Maps & GIS Data Libraries in the Era of Big Data and Cloud Computing

In upcoming years, two major changes in the computing landscape will reshape how map and GIS data libraries (MGDLs) will be required to perform their core functions in the future. These advancements—cloud computing and the “Big Data era”—offer opportunities and challenges for libraries, but most dramatically changes. Commercial cloud computing solutions are available as on-demand service; low-cost, internal private clouds are now a financial possibility. Simultaneously, Geographic Information Science (GISci) data and services have advanced at an ever-increasing pace into the “Big Data,” swelling the types and amounts of GIS data and services available. These two shifts have and will impact the entire GIS world and MGDLs, in response, and will now be required to collect, curate, and make available more data and services than ever. The MGDL community must be prepared to respond and react in order to remain effective. This article explores the evolving landscapes within which MGDLs must operate and examines how their roles and operational organization will be impacted. The hope of the authors is that such analyses will spark community-driven discussion to motivate the next major phase of research and implementation in the world of MGDLs.     

Leaving the “Big Deal”: Consequences and Next Steps

Many libraries are facing difficult fiscal climates with serials inflation, budget cutbacks, and reductions in allocations requiring difficult collection management decisions. Libraries may find their flexibility to plan and react unduly restricted due to being contracted to one or more “Big Deals,” in which they are obligated to buy large, inflexible title lists from big publishers for a set price. This presentation discusses the experience of Southern Illinois University–Carbondale and the University of Oregon in leaving “Big Deals,” provides data on impacts on interlibrary loans, community response, and collection budgets, details the steps required before and after the decision, and describes the benefits that other libraries could achieve by following the example of these two members of the Association of Research Libraries.     

A Review of “Understanding the Semantic Web: Bibliographic Data and Metadata”

Successful subject searching depends upon the terminology of the search query. This paper compares the terminology of book titles with that of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) ¹ on a semantic level. Methods of ananlyzing titles into title phrases that serve as matching units are described. Guidelines used to choose LCSHs with the closest semantic matches to title phrases are set forth. The pairing of title phrases with semantically related LCSHs constitutes the data of the study. Categories representing the types of semantic relationships holding between pairs of terms are defined. Results of the study show that the most common semantic relationship holding between title phrases and LCSH is a hierarchical one where title phrases are more specific than LCSHs.     

Charting Theoretical Directions for Examining African Journalism in the “Digital Era”

This essay provides a metatheoretical framework for understanding the complexities surrounding African journalism in the era of interactive digital technologies. It argues for the continued relevance of traditional theoretical paradigms, and submits that radical calls to develop new theories as well as to de-Westernise contemporary journalism studies through exclusively deploying “home-grown” concepts such as ubuntuism are not necessarily always viable. Rather, there is more to gain from appropriating traditional theories and identifying possible synergies between the “old”, predominantly Western approaches, and the “new digital phenomena”, and weaving out of that dialogue, approaches that are not radically different but are in tune with the uniqueness of African experiences. This approach, as the study argues, is particularly important given that journalism (including its appropriation of new technologies) always takes on the form and colouring of the social structure in which it operates. The study thus draws on social constructivist approaches to technology and the sociology of journalism, as well as an array of theoretical concerns from African journalism scholarship to offer a possible direction for a conceptual framework that can help us to capture the complex imbrications between new digital technologies and journalism practice in Africa.     

A Review of “Knowledge Management: Historical and Cross-Disciplinary Themes”

No abstract available for this article.     

MTL 2.0: A Report on the Social Media Usage and User Engagement of the “Big Four” Academic Libraries in Montréal

Although academic libraries continue to use social media to encourage student use of libraries and promote library resources and services, there has not yet been a study of social media use by the academic libraries in Montréal. This paper examines the social media accounts of the four university libraries in Montréal and, based on data gathered over the course of an 8-month period, seeks to determine the influence of each libraries' social media activity. Success was defined by measurable growth in the number of followers during the period studied. For the three universities with Facebook and Twitter accounts, the account considered most successful was the one with the highest engagement rate. The results indicate that all of the libraries were successful on the first measure, and the libraries with the fewest number of posts had higher levels of user engagement.     

The “Big Deal”: A Survey of How Libraries Are Responding and What the Alternatives Are

The library's mission is to support the information and educational needs of its users. E-journal “Big Deals” offer libraries one method of maximizing the resources available to their users, but, with libraries now experiencing flat or decreasing budgets, these Big Deals present budgetary difficulties for libraries. They also remove collection development decisions from the control of the libraries themselves. Some libraries have canceled their Big Deals, resulting in problems. This article presents the results of an online survey of libraries regarding these bundled journal packages.     

“Big Deals” and Squeaky Wheels: Taking Stock of Your Stats

This article describes a half-day pre-conference focused on the ins and outs of assessing “Big Deals.” The presenters gave an overview of issues related to “Big Deals,” and engaged the attendees in discussions about their own experiences with the topic. They then detailed the process of assessing “Big Deals” at their institution, including their methods for evaluating usage statistics. Attendees were provided with sample Excel spreadsheets for hands-on exercises to practice applying the methods described.     

Why the “Big Deal” Continues to Persist

The advantages of bundling e-journals together into publisher collections include increased access to information for the subscribing institution's clients, purchasing cost-effectiveness, and streamlined workflows. Although cataloging a consortial e-journal collection has its advantages, there are also various pitfalls and the author outlines efforts by the CAUL (Council of Australian University Libraries) Consortium libraries to further streamline this process, working in conjunction with major publishers. Despite the advantages that publisher collections provide, pressures to unbundle existing packages continue to build, fueled by an ever-increasing selection of available electronic resources; decreases in, and competing demands on, library budgets; the impact of currency fluctuations; and poor usage for an alarmingly high proportion of collection titles. Consortial perspectives on bundling and unbundling titles are discussed, including options for managing the addition of new titles to the bundle and why customizing consortial collections currently does not work. Unbundling analyses carried out at Queensland University of Technology from 2006 to 2008, prior to the renewal of several major publisher collections, are presented as further case studies that illustrate why the “Big Deal” continues to persist.