January 2024 Computers in Libraries

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Contents

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 • Volume 44 • Number 1

features 3

From Photo Digitization to OER BY BRYAN HULL, CARMIN I. SMOOT, AND JULIA CURTIS

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Exploring Student Use of Microsoft’s Surface Hubs in an Academic Library BY KIMBERLY MARKS AND GRETCHEN MAXEINER

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13 How We Took Our Library All Digital BY JOSEPH DUDLEY

23 Automatic Transcription of Oral Histories Using Word 365 BY ERIKA ALFIERI

31 EDTECH How to Design Fun Math Games for Kids, Teens, Seniors, and In-Betweeners BY PHIL SHAPIRO

columns 17 Building Digital Libraries Three Decades of Digital Convergence BY TERENCE K. HUWE

20 From the Innovation Lab Welcome to What’s to Come BY CHAD MAIRN

feature departments

36 User Surveys as Drivers of User Engagement and Service Improvement BY WINNIE JAMARA

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Editor’s Notes Delighting Patrons With Digital Innovations BY DICK KASER

27 News Desk BY ALISON A. TROTTA

29 Noted & Quoted

columns 35 Voices of the Searchers FOMO, GAI, LLM, RAG: So Many Acronyms! BY MARYDEE OJALA

41 InfoLit Land Finding Open Access Can Be Harder Than Finding Nemo BY WILLIAM BADKE

43 The Dollar Sign Untangling Company Histories; Tracing Corporate Roots BY MARYDEE OJALA

BY ALISON A. TROTTA

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Editor’s Notes

by

dick kaser

 letter from the editor

Delighting Patrons With Digital Innovations Happy New Year! In this first issue of 2024, we are publishing a series of articles by librarians who have embraced digital solutions for the benefit of academic, special, public, and school library patrons. Authors Bryan Hull, Carmin Smoot, and Julia Curtis share their experience in digitizing a collection of dermatology photos gathered over one doctor’s career and discuss the process of turning it into a diagnostic learning tool that will be available as an open repository accessible to students, researchers, and practitioners globally. Joseph Dudley (Bryant & Stratton College) embraced the task of transforming a group of physical libraries into a 100% digital and virtual library. From liquidating the print collection to developing interfaces and learning aids, he tells us how the project was managed and how it has been received. Erika Alfieri (Jacksonville Public Library) shows you how to leverage your Microsoft 365 subscription to create automatic transcriptions of audio files. Alfieri’s case in point involves the transcription of oral histories, but the process will work for other collections and tasks you may need to complete without investing in additional services or software. Kimberly Marks and Gretchen Maxeiner (Grove City College) share their experience in building collaborative spaces with Microsoft Surface Hubs in their newly redesigned learning commons. Their data offers insights into student and faculty member use of these smart screen devices in education. Terence Huwe’s column—now in its 24th year—focuses on the topic of digital convergence. Joining him as a columnist this issue is Chad Mairn (St. Petersburg College), who will be publishing a piece every other issue on AI, VR, AR, and other technology topics for innovation labs. As a friendly reminder, now’s a good time to book your place at the Computers in Libraries 2024 conference in March. I hope to see you there.

Dick Kaser, Executive Editor ❘ [email protected]

CIL’s Mission Statement CIL’s mission is to provide librarians and other information professionals with useful and insightful articles about the technology that affects them, their institutions, and their patrons. We aim to publish interesting stories, case studies, and opinions that are of professional value to people working with technology in public, academic, special, and corporate libraries, as well as archives and museums. CIL is written by librarians for librarians, and it’s about technology all the time.

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EDITORIAL Executive Editor........................................................................................Richard T. Kaser [email protected]

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EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT President & CEO, Information Today, Inc. ....................................................................Thomas H. Hogan Chairman of the Board ......................................................................... Roger R. Bilboul CFO...............................................................................................................................Mike Flaherty Vice President, Information Technology.........................................Bill Spence

Computers in Libraries (ISSN: 1041-7915; USPS: 730-510) is published 10 times per year (monthly with January/February and July/August combined issues) by Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055 USA; Phone: (609) 654-6266; Fax: (609) 654-4309; Internet: infotoday.com. Registered in U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Periodicals postage paid at Vincentown, N.J., and additional mailing offices. © Copyright, 2024, Information Today, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium without the express permission of the publisher. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Computers in Libraries, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750. Rights and Permissions: Permission to photocopy items is granted by Information Today, Inc. provided that a base fee of $3.50 plus $0.50 per page is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), or provided that your organization maintains an appropriate license with CCC. Visit copyright.com to obtain permission to use these materials in academic coursepacks or for library reserves, interlibrary loans, document delivery services, or as classroom handouts; for permission to send copies via email or post copies on a corporate intranet or extranet; or for permission to republish materials in books, textbooks, and newsletters. Contact CCC at 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; (978) 750-8400; Fax: (978) 646-8600; copyright.com. If you live outside the USA, request permission from your local Reproduction Rights Organization. (For a list of international agencies, consult ifrro.org.) For all other requests, including making copies for use as commercial reprints or for other sales, marketing, promotional and publicity uses, contact the publisher in advance of using the material. For a copy of our Rights and Permissions Request form, contact Lauree Padgett, [email protected]. Online Access: Visit our website at infotoday.com/cilmag. Contents also available online under direct licensing arrangements with EBSCO, NewsBank, ProQuest, and Gale and through redistribution arrangements with information service providers including Dow Jones Factiva, LexisNexis, OCLC, STN International, and Westlaw. Subscription Information: Print and/or PDF subscriptions to Computers in Libraries are available at the following rates (per year): Subscribers in the U.S.—$129.95. Special rates available for individuals and K–12 schools, see website for details; Subscribers in Canada or Mexico—$149; Subscribers outside North America—$160. All amounts payable in U.S. funds. Subscribe online or email [email protected]. Back issues: $15 per copy, prepaid only. Missed issues within the U.S. must be claimed within 45 days of publication date. Change of Address: Mail requests, including a copy of the current address label from a recent issue, and indicating the new address, to Computers in Libraries, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750. Reprints: For quality reprints of 500 copies or more, contact LaShawn Fugate, Account Executive, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 080558750; Phone: (859) 278-2223 X 104; email: [email protected]. Disclaimers: Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply an endorsement by the publisher. Views expressed by authors and other contributors are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. While best efforts to ensure editorial accuracy of the content are exercised, publisher assumes no liability for any information contained in this publication. The publisher can accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or the loss of photos. The views in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Information Today, Inc. (ITI) or the editors.

From Photo Digitization to OER

By Bryan Hull, Carmin I. Smoot, and Julia Curtis

The scope of the project quickly expanded beyond a simple flash card system to a platform that could allow users to explore the image set via diagnosis and clinical characteristics.

T

his is the story of how a photo digitization project is transforming into a library-developed OER for doctors, students, and researchers.

Background of the UtahDERM project In fall 2017, Dr. Garrett Coman, a dermatology resident at the University of Utah, asked the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library to digitize a collection of nearly 15,000 35-millimeter Kodachrome slides belonging to Dr. Leonard Swinyer, an adjunct faculty member for the University of Utah’s department of dermatology.

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| From Photo Digitization to OER

After more than 4 decades working in dermatology, Swinyer had amassed an extensive clinical image collection of patients’ skin conditions. Taken with patient permission, this high-quality clinical image collection was significant in terms of its size, breadth, and educational value, with coverage of both pediatric and adult patients, as well as a representation of skin colors to reflect the diversity of the patient population. When Coman approached the library with the slides, the initial aim was to digitize the images for preservation; later, they could be turned into digital flash cards to further the education of medical students and residents. The scope of the project quickly expanded beyond a simple flash card system to a platform that could allow users to explore the image set via diagnosis and clinical characteristics. Thus, the seeds were planted for the UtahDERM (Dermatology Education Resources & Modules) project.

Homepage of the UtahDERM website (utahderm.med.utah.edu)

Digitizing the Kodachrome Slides Utilizing a CyberView X5-MS automated batch scanner, each Kodachrome slide was scanned at 400 DPI. The resolution was chosen for the speed with which the scans could be completed and for its suitability for web transmission and viewing. While a higher resolution is ideal for true digital preservation, it wasn’t feasible with the available resources and the desire to get the collection of images digitized quickly in order to begin work on the image viewer platform. In all, it took 988 hours of total effort to digitize the slides at the chosen resolution.

Metadata Structure and Gathering the Descriptions To accurately describe the images, a standard was created for both diagnoses and clinical characteristics. For diagnoses, names were to match the dermatology textbook that the dermatology department uses for teaching and learning: Dermatology, Fourth Edition by Jean L. Bolognia, Julie V. Schaffer, and Lorenzo Cerroni (Elsevier 2018). This ensured that a single diagnosis name was used, reducing alternative names or aliases that are common in dermatology from being introduced into the dataset. Clinical char-

acteristics, which refer to the visual information a dermatologist sees when observing a dermatologic condition, were also standardized in order to have a controlled vocabulary and standard with which to describe the images. The characteristics included the following:

•Location •Configuration •Color •Primary lesion •Secondary change •Fitzpatrick I-VI •Immunosuppression status •Sex The metadata gathering process was unique in that a team of 12 dermatology faculty members and residents was recruited to confirm the diagnosis and identify the clinical characteristics for each of the nearly 15,000 slides. The process for gathering metadata was as follows: 1. A folder of images was assigned to a dermatology faculty member or resident. 2. That person reviewed each image in the folder and filled out a Google Form with metadata. 3. The process was repeated until the entire folder of images was described.

Digitized images from the Swinyer collection

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Each faculty member and resident received a small stipend for each image described, incentiviz-

From Photo Digitization to OER

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ing their participation and compensating them for the significant time commitment necessary for such a large image set. The process to describe the images was monumental and took a year and a half to complete, with the first set of images being described in early 2019 and the final set being completed in July 2020.

Developing the Platform to Host and Share the Images

A screenshot of a low-fidelity prototype demonstration video (left) and a screenshot of high-fidelity web prototype (right)

While the Eccles Library had access to readily available CMSs and digital collection solutions, none of them were equipped to handle the specifics of diagnosis and clinical characteristics that described the images. They were also unable to help us achieve the educational goals that were envisioned for the project. It became clear that a home-cooked solution needed to be developed by the library in order to make the vision of an educational tool and image explorer a reality. A team of library personnel—including two librarians, a web programmer, and a web designer—began the development of the image viewer in fall 2018. The development fol-

A screenshot demonstrating searching and selecting diagnoses

A screenshot demonstrating filtering by the location characteristic of ears

lowed standard user design prototyping practices, starting with low-fidelity prototypes and working toward a high-fidelity prototype that we could then use as the initial structure for the system. Feedback was sought along the way from our dermatology colleagues as we solidified design choices and explored features to be implemented. There were four basic functionalities that were to be designed and implemented into the image viewer system:

•Browsing images by diagnosis •Filtering the images by characteristics •Browsing images via Dermatology textbook chapter •Ability to hide diagnoses for flash cards Each image had a dermatologic diagnosis that was ascribed through the metadata collection process. As such, the ability to search diagnoses was one of the primary functionalities of the image viewer; that way, users could explore entire image sets of the same diagnosis. We also wanted users to have the ability to search multiple diagnoses in order to compare image sets comprising discrete diagnoses. To further refine image searching, we wanted to provide an option to filter the images by clinical characteristics. This included being able to search across the entire collection based on specific characteristics, such as location, but also to filter characteristics within specific diagnosis queries. For example, we wanted the ability to search all images that had conditions located on the hand and the ability to search a specific diagnosis, such as blue nevus, but to filter the search to only blue nevus that appears on the ears. This introduced complications into the system design, as the characteristics could act as discreet search terms but also as a filter to refine search returns of a diagnosis. To increase the educational utility of the image viewer, an additional method to search the collection was introduced. This time, it was by

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| From Photo Digitization to OER

chapter of the Dermatology textbook, in which a diagnosis is primarily referenced and discussed. This allows students and residents to browse images related to specific chapters within the text for study. Lastly, the original idea for the system was to be able to flash-card the images. This proved to be complicated to implement, since a collection of images would first need to be queried before users could flash-card them. Thus, if the idea was to hide diagnoses in order to test your knowledge, you would not be able to search by diagnosis. Therefore, the only way to construct a query was via a clinical characteristic search in order to get an image set without revealing diagnoses. To work around this issue, a user can toggle between the two modes of the image viewer—search mode and flash card mode—to search for images, then flashcard the return.

The image viewer itself was built using many different technologies, including server-based PHP, several JavaScript libraries, HTML, CSS, and an IIIF image server to handle serving large images. The front end of the website was built on WordPress but is separate, as the image viewer runs as its own independent application. The back end of the image viewer contains systems for ingesting images, data management, and administrative tasks such as logging and auditing.

Medical Student Write-Ups In conjunction with the development of the image viewer, a collection of articles covering 100 core dermatology diagnoses was developed as an additional feature of the UtahDERM project. These core diagnoses articles serve as a quick reference tool for medical students and general health practitioners to learn the essentials of common dermatological conditions. Each article is written by a rotating medical student in the department of dermatology and peer-reviewed by dermatology faculty members. Additionally, a linkback system was created in order to link diagnoses within the image viewer back to the relevant article and vice versa. This helped create additional learning opportunities to be included with the image viewer, as a user could reference basic information for common dermatologic conditions in conjunction with a large set of clinical images. It also presented an opportunity for medical students within the dermatology department to become involved in the project and gain experience with medical education, writing, and peer review.

Lessons Learned and Future of the Project

A display of an epidermal nevus slide and associated metadata

A screenshot of a core diagnosis article on UtahDERM

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Now in our sixth year of the UtahDERM project, we have learned many valuable lessons for projects of this scope. The first challenge we encountered involved addressing the difficulty of the metadata gathering process, which necessitated bringing in subject matter experts. It is difficult to get highly specific metadata from a highly specialized group of people who have severe time constraints to describe an image set as large as the Swinyer collection, even with financial compensation as an incentive. It is also challenging to ensure quality control, as library personnel cannot judge the accuracy or completeness of the metadata and must rely on subject matter experts to peer review and perform quality control. The second challenge involved tackling feature and scope creep in the development process, as the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the middle of development and added another layer of complexity to project management. Connecting with our dermatology colleagues became more

From Photo Digitization to OER

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In conjunction with the development of the image viewer, a collection of articles covering 100 core dermatology diagnoses was developed. …

licized release of the application. We are also hoping to recruit dermatology faculty members to provide more images in order to grow the collection, especially when it comes to adding more skin-of-color examples for each diagnosis. Lastly, we’d like to conduct more stringent user testing on the initial application so that we may further refine its user interface and streamline its functionality. Our hope is that with a wider release and more input from the dermatology community, we can grow the image set, find funding avenues to develop new facets to the image viewer, and have a widely used and helpful tool for dermatology education across the globe. n A screenshot of the default view of the UtahDERM image viewer (utahderm.med.utah.edu/image-viewer)

complicated, as meetings were canceled and more pressing issues rose to the forefront. For library personnel, this left extra time for development to focus on features and management structures that were not initially included in the original prototype and scope of the project. While feature and scope creep presented challenges, they also offered opportunities to discover solutions that were ultimately beneficial to other projects, such as the inclusion of an IIIF image server that could be used elsewhere. Feature and scope creep also presented numerous areas of growth, as the platform itself has the flexibility to include other methods of dermatologic imaging, such as histopathology, dermoscopy, reflectance confocal microscopy in vivo imaging, and other modalities, as they arise in the future. The image viewer and website are currently in the alpha stage, meaning that the application and materials that are presently ingested are publicly accessible but not widely promoted or publicized yet. Our future plans include completing the ingestion of the entire set of Kodachrome slides before a wider, more pub-

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Bryan E. Hull, ME.d. Head of digital publishing Assistant librarian Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library University of Utah

Carmin I. Smoot, M.L.I.S. Program manager for digital publishing Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library University of Utah

Julia Curtis, M.D. Assistant professor Department of Dermatology School of Medicine Editor in chief of the UtahDERM website University of Utah

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Exploring Student Use of Microsoft’s Surface Hubs in an Academic Library By Kimberly Marks and Gretchen Maxeiner

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Microsoft’s Surface Hub 2S is an interactive screen that can be used as a large-screen display, digital whiteboard, meeting platform, collaboration tool, and more. icrosoft’s Surface Hub technology arrived on the campus of Grove City College—a Western Pennsylvania Christian liberal arts college of approximately 2,500 students—in fall 2022 as part of the newly renovated Henry Buhl Library. Ten of these interactive screens were installed and given a soft rollout to let students discover and interact with them on their own. An Institutional Review Board-approved research study was undertaken in spring 2023 to identify student uses and perceived benefits. Using the study results coupled with the authors’ firsthand experiences, this article describes the debut of Surface Hubs in an academic library, the ways students are using them, the benefits that students and faculty members perceive, and this library’s next steps.

