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Most automated library systems include a transaction logging component. Yet this fact may be among the best kept secrets in the automated library arena. Often only a few people within a library are aware of its existence, and even fewer have access to the transaction log data. This is unfortunate, since the concrete data garnered by transaction logs can provide bibliographic instructors, reference staff members, systems librarians, and system designers with unique and valuable insights into the patron/system interaction.

For the purposes of library and information science research, transaction log analysis can be narrowly defined as the study of electronically recorded interactions between online information retrieval systems and the persons who search for the information found in those systems.

To provide a background for this special section on transaction log analysis, the following discussion proposes a definition of transaction log analysis and briefly introduces some of the issues involved in the methodology.

Since the late 1970s TLA has maintained its role as the most dependable method for unobtrusive observation of IR system use, although the analysis of transaction logs remains a labor‐intensive practice. The difficult nature of TLA has undoubtedly hampered interest in its development and refinement into a useful method for analyzing user interaction with online systems. However, the means to realize the full potential of this powerful tool are now within the realm of computing and information science research. The goal of this paper is to create an increased awareness of TLA and research efforts using TLA methodologies.

The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a literature review of the first twenty‐five years of TLA poses some challenges and requires some decisions. The primary organizing principle could be a strict chronology of the published research, the research questions addressed, the automated information retrieval (IR) systems that generated the data, the results gained, or even the researchers themselves. The group of active transaction log analyzers remains fairly small in number, and researchers who use transaction logs tend to use this method more than once, so tracing the development and refinement of individuals' uses of the methodology could provide insight into the progress of the method as a whole. For example, if we examine how researchers like W. David Penniman, John Tolle, Christine Borgman, Ray Larson, and Micheline Hancock‐Beaulieu have modified their own understandings and applications of the method over time, we may get an accurate sense of the development of all applications.

The Minnesota State University System's Project for Automated Library Systems (MSUS/PALS) is a fully integrated library system that serves over 150,000 patrons on a network of 53 state university, community college, private college, and state agency libraries throughout Minnesota.

The ability to conduct unobtrusive observation of user searching is a potential strength of the method of information retrieval system analysis known as transaction log analysis (TLA). Transaction logs supply unequivocal information about what a user typed while searching. All other methods rely on self‐reporting, which, as Nielsen points out, is not always corroborated by the logs. Regardless of where in an institution information retrieval (IR) system evaluation takes place, TLA is a method that enables library staff at all levels to examine a variety of system and user‐related activities that are recorded on the log. Dominick suggested that TLA can enable the examination of three broad categories of activity: 1) system performance and resource utilization, 2) information retrieval performance, and 3) user interaction with the IR system. This article has been divided into several sections corresponding to functional areas in a library to suggest useful applications of TLA.

Introduction Since the earliest transaction monitoring studies, researchers have encountered the boundaries that define transaction log analysis as a methodology for studying the use of online information retrieval systems. Because, among other reasons, transaction log databases contain relatively few fields and lack sufficient retrieval tools, students of transaction log data have begun to ask as many questions about what transaction logs cannot reveal as they have asked about what transaction logs can reveal. Researchers have conducted transaction monitoring studies to understand the objective phenomena embodied in this statement: “Library patrons enter searches into online information retrieval systems.” Transaction log data effectively describe what searches patrons enter and when they enter them, but they don't reflect, except through inference, who enters the searches, why they enter them, and how satisfied they are with their results.

Introduction The central goal of transaction log analysis is to acquire new knowledge, which will help library managers, systems designers/developers, and researchers better understand how online information systems are used by library patrons and staffs. This knowledge can then be used to improve library services and operations through better designed systems and better allocation (or reallocation) of library resources. An example of reallocation of resources is changing schedules of public service staff to more closely match when and where patrons need help (e.g., in nonfiction, on weekends) and the relocation of terminals to where they are needed the most (e.g., to the science reference area). The system's resources (access points, online storage, databases) can also be distributed for the most effective and efficient operations through the use of transaction log data. A clearer understanding of human/computer interaction within the library setting can also be used to improve the design and utilization of other online systems and services used within libraries and other organizations.

According to the importance of higher education institutions (HEIs) in meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs), the purpose of this study is to analyze how sustainability was implemented in Ecuadorian higher education. The case study of the Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN) process was analyzed to show the advantages of implementing projects with SD approaches.

This study includes an analytic-synthetic method. In the case study, a longitudinal-documentary method was used to analyze the projects implemented in the UTN. The primary source of information corresponds to reports, minutes, publications, interviews and surveys from the academic staff of UTN, which can be found in the Postgraduate Institute of the UTN archives.

Projects implemented at UTN facilitated the development of skills in the participating university community and influenced the general organizational development of the university. Likewise, the potential benefits of the projects in each of the components are highlighted, so that social learning and the development of skills in students and teachers have been facilitated, focusing on internationalization.

The population analyzed corresponds to Ecuadorian universities and technical institutes, however, access to information from all HEIs is limited, due to processing time and economic resources.

This study presents implications for representatives of higher education and policymakers at the national level since the positive aspects can be rescued to promote the sustainable performance of HEIs.

HEIs train ethical professionals capable of transforming the world. The study shows successful experiences that can be used by other HEIs to have a positive impact on society, providing a sustainable future. In addition, UTN has prioritized the initiative of the students in several activities.

The primary information for the case study comes from the experiences obtained during the international cooperation projects of the UTN. Positive findings and limitations have been identified, which are published with the purpose of contributing to the scientific community.