Purpose Academic libraries play a vital role in supporting students' learning and research; however, mismatches between users’ expectations and service delivery can undermine their effectiveness. This study examines university students’ perceptions and expectations of academic library services in Bangladesh, focusing on core services, the library environment, and assistance and support. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative design was used, and data were collected via an online questionnaire from 505 students at six public and one private university. Convenience sampling was applied, and the data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics and paired-sample t-tests. Findings The findings reveal statistically significant gaps between perceived and expected services across all dimensions (p = 0.01). Students reported moderate satisfaction with traditional services such as library hours and documentation support, but expectations were substantially higher for digital and technology-based services, including e-books, digital lending and virtual reference platforms. Significant differences were also found in the library environment, particularly regarding collaborative learning spaces, sanitation facilities and secure, learning-friendly settings. Assistance and support services showed the largest gaps, highlighting unmet expectations for advanced research consultation, information literacy training, plagiarism awareness and online assistance. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence of service gaps in Bangladeshi academic libraries and underscores the need for user-centered policy interventions. Unlike prior studies in the Bangladeshi context, this research focuses explicitly on quantifying expectation-perception gaps rather than solely measuring service perceptions or validating standardized instruments.

Purpose This research paper aims to develop a comprehensive framework model for sustainable competency development among university-level academic librarians in Asia. Design/methodology/approach Recognizing 21st-century competencies as distinct from those of the 20th, relevant literature was searched between 2000 and 2025 across two databases: Scopus and Library and Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Additionally, a scholarly web search engine (Google Scholar) was also searched so that maximum document retrieval could be ensured. Subsequently, duplicate articles were excluded. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) design was followed to write this paper. Findings The synthesis of the literature revealed a four-element framework model comprising elements of written policies, stakeholders, competencies and methods for improvement. It is found that information technology, management, information literacy, soft skills, professional skills and trustworthiness are essential competencies for information professionals. The model also suggests that these skills can be enhanced through self-learning, one-on-one training, internship modules and training sessions. The stakeholders that may organize training sessions comprise library and information science (LIS) schools, continuous education program designers and professional LIS bodies. Research limitations/implications The proposed framework provides a valuable guide for LIS schools, organizations designing continuing education programs, and professional LIS bodies. This framework may help them improve the competencies of LIS students and practitioners through identified methods in the identified competencies directions. Originality/value This is the first study to investigate the competencies of Asian information professionals through a systematic literature review and synthesis of previously published research articles from 48 countries and three disputed territories across the continent of Asia.

Purpose This study reports library assessment practitioner awareness of ACRL’s proficiencies for assessment in academic libraries, ranks each proficiency according to perceived importance and elicits opinions about expected venues for acquiring learning related to key proficiencies. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to elicit library practitioners’ awareness of perceptions of the importance of individual assessment proficiencies and expected venues for learning or skill acquisition. Findings The majority of participants had limited to no awareness of the proficiencies. Respondents prioritized two main foci of the assessment proficiencies: (1) data safety and (2) connection of assessment design, analysis and action-taking to user needs and community contexts. Respondents shared expectations that many important assessment proficiencies would be learned primarily in library school or through independent learning; other key learning venues included conferences, lectures, panels or webinars; hands-on workshops or on-the-job training venues. Practical implications Study results – including proficiencies that respondents prioritized for learning and preferred venues for learning – can help practitioners, library leaders and educators focus on professional development offerings, professional education and assessment-related individual learning plans. Originality/value Little research has examined librarian perceptions of the ACRL assessment proficiencies.

Purpose The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Libraries conducted a 2018 study of the libraries' “Active Learning Space.” This space houses active equipment like walking treadmills, cycling desks, standing height desks and more. This 2024 study takes a closer look to assess overall satisfaction with the space and how it is used 6 years later. With library spaces at a premium, University Library Administration was particularly interested in the usage of the space. This assessment study was used to create a findings report for library administration to pursue updates. Design/methodology/approach This study used a voluntary survey advertised in the space. The survey contained a mix of demographic information, multi-select questions and open text fields. The open text fields were coded for themes. The research team also conducted an observation that recorded the use of specific equipment, time of day, and other noted uses of the space. Findings The findings suggest high satisfaction with the space overall with clear indicators of preferred equipment. Findings also suggest a need for updates and renovations to the space. Furthermore, respondents find that the space improves their physical and mental health. Originality/value This study addresses current use of nontraditional workspaces in libraries including patron perceptions and satisfaction in the context of student well-being.

