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This paper sets out to address the issue of the impact and evolution of digital libraries and information services using the concept of information ecologies.

After setting the perspective, digital libraries are explored from their functional logic inside the social subsystem that deals with transferring knowledge in the form of information among people and generations. The current landscape is then presented, which is complicated by the enormous technological shift in course. The concept of information ecology is useful for reducing this complexity.

Trends affecting modern information ecology in which digital libraries are evolving are studied. Specifically, eight noteworthy processes in this development are analyzed: ubiquity of information management; digital convergence; technological standardization and leverage; the surging of a worldwide space of collaboration, and competition; swift advances in the international division of informational work; the transformation of the physical information units toward the provision of proximity services; the entry of new agents in the field; and the growing emphasis on data management.

The changing environment in the libraries field is explored using the concept of information ecologies. Some of the most important trends in the digital environment are identified and their effect on the social and economical functions of libraries is shown. Information ecology is very complex, with many actors, and libraries have some niches ensured (heritage preservation, proximity services …), though others could be better performed by emerging full‐digital organizations.

Online calendar services (OCS) are primarily used for temporal orientation and reminding. Nonetheless, calendar work may also entail generic activities such as scheduling, tracking, archive and recall and retrieval which are not adequately supported by available systems. The purpose of the paper is to explore how online calendaring may be re-configured and re-aligned to alleviate these shortcomings, thus servicing accountability in team work and flexibility in organizational routines.

Following a design science research methodology, the authors review “justifiable failures” or deliberate non-use of OCS and establish the rationale for, design and evaluate a digital service that configures calendaring as an ecology of separate digital materials supporting file-, photo- and video-sharing services, online argumentation, project/task management and social bookmarking. The new service is a digital composite of materials that incrementally co-adapt and co-evolve to serve primary and secondary work-oriented activities. The authors assess the value of the digital composite in two empirical settings and discuss intrinsic features that create new possibilities for action.

The authors present the rationale, design, implementation and evaluation of a new digital composite calendaring service which is deployed in two empirical settings, namely group vacation planning and collective information management. Each case features different re-configurations of calendaring to serve human intentions. In vacation planning, the digital composite of the calendar operates as a mashup allowing peers to negotiate, schedule and track vacation options and archive, recall or retrieve digital memories of vacations. In the case of collective information management, the digital composite is further augmented so as to re-align performative and ostensive aspects of routines in a regional organic farming partnership.

Digital composites rely on the interdependent operation of different bounded systems and services to establish configured ecologies of (previously) separate digital artifacts. The practical implications of digital composites are that they can appropriate performative capacities which are already established and embedded across different settings. As a result, they enact complex digital assemblages which can re-align not only daily activities but also organizational routines. On the other hand, digital composites remain in flux, since their state, at any moment in time, is partly determined (even temporarily) by the state of their constituent parts.

Calendaring as presented in this paper defines a genre of digital artifacts that promote flexible and accountable collaborative work while exploiting material agency and resources distributed across digital settings. As such, it establishes a kind of meta-material that invokes collective social agency, thus re-aligning performative and ostensive aspects of organizational routines.

The purpose of this study is to identify global trends in disruptive technological change and map the social and policy implications, particularly as they relate to the educational ecosystem and main stakeholders across all levels of education.

The authors conducted a two-stage meta-analysis of 1,155 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. The investigation involves a systematized literature review for data identification and collation adhering to defined selection criteria, and a network analysis to scrutinize data, consolidate information and unveil correlations and patterns from the literature review to produce a set of recommendations.

The study unveiled educational trends related to disruptive technologies and delineated four principal clusters representing how these technologies are transforming the education ecosystem. Additionally, a series of transversal aspects that reveal a societal vulnerability toward future prospects in the realms of ethics, sustainability, resilience, security, and policy were identified.

The findings spotlight an enlarging chasm between industry (and society at large) and conventional education, where many transformations triggered by disruptive technologies remain absent from teaching and learning systems. The study further offers recommendations and envisions potential scenarios, urging stakeholders to respond based on their positions concerning disruptive technologies.

Expanding from the meta-analysis of pertinent literature, this paper offers four collections of curated resources, four mini case studies and four scenarios for policymakers and local communities to consider, enabling them to plot courses for their optimal futures.

