Binyad Maruf Abdulkadir Khaznadar , Lana Abubakr Ali
{"title":"The impact of academic library location on occupational efficiency: A comparison of the university's campus design","authors":"Binyad Maruf Abdulkadir Khaznadar , Lana Abubakr Ali","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The university campus layout has a significant and continuous legacy as a place for education and learning. The academic library's location usually reflects its relevance to the university's campus. Understanding spatial factors can also help arrange academic libraries with the best locations for user satisfaction. This study examines the spatial configurations of educational campus buildings to determine how the library's location affects occupational efficiency and investigates the optimal architectural planning characteristics of university campuses that demonstrate outstanding library locations. The inspection employed mixed-methods analysis, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative data were collected through drawings, while quantitative data were gathered using Axial and VGA maps in Depthmap X10 to measure spatial and visual characteristics. The results show that spatial and visual connectivity, as well as prominent choices, influence campus design. A study concludes that, regardless of an excellent Isovist area, campus planning layouts require strong network paths for navigation. The study contributes to integrating the pedestrian planning network, mass functional distribution, and centralization for optimal use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 6","pages":"Article 103137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research data management in Universities in Kenya: Critical analysis of the legal and policy frameworks","authors":"Joel Nakitare , Salome Mathangani , Grace Kamau","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Even though universities generate a large amount of research data, many still face significant challenges in managing it due to inadequate legal and policy frameworks. This study aimed to critically analyse the legal and policy frameworks governing RDM in Kenyan universities to determine the maturity level using the Capability Maturity Model and recommend actions to optimise data management. A qualitative approach was adopted by interviewing heads of libraries and research units. Additionally, a bibliographic analysis of selected legal instruments at the national level and institutional research-affiliated policies was conducted. The review revealed the absence of a single national legal framework for RDM; instead, inadequate multifaceted laws exist. Key laws in the country with implications for data management include The Constitution of Kenya (2010), the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), The Science, Technology, and Innovation Act (2013), and the Commission for University Act (2012). None of the six studied universities had implemented an RDM policy at the university level, although one university had completed the development of a stand-alone RDM policy. The study strongly recommends developing and implementing a comprehensive RDM legal framework at the national level and RDM policies at the university level to address this gap.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 6","pages":"Article 103139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingfeng Cui , Dejun Zheng , Wei Cheng , Jianghan Shi
{"title":"A dynamic perspective-based study on constructing an evaluation model for smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries","authors":"Jingfeng Cui , Dejun Zheng , Wei Cheng , Jianghan Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A rigorous and effective evaluation of smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries is essential for informed decision-making and resource optimization, serving as a foundation for rational planning, the advancement of smartification, and the fulfillment of diverse user needs in the digital era. However, most existing studies rely on static evaluation methods, which are insufficient to capture the dynamic patterns and trends of service quality and lack effective monitoring tools in the context of evolving technologies and user demands. To address this gap, this study introduces a system dynamics approach to construct a dynamic evaluation model for smart knowledge service quality in academic libraries. The proposed model comprises three interrelated dimensions—service support, service content, and service effect—each represented by a set of quantifiable indicators. Causal loop diagrams and stock-flow models are employed to characterize the interactions and feedback mechanisms among these indicators. The results demonstrate that the model effectively captures the evolution process of service quality and provides a scientific basis and practical guidance for resource allocation, service optimization, and the advancement of smartification in academic libraries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103128"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeanette Aprile , Danielle Aloia , Deborah A. Crooke , Marie T. Ascher
{"title":"The question of textbooks in academic libraries: To purchase or not? A scoping review","authors":"Jeanette Aprile , Danielle Aloia , Deborah A. Crooke , Marie T. Ascher","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>The objective of this scoping review is to assist libraries in developing a collection policy for course-required textbooks informed by themes and outcomes recognized in the existing body of research.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The team did an environmental scan, constructed a comprehensive search strategy in six databases, and conducted hand and cited-reference searching. Included papers were quantitative or qualitative studies with outcomes described and mapped to prevailing themes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Nine hundred twenty-three records were identified via database and cited reference searching. After deduplication, 760 records were screened, and 675 records were excluded. 