I Never Had to Use the Library in High School : A Library Instruction Program for At-Risk Students

Most academic library instruction is limited to one class period, despite empirical evidence that this approach is likely less effective than more sustained instruction. To determine if additional sessions would boost student learning and reduce library anxiety, the authors collaborated with representatives from a program for at-risk undergraduates to develop a three-workshop model for basic instruction and orientation. They first delivered the program during the summer of 2012 and subsequently offered it to three additional groups of students, including a cohort of doctoral students in the sciences. This article describes the process of designing the workshops and evaluating their effectiveness, with special attention to demonstrating how the program supported the parent institution’s goals and mission

If You Can\u27t Expand, How Can You Grow? Space Assessment Studies in the Academic Library

As space in libraries is usually finite and in high demand, how can librarians ensure the best allocation of space to meet users\u27 ever growing and changing needs? A team from the University of Tennessee\u27s School of Information Sciences and Libraries designed and implemented two academic library space assessment studies to find meaningful answers to these questions as well as learn the principles, methods, and tools of space design and space assessment, many of which they will share with session attendees

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study

Background The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 was first identified in December, 2020, in England. We aimed to investigate whether increases in the proportion of infections with this variant are associated with differences in symptoms or disease course, reinfection rates, or transmissibility. Methods We did an ecological study to examine the association between the regional proportion of infections with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant and reported symptoms, disease course, rates of reinfection, and transmissibility. Data on types and duration of symptoms were obtained from longitudinal reports from users of the COVID Symptom Study app who reported a positive test for COVID-19 between Sept 28 and Dec 27, 2020 (during which the prevalence of B.1.1.7 increased most notably in parts of the UK). From this dataset, we also estimated the frequency of possible reinfection, defined as the presence of two reported positive tests separated by more than 90 days with a period of reporting no symptoms for more than 7 days before the second positive test. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections with the B.1.1.7 variant across the UK was estimated with use of genomic data from the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium and data from Public Health England on spike-gene target failure (a non-specific indicator of the B.1.1.7 variant) in community cases in England. We used linear regression to examine the association between reported symptoms and proportion of B.1.1.7. We assessed the Spearman correlation between the proportion of B.1.1.7 cases and number of reinfections over time, and between the number of positive tests and reinfections. We estimated incidence for B.1.1.7 and previous variants, and compared the effective reproduction number, Rt, for the two incidence estimates. Findings From Sept 28 to Dec 27, 2020, positive COVID-19 tests were reported by 36 920 COVID Symptom Study app users whose region was known and who reported as healthy on app sign-up. We found no changes in reported symptoms or disease duration associated with B.1.1.7. For the same period, possible reinfections were identified in 249 (0·7% [95% CI 0·6–0·8]) of 36 509 app users who reported a positive swab test before Oct 1, 2020, but there was no evidence that the frequency of reinfections was higher for the B.1.1.7 variant than for pre-existing variants. Reinfection occurrences were more positively correlated with the overall regional rise in cases (Spearman correlation 0·56–0·69 for South East, London, and East of England) than with the regional increase in the proportion of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant (Spearman correlation 0·38–0·56 in the same regions), suggesting B.1.1.7 does not substantially alter the risk of reinfection. We found a multiplicative increase in the Rt of B.1.1.7 by a factor of 1·35 (95% CI 1·02–1·69) relative to pre-existing variants. However, Rt fell below 1 during regional and national lockdowns, even in regions with high proportions of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant. Interpretation The lack of change in symptoms identified in this study indicates that existing testing and surveillance infrastructure do not need to change specifically for the B.1.1.7 variant. In addition, given that there was no apparent increase in the reinfection rate, vaccines are likely to remain effective against the B.1.1.7 variant. Funding Zoe Global, Department of Health (UK), Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK), National Institute for Health Research (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Alzheimer's Society

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Virtual Verse in the Library: Surveying the E-Poetry Landscape

