Author: Kevin Gunn

Digital Scholar Bytes: Supporting Student Well-being Post-Pandemic

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

Every two years, the ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee publishes in College & Research Libraries News an article on the top trends and issues affecting academic libraries and the change our institutions are experiencing. We will be highlighting some of these trends through a number of blog posts over the academic year, including: supporting student well-being post-pandemic; open access and equitable publishing; AI and AI literacy; open science and reproducibility; open pedagogy and instructional design; and disrupting and reconceiving collection practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to academic learning environments. Increased social isolation has led to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness among former and current college students. In response, academic libraries have adopted new strategies that extend beyond traditional scholarship to support the overall well-being of students. Some institutions are using a “whole-university” approach, where libraries collaborate with various university offices to create an interconnected network focused on student mental health.

Libraries have become valuable social spaces where students can find community and reduce feelings of isolation. In recent studies, students mentioned using library spaces to socialize and de-stress. Many libraries are supporting student wellness by curating leisure reading collections and incorporating mindfulness practices into information literacy instruction. Academic librarians are also reflecting on their own emotional labor, recognizing the challenges of supporting students and managing the rapid changes brought about by the pandemic.

To get a better understanding of these issues, listen to the podcast below, created using a new audio feature in Google’s NotebookLM (Note: you will need to use a non-CUA account). The podcast has two AI voices (female and male) discussing some of the highlights of the original scholarly sources (given at the end of this post). The original recording is here (the WAV file was converted to MP4 and hosted on the libraries’ YouTube channel).

 


Academic libraries are embracing new approaches that extend beyond academic support, focusing on holistic strategies to promote student mental health and well-being.

Kevin Gunn is the Coordinator of Digital Scholarship at The Catholic University of America Libraries.

 

Catholic University Campus Resources

Counseling Center. The Center serves as the primary mental health agency for CUA students. Great resources on mindfulness.

Dean of Students. Student Wellness. Links to resources on the types of wellness: emotional, social, physical, environmental, intellectual, vocational, spiritual, and cultural.

Libraries. Popular Reading Collection. Explore our latest acquisitions for some relaxing and enjoyable reading.

Libraries. Adele R. Chwalek Reading Room. I addition to the Chwalek Reading Room, there are many comfy chairs in Mullen Library for reading and quiet reflection.

 

How this Podcast was Made

NotebookLM is a free AI-powered research assistant and note-taking tool developed by Google. Last month, Google added an audio feature (Audio Overview) that allows you to upload your own files and listen to a podcast of the uploaded sources. As mentioned earlier, the podcast has two AI voices (female and male) discussing some of the highlights of the original sources. The librarian (me!) reviewed the articles and podcast for accuracy.

Do it yourself:

  1. Go to NotebookLM.
  2. Create a new notebook.
  3. Add at least one source.
  4. In your Notebook guide, click on the “Generate” button to create an Audio Overview.

There are limitations. Audio Overview is still experimental and it can take several minutes to generate an Audio Overview. Last, the feature works only with English sources. For an indepth guide to getting started, see ‘Getting Started with Audio Overviews in NotebookLM.’

Works used to create the podcast

Sarita S. Rajan, Mohamed Esmail, and Mohamed Musthafa K. 2022. “Repositioning Academic Libraries as a Hub of Technology Enhanced Learning Space: Innovations and Challenges,” Library Philosophy and Practice, January 10, 2022. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/6694.

Jad A. Elharake, Faris Akbar, Amyn A. Malik, Walter Gilliam, and Saad B. Omer, “Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 among Children and College Students: A Systematic Review,” Child Psychiatry & Human Development 54, no. 3 (June 1, 2023): 913–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01297-1.

Marta Bladek, “Student Well-Being Matters: Academic Library Support for the Whole Student,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47, no. 3 (May 1, 2021): 102349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102349.

Sheila Corrall, “The Social Mission of Academic Libraries in Higher Education,” in The Social Future of Academic Libraries: New Perspectives on Communities, Networks, and Engagement, ed. Paul Bracke, Sheila Corrall, and Tim Schlak (London: Facet, 2022), 109–48. https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783304738.007.

Yujin Kim and Eunhwa Yang, “Academic Library Spaces and Student Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 48, no. 4 (July 1, 2022): 102529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102529.