85 full-text records were retrieved and after review, 29 records were further excluded. Fifty-six studies were included for review, most of which were case studies. Thirteen recurring themes were identified and grouped.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Libraries are increasingly enlisted in wider academic strategies to make education more affordable for students. Course reserves programs are often initiated or expanded at the request of student groups, sometimes motivating financial support from administration. Published studies have focused primarily on undergraduate settings. The scoping review provides recommendations for the development and management of textbook collections.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103127"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Academic librarians in research competitions: A network analysis of resource provision and collaborative dynamics","authors":"Rende Li , Sumin Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an important carrier for cultivating innovative talents and improving the teamwork ability of college students, more and more scholars have paid attention to university research competitions, but most of the previous studies have focused on how the design of scientific research competitions can better improve the effect of talent training, while ignoring what academic resources students are eager to obtain in scientific research competitions from the perspective of students, and what effective support can be provided by instructors such as librarians and professors in scientific research competitions. This study examines how academic librarians’ and professors’ resources and abilities influence scientific research competition collaboration, and explores AI tools’ supporting role. Three scientific research competition cooperation networks involving 40 consultants and 318 students between 2022 and 2024 were analyzed using exponential random graph models (ERGM). We found that students prefer librarians with strong information retrieval skills, literature resources, and library facilities, while valuing professors’ teaching experience, framework guidance, and progress control abilities, while librarians’ research experience, data resources, and professors’ ask disassembly and subject knowledge depth were not the characteristics that were considered in scientific research competition collaboration. Students with complementary competition skills tend to select the same advisors, with disciplinary homophily observed in advisor selection. For AI tools, reading/writing capabilities, code logic, conversational fluency, and translation features were most valued. The difference is that we found that the picture generation capabilities does not play an obvious role in the research competition. The findings demonstrate the distinct roles of librarians and professors in competitions and highlight the importance of skill complementarity in team formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103100"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ye Yuan, A.M.K. Yanti Idaya, A. Noorhidawati, Yi-Shuai Xu, Guan Wang
{"title":"Unveiling the dynamics of research data management: Insights from bibliometric and BERTopic analysis","authors":"Ye Yuan, A.M.K. Yanti Idaya, A. Noorhidawati, Yi-Shuai Xu, Guan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103126","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103126","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the continuous progress of open science and the refinement of research data policies, research data management has become an important component of the modern scientific ecosystem. This study aims to: (i) systematically analyze the publication characteristics of RDM-related research, (ii) identify its key research topics and to reveal its semantic structures and thematic features. To achieve this, a combination of bibliometric analysis and BERTopic-based topic modeling was applied to 1154 RDM-related articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 2005 to 2024. The results show a notable increase in RDM research outputs since the FAIR principles were introduced in 2016, with journals coming from the fields of library science, information science, and medical informatics highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Analysis of international collaboration shows that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany occupy a central position, with increasingly diverse patterns of global collaboration. The BERTopic modeling identified 18 representative topics, which were divided into four semantically coherent research directions: Cluster 1 focuses on institutional services, capacity development, and platform support; Cluster 2 focuses on data citation, research assessment, and collaboration networks, emphasizing the role of RDM in assessing impact and scholarly collaboration; Cluster 3 addresses data sharing, reuse and misuse, highlighting governance challenges related to data use norms and risk control; Cluster 4 covers open science strategies, open access publishing and journal data policies, highlighting how RDM is increasingly embedded in scholarly communication. This study fills gaps in previous reviews on subject hierarchy and semantic modeling and provides theoretical insights and methodological support for strengthening research data governance and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103126"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The price of productivity: Burnout and technostress among academic library workers","authors":"Sarah T. Zipf","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103125","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103125","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New technology is often associated with increased productivity. However, when technology is centered over that of human-interaction, it can create unintentional consequences that impact library workers' effectiveness and feelings of burnout. This study seeks to understand these effects by examining the intersection of burnout, feelings about technology, and