Digital Library Perspectives

Cervone, H. Frank

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-07-2017-0023

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the relevance of information technology (IT) governance to informaticians. In most organizations, informatics is part of the IT function. Therefore, an understanding of IT governance is of benefit to informaticians in their day-to-day work. In addition, while IT governance is not data governance, informaticians often are responsible for data governance efforts. Understanding the larger picture of IT governance can be useful to informaticians, as it provides a solid context and many models that can be used or adapted for data governance efforts.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a general review of IT governance based on industry best practice and the author’s experience.FindingsIT governance is critical to success in IT as it helps ensure all stakeholders have a voice and appropriate decision-making rights in guiding the IT efforts across the organization. Implementing and maintaining an IT governance structure requires commitment from the organization at all levels and requires time and resources for management and implementation.Originality/valueThis paper provides an overview and introduction to IT governance concepts specifically for the informatics professional.

Fox, Robert

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-07-2017-0021

PurposeThis paper aims to explore several methods for developing an effective content model for library websites.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is conceptual.Originality/valueWebsites can take a couple of approaches to design. One is “top down” that focuses on the User Interface (UI) and graphic design. Another is “bottom up” that focuses on the organization of content. This paper encourages website designers to take a more “bottom up” approach to web design.

Bonnet, Jennifer L.; Méndez-Brady, Marisa

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-01-2017-0002

PurposeWhereas traditional book and journal publishing remain the gold standard for many post-secondary institutions, nontraditional publishing is just as prolific at the flagship university in Maine. The university has strong land and sea grant missions that drive a broad research agenda, with an emphasis on community outreach and engagement. However, the impact of researchers’ contributions outside of academe is unlikely to be accurately reflected in promotion, tenure or review processes. Thus, the authors designed a series of altmetrics workshops aimed at seeding conversations around novel ways to track the impact of researchers’ diverse scholarly and creative outputs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of the instructional approach taken at the University of Maine library to facilitate discussions of alternative impact assessments that reach beyond traditional publications.FindingsEvaluations revealed an increased awareness of, and interest in, impact tracking tools that capture both traditional scholarship, like journal articles, and nontraditional scholarly and creative outputs, such as videos, podcasts and newsletters. The authors learned that altmetrics provides an entry point into a broader conversation about scholarly impact, and was best received by those whose scholarly output is not always captured by traditional metrics.Practical implications Scholars are equipped with novel methods for describing the value of their work and discovering a broader audience for their research. Future initiatives will target the needs identified through initial conversations around altmetrics.Originality/valueAltmetrics workshops provide spaces to explore the potential for new tools that capture a range of previously unconsidered measures of impact, and to discuss the implications of those measures.

Wong, Elise Y.; Vital, Sarah M.

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-12-2016-0047

PurposeThe Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC) library plays an integral role in supporting one of the goals in the College’s Strategic Plan: “Raise the Academic Profile and Distinction”. This case study aims to assess the effectiveness of PlumX as a tool to showcase the academic profile and distinction of SMC. The library recognizes the importance of capturing impact of non-traditional creativity and engagement in addition to just traditional impact metrics of research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper describes the collaborative effort of the College and the College’s library to identify faculty scholarship, creativity and engagement and collect data demonstrating the impact of the works. Traditional metrics, like citation counts, do not do SMC faculty justice because faculty scholarship comes beyond just books and articles. To more fully document the real intellectual corpus the College, the library is working with a new system, PlumX, to collect web-based information about both traditionally and non-traditionally published work.FindingsThe collection of metrics across five categories (citations, usage, social media, mentions and captures), and the flexibility of displaying on screen or downloading for use in other analytic reports made possible through PlumX proved to be a start toward demonstrating the academic distinction of College’s unique faculty. SMC will continue to partner with PlumX to assess and improve its usability and effectiveness.Originality/valueThis paper outlines how altmetrics can be used to measure and share impact of faculty research at a liberal arts, teaching-focused college in ways reflective of the unique intellectual contributions.

Starbuck, Edith; Purtee, Sharon

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-01-2017-0005

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a three-year case study of the extent with which altmetrics compare to traditional metrics in certain subject areas for selected departments at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine (COM).Design/methodology/approachA three-year analysis of peer-reviewed papers and invited editorials from 2009 to 2013 written by tenure-track faculty from 20 COM departments was done to explore what subject areas received the highest altmetric scores. Research output was searched in PubMed; articles were quantified by subject area, times cited in Scopus, and its altmetric score over each of three successive years.FindingsThe topics of the highest scored altmetric papers (n = 40) sample focused on stroke, obesity, and diabetes for all three years. Analysis of high initial altmetric scores over the course of the three years shifted from a possible predictor of future impact in the second year to no indicator of long-term interest in the scientific community as the public interest waned over time.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors used Scopus Times Cited and Altmetrics.com to gather data.Originality/valueInitially assessed a total of 3,678 unique publications and worked with the 40 highest altmetric scores in subsequent years. Data showed that subjects of interest to the public receive the highest altmetric scores and the topic areas did not change over the course of the study. These initially high altmetric scores do not indicate long-term interest by the scientific community.

