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The ancient town of Lijiang is a representative place of ethnic minorities in China’s southwest border area jointly built by many ethnic groups. Its rich and diversified history, culture and architecture as well as its artistic and spiritual values need to be better retained and explored.

The protection and inheritance of Lijiang’s cultural heritage will be improved through the construction of digital memory resources. To guide Lijiang’s digital memory construction, this study explores strategies of digital memory construction by analyzing four case studies of well-known memory projects from China and America.

From the case studies analysis, factors of digital memory construction were identified and compared. Factors led to the discussion of strategies for constructing the digital memory of Lijiang within its design, construction and service phases.

The ancient town of Lijiang is a famous historical and cultural city in China, and it is also a representative place of ethnic minorities in the border area jointly built by many ethnic groups. The rich culture should be preserved and digitalized to offer better use for the whole nation.

Archival institutions must make their holdings and services known to the public to ensure increased usage. It is the obligation of archival institutions to adopt strategies to market their services to increase the usage of their holdings. Therefore, this study aims to assess the National Archives of Zimbabwe’s (NAZ) decentralisation drive as a strategy to market its archival services.

The multiple case study research design, which is interpretive and qualitative, was used for the study. The study used interviews, questionnaires and document review as data collection tools. The collected data were presented, analysed and discussed using the thematic data analysis approach.

Findings revealed that the NAZ decentralised provincial records centres were actively involved in the marketing of archival services offered by the NAZ. The study also established that the decentralised provincial records centres perform activities such as records surveys, training, oral history, issuance of brochures, guided tours and career guidance, which increase their interactions with communities they serve. The decentralised offices took advantage of these interactions to market archival services offered by the NAZ.

The study illustrated that decentralisation of archival institutions and services to the lower tiers of government is a powerful strategy for the marketing of archival services. Therefore, there is need for archival institutions to adopt or enhance the use of this strategy to increase the usage of archives.

This paper focuses on a project to work on the digital library of Arab children's culture for sustainable development (DLACSD).

This project claims to link the past, present, and future by creating a platform that can grow to include not only works by adults but by children who inspire adults with their imagination and the joys they bring to the world.

This project addresses in phases the different aspects of the problem of the lack of material for Egyptian/Arab children at different stages in Arabic on the internet (with copyright law in mind). It is time to fill this gap by having a rich repository of stories, plays, games and songs for children in Arabic in a digital library to enrich the life of the child and to inform the world that much that is worthwhile is available in Arabic for parents, teachers, and children to enjoy.

Through reading samples of the works by Abdel-Tawab Youssef (1928–2015) by using the Dublin Core Elements, it will be informative to see how his writings address the United Nations Goals of Sustainable Development way before these Goals were discussed.

Writers for children, librarians, teachers, psychologists, literary critics, illustrators, and parents need a platform that makes material available to promote children’s culture in the Arab world and to introduce the world to what is of value for children in Arabic.

Currently, communication brings the world together and although the social media and the new technology have introduced problems that are serious, to say the least, collaborators on all levels must play an active role in redressing the social wrongs, especially those affecting children.

This ongoing project by members of a team who believe in interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity has taken the first step to create and develop (DLACSD).

The purpose of this paper is to report on bibliometric research on the activities and services offered by distance libraries that serve distance learning institutions.

The analysis of scholarly communication has always been a valuable tool for researchers and policymakers in order to understand trends, gaps and patterns in a specific field. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis has been applied based on a well-known bibliometric tool called “VOSviewer.” The articles that constitute the dataset of current research were drawn from two journals: the Journal of Library Administration and the Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning.

The bibliometric analysis applied in distance libraries showed that the researchers in this domain are mainly introverts and need to prioritize engaging in the scientific research process over merely publishing good practices. Although there are a lot of libraries serving distance learning institutions (formal and non-formal), there is a notable lack of activity in the scientific publication field.

Distance libraries have played a significant role in supporting distance learning, and since distance education has become more important in the educational ecosystem, the analysis of its scholarly production would provide administrators, researchers and policymakers with insights for the next era of conventional libraries.

This paper aims to focus on academic library managers’ learning practices in the context of cooperative work supported by computational artefacts. Academic library managers’ everyday work is mainly cooperative. Their cooperation is supported predominantly by computational artefacts. Learning how to use the computational artefacts efficiently and effectively involves understanding the changes in everyday work that affect managers and, therefore, it requires deep understanding of their cooperative work practices.

Focused ethnography was conducted through participant observations, interviews and document analysis. Ten managers from a university library in Sweden participated in the research. A thematic method was used to analyse the empirical material. Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and work-integrated learning was used as the conceptual lens.

Five learning practices were identified: collaboration, communication, coordination, decision-making processes and computational artefacts’ use. The findings show that learning is embedded in managers’ cooperative work practices, which do not necessarily include sufficient training time. Furthermore, learning was intertwined with cooperating and was situational. Managers learned by reflecting together on their own experiences and through joint cooperation and information sharing while using the computational artefacts.

The main contribution lies in providing insights into how academic library managers learn and cooperate in their everyday work, emphasizing the role of computational artefacts, the importance of the work context and the collective nature of learning. It also highlights the need for continual workplace learning in contemporary knowledge work environments. Thus, the research generates contributions to the informatics field by extending the understanding of managers’ work-integrated learning in their everyday cooperative work practices supported by computational artefacts’ use. It also contributes to the intersection of CSCW and work-integrated learning.

The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of strategic management. The societal context and the role of academics, consultants and executives is taken into account in the emergence of SWOT analysis during the 1960–1980 period as a pivotal development within the broader context of the satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats (SOFT) approach. The authors report on both the content and the approach, so that other scholars seeking to invigorate indigenous theories and/or underreported strategy practices will thrive.

