Global Library Research Articles

Finding the Kingdom of God in Africa

A book review essay of The Kingdom of God in Africa: A History of African Christianity by Mark Shaw and Wanjiru M. Gitau, 2nd edition (Langham Global Library, 2020).

Experiencing Salvation in Africa

A book review essay of Salvation in African Christianity, edited by Rodney L. Reed and David K. Ngaruiya (Langham Global Library, 2023).

The green library advocacy: Need to engage the international communities in a climate change action

This paper seeks to explore the pivotal role of libraries in global initiatives to combat climate change and emphasize the significance of international cooperation in advocating for sustainable practices. Through an extensive exploration of existing literature and real-world case studies obtained from various sources of information, this paper scrutinizes various endeavors undertaken by libraries worldwide to promote environmental advocacy and tackle climate-related challenges. It assesses the obstacles and prospects encountered by libraries in engaging communities and fostering sustainability. The study underscores the indispensable role of libraries as centers for environmental education, awareness-raising, and proactive measures. Libraries serve as vital platforms for disseminating information, conducting workshops, and advocating for policies conducive to environmental preservation. Collaborative ventures like the Climate Action Libraries Network (CALN) and the Global Library Consortium for Climate Action (GLCCA) showcase the potency of collective efforts in addressing climate change issues. Additionally, the paper highlights significant hurdles, such as resource constraints and institutional barriers, while proposing future strategies for advancing green library advocacy. This paper enriches the scholarly discourse by accentuating the transformative potential of libraries in championing sustainability and nurturing resilient communities. It underscores the imperative of international collaboration in nurturing green library initiatives and underscores avenues for libraries to augment their influence in confronting climate change globally.

Fostering effective collaboration between library and information science academics and practitioners in Bangladesh: Insights, challenges and recommendations

Effective collaboration between library and information science academics and practitioners is vital for the professional growth and success of individuals working in the field. It facilitates the exchange of knowledge, skills and innovative practices, which, in turn, enhance the quality of library services. It allows for the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical experience, resulting in more effective and efficient library operations. However, the lack of studies on fostering collaboration between library and information science academics and practitioners in Bangladesh presents a notable research gap. Addressing this gap is critical as it directly impacts the career success of library and information science professionals and the development of library services, particularly in a rapidly developing nation like Bangladesh. This study utilized a qualitative approach to gather data through semi-structured, unstructured, and focus group interviews with renowned Bangladeshi academics and experienced library practitioners. The research has broader implications for the global library and information science community, adding a valuable perspective from a developing nation. The results highlight the significance of mindset and attitude in influencing collaborative efforts, urging academics and practitioners to adopt an open-minded approach without ego-related conflicts. The study identifies the strengths, weaknesses, barriers and opportunities in relation to effective collaboration between library and information science academicians and practitioners. Additionally, the research proposes viable solutions and outlines the potential for academic and professional success through collaboration.

Book Review: Leadership Training in the Hands of the Church: Experiential Learning and Contextual Practices in North Africa and the Middle East. Joseph Nehemiah, Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Langham Global Library, 2021.

Book Review: <b> <i>Leadership Training in the Hands of the Church: Experiential Learning and Contextual Practices in North Africa and the Middle East.</i> </b> Joseph Nehemiah, Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Langham Global Library, 2021.

Pneumatology in African Perspectives

Critical Review Essay of: Ngaruiya, David K., and Rodney L. Reed, eds. The Holy Spirit in African Christianity. ASET Series 7. Carlisle, Cambria, UK: Langham Global Library, 2022. Pp. xiii + 153. £14.99 (paperback).

Missiology in Africa: Authentically African, Magisterially Missional

book review essay of: Kwiyani, Harvey, ed. Africa Bears Witness: Mission Theology and Praxis in the 21st Century. Nairobi: African Theological Network Press, 2021. Pp. xiii + 218. Reprint edition: Kwiyani, Harvey, ed. Africa Bears Witness: Mission Theology and Praxis in the 21st Century. Foreword by Emma Wild- Wood. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Langham Global Library, 2024. Pp. xix + 220.

