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The narrow purpose of this article is to review de Fremery’s (2024) book about the bibliographic foundations of information science. The broader purpose is to consider the actual as well as the potential relevance of the field(s) of bibliography for information science besides the book under review.

This review essay examines the arguments put forward by de Fremery (2024), introduces concepts and traditional lore from the study of bibliography and presents internal conflicts or paradigms in the field of bibliography. It relates this information to foundational issues in information science.

De Fremery’s basic ambition of basing information science in the field of bibliography is important, and so is the attempt to consider bibliography in relation to contemporary information technologies such as machine learning and data science. The book under review fails, however, to describe the relations between different positions in bibliography, such as enumerative, analytical, descriptive, critical and historical bibliography in relation to information science. It rather tends to make problematic claims, for example, that scientific experiments are based on bibliographical methods, and to describe the relation of bibliography to information science on the basis of such interpretations. Nonetheless, the book is a serious attempt to consider the field of bibliography and thereby support the focus on documents in information science.

Information science often suffers because of ambiguities in the concept of information. When information science is understood as the study of literature-based answering, much else falls into place. The field of bibliography is a core concept for this understanding and re-orientation of information science, for example, by establishing the core relation between bibliography, information searching and knowledge organization.

Islamic banking and microfinance institutions (MFIs) share the core objective of serving the underprivileged. This study aims to investigate whether Islamic banking development facilitates (greases) or hinders (sands) the social mission of MFIs.

Data for 19 countries covering the period 2010–2018 were collected from the World Bank, Bank Focus and International Monetary Funds and analyzed using conventional econometric methods. Endogeneity-corrected techniques and alternative proxies were employed to ensure robust results.

The study revealed that Islamic banking development (proxied by the size of the Islamic banking assets) weakens the depth of outreach of MFIs (measured by average loan size). In countries with growing Islamic banking, MFIs appear to shift their focus toward wealthier clients, potentially due to market saturation among the poor. This is evidenced by MFIs offering larger loans, suggesting a mission drift toward profit maximization. Therefore, it can be inferred that competition from Islamic banks, to some extent, erodes the social mission of MFIs.

This study is among the few to examine the recent and comprehensive relationship between Islamic banking development and the social mission of MFIs.

This paper considers how knowledge has been organized about museum objects and belongings at the Museum of Anthropology, in what is now known as British Columbia, and proposes the concept of historical or provenance warrant to understand how cataloguing decisions were made and are limited by current museum systems.

Through interviews and archival research, we trace how cataloguing was done at the museum through time and some of the challenges imposed by historical documentation systems.

Reading from the first attempts at standardizing object nomenclatures in the journals of private collectors to the contemporary practices associated with object documentation in the digital age, we posit that historic or provenance warrant is crafted through donor attribution or association, object naming, the concept of geo-cultural location and the imposition of unique identifiers, numbers and direct labels that physically mark belongings.

The ultimate goal and contribution of this research is to understand and describe the systems that structure and organize knowledge, in an effort to repair the history and terminologies moving forward.

This paper aims to explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in automating library cataloging and classification processes, exploring current applications, challenges and future possibilities. It aims to provide insights into how AI technologies are reshaping traditional library practices and their implications for the future of information organization and access.

The paper presents a comprehensive review, analyzing recent research and developments in AI applications for library cataloging and classification. It covers traditional methods, relevant AI technologies, implementation challenges, impacts on library workflows and future directions.

AI technologies, particularly machine learning and natural language processing, offer significant potential for enhancing efficiency, consistency and depth in metadata creation and classification. However, implementation challenges include data quality issues, integration with legacy systems and the need for new skill sets among library professionals. The impact on library workflows is profound, necessitating a reimagining of traditional librarian responsibilities. Future developments promise more advanced capabilities in personalized discovery, adaptive classification schemes and predictive collection development.

This paper provides a holistic overview of AI’s impact on library cataloging and classification, synthesizing current research and future trends. It highlights the delicate balance required in leveraging AI to enhance library services while upholding core library values. The paper emphasizes the need for ongoing critical engagement with these technologies to shape the future of library services in the AI era.

This paper aims to explore the accelerations and constraints libraries, archives, museums and heritage organisations (“collections-holding organisations”) face in their role as collection data providers for digital infrastructures. To date, digital infrastructures operate within the cultural heritage domain typically as data aggregation platforms, such as Europeana or Art UK.