Purpose This study aims to track undergraduate students’ academic engagement activities, including library use, reasons for using or not using the library building and website and the factors influencing their academic work at two universities in the U.S. over an eight-week period. Design/methodology/approach As a companion to a one-time survey, this study utilized the Online Weekly Journal, a weekly journaling assessment in which students reported their campus activities, including library use, reasons for using the library and factors that impacted their success, such as stress. This journaling was conducted during the second half of the spring semester at two public research universities. Findings The online weekly journaling method highlights both weekly shifts and cross-institutional patterns in student engagement. While the overall activity at the University of Illinois Chicago remained steady, Northern Illinois University showed more fluctuation, indicating variability in student behavior over time. Across both universities, students commonly used the library for individual study, taking a break and socializing. Stress and social media were consistently identified as the primary negative influences on academic work, although their impact decreased from week one to week eight. Practical implications The complete assessment tools, including both a one-time survey and an eight-week journaling activity, are publicly available for any institutions that want to track and measure students’ real-time behaviors and attitudes. Some questions are also customizable per institutional context (e.g. list of campus centers and demographics). Originality/value This study provides a unique contribution by tracking changes in students’ library engagement over an eight-week period at two institutions. It offers insight into their evolving needs and challenges through ongoing reflections rather than a single-point snapshot.

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the quality of library services in five Central Universities in Delhi, India, using the standardized LibQUAL+® framework. Design/methodology/approach A structured survey was administered to 832 undergraduate students (39.1%), postgraduate students (34.9%), research scholars (18.0%) and faculty members (8.0%) to assess three core dimensions of service: affect of service (AS), information control (IC) and library as place (LP). Findings Quantitative analysis revealed that perceived service consistently exceeded minimum expectations, with positive service adequacy gaps (SAGs) across all 22 items, most notably in AS items such as “staff courtesy” (M = 7.85; SAG = +1.30). However, service superiority gaps (SSGs), the difference between perceived and desired service levels, were uniformly negative, with the most significant shortfalls in digital access items such as “electronic access from home” (SSG = −1.05) and “availability of required materials” (SSG = −0.82). While no statistically significant gender differences were observed (p > 0.05), faculty and research scholars reported the highest expectations, particularly in the information control dimension. Practical implications Findings highlight the need for targeted investment in digital infrastructure, remote access tools and personalized academic support to bridge the gap between current performance and ideal user expectations. By improving access and tailoring services for advanced academic users, central university libraries can strengthen research productivity, enhance teaching effectiveness and promote equitable access to knowledge in the Indian higher education system. Originality/value Unlike previous Association of Research Libraries-administered LibQUAL+® surveys, this study was conducted independently. It offers one of the first multi-institutional assessments of service quality across central universities in Delhi.

Purpose This study aims to analyze the role of information literacy (IL) as a mediating variable in the connection between the independent and dependent variables, Access to Information Resources, Digital Literacy Skills, Information Searching Behavior, Awareness of Library Services, Library Instruction Programs, Staff Support and Guidance, and Technological Infrastructure and User Satisfaction in the context of a university library. The article provides a theoretically sound and empirically validated model of user satisfaction in academic libraries, building upon the information systems (IS) success model. Design/methodology/approach The present study is a quantitative research, and a survey has been conducted among 380 university library users in Bangladesh. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze direct and indirect effects of independent variables on user satisfaction through information literacy (IL) using SmartPLS. Findings Results show that most of the impacts of library service aspects on user satisfaction are mediated by IL. So the direct effects of Digital Literacy and Instruction Programs were weak. Predictive relationships are strong for Staff Support, Technological Infrastructure, and Access to Resources. These results reinforce IL as a key factor for improving the quality of academic library services. Research limitations/implications By incorporating IL as a primary mediator in the IS success model, the study advances theoretical knowledge about how user-based factors shape overall satisfaction. It contributes to academic discussion through the incorporation of service quality, system quality and information quality in a single model tailored to the library sciences field. Practical implications The results provide managerial implications for library administration to enhance user satisfaction. Investment strategically in IL programs, staff development and technological infrastructure is important for nurturing a responsive and effective academic library. Originality/value This is the first study to frame IL as a change catalyst in an existing theoretical model, providing conceptual clarity and pragmatic prescription. It contributes to the existing literature by empirically examining a comprehensive model that is designed based on academic libraries of developing countries such as Bangladesh.