M

Background Microsoft’s Surface Hub 2S is an interactive screen that can be used as a large-screen display, digital whiteboard, meeting platform, collaboration tool, and more. Microphone and camera capabilities are specially designed to support whole-room virtual meeting interactions, and each Surface Hub comes with a custom pen that enables users to select objects and draw on the screen. Surface Hubs can function as standalone devices that offer students a modified set of Microsoft Windows 10 apps with an option to log in to their Microsoft accounts. Students can also connect their own devices for on-screen sharing. As part of the renovation, the library’s large reading room was converted into a learning commons, with eight enclosed meeting rooms (locally referred to as huddle rooms) along one side. These rooms seat four to eight people, with a variety of table and seating types, and are semi-private, with glass fronts and limited soundproofing. Each room is equipped with traditional whiteboards and a wallmounted Surface Hub with wireless connectivity. Two mobile Surface Hubs are also available in the open learning commons space. The huddle rooms and mobile units are available to students by reservation through Microsoft Outlook or for walk-in use. Reservations are limited to 2 hours at a time, and the library director can review reservations to prevent improper bookings.

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| Exploring Student Use of Microsoft’s Surface Hubs in an Academic Library

A Surface Hub in a huddle room

A Surface Hub in use as a mobile board

The Surface Hubs entered the library’s renovation plans at the prompting of the college’s CIO, who recognized several attractions of the technology. To start, the Surface Hubs would be valuable in supporting online/hybrid classes as well as student projects with the external community. It was also an opportunity to acclimatize students to technology they would likely experience in the business world. Finally, these initial Surface Hubs would tie in with other plans around campus, where this and related technology would eventually be added to collaborative workspaces and classrooms, replacing traditional projector and screen systems with modern technology offering better resolution, remote participation, lecture recording, captioning, and more. And while there are other brands and types of interactive screens available, Grove City College is a Microsoft campus—with all students and staffers issued a laptop equipped with a standardized suite of Microsoft Office products—so integrating Microsoft’s version was an easy fit for all users. However, library staffers simply viewed the Surface Hubs as another feature of the renovated space awaiting student exploration. As previously noted, the Surface Hubs were installed with minimal promotion or explanation. Students were free to discover and interact with them on their own. The authors’ research study took place during spring 2023, beginning approximately 6 months after the Surface Hubs were installed. The study had four components: 1) anonymous student surveys 2) faculty surveys, 3) student interviews, and 4) several observation periods for simple tracking of Surface Hub and space use. The results of the study as well as growing staff experience working with students and this technology have painted a clearer picture of how Surface Hubs have become a meaningful component of the library.

Student Use of Surface Hubs

A Surface Hub in use for anatomy instruction

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Although only 10% of students surveyed were aware of Surface Hubs before they became available in the library in the fall, 88% reported having used one by spring. Word-of-mouth and curiosity after seeing other students using them seemed to be important drivers, based on interviews and the authors’ experiences. Knowledge and skill seemed to spread similarly; although most surveyed students reported not seeking help in using the Surface Hubs, almost all of those who did cited friends and classmates as one of their information sources. While there are several ways that students can access the Surface Hubs, survey results and observations found that most link them up to their

Exploring Student Use of Microsoft’s Surface Hubs in an Academic Library

laptops and use them as a display. Only some students use apps directly on the Surface Hub, and even fewer log into the Surface Hubs via their Microsoft Office accounts, which would enable them to access their own files. The whiteboard feature is, by far, the most used software on the Surface Hubs, based on surveys, interviews, and observations. This heavy use is somewhat surprising considering that the huddle rooms are equipped with traditional whiteboards. However, students noted that markers are messy and dry out quickly, and the boards must be cleaned after use. In contrast, they described the ease of the digital whiteboard and its unique features: enlarging and minimizing text; using the lasso to quickly grab text to move, delete, change color, etc.; and the “infinite” space on the screen. Based on this research and observation, the authors now view the digital whiteboard function as a gateway feature to Surface Hub use. There is an inviting icon on the Surface Hub homepage to draw users in, and it is a simple tool for which students immediately recognize potential applications. Interviewed students regularly reported this as the first tool they used on the Surface Hub, moving on to explore other uses once they became comfortable. In addition to the whiteboard feature, students also regularly use web browsers, PowerPoint, Word, and Teams. They have also reported and been observed using industryspecific software and gaming software.

Chart 1

Research also looked at students’ purposes in engaging with the Surface Hubs. Although about a quarter of surveyed students acknowledged having used the devices for non-academic purposes, very few (7%) identified this as their primary purpose (see Chart 1). Students reported that they used the Surface Hubs most frequently for brainstorming (43%) or collaborating on group projects (43%). While brainstorming could be a solo activity and was often observed and reported to be so, overall collaborative use of the Surface Hubs was high. During the observation periods, 86% of Surface Hub use involved multiple users, and 87% of surveyed students reported using the devices for collaboration at least once a semester. However, despite this high level of in-person collaboration, remote collabora-

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tion was low. Only 7% of students surveyed indicated that they had used the Surface Hubs for videoconferencing or remote collaboration; while this was occasionally observed, it was rare. A full list of observed and reported activities on the Surface Hubs includes individual studying, learning by rote, brainstorming, group studying, group project work, tutoring, practicing presentations, remote classes, interviews, online gaming, watching sports, and creating an ambient study environment with background videos.

Chart 2

When asked about the perceived benefits of having Surface Hubs in the library, student responses were positive. Most students surveyed who had used the Surface Hubs believe that the devices benefit them now or will in the future. Half saw benefits to their learning and/or their coursework, and 40% saw a benefit in preparation for future education or employment needs (see Chart 2). One senior computer science major noted, “I usually try to study for midterms and finals using the screens with a group of people from my classes. The screens help us to be able to visualize a larger amount of data at the same time in a neat and organized way, which I would tend to think leads to better exam grades.” Research also included faculty member surveys to help identify needs, potential applications, and faculty perspectives on this technology. Tools and spaces to support collaborative work are clearly relevant on campus, with 33 faculty survey respondents teaching more than 60 classes or sections during the spring semester that required or encouraged collaborative student work. And while only 21% reported that their current classes involved assignments or projects for which students might use the Surface Hubs, more than half reported that they would possibly or definitely adjust future lesson plans to integrate Surface Hub usage now that they were aware of these devices. Similarly, almost half indicated that this technology might potentially open new avenues for student learning activities in their classes. Faculty members envisaged potential uses in both formal learning and co-curricular learning, anticipating group projects, brainstorming and planning sessions, and videoconferencing. Applications might include planning group trips, building interactive game maps, remote collaboration on group music compositions,

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| Exploring Student Use of Microsoft’s Surface Hubs in an Academic Library

and collaborative readings in an honor society context. Faculty also recognized benefits to students in future work or educational environments, in learning in general, and in coursework specifically. “I think that collaborative planning is a big part of all future professional work, and exposing our students to tools that make that visible and easier to access is important for their professional soft skills,” one education faculty member noted.

The whiteboard feature is, by far, the most used software on the Surface Hubs …

Next Steps Overall, the inclusion of Surface Hubs in the renovated Henry Buhl Library has been considered a success. Students have been interested and curious to use the new technology and have found applications to support their learning and other activities. Many actively recognize the benefits of getting familiar with the devices for now and the future. Faculty members also see benefits and, in time, may increase class-related reasons for students to use the Surface Hubs. The authors’ research, however, has also identified two challenges to address. First, while many students have interacted with the Surface Hubs and discovered beneficial features, with some even becoming enthusiastic users, there are clear knowledge barriers. The most common obstacle reported by student users was insufficient knowledge of the technology, while nonusers reported their most common reason for not using Surface Hubs was a desire for training. Even regular users are often surprised to find out about functions they hadn’t thought to look for, such as split screens or the ability to log in and thus save one’s brainstorming session on the digital whiteboard. Although students generally describe the Surface Hubs as intuitive and many report that they have not needed to seek help, the authors see opportunities to attract more users and build stronger skill sets among existing users through training and instruction. The second challenge is availability. Students occasionally express frustration about finding an open Surface Hub, and some surveyed students stated that their primary reason for nonuse was the lack of availability. The huddle rooms have proved to be very popular, and these semiprivate group spaces were occupied 72% of the time across

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all of the library’s open hours during the observation periods. The two mobile Surface Hubs in the learning commons would be a logical alternative, but they are only rarely used. During observation periods, only 5% of Surface Hub use involved the mobile units. It is possible students do not realize that these mobile units are intended for their use, and it is probable that they prefer working in the semi-private huddle rooms. The authors intend to use marketing to increase student awareness of these mobile Surface Hubs, encourage room reservations, and draw attention to non-peak hours for the Surface Hubs. The increased presence of Surface Hubs planned for elsewhere on campus will also likely alleviate the high demand in the library, but the authors anticipate that this technology will continue to serve an integral role in the library space. It is clear from student interviews and other experiences that many students consider the Surface Hub a research and study tool, and the library is their preferred place for research and study. They appreciate the proximity of the library collections and also the library’s expanded hours. While library staffers may not initially have recognized the value of this technology to the renovated space, it is now clear that the Surface Hubs have become an integral component of student learning in Grove City College’s Henry Buhl Library. n Resources Bathiche, S. (2022, March 16). “Empowering Collaboration in the Hybrid Workplace With Surface Hub 2S and Surface Hub 2 Smart Camera.” Microsoft Devices Blog. blogs.windows.com/devices/2022/03/16/ empowering-collaboration-in-the-hybrid-workplace-with-surface-hub-2sand-surface-hub-2-smart-camera. Microsoft Corp. (2022). “Enhance Your Meeting Experience and Engage Everyone on Surface Hub 2S.” query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/ api/am/binary/RE4U5gd. Smith, M.S. (2019, April 17). “Microsoft Surface Hub 2S Hands-On Review: You Won’t Buy Microsoft’s Surface Hub 2S, But It Could Still Change Your Life.” Digital Trends. digitaltrends.com/computing/microsoft-surfacehub-2s-review.

Kimberly Marks ([email protected]) is the assistant director of library services at Grove City College’s Henry Buhl Library. In this role, she serves as the coordinator of library assessments and provides information literacy instruction to students ranging from first-semester freshmen through to the graduate level. She holds an M.L.S. degree from Clarion University in Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing a doctorate of education degree from the University of New England.

Gretchen Maxeiner ([email protected]) is the cataloging/ reference librarian at Grove City College’s Henry Buhl Library. She has more than 25 years of experience in academic libraries in both technical and public services and has an interest in user behavior. She holds an M.S.L.I.S. and an M.A. in Latin from the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign.

How We Took Our Library

By Joseph Dudley

ALL DIGITAL

A

One of our first tasks after becoming a completely digital library was the liquidation of print collections at all campuses.

t the start of the winter 2022 semester, Bryant & Stratton College’s (B&SC) libraries—which had until that time comprised a virtual library available to all campuses and two satellite, brick-and-mortar libraries at each location staffed by at least one librarian—transitioned to a completely digital library with an all-electronic collection and a staff of four remote librarians serving campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. This transition supported a growing student preference for digital-only library resources and followed current academic library trends for removing lightly or non-used print collections and repurposing physical library spaces. Our digital-only transformation was supported by existing library technology at each campus. B&SC’s virtual library was already the main access hub for our array of more than 50 research databases and our existing LibGuides, which had been designed by campus librarians to support the academic programs at each location. Additionally, B&SC was already a contributing

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| How We Took Our Library All Digital

The goal of the redesign was to ensure that all users would now have relatively the same navigation experience regardless of physical campus location.

member of the LibAnswers online reference cooperative, which meant that our students and faculty patrons were acquainted with the service and were familiar with online 24/7 chat reference and using the Ask Us widgets to initiate reference transactions with online librarians.

Reference: LibAnswers Leveraged As our library services moved to digital-only, we anticipated that one of the most noticeable changes at the campus level would be the physical absence of the campus librarian to answer reference questions. This meant that our LibAnswers service—which up until then had served as a supplementary service for evenings and weekends—was now one of our main channels (in addition to email and video chat meetings) for reference transactions. Also, since staffing had now transitioned to fully remote librarians serving the entire multicampus system, we were no longer answering reference questions from LibAnswers patrons outside of B&SC. However, co-op librarians continued to support us during evening and weekend hours, enabling us to continue to offer 24/7 chat reference to the B&SC community. Although LibAnswers widgets were already present on the virtual library, we spent a significant amount of time discussing how to redesign our LibAnswers FAQ page as a main point of entry for digital reference questions. FAQs were updated to include questions that we anticipated would occur to B&SC students, and links to additional library services (such as document delivery and scheduling a research consultation) were also added, transforming the FAQ page into a multipurpose digital reference desk.

Print Collections Liquidated One of our first tasks after becoming a completely digital library was the liquidation of print collections at all campuses. The B&SC system office recommended liquidation of print items in one of three ways. The preferred method was through donation to Better World Books, whose regional drop-off locations would provide the most efficient option for liquidation. Additional suggested options included donating selected items to faculty members (who could keep them on office shelves for reference when working with students) or donating a selection of items to campus learning centers to be used as study materials. Librarians worked closely with campus contacts during this process to monitor and assist as needed. The print collections at the Akron and Parma (both in Ohio) campuses had been

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previously liquidated, as student preference for digital library materials became clear prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those campuses were able to act as models for collection liquidation. Librarians also worked during the first year of digitalonly service to remove bibliographic records for print items from our shared library catalog as print collections were liquidated. The market dean of instruction for the Wisconsin campuses had previously served as Wisconsin market librarian and was familiar with the cataloging system, so was able to help in this process. Ultimately, our library management system (LMS) vendor was called upon to assist with the final stages of deleting MARC records for print materials.

Library Spaces Become Campus Learning Centers Previous library spaces transitioned to campus learning centers and were staffed by a learning center coordinator who, in most cases, also became the main campus contact for librarians. Some campuses chose to eliminate print collections from the new learning centers entirely. Others, however, chose to retain some selected titles as student study materials, with the understanding that going forward, the library would only purchase e-materials and that the campus would now be responsible for any edition updates of print materials, if those were desired.

