Information Technology and Libraries

Reviewers Wanted

Kenneth J. Varnum — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 07:26:29 -0800

Together with one of the other journals published by ALA’s Core division, Information Technology and Libraries(ITAL) and Library Leadership and Management (LL&M) invite applications for peer reviewers. Serving as a reviewer is a great opportunity for individuals from all types of libraries and with a wide variety of experience to contribute to scholarship within our chosen profession.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Brady Lund — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:44:19 -0800

Does the Fourth Industrial Revolution pose an existential threat to librarianship? No, it does not. Not any more than any other technological innovation (information systems, personal computers, the Internet, e-readers, Google, Google Scholar) did. However, what is very likely is that the technologies that emerge from this era will slowly (but surely) lead to profound changes in how libraries operate. Those libraries that fail to understand or embrace these technologies may, in fact, be left behind. So, we must, as always, stay abreast of trends in emerging technologies and what the literature (i.e., articles in this journal) propose as ideas for adopting (and adapting) them to better serve our patrons. With this column, my aim is to briefly discuss what the fourth industrial revolution is and its relevance within our profession.

We Can Do It for Free!

Karin Suni, Christopher Brown — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:44:59 -0800

The Free Library of Philadelphia’s online patron engagement has been continuous during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Special Collections Division rushed to generate substantial and engaging online programming using a variety of freeware systems so as not to burden our overworked IT department. We built a sustainable, flexible repository that is populated with videos, podcasts, games, exhibitions, and other activities which can be accessed by patrons of all ages and learning needs. The process has generated opportunities for our staff to interact in new and exciting ways with patrons as programming needs evolve. The model is easily adapted for other groups and institutions and may be a beneficial tool for library workers looking to promote online content. The repository can be found at http://www.bit.ly/FunWithFLPSpecColl.

Utilizing Technology to Support and Extend Access to Students and Job Seekers during the Pandemic

Daniel Berra — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:45:29 -0800

The ongoing pandemic has necessitated a re-imagining of library services. The needs of our community changed and we set out to find ways to provide assistance to those who could benefit the most including students and the unemployed. The Pflugerville Public Library offered virtual learning support and job search assistance by providing electronic resources, virtual services and expanding access to technology. New resources include a platform offering virtual tutoring for students, virtual services like job search coaching, and scholarships for an online high school program for adults. Expanding access includes a partnership with the local school district to better connect students with our resources and providing expanded Wi-Fi availability and other tools like laptops. The combination of utilizing technology to address the current needs and expanding access to this technology has allowed us to better serve the community. Many of these changes will last beyond the pandemic.

User Experience Testing in the Open Textbook Adaptation Workflow

Camille Thomas, Kimberly Vardeman, Jingjing Wu — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:45:55 -0800

As library publishers and open education programs grow, it is imperative that we integrate practices in our workflows that prioritize and include end users. Although there is information available on best practices for user testing and accessibility compliance, more can be done to give insight into the library publishing context. This study examines the user and accessibility testing workflow during the modification of an existing open textbook using Pressbooks at Texas Tech University.

Peer Reading Promotion in University Libraries

Yiping Jiang, Xiaobo Chi, Yan Lou, Lihua Zuo, Yeqi Chu, Qingyi Zhuge — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:46:42 -0800

University libraries use social networks to promote reading; however, there are challenges to increasing the use of these library platforms, such as poor promotion and low reader participation. Therefore, these libraries need to find ways of dealing with the behavior characteristics of social network readers. In this study, a simulation experiment was developed to explore the behaviors of readers seeking book reviews and opinions on social networks. The study draws on social network theory to find the causes of students’ behavior and how these affect their selection of information. Finally, it presents strategies for peer reading promotion in university libraries.

Web Content Strategy in Practice within Academic Libraries

Courtney McDonald, Heidi Burkhardt — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:48:21 -0800

Web content strategy is a relatively new area of practice in industry, in higher education, and, correspondingly, within academic and research libraries. The authors conducted a web-based survey of academic and research library professionals in order to identify present trends in this area of professional practice by academic librarians and to establish an understanding of the degree of institutional engagement in web content strategy within academic and research libraries. This article presents the findings of that survey. Based on analysis of the results, we propose a web content strategy maturity model specific to academic libraries.