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to, first of all, analyze the coverage of publications in Physics in the span of five years (2014–2018) having at least one author from an Indian institution in various sources of altmetrics. The second purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between citations and altmetrics. Correlations between publications having at least one mention in a source of altmetrics and at least one citation have also been carried out. The study attempts to investigate if altmetrics can be used for research evaluation. Design/methodology/approach In the present study, the coverage of conference and review papers in Physics having at least one author from an Indian Institution published during 2014–2018 in various sources of altmetrics and the relationship between altmetrics and citation counts have been carried out. Scopus and Altmetric.com have been used for collecting citation and altmetrics data, respectively. The study analyzes the data for the measures of central tendencies and evaluates if the altmetrics differ considerably from citations. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated between altmetrics and citations for analyzing the relationship between them. Findings The highest coverage of both conference papers (2.14%) and review papers (22.79%) was found for Twitter. The coverage in the rest of the sources tracked by Altmetric.com was found to be less than 1% for conference papers and less than 7% for review papers. The average Twitter mentions for conference papers tweeted at least once was found to be 2.18 whereas for review papers, it was 7.67. Average Facebook mentions were found to be 1.2 (conference papers) and 1.88 (review papers). The novel Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) developed by Altmetric.com was also analyzed in the study. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between Twitter mentions-citations, Facebook mentions-citations and AAS-citations were found to be statistically significant but low to week positive. Research limitations/implications The implications of the findings of the study comes to the conclusion that altmetrics should be utilized with caution as a supplementary tool for research evaluation in conjunction with citation-based metrics because of the low coverage of publications in platforms that generate altmetrics. Originality/value The present study deals with the measure of research impact of conference papers and review papers in Physics having at least one author from an Indian institution published during 2014–2018. The study is unique as most of the studies focussed on altmetrics are on journal articles. It is one of the first large scale altmetric studies dealing with Physics research. Also, Indian research has not been explored in the altmetrics literature.

Purpose The study aims to examine global trends of green technology research from 2014–2023 to understand the status of research on the subject at a global level. Design/methodology/approach The Web of Science database was chosen to extract the data. A structured search query was carefully crafted to ensure the retrieval of relevant documents. The search employed the keywords “green technology,” “environmental technology” or “clean technology,” using the all fields option from the advanced search feature. The timeframe for the data was limited to the years 2014–2023. A total of 24,325 records were collected on September 23, 2024. The retrieved data were cleaned and analyzed using Bibexcel and subsequently organized in MS Excel for additional statistical evaluation. Findings The green technology growth is increasing every year; articles constitute the largest share of contributions, totaling 19,280 (79.26%); Liu Y stands out with 183 publications, an h-index of 43 and a total of 6,983 citations. There is a direct correlation between doubling time and relative growth rate (RGR), indicating the duration required for the quantity to double from 2014 to 2023. The mean values indicate a doubling time of 9.203 and an RGR of 0.649, reflecting a downward trend in the average doubling time. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the most prolific contributor. Elsevier Science Ltd. leads with 3,141 publications, accounting for 12.91%. The “National Natural Science Foundation of China” stands out as the most prominent organization, having supported a total of 142 records, accounting for 0.58% of the research output. Originality/value This study selected a comprehensive analysis for assessing the scientometric indicator. The finding helps researchers and scientists to understand the growth of green technology research output.

Purpose The study explores the lived experiences of Nigerian Library and Information Science (LIS) scholars who believe their manuscripts were rejected not due to lack of scholarly quality, but as a result of editorial bias within the global academic publishing system. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of senior LIS scholars in Nigeria regarding perceived editorial bias in academic publishing. Data were collected through focused group discussions involving six purposively selected senior academics, each representing one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The discussions were guided by a semi-structured protocol that encouraged open sharing of personal experiences related to manuscript rejection. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically to identify patterns and meanings across participants’ narratives, capturing the depth and complexity of their perceptions and responses to systemic challenges in the global publishing landscape. Findings The analysis revealed key themes including geographic and institutional prejudice, epistemological exclusion, and language-related discrimination. Scholars reported that work affiliated with African institutions or framed within Afrocentric perspectives was often desk-rejected or reviewed dismissively, in contrast to similar submissions from Western institutions. These experiences led to emotional strain, lowered academic confidence, delayed career progression, and the adoption of Eurocentric research approaches to meet editorial expectations. Nonetheless, participants showed resilience through international collaborations, adaptive publishing strategies, and support for African-based journals. Originality/value The study offers original insight into systemic inequities in academic publishing from the perspective of underrepresented scholars. It contributes to the decolonization discourse by advocating for inclusive editorial practices, diversified editorial boards, and recognition of diverse epistemologies in global scholarship.