Information and library science MPACT: A preliminary analysis

Dissertation advising is an important form of mentoring. To investigate the impact of dissertation advising over time, advisor and committee member names were collected for 2400 dissertations completed over a 40-year period (1964–2004) in 32 North American information and library science schools. Several mentoring impact metrics are reported for a subset of the data, including the number of dissertations advised, the number of dissertation committees served on, the ratio of advising to committee membership, and the fractional “mpact” that weights advising and committee membership. The subset consists of data for six schools that produced at least three dozen dissertations and for which complete data is available. The data and resulting “mpact” metrics offer new ways to assess faculty impact and to investigate the nature and growth of a field.     

The “overdue kid”: A face-to-face library service encounter as ritual interaction

Using the theoretical frameworks of Erving Goffman and Michael Lipsky, an example of school library staff and student interactions is examined, using functional discourse analysis to reveal how practice is produced as a clerical control routine which upholds institutional authority over users, rather than legitimate service work. The study, which consists of a single interaction between a middle school library clerk and a young adolescent with overdue books, is an example of what Goffman calls a “remedial interchange” in which the clerk, with the use of the library's computer, identifies the student's “offense” of keeping books overdue, despite repeated notices. Upon admission of the student's virtual transgression, the clerk provides an “offering” to hold his desired books until he returns the others, thus redressing the balance of the interaction while still retaining asymmetrical institutional control over the student.     

Mediacy: what it is? Where to go?

The author re-examines the concepts in the light of “digital literacy” to determine the problems, tasks and fields of common interest. He reviews the government actions in Japan in providing access to digital knowledge and in creating information literacy, such as schools, higher education, life-long education, etc. He explores which findings in recent developments in Japan can be of common interest and shared with other advanced, as well as developing countries. Finally, possibilities for future international co-operation are discussed.     

Paperwork reduction act reauthorization and government information management issues

Replacing the ineffective Federal Reports Act of 1942, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (PRA) was enacted largely to relieve the public of the mounting information collection and reporting requirements of the federal government. It also promoted coordinated information management activities on a governmentwide basis by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and prescribed information management responsibilities for the executive agencies. The management focus of the PRA was sharpened with the 1986 amendments which refined the concept of “information resources management” (IRM), defined as “the planning, budgeting, organizing, directing, training, promoting, controlling, and management activities associated with the burden, collection, creation, use, and dissemination of information by agencies, and includes the management of information and related resources such as automatic data processing equipment.” This key term and its subset concepts received further definition and explanation in the PRA of 1995, making IRM a tool for managing the contribution of information activities to program performance, and for managing related resources, such as personnel, equipment, funds, and technology. The PRA currently authorizes appropriations for its administration by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), located within OMB, through FY2001 (44 U.S.C. 3520). Reauthorization of OIRA appropriations provides an opportunity to upgrade the PRA’s provisions and to address prevailing government information management issues.     

Data integrity boards: Institutional innovation and congressional oversight

This article is a preliminary analysis of the first few years of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (CMPPA). The act requires Federal agencies to establish Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) with responsibility to approve written agreements for computer matches in which their agencies are involved. Information for this analysis was collected from the annual reports on computer matching submitted by agencies to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 1990 and 1991 and from 108 matching agreements. The secretaries of several DIBs were also interviewed. The effectiveness of DIBs and matching agreements are analyzed using McCubbins and Schwartz's distinction between “police-patrol” and “fire- alarm” oversight. The article concludes that more active and direct oversight, which would occur through an independent data protection or privacy board, is necessary.     

FOIA, federal information policy, and information availability in a post-9/11 world

Access to government records is increasingly shifting to a nether world-governed neither by the FOIA and the Privacy Act, nor by an executive order on classification. Instead, new categories of records, labeled “sensitive but unclassified,” “for official use only,” or “critical infrastructure information,” are being created in a variety of agencies, and are governed by agency regulations. Statutory authority is found in a number of separate laws, such as the Homeland Security Act and the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. These categories can be assigned by agency officials, contractors, or those in the private sector who originated the records; many records categorized this way are not subject to appeal or review by agencies or the courts, or to any automatic “declassification” process that has applied to documents withheld under the FOIA or subject to classification. Trends toward increased secrecy at all levels of government have become sufficiently alarming that individuals across the political spectrum have begun to speak out, and members of the access community (e.g., newspaper editors and public interest groups) have formed coalitions to focus debate on the need to rethink the balance of access with privacy and records protection, and to lobby actively for reinstatement of principles of access that have governed records policy for the past 35 years.     