Solving SEO Issues in DSpace-based Digital Repositories

Matus Formanek — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:49:14 -0800

This paper discusses the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) for digital repositories. We first describe the importance of SEO in the academic environment. Online systems, such as institutional digital repositories, are established and used to disseminate scientific information. Next, we present a case study of our own institution’s DSpace repository, performing several SEO tests and identifying the potential SEO issues through a group of three independent audit tools. In this case study, we attempt to resolve most of the SEO problems that appeared within our research and propose solutions to them. After making the necessary adjustments, we were able to improve the quality of SEO variables by more than 59% compared to the non-optimized state (a fresh installation of DSpace). Finally, we apply the same software audit tools to a sample of global institutional repositories also based on DSpace. In the discussion, we compare the SEO sample results with the average score of the semi-optimized DSpace repository (from the case study) and make conclusions.

Development of a Gold-standard Pashto Dataset and a Segmentation App

Yan Han, Marek Rychlik — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:50:15 -0800

The article aims to introduce a gold-standard Pashto dataset and a segmentation app. The Pashto dataset consists of 300 line images and corresponding Pashto text from three selected books. A line image is simply an image consisting of one text line from a scanned page. To our knowledge, this is one of the first open access datasets which directly maps line images to their corresponding text in the Pashto language. We also introduce the development of a segmentation app using textbox expanding algorithms, a different approach to OCR segmentation.

The authors discuss the steps to build a Pashto dataset and develop our unique approach to segmentation. The article starts with the nature of the Pashto alphabet and its unique diacritics which require special considerations for segmentation. Needs for datasets and a few available Pashto datasets are reviewed. Criteria of selection of data sources are discussed and three books were selected by our language specialist from the Afghan Digital Repository. The authors review previous segmentation methods and introduce a new approach to segmentation for Pashto content. The segmentation app and results are discussed to show readers how to adjust variables for different books. Our unique segmentation approach uses an expanding textbox method which performs very well given the nature of the Pashto scripts.

The app can also be used for Persian and other languages using the Arabic writing system. The dataset can be used for OCR training, OCR testing, and machine learning applications related to content in Pashto.

Personalization of Search Results Representation of a Digital Library

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:50:55 -0800

The process of discovering appropriate resources in digital libraries within universities is important, as it can have a big effect on whether retrieved works are useful to the requester. The improvement of the user experience with the digital library of the University of Novi Sad dissertations (PHD UNS) through the personalization of search results representation is the aim of the research presented in this paper. There are three groups of PHD UNS digital library users: users from the academic community, users outside the academic community, and librarians who are in charge of entering dissertation data. Different types of textual and visual representations were analyzed, and representations which needed to be implemented for the groups of users of PHD UNS digital library were selected. After implementing these representations and putting them into operation in April 2017, the user interface was extended with functionality that allows users to select their desired style for representing search results using an additional module for storing message logs. The stored messages represent an explicit change in the results representation by individual users. Using these message logs and ELK technology stack, we analyzed user behavior patterns depending on the type of query, type of device, and search mode. The analysis has shown that the majority of users of the PHD UNS system prefer using the textual style of representation rather than the visual. Some users have changed the style of results representation several times and it is assumed that different types of information require a different representation style. Also, it has been established that the most frequent change to the visual results representation occurs after users perform a query which shows all the dissertations from a certain time period and which is taken from the advanced search mode; however, there is no correlation between this change and the client’s device used.

User Testing with Microinteractions

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 07:51:33 -0800

Enabling and supporting discoverability of research outputs and datasets are key functions of university and academic health center institutional repositories. Yet adoption rates among potential repository users are hampered by a number of factors, prominent among which are difficulties with basic usability. In their efforts to implement a local instance of InvenioRDM, a turnkey next generation repository, team members at Northwestern University’s Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center supplemented agile development principles and methods and a user experience design-centered approach with observations of users’ microinteractions (interactions with each part of the software’s interface that requires human intervention). Microinteractions were observed through user testing sessions conducted in Fall 2019. The result has been a more user-informed development effort incorporating the experiences and viewpoints of a multidisciplinary team of researchers spanning multiple departments of a highly ranked research university.