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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usability and user perceptions of the display technology in the library to evaluate the utility of the Liquid Galaxy (LG) technology and how it was deployed in a library setting.

This paper presents the results of a mixed method (survey and interview) qualitative study of users of the LG Google Earth/Google Street View immersive display in the Research Hub of Davis Library of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill conducted in April 2015. In total, 25 users of the LG responded to survey or interview questions about their user experience and their emotional response to the LG.

Users found the LG easy to use and they had many reasons for using the LG including: research, education, entertainment, trip planning and nostalgic virtual travel.

There are few studies on users’ experience of innovative non-way finding display technology in library settings and this study then adds to the literature on this subject. These results may assist organizations evaluating incorporating an immersive display such as the LG into their offerings.

The purpose of this paper is to encourage other libraries to establish links in Google Earth and Google Maps linking back to their original content.

In the quest of the library at Quinnipiac University, USA, to develop a working Keyhole Markup Language (KML) template, they used tutorials from Google, forums for KML developers, and the Google Earth Community.

This project demonstrated that well‐designed KML files can have a verifiable impact on the usage of original content, serving as an advertising medium and an additional access point to their content.

Librarians can use these techniques to provide access to their material using a service that has proven extremely popular with users.

The paper provides information on free tools for libraries to enhance the discovery and access to their collections.

This paper aims to improve post‐earthquake reconnaissance (PER) and online sharing of scientific and engineering information from earthquakes and natural disasters by taking full advantage of recent advances in information technologies, global positioning systems (GPS) and digital cameras.

Based on more than ten years of experience, this paper reviews the evolution of post‐earthquake reconnaissance after earthquakes in Japan, Turkey, Taiwan, India and China. In the anticipation of an explosion of information in this field, it proposes virtual earthquakes as a means to organise information collected from the metadata embedded in digital pictures.

Post‐earthquake reconnaissance has improved our knowledge of earthquakes in engineering and science. It has rapidly evolved with advances in GPS, digital cameras and web technologies. PER should now exploit the benefits of metadata embedded in photos. By attaching information to photo files, embedded metadata have the potential of automating and scaling up PER dataflow. Embedded metadata may lay the foundation of virtual earthquakes and involve the public in collecting scientific and engineering data.

The paper introduces the use of embedded metadata in the field of post‐earthquake reconnaissance for sharing of scientific and engineering data. The paper also contributes to building virtual earthquakes for visualising and understanding earthquake damage and other disasters affecting people and the built environment.

The aim of this paper is to review the concept of the virtual research environment (VRE) in the light of its development over the past five years, and assess its applicability to the arts and humanities disciplines.

Evidence from a number of case studies exemplifying the VRE approach is reviewed, and the case of a VRE in archaeology, the Silchester Roman Town project, is discussed in detail. The interpretive implications of using computers as a means of dealing with artistic and humanistic data, are highlighted.

There is a critical comparison to be drawn between VREs in the sciences and the humanities/arts. This is caused by the “fuzzy” nature of data and workflows in the latter, as compared with the more formal and definable research practice in the former. It is proposed that, to deal with this, the plan of any project which seeks to set up a VRE in the humanities should consider the research process under three headings: processes which the VRE seeks to introduce, existing processes which it seeks to undertake digitally, and processes which will be unaffected by the VRE.

In order to progress “the VRE” from being an artificial construct, driven by dedicated project funding, towards being an embedded part of research practice, those concerned with developing VREs need to consider the nuances of those research practices. This paper seeks to review those nuances by synthesizing data and experience from existing projects, thereby facilitating that embedding process.

With proper design and work planning, falls through fragile skylights are preventable. Skylights pose a hazard to workers when their work tasks for operations, maintenance and repair require them to be on roofs. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety produced guidelines and special alerts to address the dangers that are present around skylights, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations have prescriptive requirements for work performed around skylights, and yet incidents still occur. The purpose of this study is to investigate and raise awareness for the causality of the incidents involving skylights in the USA.

