Time: Saturday, 22/Mar/2025: 9:00am - 10:30am |
Location: Room 3 - Luddy 1104 |
“A Mulligan’s Stew”: Educational Preparation for Today’s Academic Library Liaisons in the Humanities and Social Sciences
1University of Tennessee, United States of America; 2Berkshire Athenaeum, United States of America
Introduction. As educating future library professionals remains a core function of American Library Association (ALA)-accredited master’s degree programs, there remains interest in exploring the extent to which these programs prepare students for employment in today’s libraries. This short paper reports on findings from a survey of academic librarians with liaison responsibilities to college and university social sciences and humanities departments, with particular attention to newer responsibilities related to research data management and scholarly communications, areas less commonly associated with humanities- and humanistic social sciences liaison work.
Method. The survey was distributed to 1085 individuals, 330 of whom responded (rate: 30.4%).
Analysis. This paper reports on one segment of the survey’s findings: the extent to which respondents believe their ALA-accredited master’s degree and, where applicable, additional graduate coursework, prepared them for liaison work.
Results. Three findings are discussed: impressions about the ALA-accredited master’s from 1) respondents who have not participated in other graduate education as compared to 2) respondents who have completed additional graduate education, and 3) the extent to which respondents who have additional graduate education believe that course of study prepared them for liaison work as compared to their impressions of the ALA-accredited master’s.
Conclusion(s). Respondents do not believe the ALA-accredited master’s to have provided strong preparation for the “Mulligan’s Stew” of tasks, skills, and responsibilities associated with liaison work. In the discussion and conclusion sections we offer some suggestions for strengthening this course of study.
Digital Skills Development of University Library Professionals in Nigeria: Testing the UTAUT Model
1University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom; 2Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
The UTAUT model has been famous for predicting technology usage. This study tested the UTAUT model on the intention to develop digital skills of university library professionals in Nigeria. Data was collected through questionnaire from 453 respondents and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that the university library professionals in Nigeria lack digital skills to carry out some operational tasks especially serials, acquisition and some cataloging tasks using z39 and OCLC. This study has shed light on the current digital skills level and factors that impede skills development such as gender, education, years of experience and career cadre using the UTAUT model. This study has upheld the validity, consistency, and expansion of the model beyond technology usage to digital skills development intentions. Recommendations were made to library management and related stakeholders in Nigeria to put to consideration the identified factors as guide-light for planning and decision making on digital capacity development for their staff.
The affective dimension of archival work: understanding the thoughts and feelings of archivists who documented the HIV/AIDS epidemic
1Indiana University Bloomington, United States of America; 2University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, United States of America; 3University of Kentucky, United States of America
Introduction. Affect is a vehicle of meaning-making that helps individuals adapt to stressful conditions. Affective experiences help meaning-making during life transitions and crises, but less is known about the affective experiences of information professionals, such as archivists.
Method. Employing a qualitative research approach, we conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with archivists working in LGBTQIA+ archives across the United States. We asked about participants’ thoughts and feelings about their work documenting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.
Analysis. Our emerging findings are based on an analysis of the first 10 interviews of our dataset. Our data analysis relied on inductive and deductive coding, concept mapping, and memo writing.
Results. Archivists who documented this epidemic had to interact with vast amounts of information about loss and grief. Our participants experienced a physical toll due to this, reflected upon the impact of the epidemic on the LBTQIA+ community, and felt a range of negative and positive affects.
Conclusion(s). Archivists' affective experiences are more complex than just burnout. Our preliminary findings suggest that the affective experiences of archivists documenting trauma and crises may not only lead to burnout but also to experience appreciation for the role of solidarity and the positive impact of documentation on the LGBTIA+ community.