Communication With Faculty While general communications (such as new service and collection additions) were now distributed to the campuses through the learning center coordinators, librarians remained available to communicate with faculty members directly (either individually or at faculty meetings) and continued to actively search out such opportunities (either remotely or in person when possible). Speaking at beginning-of-term faculty meetings was recognized an excellent opportunity to present higher-level library updates, begin conversations with faculty members regarding collection development needs for the semester, and schedule classroom presentations. Librarians are also able during these meetings to answer questions faculty members may have regarding access to library services or resources. Librarians also attend meetings during the semester (both remotely and in person), such as those with outside accrediting organizations and internal system meetings with faculty members and administrators. Attending

How We Took Our Library All Digital

accreditation meetings offers the opportunity to speak with outside accreditors about how library services are administered and how patrons are engaged in a digital environment. Attending system meetings allows librarians to share information with internal stakeholders that can lead to opportunities for additional classroom and individual student engagement. Additionally, librarians regularly conduct internal professional development workshops for faculty members during the semester on a variety of topics, such as best practices for managing copyright, using American Psychological Association (APA) documentation, and finding and using OERs.

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Virtual library design

Discovery Layer Leveraged Once all print items were liquidated and records withdrawn from the catalog, we realized that it was now possible—and more efficient, given our new status—to eliminate the standard LMS software and use our discovery layer as our main search and discovery tool. Although the catalog would still have offered patrons the option of searching within our e-collection, they would have needed to navigate past screens for a primary print collection that no longer existed. So, after some discussion among ourselves and with our LMS vendor, we decided to move away from the traditional catalog and explore incorporating BIBFRAME/ linked data technology into the virtual library. This would give us the ability to share our collection across multiple electronic systems, both increasing visibility and ease of access. We approached this decision recognizing that such a move was a major departure from long-standing library practice, but all librarians agreed that it was the correct

move in terms of providing a more seamless library search experience for our users.

Library Homepage Redesigned As collections and access to them were realigned, it now became obvious that we had to consider a new interface for the virtual library. Specifically, we needed to move away from the concept of several separate B&SC campus library sites created with separate design philosophies and toward the concept of a single site with a unified design distributed to multiple campus locations. The redesign was undertaken by the system library manager and system librarians, using available technology. After considering several design options, we decided on a visual structure for the virtual library’s homepage that would allow users to contact librarians with reference questions by chat, email, or video call; request a more in-depth research consultation; access popular library collections and features from a list of Quick Links; or access all library collections and services from a rotating gallery at the bottom of the screen. A Campus Resources link provided access to all subject guides at all campuses, and a search field was included at the top of the screen to allow users to initiate a broad search of all library items. Fonts and font sizes were selected for optimum readability, and a color palette was designed to conform to the rest of the BS&C site.

Subject Guides Redesigned

Subject guides

The color palette, fonts, and font sizes chosen for the virtual library’s homepage were incorporated into all campus subject guides; where needed, navigation systems were edited

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As we continue to develop our all-digital library service platform, there will doubtless be changes and adjustments.

to give the entire virtual library the look and feel of one site, with subject guides cascading down from the homepage. Individual campus guides were redesigned to provide tabs for curriculum focuses at each location, with links to selected ebook, ejournal, and database collections for each subject area, conceptually modeled on a physical library’s table or window display. In addition, the library search bar, Ask Us tab, Quick Links, and system librarian photo and email link appear on all guides. That way, patrons can search and ask questions from any point. The goal of the redesign was to ensure that all users would now have relatively the same navigation experience regardless of physical campus location. During the fall 2023 semester, a survey was distributed to students at all campuses to gauge patron satisfaction with reference services and the virtual library’s ease of use. Student responses will be used in determining the next steps in implementing library policy.

Library Instruction Library instruction continues to take place by faculty member request, virtually and, when feasible, in person. For online class sessions, librarians appear as guests in the virtual classroom. When they appear virtually in a traditional classroom, images and audio are displayed using conferencing applications and equipment. Such presentations support the B&SC mission of preparing students for a digital workplace. Classroom instruction can cover a range of topics, including navigating the virtual library’s homepage to locate materials and services, contacting a librarian with reference questions, locating library subject guides, discovering resources using keyword and subject searching, and locating and using APA resources and tutoring. Often, slides used during instruction sessions are provided for posting in course platforms for student reference.

Library Statistics Library statistics are gathered at the beginning of each semester to track library logins, use of databases, use of library guides, digital reference chats, digital tutoring, and statistical data about information literacy assessments. A report is created based on the numerical data and distributed to campus deans along with an invitation for their feedback and suggestions.

BIBFRAME/Linked Data Capability During the first year of all-digital service, we began to explore the addition of BIBFRAME and linked data capabilities to make our digital collection more visible and usable to our student patrons. At first, we considered making materials available on the web, but as discussions progressed, we decided that the best course of action would be to make items available to internal systems—most notably, our library guides—and to individual course platforms. In this way, we will be meeting students where they already are and will be able to advance the goal of providing a seamless library access experience for all users.

Other Plans for the Future As we continue to develop our all-digital library service platform, there will doubtless be changes and adjustments. We are preparing for a full examination of data from our recent student survey, which will certainly inform our next steps. One possible action may be the development of relationships with campus learning centers and learning center coordinators in order to open additional communication with students and faculty. Undoubtedly, surveys and focus groups will continue to be important tools for us to gauge user needs and satisfaction as we continue to explore and develop this new landscape for library services. n

Collection Development Collection development continues to take place each semester, with librarians focusing on collecting electronic resources only. Faculty members often request specific titles for their subject areas, which can then in many cases be made available in the virtual library within 24 hours. When needed, the library system manager can request an increase in concurrent usage for heavily used titles. Notably, one of the advantages of an all-digital collection is that new items can be immediately marketed to all campus locations.

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Joseph Dudley is a remote system librarian, providing reference and technical/digital services to Bryant & Stratton College’s Western New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin campuses. Before assuming his current position in 2022, Dudley served as campus librarian at the Cleveland and Solon, Ohio, campuses.

Building Digital Libraries

by

terence k. huwe

 Library Director Emeritus for Institute for the Research on Labor and Employment, University of California–Berkeley

Three Decades of Digital Convergence [THIRTY] YEARS OF MONITORING LONGTERM TRENDS—24 FOR COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES—HAS ITS REWARDS. BUT AFTER MORE THAN 3 DECADES, WHERE DOES CONVERGENCE STAND?

M

emories vary about when digital convergence first hit professional life and the workplace. I date it to the late ’90s, when David B. Yoffie published a collection of essays about it (see the Resources section). Even then, it was clear that many technologies, not to mention workplace operations, were collapsing into each other. This process is ongoing and has influenced how we see work in all of its forms. Never an easy process, convergence has the mercy of moving quickly; it also encourages technologists to move fast and break lots of things. But as convergence accelerated, workers realized they needed to take the lead in rethinking their jobs. Many have found that whenever they do so, a new focus on human-paced interaction can moderate digital convergence— and improve the process. Librarians are no strangers to disruptive technologies, so leave it to us to look at the finer points. I am no exception; 30 years of monitoring long-term trends—24 for Computers in Libraries—has its rewards. But after more than 3 decades, where does convergence stand? Has the workplace achieved its digital potential, or is it just in formative stages? A closer look reveals three trends—and they include practical responses that can inform our own strategic planning.

This happens at professional, workstation, and even factory floor levels. Digital technology is new, but people have always been change agents. When they remember this, their first step is shifting from everyday grousing to brainstorming. As they do so, employee attitudes often synchronize, forcing open dialogue in some cases and heated debate in others. When pushback arises, managers may find themselves facing articulate stakeholders who are slow to back down. The process may be running quietly in the background, but it illustrates that, at its core, digital convergence relies on consent. Employee activism is a crucial element of change. Disruptive technologies are daunting enough for firms, but they can feel devastating for employees. As debate increases, the workplace becomes the ideal test bed for convergence—the site where winners and losers define themselves and technologies either flourish or vanish. Winners are cast as tech moguls or STEM professionals whose pay grows in lockstep with digital applications. But a closer look at knowledge work uncovers greater nuance, including organization-wide trauma and determination. Consequently, convergence also pushes experts to conduct indepth analysis of both professional culture and working life.

Professional Culture Takes on Dislocation

New Activism, New Alliances

The first trend is an urge to push back and cross-examine digital convergence.

The second trend is a return to core professional values for new ideas. For example, attorneys were among the first knowledge

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Building Digital Libraries

workers to experience the looming dislocation. Automation and AI moved quickly into law, in which thousands of documents must be reviewed in support of litigation. This process—known as discovery—is just the most obvious candidate for automation. But lawyers were quick to notice, as they were wellaccustomed to the healthy revenue this necessary process produced. They also utilized a powerful card to safeguard professional practice: the attorney-client relationship. This relationship runs on trust, an organic quality. Lawyers chose the consultative dynamics of practice, emphasizing human connectivity in response to digital convergence. They cede ground occasionally, such as with discovery or document preparation. They also deploy new technology in targeted ways (for example, in-depth analysis of judicial opinions over time). Through it all, they have retained the authority to advise and litigate; so far, they are holding their ground. Well-entrenched power can drive change or halt it. But my view is that professionals are learning a new skill: how to talk back to technology to get a better outcome, instead of just accepting what they are told. Lawyers won’t find much sympathy given their compensation, but their defense of professional practice is nonetheless inspiring. Moreover, the need for sustained activism shows no sign of ending. Another peoplebased strategy is to build out nonlegal expertise at senior levels in law firms. This is a pragmatic nod to the power of expert collaboration across traditional boundaries. Essentially, lawyers chose to take advice from colleagues and clients rather than algorithms. Clinical psychologists offer another example of stretching professional duties to grow. Psychologists are in a longterm struggle to prescribe medicine to patients. Digital convergence improves secure charting and information sharing, so there is no technical barrier to this. But medical doctors see it as an existential threat, since the right to prescribe is fundamental to medicine. Researchers have found that “there remains a consistent lack of empirical

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evidence for the desirability, feasibility, safety and cost effectiveness …” of this idea (see the Resources section). The debate is ongoing and illustrates another force that complicates technology: Professions are competing for the right to provide an indispensable service.

Collaboration Calms Convergence Meanwhile, other trusted relationships in the medical workplace are faring well. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are relatively new classifications, and they treat patients and prescribe medicine in consultation with physicians. This experience suggests that digital convergence can strengthen specific collegial ties even as it disrupts norms.

THE FIRST TREND IS AN URGE TO PUSH BACK AND CROSS-EXAMINE DIGITAL CONVERGENCE. Doctors have also embraced technology in daily practice. Thirty years ago, few doctors regarded PDAs as essential patient care tools. At that time, I served on a grant committee that funded intriguing studies of how to deploy PDAs in the medical workplace. The findings were prescient; smart devices and online charting are fundamental tools in medicine. Are doctors engaged? Yes, and their strategies have kept step.

People Power Drives Planning The third trend mirrors the second: preservation of individual authority and reputations during organizational change. Pure science is an instructive forum to watch this play out. Just as with law and medicine, principal investigators call the shots in science. But despite a fondness for tried-and-true methodologies, they grasp the potential of better data oversight and wide access to practice data and notes. Data stewardship is fueling lively discussions of best practices. Everyone has a stake, and when directors and lead scientists

work together, they can mobilize entire labs for rapid action. Life in the lab shows us the potential of human agency. People power can moderate change rather than simply repudiating it. Digital convergence motivates scientists to pay fresh attention to established systems for lab oversight. When principal investigators and administrators show support, the lab community as whole becomes more open to change. As convergence takes flight, data stewardship is also providing new tools to safeguard academic reputations. This is timely, as the open data movement spurs debate about the quality of peer-reviewed papers and their associated datasets. As ideas multiply, science librarians will see ample moments to promote data literacy and introduce the theory of the information lifecycle. When convergence delivers recognizable benefits, employee resistance may flip over to a willingness to experiment.

The Network Effect Meets the Employment Relationship Digital convergence is ongoing and hard to forecast. In response, business schools are updating the curriculum, but the most relevant guide to workplace dynamics is not at all new. The curriculum is changing, yes. This convergence is new, but the idea of the employment relationship continues to provide a useful approach to studying workplace dynamics. It does so because it focuses on human interactions, which retain their importance. For decades, the employment relationship—which is to say, everything that occurs among people at work—has long been part of business education. Understanding this relationship prepares managers for the clash between new technology and the network effect, which describes the norms of human and organization-level dynamics in society. The long-term impact of the employment relationship is second only to the family-and-friends support system we all depend on. The employment relationship pushes convergent thinking in the direction of common sense and measured pac-

Building Digital Libraries

ing. Moreover, recent labor actions in the automotive industry and ominous rumblings among Amazon workers confirm the ubiquity of people power. Labor actions accelerate just as professional activism does, particularly when technology comes into play. In professional life and on the shop floor, realtime information access motivates the workforce—and reminds people to get involved in their own destinies.

Two Strategies for Library Services Digital convergence is ongoing. I see two strategies that can align library services with the torrent of change. First, professions that retain agency and authority are much better placed to influence the course of technology rollouts. Second, looking far beyond native professional wisdom makes abundant sense. Studying how other disciplines respond to convergence is an excellent

starting point, if it is not already occurring. Indeed, sharing practice data is making scientists think more like librarians. They are more on the lookout for collaborators and better prepared to share practice data from the outset. Likewise, librarians are thinking more like scientists, promoting the case for data stewardship and crafting strategies that directly address continuous change. Evidence of the library’s strategic pivot is everywhere. Workshops now cover digital publishing, open science, makerspaces, oral history making, video journalism, scanning workshops, and more. These topics fare well alongside research and writing workshops. Library services wear a human face these days, as we chart our own responses to digital convergence. Better yet, skillful storytelling about workplace receptiveness and resistance helps everyone face change directly. If I am

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correct in my trend-watching, then the storytellers—that would be us—have a natural advantage through our understanding the forces at work and being capable of interpreting them. n Resources Lavoie, K.L. and Barone S. “Prescription Privileges for Psychologists: A Comprehensive Review and Critical Analysis of Current Issues and Controversies.” CNS Drugs. 2006; 20(1): 51–66 pp. DOI: 10.2165/00023210200620010-00005. PMID: 16396524. Yoffie, D.B. Competing in the Age of Digital Convergence. Boston, Harvard Business School Press, 1997. 978-0-87584-726-9. 464 pp.

Terence K. Huwe is the library director emeritus for the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California– Berkeley. His email address is [email protected].

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From the Innovation Lab

by

chad mairn

 Teaching With Emerging Tech

Welcome to What’s to Come WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A RENAISSANCE (EMPHASIS ON THE AI), A REBIRTH, THAT IS PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR MACHINES AND HUMANS TO ACHIEVE.

