Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
In recent times, computer systems have acquired the capacity to gather, process and analyze massive quantities of data, as well as techniques for distributing, transmitting, and computing estimates. Therefore, the study is conducted with an objective to ascertain the performance-based assessment of LIS professionals toward digital data sets management DDSM in university libraries. A six-factor measurement model was tested based on the 28-valid items obtained from the literature. The hypothesized research model was validated through the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. LIS professionals in research-oriented organizations possess the necessary data analytical skills and technical expertise to extract insights from the data. The findings indicated that analytical skills have a significant positive impact on PEOU (β =246, SE = 0.54, p < 0.000). Perceived usefulness (PU) of digital data management practices is significantly influenced by analytical skills (AS) (β =0.443, SE = 0.077, p ⩽ 0.000), PEOU significantly influence the attitude of LIS professionals toward digital data management practices (β =0.215, SE = 0.214, p ⩽ 0.000), and attitude of LIS professionals has a positive impact on their performance in managing digital data sets in university libraries (β =0.584, SE = 0.178, p ⩽ 0.005). The study reports primary data gathered through survey on constructs given in technology acceptance (TAM) model. The study provides a valuable insight for organizational leaders, stakeholders, and planners to enhance and refine DDSM practices and methodologies in academic libraries. This will enable them to effectively utilize library resources and services through the implementation of DDSM techniques.
Gender difference in library and information science research
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The study aims to ascertain the gender differences in the research productivity, research impact, collaboration pattern, funding, and self-citations of male and female authors belonging to the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). The top twenty-four (24) journals belonging to the LIS field ranked as per impact factors in Journal Citation Report (JCR) offered by Clarivate Analytics were analyzed. Only those journals that provided author biographies at the end of each article were selected. To ascertain the information regarding the gender of an author, biographical sketches provided at the end of each article were examined. Google Scholar was consulted to collect data on citations. For self-citations, references of each paper were thoroughly checked, and self-citation, if found, were tabulated for analysis. Collaboration pattern in terms of gender preference was studied under national and international categories. If collaborating authors belonged to the same country, the collaboration pattern was deemed national, and if the collaborating authors belonged to different countries, the pattern was deemed international. The acknowledgment section of each article was thoroughly checked to collect information on funding characteristics. Countries of origin belonging to authors were ascertained and were classified into three regions i.e. European, Non-European and Cross-Cultural. Then the relationship between the region and author productivity under various authorship patterns was studied. Later, Descriptive Statistics, ANOVA, T-test, and Chi-Square tests were applied to ascertain the significance of the results. Males and females on average are almost equally productive in the field of LIS. Males receive more citations for their manuscripts, creating more research impact than their female counterparts. It is further found that males and females prefer to collaborate with authors of the same gender. Moreover, males are more active and visible on the international collaboration side, while females are more active on the national side of collaboration. Regarding the research papers reporting on funding, it is found that the female gender has more likelihood of receiving funds for their research. Further, it is found that male authors are more involved in self-citations than females. Moreover, it is also revealed that female researchers are more research productive in Non-European countries while in European and Cross-Cultural regions men are still dominant in terms of research productivity. The study considers 24 prominent journals in the LIS. Since the journals are novel in the field, these provide a clearer view of the existence or absence of gender bias in the field. Only 24 prominent journals belonging to the LIS are considered, and the scope is limited to 5 years only. If more journals are considered and the study’s period is expanded, the results may vary from the present study’s findings. The study will let the stakeholders know whether there exists any gender disparity in LIS research. As the study focuses on the different areas and facets of research, it will enable professionals to identify the areas of gender bias and work toward resolving the issue. Further, the study will provide a bird’s eye view of the LIS field from the perspective of gender bias.