Public-funded research in digital humanities (DH) enhances institutional and individual research missions and contributes open data to a growing base of globally networked knowledge. The Digging into Data 3 challenge (DID3) (2014–2016) is an international, interdisciplinary and collaborative grant initiative, and the purpose of this paper is to explore skills that faculty and students brought to projects and others they acquired and shared on collaborative teams.

Rooted in the naturalistic paradigm, this qualitative case study centers on semi-structured interviews with 53 participants on 11 of the 14 DID3 projects. Documentary evidence complements empirical evidence; analysis is constructivist and grounded.

Hailing from diverse academic research institutions, centers and repositories, participants brought 20 types of discipline-based or interdisciplinary expertise to DID3 projects. But they reported acquiring or refining 27 other skills during their project work. While most are data-related, complementary programming, management and analytical skills push disciplinary expertise toward new frontiers. Project-based learning and pedagogy function symbiotically; participants therefore advocate for aligning problem-solving skills with pedagogical objectives at home institutions to prepare for public-funded DH projects. A modified content analysis juxtaposes DID3 skills with those advanced in 23 recent DH syllabi to identify commonalities and gaps.

Pedagogy has an important yet under-researched and underdeveloped role in public-funded DH research.

This study aims to present the critical role of knowledge management in digital entrepreneurship by reviewing the literature and proposing future research directions for digital entrepreneurship and knowledge management through an interdisciplinary framework.

This study uses the Derwent Data Analyzer to identify and visualise the extant studies on digital entrepreneurship. This study qualitatively analyses the hot topics and trends in digital entrepreneurship research to understand digital entrepreneurship from the knowledge management perspective.

The authors found two dominant trends in existing research: logical and development trend exploration at the theoretical background and empirical research at the practical dimension. To understand digital entrepreneurship from a knowledge management perspective, the authors summarised the theoretical logic and internal and external reasons why knowledge management is required in digital entrepreneurship. Moreover, the authors analysed the new features of digital entrepreneurship under five aspects: management concept, object, content, scope and focus. The authors concluded that existing research on integrating knowledge management and digital entrepreneurship is primarily conducted from three perspectives: technology, platform and ecosystem.

This study provides an in-depth analysis of digital entrepreneurship from a knowledge management perspective. The findings can further promote the theoretical research and practical development of digital entrepreneurship and knowledge management. This approach provides a new direction for interdisciplinary study and enriches entrepreneurship research. In addition, this study proposes a knowledge management framework for digital entrepreneurship research. The findings contribute to understanding the role and function of knowledge management in digital entrepreneurship.

Information Systems (IS) research has built up a considerable understanding of digital platform ecosystems, while policymakers worldwide are aiming to introduce platform regulations that seek to erode fundamental mechanisms of digital platforms. This viewpoint article provides an introduction to how platform regulation affects our current understanding of digital platform ecosystems and suggests opportunities for future research.

A detailed analysis of the effects of the European Union (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA) on current findings of organizational, technical and economic IS platform research.

Government regulations of digital platforms such as the DMA likely affect the central mode of operation of platforms in the scope of the regulation. The authors preconceive a major impact on platform openness, governance, steering the platform supply-side, modularity, nestedness, network effects, pricing and single-/multi-homing. In addition, the authors present opportunities for future research in each of these IS platform research streams.

Landmark regulations implemented in the past, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), caused paradigm changes that fertilized research opportunities in IS and beyond. This viewpoint article aims to nudge studies that examine the changed mode of operation of platforms following platform regulation.

In Digging into Data 3 (DID3) (2014-2016), ten funders from four countries (the USA, Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands) granted $5.1 million to 14 project teams to pursue data-intensive, interdisciplinary, and international digital humanities (DH) research. The purpose of this paper is to employ the DID3 projects as a case study to explore the following research question: what roles do librarians and archivists take on in data-intensive, interdisciplinary, and international DH projects?

Participation was secured from 53 persons representing eleven projects. The study was conducted in the naturalistic paradigm. It is a qualitative case study involving snowball sampling, semi-structured interviews, and grounded analysis.

Librarians or archivists were involved officially in 3 of the 11 projects (27.3 percent). Perhaps more importantly, information professionals played vital unofficial roles in these projects, namely as consultants and liaisons and also as technical support. Information and library science (ILS) expertise helped DID3 researchers with issues such as visualization, rights management, and user testing. DID3 participants also suggested ways in which librarians and archivists might further support DH projects, concentrating on three key areas: curation, outreach, and ILS education. Finally, six directions for future research are suggested.