The Korean government's electronic record management reform: The promise and perils of digital democratization

Recently, the Korean government instituted a reform in its archives with the goal of increasing transparency in government and meeting the challenges of the new digital environment in records management. President Roh's administration focused on a “process and system” reform through a shift from paper-based records management to electronic records management. The E-jiwon task management system of the Office of the President, invented by President Roh himself, served as the archetype for the reform. This study explores and critiques the administration's choice of a “process and system” reform over institutional reform, examines the legal framework used to enact the reform and its shortcomings, and analyzes the benefits and deficiencies of the E-jiwon as a tool for democracy in the archives. It concludes that while the new digital environment can assist in promoting government transparency, technological change by itself is inadequate; ultimately, institutional change is necessary for true reform.     

Terminology deconstructed: Phenomenographic approaches to investigating the term “information”

Although considerable attention has been focused on information users in recent years, little phenomenographic research into the word “information” has been conducted, perhaps because cursory consideration may suggest that work of this type is less useful than explorations of areas such as information-seeking. The lack of an established methodological framework discourages inquiry and, if understandings of the term are unique to each individual, there seems little scope to develop even broad principles for practice. Nevertheless, phenomenographic research helps professionals to learn how far users’ attitudes to the term “information” are consistent with their own and can reduce confusion between information providers and their clientele. Despite the absence of an accepted framework, several individual techniques are available. Ultimately, the research findings may prove highly instructive. They may, for example, influence the use of the word “information” by professionals when they interact with clients, whilst also offering insights into information behavior and information worlds.     

The nature of geospatial information and security

Somewhere in the vicinity of 80 percent of all governmental information has some “geographic” element, and the vast majority is called “geospatial” because of the nature of describing spatial phenomena of the earth. Geospatial information has been increasing steadily in popularity and use since the advent of geographic information systems in the 1960s. From the early 1990s until the present, research libraries have seen an increase in the availability of geospatial information, and they have also seen a substantial change in the services provided to support the needs of clients seeking that information. However, recent events have altered the “access landscape.” September 11, 2001, and subsequent events, caused many policy shifts to take place as to how, or whether, access to governmental geospatial information should be granted. This paper explores those policy developments with the goal of prognosticating on the future of access to governmental geospatial information.     

Modeling a century of citation distributions

The prevalence of uncited papers or of highly cited papers, with respect to the bulk of publications, provides important clues as to the dynamics of scientific research. Using 25 million papers and 600 million references from the Web of Science over the 1900–2006 period, this paper proposes a simple model based on a random selection process to explain the “uncitedness” phenomenon and its decline over the years. We show that the proportion of cited papers is a function of (1) the number of articles available (the competing papers), (2) the number of citing papers and (3) the number of references they contain. Using uncitedness as a departure point, we demonstrate the utility of the stretched-exponential function and a form of the Tsallis q-exponential function to fit complete citation distributions over the 20th century. As opposed to simple power-law fits, for instance, both these approaches are shown to be empirically well-grounded and robust enough to better understand citation dynamics at the aggregate level. On the basis of these models, we provide quantitative evidence and provisional explanations for an important shift in citation practices around 1960. We also propose a revision of the “citation classic” category as a set of articles which is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the field.     

Mass Digitization of Books

Mass digitization of the bound volumes that we generally call “books” has begun, and, thanks to the interest in Google and all that it does, it is getting widespread media attention. The Open Content Alliance (OCA), a library initiative formed after Google announced its library book digitization project, has brought library digitization projects into the public eye, even though libraries were experimenting with digitization for at least a decade. What is different today from some earlier digitization of books is not just the scale of these new initiatives, but the quality of “mass.”     

Lessons learned from unsuccessful experiences

This is the first guest column for “Managing Technology”. We hope it typifies the central theme of challenges to managers presented by information technology and the lessons we may share from their application. This essay is of signal interest, appearing as it does at a watershed in library automation. We may expect a wholesale shift in the next several years from single machine integrated systems to distributed computing technologies and a client/server model. The five “lessons learned” in the Oklahoma State experience will be broadly applicable in the next wave of library automation.—C.B.L.     

Loci sigilli and American Indian treaties: Reflections on the creation of volume 2 of Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties

The presence–or absence–of locus sigilli “[L.S.]” or “[SEAL]” indicators, to validate the signatures in those texts of American Indian treaties collated by Charles J. Kappler in his Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, is examined. The results of this inquiry suggest that Kappler spent far more time examining the original treaty documents than Deloria and DeMallie proposed in their Documents of American Indian Diplomacy: Treaties, Agreements, and Conventions, 1775–1979.     

