Article Requests Research Articles

An empirical introspection of the library website from user perspectives: resource gateways versus Web Content Management Systems (WCMS) in higher educational institutions

Library websites being the virtual or digital facet of any library it is paramount to constantly evaluate and enhance the interface with necessary resources and services. In this regard, this study was carried out to analyze a range of opinions and feedbacks from stakeholders of a university library, which has published the links to subscribed databases, training guides, reference services, and research support services on its website. Due to the restrictions on mobility by economic crisis and Corona pandemic, library users heavily relied on digital interfaces to share and retrieve information. In this regard, a survey was carried out to explore the demand and desire of the library users as whether the library website satisfies them or does it need redesigning. Convenient sampling technique was employed where hundred and fifteen (115) users had responded to semi-structured questionnaires. Data extracted were analyzed using the Pearson Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and one sample Wilcoxon sign rank test. Majority (33.3%) of the students of the Faculty of Science were using the library website more frequently than the students of other faculties. Responses showed that the Training Guides (Mean=4.00; SD = ±0.926) and past-paper portals (Mean=3.96; SD = ±0.989) accessed via the library website were useful. The chi-square test revealed a significant relationship of faculties with article requests (p=0.037) and adequacy of website information for academic work (p=0.036). Similarly, the level of students has a significant relationship with Selective Dissemination of Information (p=0.048); usefulness of the training guides (p=0.022); adequate research support (p=0.026); and effective organization of information (p=0.003). Overall responses revealed that the Library website is highly user-friendly (Mean=3.90; SD = ±0.909). One-way ANOVA revealed a significant relationship between the resourcefulness of the website and the respondents’ overall satisfaction with the information received from the library website (p=0.021). These results evinced that the library website must comply with users’ expectations and needs. Students’ opinions and feedback emphasized on the need for updating the website through a benchmark of other library interfaces. FAQ section and Chat bot were a few suggestions made by the users.

Impact of a Digital Strategy Team in an Academic Stroke Journal: 1 Year in Review

Background The social media platform Twitter has increasingly been leveraged to disseminate clinical and academic content, including scientific research. Launched in November 2021 as an exclusively online open access journal, the Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology journal was not indexed on PubMed for its first year of publication. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the journal's Twitter presence by tracking social media posts and article metrics over the first year since the journal's inception. Methods Measures of Twitter influence from the @SVINJournal account were associated with the academic impact of articles published in the associated journal during the first 13 months of the journal's publication record. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used to quantify measures of association, with the primary outcome being unique article requests (downloads). Results There were 174 unique articles published during the study period, with 367 unique tweets. Articles referenced in tweets from @SVINJournal had nearly twice as many requests as articles without tweets (median 967 [interquartile range, 683–1357] versus 497 [interquartile range, 331–711]; P <0.01), with a mild correlation between number of tweets and article requests when @SVINJournal cited the article in tweets ( r =0.20; P =0.009). There was a fair correlation between article request counts and any Twitter mentions ( r =0.41; P <0.001), and a poor correlation between article requests and altmetric score ( r =0.15; P =0.04). There was a small correlation between the number of citations and number of tweets from @SVINJournal ( r =0.21; P =0.006). Conclusions There was a statistically significant, but small, association between tweets and article requests as well as citations. Highly tweeted articles had a higher number of citations. In the absence of PubMed indexing and print distribution, social media platforms can have an impact in promoting peer‐reviewed content and may increase content access and citations.

An Exploration of Journals Requested by Health Sciences Libraries Through DOCLINE Interlibrary Loan During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 challenged information exchange globally, including interlibrary loan (ILL). This project explored DOCLINE ILL borrowing data from 15 academic, hospital, and association health sciences libraries before and during the pandemic to understand gaps in ILL coverage. We reviewed aggregate filled and unfilled borrowing data from March to August in 2019 and 2020. We compared these time periods to each other and to system-wide fill rates. We normalized journal titles, added journal price and language, calculated descriptive statistics and odds ratios, and conducted 2-proportion z-tests of differences. In our sample of 14,891 requests, the odds of requests being unfilled were 2.7 times higher in 2020 than in 2019. While the proportion of non-English language content requested did not change, a significantly higher proportion went unfilled in 2020. The rate of unfilled requests for older items also rose significantly between 2019 and 2020. Our findings support the conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced ILL article request fulfillment in health sciences libraries. Libraries should consider collection development strategies to increase the accessibility of articles held only in print, and those with specialized print collections may want to prioritize digitization of older materials. Future research on the availability, utility, and expense of the materials more likely to remain unfilled should inform publisher backfile prioritization as well as consortial and individual library collection development practices.