The study aims to ascertain the gender differences in the research productivity, research impact, collaboration pattern, funding, and self-citations of male and female authors belonging to the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). The top twenty-four (24) journals belonging to the LIS field ranked as per impact factors in Journal Citation Report (JCR) offered by Clarivate Analytics were analyzed. Only those journals that provided author biographies at the end of each article were selected. To ascertain the information regarding the gender of an author, biographical sketches provided at the end of each article were examined. Google Scholar was consulted to collect data on citations. For self-citations, references of each paper were thoroughly checked, and self-citation, if found, were tabulated for analysis. Collaboration pattern in terms of gender preference was studied under national and international categories. If collaborating authors belonged to the same country, the collaboration pattern was deemed national, and if the collaborating authors belonged to different countries, the pattern was deemed international. The acknowledgment section of each article was thoroughly checked to collect information on funding characteristics. Countries of origin belonging to authors were ascertained and were classified into three regions i.e. European, Non-European and Cross-Cultural. Then the relationship between the region and author productivity under various authorship patterns was studied. Later, Descriptive Statistics, ANOVA, T-test, and Chi-Square tests were applied to ascertain the significance of the results. Males and females on average are almost equally productive in the field of LIS. Males receive more citations for their manuscripts, creating more research impact than their female counterparts. It is further found that males and females prefer to collaborate with authors of the same gender. Moreover, males are more active and visible on the international collaboration side, while females are more active on the national side of collaboration. Regarding the research papers reporting on funding, it is found that the female gender has more likelihood of receiving funds for their research. Further, it is found that male authors are more involved in self-citations than females. Moreover, it is also revealed that female researchers are more research productive in Non-European countries while in European and Cross-Cultural regions men are still dominant in terms of research productivity. The study considers 24 prominent journals in the LIS. Since the journals are novel in the field, these provide a clearer view of the existence or absence of gender bias in the field. Only 24 prominent journals belonging to the LIS are considered, and the scope is limited to 5 years only. If more journals are considered and the study’s period is expanded, the results may vary from the present study’s findings. The study will let the stakeholders know whether there exists any gender disparity in LIS research. As the study focuses on the different areas and facets of research, it will enable professionals to identify the areas of gender bias and work toward resolving the issue. Further, the study will provide a bird’s eye view of the LIS field from the perspective of gender bias.
Investigating and understanding library data services to support college student data literacy competencies: A conceptual framework
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Guided by a conceptual framework based on the baseline data literacy competencies (DLCs) mapped to the ACRL information literacy framework and the extended technology acceptance model, this study uses an online survey to investigate the factors related to student users’ potential acceptance of library data services supporting DLCs in a master’s college environment. With quantitative and qualitative data analyses, the study builds three conceptual models to demonstrate how students’ study-related data engagement and backgrounds may influence their attitudes toward multi-aspect library data services, including general data services, an institutional data repository, if available, as a data resource, and institutional data repository-based services. The study’s findings support library data services’ cross-disciplinary, multidimensional, and multilevel nature, addressing the value of institutional data repositories and repository-based data services in comprehensively promoting data literacy competencies of all groups in all disciplines. The contribution of this study, beyond being among the first to look at library data services from a holistic perspective to support college students’ DLCs, includes a call for further explorations of student data engagement practice and verifying and generalizing the current study findings by investigating more students’ data services need in more college communities.
Guided by a conceptual framework based on the baseline data literacy competencies (DLCs) mapped to the ACRL information literacy framework and the extended technology acceptance model, this study uses an online survey to investigate the factors related to student users’ potential acceptance of library data services supporting DLCs in a master’s college environment. With quantitative and qualitative data analyses, the study builds three conceptual models to demonstrate how students’ study-related data engagement and backgrounds may influence their attitudes toward multi-aspect library data services, including general data services, an institutional data repository, if available, as a data resource, and institutional data repository-based services. The study’s findings support library data services’ cross-disciplinary, multidimensional, and multilevel nature, addressing the value of institutional data repositories and repository-based data services in comprehensively promoting data literacy competencies of all groups in all disciplines. The contribution of this study, beyond being among the first to look at library data services from a holistic perspective to support college students’ DLCs, includes a call for further explorations of student data engagement practice and verifying and generalizing the current study findings by investigating more students’ data services need in more college communities.
Growth and aging study on literatures of information science & library science based on SSCI data
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Both in theory and in practice, Library and Information Science (LIS) are exhibiting a high trend of development. In this work, the growth and aging of literature are applied to make a historical and comprehensive statistical analysis of LIS. A total of 138,658 records spanning 122 years were taken from the SSCI database. The growth and aging curves of LIS have been drawn, supplementing with the driving forces of countries, institutions, and authors to explore the current production situation in the LIS field. According to the findings of this study, Price’s exponential development curve is followed by the increase of literature in LIS. The second phase mentioned by Price, constant exponential growth, is where LIS is right now. It is possible to forecast that LIS will continue to grow exponentially and will eventually become more mature. Based on the Price Index in the LIS discipline, which was roughly 0.348 in 2022, researchers frequently cite new literature. Since LIS is rapidly aging, knowledge updates happen more frequently, which is consistent with the development stage of the LIS discipline. Countries, institutions and authors all exhibit strong power-law distributions in terms of the driving forces. In the field of LIS, the United States is unquestionably the leader. Despite having a relatively late start, China has made rapid progress in the field of LIS, with Wuhan University gaining prominence in the last 3 years, which deserves attention.