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I

have been a faithful reader of Computers in Libraries for more than 20 years, and I am thrilled that I was invited to write a column for the magazine that has been a key resource for keeping me informed about the technologies impacting our libraries and society as a whole. This is a good time for me to briefly introduce myself and to highlight what I plan to cover in my upcoming pieces. I am an information services librarian, assistant professor, and founder of the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College (SPC) in Florida. I teach computer and information literacy as well as music technology classes and a variety of STEM-related workshops. I also mentor students in SPC’s Undergraduate Research Experience program and manage our library research databases. While an undergraduate student studying humanities at the University of South Florida (USF), I was awarded a Library of Congress (LC) fellowship. I helped archive personal papers and other items in the Leonard Bernstein Collection. As a fellow at the LC, I learned to appreciate the research process, and I also had multiple unforgettable opportunities to see and interact with the library’s vast collection of resources and archives. During my library and information science graduate work—also at USF—I was a technology liaison between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Florida public libraries. While installing, configuring, and training library staffers on how to use computers in rural libraries, I saw firsthand how technology could be used to improve people’s lives. I was hooked. To

this day, I continue to be inspired by people wanting to learn and integrate their new skills into their personal lives—and getting to see that intellectual spark is rewarding and exactly the reason why I am still working as a librarian. Twenty or more years ago, emerging technologies were easier to keep track of. There were fewer devices, and they were all pretty much the same. I had a large desktop computer that would barely move and an old flip phone that took several minutes for me to clumsily text a simple message to a friend or family member. That was it. Things were much simpler back then. All of those devices were self-contained, and I did not need to worry too much about updates or security settings. But today, technology is constantly changing. New devices and technologies are coming out all the time, and they are all connected to one other. I seem to be constantly updating my software; plus, I must pay very close attention to a multitude of potential security issues. Our lives are getting more complex while technology promises to make our lives easier, but does it? Technology is changing, and the way I use it is changing too. Twenty years ago, I would use technology for specific tasks. For example, I would use my computer for work, my phone for communication, and my TV and stereo for entertainment. But today, all of those tasks can be done on one device that I carry with me everywhere. I am seemingly using technology for everything now; it is interwoven into every aspect of our society. Although this constant change can be overwhelming—and it can

From the Innovation Lab

be difficult to keep up with the latest trends—it is also an exciting time to be alive, watching unprecedented technological innovation while figuring out what society can and cannot do with technology. As a result, I hope to shine a light on emerging technologies that are impacting our society and share my thoughts with the readers of this column. I will work diligently to make it a worthwhile read and will try to articulate practical uses of these technologies through a library lens. Some of my primary research interests are quantum computing, AI, extended realities, makerspaces, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Imagine having a superpower that allows you to solve puzzles and answer questions faster than any regular computer ever could. Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize industries, solve complex problems, and unlock new frontiers in technology. It uses the principles of quantum theory to perform computational tasks. In addition, it has the potential to be much faster than traditional computing and will impact a variety of applications, including cryptography, drug discovery, and the sciences. Quantum computing could allow library cataloging systems to read every book ever written in one sweep to ultimately help people solve problems that require research much faster. The LC produced a video lecture in 2005—almost 20 ago—titled, “How Quantum Computing Will Change the Way We Collect, Store and Distribute Information” (loc .gov/item/2021687624). It is fascinating what is possible with this technology now, and it will be mind-blowing to see what it can do in the future. A minute cannot go by without us hearing something about AI. We are currently in a renaissance (emphasis on the AI), a rebirth, that is pushing the boundaries of what is possible for machines and humans to achieve. AI is a computer system that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence (e.g., understanding natural language, recognizing images and speech, and solving complex problems). It is important to realize AI’s

capabilities and to see its potential to seriously revolutionize various industries, including libraries, healthcare, and transportation. In the future, AI will impact every industry. However, it is just as important to be aware of AI’s potential issues (e.g., ethical concerns such as privacy, bias in decision making, and the potential for workforce reductions). This dual awareness of AI’s potential and its challenges is crucial for its balanced and sustainable integration into our daily lives, and librarians and other information professionals will play an influential role in expanding information literacy standards to include AI literacy. As always, librarians are at the forefront of transformative technologies and helping people make sense of it all.

IT IS MY GOAL TO HIGHLIGHT TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN MAKE OUR LIVES MORE PRODUCTIVE, FUN, AND MEANINGFUL WHILE NURTURING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND INNOVATION. Extended realities (XR) is an umbrella term that covers various forms of immersive technology: VR, AR, and mixed reality (MR). These technologies blend digital and physical worlds, offering innovative ways to experience and interact with information. XR has the potential to modernize education, entertainment, and healthcare by offering immersive experiences that can enhance learning, provide realistic simulations, create engaging entertainment, and streamline the health sciences. Like any technology, XR is not perfect. For example, some users suffer physical effects such as motion sickness or eye strain. There are also concerns about privacy and data security, as XR technologies can collect detailed user data, especially when the system is

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using eye- and face-tracking technologies. Most importantly though, there is a high risk of creating a widening digital divide, in which access to advanced XR technologies is limited to certain groups. Librarians have been on the front lines with regard to helping narrow the digital divide, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Makerspaces are collaborative places where people can go to learn, create, and share ideas. They usually have a variety of tools and equipment that people can use to make their own projects, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and sewing machines. I believe the makerspace movement became popular because of the important work libraries have done for many years, where they have provided a safe place for people to be creative and collaborative while learning new skills, to gain access to tools and equipment they might not have access to otherwise, and to be exposed to different emerging technologies that are powering much of our world. Libraries are social institutions that provide a means for people to learn from each other and to build relationships, which is precisely why the makerspace movement has thrived in our libraries for decades. Finally, makerspaces can help attract new patrons to the library and promote the value of STEM education and literacy. If you are interested in learning more about makerspaces, I recommend checking out Nation of Makers, Fab Foundation, ALA’s Library of the Future initiative, and, of course, Computers in Libraries. The IoT refers to the growing network of interconnected devices that communicate and exchange data over the internet. This includes smart home appliances, wearable technology, industrial sensors, and autonomous vehicles. Someone wearing a Fitbit or adjusting the temperature of their house from their phone means that they have interacted with the IoT. RFID is a technology often used in libraries, and it is considered a member of the IoT family. RFID uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects, such as books and other library items. RFID can help facilitate invento-

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From the Innovation Lab

ry tracking and asset management and provides robust access control. By integrating IoT technology such as RFID, it becomes possible to automate processes, monitor environments, and gather insights in real time, which frees up time for librarians to do more important tasks such as helping people find and use information effectively. Technology should be a tool that makes lives easier and better, while also helping to remove mundane tasks. This gives people more time to be creative and more productive. I previously mentioned that I am the founder of the Innovation Lab. This space was born in 2014 and is a collaborative learning environment. It is often referred to as a technology playground, in which people of all ages and skill sets with similar interests can meet and socialize while sharing ideas and learning

new skills. Aptly, the title of this column is From the Innovation Lab, and it will focus on emerging technologies that were previously mentioned—and ones that do not yet exist—to ultimately help make our libraries more innovative and to strengthen education by integrating new learning tools to foster digital literacy for librarians as well as for our patrons. It is my goal to highlight technologies that can make our lives more productive, fun, and meaningful while nurturing a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Thank you for reading, and please do not hesitate to contact me at mairn.chad@ spcollege.edu. n Resources Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College: What Is It? spcollege.libguides.com/ilab

loc.gov/collections/leonard-bernstein/about-thiscollection Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: gatesfoundation .org Nation of Makers: nationofmakers.us Fab Foundation: fabfoundation.org Library of the Future’s Maker Movement: ala.org/ tools/future/trends/makers

Chad Mairn (mairn.chad@ spcollege.edu) is a librarian, teacher, author, and self-described geek. He frequently shares his enthusiasm for all things technology as a speaker at library and technology conferences. Mairn is an information services librarian, assistant professor, and founder of the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College.

Leonard Bernstein Collection at the Library of Congress:

New Fiction From the Publisher s of Boardwalk Empire Empire!! randdaughter of “The Pinelands Witch,” daughter of the self-styled Wizard of the Pines, and with powers of her own, eleven-year-old Florilla Munion finds herself abandoned deep in the New Jersey Pinelands. Rescued by the itinerant Dr. Peace, she is taken to Benderville, a model mill town in the heart of the Pines owned by the doctor’s old friend, the eccentric, progressive Benjamin Bender. He takes Florilla in, and she becomes his pupil when he discovers her talent for his beloved Latin and Greek.

G

Florilla: A Pinelands Romance explores the time period from 1848 to 1857 when various thinkers, reformers, and philosophers speculated on the best ways to organize life and work. Its portrayal of life in the Pines and on the road during those years is both fascinating and eye opening.

By Perdita Buchan 240 pp/hardcover ISBN 978-1-940091-09-9 $16.95

Look for Florilla: A Pineland’s Romance wherever books and ebooks are sold, or order direct from the publisher.

www.plexuspublishing.com

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Plexus Publishing, Inc.

By Erika Alfieri

Automatic Transcription of Oral Histories Using Word 365 Word has a Dictate function, but the true workhorse is its full Transcription feature, which boasts an impressive suite of options.

I

n summer 2022, I was fortunate enough to intern as a graduate student at Loras College’s Center for Dubuque History in Dubuque, Iowa. The archive boasted a wealth of both local and collegiate history, and I had my choice of whichever project I preferred to complete. I chose to transcribe oral history cassette tapes from the 1970s that con-

cerned mayoral races between local politicians, sermons given by clergy, and speeches given at Loras College. At first, I attempted to transcribe the histories by hand. I have a background in freelance oral history transcription, so I thought I might put it to use. Unfortunately, transcribing an oral history played directly from a cassette deck rather

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COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES

| Automatic Transcription of Oral Histories Using Word 365

than a computer proved tricky. A transcriptionist’s pedal and software make quick work of a digital audio file, but pushing the physical buttons on the tape recorder was cumbersome and slow, and I feared that the constant replay of the tape might, over time, lead to damage. Clearly, the solution was to digitize the audio. With that goal in mind, an audio input cable was purchased, and I was soon opening Audacity, ready to convert the audio to a digital format. As I was about to begin, an idea struck me: What if I used the voice-typing function in Google Docs? With one end of a USB-B to USB-A cable plugged into the Marantz Professional PMD-300CP cassette player and the other into the Windows desktop computer, the computer perceived the input as a USB micro-

phone. From there, it seemed like a simple task to open a fresh Google Doc, choose the voice-typing option, and hit play on the recorder. Unfortunately, Google’s voice-to-text functionality proved ill-suited to the task; it produced such a garbled mess of nonsense that I nearly scrapped my plans of automatically transcribing the cassette tapes. Surely, there was transcription software that could handle the job? I popped open the Microsoft 365 Word software that I’d been given access to through Loras College and poked around. It had a voice-to-text option, and a quick test revealed that not only did it work better than intended, it also contained features that made it a prime candidate for automatic audio transcription.

Necessary Materials

• A computer • A Microsoft 365 Word subscription • Physical audio media (such as a cassette, CD, record, etc.)

•

A physical audio media player (such as a cassette deck, CD player, turntable, etc.)

• Cabling to connect the physical audio media to the computer (such as a USB-A to USB-B cable, RCA to aux cable, etc.)

Setting Up the Physical Audio Media 1. Plug in the physical audio media to power. 2. Connect the physical audio media player to the computer using the appropriate cabling. 3. Power on the physical audio media. 4. Insert the physical audio media.

Connect to Microsoft 365 1. Turn on the computer. 2. Log in to Windows. 3. Open a web browser. 4. Navigate to office.com. 5. Click Sign In. 6. Sign in with your username and password.

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Using Microsoft 365’s Word to Record 1. On the left-hand side of the page, choose Create and then Document. 2. In the ribbon at the top of the page, locate the Dictate icon.

The Create and Document options, highlighted in red

3. Click the arrow next to Dictate, and choose Transcribe. 4. In the panel that appears on the right, choose Start Recording.

The Dictate and Transcribe functions, highlighted in red

5. Press the play button on the audio source. 6. When the audio finishes playing, click Save and Transcribe Now in the transcription panel. Note: You must use the online version of Microsoft 365’s Word for transcription. This function does not exist in the desktop version.

The Start Recording button, highlighted in red

The Save and Transcribe Now button, highlighted in red

Automatic Transcription of Oral Histories Using Word 365

Working With Microsoft 365’s Word Microsoft 365’s Word has a Dictate function, but the true workhorse is its full Transcription feature, which boasts an impressive suite of options. When fed live audio, Microsoft 365’s Word will automatically detect and label individual speakers and can switch between them with astonishing accuracy. Once the recording is complete, speakers’ names may be edited, and any errors in the automatic assignment of speakers may be easily corrected with the click of a dropdown button. My rough estimate of the accuracy of the transcription for the files that I used—which, it’s important to note, were all on audio cassette tape and largely comprised clean and clear audio—was, at a guess, 95%. That is to say, it was extremely high. Additionally, Microsoft 365 Word’s

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COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES

transcriptions are timestamped and hyperlinked. As you play the audio into the software, a .wav file of the audio input is automatically created in Microsoft SharePoint, and the hyperlinked timestamps may be clicked to jump to that portion of the audio recording. This makes editing a breeze, as you can stop and start again or replay audio sections with ease. It’s also a wonderful, user-friendly option for researchers who may only be interested in certain portions of the audio. One of the greatest benefits of using Microsoft 365 is that most everyone in our industry has access to it since Windows and Microsoft are the de facto choices of most libraries, institutions of higher learning, and corporations. While I selected the line-in audio option, the transcription

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STEP BY STEP: Automatically Transcribing Oral History Cassettes Using Microsoft 365’s Word Editing the Transcription 1. When the transcription is done, review it in the panel to the right. 2. Click the pencil icon next to the speaker name to edit the text. a. Here, you can change the name of the speaker. Select the checkbox to change all instances of the speaker name.

A sample text block from the transcription panel with the pencil icon highlighted

b. Click the check at the bottom to confirm your choice. Note: You can click the timestamp in the transcription panel to navigate to that part of the audio file. 3. Repeat Step 2 for all speakers. 4. When done, click the arrow next to Add to Document

A sample text block from the transcription panel in editing mode

5. Choose With Speakers and Timestamps. 6. Your transcription will paste into the document. 7. Listen to the audio again, and make any final edits necessary. Note: Microsoft 365’s Word simultaneously creates a .wav recording of the transcription that is accurately timestamped in Microsoft SharePoint.

The Add to Document button with the down arrow options visible

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| Automatic Transcription of Oral Histories Using Word 365

function also works with uploaded audio or with a recording, although, it’s important to note that uploads are limited. Microsoft states, “Users with a Microsoft Word 365 subscription can transcribe a maximum of 300 minutes of uploaded audio per month” (support.microsoft.com/en-us/ office/transcribe-your-recordings-7fc2efec-245e-45f0-b0532a97531ecf57). The beauty of using physical media as an audio input is that you bypass this limitation since you’re using live audio transcription rather than a prerecorded file.

Overall, Microsoft Word 365 remains useful, robust, and accessible software that’s worth experimenting with. …

No method is without its downsides, however. First, the audio input must run, undisturbed, for the length of time that it takes to play. Second, if you need to pause the audio mid-transcription, the timestamp feature will be mismatched to the audio timing, as it starts over with each press of the transcribe button. Third, if you’re using prerecorded audio, the upload is limited to .wav, .mp4, .m4a, and .mp3 file formats. Fourth, a .wav audio file, while useful, is not up to snuff in terms of archival fidelity. As always, no automatic transcription software is perfect. I did need to replay the audio and to correct minor errors that the software ran into, such as misspellings of a person’s name or an unfamiliar institution or the odd time when the software misheard a word. Microsoft 365’s Word performed well on my audio files, but more testing of the software is certainly warranted. For example, it offers the Transcription function for many languages, but I can’t speak to how it will perform in a language other than English. I’m also curious as to how the software handles less clear audio files and true live transcription—two features that I did not use. Overall, Microsoft 365 remains useful, robust, and accessible software that’s worth experimenting with, especially if you already have access to it. The landscape of future automatic transcription is likely to change drastically as AI races on. I’m hopeful that going forward, audio files will be uploaded to AI, automatically chopped up, and transcribed in the blink of an eye. But for now and for most of us, Microsoft 365 is accessible, trainable software with remarkable accuracy.

