Even as librarians have spent the past twenty years documenting the rich world of scholarly communication beyond the catalog, repositories and catalogs too often remain completely siloed from each other. Current practices and tools to unite the two focus entirely on matching names, an imprecise method requiring substantial time spent on review.…

Expanding on previous research, the authors applied quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate Web usability policies, standards, and guidelines (PSGs); resources; and usability testing, including mobile testing and usability laboratories, at the academic members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Survey results indicated…

Makerspaces continue to grow in popularity in library ecosystems, yet no one has done a census on important data points, such as total active makerspaces, planned makerspaces, and types of makerspaces in public colleges and universities in the United States. The objective of this report is to gather baseline data on makerspaces, the majority of…

This study aims to examine the effects on users of social and cultural activities organized in academic libraries. In the study, randomly selected users from academic libraries in Türkiye were surveyed and the data obtained were analyzed using a descriptive statistical method. The findings show that library activities have positive effects on the…

This article provides background information about evidence synthesis, the process of collecting, evaluating, and summarizing results from multiple studies that have investigated the same research question. The article also examines the critical role of librarians in conducting evidence synthesis, and examines the accelerating uptake of systematic…

Typical internal assessment practices of academic libraries such as instructional or reference statistics can be valuable measures but provide a limited view of overall academic librarian impact. To examine librarian work more comprehensively and with emphasis on institutional outcomes, Indiana University Bloomington Libraries conducted a time…

Academic libraries are experiencing drastic changes due to unprecedented advancements in technology. This advancement has caused changes in users' information-seeking behavior, increased information competitors, and easy access and availability to free information on the internet. It is unfortunate that all this is happening amidst the dwindling…

Diversity audits are frequently used as an assessment method to measure the diversity of a library collection. Yet, there is not frequent research on the aftermath of diversity audits, especially in the context of comparing data from several audits to assess the difference in the makeup of a library collection. In this article, the author…

Academic and research libraries are undergoing a profound transformation, shaped by technological advancements, shifting societal dynamics, and evolving institutional priorities. This essay examines how these forces are driving libraries to evolve into specialized and distinct models, shaping their future and drawing parallels to the Cambrian…

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, a team from the Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) provided technical support to the JHU Global COVID-19 Dashboard. This paper reflects on the lessons learned from working on a highly publicized, heavily trafficked resource and explores the role of academic libraries in…

This paper sets out to identify the ways in which academic libraries can further interdisciplinary scholarship on campus. The medical humanities is presented as an example to interrogate the current practices in academic libraries and to inform future efforts in support of interdisciplinarity. Text mining was employed to illuminate trends in this…

This article reports the results of a 2019 survey of academic librarians that investigated their attitudes, practices, and policies regarding open access (OA). This study asks if academic librarians write policies to ensure that they approach OA intentionally and systematically across all library services. The results indicate that, though…

An unfair division of resources and biased treatment favoring the ruling elites have perpetuated social discrimination in the postcolonial societies in developing countries. Pakistan, one of these countries, has struggled to emerge from the legacies of colonialism. The situation demands strong support of equality, social justice, and the rule of…

Few women major in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the undergraduate level. Given the drive to attract and retain students in general, and women in STEM in particular, educational institutions need to know what resources and services might help support these students in their work. This study seeks to provide…

Service-learning is an important practice in higher education, allowing institutions to combine essential campus functions of research and learning with meaningful engagement in the community. As service-learning has made its way into institutional strategic plans, libraries have sought to support this work by integrating community engagement into…