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The purpose of this paper is to develop data visualisation proof of concept prototypes that will enable the Curtin University Library team to explore its users’ information-seeking behaviour and collection use online by analysing the library’s EZproxy logs.

Curtin Library’s EZproxy log file data from 2013 to 2017 is used to develop the data visualisation prototypes using Unity3D software.

Two visualisation prototypes from the EZproxy data set are developed. The first, “Global Visualisation of Curtin Research Activity”, uses a geographical map of the world as a platform to show where each research request comes from, the time each is made and the file size of the request. The second prototype, “Database Usage Visualisation”, shows the use of the library’s various subscription databases by staff and students daily, over a month in April 2017.

The paper has following limitations: working to a tight timeline of ten weeks; time taken to cleanse noise data; and requirements for storing and hosting the voluminous data sets.

The prototypes provide visual evidence of the use of Curtin Library’s digital resources at any time and from anywhere by its users, demonstrating the demand for the library’s online service offerings. These prototype evidence-based data visualisations empower the library to communicate in a compelling and interesting way how its services and subscriptions support Curtin University’s missions.

The paper provides innovative approaches to create immersive 3D data visualisation prototypes to make sense of complex EZproxy data sets.

Libraries throughout the world use OCLC’s EZproxy software to manage access to e-resources. When cleaned, processed, visualized and enhanced, these logs paint a valuable picture of a library’s impact on researcher’s lives. The purpose of this paper is to share techniques and procedures for enhancing and de-identifying EZproxy logs using Tableau, a data analytics and visualization software, and Tableau Prep, a tool used for cleaning, combining and shaping data for analysis.

In February 2018, The Ohio State University Libraries established an automated daily process to extract and clean EZproxy log files. The assessment librarian created a series of procedures in Tableau and Tableau Prep to union, parse and enhance these files by adding information such as user major, user status (faculty, graduate or undergraduate) and the title of the requested resource. She last stripped the data set of identifiers and applied best practices for maintaining confidentiality to visualize the data.

The data set is currently 1.5m rows and growing. The visualizations may be filtered by date, user status and user department/major where applicable. Safeguards are in place to limit data presentation when filters might reveal a user’s identity.

Tableau used in concert with Tableau Prep allows an assessment librarian to clean and combine data from various sources. Once procedures for cleaning and combining data sources are established, the data driving visualizations can be set to refresh on a set schedule. This expedites the ability of librarians to derive actionable insights from EZproxy data and to share the library’s positive impact on researcher’s lives.

This paper, a case study with research implications, analyzes ebook use and users, focusing on ProQuest’s Electronic Book Library (EBL) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The purpose of this paper is to understand ebook user attributes and behaviors in the context of print books and other eresources; to examine usage of EBL ebooks and print materials; and to explore differences between users of ebooks and print books.

The methodologies of the study are MINES for Libraries® implemented through EZproxy and an analysis of users and usage of EBL ebooks compared to print books based in part on the set of books available to the UMass community in both formats.

Undergraduates use print more often compared to graduate and faculty users. Among all uses of overlap materials in which materials are available in both formats, EBL and print, we find more print use. In all, 40 percent of EBL users did not check out any print library books, which would indicate that EBL created new users and new circulation that would not have otherwise occurred in print. Further, the findings show little difference by gender and ethnicity in the use of ebooks and print books and little evidence of lagging adoption of ebooks by faculty. When compared to campus-wide demographics, women and students of color use both print and ebooks in higher than expected rates.

Subject analysis of ebooks and print book usage and users by school or college are explored, highlighting differences between the two formats in certain subjects.

Mutual fund ratings are extremely popular among mutual fund investors, with over 8,000 mutual funds currently available to them and a huge increase in privately managed retirement accounts. Morningstar introduced the star-rating system to mutual funds, grading them on a range of one to five stars, with one star being the lowest and five stars being the highest. Because of its simplicity and resemblance to the ratings of so many other products we buy, the star-rating system has become an intrinsic element of mutual fund jargon. Morningstar experts award 5-star funds a gold, silver, or bronze medal ranking based on their instinctual analysis. This research investigates whether all gold-medal winning five-star mutual funds are equally efficient in terms of risk-adjusted performance. When total return, adjusted expense ratio, standard deviation, tax cost ratio, Sharpe ratio, and fund alpha are all considered, we discovered that not all “gold medal” mutual funds are equally efficient. Investors should take care even among “gold medal” funds since some are more efficient than others.

Microcredit schemes fashioned after the Grameen Bank model are widely acclaimed for their potential for empowering the poor through access to credit based on social collateral. However, women market vendors in Ibadan refer to microcredit loans as owo komulelanta, a term which translates as “resting the breasts on a hot kerosene lantern,” a plain critique of the stringent conditions of loan repayment. This paper presents the lived experience of borrowers based upon ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2017 and 2019. It reflects on the Nigerian state's neoliberal policies of microfinance and the experience of women borrowers. The paper argues that social–emotional vulnerability of women borrowers is exacerbated by the acceptance of a loan due to the rigid system of repayment and harassment from providers.

