscapes. The aim of this collaborative work is to develop an indicative rather than an exhaustive understanding of what travels within information literacy research and practice and to strengthen the Library and Information Science narrative on the impact of information literacy activities.
Exploring COVID-19 research papers published on journals in the field of LIS
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 567-578, September 2023.
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.
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.
Health information seeking and sharing behavior of young adults on social media in Pakistan
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 55, Issue 3, Page 579-595, September 2023.
Social media such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Twitter have radically enhanced the public access to health information. Still, studies have unexplored the factors that contribute toward such behaviors especially in developing countries. Therefore, this study identifies the factors that contribute to the likelihood of young adults’ health information seeking and sharing on social media. Specifically, drawing upon health belief model (HBM), the study attempts to understand how health belief and e-Health literacy affects health information seeking and sharing on social media. The study collected data from 413 young adults through Google Forms on a random basis. The results generated applying structural equation modeling confirmed that HBM related factors such as perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived benefits positively while perceived barriers negatively influence young adults’ health information seeking and sharing intentions on social media. Furthermore, e-Health literacy was positively associated with health information seeking and sharing intentions on social media. This study is amongst a first few studies in the context of developing world to investigate the young adults’ intentions of seeking and sharing health information on social media based on HBM.
Social media such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Twitter have radically enhanced the public access to health information. Still, studies have unexplored the factors that contribute toward such behaviors especially in developing countries. Therefore, this study identifies the factors that contribute to the likelihood of young adults’ health information seeking and sharing on social media. Specifically, drawing upon health belief model (HBM), the study attempts to understand how health belief and e-Health literacy affects health information seeking and sharing on social media. The study collected data from 413 young adults through Google Forms on a random basis. The results generated applying structural equation modeling confirmed that HBM related factors such as perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived benefits positively while perceived barriers negatively influence young adults’ health information seeking and sharing intentions on social media. Furthermore, e-Health literacy was positively associated with health information seeking and sharing intentions on social media. This study is amongst a first few studies in the context of developing world to investigate the young adults’ intentions of seeking and sharing health information on social media based on HBM.