Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 8 (November/December 2022) “The Current and Evolving Landscape of Bibliometric Tools and Technologies,” by Laura Bredahl.

While bibliometrics has been around for decades, with the recent development of new bibliometric tools, there has been a surge in interest in bibliometric services at academic institutions in North America. Navigating this rapidly evolving landscape can be a challenge for academic institutions as they attempt to determine which tools and skill sets will best meet their needs. This issue of Library Technology Reports, “The Current and Evolving Landscape of Bibliometric Tools and Technologies” (vol. 58, no. 8), will help guide decision makers and practitioners in their selection and use of current bibliometric tools and related systems, and it will offer some insight into future directions.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 7 (October 2022) “The Current Landscape of Electronic Resources Access Issues,” by Ashley Zmau and Holly Talbott.

In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 7), “The Current Landscape of Electronic Resources Access Issues,” we discuss the current landscape of electronic resources access issues through the lens of the prevailing access tool employed by academic libraries: the discovery service. The report outlines the technical components through which library end users gain access to electronic materials through the discovery system environment and describes the common points of failure within them. The report also discusses the troubleshooting techniques and tools through which access issues are identified and diagnosed. The report closes with a discussion on new technological developments in library discovery and access, highlighting the new opportunities for access failure, as well as the initiatives aimed at mitigating these issues.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 6 (August/September 2022) “Improving Access to and Delivery of Academic Content from Libraries,” by Aaron Tay.

While academic libraries have traditionally focused on discovery, helping users to seamlessly access resources available behind a paywall is becoming equally important. The emergence of Sci-Hub into the public eye has led not only to more academic piracy but also to the discovery that academic users were using Sci-Hub for the sheer convenience of not needing to authenticate. This and other reasons have led to the suspicion that there is a need to improve and streamline the processes for users to authenticate and access resources available behind paywalls.

While the traditional solutions are IP authentication and federated access, we now have a slew of possible alternatives or improvements. These include initiatives like SeamlessAccess and GetFTR as well as the emergence of new third-party tools known as access broker browser extensions, such as Lean Library and LibKey Nomad.

Google has also been working toward a solution dubbed Campus Activated Subscriber Access (CASA), while the rise of content syndication partnerships between publishers like Springer Nature and ResearchGate gives the possibility of authentication using researcher profiles.

This issue of Library Technology Reports, “Improving Access to and Delivery of Academic Content from Libraries,” will walk the interested nontechnical librarian through understanding the fundamentals needed to plan for these new developments.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 5 (July 2022), “Designing Information Literacy Tutorials: Tips, Techniques, and Trends,” by Yvonne Mery

Even before the pandemic, many librarians were teaching online via video or interactive tutorials. But how do we know if our tutorials are any good? This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 5), “Designing Information Literacy Tutorials: Tips, Techniques, and Trends,” explores how librarians can create engaging and effective tutorials that are aligned with how this generation of students learns. The report starts with how to design better tutorials by using newer, agile instructional design models and implementing adult learning theories. The next chapter takes a deep dive into one trending and successful approach: microlearning. Chapter 3 discusses accessibility and universal design. Next, we take a look at getting feedback from our users, and we wrap up with a look at some helpful e-learning tools librarians need to create better tutorials.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 4 (May/June 2022), “US Census Data: Concepts and Applications for Supporting Research,” by Frank Donnelly

More than just a ten-year count, the US census is a collection of high-quality, geographically detailed, and free and open datasets that describe the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the nation on an ongoing basis. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 4), “US Census Data: Concepts and Applications for Supporting Research,” provides readers with a crash course on the census: learn about the concepts on which the census is organized, the key datasets, accessing data online and through scripts via APIs, and considerations for using GIS, historical data, and microdata. Librarians will gain knowledge they can use for assisting members of their communities with census data and will see how the census can be used for library planning and research.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 3 (April 2022), “Thinking Differently about Library Websites: Beyond Your Preconceptions,” by Laura Solomon