As libraries are developing a larger Web presence, issues regarding the utility, accessibility, and impact of the usage of their networked resources and services are gaining critical importance. The need to assess systematically the networked electronic services and resources is great as increasing amounts of financial resources are dedicated to the Web presence of libraries. This paper aims to address this issue.

This project proposes to measure the impact of networked electronic services, building on MINES for Libraries^®, in a scalable way across libraries and consortia to enhance digital library service quality and impact on learning by enabling the future allocation of resources to areas of user‐identified need. Short, standardized web surveys are placed at the point‐of‐use of networked electronic resources and services through a network assessment infrastructure that uses contemporary mechanisms of authentication and access, such as EZproxy, openURL, Shibboleth, federated searching and others as modules to interface with ARL's StatsQUAL^®. A valid and reliable sampling method is proposed.

Point‐of‐use web surveys hold considerable promise as key tools in the assessment toolkit libraries may deploy to improve the research, teaching, and learning outcomes of their users.

This project enhances and deepens the information gained from vendor‐supplied data.

The developments described will make it easier for libraries to assess the usage of networked electronic resources and services.

With really simple syndication (RSS), library users can have information delivered to them automatically, instead of spending large amount of time searching databases, web sites and blogs for new literature in their subject fields. The availability of social bookmarking tools gives researchers new ways to discover, share and store information for their research. This paper aims to provide information on how academic librarians can use RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools as mechanisms of current awareness and resource discovery.

The paper focuses on the ways of keeping current using RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools.

RSS feeds and social bookmarking tools help manage information and save time as well as increase access to new information.

The paper showcases how academic librarians at the University of Canterbury Library teach students to stay current by using RSS feeds and social bookmarking for current awareness and resource discovery.

Research at the Open University Library Services has been investigating the relationship between access to online library resources and student success. The purpose of this study/paper is to help to understand whether there is a similar relationship at a distance-learning university to that found in other institutions.

A small library data project was established to investigate this area. The study analysed online library resource data from access logs from the EZproxy and OpenAthens systems. A data set of 1.7 million online resource accesses was combined with student success data for around 90,000 undergraduate students and a series of analyses undertaken.

The study found a pattern where students who are more successful are accessing more library resources. A chi-square test indicated a statistically significant association between library resource accesses and module result, while an ANOVA test suggests a medium-sized effect. The study also found that 152 (76 per cent) of the 199 modules had a small, medium or large positive correlation between student success, measured by the overall assessment score, and online library resource accesses.

This study builds on evidence that there is a relationship between library use and student success by showing that this relationship extends to the setting of a non-traditional, innovative library service supporting part-time distance learners.

Wheelchairs and mobility devices are important to enable mobility for students who are unable to functionally walk by themselves to fully participate in daily life. However, they can be enablers or barriers to inclusion and participation for students. Children and adolescents, like other wheelchair users, have a varying number of reasons to use chairs, but what type of chair, how it is used and what type of participation it encourages or discourages is as individual as the child themselves. This is an area of practice that has little evidence on which to base decisions, leading to inconsistencies of provision practice and inclusion in mainstream environments. This chapter will discuss why children use wheelchairs in the first place, then outline some of the typical types of wheelchair available and discuss matching the child to their wheelchair. Barriers to appropriate use of wheelchairs include policy, funding, attitudes and perceived skill set. Children who use wheelchairs often do not gain the motor experiences that their peers do yet are expected to perform skilled wheeled mobility, often without training. Finally, inclusion in school is about inclusion not only in the classroom but also in all activities to do with their school-based communities.

The choice of what type of mobility a child needs is down to their self-defined goals in the context of their school environment, family and general ecosystem. Other forms of wheeled mobility included adaptive bicycles for children who are unable to utilise nonadapted bikes. The basis for assessment for wheeled mobility is the student. The most important part of adaptive seating is to match the student, their self-defined goals and their developmental needs. Barriers to inclusion are discussed. The final section of this chapter includes a discussion of where wheeled mobility is going into the future.

The origin of perfumery can be traced back to the true cradle of human civilization and culture in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The world’s first referenced chemist was a perfumer named Tapputi-Belatekallim who lived in Babylon more than 3,000 years ago. She used her intimate knowledge of chemistry to develop various formulations and techniques to revolutionize the process of perfumery creation. Similarly, Ajmal is one of the first companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to have pioneered the science and art of perfumery creation. This case study describes the inspiring journey of Ajmal Perfumes which began in the farms of a small village located in Hojai, Assam, to becoming a world-class perfumer with a global reach of over 45 countries. From “Farm to Flacon,” (Flacon a.k.a glass bottle) the company’s perfect control over their seamless value chain has enabled them to sustainably grow their business while maintaining high standards of quality. Their performance across five major dimensions (finance, market, processes, people, and corporate social responsibility [CSR]) is used to gauge their success. In this case analysis, the strategic framework behind the success of Ajmal Perfumes is captured. Transformational Leadership (TL), Customer Centricity (CC), Intrapreneurial Behavior (IB), Total Quality Management (TQM), Innovation Success (IS), Absorptive Capacity (AC), and CSR are identified as their key drivers of success. A critical review of existing literature related to success drivers was also undertaken that brought forward knowledge gaps and future areas of research in the domain of TQM and AC.