Both in theory and in practice, Library and Information Science (LIS) are exhibiting a high trend of development. In this work, the growth and aging of literature are applied to make a historical and comprehensive statistical analysis of LIS. A total of 138,658 records spanning 122 years were taken from the SSCI database. The growth and aging curves of LIS have been drawn, supplementing with the driving forces of countries, institutions, and authors to explore the current production situation in the LIS field. According to the findings of this study, Price’s exponential development curve is followed by the increase of literature in LIS. The second phase mentioned by Price, constant exponential growth, is where LIS is right now. It is possible to forecast that LIS will continue to grow exponentially and will eventually become more mature. Based on the Price Index in the LIS discipline, which was roughly 0.348 in 2022, researchers frequently cite new literature. Since LIS is rapidly aging, knowledge updates happen more frequently, which is consistent with the development stage of the LIS discipline. Countries, institutions and authors all exhibit strong power-law distributions in terms of the driving forces. In the field of LIS, the United States is unquestionably the leader. Despite having a relatively late start, China has made rapid progress in the field of LIS, with Wuhan University gaining prominence in the last 3 years, which deserves attention.
Comparing COVID-19 and general health information-seeking behaviors among Chinese international students in South Korea
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The study compares the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of Chinese international students, who represent Korea’s largest international student group, with their general health information seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted indepth semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese international students who had been living in Korea for at least a year and were enrolled in degree programs. Two independent researchers coded the interview transcripts based on grounded theory until they reached an agreement. Our study revealed that the health information-seeking behaviors of participants differed depending on whether they were seeking general health information or COVID-19 information. Moreover, we found a notable discrepancy between the sources of information that participants preferred to use for general health information and the sources they actually used. Participants rated COVID-19 information as more accurate, authoritative, complete, current, useful, and objective compared to general health information. Our study highlights the critical need for comprehensive support from various organizations, including campus communities, local healthcare organizations, and the Korean and Chinese governments, to provide reliable and accessible health information to Chinese international students.
The study compares the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of Chinese international students, who represent Korea’s largest international student group, with their general health information seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted indepth semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese international students who had been living in Korea for at least a year and were enrolled in degree programs. Two independent researchers coded the interview transcripts based on grounded theory until they reached an agreement. Our study revealed that the health information-seeking behaviors of participants differed depending on whether they were seeking general health information or COVID-19 information. Moreover, we found a notable discrepancy between the sources of information that participants preferred to use for general health information and the sources they actually used. Participants rated COVID-19 information as more accurate, authoritative, complete, current, useful, and objective compared to general health information. Our study highlights the critical need for comprehensive support from various organizations, including campus communities, local healthcare organizations, and the Korean and Chinese governments, to provide reliable and accessible health information to Chinese international students.
Valuing cultural public goods in times of pandemic: What happened to the libraries?
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Libraries are one of the most representative institutions of cultural heritage in that they are charged with safeguarding information, fostering knowledge and activating memory. Over the years, they have widened the scope of their functions to also become cultural centres geared towards dissemination and cultural creation, in addition to playing an ever more important role in terms of social interaction and inclusion. This paper seeks to estimate the economic and social value that people assign to public libraries in the city of Medellin (Colombia) which, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were forced to temporarily halt their onsite services. The contingent valuation method was used, based on a virtual questionnaire aimed at users and non-users in order to estimate the potential value of the direct and passive use of libraries during the pandemic. In addition, certainty analysis was applied to evaluate the trend of stated contributions as reporting reliability increases. Relevant and significant positive willingness to pay was found, and was seen to be greater amongst users who were most sure of their valuations, whilst payments remained stable in the certainty range of non-users. The results highlight the key role played by libraries as local public goods, even during a pandemic and therefore, their function as a basic cultural service as well as of drivers of inclusion and urban change.