Implementation of the Internet of Things in the Global Library Environment: Bibliometric Analysis

The relevance of the topic. Even though the potential of IoT in optimizing library processes and creating innovative services is meaningful, we can observe a lack of research focused precisely on the implementation and application of IoT in libraries. Studying IoT in the context of libraries requires an in-depth analysis and a systematic approach to expand the opportunities for developing recommendations and guidelines for library institutions.&#x0D; The purpose of the article is to analyze bibliometric data obtained from the Scopus scientometric database concerning the application of Internet of Things technologies in library and information production.&#x0D; The methodology of the research includes the methods of analyzing information regarding data obtained from the Scopus database and its generalization.&#x0D; Conclusions. The analysis and systematization of data from the Scopus database showed that research focuses on innovative applications of IoT, data security, and library services’ development. The identified trends and dynamics of publications indicate that the role of IoT technologies in the modern library sector is persistently growing. Given the increasing number of publications from 2010 to 2022, a positive trend in the number of scientific studies in this area is expected, especially after the reduction of COVID-19 related quarantine restrictions. These conclusions can serve as a foundation for further research and the development of strategies for implementing IoT in libraries.&#x0D; Scientific novelty of the paper is evident because no article containing the analysis of bibliometric data in the sphere of library industry has ever been published. These data were retrieved from the Scopus scientometric database concerning the application of the Internet of Things technologies in libraries worldwide.

Assessment of the DNA barcode libraries for the study of the poorly-known rove beetle (Staphylinidae) fauna of West Siberia.

Staphylinidae, or rove beetles, are one of the mega-diverse and abundant families of the ground-living terrestrial arthropods that is taxonomically poorly known even in the regions adjacent to Europe where the fauna has been investigated for the longest time. Since DNA barcoding is a tool to accelerate biodiversity research, here we explored if the currently-available COI barcode libraries are representative enough for the study of rove beetles of West Siberia. This is a vast region adjacent to Europe with poorly-known fauna of rove beetles and from where not a single DNA barcode has hitherto been produced for Staphylinidae. First, we investigated the faunal similarity between the rove beetle faunas of the climatically compatible West Siberia in Asia, Fennoscandia in Europe and Canada and Alaska in North America. Second, we investigated barcodes available for Staphylinidae from the latter two regions in BOLD and GenBank, the world's largest DNA barcode libraries. We conclude that the rather different rove beetle faunas of Fennoscandia, on the one hand and Canada and Alaska on the other hand, are well covered in both barcode libraries that complement each other. We also find that even without any barcodes originating from specimens collected in West Siberia, this coverage is helpful for the study of rove beetles there due to the significant number of widespread species shared between West Siberia and Fennoscandia and due to the even larger number of shared genera amongst all three investigated regions. For the first time, we compiled a literature-based checklist for 726 species of the West Siberian Staphylinidae supplemented by their occurrence dataset submitted to GBIF. Our script written for mining unique (i.e. not redundant) barcodes for a given geographic area across global libraries is made available here and can be adopted for any other regions.

Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery

A working group from the Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds effort collaborated with the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to create an inventory of species confirmed or expected to produce sound underwater. We used several existing inventories and additional literature searches to compile a dataset categorizing scientific knowledge of sonifery for 33,462 species and subspecies across marine mammals, other tetrapods, fishes, and invertebrates. We found 729 species documented as producing active and/or passive sounds under natural conditions, with another 21,911 species deemed likely to produce sounds based on evaluated taxonomic relationships. The dataset is available on both figshare and WoRMS where it can be regularly updated as new information becomes available. The data can also be integrated with other databases (e.g., SeaLifeBase, Global Biodiversity Information Facility) to advance future research on the distribution, evolution, ecology, management, and conservation of underwater soniferous species worldwide.

Kubernetes-based Deep Learning with Blockchain for Cancer Image Prediction

The ability of modern artificial intelligence techniques to analyze complex data, including medical images, with greater precision and depth has significantly increased the amount of real-world data that can be collected for scientific research. This has led to the development of a global library and elevated computing choices to meet the demand for training model calculation. The development of medical image biomarkers involves additional processes that don't necessitate spending so much money on expensive computer resources. To collect and manage cancer data, this study presents a Blockchain-enabled deep learning framework for the Kubernetes cluster which replicates the training set of parameters of DL techniques across remote cluster nodes. Healthcare providers' data will be synchronized thanks to the distributed storage system known as the blockchain. Data are gathered for this suggested framework utilizing the Kaggle Dataset from several hospitals. Data preprocessing shows pixel correction and data augmentation. Following data preprocessing, U2-Net segmentation is used to segment up the images. This article uses blockchain to decentralize data, security, and privacy. A system called Kubernetes cluster is used to manage diverse containerized applications, Workload Distribution, Scalability, and Storage Management. The Kubernetes cluster is revealed in the study when investigating the cancer prediction capabilities of the hybrid learning algorithms VGG19 and BiLSTM. This proposed paper forecasts the article and explains the various applications for breast, kidney, and oral cancer predicated on the Blockchain-Enabled deep Learning model on Kubernetes and providing authentication for the use of the majority of the platform's features using a provided case.