Government secrecy: policy depths and dimensions

Government secrecy has a long history in the American federal experience. Several kinds of government secrecy policy are reviewed here, beginning with their origins, or “policy depths,” and extending to their most recent expressions or “dimensions.” It is a rich history which, in this brief overview, is explored only in terms of its highlights, but offers, nonetheless, a roadmap for pursuing research in this area. It concludes with the observation that, in a democracy, representatives of the citizenry, whether elected or appointed, may momentarily cloak their decisionmaking and their policies in secrecy for the good of the nation—to protect it from enemies and to assure its survival. Those representatives must remember that the secrecy they impose is only momentary and that the shrouded decisions and policies they make, once made known to the citizenry, must be acceptable to them. The citizenry, in turn, accept such secrecy only in limited instances and on a momentary basis in order to have the confidence that their representatives are making decisions and policies acceptable to them. A government failing to honor these arrangements may well be regarded as one “not worth the cost of preservation.”     

Preparing our Societies for the Multimedia Environment: Ukrainian Experience and the Need for International Co-operation in Digital Literacy

The Ukrainian Society, after introducing the computer literacy course for secondary schools in 1986, is trying to reach the next stage of digital literacy through the development of a National Informatization Programme. Some results of the programme are described: the incorporation of telematics into the educational system and Internet literacy for teachers and students, free of charge and in local languages; the development of regional and local nodes of educational institutions and their incorporation into a national network; the participation of non-governmental organizations in the financing of educational programmes; and the development of a national ethics Net-Codex. Ukraine, as a typical “country in transition”, needs international support in digital literacy through co-operative projects; some proposals for such co-operation are given.     

Investigating the Information-Seeking Processes of Adolescents: The Value of Using Think Alouds and Think Afters

Five participants completed retrospective and concurrent verbal protocols (Think Afters and Think Alouds) to evaluate the methods for the study of the information-seeking processes of 12–15-year-old students using Microsoft Encarta 98. After a short training session in the Think Aloud Method, they completed four activities of differing complexity. The data provided support for the use of verbal protocol analysis to uncover information-seeking processes of these students. The amount of data generated during Think Alouds and Think Afters depended on the difficulty of the questions and the number of “dead ends” encountered by the students. The Think Alouds and Think Afters provided data about the behavioral, cognitive, and affective processes. Think Afters provide different data than the Think Alouds, and both are important to understanding how adolescents interact with CD-ROM encyclopedias. Participants were able to find the information to answer each of the four search activity questions but used a variety of search terms, categories, and strategies. Some participants reached a level of frustration after a number of “dead ends” and needed encouragement from the researcher. The frustration was more apparent in the younger participants. Effective reading strategies are very important to successful location and evaluation of information in CD-ROM encyclopedias.     

The Challenges of Archiving Digital Information

This paper examines the need for re-evaluating archival principles and practices. Opportunities created to enhance and enrich archival work and difficulties of archiving digital information, because of its nature, are reviewed. “Records series” are used to illustrate the consequences in terms of selection and appraisal of records. The preservation of digital information also raises new challenges. The impact of digital information on the ethical, legal and societal issues (protection, confidentiality, privacy, etc.) is emphasized.     

Different mysteries,different lore: An examination of inherited referencing behaviors in academic mentoring

Library and information science (LIS) dissertations cite a wide variety of literature, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. A review of 76 LIS dissertations was undertaken to determine whether the disciplinary background of the dissertation adviser influences the citing behaviors of the dissertation author. Of the 76 dissertations, 38 were advised by individuals with a disciplinary background in LIS and 38 were advised by individuals with a disciplinary background outside of LIS. The Library of Congress subclass for each citation was determined according the venue of publication. The most cited authors overall and by each group were determined, as well as the percentage of citations to LIS literature over time. LIS-advised dissertations were found to have cited a wide variety of literature. The percentage of citations in LIS-advised dissertations to LIS literature has declined from a peak of 59% to 21%. Citations to the most-cited authors in each group were largely exclusive to the LIS-advised dissertations, and nonLIS-advised dissertations generally do not appear to cite the same bodies of academic literature.     

Transcending widgets: the nature of technical services

This paper was presented as the keynote address at the Ohio Library Council, Technical Services Division conference,“Technical Services, 2003: Inspiration, Example, Synthesis” at Mohican State Park, Ohio, May 7, 2003. The keynote was to fill the role of “inspiration.” The author considers why technical services personnel may feel isolated, misunderstood, or dispensable; why technical services personnel may be misunderstood or underappreciated by others; the nature and mission of librarianship and how technical services relates to them; the consequences of having a bad image and a bad self-image; and how harmful opinions and actions might be countered.     

Wireless is changing the policy calculus for municipal broadband

Historically, the justification for municipal provisioning of “last-mile” communications infrastructure has focused on the natural monopoly aspect of wireline infrastructure. Growing interest in wireless ISPs, municipal hot spots, and access to public space for siting wireless infrastructure suggests new and expanded opportunities for local government participation in telecommunication services. This paper examines the implications of emerging wireless technologies for the policy debate over whether municipalities should be playing an active role in providing last-mile broadband services and, if so, what the nature of that role should be.