In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 3), we’ll look at the common preconceptions of library websites and web design and work toward understanding what makes a useful, relevant library website that is user-friendly.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 2 (February/March 2022), “Patron Engagement and Marketing Products and Services for Public Libraries,” by Marshall Breeding

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 2), “Patron Engagement and Marketing Products and Services for Public Libraries,” provides an overview of the technology products currently available to support library outreach and marketing strategies. In response to public libraries’ interest in proactive marketing of their programs, services, and collections, a variety of new products have been introduced. Each takes a different approach in providing libraries with sophisticated tools to support marketing campaigns or other initiatives to strengthen engagement with their communities. Many involve harvesting data and producing analytics and visualizations that aim to provide insight into the strategic performance of the library and the effectiveness of its marketing efforts.

Library Technology Reports vol. 58, no. 1 (January 2022), "Library Engagement Platforms," by David Lee King 

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 58, no. 1), “Library Engagement Platforms,” introduces library engagement platforms, explains what types of interactions take place while using them, and illustrates why libraries need to utilize them to connect with their customers. These interactions take place using a variety of communication channels, including e-mail, text messages, and mobile phone notifications. The end goal of a library engagement platform isn’t the messaging; it’s engaging with that customer and moving them to respond and interact, or engage, with the library.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 8 (October 2021), "Using the Toward Gigabit Libraries Toolkit," by Carson Block 

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 7 (October 2021), "Library IT Management in Times of Crisis," by Jason Bengtson 

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 6 (August/September 2021), "Metadata Application Profiles," by Theodore Gerontakos and Benjamin Riesenberg 

In Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 6), “Metadata Application Profiles,” metadata application profiles (MAPs) are discussed in two broad categories depending on whether or not they adhere to linked-data practices. There exist a broad range of purposes for MAPs, including metadata implementation and interoperability. MAPs have four components: the application, entities, properties, and values. MAP creators gather MAP components from already existing sources, including ontologies, schemas, vocabulary encoding schemes, and syntax encoding schemes. Implementers may present MAPs in human-readable, machine-readable, and hybrid formats. Several examples in the text demonstrate specific MAP features.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 5 (July 2021), "Cloud Services for Digital Repositories," by Jarrod Bogucki

A digital repository can provide a library or similar institution the capability to offer patrons a variety of media and rich cultural collections. Repositories can be robust, valuable resources, but for a library they can be large and potentially difficult to create and manage. Cloud resources offer a wide range of tools and services that can be used to build a repository of any kind and manage it in a sustainable, successful way. Subscription services, development tools, and virtual infrastructure can be used to leverage existing repository software or build a custom repository to exact specifications. Consider the capabilities and shortcomings of cloud resources when creating a digital repository.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 4 (May/June 2021), "Creating Adaptable Digital Preservation Workflows," by Erin Baucom

Libraries are scaling up their digitization, digital scholarship, digital archiving, and data management programs. All of this effort could be lost to a major failure of technology, a shift in administrative priorities, or a loss of institutional memory. The loss would not just be the materials themselves, but also the resources used to build and promote these collections to users. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 4), “Creating Adaptable Digital Preservation Workflows,” will help libraries create transparent and enduring digital preservation workflows that will help them maintain consistent and transparent practices when acquiring, accessioning, stabilizing, processing, providing access to, and preserving their digital materials.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 3 (April 2021), "Video Accessibility," by Carli Spina 

Video content is an increasingly important part of library marketing, outreach, instruction, and more. In order for this content to be inclusive for all patrons, it is vital that it be made accessible. However, large quantities of video content are still shared without adequate accessibility features, such as captions, transcriptions, audio descriptions, sign language interpretation, and accessible media players. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 3), “Video Accessibility,” will help librarians to understand these various accessibility features and how they are used. It will also give them the knowledge and tools necessary to ensure that the videos they share, create, and purchase for their collections are accessible to all patrons.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 2 (February/March 2021), "Mobile Technology in Libraries," by David Lee King

