Library Faculty & Staff Publications Copyright (c) 2013 Utah State University All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs Recent documents in Library Faculty & Staff Publications en-us Thu, 02 May 2013 01:41:25 PDT 3600 Teaching Our Faculty: Developing Copyright and Scholarly Communication Outreach Programs http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/117 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/117 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:09:44 PDT Jennifer Duncan et al. Who Uses this Stuff, Anyway? An Investigation of Who Uses the DigitalCommons@USU http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/116 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/116 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:44:13 PDT Much professional literature is devoted to developing content and faculty buy-in for institutional repositories. However, little is known about the end users of these repositories. The Utah State University Institutional Repository (IR) has reached a stage of maturity in which it is necessary to begin shifting our efforts from encouraging faculty buy-in to understanding our end-users and their needs. This presentation focused on: 1. how USU’s IR reached its mature stage, 2. the results of a brief survey of the end users of our repository, and 3. how these results have informed the further development of our IR.

]]> Andrew Wesolek Wittgensteinian Support for Domain Analysis in Classification http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/115 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/115 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:14:24 PST Hjorland contends that in order to further the goal of linking researchers to relevant information ‘domain analysis’ should be used in concept classification. He thinks that concept classification should not strive to classify on the basis of the properties of objects, but rather on descriptions of objects that are loosely derived from human activity and social negotiation. Currently, most information scientists operate under a ‘positivist’ view of concept classification, which, Hjorland maintains, mistakenly strives for universal classification schema while muddling the comprehension of individual researchers. Though he tends to include Wittgenstein in the positivist camp for classification, Hjorland’s domain analysis is strongly Wittgensteinian. This work seeks to support the philosophical underpinnings of domain analysis through Wittgenstein’s theory of language. Additionally, we outline Rick Szostak’s criticism of domain analysis. While he levies an important charge against Hjorland, his solution proves inadequate in light of Wittgenstein’s theory of language.

]]> Andrew Wesolek The Mediterranean: What, Why, and How http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/114 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/114 Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:06:40 PDT Many of us who study the Mediterranean have been confronted with surprise and even disbelief that such a subject could be considered a legitimate field of study. Yet we all accept the traditional “area studies” concentrations in Latin America, the Slavic countries, the Middle East, and East Asia, among others. Why, then, is there so much resistance to the idea of Mediterranean Studies? Perhaps the fact that it is a sea and not a contained landmass, or that it represents disparate cultures, makes it seem different and less appropriate as an individual field of study. But clearly, there is a scholarly movement focused on the geographical, historical and cultural Mediterranean that is gaining strength worldwide. It is my purpose to illustrate the contours of this new field of study in terms of its raison d’être and the logistical structures in academe that support it. My title posits three questions: What is the Mediterranean? Why should we study the Mediterranean? How can we study the Mediterranean?

]]> Richard W. Clement Teaching with graduate instructors: Tips for a successful partnership http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/113 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/113 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:50:42 PST Kacy Lundstrom The impact of social marketing strategies on the information seeking behaviors of college students. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/112 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/112 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:42:28 PST Effects of social marketing strategies on student research behaviors were investigated. Three objectives were identified as target behaviors for change: (1) decrease procrastination due to the illusion of immediacy (2) increase students’ willingness to seek expert assistance when it is warranted, and (3) increase the selection of information sources based on criteria other than the information need itself, which includes the habituated and automatic use of Internet sources based on the assumption that they are more convenient, reliable, and easy to use. Findings suggest a positive impact as a result of marketing strategies attempting to achieve these objectives. Students who received messages based on a social marketing framework that emphasized these objectives appeared more willing to engage in discussions about the research process and were more likely to seek assistance from a librarian. A number of students reported successful encounters with librarians in meeting their research needs. Students who only received skills instruction reported attempting to use research tools like databases, but gave up in frustration. Due to relatively little research on how social marketing strategies can be used to change student research behaviors, more research is warranted to explore this connection. More investigation is also needed regarding how to help librarians learn how to package and deliver messages using a social marketing framework.

]]> Kacy Lundstrom et al. Letter of Information http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/111 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/111 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:32:50 PST Letter of Information for participants in the study: The Impact of New Data Management Plan Requirements on Faculty, Sponsored Programs, and Institutional Repository Managers.

]]> Anne Diekema et al. Characteristics of Serial Title Changes and Recognition of New Serial Works: Theoretical and Practical Implications http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/110 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/110 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:36:59 PST The paper reports findings from a study to identify characteristics of serials with title changes and then make recommendations for recognizing new works for these serials. Findings show title changes occur due to underlying subject, function, corporate, geographic, frequency, or format changes, with 80.8% of the changes being subject or function changes. It is recommended that reasons for title changes be determined from clear statements in text or elsewhere, and that new works be recognized based upon the requirements of a definition of a work. With the FRBR definition, a new work would be recognized only for a significant subject or function change.