Brendan Johnson, “Using the Physical Academic Library to Cope with Academic Stress,” Journal of Library Outreach and Engagement 3 (September 7, 2023): 35–49. https://doi.org/10.21900/j.jloe.v3.956.

Megan Hodge, “Library Mood: Re-Creating the Library Experience from Home,” portal: Libraries and the Academy 22, no. 1 (January 6, 2022): 227–40. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2022.0002.

Pauline Dewan, “Leisure Reading as a Mindfulness Activity: The Implications for Academic Reference Librarians,” The Reference Librarian 64, no. 1 (January 2, 2023): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2022.2156968.

Selenay Aytac and Diane Mizrachi, “The Mindfulness Framework for Implementing Mindfulness into Information Literacy Instruction,” The Reference Librarian 63, no. 1–2 (April 3, 2022): 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2022.2030273.

Susan Carter, Cecily Andersen, Michaell Turner, and Lorraine Gaunt, “‘What about Us?’ Wellbeing of Higher Education Librarians,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 49, no. 1 (January 1, 2023): 102619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102619.

Digital Scholar Bytes: Peer Review Week 2024: Innovation and Technology in Peer Review

Posted on by Kevin Gunn
Peer Review Week
Peer Review Week, September 23-27, 2024

Peer Review Week (September 23-27, 2024) is a global, community-driven event that celebrates the critical role peer review plays in maintaining the quality and integrity of academic research. The event brings together institutions, individuals, and organizations that are committed to upholding the high standards of peer review and advancing scholarly communication.

This year’s theme is “Innovation and Technology in Peer Review,” with more than 35 organizations around the globe participating. This year’s event aims to engage stakeholders in discussions about how innovation and technological advancements are reshaping the peer review process. The theme was chosen through a global poll, which saw 494 votes from members of the scholarly community. Other competing themes included IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) in peer review, ethical integrity in peer review, and optimizing the researcher experience in peer review.

Challenges for Peer Review

The challenges listed:

  1. Increasing focus on research integrity.
  2. Growing demand for greater transparency in the peer review process.
  3. Rising demand for efficiency in the peer review process.
  4. A surge in the number of publications.
  5. A shortage of peer reviewers to keep pace with the volume of publications
  6. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility concerns (see The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals).

These problems are forcing innovations in the peer review process. One possible solution is the building of AI initiatives which may streamline publishing workflows and address these problems.

AI and the Limitations for Peer Review

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats: A Comprehensive SWOT Analysis of AI and Human Expertise in Peer Review. The Scholarly Kitchen.

AI is impacting the entire scholarly communication in various ways. As we wrote last year for Peer Review Week, AI is automating peer review tasks, enhancing reviewer recommendations, maintaining quality control and exposing fraud detection, and streamlining manuscript production. While AI-driven innovations hold great promise for streamlining peer review, concerns around algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the displacement of human expertise must be addressed. AI can help with tasks like keyword extraction and plain language summaries, but its role in improving review quality remains debated. Ultimately, AI must be integrated thoughtfully to maintain transparency, accountability, and ethical standards, so that the integrity of the peer review process is protected.

The diversity of presentations and discussions surrounding Peer Review Week demonstrate the variety and complexity of the peer review process. A sampling of events include:

  • Eliza, an AI-driven peer review tool that uses NLP technology, including LLM and semantic matching) for analyzing papers and peer review drafts.
  • The Public Knowledge Project will explore how Open Journal Systems (OJS) is evolving to meet the demands for transparency, efficiency, and collaboration in peer review.
  • A discussion of a possible new hybrid model of peer review that envisions a collaborative environment where human expertise and AI complement each other.
  • The American Society for Microbiology discusses the ethics of AI’s role in scholarly publishing.
  • VeriXiv is a preprint server built by F1000 and with assistance from the Gates Foundation (Gates Open Research). This year, VeriXiv added a post-publication open peer review model.

Final thoughts

For an in-depth look at the challenges facing the future of peer review, check out the Scholarly Kitchen‘s recent posts below. The Scholarly Kitchen is the official blog of the Society for Scholarly Publishing, the sponsor of Peer Review Week. Tweet on X (@PeerRevWeek) and follow #PeerReviewWeek.

Last, subscribe to the Catholic University Libraries Digital Scholarship blog for updates.