the impact it all has on academic library workers' sense of effectiveness. Using a scale to measure technostress, including ranked and open-ended responses, fifty-four surveys were collected from academic library workers. Findings demonstrate that academic libraries are technocented environments and are influenced by technology related stressors, such as constant connectivity, disruption, and role overload. Even though academic library workers describe improved productivity, technology overuse negatively effects library workers' wellbeing. Academic leaders seeking to foster well-0being must account for how new and existing technologies mediate library workers' ability to sustain relational focus with patrons and colleagues. This consideration is essential when adopting technologies aimed at improving technology effectiveness. This study offers academic library leadership considerations for creating human-centered approaches when using and adapting new technology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexander J. Carroll , Joshua Borycz , Nicole K. Stephens , Amanda R. Lowery
{"title":"Scaffolded information literacy and data literacy instruction within undergraduate science and engineering laboratory courses: A longitudinal assessment","authors":"Alexander J. Carroll , Joshua Borycz , Nicole K. Stephens , Amanda R. Lowery","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103124","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103124","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators view science process skills like designing hypotheses, finding relevant technical information, synthesizing literature, analyzing data, visualizing results, and presenting findings as among the most valuable things a novice scientist can learn within the undergraduate curriculum. These skills overlap considerably with the competencies academic librarians categorize as information literacy skills: formulating research questions, assessing information needs, organizing information, synthesizing multiple sources, and communicating findings across multiple different media formats. We explored whether laboratory courses were an effective context for information and data literacy by scaffolding instructional interventions across three years of the undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) curriculum. Utilizing a longitudinal pre-test/post-test design, we analyzed students' performance on multiple-choice and open-response assessments to evaluate their knowledge gains and retention over time. Our results indicated statistically significant improvements in students' ability to identify appropriate information sources and relevant library-licensed resources for different types of technical information. This suggests that science and engineering students can benefit from having librarians consistently offer guest-lectures throughout their academic careers, if these instructional interventions are customized to align with the specific tasks students will be expected to complete within their coursework. These findings also emphasize the importance of librarians and STEM educators collaborating to design instructional interventions together to create customized learning experiences that align with course objectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103124"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fake references and the value of citation databases","authors":"Leo Van Hove","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103123","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103123","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A recent article by Camp et al. (2025) proposes measuring the impact of counterfeit citations in academic databases using a variant of Metcalfe's law. While insightful, the metric exhibits suboptimal properties: the loss in value increases disproportionately with database size, and the value of a fully contaminated database remains strictly positive. I propose an alternative metric that retains the network logic of Metcalfe's law while addressing both issues. This metric, however, rests on key assumptions that merit empirical scrutiny, including the relative impact of fake <em>versus</em> valid citations as well as the broader applicability of Metcalfe's law to citation networks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103123"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144886244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Navigating a house with many rooms: A discipline-based approach to assessing digital scholarship","authors":"Adam Clemons","doi":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103121","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.acalib.2025.103121","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As academic libraries seek to expand support for digital scholarship, soliciting input from users is critical. Traditional strategies for assessing user needs and expectations have assumed shared understandings across academic disciplines about how digital scholarship is used and defined, leading to evaluation methods that target user groups based on status rather than disciplinary affiliation. While this traditional approach has provided useful feedback to libraries, the results are not always accurate and dependable. To address this issue, the following paper reports on a discipline-specific approach to assessing user needs and expectations that accounts for disciplinary-differences in how digital scholarship is used and understood. The results, which are more accurate and dependable, can be used to address discipline-specific user needs while also facilitating better engagement with targeted user groups to facilitate and develop new and improved library digital scholarship services, resulting in increased user interest and participation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47762,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Academic Librarianship","volume":"51 5","pages":"Article 103121"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144863973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}