Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Providing a systematic and complete knowledge map for researchers in the field of information cocoons, and helps them quickly understand the key knowledge, evolutionary trends and research frontiers. Using bibliometric methods and utilizing CiteSpace, Ucinet, and gCLUTO software, a scientific quantitative, and visual analysis was conducted on 2101 articles (from Web of Science and Scopus data collections) in the field of information cocoons research from 1966 to 2023. The numbers of publication present a rhythm with an exponential function y = 0.2477e0.1772x. The research hotspots of information cocoons mainly focus on social media and Internet, fake news, selective exposure, cognitive bubble and political polarization, mainly involving the discipline of journalism, communication, computer science, political science, management, sociology, economics. Twitter and Facebook are the most studied social media. The future research trend mainly focuses on rational intervention of misinformation, artificial intelligence personalized algorithm, machine learning, political polarization, personalized perception of recommendation, and the in-depth exploration of influencing factors of information cocoons.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The article proposes interdisciplinary indicators suitable for measuring and evaluating the interdisciplinarity of Library and Information Science (LIS) curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with the aim of addressing the problems that arise in interdisciplinary education through suggestions. The interdisciplinarity of the curriculum is simulated on the Coursera platform and the interdisciplinary indicators are adopted to measure the interdisciplinarity of the disciplines and the curriculum. The results of the interdisciplinary simulations show a wide range of disciplinary knowledge and a high degree of interdisciplinarity. The interdisciplinary process of the curriculum shows that certain courses have a significant impact on the number of discipline categories. The comprehensive evaluation results for the three measures are consistent, indicating that the impact of the interdisciplinary measures varies from course to course. This study aims to provide constructive ideas for interdisciplinary curriculum design and talent cultivation in the field of Library and Information Science. In addition, the measurement and evaluation method can provide a reference for other disciplines.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required schools around the world to transition to online learning. This sudden change forced students who never experienced online learning to study a full curriculum with this method and rely on unfamiliar technology. The study uses the context of online learning during the pandemic as a case study to explore the implications of crisis times (e.g. natural disasters, environmental or public health crises) for digital literacy (DL) among students. Findings reveal that parental support was a crucial factor during a pandemic crisis. The more parental support students receive, the higher their digital literacy, their self-efficacy, their attitude toward technology, and their perceived achievements. Previous findings indicated that during routine students with high digital literacy reported positive attitudes toward using technology in education, compared to those with low digital literacy. However, our findings found that students with more positive attitudes toward technology reported higher digital literacy.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
This study aims to systematically reveal the application of behavioural economics theories in information-seeking behaviour research to promote the theoretical development of information-seeking behaviour research. A systematic review method was utilised to collect 92 relevant articles published from 1989 to 2022. The temporal development of these articles, research themes, and the theoretical contributions of behavioural economics theories to information-seeking behaviour research were organised and analysed. The findings are as follows: First, behavioural economics theories have been applied in information-seeking behaviour research for more than30 years and have entered an accelerated development stage. Second, behavioural economics theories are widely adaptable to information-seeking behaviour research. Early behavioural economics theories are applicable to 10 research topics such as information-seeking stopping behaviour and information evaluation, while contemporary behavioural economics theories are applicable to 16 research topics: information-seeking strategies and health information-seeking. Third, behavioural economics theories have produced four contributions to information-seeking behaviour research by revealing the mechanisms underlying information-seeking behaviour, exploring behavioural and cognitive strategies in information-seeking behaviour, interpreting the biases underlying information-seeking behaviour, and constructing theoretical models for information-seeking behaviour.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Cloud computing has emerged as a transformative technology in many industries, including academia. As large information repositories, university libraries stand to benefit significantly from the increasing use of cloud computing. University library services especially in developing countries have been limited to what can be provided within the physical premises, potentially leading to a less flexible and less accessible information service delivery model. This situation is driven by the existing technology divide and the myriad challenges associated with information technology (IT) adoption, such as political instability, deficiencies in IT infrastructure, regulatory policies, organisational constraints, and government initiatives or support. To enhance the efficient service delivery of university libraries through the adoption of innovative IT, a thorough study to consider organisational, environmental, technological, and human issues is needed because it can be used as guidelines to assist university libraries in leapfrogging their efforts as a motivation for adopting cloud computing technology for efficient service delivery. The present study examines the success factors contributing to the adoption of cloud computing in university libraries. In light of the abovementioned factors, a review of 25 papers was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach for study selection. The review’s findings demonstrate that various factors significantly influence cloud computing adoption in university libraries. Organisational factors, including top management support, training and education, organisational intention, and readiness, speed up the adoption process. Environmental factors, including competitive pressure, regulatory policies, government support, and service provider support, also impact the adoption of cloud computing. Technology-related factors, including relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity, must be considered for successful adoption. Furthermore, the extent to which cloud computing finds acceptance within university libraries is notably shaped by human factors, encompassing elements such as the attitudes and perceptions of staff towards IT change, the internal IT proficiency within the institution, and the prior technological experiences of the staff. Based on the findings, this study recommends formulating a comprehensive framework that considers all these constituent factors to facilitate the wider adoption of cloud computing in university library settings. Such a framework should focus on providing robust top-level management support, enhancing staff education and training, considering the influence of environmental factors, addressing pertinent technological challenges, and cultivating a pro-change mindset among library personnel