Kevin Gunn is the Coordinator of Digital Scholarship at The Catholic University of America Libraries and past editor-in-chief of the journal College and Undergraduate Libraries.

Further Reading

Cuomo, Christina, Colin Parrish and Diana Proctor. 2023. Peering Into Peer Review. American Society of Microbiology.

Dyke, Gareth, and Shivendra Naidoo. 2023. Best Practices in Peer Review. Peer Review Week 2023.

Ease. 2024. Peer Review Toolkit.

Ghosh, Roohi. 2023. “The Peer Review Renaissance: An Urgent Call for Transformation.” The Scholarly Kitchen. October 12, 2023.

Ghosh, Roohi. 2024. “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats: A Comprehensive SWOT Analysis of AI and Human Expertise in Peer Review.” The Scholarly Kitchen. September 12, 2024.

Ghosh, Roohi, Maria Machado, Gareth Dyke, and Maryam Sayab. 2024. “Peer Review Week 2024: “Innovation and Technology in Peer Review”.” The Scholarly Kitchen. May 29, 2024.

Meadows, Alice, Jasmine Wallace, and Karin Wulf. 2024. “Some Thoughts on the Promise and Pitfalls of Innovation and Technology in Peer Review.” The Scholarly Kitchen. September 23, 2024.

Sutter, Paul. 2024. “Peer Review is Essential for Science. Unfortunately, it’s Broken.” Ars Technica. July 12, 2024.

Digital Scholar Bytes: International Literacy Day: Promoting multilingual education

Posted on by Kevin Gunn
UNESCO International Literacy Day 2024

International Literacy Day is celebrated every year on September 8th to highlight the importance of literacy in society and to promote literacy initiatives worldwide. This year, the celebration will extend to September 9th and 10th, and the theme is “Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace.” This theme underscores the role of literacy as a powerful tool for fostering peace and mutual understanding in our increasingly multilingual world. The live event will be streamed from Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Literacy can have many meanings. UNESCO considers “literacy” to be:

‘”Literacy’….refer(s) to reading, writing and numeracy skills. Literacy is herein understood as a continuum of proficiency in these skills, and as ‘the ability to read and write, to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials, as well as the ability to solve problems in an increasingly technological and information-rich environment” (UNESCO, 2016).

Challenges in Achieving Full Literacy

These key statistics outline global literacy challenges, particularly in multilingual and crisis-affected contexts:

  • In 2023, at least 754 million people aged 15+ lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills. Literacy rates rose from 85% to 87% between 2015 and 2023.
  • Progress remains uneven: 63% of adults lacking basic literacy skills are women, totaling 475 million. This has not changed for decades.
  • 108 million displaced people struggle with literacy and digital access. Only 30% of youth in crisis-affected areas are literate.
  • Reading proficiency in 2019 (grade 2/3): 36% in sub-Saharan Africa, 68% in Latin America, and 94% in Oceania. Math proficiency: 51% in sub-Saharan Africa, 65% in Latin America, and 71% in Oceania. 250 million children are out of school.
  • Literacy challenges are shaped by gender, age, location, income, and disability. In 2022, literacy rates for elderly women in some sub-Saharan countries were as low as 10%.
  • More than half the global population uses two or more languages daily, but 40% lack education in a language they understand. Over 31 million displaced youth are learning in a language different from their native one. Multilingualism is increasingly common.

Literacy and Academic Libraries

One tenet of building literacy is a lifelong learning ecosystem consisting of government, political will, legal frameworks, and adequate resources. Academic libraries can help bridge language gaps and facilitate access to knowledge for all students, regardless of their linguistic background. One particular initiative by the Association of College & Research Libraries was the creation of a multilingual glossary of common library terms for library patrons. Engaging with content in multiple languages is often a prerequisite for academic success and global citizenship.

Furthermore, The statistic that more than half the global population uses two or more languages daily has a direct bearing on academic library services. In promoting multilingual literacy for mutual understanding and peace (this year’s theme!), we need to consider:

  • How can libraries better integrate multilingual literacy into their collections, services, and programs to support the needs of a diverse student body?
  • What partnerships can libraries forge with faculty, community organizations, and other stakeholders to promote multilingual education and foster a culture of inclusivity?
  • How can libraries leverage technology to enhance access to multilingual resources and support language learning and cross-cultural communication?

