So you have to cancel journals? statistics that help

Few libraries have been immune to the impact of inflation on journal prices, and many have been involved in extensive journal cancellation projects. To aid in the cancellation decision process, Colorado State University Libraries have been compiling internal statistics on journal usage and merging them with statistics from commercial sources. This paper describes the process and outlines how the collected data can be used both to identify journals for cancellation and to provide justification for these decisions to the campus community.As the inflation rate of journals has outstripped many library budgets, cancellation projects have become a routine part of library collection management for universities. These projects are extremely difficult since decisions have serious implications for the collection and library relations with the academic departments. Deciding which journals should be canceled becomes a serious and frustrating task. Statistical information about a library collection can be a valuable tool in both identifying journals for cancellation and justifying cancellation decisions. The Colorado State University Libraries (CSUL) have been collecting a variety of statistics about the periodicals collection for several years. This article will discuss how these statistics were used in a recent cancellation project.     

Digital repositories ten years on: what do scientific researchers think of them and how do they use them?

Digital repositories have been with us for more than a decade, and despite the considerable media and conference attention they engender, we know very little about their use by academics. This paper sets out to address this by reporting on how well they are used, what they are used for, what researchers' think of them, and where they thought they were going. Nearly 1,700 scientific researchers, mostly physical scientists, responded to an international survey of digital repositories, making it the largest survey of its kind. High deposit rates were found and mandates appear to be working, especially with younger researchers. Repositories have made significant inroads in terms of impact and use despite, in the case of institutional repositories, the very limited resources deployed. Subject repositories, like arXiv and PubMed Central, have certainly come of age but institutional repositories probably have not come of age yet although there are drivers in place which, in theory anyway, are moving them towards early adulthood.     

The architecture of archives: Whose form, what functions?

This article examines theclaim that, through its overt symbolicmessaging, the Gatineau Preservation Centre,opened by the National Archives of Canada in1997, embodies a perfect transparency betweenfunction and form, with the shape of the placebeing derived seamlessly from the needs of thearchival work done there, and the proof beingin the exposure of all the elements to view. It reveals the undercurrents of contendingoppositions to this claim, both in thesubversive, Mannerist, or impure architectural eccentricities designed into thestructure, and in the embodiment of archivalnarratives whose symbolism is challenged byunacknowledged resistances. While the buildingis clearly inspired by Modernist andEnlightenment orientations, such as theambition to preserve unchanged a universal,transcendent historical authenticity, thesediverse resistances buried in it aremanifested, for example, in the contest of maleversus female structural elements, and inthe authority of the monumental and exposed setagainst the seduction of the varied and secret. Most importantly, the absorption of the bodyboth metaphorically and physically into themany disciplines of the place unconsciouslycalls into question the building's self-imageas the epitome of a liberal-humanist andobjective-scientific activity; it reflectsinstead the destabilizing plays and displays ofpower which are increasingly seen to form theindeterminate field of the archival pursuit.     

Public libraries and blind people: what kind of relationship?

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Technological frames in public administration: What do public managers think of big data?

Being among the largest creators and gatherers of data in many countries, public administrations are looking for ways to harness big data technology. However, the de facto uses of big data in the public sector remain very limited. Despite numerous studies aiming to clarify the term big data, for many public managers, it remains unclear what this technology does and does not offer public administration. Using the concept of technological frames, we explore the assumptions, expectations, and understandings that public managers possess in order to interpret and make sense of big data. We identify nine big data frames, ranging from inward-oriented techno-enthusiasts to outward-oriented techno-skeptics, each of which characterizes public managers' specific viewpoints relating to the introduction of big data in public administrations. Our findings highlight inconsistencies between different perceptions and reveal widespread skepticism among public managers, helping better understand why the de facto uses of big data in the public sector remain very limited.     

The US and UNESCO: Is it time to rejoin?

After a brief analysis of the founding and history of UNESCO, “The US and UNESCO: Is It Time to Rejoin?” examines the political, administrative and budgetary reasons why the United States withdrew from UNESCO in 1984, the several reforms undertaken by Director General Mayor in the last 2 years and whether the changes to date warrant US re-entry.After considering the arguments of both proponents and opponents, the paper sets forth three major criteria for rejoining: (1) budgetary and financial reform of UNESCO; (2) thorough reform of the secretariat; and (3) major programmatic changes with the intention of “returning UNESCO to the original ideals of its Charter”.While giving high marks to the personal integrity and remarkable energy of Director General Mayor, the paper questions whether he can persuade the organization to accept the radical reform he is proposing, noting the negative and even hostile response of the Executive Board and the General Conference to his Mid-term Plan.The paper concludes that it is premature for the US to make any definitive decision at this time, but predicts that the US will rejoin if the organization returns to its roots and concentrates on “practical achieveable projects”, not the “pretentious unrealistic goals” that have too often attracted UNESCO members and management.     

The interdisciplinarity of research data: How widely is shared research data reused in the STEM fields?

The aim of this study was to examine the interdisciplinarity of research data in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The findings revealed that interdisciplinarity was not distributed evenly across journals serving the STEM fields. Based on the diversity of the references as measured by the Gini coefficient index, the mathematical sciences showed the greatest inequality, followed by astronomy/physics, the earth sciences, the biological sciences, and technology. Based on the number of Essential Science Indicator (ESI) fields, the biological sciences showed the greatest variety, followed by the earth sciences, technology, the mathematical sciences, chemistry, and computing, while engineering showed no variety. Lastly, based on the Leydesdorff interdisciplinarity formula outcomes, the earth sciences showed the greatest diversity, but earth sciences articles were cited in articles in fewer fields than biological sciences articles. This study contributes to the study of interdisciplinary data citation for data sharing and reuse in STEM fields with respect to the measurement of the balance, variety, and diversity of research data.     

