https://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/issue/feedInformation Technology and Libraries2024-03-18T10:25:12-07:00Ken Varnumvarnum@umich.eduOpen Journal Systems<p><em>Information Technology and Libraries</em> publishes material related to all <strong>aspects of information technology in all types of libraries</strong>. For consideration, articles must be related to both technology AND libraries.</p> <p>Topic areas include, but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.</p>https://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/17080Letter from the Editors: March 20242024-03-15T12:26:39-07:00Kenneth J. Varnumvarnum@umich.eduMarisha C. Kellymarisha.librarian@gmail.com<p>The editors of Information<em> Technology and Libraries</em> provide an update on Editorial Board activities and summarize the content of the March 2024 issue.</p>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Kenneth J. Varnum; Marisha C. Kellyhttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/16867Supporting Information Visualization Research in an Academic Library2023-08-08T11:09:28-07:00Michael Groenendykmichael.groenendyk@concordia.caTomasz Neugebauertomasz.neugebauer@concordia.ca<div> <p class="AbstractText"><span lang="EN-CA">This paper summarizes librarian research on information visualization as well as general trends in the broader field, highlighting the most recent trends, important journals, and which subject disciplines are most involved with information visualization. By comparing librarian research to the broader field, the paper identifies opportunities for libraries to improve their information visualization support services. </span></p> </div>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Michael Groenendyk, Tomasz Neugebauerhttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/17063How Libraries Can Foster a Vibrant Local Music Community2024-02-28T14:48:43-08:00Joshua Smithjsmith@nolalibrary.org<p>This column outlines how libraries can add value to their both their digital offerings and programming while providing local music artists with a curated, low-barrier entrance into streaming media. Library-hosted digital music collections give up-and-coming artists increased exposure and credibility to listeners and open a wealth of opportunities to engage with their communities.</p>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Joshua Smithhttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/15853Overview of the Library Automation System in South Sulawesi Libraries2023-03-28T21:58:45-07:00Taufiq Mathartaufiq.m@uin-alauddin.ac.idIsmayaismaya.aya1@gmail.com<div> <p class="AbstractText">Technology in libraries has played an essential role in serving today’s communities. This study provides an overview of the integrated library systems/software (ILSs) used in libraries in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It aims to highlight the strengths and possibilities of ILSs and briefly explain their advantages and disadvantages along with the cost of implementation. The data was gathered from questionnaires sent via an online survey and from direct interviews with certain academic libraries over the period of 2019 to 2020. Fifty-three of 67 libraries that fulfilled the study have implemented an ILS. To deeply understand the application, a direct interview with some libraries was conducted to learn the advantages and disadvantages. The result of the study showed that the most used ILSs are SLiMS and INLISlite and other programs like Apollo, Athenium Light, Simpus, Spektra, Jibas, KOHA, and Openlibrary. The budget spent is an average of 300 USD. While the ILSs have helped these libraries improve services, IT expertise and adequate resources are needed, especially when the systems present problems. An easy-to-use system that costs less will potentially be used in this area of research. This study will be particularly helpful for any library in Indonesia. These findings may also be generalized to libraries in other countries facing economic and technological similarities.</p> </div>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Taufiq Mathar, Ismayahttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/16651Exploring the Impact of the Gamified Metaverse on Knowledge Acquisition and Library Anxiety in Academic Libraries2023-06-27T01:22:44-07:00Pradorn Sureephongpradorn.s@cmu.ac.thSuepphong Chernbumroongsuepphong.c@cmu.ac.thSupicha Niemsupsupicha_n@cmu.ac.thPipitton Homlapipitton_h@cmu.ac.thKannikar Intawongkannikar.i@cmu.ac.thKitti Puritatkitti.p@cmu.ac.th<div> <p class="AbstractText"><span lang="EN">This paper investigates the potential of the Gamified Metaverse as a platform for promoting library services. The study compares the effectiveness of a traditional library program with a Metaverse-based library program in terms of knowledge acquisition and library anxiety. The research also examines students’ perceptions of implementing gamification within the context of the Gamified Metaverse platform. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, including pre- and post-test analysis, statistical analysis, and qualitative data collection. The results indicate that both the traditional and Metaverse-based library programs effectively increased the participants’ knowledge, with no significant difference between the two approaches. However, the Metaverse-based program was found to be less effective in facilitating interaction with librarians and reducing library anxiety. Additionally, students expressed positive perceptions of implementing gamification in the Gamified Metaverse platform, finding it engaging and motivating. These findings contribute to the understanding of the effect of the Metaverse as a tool for promoting library services and enhancing knowledge acquisition. However, it is not as effective in reducing library anxiety, particularly in terms of interaction with librarians and staff. It should be noted that the platform may have limitations such as high costs and potential side effects of virtual reality, making it more suitable as an additional tool for promoting library services, taking into account its feasibility and potential benefits for specific student populations and larger libraries.