Conclusion

International Literacy Day 2024 offers an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to literacy as a fundamental human right and a powerful tool for promoting mutual understanding and peace. Multilingual education can create more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable societies.

For the agenda and more information on International Literacy Day 2024, visit UNESCO’s website.

 

Kevin Gunn is Coordinator of Digital Scholarship and the library liaison to the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

 

Further Reading

Association of College & Research Libraries. 2018. Multilingual Glossary for Today’s Library Users.

Global Education Monitoring Report and UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). 2023. SDG 4 mid-term progress review: progress since 2015 has been far too slow.

Office of Global Strategies. The Catholic University of America.

Okonkwo, E. A., Cocodia, B., & Uba, E. E. 2022. “Listening to the unheard and unseen: Information literacy perspectives of the rural bi/multilinguals in Nigeria.” Journal of Information Science.

UNESCO. Infographics for International Literacy Day 2024.

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. 2016. Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education, 2015.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Database.

 

Digital Scholar Bytes: Digital Scholarship Fundamentals Workshops Fall Schedule

Posted on by Kevin Gunn
Dalle-3

The Catholic University of America Libraries and Department of Information Sciences are excited to announce our Digital Scholarship Workshops designed to equip students, faculty, and staff with the essential skills for modern research. These workshops will cover a range of topics from starting a digital scholarship project to advanced data visualization techniques. Whether you are looking to enhance your citation management with tools like Zotero or RefWorks or dive into the ethical and legal aspects of text data mining, these sessions will provide practical guidance in expanding your digital scholarship toolkit.

Register through the Events page at the Nest (CU members only) or by contacting Kevin Gunn (gunn@cua.edu). All workshops will take place on Zoom, recorded, and made available on the Catholic University Libraries’ YouTube Channel.

Instructors: Benjamin Cushing, Research and Instruction Librarian; Charles Gallagher, Research and Instruction Librarian; Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship.

Starting a Digital Scholarship Project (Mon., Sept. 16, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
Planning your project is a critical skill in contemporary research. Many students and faculty embark on a project without understanding fully the resources needed and the time commitment involved. This workshop will walk you through the process of asking the right questions: what is my research question, how can I locate and acquire sources and tools, budgeting concerns, legal issues, and sustaining final outcomes of work accomplished? Instructors: Kevin Gunn, Charles Gallagher.

Gale Digital Scholar Lab (Fri., Sept. 20, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
Learn how to use the lab for locating, analyzing, and visualizing texts. Using Gale’s Primary Sources archive, we will demonstrate the workflow process in building, cleaning, and analyzing content. We will explore some of the tools including document clustering, Named Entity Recognition, Ngrams, parts of speech, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling. No previous experience necessary. Instructor: Kevin Gunn

LLMs for Exploratory Data Analysis (Mon., Sept. 30, 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm)
The workshop will cover the basics of using an LLM for performing exploratory data analysis—including generating summary statistics and visualizing various variables—of a dataset. We will look at ChatGPT and Gemini. Instructor: Kevin Gunn

Citation Management with Zotero (Fri., Oct. 11, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
Zotero is a powerful citation management platform designed to streamline the creation of in-text citations and bibliographies. Beyond citation management, it is an invaluable tool for conducting research. This workshop will provide a comprehensive guide to installing Zotero and demonstrate the most effective ways to utilize its features. Participants are encouraged to register for a free Zotero account and download the client prior to the session at https://www.zotero.org/user/register. Instructor: Kevin Gunn

Using OpenRefine for Cleaning Data (Fri., Oct. 18, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
When working with a dataset, have you wondered how to remove ‘null’ or ‘N/A’ from fields, handle different spellings of words, or determining whether a field name is ambiguous? For this workshop, we will use the open access software, OpenRefine, to clean, manipulate, and refine a dataset before analysis (https://openrefine.org/). Instructor: Kevin Gunn

Getting Started with RefWorks (Mon., Oct. 21, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
RefWorks is a web-based reference management tool that allows you to manage your references as you do research in our databases. You can use RefWorks to organize, store and share your references, and to instantly create citations and bibliographies. Come and check out some of its features! Instructor: Benjamin Cushing