Coombs, Sarah K.; Peters, Isabella

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-01-2017-0004

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a critical discussion of the Leiden Manifesto for libraries already engaged in bibliometric practices. It offers practical recommendations based on the work of the European Association for Research Libraries (LIBER) Working Group on Metrics. This work is in the beginning phase and summarizes literature on the topic, as well as the experiences of the members of the Working Group. The discussion reflects today's growing popularity of (quantitative) research assessment which is seen in enthusiasts introducing new metrics (i.e. altmetrics) and by critics demanding responsible metrics that increase objectivity and equity in evaluations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is the result of the Working Group on Metrics of the European Association for Research Libraries (LIBER) that critically discussed the practicality of the Leiden Manifesto for libraries.FindingsFull compliance with the Manifesto is time-consuming, expensive and requires a significant increase in bibliometric expertise with respect to both staffing and skill level. Despite these apparent disadvantages, it is recommended that all libraries embrace the Manifesto’s principles. To increase practicality, it is advised that libraries collaborate with researchers, management and other libraries at home and around the world to jointly design and provide services that can be reused within the library community.Originality/valueLibraries have increasingly been confronted with questions about research assessment, responsible metrics and the role of digital products in evaluations and funding decisions. Although a wide range of recommendations and initiatives are available (e.g. DORA San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment), many recommendations are not straightforward enough to be implemented from a library perspective. This paper provides assistance for libraries to implement these principles by acknowledging the heterogeneous backgrounds the libraries may stem from.

Sabharwal, Arjun; Natal, Gerald R.

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-03-2017-0008

PurposeThe purpose of this case study is to demonstrate a current model, as well as explore future models, for integrating institutional repositories (IRs) in higher education goals at the University of Toledo.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study that uses literature review as an exploratory framework for new approaches while reflecting on existing literature to present the current practical framework for using IRs.FindingsThe digital environment has pushed academic institutions toward new strategies for curating their record on scholarship and preserving their heritage collections, using their IRs. Innovative approaches are also vital to curating the IR content digitally to facilitate access to those contents in ways that was not possible a few decades ago. Surveys and existing literature point to increasing uses of IRs despite abstinence from considering open access for scholarly activity among faculty concerned about copyright, plagiarism and sustainability. Staffing and funding IR initiatives are important factors in sustaining the curation of scholarship in the digital environment.Practical implicationsIRs with open access publishing, expert gallery and digital library features place academic libraries in a central role as partners in digital scholarship.Originality/valueThis case study presents an original approach to incorporating the IR into the curation of digital content while also considering potential uses of knowledge management approaches for data and knowledge sharing in an academic environment.

Marsh, Emily

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-03-2017-0009

PurposeThis paper describes how the content management system (CMS) Omeka supports the representation and presentation of the National Agricultural Library’s (NAL’s) digital exhibits, including some observations on its strengths and weaknesses. It also looks at Omeka’s major features through a theoretical lens of exhibit orientation that provides another way to assess it as a digital content tool.Design/methodology/approachThe case study method was selected to review four comparable exhibits from the same institution. The Omeka software was evaluated through a lens of exhibit design that includes two orientations (object vs information) and multiple goals (object identification and display, engagement, interpretation and education).FindingsOmeka is a valuable tool for digital exhibits because of its strength in knowledge representation through a standard metadata scheme, the ability to group items that have some aspect in common such as author or topic, and its support of narrative exhibits incorporating text and images. Omeka needs some additional support, however, to fulfill more complex goals such as user engagement, object interpretation and user education.Originality/valueThe paper grounds the examination of Omeka within a theoretical framework of exhibit orientation that enriches its observations and conclusions.

Bosah, Gabriel; Okeji, Chuma Clement; Baro, Ebikabowei Emmanuel

2017 Digital Library Perspectives

doi: 10.1108/DLP-03-2017-0011

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to know the various factors librarians consider while selecting Open Access (OA) journal for publication and to identify the challenges librarians face with OA journal publishing.Design/methodology/approachOnline questionnaire was designed to collect data from 402 academic librarians in 87 universities in Africa using SurveyMonkey software.FindingsThe study found that academic librarians are aware of the “green” and “gold” routes but not familiar with the “diamond” route. The study revealed that a large number of the academic librarians have published only one paper in OA journals, followed by those who have not published any paper in OA journals. The study also revealed that reputation of journal and impact factor of journal were seen as very important among the factors that inform them of choosing OA. The majority of the respondents agreed that author fees, and lack of stable internet connectivity are the major barriers to publishing in OA journals.Practical implicationsThe study recommends that academic libraries in institutions of higher learning in Africa should organize seminars periodically on the need for their librarians to research and publish in OA journals.Social implicationsIdentifying factors involved in author decisions to publish in OA journals will help illuminate issues that may encourage or discourage author support of OA publishing models. Further understanding of these issues can assist the efforts to improve author perceptions of and confidence in OA publications.Originality/valueIt is believed that this study of African librarians publishing in OA journals is the first study in the region.