Tips and Tricks It’s possible to record .wav audio in Microsoft 365’s Word while also simultaneously recording a higher-quality audio file on secondary audio recording software such as Audacity. To do this, open Microsoft 365’s Word and Audacity at the same time. With both set up and ready to record, press

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Start Recording in Microsoft 365’s Word and, as quickly as possible, press the recording button in your chosen audio recording software. Next, just as quickly, press play on your physical audio media. When the recording is complete, be sure to stop both software programs and your physical audio media player. It’s important to note that the audio recorded in the secondary software may need to be trimmed or lengthened at the start of the recording in order to ensure that the timestamps in the automatic transcription match in both files. (This is due to not being able to truly simultaneously start or stop recording in both software programs.)

Troubleshooting My Computer Won’t Detect My Audio Input as a Microphone. This issue is tricky because it depends on what type of cable, computer, and physical audio device you’re using. When in doubt, a cable that ends in a male aux cable is certain to be recognized as a microphone by your computer. However, it’s important to note that aux-in audio is likely to be of lower quality than a USB connection.

My Audio Quality Still Sounds Poor, Even After Digitizing. Digitizing a recording cannot improve the quality of the originally recorded audio. Whatever the original fidelity of the audio, you’re more or less stuck with it.

My Audio Quality Is Too Poor for the Transcription Software to Work. Not every piece of recorded media can be automatically transcribed. However, if you are somewhat tech-savvy, you can sometimes clean up an audio file in audio editing software such as Audacity. This type of work is best performed with files that contain sounds such as light static or the low hum that is sometimes present on audio cassettes. Removing these sounds does fundamentally change the digital audio file, so it may be prudent to retain both an original and a cleaned-up version and to let listeners know that the file has been edited. This may create clear enough audio for the automatic transcription process to work. n

Erika Alfieri (they/them) is a youth librarian at the Jacksonville Public Library. They also run River Stories, an oral history project documenting the experiences of the queer community in Jacksonville, Fla. Alfieri holds an M.L.I.S. from Florida State University and an undergraduate degree in art history from Arizona State University.

by

alison a. trotta

Words of Wisdom

‘Teachers are to inspire; librarians are to fulfill.’

News Desk  news • announcements • updates

—Ray Bradbury

Wiley Signs New Agreement With DEAL Wiley has entered into a new 5-year agreement with the DEAL Consortium, which represents more than 1,000 academic institutions in Germany. The deal began in January, and it allows the two organizations to craft a blueprint for the next phase of OA publishing in order to better meet the changing needs of the scholarly community. Wiley, the first publisher to sign an agreement with DEAL, will continue to provide authors at German institutions with OA publishing options across its portfolio. The agreement includes read access to all of Wiley’s journal content, along with more extensive benefits for the German research system, such as supporting institutions in the transition to OA, honoring the huge value that learned societies bring to the scholarly community, and bolstering infrastructure, which includes robust workflows to support authors, readers, and librarians.

the convening of key leaders currently working on the core value of sustainability within ALA both through online meetings and a gathering at the 2024 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience in Baltimore, Md. In addition, the ALA Council Committee on Sustainability (CCS) and SLI will conduct a virtual session and issue a survey to collect feedback from the library field to inform the strategy,” a press release states. “This plan builds on years of work by committed ALA member leaders and will help library workers gain further understanding, confidence, and access to resources to build a more sustainable future for libraries and the communities they serve,” says ALA president Emily Drabinski. “We need library professionals to see climate action as a part of their roles in order to face the current realities and dire predictions of climate change in the coming decades,” states Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, co-founder of SLI.

EBSCO Introduces New Division ALA Fights Climate Change ALA is teaming up with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) to create a strategic plan for library professionals to combat climate change. SLI’s focus is to empower library leaders to further environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible practices to purposefully address climate change and co-create thriving communities. The National Climate Action Strategy will give the organizations guidance on climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and climate justice work. “The creation of the climate action strategy for libraries will involve

EBSCO Information Services has launched EBSCOlearning, a new division geared toward improving the skills and productivity of businesses, organizations, and learners. This undertaking brings EBSCO’s skills development content and learning solutions into one division to serve the needs of professionals and workers, along with learners at secondary schools, trade schools, colleges, universities, graduate schools, and public libraries. According to Mike Laddin, EBSCO’s SVP and general manager of EBSCOlearning, this will enable EBSCO to supply additional, targeted focus in the

development of learning products for students and those in the workforce. “With EBSCOlearning’s products and services, we look to equip people and organizations with enhanced productivity, greater efficiency, lower turnover, improved employee satisfaction, [and] career and life advancement. We have a focus on ‘real-time learning’ in bitesized increments to meet the needs of how people learn and work today,” he says in a press release. Along with its well-known global research and library solutions for academic, school, and public libraries; healthcare and medical institutions; and government agencies, EBSCO has a portfolio of well-regarded corporate learning and career development products and services specifically for businesses, educational institutions, and workforce development organizations. They include Job and Career Accelerator, FinancialFit, and EBSCO LearningExpress. “These products provide leadership and management skills development, entrepreneurial training, career development resources, GED equivalency, college and graduate school test preparation, occupational test preparation, learning resources for correctional facilities, technical courses such as AWS training, and much more,” according to the same release.

ResearchGate Partners With Taylor & Francis ResearchGate has teamed up with Taylor & Francis, making 200 Taylor & Francis journals available on ResearchGate. This partnership will give these titles enhanced visibility and engagement via ResearchGate’s Journal

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News Desk

Home offering. Each journal will have a dedicated profile that is accessible via the ResearchGate platform and will be prominently displayed on associated article pages along with related touchpoints across the network. Additionally, researchers can read more than 60,000 version-of-record OA articles on the ResearchGate platform. More articles from 80 OA Taylor & Francis journals will be added as they are published.

Lyngsoe Systems Teams Up With Surrey Libraries Lyngsoe Systems has partnered with Surrey Libraries to launch the Super Access initiative. This project, powered by Lyngsoe Systems’ technology, aims to transform libraries across Surrey, U.K., and beyond, enhancing accessibility and empowering communities via modern technology. It plans to reform the way residents connect, learn, and explore within the library system. The initiative will give people a seamless and enriched experience, providing improved access to resources, enhanced services, and the ability to connect to a wealth of knowledge and culture. Phil Farrell, Lyngsoe Systems’ general manager, says in a press release, “Lyngsoe Systems are delighted to be working with Surrey Libraries to implement our proven technology for the Super Access initiative. Our system is helping transform libraries across the UK, and this new framework agreement will enable other libraries to embrace our technology too.”

Gale Offers New Environmental History Resource Gale, part of Cengage, has debuted the first installment of Environmental History: Conservation and Public Policy in America, 1870–1980. It is the first digital archive that looks at the history of the environment and conservation efforts globally from the late 1800s onward. The collection focuses on the role of various government agencies, conservation organizations, and individuals who pioneered the study of the natural environment and campaigned for its protection. The series will provide scholars and researchers with histor-

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ical context for present-day conservation movements from a variety of viewpoints, enabling new insights and connections about environmental efforts.

ResearchGate and Pensoft Team Up ResearchGate and Pensoft have entered into a new partnership, which will enhance the reach and visibility of Pensoft’s OA journals, increasing access and engagement with its 25 million researcher members. Pensoft, a fully OA publisher, provides high-quality end-to-end services to its own journals, as well as third-party research journals through its in-house scholarly publishing platform ARPHA. One facet of this new partnership means that 20 Pensoft journals have their content automatically added to ResearchGate upon publication, upping their visibility and discoverability via ResearchGate’s Journal Home offering. According to a press release, this “provides a unique opportunity for Pensoft to connect its authors with their readers. The new journal profiles on ResearchGate will provide a central location for each journal, enabling researchers to learn more, discover new article content, and understand how, through their network, they are connected to the journal’s community of authors and editors. Authors of these journals additionally benefit from having their articles automatically added to their ResearchGate profile page, giving them access to metrics, including who is reading and citing their research. These rich insights will also enable Pensoft to build a deeper understanding of the communities engaging with its journals.”

Research Solutions, Inc. Acquires scite scite has been acquired by Research Solutions, Inc., which will enhance Research Solutions’ product offerings and supply cross-selling opportunities to scite’s growing B2C consumer base of about 21,000 active subscribers, along with its diverse B2B customer base of corporate entities, leading academic institutions, and government agencies. “scite’s Smart Citations go beyond

traditional citations by displaying citation statements, their context within citing articles, and a classification to indicate whether the paper supports or contradicts the cited claim. Powering a suite of research features, this index of over one billion Smart Citations assists in discovering, vetting, and understanding research articles,” according to a press release. “This acquisition presents a material cross-sell and upsell opportunity, driving platform revenue growth by providing a comprehensive suite of research tools to existing Research Solutions customers, which will enhance workflows from end to end. With a majority of its revenue currently sourced from B2C and academic users, scite will strengthen Research Solutions’ capacity to serve academic institutions and leverage scite’s unique capabilities together with Article Galaxy Scholar.”

De Gruyter Announces New Division De Gruyter has launched Paradigm Publishing Services, a new dedicated division that provides publishing solutions to meet the unique needs of publishers in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in scientific associations, societies, and library publishing programs. Paradigm is focused on helping publishers adapt and revitalize their business strategies and publishing operations. Overseen by Steve Fallon, De Gruyter’s president, the Paradigm team will uphold a worldwide presence via established De Gruyter brands, including the OA providers Ubiquity and Sciendo, along with the University Press Library Group. Paradigm is dedicated to offering an innovative approach that leverages the potential of its portfolio through its comprehensive array of products, services, and talent. “This strategic move reaffirms De Gruyter’s commitment to providing exceptional support and solutions for publishers navigating the evolving landscape of global access and financial viability through sustainable publishing of both open and closed content,” according to a press release. l

Noted & Quoted

by

alison a. trotta

 people • libraries • awards • promotions

‘Representation matters in librarianship, especially when the communities we serve are diverse, and they would want to see people that look like them in libraries.’ —‘Celebrating Black Librarianship: An Interview With Dr. Hayden,’ by Wing Tang, The Reservoir: A Chronicle for Collective Change, July 12, 2023

CCC has announced that Ian Palmer is its new VP of marketing. He will be responsible for leading the company’s international marketing communications strategy and driving global brand awareness for its information solutions. Palmer has more than 2 decades of experience working for software and service providers that assist scholarly publishers, research-driven organizations, and knowledge workers who rely on STM information. Additionally, he is an accomplished marketing and sales leader who previously served as chief sales and marketing officer at PubHive, VP of sales and marketing at DeepDyve, and pharmaceutical solutions director at QxMD Software. Tracey Armstrong, president and CEO of CCC, says in a press release, “Ian has substantial expertise in driving market creation and demand through research-driven positioning and branding, full-funnel marketing management, plus data and analytics-driven decision making. We look forward to his contributions as CCC continues to develop solutions that foster high data quality, integrate data silos, and create licensing solutions enabling the use of copyrighted materials as society realizes the benefits promised by AI systems.” ••••• CCC has hired Duncan Campbell as the executive director of its client engagement and business development team. Most recently, Campbell was senior director of global sales and partnerships at Wiley. In that position, he led the teams responsible for licensing and

business development, agent relations, collective rights management, and permissions across all of Wiley’s academic journal and database content. Campbell is a vice chair of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) Policy Committee and a non-executive director of Seren Books, a literary publisher based in Wales. Previously, he was co-chair of the CLOCKSS digital archive and a board member at the International Publishers’ Rights Organization, the International Federation of Reproductive Rights Organization (IFRRO), and Crossref. ••••• Choice, a publishing unit of ACRL (which is a division of ALA), has selected Rachel Hendrick as editor and publisher. Hendrick began serving as operations manager of Choice in 2014 before being promoted to director of operations in 2016. In April 2022, she was named interim editor and publisher. Hendrick began her career at LIFE magazine as a photo researcher, but she also worked at many notable national and international companies, such as Readers Digest, Conde Nast, and Sotheby’s auction house. After joining the team at Choice, she became a driving force in reconfiguring its operations and content in order to meet the needs of 21-century librarianship. Beyond her professional knowledge of publishing, Hendrick is bringing her expertise in librarianship to the role, having earned an M.L.I.S., with a concentration in rare books and special collections. She

also holds an M.A. in history and a B.A. in fine arts for art history. ••••• ALA’s president, Emily Drabinski, was named to the 2023 Out100 list from Out magazine, joining a group of distinguished LGBTQIA+ people who were recognized for their stellar contributions, impact, and influence throughout last year. The theme of the 2023 list was Open Doors, spotlighting people who have made significant inroads within the community and have blazed trails by opening doors and breaking down barriers for others. Drabinski was featured in the list’s Storytellers category. ••••• Core, a division of ALA, has announced Julie Reese as its executive director. Reese began serving as interim executive director in September 2022. Since that time, she worked alongside Core’s board of directors and members to make certain that Core’s mission, programs, and services align with strategic goals. Reese has striven to create new relationships across ALA units as well as with external stakeholders and peer organizations that hold mutual interests. “Reese has been with ALA for 22 years, beginning with former divisions Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA) and Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) and now in Core. She quickly grew the continuing education offerings from ALCTS and the LLAMA regional institutes and ALCTS National Confer-

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Noted & Quoted

ence in the years to follow. During her tenure with ALCTS, she saw the birth of web courses—then webinars—and created ALCTS’s first-ever week-long virtual forum, the ALCTS Exchange,” according to a press release. “During her interim year, Reese oversaw the development and implementation of Core’s first in-person conference, Core Forum, which was held in Salt Lake City in October 2022. With Reese in the lead, Core has been able to achieve a balanced budget for FY23, a first for Core, which was the goal for year three of the division.” With this promotion, Thomas Ferren stepped into the role of deputy executive director of learning and events. Prior to this, he held the position of interim deputy executive director for leadership and learning. Before that, he was program officer of professional development, successfully managing the Core continuing education program and maintaining Core CE products

(webinars, web courses, classrooms, preconferences, tours, etc.). Before joining Core, Ferren was the program officer for continuing education at ALCTS in 2019 and ALA’s senior registration coordinator from 2007 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2019. In the latter role, he handled registration for almost 200 inperson meetings, affiliate conferences, online courses, and webinars. Additionally, he was heavily involved in ALCTS’s continuing education.

maps. Before joining SirsiDynix, Connolly worked in academic libraries for more than a decade. Mostly recently, she was a technical services librarian at Hampden-Syndey College’s Bortz Library and system administrator for the Symphony Southside Area Libraries Sharing Access (SALSA) consortium. She has an M.L.I.S. from Valdosa State University and was given the Academic Innovator Award in 2021 by the Virginia Library Association (VLA). l

••••• SirsiDynix announced Maryśka Connolly as director of partnerships and communications for its CloudSource team. Connolly joined the company in 2021 as a library relations manager. In that role, she represented 74 customer accounts, instructing libraries throughout the U.S. on system features and functionality as well as integrating their feedback into future product road

Propose your case studies, best practices, how-to articles, research results, and opinion pieces on any tech-enabled effort that helped your library achieve its purpose, vision, mission, or mandate.