Semi-structured interviews with 18 individuals in 8 UK collections-holding organisations and 2 international aggregators.

Discussions about digital infrastructure development often lay great emphasis on questions and problems that are technical and legal in nature. As important as technical and legal matters are, more latent, yet potent challenges exist too. Though less discussed in the literature, collections-holding organisations' capacity to participate in digital infrastructures is dependent on a complex interplay of funding allocation across the sector, divergent traditions of collection description and disciplinaries’ idiosyncrasies. Accordingly, we call for better social-cultural and trans-sectoral (collections-holding organisations, universities and technological providers) understandings of collection data infrastructure development.

The authors recommend developing more understanding of the social-cultural aspects (e.g. disciplinary conventions) and their impact on collection data dissemination. More studies on the impact and opportunities of unified collections for different audiences and collections-holding organisations themselves are required too.

Sustainable financial investment across the heritage sector is required to address the discrepancies between different organisation types in their capacity to deliver collection data. Smaller organisations play a vital role in diversifying the (digital) historical canon, but they often struggle to digitise collections and bring catalogues online in the first place. In addition, investment in existing infrastructures for collection data dissemination and unification is necessary, instead of creating new platforms, with various levels of uptake and longevity. Ongoing investments in collections curation and high-quality cataloguing are prerequisites for a sustainable heritage sector and collection data infrastructures. Investments in the sustainability of infrastructures are not a replacement for research and vice versa.

The authors recommend establishing networks where collections-holding organisations, technology providers and users can communicate their experiences and needs in an ongoing way and influence policy.

To date, the research focus on developing collection data infrastructures has tended to be on the drive to adopt specific technological solutions and copyright licensing practices. This paper offers a critical and holistic analysis of the dispersed experience of collections-holding organisations in their role as data providers for digital infrastructures. The paper contributes to the emerging understanding of the latent factors that make infrastructural endeavours in the heritage sector complex undertakings.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with respect to university library portal services, specifically within selected universities in South-West Nigeria.

A descriptive survey research design was used to investigate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels among undergraduate students regarding university library portal services. Data were collected through surveys administered to 658 undergraduate respondents across multiple universities in South-West Nigeria.

The findings indicate that undergraduate students’ top reasons for using the portal were for tasks such as locating research materials, accessing databases, requesting bibliographies and checking the library catalog. Library computers and school information and communication technology center computers were identified as the most preferred access point, followed by computer labs and campus Wi-Fi networks. Undergraduates rated the portals as highly useful, particularly for saving time locating resources, checking material status and patronizing the library. High satisfaction was reported for services such as attending workshops, events and receiving research support through the portals workshops. Moderate satisfaction levels existed for accessing policies/hours, the institutional repository and renewals of books online. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.785, p < 0.05) was found between perceived usefulness and satisfaction.

This study contributes to the understanding of undergraduate students’ perceptions regarding the utility and satisfaction of university library portal services in the context of South-West Nigeria. It underscores the importance of aligning portal services with students’ academic and research needs to enhance overall satisfaction levels. In addition, it provides insights into areas where improvements can be made to further enhance the effectiveness and satisfaction derived from these services.

Starting from the status quo, the paper outlines perspectives and challenges for the connection and interlinking of digitised and digital archival data. The following topics are addressed: Where are fields of action and what are the means of archives? Which functional and technical requirements are to be considered, and what is the role of portal infrastructures linking together various different institutions?

Considering needs of users and general framework conditions, the paper examines new approaches emerging in Germany. It outlines recent projects and considerations aiming to improve services and visibility of archives within the national data infrastructure in Germany.

Cross-connections are no new phenomenon, but change their appearance significantly in a digital context. In this respect, both smaller and bigger archives profit from participation in larger digital networks. Furthermore, archives need to keep in mind to reflect the quality of their digital (meta)data regularly and to offer or join systems that functionally and technically support cross-connection and interlinking of data.

The paper endeavours to show the importance of digital cross-connections and the role of portal infrastructures for visibility, online-distribution and use of digital archival metadata and data.

The purpose of this study is to determine which metadata schemas are used in the museums and university collections of the main universities in Spain and other European countries. Although libraries and archives are also university memory institutions (according to a Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums perspective), their collections are not included in this study because their metadata systems are highly standardized and their inclusion would, therefore, skew our understanding of the diverse realities that the study aims to capture.

