This exploratory and qualitative study examined the appraisal practices of archivists in university special collections, including how archivists define appraisal, decide what to keep and discard, apply a collection policy in their decision process, and contend with problematic aspects of the practice. The first part of this study examined the…

"Improving Open Access Discovery for Academic Library Users" examines strategies for making scholarly, peer-reviewed open access (OA) publications more discoverable for your library community. OCLC Research partnered with two Dutch library consortia--Universiteitsbibliotheken en Nationale Bibliotheek (UKB) and Samenwerkingsverband…

Given academia's frequent use of publication metrics and the inconsistencies in metrics across disciplines, this study examines how various disciplines are treated differently by metric systems. We seek to offer academic librarians, university rank and tenure committees, and other interested individuals guidelines for distinguishing general…

Beginning with a discussion of how collections diversity has been conceptualized and assessed within the literature, we then analyze four areas in which professional practices and modes of thinking create barriers to collecting materials from historically marginalized voices. Specifically, we discuss how metadata practices can obscure these…

What are the ways in which library-provided bibliometric services add value to the research enterprise? Tasked with developing a program to assess and improve research impact services at Indiana University Bloomington, the open scholarship librarian launched a research impact offering in fall 2019, with positive results. Research impact services…

This paper examines the impact of process mapping on the management of change in an academic library in a UK higher education institution. Book ordering has been highlighted by a group of subject librarians as being time-consuming and inefficient, detracting from their ability to respond to new challenges and opportunities. An action research…

For more than 30 years, Peter Senge's theory of learning organizations has influenced the study of leadership and organizations. Researchers have studied various components of his framework: team cognition and mental models, team learning, shared vision, systems thinking, and personal mastery. But few articles have explored what it looks like in…

The paper aims to discuss ChatGPT and its role in academic libraries. It identifies the key areas where ChatGPT can be implemented in libraries to improve various services and the overall work experience of academics, along with the risk factors associated with ChatGPT. Research finds that ChatGPT can be aided with many library services such as…

"Predatory" publishing is a non-binary academic phenomenon, but personal and professional biases may influence the criteria used to create associated blacklists and whitelists. Academic librarians, as scholarly communicators, play an essential role in transmitting accurate information about "predatory" publishing to students,…

Applying a content warning to metadata and archival descriptions is a practice that libraries increasingly embrace, even though the American Library Association considers content labeling to be censorship under the Library Bill of Rights. The language used in a content warning, such as "offensive" or "harmful," carries…

This case study analyzes seven years of data on Course Reserves, a service that allows instructors to provide to their students instant access to readings without either the instructor or the student needing to find access on their own. We sought to identify trends in academic discipline, data format, semester, and faculty member. Using Tableau to…

Academic libraries in the UK are playing a more prominent role in the mental health and wellbeing of students. Wellbeing collections have emerged as one way to do this but are under-researched. The aim of this paper is to investigate the development of wellbeing collections at UK institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a…

This case study explores the strategies used to redistribute materials among available shelves in a curriculum materials center after deaccessioning and relocation projects. The librarian estimated imposed fill ratios based on collection segments which were then mapped onto a floor plan to efficiently shift materials. The estimated imposed fill…

The Ithaka S+R Library Survey has examined leadership and strategic perspectives in the field by surveying library deans and directors nationally on a triennial basis since 2010. The research project's overarching goals are to provide the library community with a valuable data source to inform decision making and track the emerging opportunities…

Diversity is an important issue in higher education communication and media programs. This study shows how librarians can use audit data to assess and strive for diversity in their library's print monographic collections. This article explores aspects of diversity within two fields of study, communication and media, and discusses the results of a…