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The present study contributes to information behavior research by examining how people seek and share information related to the threat of nuclear war. To achieve this, a sample of 1279 posts submitted to Quora—a social Q&A site—were scrutinized by means of qualitative content analysis. The analysis was based on identification of three question types indicative of attempts to seek information and five answer types expressive of information sharing. The findings indicate that the online participants mainly presented opinion questions, while the role of fact questions remained marginal. While sharing threat-related information, the participants primarily offered opinion answers. To a lesser extent, the repertoire of answers also included explanation, prediction, fact, action directive and encouragement answers. The predominance of opinion answers is understandable because there is no recent experience about the use of nuclear weapons against civil targets. Therefore, much of threat-related information shared in online discussion necessarily originates from people’s personal views of what a nuclear war and its effects could be like. The findings highlight that people mainly seek opinions of other people, rather than factual information about the threat of nuclear war.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The primary aim of the present study is to provide a comparative-analytical analysis of the proposed results of the Manuscript Matcher with the responses of Library and Information Science experts to select the most appropriate journal for manuscript submission. This study is a kind of applied research conducted using the survey-analytical method with a comparative approach. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The designed questionnaire was sent to 38 Library and Information Science (LIS) experts. Moreover, snowball sampling was employed to select a sample of 38 people. Twelve articles published in 12 WOSCC-indexed LIS journals were randomly selected for the Manuscript Matcher analysis. Abstracts and bibliographic data of the articles were sent to the experts. Moreover, the abstracts and titles of the 12 articles were entered in the manuscript matcher, and the results were analyzed and compared with those obtained from experts' opinions. Frequency distribution, percentage, chi-squared (χ2) test, and SPSS software (version 26) were employed for data analysis. More than 70% of the statistical population were assistant professors, 36.8% of experts had more than 40 published articles, 5% had received more than 300 citations, and 2.6% of LIS experts had an h-index above 20. Compared with 62% congruent responses of experts in the target journal selection, the Manuscript Matcher showed an inferior performance of 53% congruent responses. Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between the number of citations and the experts’ h-indexes with the rate of their congruencies in selecting the target journal. Experts were more successful than Manuscript Matcher in selecting the target journal. However, the Manuscript Matcher included comprehensive coverage of publications that can facilitate the selection of a journal for researchers due to the limited knowledge of all journal finders and the time-consuming distinct search processes.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Assessing student participation in research and publication is essential, but this area has experienced limited exploration due to data constraints, despite the presence of open researcher profiles. Prior research noted modest student contributions but lacked in-depth analysis. Notably, in the Library and Information Science field, research on student-authored publications is scarce. This study analyzes data from student-authored papers in the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science from 1993 to 2022. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed, with various tables presenting yearly figures and data grouped by decades, along with charts to visualize changing trends over the years. The analysis reveals a significant increase in student engagement in research and publication, with student-authored papers constituting approximately 20% of all publications, highlighting their active participation in academic endeavors. Furthermore, this study underscores a marked shift toward collaborative research, with a substantial 88% of student authors engaging in internal or external collaborations for their publications. Additionally, nearly half of the student authors (48%) assumed the role of main authors, affirming their substantial contributions to research. Moreover, this study sheds light on the impact of research methodologies on student participation, with quantitative analysis emerging as the predominant approach for student-authored papers. Nevertheless, qualitative analysis may pose challenges for student-led research due to skill requirements. For future studies, broadening the scope of data collection to encompass a wider range of academic journals and analyzing the publication activities of graduate students from specific programs would be beneficial endeavors. In conclusion, this study enhances understanding of student authorship and its implications for academic publishing in the Library and Information Science field. It provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of academic publishing and student involvement.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The rise of misinformation as a prominent societal challenge has given rise to a plethora of educational efforts aimed at equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully navigate this increasingly daunting information environment. Librarians are on the frontlines of this challenge and have called for new approaches that go beyond more conventional information literacy education. One approach gaining attention is games, and several have emerged with promising results, largely due to their immersive nature that allows players to experience the dynamics of misinformation. In particular, game environments can be designed to highlight the psychological and emotional dimensions of misinformation, arguably the most significant shortcoming of more skills-based approaches to discerning misinformation. In this study, we developed a misinformation escape room and conducted a pilot study in five public libraries to study its effectiveness. Initial findings are encouraging. The misinformation escape room program, consisting of the gameplay plus a debrief discussion, appeared to increase awareness of certain misinformation tactics (e.g. deepfakes), generate reflection on the psychological dimensions of misinformation, and shift attitudes in ways that made many players more cautious of misinformation, potentially influencing their future social media behaviors.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Volume 56, Issue 1, Page 284-286, March 2024.