Does your library have a special announcement to make? CIL is always looking for more items to include in the Noted & Quoted section. So if you have something to share, please send it in. Contact: Alison A. Trotta CIL Noted & Quoted Editor [email protected]

TOPICS FOR 2024 CMSs and Websites

Web Resources

ILS/Discovery/ Search

Edtech and Instruction

Catalogs, Collections, and Metadata

Platforms and Library Systems

E-Resources

Data Management and Metrics

Digitization, Access, and Preservation

Breakthroughs and Cutting-Edge Tech

Librarians: Submit your story proposals using our query form at infotoday.com/cilmag.

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EDTECH

HOW TO DESIGN

By Phil Shapiro

Fun Math Games for Kids, Teens, Seniors, and In-Betweeners My

g oa l in of t al h pro i mo s is t l con te pl o a abo versat yful i ut num ons ber s.

G

rowing up, my friends and I would often invent games to play (both indoors and outdoors), and we came to understand that invented games could be just as fun as store-bought games. I’ve been using that playful spirit to create fun, free math games for my library community—and this article will show you how you can do the same. These games are all paper-based, but if you have coders in your community, you could create interactive, web-based versions of them too.

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How to Design Fun Math Games for Kids, Teens, Seniors, and In-Betweeners

EDTECH Pairs Math Game, LibreOffice display screen

My original game, Pairs Math Game, was designed for middle school students. (Visit the game’s website at pairs mathgame.com to see all versions. They can be freely downloaded, printed, and photocopied.) Its basic goal is to find two numbers that add up to 100, So, you are looking for pairs such as 95 and five or 80 and 20. The rules of this game can be modified to suit age categories or special needs. In creating this game, I use the LibreOffice Calc spreadsheet to generate random numbers from 1 to 100. (If you’re more familiar with Excel, you can use that to fill your spreadsheet with random numbers.) To make the game more visually engaging, I print it with large-font numbers on tabloid size paper (11" x 17"). Via trial and error, I found a visually appealing design of 17 columns by 18 rows, with a 28-point font. The key to making the design appealing is the spacing of the spreadsheet cells, which you can control in LibreOffice by adjusting the row height and column width under the Life-size numbers banner

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Format menu. With the large size font for numbers that I use, I often choose a row height and column width in the range of .4" or .5". You will need to experiment to find what works best for your own printing needs. I also align the numbers in the middle of the cell by choosing the small Align Center icon in LibreOffice’s formatting toolbar.

New Versions After designing the original version of this paper-based math game, I handed out copies to families who visit the public library where I work. Imagine my surprise when one mother told me, “My 4-year-old son loves your math game.” The original game was designed for middle school students, but apparently this youngster is math-oriented. I received other favorable feedback from the first version of the game, so I went on to design a version that’s better suited for elementary students. Some versions now have other goals than adding two numbers to make 100. I also decided to create versions of the game that print on legal size pa-

per (8.5" x 14"), which is easier and cheaper to photocopy. Because my library’s managers are so supportive, I went on to design a banner size version—3' x 8'—to hang on the wall of the computer center, where I work. In the banner version, the font size is 144 points—which is 2" tall. I added color to some of the numbers in this banner, just for visual interest. The colors have no significance to the game on this banner, but I may design future math games in which the colors have a role to play. As you can see from the photo on page 32, this large banner provides an engaging way for students to talk about numbers. If you’d like to hang a banner in your own library, the Pairs Math Game website provides a free PDF file that you can print on an HP DesignJet printer with 36" paper rolls. More and more public libraries are offering these printers for public use. Your library might also have a community partner—e.g., an architectural firm or a college makerspace—that can print this banner for you. Some library systems might have a banner printer that is used by the marketing department. You should be able to sweet talk your marketing department colleagues into printing a math banner for use in the library. These colleagues might even be happily surprised to learn about this alternative use for the printer. The Pairs Math Game website includes links to buying vinyl banners of this game from Zazzle.com. (Full disclosure: I receive a small royalty payment whenever a vinyl banner is purchased.) These vinyl banners are very durable and can even be used outdoors, in the rain, at public library events. Some public libraries might choose to add a mini banner to their circulating library collection. This smaller banner is designed to fit on most dining room tables. It’s useful to note that when you order a vinyl banner from Zazzle.com, it takes about a week to 10 days for it to be delivered. If you’re planning on using vinyl banners for public events, it’s best to order them early.

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COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES

thinking about the Crosby Question and whether there might be some interesting variations of that question.” Bingo. Mission accomplished. To be sure, this math game has many possible uses in the community. It can be used in afterschool academic enrichment programs, at home by grandparents raising grandchildren, or in a children’s hospital with children who need to keep their minds occupied while they are healing after surgery. The game could also be used in a seniors’ retirement community to keep minds agile, on long airplane or train trips, to keep kids busy, or even in a school classroom as a reward activity after students have completed another learning activity. If you have families in your community who don’t speak English, this game can provide fun mental stimulation while they’re learning English. Along this line of thought, I recommend you watch the short, inspiring YouTube video, “13 Year Old Tanglin Solves Hardest KenKen” (youtube.com/watch?v=Xg8wEGFHWoM). KenKen logic puzzles have a devoted worldwide following. If you’d like to make KenKen a part of your library community, see my video book review on YouTube, “KenKen Tried and True Techniques for Beginners” (youtube.com/ watch?v=k8V3iVDDnRY).

EDTECH

How to Design Fun Math Games for Kids, Teens, Seniors, and In-Betweeners

Game Uses My goal in all of this is to promote playful conversations about numbers. Talking is teaching. I also strive to give agency to my students to encourage them to invent their own math questions that they can ask me and others. Crosby, a bright fourth grader who visits my library, invented the Crosby Question. His question is used with Numbers Banner 1. The Crosby Question goes like this: “Find three numbers that add up to 200, with none of the numbers being round numbers.” This is a high school-level math question, invented by an elementary school student. To honor his inventiveness, I have posted the Crosby Question as the first student-created questions section on the Pairs Math Game website. Without much effort on my part, I have helped Crosby think of himself as a math game inventor. Having had a positive experience with this, he will naturally seek out other opportunities to invent. I asked him recently, “How was your week, Crosby?” I was immensely amused when he replied, “I had a good week. I’ve been

Imagine my surprise when one mother told me, ‘My 4-year-old son loves your math game.’ DIY If your library community would like to go all in on designing and distributing your own math games, you might want to purchase an HP DesignJet printer. I recently bought the $700 HP DesignJet T210 for my own home use. It is immensely fun for printing math games, children’s stories with very large fonts, and other uses. It prints on paper rolls that are 24"x 150' feet. These paper rolls are

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COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES

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How to Design Fun Math Games for Kids, Teens, Seniors, and In-Betweeners

EDTECH

‘Coin Questions—at the Public Library—Takoma Park, MD’ Back in 2016, I created an 8-minute video explaining the fun coin question math activity I do with students who visit the public library where I work. These coin combination questions help students develop a love of thinking. When you have a love of thinking, the world becomes a much more interesting place to live, work, and play. I use these questions with children as young as kindergarten

$18 each. The ink for this printer is also affordable, when used wisely, and printing number game banners is a lowintensity use of the ink. My own setup is to use this printer with open source software, such as LibreOffice, Inkscape, and GIMP, as well as with the Canva web service, which I have not yet explored enough. I should say a few words about library policies regarding hanging banners on the wall. At my place of work, the managers have been immensely supportive of my doing so. They understand that my purpose is education inclusion, to reach students who otherwise would not be excelling at math and give them a way to increase their interest in mathematical thinking. Staffers in several libraries I visited in the past year explained to me that they aren’t allowed to hang anything up on the wall. To my mind, this policy is shortsighted. This is akin to a family saying, “We will not place any our children’s drawings on the door of the family refrigerator because that could detract from the pristine look of our family kitchen.” In answer to that, I would say that you have a choice to either look good or be good. Please do not foreclose the latter by choosing the former. If you’re wondering how I became a math game designer, you may want to read my 2012 article, “The Day My Mind Became Open Sourced” (shorturl.at/lrw39). In it, I explain

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age and as old as high school age. I adapt the difficulty of the questions to the age and skill of the students. The fun part, for me, is nudging the students forward in the difficulty of the questions that they enjoy solving. This requires getting the students to trust me to not ask them a question that is too difficult for them to answer. When I ask difficult questions, I might also give them some hints or otherwise engage in a dialogue that helps them to reach the answer. The most fun is when I invite students to invent their own coin combination questions to ask me. (I tell them, tongue-in-cheek, “Your question cannot be too difficult, because I’m just an adult.”) I invite students to ask me coin combination questions that have as many as eight, 10, or 12 coins. I’m usually able to figure out an answer to these in less than 2 minutes. When students invent the questions, they are increasing their own sense of agency—and they’re still learning math in the process.

how an afterschool play session with my friend Bruce Jordan gave me a clear sense of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. When you read that article, you will understand why I love spending time on my sideline projects at my public library job. I have a strong sense of my own agency within this world, and I exercise that agency in a way so that others can choose to be agents themselves. In the words of the very wise Pete Seeger, “The world does not need strong leaders. It needs many leaders—each of us doing many good things in many communities.” This is a call to action we should all respond to. Let’s watch what happens when we do that. n

Phil Shapiro works as a library associate at the Takoma Park Maryland Library, which is a small public library close to Washington, D.C. The Takoma Park community has residents from 92 countries, and they all come to the public library. At his job, Shapiro greets community members in English, French, Amharic, Somali, and American Sign Language. He is reachable at pshapiro@his .com and opensource.com/users/pshapiro.

voices of the searchers FOMO, GAI, LLM, RAG: So Many Acronyms! Marydee Ojala FROM THE WAY GENERATIVE AI as a whole, and ChatGPT as its subset, have dominated the headlines, you’d think that’s the only technology information professionals worry about these days. You’d be wrong. First of all, although GenAI only came on the scene for public use at the end of 2022, AI has been around for decades. Librarians have been experimenting with introducing robots into their libraries, creating AI-based taxonomies and metadata, analyzing circulation data and user demographics using AI-powered tools, employing chatbots for basic reference questions, and using machine learning for text and data mining for years. We’re hardly AI novices. The incredible hype around GenAI, the speed at which the technology is changing, the sudden alterations in user interfaces, and the exciting and innovative uses information professionals are finding for it lead some to experience FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). All those other people are doing things that we either haven’t considered, lack a budget to implement, or don’t have time for. Or all three. Some GenAI attributes can be easily incorporated into our normal workflows, such as machine translation. Others take more effort, such as creating images. You can construct an image reasonably quickly, but to make it exactly the way you want it to look takes considerably more iterations, thought, and time. Content summarization can convey great benefits but needs human supervision. Although ChatGPT’s initial entrance into librarian consciousness centered on its propensity to create illusionary citations, other GenAI products produce valid ones. Since this is a known problem, I’m pretty sure it will be fixed in future versions. The trick is to know the source material that feeds the LLM (large language model), something Chat GPT’s creator, OpenAI, has resisted revealing. Consensus, Elicit, and scite use peer-reviewed literature as the basis for their LLM. One result is real, accurate citations. For online searchers, FOMO is not the only fear. Another longstanding fear is missing a critical piece of information. I once had a discussion with colleagues about whether we should tell clients our search results were comprehensive. I thought not, citing one example where my client subscribed to a specialized newsletter that was not included in any library database and was not available in electronic form. I could not include it in my deliverables to him and had to explain why what he considered a vital source was missing.

As the pool of information expands, this fear intensifies. There’s just too much information out there, and in an increasing number of formats. Can I really search the web via multiple search engines and a large number of subscription databases, then add in searches on YouTube, Substack, Medium, and Reddit, and still make the project deadline? We are limited by our budgets and our time. Coupled with missing something important is the added fear of providing incorrect information. As spurious scholarly research papers, deepfakes, misreported and mislabeled news stories, and garbled statistics appear more frequently, it’s exhausting to sort out what is valuable (and true) from what isn’t. And then there’s the fear of not knowing what all the AI-related acronyms represent. Here’s a quick primer on a few of them: GAI is the shortened form of GenAI or generative AI. RAG is retrieval augmented generation. Part of NLP (natural language processing), RAG adds external sources to the existing LLM and combines retrieval-based models with generative models to improve the quality of answers. AGI, artificial general intelligence, is at the heart of the philosophical discussion about whether AI will be helpful or harmful to humans in the future. SGE, Search Generative Experience, is Google’s contribution to the panoply of acronyms. Part of Google Labs, SGE uses GAI to provide answers to queries about the standard list of blue links. Here’s another fear: As budgets are suddenly redirected toward AI projects, many librarians fear being thought of as irrelevant. It’s all those “Why do we have a library now that we’ve got the internet” questions once again only with greater force and with “AI” substituted for “internet.” If library budgets are cut to accommodate new AI initiatives, we have the appalling situation of being unable to retain traditional trusted databases, which is bound to have a detrimental effect on library users’ research endeavors. I think it’s clear that GAI will have a transformative effect on how we view the search process, whether we’re searching the web, in library databases, or on discovery systems. Let’s not fall prey to FOMO or any other fear. Be proactive in explaining the benefits and drawbacks of GAI. Explore how AI changes research. It’s a brand new, shiny search world, and it’s up to information professionals to lead the way. Fearlessly. NFOA (no fear of AI). Comments? Email Marydee Ojala ([email protected]), editor, Online Searcher.

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User Surveys Drivers of User Engagement and Service Improvement as

By Winnie Jamara

Faced with stiff competition from other information service providers and the economic downturn, academic libraries must find ways to reposition themselves and remain valuable to the community they serve. Therefore, it is imperative for them to find ways of assessing their user satisfaction levels with regards to the services and products they offer. Academic libraries can engage their users by listening to them, and one way of listening is through customer surveys, which allow the library to gather information on the quality of the services and highlight areas where service levels should be raised.

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ser surveys help determine customer insights into services and products and are drivers of user engagement and service improvement. Also needed is a customer feedback loop, a framework for implementing the feedback for improved service and products delivery.

BOTSWANA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (BIUST) Established in 2006, the BIUST was intended to play a major role as a catalyst for social and economic growth, leading to a significant transformation of Botswana. The primary goal was to shift the nation’s economy from one centered on resources to one centered on knowledge. The university library plays a critical role as the heart of the university, promoting learning and intellectual exploration. The library provides resources and services that are responsive and aligned to the strategic goals of the university: teaching, learning, and research. It has a staff of 17 in three units: Administration, which is charged with providing authoritative control of library affairs; Resource Management, which is responsible for managing information resources, people, information technology, and space; and Information Support, which deals directly with library users, provides effective reader’s advisory and basic reference services to patrons, offers in-person assistance for the use of technology (including electronic

devices and library e-resources), and promotes access and usage of information resources.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Libraries have always been customer-centric. In today’s everevolving information landscape, which is coupled with changing user needs and technology, library users play a key role in determining library provisions. Cullen (2001) opines that academic libraries must raise the quality of their offerings if they want to remain competitive in the increasingly global digital environment. The future of academic libraries lies in their close interactions with patrons. Today’s participatory libraries build on that trust and provide their users with more power to influence the course of the library services themselves (Nguyen et al. 2012). Smeaton and Davis (2014) share the same sentiments by indicating that this brandnew participatory library is the one that regularly converses with its patrons. Lankes et al. (2007) argue that by engaging its users, the library amasses user data that can help with both present and future services and collection development. Casey and Savastinuk (2008) argue that in a Library 2.0 environment, a guiding principle is “user-centered change.” This approach focuses on library-user engagement, customer as collaborator, and customizable services. They recommend a regular solicitation of user feedback plus the evaluation of current services.