Efficiency of remote access services by global libraries

In the context of modern challenges and increasing demand for digital services, questions of remote library work, the use of interactive technologies aimed at the development of education, science, and civil society are quite relevant. The purpose of this study is to explore the global experience of remote access utilization in library activities, the historical peculiarities of the formation and development of distance library services in European and North American countries, the characterization of its effectiveness and prospects for its application in Ukraine. During the research, methods of generalization, comparative, and source analysis were applied. The features of remote access functioning of global libraries are highlighted, its effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages are revealed. The development of information technologies and their impact on publishing, library attendance, scientific activities, exchange of experience, etc., are characterized. Trends in the development of global libraries are identified. It is established that for most European libraries, the priority direction has become digitization and opening access to books, press, documents, archives. It is found that remote access accelerates scientific research. In the second decade of the 21st century, there is a growth in online visits to library collections. The development of remote services provision by Ukrainian libraries is highlighted, as well as the main trends in this process in the context of the RussianUkrainian war. The importance of copyright protection in the context of remote access provision is disclosed. One of the measures was the introduction of electronic lending (e-lending), which involved receiving payment for the use of copyrighted materials. It is found that remote access to library databases will face a number of challenges related to copyright protection. The results of this study have practical value for libraries, research institutions, educational institutions, local government bodies in the context of implementing remote access to sources, materials, and books. The research materials are important for further scientific research in information and library science, document and information communications, public administration, and administration

Developing a Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds and a World Oceans passive acoustic monitoring day

The volumes of “Ocean Sound” recordings now being collected in aquatic systems around the world have reached a level that has necessitated a new wave of data sharing, processing, and analysis techniques to help detect, identify, and assess an increasing number of known and unknown sound sources and sound types. These new tools are matched with a need for reference material to assist the rapidly growing bioacoustics research community, and a process to standardize how they are characterized and reported. A working group of the International Quiet Ocean Experiment proposed the development of a Global Library of Underwater Biological Sound (GLUBS) to integrate new and existing applications to help address these needs. Two initial objectives of GLUBS have been to increase awareness of unknown sounds and to develop a community-wide project that can broaden our understanding of aquatic soundscapes around the world. To that end, we discuss recent developments in designing GLUBS, incorporating underwater sonifery as a searchable trait on the World Register of Marine Species, initiating a recent global community effort to simultaneously record aquatic soundscapes on World Oceans Day, and a drive to agree on a standard process for characterizing newly described sounds.

Do We Have Any L-Vision? Multi-Level Comparison of Selected Global Library Visions

Abstract The subject of future of libraries recurs regularly, whenever the future of the librarians’ profession is discussed due to the decrease in readership rates, during the reorganization and liquidation of libraries or in the technological context. The article aims to analyze in detail the global visions of libraries formulated so far. Thanks to the categorization, it was possible to identify the main similarities and differences of the analyzed visions, to list the authors and main categories of visions, and to confront new expected social roles of libraries with the sociological and praxeological theory of Pierre Bourdieu, the creator of such concepts as cultural capital or social power. To present the results, the content analysis method and content-based categorization technique were used.

Open source framework for a Broadly Expandable and Reconfigurable data acquisition and automation device (BREAD)

Though open source data acquisition (DAQ) systems have been published, closed source proprietary systems are the standard despite often being prohibitively expensive. High costs, however, limit access to high-quality DAQ in low-resource settings. In many cases the functions executed by the closed source and proprietary DAQ cards could be carried out by an open source alternative; however, as desired function count increases, the simplicity of integrating the designs decreases substantially. Although the global library of open source electronic designs is expanding rapidly, and there is clear evidence they can reduce costs for scientists one device at a time, they are generally made to carry a function well, but are often not capable of scaling up or easily being integrated with other designs. Just as other open source projects have found success by having modular frameworks and clearly documented specifications, a framework to unify and enable interoperation of these open source electronics systems would be greatly beneficial to the scientific community. To meet these needs and ensure greater accessibility to high-quality electronics sensing and DAQ systems, this article shares and tests a news framework where new open source electronics can be developed and have plug-and-play functionality. The Broadly Reconfigurable and Expandable Automation Device (BREAD), consists of a basic set of guidelines and requirements to which others can contribute. Here 7 slices (boards) are provided, demonstrated, and validated: 1) Amplified Analog Input, 2) Audio Analysis / Fourier Transform, 3) +/- 10A Current Sensor, 4) 4-Channel Relay Controller 5) 4 Channel Stepper Motor Controller, 6) 4 Channel Type-K Thermocouple Reader and 7) 2 Channel USB Port. Implementing systems using BREAD rather than closed source and proprietary alternatives can result in cost savings of up to 93%.

