Library computing services in rural Texas during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Library services in the US were reduced during the COVID-19 in 2020, and ru-ral residents were particularly impacted. With the expectation of US federal in-vestment on infrastructures, computing support in rural areas has gained attention from communities. To understand the status of library services in rural areas, this paper analyzed the 2020 Texas Public Library Statistics, and a small portion of 2019 data, and examined library computing services from libraries with a service population of less than 5,000. Although libraries opened only 76% of weeks in 2020 comparing to 2019, their public computer uses dropped around 50%. Paired sample t-tests suggested statistically significant differences on library annual vis-its, opening hours, and computer use, indicating a much-needed support on computing resources in rural areas as the result of the pandemic

Library Instruction Credibility: How Do We Establish it? How Do We Publicize it?

What I would like to propose is not a presentation but a strategy session. Over the ten years I have spent as an instruction librarian, I have come to realize that what we need is quantitative data showing the benefits that students derive from library instruction. It needs to be gathered and published in non-library forums, such as educational or subject specific journals. Once the benefits are publicized and understood by educators and faculty, we may be able to move beyond the fifty minute, one shot instruction session, and make an information literate society a reality. To do this, we need to form a strategy for conducting the research, ideally working with colleges and universities of different sizes, and agree to use measures that are mutually compatible so that the resulting statistics can be compared validly. The resulting broad spectrum of evidence that library instruction is the cornerstone on which our information-rich society can build its knowledge will demonstrate its value, and show that it needs to be taught systematically rather than to depend on students picking it up. This will be a brainstorming session where anyone who wants can make suggestions and volunteer to gather information from their institutions and contribute it to the aggregate. Obviously this is a long-term project, but the librarians who attend LOEX are the best group to undertake it. This interactive workshop will be facilitated by a veteran instruction librarian and a professor of library science whose specialization is academic libraries

Broadband Coverage and Social Transition in Rural Communities

Rural and small communities in the United States are often hindered by limited budget and support from smaller tax-bases, which in turn results in higher cost of information infrastructure development and operation. This paper addresses a possible model of the impact of broadband coverage (such as ADSL, Wire, Cable, and Fiber Optic) to social transition in rural areas. Open data on US broadband and interview data were presented. Coverage on rural Texas was illustrated in this paper.ye

Stewarding Cultural Heritage: Latino Art, Museums, and Preservation Fellowship (LAMP Fellowship)

Data management plan for the grant, "Stewarding Cultural Heritage: Latino Art, Museums, and Preservation Fellowship (LAMP Fellowship).