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The purpose of this study was to bring library practitioners and researchers together to develop two co-designed tools for helping library practitioners gain a more holistic understanding of families in underserved groups and identify their values with the goal of developing more relevant learning experiences for them. The co-designed tools were then tested with Master’s of Library and Information Science (MLIS) students at two universities, whose feedback yielded several valuable findings and informed revisions to the tools.

A participatory, design-based approach was used throughout the study, both with engaging library practitioners in the co-design of different tools and processes introduced in the Toolkit, and to help MLIS students and library practitioners test the tools and provide feedback on the tool revisions.

Students indicated that the tools helped them develop a deeper understanding of underserved groups and their values and gave the students the time and space to reflect on their understanding of the socio-cultural and value contexts of their communities and the values they hold.

This study can help libraries more effectively design strengths-based learning experiences that are meaningful and relevant to underserved groups and their values, particularly for children and families from underserved communities.

This research investigates the presence of communitarian philosophy within contemporary Scottish public library strategy, exploring links between philosophy, politics and practice.

The paper follows a qualitative research approach, combining content analysis and discourse analysis methodologies for the analysis of a corpus of Scottish public library trust documentation according to a thematic framework of communitarian values.

The analysis revealed strong links between trust strategy and communitarian values but also highlighted contradictions within this form of communitarianism which belied a deeper neoliberal philosophical foundation. The research therefore identified a communitarian strategic service shift which introduced benefits of social inclusion, community autonomy and common good but also brought concerns of an inherently weakened communal foundation and the survival of a neoliberal status quo.

The analysis is focused on strategy in Scotland only and thus can only claim to be representative of that country. However, the growth in communitarian strategies in the public sector is informed from the analysis undertaken.

The paper provides a novel analysis of public library strategy and thus contributes to the understanding of public library practice in the modern era.

The impacts of communitarian philosophy in the public sphere are under-researched and how these changes impact the mission of libraries needs to be better understood.

This is the first analysis to consider public library strategy from a communitarian point of view. As such, it provides novel insights into a growing area of public service development.

This study introduces Simone Weil's impersonal justice concept and its relevance to libraries' identity and role in societies. The article presents the constituents of impersonal justice and a theoretical justification for the coexistence of neutrality with libraries' commitment to social causes.

Conceptual analysis of 3 Weil's works, 13 scientific articles and 12 libraries' official documents was applied, looking at relevant concepts and findings, contexts of use, arguments and types of authority.

Five constituents of impersonal justice were found: universality, concreteness, unicity, inviolability and inappropriability. Impersonal justice, based on the inviolable value of each individual and the universal expectation of good, allows for a more accurate definition of social justice. Besides, it justifies libraries' commitment to climate change, migrants and Black lives matter, among other causes.

In contrast to previous works, this paper focuses on clarifying concepts by applying conceptual analysis to Weil's works, Library and Information Science (LIS) sources in scientific and normative contexts. Additionally, the analysis of arguments and types of authority for justifying claims pro and against neutrality allows the reconstruction of the argumentative discourse beyond the examined sources.

Responding to growing market demands for corporate social responsibility, the Asset Management Working Group of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative created a legal framework in 2005 to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues in institutional investment. It challenged the business world to think beyond fiduciary responsibility, toward measurement of both tangible and intangible assets. As an institutional force committed to the triple bottom line (environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible), modern libraries serve by reaching outward, and can lead by looking inward. ESG practices enable libraries to clearly identify criteria, set goals, and measure and report progress for external and internal operations, and help garner support and sustain and fund broader programs and initiatives. Applying ESG thinking to library policies, strategic plans, and operational culture will create a sustainable efficiency for these goals, provide evidence-based support for all stakeholders, and generate effective intrapreneurship while fostering community partnerships. This chapter describes our tailored, real-time approach to this work at New Canaan Library. It is a road we are building one brick at a time, and there is value in paving it organically – drawing on and meeting the aptitudes and needs of employees and our community where we are – while also employing best practices borrowed from successful models.

Building on past studies of library privacy policies, this review looks at how privacy information is shared at universities and colleges in the state of Florida. Beyond the question of whether a library-specific privacy policy exists, this review evaluates what is covered in the policies – whether topics such as how student data is stored, retained, de-identified and disposed of are broached in the statements, and whether specific data sets covering instruction, reference and surveillance are mentioned. The purpose of this study is to open the door to directed exploration into student awareness of privacy policies and spark conversation about positionality of libraries regarding privacy.

This review was done using a cross-sectional study design through observation of public-facing library privacy policies of higher education institutions in Florida.

Findings include that the majority of Florida academic libraries do not have a public-facing privacy policy. Only 15 out of the 70 schools reviewed had one. A large portion of those came from doctoral universities with associate’s colleges having none, and baccalaureate/associate’s colleges having only two. The policies that were in place tended to be institution-centered rather than patron-centered. Most categories of listed data collected were in the area of collections, website or computer usage.

The value of this review is that it adds to the literature studying privacy policies in academic libraries. Going forward, this research could address statewide practice in privacy policies as well as helping to lay pathways for working with students and other library patrons to gauge their interests and concerns about privacy.

The return on investment (ROI) model is a tool used to measure the financial benefits and costs of an investment, in this case, the investment in digital library resources. By applying this model to the AAU digital library resources, the study seeks to determine whether these resources are providing sufficient value for the investment made in them.