Legal and Ethical Issues in Text Data Mining (Mon., Oct. 28, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
I am not sure if I can text data mine a particular dataset. How can I determine what my rights are? We will explore best practices in copyright, fair use, licensing agreements and terms of use, privacy and ethical issues, digital rights management, and other issues involving non-consumptive use of text for research. Part of Open Access Week. Instructor: Kevin Gunn

HathiTrust for Text Data Mining (Fri., Nov. 15, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
You may have used the HathiTrust Digital Library for acquiring books and articles. Now use the HathiTrust Research Center for computational analysis! We will provide an overview of the HTRC platform and features by working on such as finding textual data, creating a workset, and performing basic analyses. Instructors: Benjamin Cushing, Kevin Gunn

Data Visualization Basics (Fri., Dec. 6, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm)
Having performed text data analyses, you must now present your findings visually. Should you use a pie chart (rarely), a scatter plot, or a heat graph? Understand how to present your work in an accurate and ethical manner by joining us for an overview of best practices in data visualization. We will examine some visualization methods and how best to apply them to different kinds of data. Instructors: Charles Gallagher, Kevin Gunn

Digital Scholar Bytes: Evaluating Generative AI Research Platforms

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

The emergence of ChatGPT and other AI technologies has significantly transformed the landscape of library research, introducing complexities alongside innovative solutions. In our February 9th workshop, A Review of Generative AI Tools for Research, we explored the following platforms that can enhance your research mastery: Perplexity, Elicit, Consensus, Lateral, ScholarAI, Keenious, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Research Rabbit, and Scite. These tools are engineered to streamline your research workflow, making the process more efficient and effective.

 

Advantages

These research platforms can help the researcher find relevant papers without having to worry about a perfect keyword match or using Boolean operators. They offer summaries of research output from the topic specific to the question, and extract key information from the papers for further perusal and evaluation. These platforms can discover hidden relationships among papers since they examine the source more deeply than select fields in a library database. Last, they enhance your research workflow with such benefits as research and discovery, note-taking and organization, summarizing papers, performing meta-analyses, and writing assistance.

Limitations

At this stage, these platforms do have limitations. There are free and subscription-based models and you do get more with a subscription. Depending on your research demands, you may only need the free version. Research Rabbit, OpenAlex, and Semantic Scholar are free to use. Second, while the documents retrieved are sourced predominately from Semantic Scholar, hallucinations can creep into the process so you should always check your results. Last, there are gaps in what is not covered–subscription journals and paywalls–so using these platforms with your library databases will ensure that your are not missing relevant material.

Assistance

If you would like assistance with using these products, contact Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship, or Charles Gallagher, Research and Instruction Librarian.

Platforms Reviewed

Scite

Perplexity

Elicit

Consensus

Lateral

ScholarAI

Keenious

OpenAlex

Research Rabbit

Semantic Scholar

 

Digital Scholar Bytes: My Kind of Data!

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

Love Data Week 2024, scheduled for February 12-16, presents a unique opportunity for scholars, students, librarians, and data enthusiasts to delve into the multifaceted world of data. This year’s theme, “My Kind of Data,” underscores the personal connection we all have with data and its diverse applications. Understanding and managing data becomes not just useful but crucial for academic and professional growth. The international, yearly event is sponsored by the ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research).

The Importance of Data Literacy

With data misinterpretation and misinformation rampant, Love Data Week promotes data literacy and sound research data management strategies. The week-long program offers webinars and workshops aimed at enhancing understanding and skills in handling data. These events are not only urgent but essential in building a community that values and accurately interprets data. See the list of events that ICPSR is hosting.

Unique Celebrations: Adopt a Dataset

One aspect of Love Data Week is the “Adopt a Dataset” program. Much like adopting a pet, participants can choose a dataset from a diverse list, ranging from health studies to social surveys, and learn about the data it contains. This novel approach not only fosters a deeper understanding of specific datasets but also encourages participants to share their findings, thus contributing to a broader discourse on data utilization. To adopt a dataset:

Join the Global Conversation

Love Data Week is more than a series of events; it’s a global conversation about the role of data in our lives. By participating, you’re not only gaining valuable knowledge and skills but also joining a community of like-minded individuals who understand the power of data. Whether you’re attending a webinar, adopting a dataset, or simply engaging in the social media conversation using #LoveData24, you’re contributing to a movement that values and celebrates data in all its forms.

