Category: Research

Call for Participation: Research participants for a study on archivists and librarians involved with community engagement and higher ed

Dear Colleagues, 

We are excited to invite participants for a research study titled “Bridging Campus and Community: Librarian and Archivists’ Perspectives on Community Engagement in Higher Education” which will explore community engagement practices among academic librarians and information professionals working in higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore how academic information practitioners understand and carry out community engagement, especially in their work with off-campus publics. This research seeks to identify how information practitioners define community engagement, how they approach their engagement activities, and what challenges and opportunities they encounter. Additionally, the study aims to examine the support structures and competencies needed for effective community engagement in higher education.  

Who Can Participate? 
We are seeking academic information practitioners (librarians, archivists, etc.) who: 

  • Hold an MLIS/MAS or equivalent degree. 
  • Are currently employed in a higher education setting in North America. 
  • Identify community engagement as a priority in their professional work.

What Does Participation Involve? 
To determine eligibility, participants are asked to complete a short pre-screening questionnaire, which will take up to 5 minutes to complete which will close on November 8, 2024. Those who meet the criteria for the full study will be invited to participate in a 90-minute Zoom interview at a mutually convenient time. 

Why Participate in the Full Study? 
Your insights can contribute to a deeper understanding of community engagement practices in academic libraries and the support structures needed to foster this work. Upon completion of the study, the findings will be made open access through the University of British Columbia’s institutional repository, cIRcle, and Simon Fraser University’s institutional repository, Summit.  

How to Get Involved 
If you are interested, please complete the pre-screening questionnaire here: 
ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2fQ3NtvBRoDQx1k

We encourage you to share this invitation within your professional networks and associations.  

How will Confidentiality, Anonymity, and Data be Protected?  
Your confidentiality will be maintained throughout the study. If you meet the inclusion criteria and are selected for an interview, informed consent will be obtained prior to participation.  Identifiable data from the pre-screening survey will be securely stored separately from the interview data, and your name will only appear on the consent form and pre-screening survey. All data will be securely stored in a University of British Columbia cloud-based system (i.e., MS OneDrive), accessible only to the research team using encrypted devices. All pre-screening data from ineligible participants will be deleted. 

If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to contact us at Aleha McCauley (Principal Investigator), aleha.mccauley@ubc.ca, University of British Columbia or Heather De Forest (Senior Research Associate), hdefores@sfu.ca, Simon Fraser University.  
 
Thank you for considering participating in this study.  

Sincerely, 
Heather De Forest
Community Scholars Librarian
Simon Fraser University Library
515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 5K3
hdefores@sfu.ca 

Call for Participation – Digital Collection Development Policy Survey

You are invited to participate in a survey with the goal of gathering information about policies that describe criteria for the selection of Special Collections resources (i.e. rare and unique archival photographs, manuscripts, ephemera, rare books, and donated born-digital items) for digitization and publication in open access digital libraries. These policies are often known as “digital collection development policies.” This study is being conducted by two librarians at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library, representing a cross-departmental collaboration between Digital Library Services and Special Collections.

Please click on bit.ly/digcolldevp  to take the survey. 

This survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete and will be open until Monday, November 25th. If you would like additional information about the study, please contact any of the people listed below.

We appreciate your time and participation. Please excuse any cross-postings.

Thanks,

Jessica Breiman, Digital Archives Librarian, University of Utah (jessica.breiman@utah.edu)

Rachel Wittmann, Metadata Strategies Librarian, University of Utah (rachel.wittmann@utah.edu)

The University of Utah’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) has approved this study. Contact the IRB if you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant. Also, contact the IRB if you have questions, complaints or concerns which you do not feel you can discuss with the investigator. The University of Utah IRB may be reached by phone at (801) 581-3655 or by e-mail at irb@hsc.utah.edu.

Request for participation: Recruitment of information professionals in academic libraries

Greetings!