Most of your library customers own a smartphone, using it for a variety of tasks. They want to use their smartphones in and around the library. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 2), “Mobile Technology in Libraries,” presents tools and practices for giving your customers a great experience while connecting with your library. It addresses provisions supporting customers’ mobile use inside the library, such as Wi-Fi and charging stations, or outside the building, offering mobile access for basic library tasks. The report will show ways in which libraries are using mobile technology to address the digital divide, such as circulating hot spots or training, and how staff can use mobile technology to expand services in the community.

Library Technology Reports vol. 57, no. 1 (January 2021), "Data Visualization with R for Digital Collections," by Monika Glowacka-Musial

Since the 1990s, libraries have invested in developing digital collections and online services to provide access to historical sources. One way to inspire users to actively engage with these materials is by creating visual contexts for the materials. These visuals provide an overview of a collection’s content and inspire users to experiment with the collection’s data for various purposes, including research.

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 57, no. 1) presents an approach that views digital collections as data that can be mined, analyzed, and visualized by means of the R programming language. R is open source, relatively easy to learn, and supported by an established community of coders. The selection of plots presented in the report includes R scripts, fragments of data tables, and some explanation of the R code used to create the plots.

Library Technology Reports vol. 56, no. 8 (November/December 2020), "Consolidation of the Library Technology Industry," by Marshall Breeding 

This issue of Library Technology Reports offers an in-depth analysis of the vendor and product environment in libraries over the past thirty years. Mergers and acquisitions have accelerated in the past decade, yet the pattern of maintaining products has nevertheless presented libraries with options and a competitive environment. The report draws extensively from data on vendors and product implementations.

Library Technology Reports vol. 56, no. 7 (October 2020), "One Country One Library," by Mirela Roncevic 

One Country One Library (OCOL) is an idea to turn countries into open digital libraries via geographic coordinates and to measure the impact of reading materials in each country. The platform, available as a web and mobile application, houses all types of materials, including books, academic journals, general articles, short stories, and guides. It serves as a digital reading room, a self-publishing platform, a learning tool, an information kiosk for tourists, and a powerful new evaluator of the materials’ performance and reader activities. Publishers are paid a participation fee per country and supplied with detailed analytics showing each publication’s score and impact. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 7), “One Country One Library,” sheds light on the idea as well as on the technology and the business model designed to make the idea sustainable for participating countries, libraries, publishers, authors, and organizations. The goal of the report is to present the OCOL idea in its simplicity as well as its complexity and to encourage librarians and other book professionals to consider building open national digital libraries that serve the needs of the widest possible range of users.

Library Technology Reports vol. 56, no. 6 (August/September 2020), "Library Privacy Policies," by Jason Vaughan 

Protecting patron privacy in an increasingly distributed online environment is a complex challenge facing libraries. Still, publicly posted privacy policies can empower patrons, allow librarians to share their professional values, and help support sound library operations in the event of information disclosure requests. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 6), “Library Privacy Policies,” shares results from an analysis of publicly posted privacy policies from one hundred academic and public libraries across the United States. Details on data types, why data is collected, how data is used and protected, and how data may be released are shared. Just as importantly, nuances in how policy text is phrased reveals a richness and emphasizes the adage that “It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.”

Library Technology Reports vol. 56, no. 5 (July 2020), "Digital Legacy," edited by Heather Moorefield-Lang 

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 5), “Digital Legacy,” addresses some of the following questions. How do library community members build their digital lives? Are libraries involved in the building and education of those digital lives? How do we as librarians aid our patrons in understanding the legacies they leave behind in a digital world? Death is a topic often avoided, but the legacy we leave behind in both our physical and digital worlds is important. These legacies deserve recognition. In this report we investigate digital footprints, digital legacy, and digital lives.