In conclusion, Love Data Week 2024 offers a platform for learning, sharing, and celebrating the diverse world of data. It’s an opportunity to enhance your data literacy, engage in creative activities, and contribute to a global discussion on the importance of data in shaping our future.

Catholic University Libraries

If you are interested in learning more, see our Digital Scholarship guide.

Additional Resources

U.S. Government (data.gov)

Google Dataset Search

The Open Data Handbook

Love Data Week- National Library of Medicine

Research & Instruction: American Fiction, 1774-1920

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

Embark on a literary journey through the epochs of American history with American Fiction, 1774–1920. This resource encompasses more than 17,800 works of prose fiction written by Americans from the political beginnings of the United States through World War I, including thousands never before available online. This landmark digital collection is based on authoritative bibliographies including thousands never before available online.

The researcher can explore the development of American literature through novels, short stories, romances, fictitious biographies, travel accounts, and sketches. Revealing the socioeconomic, political, and religious tenor of America through this time period allows students and researchers “to answer key questions about history, society, identity, psychology, race, gender, and culture.”

The collection comes from three major sources. First, nearly all the works found in Lyle H. Wright’s American Fiction: A Contribution Toward a Bibliography. This three-volume set consists of: American Fiction, 1774–1850; American Fiction, 1851–1875; and American Fiction, 1876–1900. The second major source is the titles published from 1901 to 1910 which were gathered from major American fiction collections across the United States. Third, titles published between 1911 and 1920 come from the William Charvat Collection of American Fiction at The Ohio State University Libraries.

Wright’s criteria was to include only first editions (or the earliest copy of a work) of novels and short story collections. He excluded such items as annuals, anthologies, and collections of anecdotes. The researcher should note that although Wright sought to include only fictitious works, some slave narratives as Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave (1853), Jermain Wesley Loguen’s The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman, a Narrative of Real Life (1859), and Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), are include in the database.

Search Options

The researcher can search by the entire document, keyword, document title, author, publisher, place of publication, front matter, image caption, illustrator, and Gale document number. In addition to straight search inquiries, there are two search tools that allow the researcher to explore the collection. First, the Topic Finder allows the researcher to find new topics or keywords and discover new connections found in the top results. Second, the Term Frequency tool can explore the coverage of search terms graphed over time and illuminate trends in coverage of multiple topics.

The platform allows the researcher to see the search term present in a number of works including how often and exactly where in a particular work (see image). A great feature of the platform is the OCR confidence reading. The researcher can see the original text and how accurately it has been read by optical character recognition. A ‘dirty’ OCR document may need to be manually reviewed before further searching and text analysis can be performed.

Teaching with American Fiction, 1774-1920

One of the nice options of American Fiction, 1774-1920 is the ability to perform a deep analysis of a particular author. James Fenimore Cooper was the first major American author to garner an international audience extolling American frontier life. His early works–The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Prairie (published between 1823 and 1827)–delve into the hardships of the early pioneers in New York State and the encroachment on Native American life.  One can use the Topic Finder and Term Frequency research tools to explore the texts. Next, using a particular topic or term, one could contrast these early works with his later works–The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841)–to see not only how Native life changed but also Cooper’s evolving social commentary.  For a deeper analysis of the texts, these works could be collected into a dataset for further analysis in the Gale Digital Scholar Lab. The image below represents a topic modeling search on Cooper’s works.

Text Analysis

Since American Fiction, 1774-1920 is part of the Gale Digital Scholar Lab, the researcher can do a textual analysis of the entire database or build a subset of documents. Once logged in (or having created an account) in the Lab, select the ‘Build’ option (top right hand corner of the screen). Select ‘view all limiters in Advanced Search’ option. A list of available databases is given (select American Fiction, 1774-1920). While the search interface for both the Gale Primary Sources and the Gale Digital Scholar Lab are the same, the Lab allows the researcher to customize one’s own unique dataset by pulling material from Gale Primary Sources or by importing external documents from other full text databases. In addition to building individualized datasets, the Lab has six text analysis tools for examining the content further:  Ngrams, Parts of Speech, Document Clustering, Named Entity Recognition, Topic Modeling, and Sentiment Analysis.