Harmonization service and global library of models to support country-driven global information on salt-affected soils

Global distribution of salt-affected soils (SAS) has remained at about 1 billion hectares in the literature over the years despite changes in climate, sea levels, and land use patterns which influence the distribution. Lack of periodic update of input soil data, data gaps, and inconsistency are part of the reasons for constant SAS distribution in the literature. This paper proposes harmonization as a suitable alternative for managing inconsistent data and minimizing data gaps. It developed a new harmonization service for supporting country-driven global SAS information update. The service contains a global library of harmonization models for harmonizing inconsistent soil data. It also contains models for identifying gaps in SAS database and for showing global distribution where harmonization of available data is needed. The service can be used by countries to develop national SAS information and update global SAS distribution. Its data availability index is useful in identifying countries without SAS data in the global database, which is a convenient way to identify countries to mobilize when updating global SAS information. Its application in 27 countries showed that the countries have more SAS data than they currently share with the global databases and that most of their data require SAS harmonization.

Collaboration in Nigerian University Libraries: A Diagnosis

This paper sought to show the potential of collaboration of university libraries in ameliorating the common problems and challenges facing the Nigerian Academic Library System on the basis of the current status of collaboration in Nigerian university libraries. The paper addressed the following questions: what is the status of collaboration of Nigerian University libraries? How can University Libraries achieve meaningful collaboration? And what possible benefits can University libraries in Nigeria attain from effective collaboration? The paper clarified three forms of collaboration within the University Library system to address the indiscriminate use of the term ‘Librarian collaboration’ to pass for library collaboration. Based on literature reviewed, the current level of collaboration in Nigerian University Libraries is below expectation and is to a great extent responsible for poor quality teaching, learning and research bedeviling the Nigerian tertiary education system. University Library leadership and the Committee of University librarian in Nigerian Universities (CULNU) were identified as prime movers whose efforts could improve the level of collaboration in Nigerian University Libraries. The paper revealed that possible areas for collaboration include: resource sharing, inter-library loan, cooperative acquisition, cooperative cataloguing, cooperative referencing, staff development, library exchange and librarian and library user networks. The paper further noted that the key benefits of collaboration are significant reduction in operational costs, increased human cooperation and exposure of Librarians to global library practices. The paper identified factors that pose as either a threat or a challenge to the implementation of effective collaboration in Nigerian university libraries. They include: Inadequate funding, leadership issues, lack of structured library development policies, proliferation of informal collaboration, high competition in library profession and resistance to change. The paper therefore recommended that committee of University Librarian in Nigerian Universities and the Nigerian Library Association should make and implement a policy for all University Library Leadership to develop and implement documented and structured develop plans and policies p to provide strategic direction for University libraries.

Contextualization and the Old Testament: Between Asian and Western Perspectives

This is a book review of Jerry Hwang, Contextualization and the Old Testament: Between Asian and Western Perspectives (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2022), xxi + 238 pp., ISBN: 978-1-83973-413-7, $29, paperback.

Becoming a global library at the local: internationalization activities and practices of Philippine academic libraries

PurposeThis study aims to examine the perceived role of libraries and contributions to the internationalization of higher education and identify the available library services for international students and faculty.Design/methodology/approachThis descriptive research used a survey method to study the different activities and practices of the internationalization of academic libraries.FindingsThe results of this study reveal that academic libraries support the teaching, learning and research needs of international students and faculty members, provide library instruction for international students to acquire information literacy skills and promote the rationale and goals of the institution's internationalization activities. Many respondents are engaged in staff development with internationalization dimensions and international library benchmarking and research paper presentation at international conferences with institutional support.Practical implicationsThe results of this study could benefit the profession and library managers by deepening the managers' understanding of the role of libraries in the internationalization of Philippine higher education.Originality/valueThis study will be of interest and value to library and school administrators interested in developing or expanding internationalization activities that positively respond to the redefinition of the role of libraries and librarians in globalization.

The state of Armenia’s libraries: present and future

This article analyzes the results of the National Library of Armenia’s 2021 nationwide library survey, which aimed to measure the current physical, operational and cultural state of Armenia’s libraries. The data is compared with results from library surveys around the world in an attempt to understand Armenia’s place within the global library field. Finally, the article identifies the major gaps in Armenia’s library system and provides recommendations for improvement of the country’s library field moving forward.