Libraries must argue for their continued existence by citing advantages, effects, community, and social benefits (Reid 2020). Hallam (2018) further indicates that the need is growing for libraries to demonstrate their social value to funders. Carlsson and Torngren (2020) highlight that, as governmental entities require more efficient services and a proactive development plan, university libraries must upgrade their services to meet present and future needs as new needs are always being created. Quality assurance and assessment have become critical components in the operations of academic libraries. Libraries have been using quality evaluation and other management methods for more than 50 years (Orr 1973). A critical factor for success is understanding customer satisfaction (Aquilani et al. 2017). Libraries must identify various customer groups, understand their needs, and seek to achieve high levels of user satisfaction. A move from a library-based view to a customerbased view is critical (Hakala and Nygrén). As a result, it is crucial that libraries discover techniques to gauge how satisfied their customers are with the services and products they provide. Evaluating service quality is the first step to keeping consumers (Altman and Hernon 1998). Through user engagement, a two-way process between the service provider and its users, libraries can identify what does and does not meet their users’ needs. In the context of libraries,

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this would be the interaction between the library users and the library. Attfield et al. (2011) defines engagement as a crucial idea in creating user-centered web apps. The level of the user experience highlights the beneficial features of the contact, especially the phenomenon connected to being mesmerized by technology. They go further to state that user engagement is the relationship that occurs between a user and a resource at any given time and maybe across time in terms of emotions, thoughts, and behavior. User engagement is the degree to which the user experience highlights the advantages of connecting with a product or services delivered. It is important to note there is a difference between user engagement and customer engagement. Bowden (2009) views customer involvement as a psychological process with both emotional and cognitive components, whereas Vivek et al. (2012, p. 127) define customer engagement as “the intensity of an individual’s participation and connection with the organization’s offerings and activities initiated by either the customer or the organization.”

METHODS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE The design and development of library services and products should be informed and shaped by the customer. Delivering quality service is an essential strategy for success and survival within any organization. Services and products must constantly be evaluated to gauge their impact, assess satisfaction, and encourage the modification of services in response to evaluation. Hakala and Nygrén (2010) argue that for university libraries to better serve their clientele, as well as their organizations, they need to listen. A user survey is a technique for gathering client feedback on the services and products that an organization offers. By conducting user surveys, the library can collect user data and find out more about the services’ quality, pinpointing areas where service levels need to be raised. Additionally, they are user-friendly, cheap to administer, and offer high reliability. They are also useful in strategic planning. Carlsson and Torngren indicate that surveys are simple to conduct, efficiently collect feedback from user groups, and produce information that can be used to explain the value of libraries to stakeholders. Some standardized user survey instruments that were initially developed for market research have been adopted by libraries for assessing patron attitudes and engagement with library products and services. Servqual: As indicated by HeryWihardikaGriadhi (2018) and Coleman et al. (1997), Servqual is a service-quality survey developed by Leonard L. Berry, A. Parasuraman, and Valarie A. Zeithaml. It is an instrument created to measure service quality based on the minimum, perceived, and desired performance levels of a client. It provides 22 questions that can be modified to be more specific to library needs. Answers to the questions are ranked from 1 to 10, with 1 bring very poor and 9 excellent. This low-to-high ranking is a common Likert scale implementation. The SERVQUAL survey is designed to measure service quality in five dimensions: • Tangibles: The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials • Reliability: The ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately

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• Responsiveness: The willingness to help customers and provide prompt service • Assurance: The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence • Empathy: The caring, individualized attention given to customers LibQUAL+: According to Kumar and Mahajan (2019), LibQUAL+ is a user-centric paradigm that collects data on practically every facet of the library, both qualitative and quantitative. The core questions in the LibQUAL survey are organized into three main categories: Affect of Service (AS), Information Control (IC), and Library as Place (LP). LibSat: As an alternative to LibQUAL, LibSat is a continuous web-based survey available 24/7 for library users to express their opinions about the quality of services they receive. Scale Survey: This is the most commonly used instrument by BIUST library and makes use of SurveyMonkey. It has a satisfaction scale that includes moderate or neutral options as well as extreme attitudes on a range of topics. Likert scale ratings are designed to offer quantitative response possibilities that simplify data analysis. It enables academic libraries to find other points of view that can be important for comprehending the input they are receiving. It can also help them focus on the areas where they might wish to make improvements.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ASSESSMENT Quality assurance and assessment has become key to library operations. COVID made this action even more of a must for libraries as departments’ competition for finances intensified. Library services and products must constantly be evaluated to measure their impact on the customer, assess customer satisfaction, and encourage the modification of services in response to evaluation. Several data collection techniques can be used to measure user engagement, including self-reported measures, questionnaires, pre- and post-tasks, and performance and psychological measures. Here are just some of the benefits that are derived from employing user surveys for assessing library users’ attitudes and engagement with library products and services: • Drives customer engagement and service improvement • Involves users in the design of new services • Allows the library through customer surveys to address real concerns of its users • Enables the library to better serve its customers • Provides a useful means of efficiently gathering data about library patrons’ attributes, knowledge, behaviors, experiences, and demography • Strengthens library collection and services • Compares the quality and utility of the library services users experienced to their expectations • Understands what is most important to library users • Determines the level of engagement between the library and its users Despite the advantages of user surveys as an engagement tool for library services and products improvement, lack of implemen-

Mark Sharpe’s explanation of the importance of customer feedback loops on the convas blog (convas.io/blog/customer-feedback-loop) The infusion of a customer feedback loop in a survey by BIUST library

tation of its findings is detrimental to the overall improvement of library operations, which has a diverse effect on user satisfaction. Chow (2019) argues: [T]he user survey is a useful tool for library managers interested in developing their libraries in response to changing user needs, and secondly, for more published accounts of surveys and their usefulness. However, the user survey as a tool for generating evidence-based decision making in libraries fails to achieve its potential if two further important practices are not implemented. First and most importantly, the findings obtained from the survey must be used to inform decision making on managing and leading improvements to the library. This aspect of follow-through from survey findings to management decision making, may well lead to changing resource allocation and priorities, new practices, and improvements to collections and the physical environment. Second, the findings of the survey should be fed back to users as a means of raising their interest and engagement in the academic library as a hub of learning.

FEEDBACK LOOP AS A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY When it comes to improving library services and products, libraries should not stop at customer surveys; they should also adopt and implement customer feedback loops as a customer experience strategy. The basis for adopting a customer feedback loop is to let users know that their feedback is used for both product and service improvement. Without this reassurance, users are less likely to provide feedback. They want tangible evidence that their feedback is being useful. Having a well-designed feedback loop is key in building loyal and engaged users. Library users’ feedback loop should help enhance services, products, and delivery instead of just fixing the

identified gaps as a way of keeping users happy. Closing the loop creates a lifecycle that builds powerful relationships. Library users’ expectations have risen over the years. In response, libraries are reinventing themselves to provide services and products that meet/exceed user expectations. As a result, libraries are continuously embedding customer feedback loops into user surveys to gain information from users about a product or service that could ether be negative or positive. Library services and products are improved through implementation of the four components of the feedback loop as explained briefly below: • Gather feedback: Ask library users for feedback on library services and products. • Analyze feedback: Categorize feedback into themes that are meaningful to library operations. Build services and products road maps based on customer feedback. • Act on feedback: Plan and execute changes based on user feedback and recommendations. Share with staff members who will implement the changes. Adjust services and products, then evaluate the changes. • Follow up with customers: Make follow-ups with users who gave feedback on your plans to let them know about the changes. This will show them that they are being listened to. This will motivate them to give feedback as the library looks to improve its offerings.

WHY USE A FEEDBACK LOOP IN SERVICE IMPROVEMENT? Implementation of the feedback loop cycle is important to libraries for these reasons: • Enhances user experience • Improves the quality and functionality of library infrastructure and delivery of services • Increases usage and impact of library products and services

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• • • •

Enhances innovation in library services Demonstrates value and contribution Enables the library to explore opportunities Fosters intentional user engagement

PROVING VALUE In conclusion, the competitive nature of services, the value of libraries, and their place in educational institutions have made consumer involvement increasingly important and relevant. Therefore, including assessment and monitoring of library services and products is essential for improving service delivery as this enables the library to provide services and products that satisfy the changing demands of its users. By employing user surveys as a catalyst for customer engagement and service enhancement, academic libraries can map patron experiences with the services and goods provided. To enhance user experience and, consequently, happiness, academic libraries systematically gath-

er user opinions regarding their collections, services, and physical space. User comments shed light on the requirements, habits, and issues that library users face. Embedding a customer feedback loop in a user survey can play a crucial role in enhancing service delivery and efficiency in academic libraries by aligning services with user needs, improving the user experience, and driving continuous improvement. It helps academic libraries stay responsive to user expectations, optimize resource management, and foster a culture of user-centered service.

Winnie Jamara ([email protected]) is manager, information support, Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) Library. Comments? Emall Marydee Ojala ([email protected]), editor, Online Searcher.

References Altman, Elllen and Peter Hernon, “Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Do Matter.” American Libraries, v. 29, n. 7, August 1998: pp. 53–54 (jstor.org/ stable/25635065).

Hallam, Gillian, “Being Evidence Based Makes Sense! An Introduction to Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP).” Bibliothek Forschung Und Praxis, v. 42, n. 3 (December 2018): pp. 453–462 (doi.org/10.1515/bfp-2018-0067).

Aquilani, Barbara; Celilia Silvestri; Alessandro Ruggier; and Corrado Gatti, “A Systematic Literature Review on Total Quality Management Critical Success Factors and the Identification of New Avenues of Research.” The TQM Journal, v. 29, n. 1, January 2017: pp. 184–213 (doi.org/10.1108/TQM-01-2016-0003).

HeryWihardikaGriadhi, Made, ”An Evaluation on Library Services Using Servqual Method.” Global Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning in Education (GC-TALE 2017), SHS Web Conf. v. 42 (2018) (doi.org/10.1051/ shsconf/20184200071).

Attfield, Simon; Gabriella Kazai; Mounia Lalmas, and Benjamin Piwowarski, “Towards a Science of User Engagement (Position Paper).” WSDM’11, Feb. 9–12, 2011, Hong Kong, China (researchgate.net/publication/228542640_ Towards_a_science_of_user_engagement_Position_Paper).

Orr, R. H., “Measuring the Goodness of Library Services: A General Framework for Considering Quantitative Measures.” Journal of Documentation, v. 29, n. 3 (1973): pp. 315–332 (doi.org/10.1108/eb026561).

Bowden, Jana Lay-Hwa, “The Process of Customer Engagement: A Conceptual Framework.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, v. 17, n. 1 (Winter 2009); pp. 63–74 (tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.2753/MTP1069-6679170105). Carlsson, Håkan and Tore Torngren, “Understanding Library Users via Surveys and Other Methods—Best Practices for Evidence-Based Library Development.” Journal of Library Administration, v. 60, n. 8 (September 2020): pp. 925–944 (doi.org/10.10 80/01930826.2020.1820276). Casey, Michaael E, and Laura C. Savastinuk, “Library 2.0: Service for the Nextgeneration Library.” Library Journal, v. 131, n. 14 (September 2006): pp. 40–44. Chow, Janet, “Realising the Potential of User Surveys for Improving Academic Libraries: The Case of St John’s College, Cambridge.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, v. 51, n. 3 (October 2017): pp. 689–701 (doi.org/10. 1177/0961000617732379). Cullen, Rowena, “Perspectives on User Satisfaction Surveys.” Library Trends, v. 49, n. 4 (Spring 2001): pp. 662-–686 (researchgate.net/publication/32961919_ Perspectives_on_User_Satisfaction_Surveys). Coleman, Vicki; Yi (Daniel) Xiao, Linda Bair, Bill Chollett, “Toward a TQM Paradigm: Using SERVQUAL to Measure Library Service Quality.” College & Research Libraries (C&RL), v. 58, n. 3 (May 1997): pp. 238–249 (crl.acrl.org/ index.php/crl/article/view/15128). Hakala, Ulla and Ulla Nygrén, “Customer Satisfaction and the Strategic Role of University Libraries.” International Journal of Consumer Studies. v. 34, n. 2 (February 2010); pp. 204–211 (doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00834.x).

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Kumar, Anil and Preeti Mahajan, “Library Performance Assessment of Service Quality Through LibQUAL: The Case of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak (India).” Library Philosophy and Practice (ejournal). 2638 (September 2019) (digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2638). Lankes, R. David., Joanne Silverstein, and Scott Nicholson, “Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation.” Information Technology and Libraries, v. 26, n. 4 (December 2007): pp. 17–33 (doi.org/10.6017/ital.v26i4.3267). Nguyen, Linh Cuong, Helen Partridge, and Sylvia Lauretta Edwards, “Towards an Understanding of the Participatory Library,” Library Hi Tech, v. 30, n. 2 (June 2012): pp. 335–346 (researchgate.net/publication/242026161_Towards_an_ understanding_of_the_participatory_library). Reid, Peter H., “How Good Is Our Public Library Service? The Evolution of a New Quality Standards Framework for Scottish Public Libraries 2012–2017.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, v. 52, n. 3 (July 2019): pp. 647–658 (doi. org/10.1177/0961000619855430). Smeaton, Kathleen and Kate Davis, “Using Social Media to Create a Participatory Library Service: An Australian Study,” Library and Information Research, v. 38, n. 117 (2014): pp. 54–76 (lirgjournal.org.uk/index.php/lir/article/view/593). Vivek, Shiri. D., Sharon E. Beatty, and Robert M. Morgan, “Customer Engagement: Exploring Customer Relationships Beyond Purchase.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, v. 20, n. 2 (Spring 2012): pp. 127–145 (jstor.org/stable/23243811).

infolit land

William Badke Trinity Western University

Finding Open Access Can Be Harder Than Finding Nemo

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tudents often ask me, “Will I still have access to the library’s databases after I graduate?” The answer, sadly, in most cases, is, “No.” This is discouraging for those alumni who expected to have access forever. True, there are some licensing arrangements that can extend library database use to former graduates, but they are few. A former student can revert to Google and experience the hot mess that finding scholarly literature on the web involves. There is Google Scholar with its regular, “Pay us $40 and you can download this article.” Yet the rapidly growing OA movement, spurred by demands from public funders and the pressure on traditional publishers to offer more OA, is giving all of us hope. Currently, about 20% to 25% of all scholarly articles are OA, and OA publishing in recent years is beginning to outpace articles being released behind paywalls. While not comprehensive, I’d like to suggest some of the better avenues for discovering OA academic sources. Be aware, though, that what I suggest is my own judgment call, which is readily open to correction, and will likely miss a few options.

DIRECTORY OF OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS Over the years, DOAJ (doaj.org) has developed into a powerhouse, providing access to more than 20,000 OA journals and more than 9,600,000 articles. Standards for inclusion are rigorous, including peer review and a consistent track record of publication. Article searches offer the standard range of filters, including “Subject” which uses more than 600 broad categories. Once you have completed a search, you can filter it further by journal title and date. The records for each article are minimal but include a brief abstract, author affiliation, and basic information about the journal. Full-text links direct the user to the article on its journal website. Overall, the search interface is plain but easy to navigate. There is no citation-generating tool.