The authors investigated and analyzed 204 incidents involving skylights recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to characterize their nature and to determine any correlation with the roof environment or the nature of the work performed. Using Google Earth and Google Maps roof geometry, proximity of skylights to roof edge and rooftop mechanical equipment was determined.

The majority of falls through skylights occur during roof maintenance and repair activities. Falls through skylights are underreported. Because of a general lack of good design to reduce or eliminate the risk of falling through skylights, facility managers carry the burden to properly assess work and access on roofs where fragile skylights are present.

The phenomenon of falling through skylights was made aware on a national level in the USA in 1989; however, little has been done from a design and planning perspective to reduce these incidents. This paper presents a unique perspective on the role of facility managers in understanding the hazards associated with roof maintenance near skylights.

Virtual reality (VR) is becoming a more available technology including in public spaces like libraries. The value and role of VR as a tool for learning and social engagement are unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which library patrons and librarians perceive VR and experience VR through library drop-in programs.

This paper is based on research conducted in seven Washington State Libraries where VR was adopted for drop-in programming for the first time. Data was collected between March and June 2018 and involved interviews with librarians and patrons, a patron user experience survey, and observational field notes from researchers on site during library programs.

Findings are presented in relation to user perceptions of VR compared to their actual VR experiences, and in relation to informal learning and social engagements. The authors frame the analysis and discussion in relation to sociotechnical imaginaries – culturally situated ideas about the relationship between society and technology, and considering the larger cultural landscape that informs collective views about the present and future.

The paper discusses pending and potential inequalities related to gender, race and class in conversation with technology industry and VR. Issues discussed include unequal access to technology in public libraries and representation of minoritized groups in VR.

This work takes a critical perspective considering the inequities in relation to mainstreaming VR through public spaces like libraries.

In effort to understand and reduce flood consequences more effectively and strategically, flood risk assessment has been a cornerstone of a long-term flood management. One component of flood risk assessment is the estimation of a range of possible damage to an area exposed to flooding, that is, the vulnerability curve. The vulnerability curve can be depicted by a stage–damage relationship. This study attempts to investigate how vulnerability to flooding can be quantitatively assessed using a micro-scale approach in Malaysia’s vulnerable areas. A residential area in Kota Bharu was chosen as the case study area. Depth–damage relationships from a multiple regression function of Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia and spatial variability of residential buildings were used for the micro-scale assessment. Final estimates of expected annual damage were then calculated for each building type at 1-, 3- and 5-day flood durations. Results show that the methodology adopted is feasible to be applied for local-scale assessment flood risk assessment in Malaysia. The results also suggest that applying the methodology is possible when given wider availability of resources and information. This is particularly important for a robust end-to-end flood risk assessment for long-term effective flood management in Malaysia.

Although multinational enterprises (MNEs), according to John Dunning's work, are driven by motives of ownership, location, internalization and, ultimately, higher returns, these business entities, by virtue of their transnational products and services, and extensive reach and resources, provide direct and indirect mechanisms that can shape political and social outcomes. This paper seeks to explore those mechanisms in the context of the so‐called “Arab Spring”, the popular uprising that has ensued in a number of Arab countries. The paper also aims to explore virtual public spheres, the platform from which the Arab Spring was launched, and which owes much to the presence of MNEs.

The analysis is grounded on the theoretical construct of the virtual public sphere. The approaches taken are that of a general review and secondary research.

The main findings of this paper are three‐fold. First, in the examination of the role of MNEs and the virtual public sphere in the Arab Awakening, it is found that the new information and networking technologies have already made a sizable impact in terms of paving the way toward political and social changes. Second, it is found that foreign investments in Arab media, mobile, and internet markets are dominantly regional. Third, behind the social media phenomenon in the Arab world are “born‐global” American firms (MNEs), notably Facebook, Inc., Twitter, Inc., and Google, Inc.

Most research on the Arab Spring has not incorporated the likely distinctive influence of MNEs. In addition, the paper highlights the association between regional and transnational orientations of business activities of multinational firms and political outcomes.