 

Digital Scholar Bytes: Data Privacy Week

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

Data privacy is the safeguarding of individuals’ personal information and the preservation of their right to control the collection, processing, storage, and sharing of their data. Numerous challenges surround this crucial concept: data breaches, identity theft, lack of consent, data profiling, inadequate security measures (e.g. weak encryption), misuse of collected data, insufficient regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms, social engineering attacks, location tracking, and the integration of emerging technologies such as biometrics and artificial intelligence without proper safeguards further compound the challenges, emphasizing the need for robust measures to address these multifaceted issues.

The first step in combating these threats is user education and data literacy. Data Privacy Week (January 21-27, 2024) is a public awareness program created by the National Cybersecurity Alliance to meet this need. The Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ‘advocate for the safe use of all technology and educate everyone on how best to protect ourselves, our families, and our organizations from cybercrime.’ The Alliance creates partnerships between governments and corporations in answering this need.  This week, the Alliance is offering daily conversations called ‘Talking Data‘ with such topics as ‘Giving Data Brokers the Slip,’ ‘Protect Our Kids’ Privacy,’ and ‘Privacy on the AI Frontiers.’ Next week, the Alliance will be offering an Introduction to Privacy webinar on January 29th for entry-level privacy professionals and non-privacy professionals. Register here.

Helpful Resources

Note:

Catholic University of America is hosting a all day conference on Generative AI and National Security on January 31st. Register.

 



			


	


			
				


	

		
Digital Scholar Bytes: Celebrating World GIS Day: Unveiling the Power of Spatial Intelligence

				

			Posted on  by Kevin Gunn		

			


	

		
GIS Day


In the realm of modern technology, where data is the new currency, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) stand as the unsung heroes orchestrating a symphony of spatial intelligence. November 15 marks World GIS Day, a celebration that shines a spotlight on the transformative impact of GIS in our interconnected world.


Originally conceived by Jack Dangermond, the founder and president of Esri, GIS Day is for people to explore GIS technology and to demonstrate how geospatial technology affects everyone. Real real-world applications of GIS are making a difference in business, government and society. At its essence, GIS are more than just maps and coordinates; it’s a dynamic system that integrates data with geographic locations, unraveling patterns, relationships, and insights that might otherwise remain hidden.


“GIS Day is a wonderful opportunity for professionals from around the world to get together to share their amazing work,” said Dangermond. “These individuals are using GIS technology to take a geographic approach in addressing unprecedented challenges, from COVID-19 to climate change. Organizations across the globe are taking part in grassroots events that help celebrate geospatial science and how it impacts the real world for good. Our users should be proud of their achievements in the field, which GIS Day is meant to showcase.”


Here are four examples of how GIS are improving our society.


Better Traffic Management


GIS are the architects of smart cities. It optimizes traffic flow, designs efficient public transportation systems, and aids in disaster preparedness. By visualizing data in a geographic context, city planners can make informed decisions that enhance the quality of urban life. This can include considerations for green spaces, zoning regulations, and infrastructure development.


Disease Mapping and Epidemiology


GIS enables the mapping of disease outbreaks, helping health professionals visualize the spread of infections. It assists in identifying high-risk areas, facilitating targeted interventions and resource allocation. The first case of using geography and spatial analysis to track disease was by Charles Picquet in 1832 in Paris, during the cholera outbreak.


Disaster Response and Management


When disasters strike, time is of the essence. GIS aid in rapid response and effective management of natural disasters. By overlaying real-time data with geographic information, emergency responders can streamline their efforts, saving lives and minimizing damage.


AI-powered GIS


The integration of AI with GIS revolutionizes spatial analysis and decision-making. AI enhances GIS capabilities through autonomous agents. These agents automate data interpretation, enable predictive modeling, and extract meaningful insights from vast geospatial datasets.


 


In conclusion, World GIS Day is not just a celebration of a technology, it is a celebration of the profound impact GIS has on our understanding of the world. From unraveling the mysteries of our environment to empowering individuals with the tools to create change, GIS are a testament to the transformative power of spatial intelligence. Let’s celebrate the achievements of GIS and look forward to the innovations that will shape our spatial future.


Further Reading


National Geographic Society, and ESRI. 2023. National Geographic and ESRI: Exploring with GIS. A documentary mini-series.


ESRI. What is GIS? 2023. ESRI.


SpatialPost. 2023. The Evolution Of GIS: From Mapping To Spatial Intelligence. SpatialPost. November 12.


