Wild South Carolina: A Field Guide to Parks, Preserves and Special Places

Stacy Winchester reviews Wild South Carolina: A Field Guide to Parks, Preserves and Special Places by Liesel & Susan Hamilton with Photographs by Tori Steyne

A Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach to Repository Evaluation

In 2020, the University of South Carolina Libraries began evaluating repository platforms to determine whether the software in use for our institutional and digital repositories could be replaced at an equal or lower cost. Using a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach, a primary group of stakeholders, with input from individuals invested in the repositories, embarked on an ongoing evaluation of existing software and alternative solutions. This approach has allowed us to evaluate a substantial number of conflicting criteria to effectively assess the possibility of one or more repository migrations. In this presentation, we will discuss our use of the MCA approach, the evaluation process, and the insights we gleaned. Additionally, we will offer suggestions learned from our experience for libraries considering a similar evaluation

From the Ground Up: Building a Digital Scholarship Program at the University of South Carolina

In 2019, the University of South Carolina Libraries launched a new department called Digital Research Services to support new and evolving forms of scholarship in the digital age. Departmental librarians will discuss the experience of planning and implementing a digital scholarship program and will provide suggestions for other libraries planning a digital research initiative

How a patchwork of state taxes contributes to menstrual inequity in the US

Federalism in the United States means that many policies are the responsibility of individual states rather than, or in addition to, the federal government. Shyam K. Sriram, Stacy Cavanaugh, Annie Faulkner, and Mackenzie Winchester-Daniel take a close look at state tax policies on menstrual products, finding that 26 states still impose such taxes, though many have tried and failed to repeal or reduce them. They write that these taxes imposing an often-significant burden on the physical and mental health of young girls, women, and people who menstruate, while at the same time generating very little revenue for the states who impose them

SHARPGrads: Development and Assessment of a Research Skills Workshop Program for Graduate Students at the University of South Carolina

INTRODUCTION Academic libraries are placing increasing emphasis on the provision of instruction for graduate students in non-traditional research skills and competencies such as scholarly communication concepts, data management and visualization, and text mining. Since proficiency in these concepts is often expected of graduate students but training may not be offered in the classroom, the library is a natural home for such instruction. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM Librarians at the University of South Carolina created a two-day workshop series for graduate students called SHARPGrads. This paper describes the planning process, survey method used to develop and assess the program, and findings obtained from attendance and survey responses. A successful collaboration with the university’s Graduate School led to higher than expected registration. Post-assessment feedback demonstrates that targeting training to graduate students early in their program of study is advantageous. Furthermore, students in social sciences and humanities disciplines reported that SHARPGrads met their expectations to a higher degree than students in the sciences and health sciences. Although a number of survey respondents reported that the training program was too short, participant retention during day two of the program dropped significantly. NEXT STEPS An evaluation of the range of second day training opportunities is considered for the next iteration of the program. Results taken from this study and recommendations for future programs will be useful for librarians involved in the development and implementation of workshops for graduate students

Passing the Torch: Continuation of the South Carolina Libraries Journal

In this article, The South Carolina Libraries Editorial Board discusses the history and rebuilding of the South Carolina Libraries journal, the official publication of the South Carolina Library Association (SCLA). As the journal adjusted in response to community needs, changes in the Editorial Board, the publication cycle, and peer review process were made to expand and enhance the functionality, appearance, and content of the journal. The Editorial Board reviews strategies for library community members – including practitioners, research faculty, and LIS students – to become involved as a part of the publication through authoring, book reviewing, peer reviewing, or artwork for future issues

Reviewing Data Management Plans: Practical Experience for New Service Providers Workshop

This presentation was given as part of a workshop at the Southeast Data Librarian Symposium on October 12, 2022.Many academic librarians begin their work in research data support by offering reviews of Data Management Plans (DMPs, also called Data Management and Sharing Plans/DMSPs), which are required components of many grant proposals. After a researcher drafts a DMP, they may want someone to review it, assess its fit with best practices, and give feedback. Reviewing DMPs means evaluating and offering advice for improvement. But how does a library get started with reviewing DMPs? This workshop is tailored for new data librarians and subject librarians starting in data, who want to provide a DMP or DMSP support toolbox. The panel portion will compare real-world practices on how to provide DMP reviews for existing drafts created by researchers in different institutional settings. Next, presenters will compare different approaches, such as contrasting the DART Rubric (“DMPs as A Research Tool”) for in-depth National Science Foundation (NSF) reviews versus the Caltech NSF checklist for fast reviews; discussing how FASEB’s NIH DMSP contest rubric differs from the DART rubric; and summarizing how funder notes in DMPTool can be used for reviewing DMPs from various funders. This discussion will help new DMP evaluators think about how the process might change, and not change, for different funders’ DMPs. Finally, everyone will have guided practice in using the DART rubric to evaluate a simple research proposal and sketch out feedback for improvements in the DMP. At the end, the whole class will be better prepared to evaluate DMPs and offer researcher feedback on how to improve their Plan to make their research data FAIR

Electron transfer kinetics on natural crystals of MoS2 and graphite

Here, we evaluate the electrochemical performance of sparsely studied natural crystals of molybdenite and graphite, which have increasingly been used for fabrication of next generation monolayer molybdenum disulphide and graphene energy storage devices. Heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics of several redox mediators, including Fe(CN)63−/4−, Ru(NH3)63+/2+ and IrCl62−/3− are determined using voltammetry in a micro-droplet cell. The kinetics on both materials are studied as a function of surface defectiveness, surface ageing, applied potential and illumination. We find that the basal planes of both natural MoS2 and graphite show significant electroactivity, but a large decrease in electron transfer kinetics is observed on atmosphere-aged surfaces in comparison to in situ freshly cleaved surfaces of both materials. This is attributed to surface oxidation and adsorption of airborne contaminants at the surface exposed to an ambient environment. In contrast to semimetallic graphite, the electrode kinetics on semiconducting MoS2 are strongly dependent on the surface illumination and applied potential. Furthermore, while visibly present defects/cracks do not significantly affect the response of graphite, the kinetics on MoS2 systematically accelerate with small increase in disorder. These findings have direct implications for use of MoS2 and graphene/graphite as electrode materials in electrochemistry-related applications