We would like to invite you to consider participating in a short survey that focuses on recruitment of information professionals in academic libraries. It will examine how elements of an academic job description are perceived by participants. The purpose is to identify if any patterns exist in how features of the advertisement are perceived by participants, based on factors including the participant’s work experience, educational background, and individual differences. Anticipated benefits of this study include the potential to identify the most widely appealing factors of academic library advertisements to improve diversity in applicant pools. 

Anyone over the age of 18 who identifies as a librarian and/or archivist is eligible to participate. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to answer approximately 50 questions, which should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The informed consent and survey are available at: https://towson.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5z1qFAZvYKqs0Vo

Please do not put any information in your response that could be used to identify you. 

The survey will be live for 4 weeks until November 24, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact the Principal Investigator, Ashley Todd-Diaz (atodddiaz@towson.edu). 

Thank you in advance for considering,  

Ashley Todd-Diaz, Towson University, Principal Investigator  

——————————
Ashley Todd-Diaz
Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections and University Archives
Towson University

Call for Participation: Research Survey about Linked Data

Dear colleagues:

We are seeking participants for a research survey to assess the uptake of Linked Data technologies for cultural heritage description in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) community. The results from this survey are intended to capture the degree to which Linked Data is being implemented or used by different constituencies, to identify perceptions on added value or pain points of LD, and to infer risks and opportunities for further development in the areas of domain modeling and software development.

This survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete depending on the specific responses. It can be paused at any time and completed at a later point. Your responses are collected anonymously and cannot be tied to your name or email address. No demographic information relating to your person other than your occupational role will be collected. The data collected in this survey will only be shared in aggregate for research purposes.10 respondents to this survey will be drawn at random to receive a $30 Amazon gift card. The survey can be completed here.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the study’s investigators listed below.

Thank you,

Kate A. Bowers (Harvard University, kate_bowers@harvard.edu)

Regine I. Heberlein (Princeton University, heberlei@princeton.edu)

Stephanie M. Luke (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, smluke2@illinois.edu)

RFP: AI for Access

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Survey and Assessment Analyst to support an exciting new project funded by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) sponsored by the CLIR/DLF Born-Digital Access Working Group (BDAWG). The “AI for Access” project aims to assess how U.S. archival professionals are utilizing AI/ML tools to facilitate access to digital archival materials.

Project Overview: The “AI for Access” study is designed to explore the use of AI/ML in archival settings, particularly in the face of increasing digital collection demands. This two-part project includes a comprehensive literature review and a survey distributed to archival professionals to gather both quantitative and qualitative data on their use of and/or perspectives on AI/ML tools.

We are seeking a qualified Survey and Assessment Analyst to:

  • Review and refine our preliminary survey design.
  • Determine appropriate survey models and sampling methods.
  • Oversee the distribution and promotion of the survey.
  • Analyze and synthesize survey findings.
  • Prepare a final report detailing the results.

Key Details:

  • Contract Period: October 1, 2024 – January 31, 2024
  • Budget: $2,500
  • Deadline for Proposal Submission: September 26, 2024, by 4:30 PM EST
  • Proposal Submission: Proposals should be sent via email to Dara Baker at dabaker.research@gmail.com.

How to Apply: Interested applicants should submit a proposal that includes a detailed description of how they will meet the RFP requirements, along with their qualifications and pricing information. Preference will be given to proposals that address all aspects of the RFP comprehensively.

Please review the full RFP document for additional details on the scope of work, evaluation criteria, and submission guidelines.

We welcome any questions regarding this RFP, which should be submitted in writing by September 10, 2024, at 4:30 PM EST. All questions and responses will be shared by September 20, 2024.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and potentially working together on this important project.

Best regards,

AI for Access Project Team–
Christina Velazquez Fidlershe/her/hersHead of Digital CollectionsThe Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley | Huichin Ohlone Land

Call for Participants and Presentations: SAA Research Forum

Call for Participants and Presentations

Society of American Archivists 

2024 SAA Research Forum

hosted by the Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment

July 17 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT

July 24, 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT

Virtual Meetings

MAY 1 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS FOR THE SAA RESEARCH FORUM 

On behalf of the 2024 Research Forum Program Committee, we invite you to submit abstracts (of 300 words or fewer) for either 10-minute platform presentations or 3-minute lightning talks. Topics may address research on, or innovations in, any aspect of archives practice or records management in government, corporate, academic, scientific, or other settings. 

