Search results

This study aims to provide insight into the usage of metaverse technologies in libraries, examining their impact on library service user engagement and assisting in unique promotion and marketing techniques for the metaverse setting.

This study used a literature review approach to synthesize current scholarly material on metaverse technologies and their practical applicability in the library context. It gathered academic literature from Emerald, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases to construct a strong foundation for the study from journal articles, which were retrieved using the researcher’s “search string.”

Metaverse technologies are reshaping the idea of smart libraries, offering innovative approaches to interact with information resources and delivering users progressively immersive and dynamic learning experiences. This in-depth investigation adds to a better understanding of the emerging link between metaverse technology and library professionals. It bridges the gap between libraries and users, transcending geographical boundaries and enabling libraries to serve a global audience. It anticipates metaverse-infused academic libraries welcoming new methods of engaging with their users with interactive capabilities to create a unique environment to explore library resources in an interactive marketing approach.

The metaverse is not only the future but also the future of libraries. This research fills the gap by advancing the literature on cutting-edge library technologies and empowers users to become reflective and well-informed information producers. It also helps library stakeholders engage with their audience in new and impactful ways and explore innovative marketing strategies tailored to the metaverse environment.

The paper seeks to introduce the “critical open access literacy” construct as a holistic approach to confront the challenges in open access (OA) as a dimension of scholarly communication.

The paper first introduces the concepts of information literacy (IL) and OA in the context of transformations in the scholarly information environment. Via a theoretical-analytical exercise on the basis of a literature review of the intersections between the two concepts and of the criticisms of OA, the paper discusses the role of critical IL in addressing the challenges in OA and lays the theoretical-conceptual groundwork for the critical OA literacy construct.

The structural nature of the challenges and transformations in the scholarly information environment require new foci and pedagogical practices in library and information studies. A more holistic, critical and integrative approach to OA is warranted, which could effectively be achieved through the re-conceptualization of IL.

The paper specifies the avenues for putting the theoretical conceptualizations of critical OA literacy into practice by identifying possible foci for IL instruction alongside a transformed role for librarians.

The paper extends deliberations on the role of critical IL for scholarly communication and attempts to advance the research fields of the two domains by proposing a new construct situated at the junction of OA and IL.

This article aims to understand users' information needs in the metaverse communities and to analyze the similarities and differences between their information needs and those of users in Internet communities.

This study conducted semi-structured interviews with users in the metaverse communities to gather raw data. Grounded theory research methods were employed to code and analyze the collected interview data, resulting in the extraction of 40 initial concepts, 15 subcategories and 5 main categories. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this paper constructs the hierarchical model of users' information needs in the metaverse communities. It compares the differences between users' information needs in the metaverse and Internet fields.

The user’s information needs in the metaverse communities are divided into two types: deficiency needs and growth needs. Deficiency needs have two levels. The first level is the demand for basic information resources. The second level is the users demand for information assistance. Growth needs have three levels. The first level is the need for information interactions. The second level is the need for community rules. The ownership information in the community rules can provide proof of user status, assets and so on. The third level is the need for users to contribute and share their own created information content.

This article presents the latest research data from in-depth interviews with users in the metaverse communities. It aims to help builders and managers of metaverse communities understand users' information needs and improve the design of virtual communities.