This collection includes recent scholarship by the faculty at Kent State University Libraries.
Browse the Kent State University Libraries Faculty Scholarship Collections
Exploring the renaissance of wayfinding and voyaging through the lens of knowledge representation, organization and discovery systems2020
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis from an ethical perspective of how the concept of indigenous wayfinding and voyaging is mapped in knowledge representation, organization and discovery systems. Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the Dewey Decimal Classification, the Library of Congress Subject Headings, the Library of Congress Classifications systems and the Web of Science citation database were methodically examined to determine how these systems represent and facilitate the discovery of indigenous knowledge of wayfinding and voyaging. FindingsThe analysis revealed that there was no dedicated representation of the indigenous practices of wayfinding and voyaging in the major knowledge representation, organization and discovery systems. By scattering indigenous practice across various, often very broad and unrelated classes, coherence in the record is disrupted, resulting in misrepresentation of these indigenous concepts. Originality/valueThis study contributes to a relatively limited research literature on representation and organization of indigenous knowledge of wayfinding and voyaging. This study calls to foster a better understanding and appreciation for the rich knowledge that indigenous cultures provide for an enlightened society. |
50 Years of Storytelling2020This article discusses the history of the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, founded by Sandra Perlman Halem in 1990. The Project is currently administered by Elizabeth Campion, May 4 Archivist, Special Collections and Archives in the Kent State University Libraries. The article also focuses on the effort, headed by Kathleen Siebert Medicus, to build a volunteer team and collect oral histories during the year of the 50th commemoration of the shootings. It provides a clear and interesting overview of this ongoing project of the Kent State University Libraries. Article was published in the Spring 2020 Issue of the Burr magazine. https://issuu.com/theburr/docs/burr_s2020_v06_digital_copy/36 |
Fostering Media Literate Global Citizens: Tools for Understanding2020Presently, our students are inundated with media through a variety of resources. Now more than ever it is vital for students to be able to consume information, which is credible, reliable, and verifiable. All of this is being compounded by a shrinking world and a level of access which is almost instant and a media landscape where traditional gateways of editorship may not always be present. In order to address the need for media literate and global oriented citizenship we lay out a path for social studies teachers to foster media literate consumers of information and who view their citizenship through a global lens. Natural disasters provide wonderful examples of events which have both local and global impacts, and which are relevant to social studies. |
Methods reporting that supports reader confidence for systematic reviews in psychology: assessing the reproducibility of electronic searches and first-level screening decisions06/29/2020Recent discussions and research in psychology show a significant emphasis on reproducibility. Concerns for reproducibility pertain to methods as well as results. We evaluated the reporting of the electronic search methods used for systematic reviews (SR) published in psychology. Such reports are key for determining the reproducibility of electronic searches. The use of SR has been increasing in psychology, and we report on the status of reporting of electronic searches in recent SR in psychology. We used 12 checklist items to evaluate reporting for basic electronic strategies. Kappa results for those items developed from evidence-based recommendations ranged from fair to almost perfect. Additionally, using a set of those items to represent a “PRISMA” type of recommended reporting showed that only one of the 25 randomly selected psychology SR from 2009-2012 reported recommended information for all items in the set, and none of the 25 psychology SR from 2014-2016 did so. Using a second less stringent set of items found that only 36% of the psychology SR reported basic information that supports confidence in the reproducibility of electronic searches. Similar results were found for a set of psychology SR published in 2017. An area for improvements in SR in psychology involves fuller and clearer reporting of the steps used for electronic searches in SR. Such improvements will provide a strong basis for confidence in the reproducibility of searches. That confidence, in turn, can strengthen reader confidence more generally in the results and conclusions reached in SR in psychology. |
Tolerance, Muslims and Christians2019Expectations are that content for this site and project will continue to be developed. A status report was presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion conference in the Fall 2019. An updated report was developed for the annual convention of the American Psychological Association - August 6-8, 2020. Further updates to this site and findings were to be added by the end of August. A goal now (on October 1) is to complete update for this site by December 1. Combined presentation & materials available on the Open Science Framework- https://osf.io/v69ax/ |