Article Requests

Article Requests

Article Requests: The Editor Responds

Article Requests: The Editor Responds

Article Requests

Article Requests

A Lean Case Study On Managing Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Service in an Academic Library

Interlibrary loan and document delivery (ILL/DD) is an essential service provided by academic libraries to support research activities, publication and academic programmes. ILL/DD service capitalises on resource sharing or library networking by providing library materials that are not available at the host library. The Lean Six Sigma method was applied to identify the root problems. A construction of a web-based system branded as “Request Book and Article System (RBAS)” soon followed as an intervention. A retrospective study was conducted from March 2020 to August 2021 (16 months) to evaluate the key indicators of the service. Customer feedback on service quality was also surveyed. The majority of request was for articles, 649 (87.5%), followed by book request 84 (11.3%) and ebook, 9 (1.2%). Turnaround time fell within 24 hours for the majority of requests, 494 (68.4%). The highest number was from article request category, 460 (71.8%). A high proportion of users (78%) deemed the service as “high quality”. The use of a lean approach and the development of a homegrown system have improved the ILL/DD service at our library. Here we share lean practices in ILL/DD management, focusing on transforming a manual method to a digital homegrown system development and its advantages.

Predatory journals and publishers: Characteristics and impact of academic spam to researchers in educational sciences

AbstractThis study focuses on the phenomenon of presumed predatory scientific publications in the field of Educational Sciences, and the utilization of email by editors to request manuscripts. It examined, using content analysis methods, 210 emails received by three professors of the field of Education, at a Spanish university with different research profiles over a period of 3 months. Through analysis of the unsolicited emails a total of 139 journals and 37 publishers were identified and examined using: (a) the two main predatory journal inventories (Beall's list and Cabells' Predatory Reports), and (b) six of the major scientific bibliographic databases. The publishers and their websites were also analyzed, as well as the basic aspects of the emails' content. The majority of the unsolicited emails were from predatory journals or publishers and half of the article requests did not match the field of the recipient. In addition, it is relevant to note that more than half of the domains of predatory publishers analysed have untrustworthy security levels. The data provided relevant information on the phenomenon of predation in scientific publications in the field of Education and, most importantly, provided evidence for developing training and preventive strategies to tackle it.

Paywall Policy Learning in Digital News Media

Subscription-based online newspapers usually offer non-subscribed users a certain number of free articles in a period of time, and then directs them to a page (called paywall) asking for subscription. This approach (also known as metered or fixed paywall) does not consider the user's reading history nor the articles that the user may read in the future, and consequently, it may disengage many potential subscribers. To that end, we propose adaptive paywall mechanisms to make optimal paywall decisions (i.e., showing the article or the paywall) by balancing the benefit of showing the article against that of presenting the paywall. We define the notions of utility and cost which are used to define an objective function for the optimal paywall decision problem. We propose the Lookahead policy (LAP) and QPaywall policy (QP) as two data-driven approaches to solve the adaptive paywall problem. While the LAP method makes paywall decisions on the fly by simulating trajectories of article requests using Monte Carlo sampling, the QP approach is based on reinforcement learning and learns a neural network-based action-value (Q) function for this purpose. We compare advantages of the proposed approaches and discuss the practical considerations of using them in a real environment. Empirical studies on a real dataset from a major newspaper in Canada show that the proposed methods outperform several baseline approaches in terms of various business objectives.

Perfil de la revista Ingeniería y Competitividad: modelos de medición y estadísticas

The Ingenieria y Competitividad Journal of the Universidad del Valle Engineering Faculty began its publication in 1997 with six articles, which are available on its website (https://revistaingenieria.univalle.edu.co/index.php/ingenieria_y_competitividad/issue/view/259). Throughout its history, the journal has grown in importance and has gone through different stages according to the measurement models established by Publindex, as follows: 2005 to 2007 Category C; 2008 Category B; 2009 to 2018 Category A2; 2019 to 2020 Category C and 2021 Category B. The change of category implies challenges since the number of requests for articles increases or decreases in a critical way, which translates into difficulties in the edition of the issues of the journal. Figure 1 shows the distribution of articles published in 2012. It can be seen that during the periods of higher categories the volume of publications is higher, as of 2018 the number of articles has remained stable, a substantial increase is expected for 2021.

