Book Review: Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy in a Digital World

The topic of copyright is rarely far from a librarian\u27s mind. Practitioners must navigate creator and user rights within the constraints of complex license and contract agreements in digital environments. Librarians have to understand, explain, educate, and apply copyright law on a regular basis, often without formal training. Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy in a Digital World is a notable work that endeavors to summarize, explain, and comment on many of the complicated copyright-related topics that librarians encounter in the digital realm

SCoer! in the Library

In 2015, University of South Carolina Libraries partnered with Student Government to create a program designed to promote Open Educational Resources on campus. SCoer! has saved USC students over $38,000 since its inception. Learn about program design, implementation, and our successes and failures as we’ve navigated an OER grant program

Open Educational Resources: Finding and Utilizing Affordable Course Materials

Presentation explaining the need to use more open educational resources in the classroom as opposed to traditional textbooks. Includes statistics on the rising cost of higher education and student expenses. Provides resources for open textbooks and other educational resources

Baby Steps to Big Impacts: The Evolution of Library Involvement in the Textbook System

This article will discuss how textbook support and open educational resources (OER) have become critical considerations in the evolving library landscape. For years, textbooks have been the purview of the teaching staff at our colleges and universities, but libraries can no longer ignore the high costs, both societal and financial, of the current textbook environment. Library involvement in the textbook dilemma has come in three phases: chosen ignorance, meeting the immediate need, and striving for sustainable solutions. We will discuss each of these phases and will detail the University of South Carolina Libraries’ involvement in the textbook system. We will provide suggestions for other libraries interested in growing an OER program, focusing on development, implementation, and assessment for schools operating with limited resources. Finally, we will share our predictions for the future of library involvement in responding to the demand for affordable course materials

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

I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me: Student Perceptions of Library Data Privacy

Data privacy has emerged as a controversial topic in higher education. As librarians, we recognize the importance of privacy and confidentiality for allowing patrons to learn and explore without unnecessary barriers or fear of repercussions. However, there is a growing trend of data collection and analysis in libraries that impacts a patron’s right to privacy. In a presentation given at the 2019 South Carolina Library Association Annual Conference, we explored issues of click-through-consent, data invasion, and awareness of the types of data tracked. We asked for audience engagement as we discussed future directions including a survey on student perceptions of data privacy in libraries

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

Pharmacists\u27 Role in Harm Reduction: A Survey Assessment of Kentucky Community Pharmacists\u27 Willingness to Participate in Syringe/Needle Exchange

Background: Pharmacists\u27 role in harm reduction is expanding in many states, yet there are limited data on pharmacists\u27 willingness to participate in harm reduction activities. This study assessed community pharmacists\u27 willingness to participate in one harm reduction initiative: syringe/needle exchange. Methods: In 2015, all Kentucky pharmacists with active licenses were emailed a survey that examined attitudes towards participation in syringe/needle exchange. Response frequencies were calculated for community pharmacist respondents. Ordinal logistic regression estimated the impact of community pharmacist characteristics and attitudes on willingness to provide clean needles/syringes to people who inject drugs and to dispose of used syringes/needles, where both dependent variables were defined as Likert-type questions on a scale of 1 (not at all willing) to 6 (very willing). Results: Of 4699 practicing Kentucky pharmacists, 1282 pharmacists responded (response rate = 27.3%); the majority (n = 827) were community pharmacists. Community pharmacists were divided on willingness to provide clean needles/syringes, with 39.1% not willing (score 1 or 2 of 6) and 30% very willing (score 5 or 6 of 6). Few were willing to dispose of used needles/syringes, with only 18.7% willing. Community pharmacists who agreed that pharmacists could have significant public health impact by providing access to clean needles expressed 3.56 times more willingness to provide clean needles (95% CI 3.06-4.15), and 2.04 times more willingness to dispose of used needles (95% CI 1.77-2.35). Chain/supermarket pharmacists (n = 485, 58.6% of community pharmacies) were 39% less likely to express willingness to dispose of used needles (95% CI 0.43-0.87) when compared with independent community pharmacists (n = 342, 41.4% of community pharmacies). Independent pharmacists reported different barriers (workflow) than their chain/supermarket pharmacist colleagues (concerns of clientele). Conclusions: Kentucky community pharmacists were more willing to provide clean needles than to dispose of used needles. Strategies to mitigate barriers to participation in syringe/needle exchange are warranted

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

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Utilization in Kentucky Community Pharmacies

OBJECTIVE: Identify characteristics of Kentucky community pharmacists and community pharmacists\u27 practice environment associated with utilization of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting Program (KASPER). METHODS: Surveys were mailed to all 1,018 Kentucky pharmacists with a KASPER account and an additional 1,000 licensed pharmacists without an account. Bivariate analyses examined the association between KASPER utilization and practice type (independent or chain) and practice location (rural or urban). A multivariate Poisson regression model with robust error variance estimated risk ratios (RR) of KASPER utilization by characteristics of pharmacists\u27 practice environment. RESULTS: Responses were received from 563 pharmacists (response rate 27.9%). Of these, 402 responses from community pharmacists were included in the analyses. A majority of responding pharmacists (84%) indicated they or someone in their pharmacy had requested a patient\u27s controlled substance history since KASPER\u27s inception. Bivariate results showed that pharmacists who practiced in independent pharmacies reported greater KASPER utilization (94%) than pharmacists in chain pharmacies (75%; p CONCLUSION: Utilization of KASPER differs by community pharmacists\u27 practice environment, predominantly by practice type and location. Understanding characteristics of community pharmacists and community pharmacists\u27 practice environment associated with PDMP use is necessary to remove barriers to access and increase utilization thereby increasing PDMP effectiveness