]]> Mavis B. Molto Characteristics of Serial Title Changes and Recognition of New Serial Works: Theoretical and Practical Implications http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/109 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/109 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:07:31 PST The paper reports findings from a study to identify characteristics of serials with title changes and then make recommendations for recognizing new works for these serials. Findings show title changes occur due to underlying subject, function, corporate, geographic, frequency, or format changes, with 80.8% of the changes being subject or function changes. It is recommended that reasons for title changes be determined from clear statements in text or elsewhere, and that new works be recognized based upon the requirements of a definition of a work. With the FRBR definition, a new work would be recognized only for a significant subject or function change.

]]> Mavis B. Molto Seeds of Change: Farm Organizations in Depression and Post-War Utah http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/108 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/108 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:30:21 PST As Utah continues to move further and further away from its agricultural base, it is useful to look back on the state’s agricultural heritage and how an earlier generation of farmers sought to maximize its economic security through cooperation, government support, and adoption of new methods and tools made available through the nation’s land-grant colleges. Following World War II, two competing organizations, the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Farmer’s Union, emerged as champions of Utah farmers. Where Utah farmers and their organization had given strong support to Franklin Roosevelt and the Democratic Party’s New Deal during the 1930s, in the late 1940s the Farm Bureau took another course opening the door for the Farmers Union to establish its first local in Utah in Emery County in 1948 and spread quickly to other parts of the state. Political repercussions followed during J. Bracken Lee’s tenure as Governor of Utah (1949-56), the U.S. Senate and House elections of 1950, and unsubstantiated charges that the Utah Farmers Union was a Communist-dominated organization.

]]> Robert Parson et al. Creating Effective Staff Development Committees: A Case Study http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/107 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/107 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:27:12 PST Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of staff development committees (SDC) in the motivation, morale and education of library staff by relying on previous research and by using Utah State University's (USU), Merrill-Cazier Library SDC as a case study.

Design/methodology/approach – Discussion and analysis emerge from the documented formation of USU's SDC, including its membership, goals, and evaluative practices, especially as it relates to current research in this area. Informal staff comments regarding benefits and limitations of the committee are included.

Findings – Staff development has been approached from various perspectives. Most programs form as the results of formal or informal needs assessments. Goals for the program, or for the resulting staff development committee, vary and fluctuate depending on the time-specific needs of the library. Successful elements of USU's SDC include its emphasis on building inter-departmental relationships and its ability to elicit feedback from every level of the library. Challenges include having clearly defined goals and meeting a variety of individual and institutional needs through the creation of related events and activities.

Practical implications – This paper provides ideas on forming a staff development committee, including examples for specific events and activities. It details how to structure membership and explores literature relating to designing and implementing institutional goals for staff development.

Originality/value – Many studies lack a comprehensive literature review that focuses on the scope and purpose of staff development committees. This paper combines a literature review with an explanation of how USU's Library created a staff development committee to fill certain library-wide goals, including challenges and benefits that emerged as a result.

]]> Erin L. Davis et al. Librarian Perceptions and Information Literacy Instruction Models http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/106 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/106 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:22:21 PST Purpose – This paper aims to explore both instruction librarians' attitudes on teaching and how they identify themselves as teachers. Particular attention is to be paid to teaching librarians' views on the effectiveness of two types of instruction models: for-credit courses and course-integrated library instruction.

Design/methodology/approach – To investigate librarians' attitudes towards these two models, a survey was constructed targeting librarians who teach information literacy (IL).

Findings – The results indicate that there is an important relationship between the IL instruction model employed and feelings towards campus politics, perceived effectiveness of IL models, and librarians' self-identification as teachers.

Research limitations/implications – The survey was sent to list-servs whose readership includes high percentages of teaching librarians and received 276 responses. This is by no means an exhaustive study. The research is intended to be exploratory and to delve more deeply than the past editorials and blog posts on the issue of comparing for-credit and course-integrated instruction.

Practical implications – This study can help librarians gain a better understanding of how information literacy models impact librarian perceptions of themselves and their role on campus.

Originality/value – The authors seek to transform a discussion that has occurred mostly informally (in blog posts, on list-servs, and in conversations) into a formal investigation of librarians' attitudes towards the two models.

]]> Erin L. Davis et al. Re-framing information literacy: Problem-based learning as informed learning http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/105 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/105 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:38:30 PST This study explores an online information literacy module that uses problem-based learning (PBL). The goal was to enable students to experience information literacy in a richer way, by moving away from a focus on locating information sources to one of information use in the construction of knowledge. A content analysis of the research journals and reflection papers of students (N = 15) in a distance education school library media administration endorsement program suggests that PBL was an effective approach for some students, but not others. Some students were motivated by working on authentic problems, and at least half the students engaged deeply with information and discovered new questions and angles for research during the process. These students applied more sophisticated evaluation strategies and were more metacognitive in their thinking, assessing their progress and shifting strategies as they progressed through the module.