The electronic publication of literature on websites and blogs represents a new era of literary expression and enhanced democratization of literary culture. Yet though web-based publishing has expanded the availability of literary works, individual works can only be accessed through browsing of individual publications or known-item web searching for specific works and/or authors. Increasing numbers of print journals publish works only their websites, and it is undetermined how extensively they index these online-only works with the rest of their content. To address this issue, we received an IMLS National Leadership Planning grant for 2013 to investigate the current discoverability ofonline-only or “born digital” poetry, and develop plans for indexing online-only poetical works.Ope

“Use” in the Literature of Library and Information Science: A Concept Analysis and Typology

The “use” of information and library resources and services is frequently presented in Library and Information Science LIS) literature as a primitive concept: an idea so fundamental to the theoretical framework at hand as to be indefinable—even when presented as an operational variable. In fact, an examination of the LIS literature reveals that use is a multi-dimensional concept that requires clarification for effective empirical examination. This dissertation employs the Evolutionary Concept Analysis (ECA) method developed by nursing scholar Beth L. Rodgers (2000) to consider representations of use in a 200-item sample of LIS journal literature. ECA investigates the development of concepts by examining the attributes and characteristics of a concept as represented within a specific discipline (e.g., empathy as a concept in nursing) and within specific chronological, disciplinary, and theoretical contexts. Rather than to provide “the” definition of use, the purpose of this study is to illuminate the difficulties presented by the lack of clarity surrounding the use concept in LIS literature and practice. This process has produced a Typology of Use that can serve as a springboard to future empirical and theoretical projects in this area

Virtual Verse in the Library: Exploring the e-Poetry Landscape

The publication of literary works in digital form online represents a new era of literary expression, as well as an enhanced democratization of literary culture. But while web-based publishing has expanded the availability of literary works, search and documentation of the works is a concern: Many works only can be accessed through browsing of individual publications or known-item searches, if they can be found at all. Furthermore, it is unknown whether the online-only works published only on the websites of print journals are indexed to the same extent as the print content. In light of this gap in the documentation of rapidly expanding body of digital literature, the authors began a year-long investigation into the current discoverability of online-only or “born digital” poetry. This paper will present the results of their needs assessment study, conducted under the auspices an IMLS National Leadership Planning grant. The grant project sought to speak with communities involved in the creation, dissemination, and potential preservation of online-only poetry. Through analysis of surveys and interviews with creative writing faculty, academic librarians, and small press literary publishers and editors, the paper will examine the needs for enabling discovery of online-only poetry. The study analyzes responses on patterns of use of online-only poetry, modes of reading and writing digital content, and the types of tools that would facilitate user access to works produced by digital literary publications. The paper considers the feasibility of an index of online-only poetry, as well as other proposed solutions from the study data, including a discovery tool and a metadata feed. This paper ultimately addresses a largely unexamined area in the preservation of electronic literature, and reveals an avenue of humanities data curation that critically engages scholars, information professionals, and literary artists together in making digital works accessible to scholarly and public audiences alike.Ope

The LibValue Project: Three Reports on Values, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries

Values, Outcomes, and Return on Investment of Ac‐ ademic Libraries ( Lib‐Value ), a three year study funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Ser‐ vices (IMLS), is testing multiple methods for meas‐ uring multiple values of academic libraries to stake‐ holders. Lib‐Value primary partners include the Uni‐ versity of Tennessee, University of Illinois, Syracuse University, and the Association of Research Librar‐ ies, with many other academic libraries participat‐ ing in individual studies (http://libvalue.cci.utk.edu/). Lib‐Value is looking at the contribution of the library to the university’s functional areas of research, teaching and learning, and socialization or community building now and into the future. It is examining the value, outcomes, and return on investment of many library collec‐ tions, services, and physical space issues. JISC Col‐ lections funded an expansion of the study of the value of scholarly collections to six universities in the U.K