The proposed ROI model has two distinct phases and utilizes two different sets of data to calculate the return on investment for a database subscription. In Phase I, the ROI is calculated based on the total number of downloads of full-text articles from the database during the academic year 2019–2020. This information is used to determine the financial returns of the database subscription costs. In Phase II, the ROI is calculated by examining the citations drawn from the Scopus database on a sample of 30 funded research projects for the College of Engineering during the year 2019. These data are used to determine the impact of the database subscription on research output and its contribution to the success of the College of Engineering's research projects. The two phases of the proposed ROI model aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the value of the database subscription and its impact on both financial returns and research output.

The findings of the study indicated different results between Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the study. The positive ROI in Phase 1 suggests that the investment in online databases has a good return for the AAU, as they are gaining almost a dollar for every dollar spent. However, the negative ROI in Phase 2 is concerning. It suggests that the investment in the IEEE database is not generating a positive return for the AAU and may even be costing the institution money. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of measuring ROI in academic libraries, particularly in Arab countries where resources may be limited. By understanding the impact of library investments on institutional outcomes, libraries can make informed decisions about where to allocate their resources and how to optimize their services to best serve their communities.

The findings of the current study were based on data collected from a specific sample, therefore, the findings may not be generalized to other academic libraries. A similar study with larger and more diverse samples can help to validate and extend the results of this study.

The findings of the study provide evidence that the proposed ROI model can be effectively applied in Arab countries and academic libraries in the Arab world, this could encourage more institutions in the region to adopt this model for evaluating their investments and projects. The study may also guide how to adapt the model to the specific cultural and organizational contexts of Arab countries.

The main purpose of this study is to test and verify return on investment (ROI) model proposed for academic libraries in Arab countries. The study assessed the value of AAU digital library resources and identified the value of the digital library in supporting the funded research projects.

The proposed ROI model is based on two phases and two different data. In Phase I, the authors calculated ROI based on the total downloads of full text to determine the total financial returns of the database subscription costs for the academic year 2019–2020. In Phase II, the authors examined the citations drawn from the Scopus database on a sample of 30 funded research projects for the College of Engineering during the year 2019.

Although the application of the proposed model has some challenges, it is relevant in measuring the ROI of academic libraries in Arab countries. The results of the study in Phase 1 revealed that the AAU gained $0.95 for every $1 spent on subscriptions to online databases. For Phase 2, the findings indicated a negative ROI of $−0.70 for every $1 spent on library subscriptions to the IEEE database.

This is a case study based on data collected from Al Ain University, United Arab Emirate (UAE). Therefore, the findings of the study may not be generalized, and other studies may find different results if more samples and data are used.

Although the proposed model has been cited by research papers indexed in the Scopus database, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Crossref and ResearchGate, none of these papers tested or verified the suggested ROI model. This study could be the first study testing the suggested model. The findings of the study may contribute to the application of the ROI model in the Arab countries, and particularly the academic libraries in the Arab world.

This study aims to determine the extent of virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) adoption in university libraries in Indonesia and identify librarians’ views of library readiness. The assessment centers on two crucial dimensions: library readiness, gauged by commitment and efficacy, and librarian readiness, appraised through cognitive and affective aspects.

The research features a survey-based quantitative method. A sample of 259 librarians from university libraries, all members of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum, responded to the online survey.

Indonesian university libraries, especially in Central Java, express strong interest in VR/AR despite low current adoption. Librarians believe in their commitment and efficacy for adoption, with improvements needed in budget procurement and human resources. Librarians are optimistic about innovating academic activities with VR/AR, despite concerns about collaboration, data governance and human resource insecurity. The research underscores the simultaneous influence of librarians’ and libraries’ readiness on VR/AR adoption, emphasizing their interconnectedness and mutual support within library management.

There are practical implications for library institutions in Indonesia in terms of understanding the attendant opportunities and challenges when preparing organizational ecosystems. These findings provide a broad overview of VR/AR adoption in university libraries in Indonesia and contribute to understanding the specific needs and interests of universities in Indonesia considering adopting VR/AR. In addition to preparing adequate infrastructure, libraries should ensure the availability of adequate human resources.

In the Indonesian context, this study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, makes the first attempt to examine the librarian’s view as part of library management to face the dilemmas that may arise during the adoption of VR/AR despite university libraries’ commitment and efficacy to enable this technology. This research also identifies librarians’ cognitive and affective readiness as individual characteristics and resources able to influence adequate adoption.

The purpose of this study is to provide a series of observations to help information professionals understand and anticipate the future developments.

This column delves into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search and its implications for the open Web to show how multifaceted the impact of generative text AI might be in a single arena.

This framework includes the following observations: future applications are unpredictable, interdependent and will require flexibility, AI’s ability to create the feeling of intelligence combined with the power of language are key to its future; the technology is not neutral, it has biases and significant limitations; its widespread adoption will come with trade-offs that matter; and that libraries should develop a positive vision for how to use it.

For libraries to serve their patrons or embody their values, they must be prepared to grapple with a rapidly evolving technology by understanding the technologies possibilities, what makes it compelling, as well as its limitations and dangers.

This paper describes the process of developing training for student employees at a reference desk in which students assist peers and others in the community with research help.

This case study details the process as well as the challenges in developing training that is helpful for student employees in performing day-to-day tasks at a reference desk and incorporates diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) and high-impact practices (HIPs).

Training for student employees that prepares them for library work and incorporates DEIA and HIPs can be developed. These ideas can be incorporated into training for all library employees, not just students.

This article aims to assist others in developing training for front-line student employees that incorporates DEIA and recognizes the importance of HIPs.

DEIA and HIPs are considered throughout the development and implementation of training for student employees. Librarians have been training student employees to assist their peers with research for many years. This approach goes beyond the training that is needed to do a job and takes DEIA and student development through HIPs into account.