Applying a historiographic approach, the authors introduce an evidence-based methodology for interpreting historical sources. This methodology incorporates source criticism, triangulation and hermeneutical interpretation, drawing upon insights from robust evidence through three iterative stages.

The underreporting of the SOFT approach/SWOT analysis can be attributed to several factors, including strategy tools being integrated into planning frameworks rather than being published as standalone materials; restricted circulation of crucial long-range planning service/theory and practice of planning reports due to copyright limitations; restricted access to the Stanford Research Institute Planning Library in California; and the enduring popularity of SOFT and SWOT variations, driven in part by their memorable acronyms.

In the spirit of a renaissance in strategic planning research, the authors unveil novel theoretical and social connections in the emergence of SWOT analysis by combining evidence from both theory and practice and delving into previously unexplored areas.

Caution is advised for scholars who examine the discrete time frame of 1960–1980 through mere bibliometric techniques. This study underscores the risks associated with gathering incomplete and/or inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of triangulating evidence beyond scholarly databases. The paradigm shift of strategic management research due to the advent of large language models poses new challenges and the risk of conserving and perpetuating academic urban legends, myths and lies if training data is not adequately curated.

This article sets out to show how principles and questions about method that underlie a way of interpreting the discipline of conservation and restoration can find results in research and studies, aiming at achieving even conscious reuse process. The occasion is the very recent research performed on the former Church of Saints Gerolamo and Francesco Saverio in Genoa, Italy, the Jesuit church annexed to the 17th-century College of the order. It is a small Baroque jewel in the heart of the ancient city, former University Library and actually abandoned, forgotten for years, inaccessible and awaiting a new use.

The two-year work carried out on the monumental building was conducted according to a study and research methodology developed and refined over the years within the activities of the School of Specialisation in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. It is a multidisciplinary and rigorous approach, which aims to train high-level professionals, up-to-date and aware of the multiple problems that interventions on existing buildings, especially of a monumental nature, involve.

The biennal study has been carried out within the activities of the Post-Graduate Programme in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. The work methodology faces the challenges of the contemporary complexity, raised by the progressive broadening of the concept of cultural “heritage” and by the problems of its conservation, its active safeguard and its reuse: safety in respect of seismic risk, fire and hydro geological instability, universal accessibility – cognitive, physical and alternative – resource efficiency, comfort and savings in energy consumption, sustainability, communication and involvement of local communities and stakeholders.

The goals of the work were the following: understanding of the architectural heritage, through the correlated study of its geometries, elements and construction materials, surfaces, structures, spaces and functions; understanding of the transformations that the building has undergone over time, relating the results of historical reconstructions from indirect sources and those of direct archaeological analysis; assessment of the state of conservation of the building recognising phenomena of deterioration, damage, faults and deficits that affect materials, construction elements, systems and structures; identification of the causes and extent of damage, faults and deficits, assessing the vulnerability and level of exposure of the asset to the aggression of environmental factors and related risks; evaluation of the compatibility between the characteristics of the available spaces, the primary needs of conservation, the instance of regeneration and possible new uses; the definition of criteria and guidelines for establishing the planning of conservation, restoration and redevelopment interventions.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore telepresence robots are being used in libraries to facilitate library services and also to explain the future trend in the application of robots in libraries.

Through a review of the literature, this paper analyzes various library websites and consults literature relating to the use of telepresence robots in libraries; the current application of robots in libraries has been highlighted along with case studies of libraries currently adopting telepresence robots.

The uses of telepresence technology in libraries help to enhance library services, reach new users and provide a more inclusive and accessible library experience. Telepresence robots enhance the quality and accessibility of library services, expand library outreach and provide new opportunities for virtual engagement and programming. The application of telepresence robots in libraries can offer many benefits, but there are also several challenges that libraries must address to ensure successful implementation.

This paper highlights how the application of telepresence robots in libraries improves service productivity in libraries and creates a more engaging environment for the user group. The benefits and challenges of using robots in the library and the future trend in the application of telepresence robots in libraries are also discussed.

The aim of this study was to determine data literacy (DL) training needs of researchers at South African public universities. The outcome of this study would assist librarians and researchers in developing a DL training programme which addressed identified needs.

A survey research method was used to gather data from researchers at these universities by convenience. Online questionnaires were distributed to public universities through library directors for further distribution to researchers.

The results indicate low levels of DL training at the respondent South African public universities with most researchers indicating that they had not received any formal training on DL. A few researchers indicated that they would welcome DL training.

This study was exploratory in nature and data was received from eight universities, which is not representative of all the 26 public universities in South Africa. Nonetheless, the low DL confirmed by the majority in the realised sample is indicative of the need to further investigate the subject.

Librarians and research support personnel should collaborate on the development of DL training courses, workshops and materials used by researchers at institutions of higher learning to enhance DLs on campus.

This study may be novel in South Africa in investigating the DL training needs of researchers at several universities and contributes to the growing body of literature on research data management

Digital Humanities is a robust area of research and practice at universities and their libraries across the world. This case study investigates the unique DH practices of seven US academic libraries to provide insights into how varied academic libraries operate their DH programs.

Semi-structured interviews with nine library staff in DH or DH-adjacent positions at seven US academic libraries were used to investigate library DH practices.

This case study highlighted key areas of academic library DH practices including Space, Technology, Staff, Instruction and Collaboration. Practices in these areas were compared against each other and literature to comment on the current state of DH library practices and offer some recommendations for select areas.

This case study interviewed staff in a limited number of US libraries and is not generalizable to or a reflection of the many academic libraries in the US or across the world.

The juxtaposition of multiple libraries’ DH activities provides a unique perspective on academic library DH practice, as many studies investigate only a single library as their subject.