The 2024 Research Forum will be conducted as two Zoom-based virtual sessions, each four hours long, on July 17 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT and July 24, 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT. 

The Committee is pleased to announce format changes to the Research Forum in response to feedback from the last year’s Forum. The 2024 Research Forum will be made up of 10-minute platform presentations, extended from 8 minutes, and 3-minute lightning talks, which will replace the poster presentations. A limited number of presentations will be accepted to allow for longer presentation times, extended Q&A periods, and opportunities for discussion between attendees. An abstract submission rubric will be used by the Committee to evaluate submissions. The 2024 Research Forum webpage provides additional information about the schedule and links to past Forum proceedings.

We invite presentations on research results that may have emerged since the 2023 Joint Annual Meeting Call for Proposals deadline, as well as reports on research completed within the past three years that are relevant and valuable for discussion as defined by the rubric. On the submission form, please indicate whether you intend a platform presentation or a lightning talk. See the full call here: https://www2.archivists.org/publications/research-forum.

The Research Forum Committee and CORDA encourage submissions on a range of topics, which may include:

  • Global challenges and their implications for archives and archivists, such as climate change, armed conflicts, environmental disaster, and human rights; 
  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (EDISJ) as a core value for archives and archivists; 
  • Collaborating across domains—archives, libraries, galleries, and museums; 
  • Repository-level data: how archives measure their output, outcomes, and activities over time;
  • Centering users in the design of archival systems for discovery; and/or, 
  • Building audiences to increase the impact of archives on society. 

These themes can be found in the CORDA Research and Innovation Roadmap (v1.4). 

Abstracts will be evaluated by the 2024 Research Forum Committee convened by Sarah Pratt Martin (Harvard University) and Chris Marino (Stanford University).

Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 1, 2024. You will be notified of the Committee’s decision by June 1, 2024.

Proposals should be submitted here.

Call for Submissions to 2024 ALA LHRT Research Forum: Trouble, Trouble, Trouble 

The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks proposals for its annual Research Forum, to be held in advance of the 2024 ALA Annual Meeting. 

To accommodate as many LHRT members as possible, the 2024 LHRT Research Forum will be held virtually on a date to be determined in early-to-mid June 2024.

 The theme of the Forum is “Trouble, Trouble, Trouble.” The Forum will examine libraries facing internal or external crises around the globe and across centuries. Each speaker will be asked to present for approximately 20 minutes, with a 10-minute Q&A to follow.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to, histories of: 

  • Censorship, book banning, book burning
  • Libraries during wars and wartime conditions
  • Institutional financial difficulties and funding issues
  • Natural disasters and their impact on libraries and services
  • Survival and loss of libraries and staff
  • Disinformation and the spread of disinformation 

LHRT welcomes submissions from researchers of all backgrounds, including library students, practitioners, faculty, independent researchers, and those retired from the field. LHRT especially encourages submissions from early-career researchers.  

Each proposal must give the paper title, an abstract (up to 500 words), and the presenter’s one-page vita. Please indicate in the abstract whether the research is in-progress or completed. 

The LHRT Research Committee will select up to three authors to present their completed work at the Forum. Proposals are due January 31; successful proposals will be notified shortly thereafter. Completed papers are due May 31. 

Please submit proposals and direct inquiries to Alea Henle, LHRT Vice Chair/Research Committee Chair, at henlear@miamioh.edu. 

Research Committee Members: 

Alea Henle 
Jennifer Bartlett 
Catherine Minter 
Deborah Smith
Leah DiCiesare

Call for Participation: self-identified queer knowledge workers in doctoral dissertation research

My name is Bri Watson, and I am a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Library and Information Studies at University of British Columbia iSchool. Under the supervision of my advisor, Dr. Julia Bullard (the Principal Investigator), I am writing to request the participation of self-identified queer knowledge workers in my doctoral dissertation research.