Research Productivity and Its Relationship to Library Collections

Objective – The purpose of this study was to explore in the current academic library environment, the relationship between library collections data (collections’ size, expenditures, and usage) and faculty productivity (scholarly output). The researchers also examined the degree to which new and existing library metrics predict faculty productivity. Methods – Demographic data (e.g., faculty size, student size, research and development expenditures), library budget data (e.g., collection expenditures), collection use data (e.g., full-text article requests and database searches), and publication output for 81 doctoral granting universities in the United States were collected to explore potential relationships between research productivity, collection use, library budgets, collection size, and research expenditures using partial correlations. A hierarchical multiple regression was also used to ascertain the significance of certain predictors of research productivity (publications). Results – A correlation existed between the number of publications (research productivity) and library expenditures (total library expenditures, total library material expenditures, and ongoing library resource expenditures), collection size (volumes, titles, and ebooks), use of collection (full-text article requests and total number of references in the articles), and research and development expenditures. Another key finding from the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that full-text article requests were the best predictor of research productivity, which uniquely explained 10.2% of the variation in publication. Conclusion – The primary findings were that full-text article requests, followed by library material expenditures and research expenditures, were found to be the best predictor of research productivity as measured by articles published.

Comparing Open Access Search Tools to Improve Interlibrary Loan Fulfillment Efficiency

ABSTRACT Open access (OA) search tools can expedite the turnaround of interlibrary loan (ILL) fulfillment by locating openly available articles not found by library harvesting tools. Several search tools are available, but no comparison has been done of their efficacy in the context of ILL. Six OA search tools were evaluated using 153 ILL article requests for quantity of openly available articles found, accuracy of results, and value. Article availability was analyzed by publication year and broad academic discipline. Google and Google Scholar outperformed specialty OA search tools, although they were more prone to error and more likely to locate pre-publications.

Inequitable Subordination: Distressing Distressed Purchasers by Propagating Subordination Benefit Elimination Theory

This Article examines the application of equitable subordination under Title 11 of the United States Code to bankruptcy claims purchasing transactions that transpire after the occurrence of inequitable conduct by a third party. Although a significant issue with practical consequences, it has drawn relatively scant commentary. To the author’s knowledge, no scholarship to date has attempted to comprehensively discuss the issue or describe the indirect cleansing and washing of tainted claims resulting therefrom. While analyzing and criticizing the current state of the law, this Article introduces the concepts of the “subordination benefit,” “subordination benefit elimination theory,” and “limited subordination benefit theory” to facilitate and further conversations related to the intersection of equitable subordination and bankruptcy claims trading. This Article primarily aims to promote an active, fluid bankruptcy claims trading market to, on an ex post basis, benefit creditors and, on an ex ante basis, reduce the cost, and induce the extension, of credit in the primary capital markets, thereby supporting the broader economy. Additionally, this Article seeks to reduce indirect cleansing of tainted claims and indirect claims washing through the bankruptcy claims market. The subject matter is particularly timely and relevant, given the recent publication of the Final Report and Recommendations of the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, the significant growth of the claims trading market and the increasing activity and sophistication of distressed investors, and the recent formation of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Claims Trading Committee. This Article argues that subordination benefit elimination theory, which represents the dominant theory propagated by courts and commentators, finds support in a misguided reading of caselaw and conflicts with sound economic policy and logic. Further, while acknowledging limited subordination benefit theory is a superior approach to subordination benefit elimination theory, this Article argues that limited subordination benefit theory also runs contrary to sound economic policy and logic. This Article requests commentators and courts halt and reverse the propagation of subordination benefit elimination theory and avoid disseminating limited subordination benefit theory. Instead, this Article proposes post-misconduct discounted claims purchasers be entitled to participate in the subordination benefit to the same extent as pre-misconduct claimholders. If commentators and courts are unready to abandon both theories and if required to make a suboptimal binary choice, this Article suggests limited subordination benefit theory be propagated and utilized in lieu of subordination benefit elimination theory.

Connecting Users to Articles: An Analysis of the Impact of Article Level Linking on Journal Use Statistics