Zhenlong Li & Huan Ning. 2023. “Autonomous GIS: the next-generation AI-powered GIS,” International Journal of Digital Earth, 16:2, 4668-4686.


			


	


			
				


	

		
Digital Scholar Bytes: World Digital Preservation Day: Safeguarding Our Digital Heritage

				

			Posted on  by Kevin Gunn		

			


	

		
Happy World Digital Preservation Day 2023!


On November 2nd every year, the global digital preservation community comes together to celebrate World Digital Preservation Day. This annual event serves as a reminder of the critical importance of preserving our digital heritage and the challenges that come with it. This year’s theme: “Digital Preservation: A Concerted Effort.”


The History of World Digital Preservation Day


World Digital Preservation Day (WDPD) is a relatively new addition to the calendar of events in the digital preservation field. It was first established in 2010 by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), a not-for-profit membership organization that works to secure our digital legacy. Professionals from a wide range of fields, including libraries, archives, museums, and research institutions participate.


The primary goal of WDPD is to create global awareness about the challenges of preserving digital content and to inspire actions that safeguard our digital heritage for future generations. This event provides a platform for experts and enthusiasts to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices in the field of digital preservation.


The Main Issues in Digital Preservation


Preservation of Digital Materials: The rapid pace of technological advancement results in the constant obsolescence of hardware and software. This makes it challenging to preserve and access digital materials, including documents, images, and multimedia content. WDPD highlights the need for active preservation strategies to ensure long-term access to digital assets.


Data Loss and Digital Obsolescence: Digital data is fragile and susceptible to loss. The risk of losing valuable information due to factors like hardware failure, media decay, and format obsolescence, is paramount. The importance of migration and emulation to combat obsolescence issues cannot be understated.


Digital Privacy and Ethical Considerations: Preserving digital content often involves handling sensitive information. Ethical considerations surrounding digital preservation, such as privacy concerns, consent, and data protection regulations like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), are complicated.


Access to Digital Heritage: One issue that WDPD addresses is making sure that digital heritage is accessible to future generations. Standards and best practices that support long-term access to digital content and research data is part of the discussion.


Research and Innovation: Preserving digital heritage effectively fosters research and innovation. WDPD underscores the potential for data reuse, computational analysis, and the development of new technologies in digital preservation.


The Future of Digital Preservation


As the digital world continues to evolve, the challenges of preserving digital heritage become more complex. The exponential growth of digital content, the rise of big data, and the development of new technologies all impact the way we approach digital preservation.


The future of digital preservation will be shaped by such technologies as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and decentralized storage offer promising solutions for long-term data preservation. These innovations will be crucial in addressing the challenges of data loss and obsolescence.


Interdisciplinary collaboration between diverse fields, such as computer science, data science, and information management, will lead to innovative preservation strategies that accommodate the evolving digital landscape. International collaboration in digital preservation will become increasingly essential. Cross-border partnerships and standards will help ensure that digital heritage remains accessible worldwide.


Digital Stewardship educational initiatives focusing on digital stewardship and preservation will become more prevalent. These programs will equip professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and preserve digital content effectively. In 2010, the Library of Congress created the Digital Preservation OutReach and Education Network program for such professionals. WRLC sponsored the program in 2016 and three CUA Librarians attended.


World Digital Preservation Day is a vital event in the digital preservation community, serving as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding our digital heritage. It addresses critical issues related to digital preservation, inspires collaboration, and offers a glimpse into the future of this ever-evolving field.


Further reading


Adams, Caralee. 2022. In an Ever-Expanding Library, Using Decentralized Storage to Keep Your Materials Safe. Internet Archives Blog. March 11.


Digital Preservation Coalition. https://www.dpconline.org/


Digital Preservation Handbook. https://www.dpconline.org/handbook


Digital Preservation Coalition. The Global ‘Bit List’ of Endangered Digital Species. https://www.dpconline.org/digipres/champion-digital-preservation/bit-list


Jaillant, Lise, and Arran Rees. 2023. Applying AI to digital archives: trust, collaboration and shared professional ethics. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 38 (2): 571-585.


Oldham, Krista M. 2020. Partners for Preservation: Advancing Digital Preservation through Cross-Community Collaboration. The American Archivist 83 (2): 487–490.