By ‘queer,’ I mean any individual publicly identifying as a member of the LGTBQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit and more) or MORGAI (Margainalized Orientations, Relationships, Genders, Asexualities and Intersex) communities. By ‘knowledge workers,’ I mean individuals engaged in professional, amateur, or community-based technical services work including cataloging, classification, metadata, taxonomy, tagging/folksonomy, and so on. 

The project consists of qualitative interviews and focus groups with self-identified queer knowledge workers. The interview will focus on their experiences with and strategies around the use of knowledge organization systems like the Library of Congress Subject Headings or similar. The focus group will consist of a collaborative editing session with terminology from Homosaurus vocabulary.

Research is Canada-based but will be conducted virtually, and participants are outside of North America are welcome to participate. Participants completing the interview will be compensated $35 CAD. Participants completing the focus group will be compensated an additional $65 CAD.

Participation is voluntary and may be discontinued at any time without penalty. You will have the opportunity to review and confirm the accuracy of your interview’s transcript and recordings will be destroyed. Participants in both the interview and the focus group are welcome to participate pseudonymously (changed display name, video off), or choose to be publicly credited in resultant publications.

The initial screening utilizes the Qualtrics software to collect basic information about interested participants. Qualtrics features which collect IP addresses and panel association are disabled and no analytics metadata will be recorded.

If you are interested in participating, please follow the link to the survey: Expanding the Margins, or copy and paste the following URL: ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eyfnZrMHR5WHUZU

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at brimwats@mail.ubc.ca.

bri watson

Research grants in History of the Book including Maps

Grants up to £4,000 for research into the history of the book, including studies of the production, transmission, circulation, dissemination, and consumption of text and graphics (i.e. maps, music, illustrations, and mass-produced prints).  

The Willison Foundation Charitable Trust promotes the advancement of the History of the Book by awarding funding to researchers working within that global field of study. It is interested in studies of the production, transmission, circulation, dissemination, and consumption of text and graphics (i.e. maps, music, illustrations, and mass-produced prints). It therefore expects to serve the needs of those working in the history of authorship, publishing, reading, and archiving, including maps, music, and prints; the history of libraries including deposit of computer memory; textual studies in the widest sense; codicology, palaeography, textual biography and editorial practice, textual communication, reception studies within oral as well as inscripted cultures.

To learn more see https://willisoncharitabletrust.org/applications/guidance-for-applicants/

Sarah Tyacke on behalf of the Trustees

Call for Applicants for EBLIP Journal: Evidence Summaries Writers

Call for Applicants for EBLIP Journal: Evidence Summaries Writers

Journal URL: https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP

EBLIP seeks to add several writers to the Evidence Summaries Team. Evidence summaries are critical appraisal syntheses, which provide analysis regarding the validity and reliability of the methodology used in an original research article. As such, they are a key component of EBLIP to aid readers in making informed decisions in their local practice. Evidence Summaries Team members are required to write two evidence summaries per year, with a two-year commitment to the journal. Evidence Summaries cover all areas of library and information studies, and we encourage applications from information professionals in areas such as school, public, and special libraries, as well as academic settings.


Interested persons should send a cover letter, indicating areas of strength they would bring to the role, and resume/CV as a single PDF file to Fiona Inglis (Associate Editor, Evidence Summaries) at finglis@wlu.ca by July 15, 2023. Applicants who are shortlisted will be asked to submit a sample evidence summary.

*Please note that Evidence Based Library and Information Practice is a non-profit, open access journal and all positions are voluntary and unpaid. The positions are an excellent opportunity for continuing professional development and gaining experience in reviewing and critically appraising library-related research.

**Only those applicants who are selected or shortlisted will be contacted by the Editors.

About the journal:

Published quarterly and hosted by the University of Alberta, this peer-reviewed, open access journal is targeted at all library and information professionals interested in an evidence based model of practice. By facilitating access to librarianship research via original research articles and evidence summaries of relevant research from the library literature, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice enables librarians to practice their profession in an evidence based manner. Please visit the Evidence Based Library and Information Practice web site (https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP) for further information about the journal.