Digital Library Perspectives

Publisher:: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Publication date:: 2021-02-01

Issue Number

Latest documents

Cyberactivism as emergent language in Venezuela. Proposal of documentation and digital preservation using Omeka software
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual analysis to artistic manifestation represented through graphic and multimedia pieces that are available in social media networks as document-speeches in relation to protests in Venezuela during April-July, 2017. Also, this paper proposes the implementation of digital documentation tool that allows retrieval, organization, systematization and preservation of visual contents. Design/methodology/approach: Semiotic analysis based on 44 artistic pieces (images and videos) posted on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to protest in Venezuela against the government of Nicolás Maduro in 2017. The authors defined a metadata group for content creation of multimedia and testing information retrieval from general data, textual contents, file formats and semiotic description using Omeka software. Findings: The digital documentation of artivism proposed has the potential to sustain over time as documents likely to be studied. It also constitutes an important analysis and a historical reconstruction, which must be taken into consideration to conduct research in the future political and social process of Venezuela. Social implications: Cyber-artivism, a concept related to online activism, is conceived as an artistic expression mediated by technologies and social media emerging in the context of social environments with a political–demographic character. Originality/value: Digital preservation of multimedia contents by their semiotic and historic value as artistic cyber-activism.
Editorial
From vision to action: librarians as change agents
Library eArchiving with ZONTAL Space and the Allotrope Data Format
Purpose: The purpose of this technical paper is to evaluate the emerging standard “Allotrope Data Format (ADF)” in the context of digital preservation at a major US academic library hosted at Brigham Young University. In combination with the new information management system ZONTAL Space (ZS), archiving with the ADF is compared with currently used systems CONTENTdm and ROSETTA. Design/methodology/approach: The approach is a workflow-based comparison in terms of usability, functionality and reliability of the systems. Current workflows are replaced by optimized target processes, which limit the number of involved parties and process steps. The connectors or manual solutions between the current workflow steps are replaced with automatic functions inside of ZS. Reporting functionalities inside of ZS are used to track system and file lifecycle to ensure stability and data preservation. Findings: The authors find that the target processes leveraging ZS drastically reduce complexity compared to current workflows. Archiving with the ADF is found to decrease integration complexity and provide a more robust data migration path for the future. The possibility to enrich data automatically with metadata and to store this information alongside the content in the same information package increases reusability of the data. Research limitations/implications: The practical implications of this work suggest the arrival of a new information management system that can potentially revolutionize the archiving landscape within libraries. Beyond the scope of the initial proof of concept, the potential for the system can be seen to replace existing data management tools and provide access to new data analytics applications, like smart recommender systems. Originality/value: The value of this study is a systematic introduction of ZS and the ADF, two emerging solutions from the Pharmaceutical Industry, to the broader audience of digital preservation experts within US libraries. The authors consider the exchange of best practices and solutions between industries to be of high value to the communities.
Critical success factors of the continued usage of digital library successful implementation in military-context. An organisational support perspective
Purpose: This paper aims to identify the critical success factors of the continued usage of digital library (DL) successful implementation from the perspective of users with organisation support factors as key antecedents. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the extensive literature review, this study has constructed a conceptual framework based on organisational support perspectives and updated Delone and McLean’s information system success model. A pilot study was carried out on a sample of 105 respondents from military-context. A survey instrument including 22 measurement items was designed to identify the level of DL information system (IS) successful implementation practices in military context. Descriptive statistical analysis and reliability analysis were used to analyse the data with SPSS software. Findings: The findings indicate that training and education, DL environment and communication support, continuation of usage intention, net benefits and user satisfaction are the critical success factors that play key role in ensuring the continued usage DL successful implementation in military context. The military-context DL needs to obtain critical success factors of DL practices implementation to sustain its continued usage, particularly for the active users of its members. Research limitations/implications: This study only considered the military personnel who have visited the five main military libraries. For practical implications, the development of instruments in this study may be valuable tools to evaluate DL in other DL settings in Malaysian context other than academic settings. Originality/value: This study makes a new contribution to DL IS successful implementation practices in military context. This study also provides important information for decision-makers involved in DL IS successful implementation practices and provides useful reference for future researchers in this research area.
Ethics, human rights and violence in Chihuahua’s digital journalism. Evidence from a media observatory
Purpose: This paper presents the findings of a project that aims to analyze the ethical treatment of the news, with special attention to the reporting of violent events, as it is carried out by digital news outlets from the State of Chihuahua (Mexico). Design/methodology/approach: A media observatory was established to collect and analyze the 9,115 news reports of violent events from February to June 2019 and was published by 12 digital news outlets in Chihuahua. Quantitative data analysis was carried out using three analytical axes – ethics, human rights and violence. Each axis was, in turn, subdivided into three criteria, and this paper identifies how compliant were each news outlet and individual news report with those criteria. Findings: Data analysis established that 5,385 of the news reports (59.1 per cent of the total news analyzed) met all the nine desirable criteria, whereas other subsets did not comply with up to a minimum five criteria. How the observed news outlets and their reports complied with the criteria used is specified in this paper. Originality/value: The methodology used and the data analyzed seek to develop ethical and socially responsible journalism. Hence, this paper offers various possibilities, such as raising new questions related to journalistic deontology, helps engage responsible journalists and also represents an area of opportunity for library and information professionals who are immersed in digital environments (e.g. digital libraries and library professionals that are the ideal professionals to store, manage and disseminate the records produced by media observatories). Moreover, the data analyzed help to set a maximum limit for the non-compliance with each of the criteria analyzed, which can even lead to the development of an ethical and social responsibility accreditation that can be granted to news outlets with the best practices for journalism.