</span></p> </div>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Pradorn Sureephong, Suepphong Chernbumroong, Supicha Niemsup, Pipitton Homla, Kannikar Intawong, Kitti Puritathttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/16661Hidden Inequities of Access2023-06-30T07:59:30-07:00Amanda Hoviousahoviou1@emporia.eduCongwen Wangcongwen@nwmissouri.edu<div> <p class="AbstractText"><a name="_Hlk148083708"></a>Despite ongoing efforts to improve database accessibility, aggregated database vendors concede that they do not have complete control over document accessibility. Instead, they point to the responsibility of journal publishers to deliver articles in an accessible format. This may increase the likelihood that users with disabilities will encounter articles that are not compatible with a screen reader. To better understand the extent of the problem, a document accessibility audit was conducted of randomly selected articles from EBSCO’s Library & Information Source database. Full-text articles from 12 library science journals were evaluated against two measures of screen reader compatibility: HTML format (the optimal format for screen readers) and PDF accessibility conformance. Findings showed inconsistencies in HTML format availability for articles in the selected journals. Additionally, the entire sample of PDF articles failed to meet the minimum standard of PDF Universal Accessibility of containing a tagged structure. However, all PDF articles passed accessibility permissions tests, so could be made accessible retroactively by a third party.</p> </div>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Amanda Hovious, Congwen Wanghttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/16687Recommended by Librarians2023-07-10T13:07:30-07:00Carmen Orth-Alfiecorthalf@ku.eduErin Wolfeedw@ku.edu<div> <p class="AbstractText">To study library guides, as published on Springshare’s LibGuides platform, new approaches are needed to expand the scope of the research, ensure comprehensiveness of data collection, and reduce bias for content analysis. Computational methods can be utilized to conduct a nuanced and thorough evaluation that critically assesses the resources promoted in library guides. Web-based library guides are curated by librarians to provide easy access to high-quality information and resources in a variety of formats to support the research needs of their users. Recent scholarship considers library guides as valuable resources and as de facto publications, highlighting the need for critical study. In this article, the authors present a novel model for comprehensively gathering data about a specific genre of books from individual LibGuide pages and applying computational methods to explore the resultant data. Beginning with a pre-selected list of 159 books, we programmatically queried the titles using the LibGuides Community search engine. After cleaning and filtering the resultant data, we compiled a list of 20,484 book references (of which 6,212 are unique) on 1,529 LibGuide pages. By testing against inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure relevancy, we identified a total of 281 titles relevant to our topic. To gain insights for future study, citation analysis metrics are presented to reveal patterns of frequency, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling of books promoted in LibGuides. This proof-of-concept could be adopted for a variety of applications, including assessment of collections, public services, critical librarianship, and other complex questions to enable a richer and more thorough understanding of the information landscape of LibGuides.</p> </div>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Carmen Orth-Alfie, Erin Wolfehttps://ital.corejournals.org/index.php/ital/article/view/16719Knowledge Graph Visualization Interface for Digital Heritage Collections2023-08-31T15:55:25-07:00Christopher S.G. Khoochriskhoo@pmail.ntu.edu.sgEleanor A.L. Tanaltan@nafa.edu.sgSiam-Gek Ngng0001ek@e.ntu.edu.sgChwee-Fong Chancs-chweefong.chan@ntu.edu.sgMichael Stanley-Bakermsb@ntu.edu.sgWei-Ning Chengivanka@ntnu.edu.tw<p>Digital heritage portal interfaces are generally similar to digital library and search engine interfaces in displaying search results as a list of brief metadata records. The knowledge organization and search result display of these systems are item-centric, with little support for identifying relationships between items. This paper proposes a knowledge graph system and visualization interface as a promising solution for digital heritage systems to support users in browsing related items, understanding the relationships between items, and synthesizing a narrative on an issue. The paper discusses design issues for the knowledge graph, graph database, and graph visualization, and offers recommendations based on the authors’ experience in developing three knowledge graph systems for archive and digital humanities resources: the Zubir Said personal archive collection at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore; Singapore Pioneers social network; and Polyglot Medicine knowledge graph of Asian traditional and herbal medicine. Lessons learned from a small user study are incorporated in the discussion.</p>2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00Copyright (c) 2024 Christopher S.G. Khoo, Eleanor A.L. Tan, Siam-Gek Ng, Chwee-Fong Chan, Michael Stanley-Baker, Wei-Ning Cheng