Libraries are one of the most representative institutions of cultural heritage in that they are charged with safeguarding information, fostering knowledge and activating memory. Over the years, they have widened the scope of their functions to also become cultural centres geared towards dissemination and cultural creation, in addition to playing an ever more important role in terms of social interaction and inclusion. This paper seeks to estimate the economic and social value that people assign to public libraries in the city of Medellin (Colombia) which, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were forced to temporarily halt their onsite services. The contingent valuation method was used, based on a virtual questionnaire aimed at users and non-users in order to estimate the potential value of the direct and passive use of libraries during the pandemic. In addition, certainty analysis was applied to evaluate the trend of stated contributions as reporting reliability increases. Relevant and significant positive willingness to pay was found, and was seen to be greater amongst users who were most sure of their valuations, whilst payments remained stable in the certainty range of non-users. The results highlight the key role played by libraries as local public goods, even during a pandemic and therefore, their function as a basic cultural service as well as of drivers of inclusion and urban change.
Characteristics of LIS research articles affecting their citation impact
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The paper analyzes the citation impact of Library and Information Science (LIS) research articles published in 31 leading international LIS journals in 2015. The main research question is: to what degree do authors’ disciplinary composition in association with topic, methodology, and type of contribution affect their citation impact? The impact is analyzed in terms of the number of citations received and their authority, using outlier normalization and subfield normalization. Quantitative content analysis is used to analyze article characteristics including topic, methodology, type of contribution, and the disciplinary composition of their author teams. The citations received by the articles are traced from 2015 to May 2021. Citing document authority is measured by the citations they had received up to May 2021. The overall finding was that authors’ disciplinary composition is significantly associated with citation scores. The differences in citation scores between disciplinary compositions appeared typically within information retrieval and scientific communication. In both topics LIS and computer science jointly received significantly higher citation scores than many disciplines like LIS alone or humanities in information retrieval; or natural sciences, medicine, or social sciences alone in scientific communication. The paper is original in reporting a joint analysis of content characteristics, authorship composition, and impact.
The paper analyzes the citation impact of Library and Information Science (LIS) research articles published in 31 leading international LIS journals in 2015. The main research question is: to what degree do authors’ disciplinary composition in association with topic, methodology, and type of contribution affect their citation impact? The impact is analyzed in terms of the number of citations received and their authority, using outlier normalization and subfield normalization. Quantitative content analysis is used to analyze article characteristics including topic, methodology, type of contribution, and the disciplinary composition of their author teams. The citations received by the articles are traced from 2015 to May 2021. Citing document authority is measured by the citations they had received up to May 2021. The overall finding was that authors’ disciplinary composition is significantly associated with citation scores. The differences in citation scores between disciplinary compositions appeared typically within information retrieval and scientific communication. In both topics LIS and computer science jointly received significantly higher citation scores than many disciplines like LIS alone or humanities in information retrieval; or natural sciences, medicine, or social sciences alone in scientific communication. The paper is original in reporting a joint analysis of content characteristics, authorship composition, and impact.
The evolution and development landscape of scholarly communication based on the analysis of published articles
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
This paper aims to unveil the comprehensive research landscape and gain insights into the evolving trend of primary research content within the scholarly communication domain. Leveraging various literature visualization tools, the study delves into the key research themes and their progression in scholarly communication from articles retrieved in Web of Science spanning the years 1996–2021. Moreover, the investigation delves into the historical roots and seminal works in the field. Notably, recent years have witnessed a remarkable focus from scholars on information dissemination, scientific assessment, emerging evaluation frameworks rooted in modern social media, open access, and social networking. The identified classic works indicate that scientific comprehension, citation behavior, communication, and online collaboration have garnered sustained research interest within the scholarly communication realm. In summary, the prevailing research content has transitioned from a closed, publication-centric model to an open network characterized by globalization and diversity. Concurrently, the transformation of scholarly communication is advancing toward digitalization, openness, socialization, networking, and enhanced accessibility.