Abstract
 Objective – Electronic resource management challenges and “big deal” cancellations at one Canadian university library contributed to a situation where a number of electronic journal subscriptions at the university’s health sciences library lacked article level linking. The aim of this study was to compare the usage of journals with article level linking enabled to journals where only journal level linking was available or enabled.
 Methods – A list of electronic journal title subscriptions was generated from vendor and subscription agent invoices. Journal titles were eligible for inclusion if the subscription was available throughout 2018 on the publisher’s platform, if the subscription costs were fully funded by the health sciences library, and if management of the subscription required title-by-title intervention by library staff. Of the 356 journal titles considered, 302 were included in the study. Negative binomial regression was performed to determine the effect of journal vs. article level linking on total COUNTER Journal Report 1 (JR1) successful full-text article requests for 2018, controlling for journal publisher, subject area, journal ranking, and alternate aggregator access.
 Results – The negative binomial regression model demonstrated that article level linking had a significant, positive effect on total 2018 JR1 (coef: 0.645; p < 0.001). Article level linking increased the expected total JR1 by 90.7% when compared to journals where article level linking was not available or enabled. Differences in predicted usage between journals with article level linking and those without article level linking remained significant at various journal ranking levels. This suggests that usage of both smaller, more specialized journals (e.g., Journal of Vascular Research) and larger, general journals (e.g., New England Journal of Medicine) increases when article level linking is enabled.
 Conclusions – This study provides statistical evidence that enabling article level linking has a positive impact on journal usage at one academic health sciences library. Although further study is needed, academic libraries should consider enabling article level linking wherever possible in order to facilitate user access, maximize the value of journal subscriptions, and improve convenience for users.

Unnecessary Requests: Examining Patrons’ Reliance on Interlibrary Loan for Electronically Owned Items at an Academic Library

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Library analyzed 4,567 interlibrary loan borrowing requests for articles and other non-returnables. From 2017–2018, nearly 44% of requests were for items that the library owned electronically. Patrons could have accessed the full-text immediately but submitted interlibrary loan requests instead. This prevalence raises questions about user behavior and deficiencies in discovery tools.

Where users’ find the answer: discovery layers versus databases

Usage statistics for 2015–2017 of searches and electronic resource access actions in Ex Libris Primo, a discovery layer, are compared with COUNTER databases searches, result clicks, and record views, and journal full-text article requests. Results show a decrease in COUNTER result clicks and record views in databases and journal full-text article requests and a slight increase in Primo access actions. Concurrently, searches performed in databases and Primo increase slightly which increases the ratio of searches performed to access actions taken, inferring that users may be having more difficulty locating relevant resources, or relevant resources are not available.

Rethinking the Subscription Paradigm for Journals: Using Interlibrary Loan in Collection Development for Serials

Many librarians evaluate local Interlibrary Loan (ILL) statistics as part of collection development decisions concerning new subscriptions. In this study, the authors examine whether the number of ILL article requests received in one academic year can predict the use of those same journal titles once they are added as library resources. There is little correlation between ILL requests for individual titles and their later use as subscribed titles. However, there is strong correlation between ILL requests within a subject category and later use of subscribed titles in that subject category. An additional study examining the sources from which patrons made ILL requests shows that database search results, not journal titles, dominate. These results call into question the need for libraries to subscribe to individual journal titles rather than providing access to a broad array of articles.

Community’s knowledge need and knowledge sharing in Wikipedia

PurposeIn practice, showing the community’s need for knowledge (e.g. listing requests for new articles) is used to drive knowledge sharing in Wikipedia. Yet, theoretical understanding of how it influences one’s knowledge sharing is still lacking. The aim of this study is to develop a model of the influence and show that one takes others’ utility into account (utility interdependence).Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model was tested with data collected in a survey of 323 Wikipedia users.FindingsOthers’ knowledge need affects one’s perceived forgone benefit of free riding (i.e. a cost of knowledge sharing) and, thereby, increases the intention to share knowledge.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research by identifying utility interdependence in knowledge sharing. For practice, the findings provide empirical support for the general belief that showing others’ knowledge need is useful for promoting sharing.

Performance Characterization of Low-Latency Adaptive Streaming From Video Portals

News-based websites and portals provide significant amounts of multimedia content to accompany news stories and articles. In this context, the HTTP adaptive streaming is generally used to deliver video over the best-effort Internet, allowing smooth video playback and an acceptable Quality Of Experience (QoE). To stimulate the user engagement with the provided content, such as browsing between videos, reducing the videos’ startup time has become more and more important: while the current median load time is in the order of seconds, research has shown that the user waiting times must remain below two seconds to achieve an acceptable QoE. In this paper, four complementary components are optimized and integrated into a comprehensive framework for low-latency delivery of news-related video content: 1) server-side encoding with short video segments; 2) HTTP/2 server push at the application layer; 3) server-side user profiling to identify relevant content for a given user; and 4) client-side storage to hold proactively delivered content. Using a large data set of a major Belgian news provider, containing millions of text- and video-based article requests, we show that the proposed framework reduces the videos’ startup time in different mobile network scenarios by over 50%, thereby improving the user interaction and skimming available content.

Medical Students in the United States Reveal Their Ideal Expectations to Help Planners of a New Library

Medical Students in the United States Reveal Their Ideal Expectations to Help Planners of a New Library