The analysis has three components. The first is a bibliographic review based on Web of Science. The second is a direct survey of the individuals responsible for university collections to understand their internal work and documentation systems. Finally, the results obtained are complemented by an analysis of collective university heritage portals in Europe.

The results of this study confirmed the hypothesis that isolation and a lack of resources are still major issues in many cases. Increasing digitalization and the desire to participate in content aggregation systems are forcing change, although the responsibility for that change at universities is still vague.

Universities, particularly those with a long history, have an important heritage whose parts are often scattered or hidden. Although many contemporary academic publications have focused on the dissemination of university collections, this study focuses on the representation of information based on the conviction that good metadata are essential for dissemination.

Quality management practitioners have yet to cease the potential of digitalisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of tools such as frameworks guiding practitioners in the digital transformation of their organisations. The purpose of this study is to provide a framework to guide quality practitioners with the implementation of digitalisation in their existing practices.

A review of literature assessed how quality management and digitalisation have been integrated. Findings from the literature review highlighted the success of the integration of Lean manufacturing with digitalisation. A comprehensive list of Lean Six Sigma tools were then reviewed in terms of their effectiveness and relevance for the hybrid digitisation approach to process improvement (HyDAPI) framework.

The implementation of the proposed HyDAPI framework in an industrial case study led to increased efficiency, reduction of waste, standardised work, mistake proofing and the ability to root cause non-conformance products.

The activities and tools in the HyDAPI framework are not inclusive of all techniques from Lean Six Sigma.

The HyDAPI framework is a flexible guide for quality practitioners to digitalise key information from manufacturing processes. The framework allows organisations to select the appropriate tools as needed. This is required because of the varying and complex nature of organisation processes and the challenge of adapting to the continually evolving Industry 4.0.

This research proposes the HyDAPI framework as a flexible and adaptable approach for quality management practitioners to implement digitalisation. This was developed because of the gap in research regarding the lack of procedures guiding organisations in their digital transition to Industry 4.0.

This study aims to explore the capabilities, limitations and potential of ChatGPT applicable to online reference services in academic libraries.

This study used the method of qualitative content analytics to assess the general capabilities of ChatGPT applicable in academic libraries. Two experienced academic librarians had face-to-face interactions with ChatGPT by asking ten most common questions often asked by faculty and students at the Georgia Southern University Libraries (https://library.georgiasouthern.edu/). To examine the ChatGPT’s applicability and capability, they also compared the ChatGPT with a popular online chat reference tool called LibChat, which is now widely used in academic libraries in 91 countries worldwide.

It was found that as an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered real-time chatbot ChatGPT could effectively provide faculty and students with general guidance on locating the needed information resources and services in academic libraries, though its responses might not be accurate or truthful all the time. Embedded into the LibAnswers system of the Springshare’s products (www.springshare.com/libanswers/), LibChat serves as a real-time online chat tool used by academic libraries for reference services, but it is only available during the regular librarians' duty hours. This technical limitation does not meet the dynamic needs of faculty, students, staff, and local community users. Only well-optimized AI-driven chat products like ChatGPT could provide 24/7 online services to support uninterrupted academic library services in the future.

This study only examined the general capability and potential of ChatGPT3.5 in specific subject areas. Additional studies are needed to further explore how the latest capabilities of ChatGPT4.0 or newer version, such as its text-to-image, text-to-speech, text-to-text, text-to-video and Web search, could impact future reference services of academic libraries. ChatGPT’s primary optimization and upgrades in the future may also change and impact this study's findings. The comparison between ChatGPT and LibChat presents a significant breakthrough of the generative AI technology in academic libraries. This comparative study encourages more academic experts, faculty, librarians and scholars to track the advance of generative AI applications, including ChatGPT, adopted in academic learning environments. In addition, the ChatGPT's complete capability and potential enhanced and integrated in the future may go beyond what this study evaluated.

This study examined the strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT applicable to reference services of academic libraries. Through a comparison between ChatGPT and LibChat, this study suggests that optimized AI online chatbots still have a long way to go to meet the dynamic needs of faculty and students in the ever-changing academic learning environments. To contribute to the existing research literature focusing on the rise of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, this study provides a valuable reference for the applicability of generative AI applications in academic libraries to promote more library creation and innovation in the coming years of the 21st century.