Making It Work for Everyone: HTML5 and CSS Level 3 for Responsive, Accessible Design on your Library’s Website

This article argues that accessibility and universality are essential to good web design. A brief review of library science literature sets the issue of web accessibility in context. The bulk of the article explains the design philosophies of progressive enhancement and responsive web design, and summarizes recent updates to WCAG 2.0, HTML5, CSS Level 3, and WAI-ARIA. The final section of the paper walks readers through the website creation process. The tools and techniques described in the article can be used to create a library website which can be accessed equally by all patrons without sacrificing aesthetics or usability at any level

SLIS Connecting, Volume 3, Issue 2

Entire issue of SLIS Connecting, Volume 3, Issue

Behind the Scenes of Academic Library Website Design: Patterns and Trends from 2012 to the Present [slides]

Slides from a presentation given October 17, 2019 at the North Carolina Library Association Biennial Conference in Winston-Salem, NC

Ethical aspects of doctoral-research advising in the emerging African information society

This paper discusses the ethical aspects of doctoral-research advising in the emerging African information society from an African perspective. It addresses the following research questions: What is the status of information ethics in Africa? What theoretical frameworks are available to illuminate the ethical dimension of the emerging African information society? To what extent are ethical aspects of the emerging African information society integrated into doctoral research advising in library and information science in Africa? What are the roles and obligations of the supervisor and supervisee in doctoral research? How is information and communication technology (ICT) being used to enhance doctoral-research advising? The paper is underpinned by various ethical theoretical models, such as the Trust Model, Hayward Power Relations, classical and contemporary ethical traditions, and game theory. It relies upon a literature survey to address the research problems. Results reveal, among other things, the milestones achieved by African scholars in promoting information ethics through curriculum development and research. However, there is a need for the evolving information society to take cognizance of African cultural contexts. The results also reveal that supervisor–supervisee relationships are constrained. The ethical dimension of the emerging African information society should be infused into the doctoral-research process to improve the relationships of supervisor and supervisee. This should be supported by responsible use of ICT, taking into account the Africa cultural context and African values to facilitate the doctoral-advising process. All these should be buttressed by an enabling policy framework at the institutional level to promote harmony and productivity in doctoral research.published or submitted for publicationOpe

‘Is the library open?’: Correlating unaffiliated access to academic libraries with open access support

© 2019, Igitur, Utrecht Publishing and Archiving Services. All rights reserved. In the context of a growing international focus on open access publishing options and mandates, this paper explores the extent to which the ideals of ‘openness’ are also being applied to physical knowledge resources and research spaces. This study, which forms part of the larger Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative project, investigates the relationship between academic library access policies and institutional positions on open access or open science publishing. Analysis of library access policies and related documents from twenty academic institutions in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, Africa and the United Kingdom shows that physical access to libraries for members of the public who are not affiliated with a university is often the most restricted category of access. Many libraries impose financial and sometimes security barriers on entry to buildings, limiting access to collections in print and other non-digital formats. The limits placed on physical access to libraries contrast strongly with the central role that these institutions play in facilitating open access in digital form for research outputs through institutional repositories and open access publishing policies. We compared library access policies and practices with open access publishing and research sharing policies for the same institutions and found limited correlation between both sets of policies. Comparing the two assessments using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient confirmed open access policies have a direct association with the narrow aspects of public access provided through online availability of formal publications, but are not necessarily associated (in the universities in this study) with delivering on a broader commitment to public access to knowledge. The results suggest that while institutional mission statements and academic library policies may refer to sharing of knowledge and research and community collaboration, multiple layers of library user categories, levels of privilege and fees charged can inhibit the realisation of these goals. As open access publishing options and mandates expand, physical entry to academic libraries and access to print and electronic resources has contracted. This varies within and across countries, but it conflicts with global library and information commitments to open access to knowledge

Map Room to Data and GIS Services: Five University Libraries Evolving to Meet Campus Needs and Changing Technologies

Programs for geospatial support at academic libraries have evolved over the past decade in response to changing campus needs and developing technologies. Geospatial applications have matured tremendously in this time, emerging from specialty tools to become broadly used across numerous disciplines. At many universities, the library has served as a central resource allowing students and faculty across academic departments access to GIS resources. Today, as many academic libraries evaluate their spaces and services, GIS and data services are central in discussions on how to further engage with patrons and meet increasingly diverse researcher needs. As library programs evolve to support increasingly technical data and GIS needs, many universities are faced with similar challenges and opportunities. To explore these themes, data and GIS services librarians and GIS specialists from five universities—the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Texas A&M, New York University, North Carolina State University, and California Polytechnic State University—with different models of library geospatial and data support, describe their programs to help identify common services, as well as unique challenges, opportunities, and future plans

Understanding citizen science and environmental monitoring: final report on behalf of UK Environmental Observation Framework

Citizen science can broadly be defined as the involvement of volunteers in science. Over the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of citizen science initiatives. The breadth of environmental-based citizen science is immense. Citizen scientists have surveyed for and monitored a broad range of taxa, and also contributed data on weather and habitats reflecting an increase in engagement with a diverse range of observational science. Citizen science has taken many varied approaches from citizen-led (co-created) projects with local community groups to, more commonly, scientist-led mass participation initiatives that are open to all sectors of society. Citizen science provides an indispensable means of combining environmental research with environmental education and wildlife recording. Here we provide a synthesis of extant citizen science projects using a novel cross-cutting approach to objectively assess understanding of citizen science and environmental monitoring including: 1. Brief overview of knowledge on the motivations of volunteers. 2. Semi-systematic review of environmental citizen science projects in order to understand the variety of extant citizen science projects. 3. Collation of detailed case studies on a selection of projects to complement the semi-systematic review. 4. Structured interviews with users of citizen science and environmental monitoring data focussing on policy, in order to more fully understand how citizen science can fit into policy needs. 5. Review of technology in citizen science and an exploration of future opportunities