]]> Wendy Holliday et al. Library and University Press Integration: A New Vision for University Publishing http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/104 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/104 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:35:09 PDT American university presses are struggling to maintain their core mission to publish scholarly monographs. Several presses have closed and almost all are struggling. Presses have tried various editorial tactics and new publishing strategies to keep afloat, but the larger economic situation has continued to erode their ability to succeed. In the face of what appears to be insurmountable impediments, some university presses have turned to university libraries as natural partners in the enterprise of distributing scholarship and research. Though these two entities have differing business models, partnerships have much to offer each, and integrating the press into the library organization and aligning its business plan with the library's plan offer a viable solution to the crisis of contemporary university publishing. Library/press integrations have the potential to be extraordinarily significant in the future development of publishing in this area. This article first reviews the history of university presses in the United States, then considers the nature of the challenge now facing presses to succeed, and finally offers a new model for press and library integration as exemplified in such a merger at Utah State University.

]]> Richard W. Clement Mobile Technologies & Academics: Do Students Use Mobile Technology in their Academic Lives and are Librarians Ready to Meet this New Challenge? http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/103 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/103 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:58:37 PDT In this paper we report on two surveys and offer an introductory plan that librarians may use to begin implementing mobile access to selected library databases and services. Results from the first survey helped us to gain insight into where students at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah stands regarding their use of mobile devices for academic activities in general and their desire for access to library services and resources in particular. A second survey that we conducted with librarians gave us an idea of the extent to which responding libraries offer mobile access, their future plans for mobile implementation, and librarians’ opinions about whether and how mobile technologies may be useful to library patrons. In the last segment of the paper, we outline steps librarians can take as they “go mobile.”

]]> Angela Dresselhaus et al. Western States Dublin Core Metadata Best Practices, version 1.2 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/102 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/102 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:10:58 PDT This set of best practices delineates how libraries can use the Dublin Core format to describe digital resources in shareable metadata records. Created by a group of librarians and archivist from eight western U.S. cultural heritage institutions, these guidelines were designed to facilitate the sharing of digital resources between institutions and within collaborative digital collections.

Background to the creation of this document:

Funded by a grant awarded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the fall of 2001, the University of Denver (Denver, Colorado) spearheaded a multi-state collaborative initiative to create a virtual collection of widely dispersed digital resources on the topic, Western trails. As part of this initiative, 23 institutions in four Western states were awarded mini-grants to create digital content and metadata for resources related to Western trails. In addition to creation of a virtual collection of digital resources, another significant component of this multi-state initiative was development of a set of Dublin-Core based best practices by representatives from cultural heritage institutions beyond the original four participating states. Accordingly, in March 2002, 18 representatives from eight Western states met in Denver, Colorado to begin exploring issues associated with application of Dublin Core to digital objects by cultural heritage institutions. This group, the Western States Digital Standards Group (WSDSG) Metadata Working Group, formed two task forces to develop guidelines for the Dublin Core metadata. The WSDSG Metadata Working Group met again in Topeka, Kansas in July 2002 to finalize the guidelines and determine the remaining components of a best practices document. In November 2002 the resultant WSDSG Guidelines for the Dublin Core Elements were posted on the Colorado Digitization Program (CDP) and the Western Trails project website. In January 2003, the WSDSG Best Practices document was be released. This Best Practices document is based upon and supercedes the CDP’s General Guidelines for Descriptive Metadata Creation and Metadata.

]]> Cheryl D. Walters et al. Welcome to Utah State University’s Digital Library! http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/101 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/101 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:07:34 PDT Digital exhibit introducing Utah State University Library's new Digital Library in 2005

]]> Cheryl D. Walters Digital collections Primary sources Mormon History Materials: Utah State University Special Collections & Archives http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/100 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/100 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:07:30 PDT The slideshow was created for the Mormon History Conference held in St. George, Utah May 26-29, 2011 at the request of Bradford Cole, Associate Director for Special Collections and Archives. I created the slideshow; he hosted it and answered questions on site.

]]> Cheryl D. Walters Digital collections Primary sources DigitalCommons@USU: Opening USU Scholarship to All http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/99 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/99 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:07:26 PDT Presentation introducing USU Library's new Institutional Repository

]]> Cheryl D. Walters Institutional repositories Sneak preview: Bear River Watershed Historical Digital Collection http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/98 http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_pubs/98 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:07:22 PDT Provides early look at a new digital collection assembling image and text resources about the Bear River Watershed in Utah and Idaho.

]]> Cheryl D. Walters et al. Digital collections Primary sources