The Right to Hide? Anti-Surveillance Camouflage and the Aestheticization of Resistance

There has been a recent surge in artistic designs to conceal oneself from ambient surveillance in public places. These center on the masking of identity to undermine technological efforts to fix someone as a unique entity apart from the crowd. Ranging from fractal face paint and hairstyles, to realistic resin masks, to reflective underwear, anti-surveillance camouflage ostensibly allows people to hide in plain sight. These designs, however, enact an aestheticization of resistance premised on individual avoidance rather than meaningful challenge to the violent and discriminatory logics of surveillance societies.     

Culture and evidence: or what good are the archives? Archives and archivists in twentieth century England

Archives have the potential to change people’s lives. They are created to enable the conduct of business and accountability, but they also support a democratic society’s expectations for transparency and the protection of rights, they underpin citizen’s rights and are the raw material of our history and memory. This paper examines these issues in the context of the historical development of archives and archivists in twentieth century England. The research lays the foundations for understanding how and why the modern archives and records management profession developed in England. This paper will investigate the historical conflict (or is it a continuum?) between archives as culture and as evidence. The story identifies and highlights the contributions made by many fascinating individuals who established archives services and professional practice in England in the twentieth century. They shaped the archive in a very real way, and their individual enthusiasms, interests and understandings set the course of the English archival profession. To a great extent, it was these individuals, rather than government or legislation, that set the boundaries of English archives, they decided what was included (acquired) and what was not (of archival value.) The conclusion will consider the more fundamental questions: what are archives and what are they for, or perhaps, ‘what good are the archives’?     

Questions asked at the virtual and physical health sciences reference desk: how do they compare and what do they tell us?

The questions asked at the traditional reference desk are decreasing while questions asked at the virtual reference desk are on the rise. Over a one-month period, the types of reference questions asked at an academic health sciences library were coded. This paper examines and compares the types of questions asked at the current day reference desk versus the virtual reference desk. This paper also reviews past literature examining the types of questions asked via virtual reference and the traditional reference.     

Searching ClinicalTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform to inform systematic reviews: what are the optimal search approaches?

Background:

Since 2005, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) member journals have required that clinical trials be registered in publicly available trials registers before they are considered for publication.

Objectives:

The research explores whether it is adequate, when searching to inform systematic reviews, to search for relevant clinical trials using only public trials registers and to identify the optimal search approaches in trials registers.

Methods:

A search was conducted in ClinicalTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) for research studies that had been included in eight systematic reviews. Four search approaches (highly sensitive, sensitive, precise, and highly precise) were performed using the basic and advanced interfaces in both resources.

Results:

On average, 84% of studies were not listed in either resource. The largest number of included studies was retrieved in ClinicalTrials.gov and ICTRP when a sensitive search approach was used in the basic interface. The use of the advanced interface maintained or improved sensitivity in 16 of 19 strategies for Clinicaltrials.gov and 8 of 18 for ICTRP. No single search approach was sensitive enough to identify all studies included in the 6 reviews.

Conclusions:

Trials registers cannot yet be relied upon as the sole means to locate trials for systematic reviews. Trials registers lag behind the major bibliographic databases in terms of their search interfaces.

Implications:

For systematic reviews, trials registers and major bibliographic databases should be searched. Trials registers should be searched using sensitive approaches, and both the registers consulted in this study should be searched.Clinical trials registers such as ClinicalTrials.gov and portals to trials registers such as the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) are increasingly used to identify ongoing or completed clinical trials. These resources offer important information on the methods and progress of trials likely to be of interest to a range of users, including researchers, clinicians, and patients. The extent to which these resources can be relied upon as a sole source of trials for inclusion in systematic reviews, including Cochrane systematic reviews (CSRs), is the subject of the research study reported here. This study also investigates the most efficient ways that librarians, information professionals, and other searchers can search these resources. Search efficiency was investigated by evaluating the overlap and unique yield of searches in the two resources and by testing four search approaches. The tested search approaches ranged from the very precise (single specific condition search term combined with a single specific intervention search term) to the very sensitive (at least two interventions terms).     

Access to learning resources for students on placement in the UK: what are the issues and how can we resolve them?

AIM: To compile a list of the issues regarding access to learning resources which affect students on placement in the UK and suggest some ways in which these can be resolved. RESULTS: Issues relating to PC access, network access, software, firewalls, disciplinary procedures, electronic information resources, virtual learning environments, service level agreements, physical access to libraries, book loans, reading lists and course committees are identified and discussed in relation to NHS libraries. CONCLUSIONS: Successful resolution of the IT and library issues, which are increasingly inter-linked, can help to ensure that students have a positive placement experience. Resolution will depend on close, regular liaison and can be assisted by negotiation of a clear Service Level Agreement.     

The legend of Texas Western: journalism and the epic sports spectacle that wasn’t

This essay interrogates journalistic accounts of Texas Western College’s 1966 college basketball championship, a game in which an all-Black team defeated an all-White team. The analysis traces the evolving portrayals of the game over 45 years. In 1966 American journalists did not emphasize the racial aspects of the game and it was largely forgotten. Twenty-five years later, however, journalists reconstructed the game as a racialized legend, and this account evolved into an epic American narrative. The author argues that the epic portrayals, although aesthetically appealing, reflect problems with accuracy, appropriation, and commercial exploitation. The latter factor led to the legend’s motion picture adaptation as part of a troublesome “White Savior” cinema genre.