Believers, Nonbelievers and Tolerance2019Content for this site and project will continue to be developed. A status report was presented at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion conference in the Fall 2019. An updated report was developed for the annual convention of the American Psychological Association - August 6-8, 2020. Further updates to this site and findings were to be added by the end of August. A goal now (Oct 1) is to have updates complete by December 1. Combined presentation & materials available on the Open Science Framework- osf.io/ps7b9 |
Digital Humanities and Library Labor: Resources, Workflows, and Project Management in a Collaborative Context10/14/2019This presentation will outline collaborative digital humanities projects initiated at Kent State over the last year. One project currently underway is focused on an independent research project led by a faculty member from the Department of English, focusing on a collection of nineteenth century women's insane asylum memoirs. Initial discussions with the faculty member and the Digital Projects Librarian centered around the expectations of a DH project, including who would complete the high resolution scanning and post-production work. Part of the first conversations touched on the current availability and capacity of the digital projects student workers, who ultimately are completing the work involved, and expected timelines of deliverables, particularly within the scenario of using existing resources (personnel, equipment and software). This project has also served an important role of being a DH project guinea pig within the digital initiatives unit, balancing this work with other more time-sensitive work that is on-going. Presentation at Digital Library Federation Forum 2019, Tampa, Florida |
Rethinking privacy: From working concepts to privacy assessment and review09/18/2020Basic concepts around privacy will be discussed, including privacy violations and types of personal data. Ethical decision-making models will be shared, as well as a few case studies to highlight the complexities around issues of privacy. Finally, recommendations around incorporating a privacy assessment and review will be provided. Presentation for the annual 2020 SEFLIN conference (Southeast Florida Library Information Network) |
Leveraging Repositories for Digital Projects: Oral Histories + GIS07/23/2020Presentation for Ohio Digital Interest Group (virtual), discussing the Mapping May 4 project. The Mapping May 4 project is built on audio oral histories the archival May 4 collection, and is managed by Drs. Jen Mapes and Sara Koopman. This presentation will cover how geospatial information was applied to the audio collection, providing another layer for browsing and exploration. |
Mapping oral histories: Augmenting digital audio collections with GIS05/2020Presentation given at Archiving 2020 (Virtual), based on submitted paper with the same title. https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2168-3204.2020.1.0.88 The presentation will focus on a project at Kent State University using a local oral history digital collection. The project displays the potential of how the application of an additional layer of geospatial information into an existing digital collection can improve user access and provide alternate methods to browse material (geographically). Transcriptions from the May 4 oral history collection at Kent State University were analyzed and tagged at any point there was a mention of one of the location points of interest. A new website was created where oral histories could be browsed using a historical map from the time period (spring 1970). This paper will outline the project and provide some initial steps for other institutions to begin such a project. |
Managing privacy: A survey of practices in digital archives and libraries2021Building on past research regarding privacy and digital librarianship, this study surveyed managers of digital libraries across the USA to gauge prevalent attitudes regarding individual privacy versus access to information. In the wake of controversy surrounding the European Union’s 2014 ruling regarding the ‘right to be forgotten’, the authors sought to develop a better understanding of how digital library managers in the USA handle privacy concerns, such as takedown requests, especially in light of the strong protections for first amendment rights in the USA. This research explores whether the majority of archives and digital libraries have developed privacy policies and what they consider to be the key elements of a robust privacy policy. The study also explores the shifting attitudes around privacy and access, both of digital library managers and of their institutions, in an effort to determine how these relate to the handling of such requests. Finally, the research examines how often information professionals receive takedown requests from their communities, with the hope of tracking this trend over time. This paper provides an overview of the current landscape involving privacy policies and takedown requests, and highlights some of the fundamental issues facing information professionals so that they may have the necessary resources to develop and implement privacy policies at their institutions. |