Much untapped potential exists for librarians and archivists to collaborate with DH scholars; a gap exists between researcher awareness and information professionals’ capacity.

This paper aims to unveil the general nature of virtual chat groups in multi-ethnic societies like Nigeria towards knowing whether and how diversity inclusiveness codes of conduct are encouraged and managed among virtual chat group participants.

Data in this research was collected via five virtual focus groups of five to eight discussants each and was complemented by virtual field surveys. Responses were validated through verification of registered personal mobile phone numbers. Each design was implemented to cover Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The research was broadly framed – according to the uses and gratification theory, social inclusion hypothesis and utilitarian theory of ethics.

The research shows how virtual chat groups can enhance understanding of diversities. However, virtual chat-group outcomes are better managed if anticipated gratifications are predictable and based on the utilization of stated conduct codes.

Given Nigeria’s vast population, the sample size for this study is not adequate nor systematic enough towards generalizations. However, the diverse background of focus group discussants enhances the vista for understanding inclusive virtual chats in diverse societies. Moreover, the instruments of research data collection were validated.

This research points out that virtual chat groups’ codes of conduct are most effective when participants can anticipate collective gratifications. However, firmness and fairness in the implementation of code of conduct principles are essential for long-term virtual group chat sustenance.

Code of conduct principles are essential for the long-term virtual chat group sustenance. When this is achieved, some of the social problems of Nigeria may be solved, and the social, ethnic and religious differences may not hinder the proper development of the country.

The research exposes the nature and role of virtual chat group communication inclusivity codes of conduct amidst participants’ demographic diversity.

The overarching aim of this paper is to initiate a new conceptualisation of digital cultural heritage libraries' design and development that emphasises a holistic understanding of a digital cultural heritage as part of information ecology and of the activities taking place between and amongst the various elements of the ecology that are governed by social, cultural, political, economical, and technical affordances and constraints.

A research framework is developed based on viewpoints, reviews of existing literature and concepts of information ecology and activity theory.

The conceptual framework comprises of a set of dimensions: content; context; connectivity; consideration; collaboration; construction; confidence and continuity. These dimensions are indicative of the kinds of issues and questions that could be considered in transitioning a digital cultural heritage library into a system that is dynamic, and one which evolves within the stakeholders' socio-cultural contexts. The issues and questions highlighted and outlined under the dimensions may be used to help one to situate their digital cultural heritage in the space and environment it operates in, to discover which direction to take to transition the digital cultural heritage library and to safely navigate the journey for the transitioning. The dimensions may also signal the elements needing ongoing consideration as the digital cultural heritage library evolves on its journey within the ecologies concerned.

These dimensions are indicative of the kinds of issues and questions that could be considered in transitioning a digital cultural heritage library into a system that is dynamic and one which evolves within the stakeholders' socio-cultural contexts. The issues and questions highlighted and outlined under the dimensions may be used to help one to situate their digital cultural heritage in the space and environment it operates in, to discover which direction to take to transition the digital cultural heritage library and to safely navigate the journey for the transitioning. The dimensions may also signal the elements needing ongoing consideration as the digital cultural heritage library evolves on its journey within the ecologies concerned.

This research presents concepts from information ecology and activity theory that could be incorporated in digital library research, design and development.

This study proposes a mobile learning model that employs digital libraries to support investigative learning activities. A student‐centered mobile learning activity with self‐guided exploration for physical ecology observation has been conducted to demonstrate the benefits of using digital libraries to support investigation‐based ecology learning activities.

An investigation‐based mobile learning model is proposed and an experiment is designed to show the effectiveness of the learning model, in which the students are asked to answer a series of questions by observing the real‐world learning objects and searching for supplemental materials from a digital library.

The instructional experiment conducted in an elementary school with 64 sixth grade students shows that the innovative approach is able to improve the learning achievement, learning effectiveness, as well as the learning attitudes of the students.

The findings of this paper imply that the use of the investigative learning model will significantly promote the utilization rate of digital libraries.

An investigative model for using digital libraries to support mobile learning is proposed in this paper. It provides good guidance to teachers for designing learning activities with digital libraries, and a good way for students to learn, utilizing the materials in digital libraries.