Librarian’s perspective for the implementation of big data analytics in libraries on the bases of lean-startup model
Purpose: This study aims to propose a model based on philosophical thoughts of Dr S.R Ranganathan and the lean-startup method for the execution of big data analytics (BDA) in libraries. The research paves a way to understand the role and required competencies of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals for the implementation of BDA in libraries. Design/methodology/approach: In the BDA analytics context, a session with a proposed model was presented to the audience to get the response of librarians about the required competencies and skills. The research tool was developed based on the literature review to know the role of LIS professionals and their required competencies/skills for BDA. The questionnaire was distributed in the BDA session to collect the responses of the participating audience on the variables that focused on the role and core competencies of LIS professionals in BDA. In the analysis of results, the independent t-test was applied to know the mean value of the overall response rate. Findings: The findings show that perceptions of LIS professionals in the understanding of BDA ranked high in data privacy, data availability, data organization and data literacy. Digital data curation, policies supervision and providing the data consultancy also showed a significant relationship among these variables. Besides, the correlation between the required skills for BDA, metadata skills, data ethics, data acquisition, data cleaning, data organization, data analysis, digital curation, data clustering, data protection rules and digital visualization also showed a beneficial relationship. Originality/value: This study also helps to understand the perspective of LIS professionals for the implementation of BDA in libraries and to fill the literature gap in the respective.
Establishing clients’ satisfaction levels with automated library based services. A case study at University of Cape Coast library, Ghana
Purpose: Library automation is required in academic libraries to meet the dynamic demands of clients. This study aims to investigate the level of clients’ satisfaction of Sam Jonah library automation. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilized the descriptive research design by using an exploratory case study research method. A disproportionate stratified random sampling was used to select 322 respondents (undergraduates, postgraduates and lecturers/researchers) who consented to participate in the study. Questionnaire and informal interview were used for the data collection. Findings: The study showed that more than half of the clients of Sam Jonah library were moderately satisfied with the library’s automation. Clients mostly access internet/Wi-Fi and reference service. Patronage of the services including photocopying, borrowing of books (circulation), e-resources/academic databases, institutional repository, library website and the OPAC was not encouraging. Increase in user education was recommended to improve their usage. Research limitations/implications: The study was limited to only one academic library, namely, Sam Jonah library of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Originality/value: The study provides insight into a case study of satisfactory level of clients in accessing automated services of Sam Jonah Library to serve as a basis for further research.
An assessment of digital literacy skills and knowledge-based competencies among librarians working in university libraries in Africa
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess digital literacy skills possessed by library and information professionals working in university libraries in Africa. Design/methodology/approach: Online questionnaire was developed to collect data from 214 librarians working in various university libraries in English-speaking countries in Africa. Findings: The study found that librarians working in university libraries in Africa rated their database search skills, uploading documents to online platforms, skills in using different social media, sending and receiving e-mails skill, digital library development skills, skills in applying new technologies into library services, ability to create different file formats and ability to use open source software as very high. While, metadata development skills, and library website development skills were rated to be moderate and low. Overall, the librarians rated their level of digital literacy skills possessed to be moderate, and differences emerged between librarians in Nigeria and South Africa with regard to digital literacy skills possessed. Practical implications: This study attempts to identify skills that are central to librarians working in university libraries. The study will be useful for trainers who want to arrange training for academic librarians in Africa and other developing countries. For some library schools, it may help them to review their curriculum in accordance with the required skills and competencies for academic librarians in the market. Originality/value: Findings will be helpful to explore the skills and competencies needed by information professionals and to act as a guideline for competency development and curriculum update in library schools in developing countries.
Digital information resources: use and perceptions of deaf and hearing students
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of the internet among deaf and hearing students. The study also explores the perceptions of students toward the internet, online databases and digital libraries. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a survey questionnaire to collect data from the sample. The sample consists of 59 hearing and 53 deaf students studying at Al Ain University of Science and Technology Al Ain University (AAU). Descriptive statistics and t-tests are used to analyze data. Findings: Findings of the study show that at least 90 per cent of participants are using the internet for intellectual activities and social communications. In addition, the majority of deaf and hearing students have positive perceptions toward digital information resources. For gender differences, the study found no significant difference between men and women in the use of internet or in their perceptions toward the importance of online databases and digital libraries. However, results of the study confirmed significant difference between deaf and hearing students in relation to internet use, perception toward the importance of online databases and digital libraries. Research limitations/implications: The sample of the study are students studying at AAU. Future studies may expend this study by including deaf participants from various institutions in UAE. Originality/value: The results of the study could be used in planning and providing digital information resources and services for deaf students.