Served on a Silver Platter working Towards an Academic Research Data Concierge Service12/16/2019This article will discuss the development of a research concierge service aimed at supporting the unique data needs of researchers at each stage of the research lifecycle. Although based on work at one institution, a North American academic 4-year research university, the presented strategies are transferable to many different types of institutions. The concept behind this service emerged when staff members from the Office of Research, Information Technology, and University Libraries embarked on an endeavour, by way of a newly formed collaborative working group, to identify disparate research support services around campus. Steps will be suggested to assess and align existing support services as well as uncover gaps in service within an institution. A review of organisational models from other institutions with complementary services will also be included. The article will also examine the challenges faced by our institution in creating this collaborative group and the new service approach. |
Performing Arts Library Patron Behavior: An Ethnographic Multi-Institutional Space Study2020This multi-institutional research study used hourly sweeps and patron surveys to examine patron behavior at three institutional libraries catering primarily to performing arts students. Researchers examined: (a) areas visited, (b) technologies used, (c) types of work, (d) stay duration, and (e) work accomplished alone or together. Study areas were most popular, followed by computer labs. Patrons frequently used print and electronic technologies, often in combination. Patrons frequently worked alone. UMKC’s library (within the main library) experienced longer visit length and fewer personal/leisure visits than KSU and ECU’s libraries (within performing arts buildings.) |
Joe Clark: Recipient of the 2020 Richard S. Hill Award from the Music Library Association awardThe 2020 Hill Award recipients are Joe C. Clark, Sheridan Stormes, and Jonathan Sauceda, for the article, "Format Preferences of Performing Arts Students: A Multi-institution Study." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 44, no. 5 (2018): 620-626. The award committee wrote: [The article] reveals important information to consider regarding collection development and acquisitions for today’s performing arts librarians. The research design, study, and results clearly demonstrated student preferences among print, audiovisual, streaming, and reference resources, as well as the benefit of considering user preferences and behavior leading to more user-focused collection development and resource acquisition. One noted methodology was the use of focus groups in addition to the surveys, which allowed the researchers to gather in-depth feedback and reception regarding user preferences in a candid nature, allowing for more effective analysis of preferences. Librarians in charge of acquisitions may find this article helpful in guiding future purchases, or provide them with a methodology to gather their own patron input to make sure purchases suit the current needs of patrons. |
Commuter Students and the Academic Library: A Mixed-Method Study of Space10/25/2019This study discusses the library space assessment of the Stark Campus Library of Kent State University. The commuter student experience is underrepresented in the literature, which often focuses on residential campuses. A mixed-method research approach is used to understand commuter students’ experiences and preferences of an academic library. Researchers used photo-elicitation interviews, hourly floor sweeps, and unobtrusive observation to gather data on student use of the library. The study shares its findings on students study habits and how their commute affects time spent on-campus. |
Incoming Freshmen: A Retention Initiative10/18/2019Academic Library of Ohio’s Annual Conference, Columbus, Ohio, October 18, 2019 |
Challenges and Triumphs of Teaching Online Students: Behind the Scenes of a Shared Workshop Series04/2020Association of College & Research Libraries, Distance Library Instruction Poster Session. Online. April 13-17, 2020 As the demand for online classes and programs continues to rise, librarians are learning how to transform face to face library instruction activities to meet the needs of students outside of the library walls. This presentation will highlight theoretical concepts paired with one library’s experiences in developing engaging, realtime online library instruction sessions to meet the instruction demands of classes taking place off campus. Attendees will walk through the process of targeting online and face to face, off campus courses, getting faculty to buy-in, drafting synchronized online lesson plans that incorporate the new ACRL framework, and practical howtos when conducting a live online session. This active session will include a blend of theoretical ideas with practical applications of classroom experiences in a synchronized environment. Participants will take away: examples, lesson plans, marketing advice for faculty, and assessment ideas. |