This paper aims to unveil the comprehensive research landscape and gain insights into the evolving trend of primary research content within the scholarly communication domain. Leveraging various literature visualization tools, the study delves into the key research themes and their progression in scholarly communication from articles retrieved in Web of Science spanning the years 1996–2021. Moreover, the investigation delves into the historical roots and seminal works in the field. Notably, recent years have witnessed a remarkable focus from scholars on information dissemination, scientific assessment, emerging evaluation frameworks rooted in modern social media, open access, and social networking. The identified classic works indicate that scientific comprehension, citation behavior, communication, and online collaboration have garnered sustained research interest within the scholarly communication realm. In summary, the prevailing research content has transitioned from a closed, publication-centric model to an open network characterized by globalization and diversity. Concurrently, the transformation of scholarly communication is advancing toward digitalization, openness, socialization, networking, and enhanced accessibility.
Comparing COVID-19 and general health information-seeking behaviors among Chinese international students in South Korea
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
The study compares the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of Chinese international students, who represent Korea’s largest international student group, with their general health information seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted indepth semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese international students who had been living in Korea for at least a year and were enrolled in degree programs. Two independent researchers coded the interview transcripts based on grounded theory until they reached an agreement. Our study revealed that the health information-seeking behaviors of participants differed depending on whether they were seeking general health information or COVID-19 information. Moreover, we found a notable discrepancy between the sources of information that participants preferred to use for general health information and the sources they actually used. Participants rated COVID-19 information as more accurate, authoritative, complete, current, useful, and objective compared to general health information. Our study highlights the critical need for comprehensive support from various organizations, including campus communities, local healthcare organizations, and the Korean and Chinese governments, to provide reliable and accessible health information to Chinese international students.
The study compares the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of Chinese international students, who represent Korea’s largest international student group, with their general health information seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted indepth semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese international students who had been living in Korea for at least a year and were enrolled in degree programs. Two independent researchers coded the interview transcripts based on grounded theory until they reached an agreement. Our study revealed that the health information-seeking behaviors of participants differed depending on whether they were seeking general health information or COVID-19 information. Moreover, we found a notable discrepancy between the sources of information that participants preferred to use for general health information and the sources they actually used. Participants rated COVID-19 information as more accurate, authoritative, complete, current, useful, and objective compared to general health information. Our study highlights the critical need for comprehensive support from various organizations, including campus communities, local healthcare organizations, and the Korean and Chinese governments, to provide reliable and accessible health information to Chinese international students.
Valuing cultural public goods in times of pandemic: What happened to the libraries?
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Ahead of Print.
Libraries are one of the most representative institutions of cultural heritage in that they are charged with safeguarding information, fostering knowledge and activating memory. Over the years, they have widened the scope of their functions to also become cultural centres geared towards dissemination and cultural creation, in addition to playing an ever more important role in terms of social interaction and inclusion. This paper seeks to estimate the economic and social value that people assign to public libraries in the city of Medellin (Colombia) which, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were forced to temporarily halt their onsite services. The contingent valuation method was used, based on a virtual questionnaire aimed at users and non-users in order to estimate the potential value of the direct and passive use of libraries during the pandemic. In addition, certainty analysis was applied to evaluate the trend of stated contributions as reporting reliability increases. Relevant and significant positive willingness to pay was found, and was seen to be greater amongst users who were most sure of their valuations, whilst payments remained stable in the certainty range of non-users. The results highlight the key role played by libraries as local public goods, even during a pandemic and therefore, their function as a basic cultural service as well as of drivers of inclusion and urban change.
Libraries are one of the most representative institutions of cultural heritage in that they are charged with safeguarding information, fostering knowledge and activating memory. Over the years, they have widened the scope of their functions to also become cultural centres geared towards dissemination and cultural creation, in addition to playing an ever more important role in terms of social interaction and inclusion. This paper seeks to estimate the economic and social value that people assign to public libraries in the city of Medellin (Colombia) which, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were forced to temporarily halt their onsite services. The contingent valuation method was used, based on a virtual questionnaire aimed at users and non-users in order to estimate the potential value of the direct and passive use of libraries during the pandemic. In addition, certainty analysis was applied to evaluate the trend of stated contributions as reporting reliability increases. Relevant and significant positive willingness to pay was found, and was seen to be greater amongst users who were most sure of their valuations, whilst payments remained stable in the certainty range of non-users. The results highlight the key role played by libraries as local public goods, even during a pandemic and therefore, their function as a basic cultural service as well as of drivers of inclusion and urban change.