INTERNET ARCHIVE SCHOLAR Internet Archive Scholar (IAS; scholar.archive.org), a relatively new tool, is still under development. (One suggestion I would make is to change its garish logo on the homepage.) As of November 2023, IAS covers slightly more than 35 million articles, making it larger than DOAJ, and its coverage ranges from the 18th century to present. The Internet Archive’s strong collection of out-of-copyright resources has clearly been enlisted. In several ways, this is a different sort of database in

that it contains regularly published academic articles but also conference proceedings and even preprints. Search is by simple keyword, with no filters available. Rudimentary post-search filters include a broad set of date limiters, such as “since 2000”; resource type; and availability as full-text, OA, or even digitized microfilm. You can sort by relevance or ascending/descending date. Metadata for IAS comes from Fatcat (fatcat.wiki), an open catalog of resources, which offers minimal information. There is a citation generator that does not include the American Psychological Association (APA). Full-text links most often lead to PDFs, though some send users to the Internet Archive itself. Overall, while broader than DOAJ, IAS as a new resource is limited by its very basic search tool, almost nonexistent metadata, and mixed bag of resources. Its strength lies in its broad coverage and historical depth.

DIMENSIONS I wrote a column on the Dimensions database several years ago (“The Dimensions Database: A Revolution in Academic Information Tools?” Online Searcher, v. 42, n. 4, July/August 2018: pp. 52–54), praising it both for the quality of its data sources and its features, such as reference tracking and an OA filter. Dimensions (app.dimensions.ai/discover/publication) remains a viable OA database for those without access to paywalled tools. For example, a search for “information literacy” AND ethics reveals 203 scholarly articles, of which 113 are OA. True, an OA filter doesn’t always help the user find the best resources, since the option of OA or paywall says nothing much about relative quality. Still, this is a solid tool to identify a considerable number of freely available articles, edited books, book chapters, conference proceedings, and preprints. Links to citations to each article improve both the user’s understanding of the significance of the article and access to further relevant resources.

CORE Describing itself as “the world’s largest collection of open access research papers,” some 277 million to be specific, Core (core.ac.uk) on the surface appears to be an ideal OA aggregator. It has a promising list of filters, but a significant challenge is the extremely broad range of source materials, from daily newspapers and online tutorials/slide shows to repositories,

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dissertations, and scholarly articles. This “include almost everything to get overall numbers up” approach is close to deceptive and muddies what Core could offer by way of solid academic OA. The “Type” and “Publisher” filters can screen out some of the mud, but a database like Dimensions is cleaner.

GOOGLE SCHOLAR Why not raise Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) to a position higher in my list? Certainly, Scholar is the largest academic database available to us today. My answer is that its quality, both in search tools and in the uneven level of its resources, continues to make it dodgy. I know Scholar is sheer genius in its almost-comprehensive coverage of academic literature, but there are several reasons why only skilled users are going to avoid its minefields: 1. It has no ability to filter for type of material—book, article, conference proceeding, etc. 2. Not only does it not reveal the sources of its data, but it is filled with predatory journals, preprints, and stuff that may look academic but is not. Wading through all of this to find the gold takes a lot of skill. 3. It doesn’t have the metadata to do much with specific searching. Sadly, its advanced search is almost lost under the enigmatic “hamburger” in the top right. 4. Its citation feature is unreliable, often missing key elements.

most prestigious publishers that are producing OA academic works. The JSTOR platform offers filtering options and good bibliographic information as well as the JSTOR citation feature. Note that “books” also includes dissertations. Google Books (books.google.com) would be a whole lot more helpful if it were not dominated by commercial interests. Most of what you find there is in-copyright material with limited previews. Still, I have often found full, or almost full, chapters, even of commercial titles. To locate older out-of-copyright works, use the “any time” filter at the top of the screen. There are also filters for type of document and for preview versus full view. Fully OA works have a “Read” label. If you want to optimize your experience, try the Google Books advanced search (books.google.com/ advanced_book_search). It’s quite sophisticated. Dissertation access is dominated by ProQuest, which is primarily a vendor of works for a fee. But even ProQuest offers a free option, and other OA repositories provide a bounty of dissertations in full text. But how do you find them? One way is to search on a subject area, along with the word dissertation, in Google or Bing. The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (ndltd.org/thesis-resources/find-etds) offers a list of database repositories and search tools by country. Probably the best overall source, however, is Open Access Theses and Dissertations (oatd. org), which has a search engine for almost 7 million works.

THE BOTTOM LINE That said, Scholar is probably the world’s most popular academic search engine, so I certainly wouldn’t cut it from my list.

PREPRINT DATABASES AND OA BOOKS Preprints, resources that have not completed peer review and publication, are very popular these days, often providing us with the most cutting-edge research. Wikipedia has a good list of preprint repositories (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_preprint_repos itories). The caution here is that these resources haven’t yet gone through a vetting process, and any findings need to be taken with a considerably large grain of salt. Now we come to OA books and a different sort of conundrum. While digitized out-of-copyright books are commonplace (think https://archive.org/details/texts?tab=collection, www.hathitrust. org), the sheer cost to publishers or authors engaged in publishing current books as OA has limited the number of current titles that are available. Directory of Open Access Books (doabooks.org), covering more than 75,000 titles, is a great, though not comprehensive, finder for OA books. It is probably the first choice for academic OA monographs. Oapen (oapen.org) is an infrastructure platform for publishers wanting to produce OA volumes. As such, it could just be software, but it also hosts the books that publishers develop, thus becoming a database. One limitation, of course, is that it only contains the titles produced by publishers which have signed up to Oapen. That said, it has good metadata, and many of its titles are also covered in DOAB and Google Scholar. JSTOR has also weighed in with its own database for OA books. For access, go to about.jstor.org/oa-and-free, then filter for books. This database is small (around 100,000 volumes) but covers the

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The challenge of the paywall has been relatively intractable, though barriers are beginning to crumble. Academia as a whole is to some extent to blame for the costly barriers to access created by commercial interests. Rather than funding published scholarship ourselves, we turned the task over to private interests, who saw a ton of money to be made. I still cannot, for the life of me, understand why a journal that does not pay its authors and editors, and that is largely electronic, should charge an annual subscription of $10,000. The profit margins of big academic publishing rival companies such as Apple. Many journals were initially published by scholarly societies or funded university presses, but subscription lists were hard to maintain, and scholarly books didn’t sell a lot of copies. Rather than maintaining funding, the societies and university presses either jacked up prices or turned the whole publication process over to companies that determined a cost based on whatever they thought the market would bear. This has pushed researchers without database access, many of them living in poorer countries, out into the cold. No wonder that pirate sites such as Sci-Hub have risen and flourished. It is important for all of us to promote OA in whatever ways we can. Things are much improved from 10 years ago, but they could be even better. In the meantime, I hope I have offered some useful solutions to access for those who are on the wrong side of paywalls. William Badke ([email protected]) is associate librarian at Trinity Western University and the author of Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the Information Fog, 7th Edition (iUniverse.com, 2021). Comments? Email Marydee Ojala ([email protected]), editor, Online Searcher.

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Marydee Ojala Editor, Online Searcher

Untangling Company Histories; Tracing Corporate Roots

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f you have ever had an interest in personal genealogy or been fascinated watching Henry Louis Gates, Jr. trace the family histories of celebrities on the television show Finding Your Roots, you may have explored databases from FamilySearch or Ancestry. You might even have had 23andMe analyze your DNA to give you information on your geographic origins and health details. Researching company histories is equally interesting and is similar in that it requires putting lots of little pieces together to build a fuller picture. However, the sources for information are different, and the family trees can be vastly more complicated. The urge to investigate company histories is sometimes triggered by personal genealogy. Someone discovers that an ancestor worked for a particular company and wants to know more about it. Alternatively, it’s the discovery of an object in Grandma’s attic or at a garage sale that, channeling Antiques Roadshow, someone thinks might be valuable. But how old is it? It had to have been manufactured while the company was still in business so the dates when it was a going concern help determine the object’s age. It’s not just personal curiosity that gives rise to questions about company histories. There could be patent implications. At issue could be a company that is a patent assignee for a patent filed long ago. What happened to that company, and who now owns the patent? Other legal issues might involve land ownership. What company owned a piece of land that is now in dispute due to pollution claims, drilling rights, or fraudulent deed transfers? Town historians often want to investigate how companies, particularly those that might now be defunct, shaped the development of their town. As with most company searches, whether historical or current, public, listed companies are vastly easier to research than privately held ones. The ancestor worked for Ford Motor Company? Easy. The company still exists under the same name. How about Allegheny Airlines? Slightly more complicated, but traceable through merger and acquisition activity as first becoming USAir, then US Airways, and now American Airlines. The corner mom-and-pop grocery store active in the 1940s? That’s not so easy, and the emergence of a comprehensive company history is highly unlikely.

valuable for tracing the corporate roots of publicly traded companies and contain more than a million historical documents. The online collection provides access to corporate history, business descriptions, and detailed financial information compiled from annual reports, 10-K reports, and news releases and mirrors the print volumes for Industrial Manuals, Bank & Financial Manual, International Manual, OTC Industrial Manual, OTC Unlisted Manual, Public Utilities Manual, and Transportation Manual. Coverage ranges from 1909 to 2022. Note that not all the text is searchable. For example, a search for Gulf Oil gives two possible company names: Gulf Oil Corporation and Gulf Oil Corp. The difference is that the former has searchable text, and the latter does not. Hoover’s is another possibility. Dating back more than 20 years, the Hoover’s Historical Collection of Handbooks provides insights into the most influential public, private, and state-owned enterprises in the world. Gary Hoover, who started Hoover’s and sold it to D&B, has a long-standing interest in company and business history. He is now the executive director of the American Business History Center (americanbusi nesshistory.org). He’s also the entrepreneur-in-residence at the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. The purpose of the center is “to create a nexus or hub for the study, popularization, and celebration of business and entrepreneurial history.” On its website, you can view articles and newsletters and charts and data. The latest article, dated Nov. 17, 2023, is about Sam Walton. Interactive charts exist for the 20 Largest Employers U.S. Public Companies, the most recent of which covers 1994 to 2022. You can pause the animation with the green button at bottom left and then use the little arrow to its right to move to any year. The center also has a search box. My search for Gulf retrieved the article “Gas Station Wars: Rockefeller to Dinosaurs to Tigers in Tanks,” which in addition to text has some historic photographs. If the available information seems a bit sparse and you notice a gap between information uploaded between the end of 2022 and now, there’s a good reason. Hoover’s home and library (of 70,000 books) burned to the ground in October 2022 and was a total loss. That he could recover from such a devastating event and turn his attention back to the center is remarkable.

MERGENT/MOODY’S For public companies, a good starting place is Mergent Online. It has the digitized version of the Moody’s Manuals that used to take up considerable shelf space in many business libraries. Now known as Mergent/Moody’s Manuals, they are in-

WEB SEARCHING If you don’t subscribe to Mergent or any of the databases that include Hoover’s data, you could try a simple web search on the search engine of your choice. Google’s SGE (Search

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Generative Experience) provided this summary for history of gulf oil:

But do you trust an AI-generated answer? In this case, it accurately summarizes the origin story of the company and very likely derives its data from the extensive treatment of the company in Wikipedia. Reading about all the various owners, which differed depending on what part of the world the mergers and acquisitions occurred, reveals the possible twists and turns in tracing corporate family trees. It’s often more complicated that a family genealogy.

paperArchive, and Newspapers.com, you’ve got an excellent starting point. Keep in mind all those potential alternative company names, however, since you may well have to search each of them with an OR operator if the database supports that. With NewspaperArchive, names are not standardized, making multiple searches mandatory. For smaller companies, stories in local newspapers do not always adhere to the exact name of the company. Quality control could have been a bit lax at weekly papers decades ago. Additionally, if the papers were digitized using OCR (optical character recognition), you may find strange spaces introduced in the company names. Newer digitization efforts result in much cleaner documents. Company names can be deceptive. I used to work for BankAmerica Corporation. It began life as Bank of Italy in 1904, and while it sounds like it should be the national bank of Italy, it was actually a commercial bank based in San Francisco. It became Bank of America in 1930. BankAmerica was the holding company name. Bought by NationsBank in 1998, the headquarters moved from California to North Carolina and took the Bank of America name. Company name changes can happen irrespective of any merger and acquisition activity. Just look at X, formerly known as Twitter.

ORIGIN STORIES OF COMPANIES

IMAGES AND VIDEOS

Wikipedia often, as is the case with Gulf Oil, provides extensive histories for public companies, but that is not the only source a researcher can consult. Historical societies in Texas (tshaonline.org/ handbook/entries/gulf-oil-corporation) and Pittsburgh (historic pittsburgh.org/collection/gulf-oil-corporation-records) provide digitized documents and photographs. The latter, Historic Pittsburgh, is hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Library System. It is worth checking with historical societies and archives in cities where your target company was prominent to see if any special collections exist. If local public or academic libraries maintain special collections for businesses, these collections can be another profitable avenue to pursue. If the company is prominent enough, you may find books detailing its history. They may even be in your own library. Origin stories are particularly interesting when, due to mergers and acquisitions, dates change. I am thinking mainly about the date a company claims as its earliest incarnation. Gulf Oil claimed 1901 for its “birthdate”; Standard Oil of California cited 1906. But the predecessor company for Standard Oil was Pacific Coast Oil, operating from 1879 to 1906. Does that mean Gulf Oil can “backdate” its origin to 1879? It’s probably not important since it’s no longer a freestanding company. Closer to home, now that Clarivate owns ProQuest, which used its Bell & Howell antecedents to trace its origins back to the 1930s, can Clarivate say it began 90-some years ago? This is where the comparison of tracing corporate family trees with personal genealogy breaks down. People have only one birth date. It doesn’t vary based on, say, a remarriage of their parents.

Searching the image databases of web search engines can surface graphics of advertisements; photos of executives, buildings, and products; and company logos. Want to know what Indianapolis mapmaker George F. Cram looked like? Google images has photos of him and notices of his globes for sale on Etsy and other places. There’s even a link to his obituary. I’ve noticed that the airline industry, at least in the U.S., is trying to reconnect with its roots. Airlines formed as the result of multiple acquisitions are now displaying the logos and livery of preceding airlines. You can glean more information about those logos and the companies behind them via an image search. Video can also be useful. Search YouTube for history of [company name here] and you may find someone has uploaded a presentation on the topic. As with any YouTube search, it’s important to determine the video’s accuracy. Is this a historian, a student, or a company insider? Is it someone repeating rumors? Is it authoritative? We’re talking history here, and with the increased emphasis on primary sources and more availability of digitized historical documents, my hope is that we will see more dissertations and scholarly papers on business history. Where are the digital humanities and digital social sciences researchers in this area? The comparison between personal genealogy and untangling company histories to trace corporate roots works on the level of complexity. Both require searching multiple sources and formats. Neither one is a quick, simple, or uncomplicated endeavor. To some extent, to be completely comprehensive, the task is never done, as more data sources become available on a somewhat regular basis. I still can’t envision Henry Louis Gates, Jr. putting together a hit television show on company histories. Maybe Gary Hoover will do that.

Gulf Oil Corporation was formed in 1907 from a number of oil businesses, including:  • J.M. Guffey Petroleum Company • Gulf Pipeline Company • Gulf Refining Company The company’s name comes from the Gulf of Mexico, where Beaumont, Texas is located. The company’s origins date back to 1901, when an oil well was discovered in Spindletop, Texas. The well was funded by the Mellon family, who are known for their banking interests in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

COMPANY NEWS In addition to checking directories, corporate websites, Wikipedia, and historical societies, for smaller companies, newspaper mentions may be the only datapoint available. If your library subscribes to any of the many newspaper databases available, from Factiva, ProQuest, and EBSCO to NewsBank, Nexis, News-

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Comments? Email Marydee Ojala ([email protected]), editor, Online Searcher.

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