Brief paper discussing research regarding people who resist spiritual emergence and transformation.

Brief paper discussing the Holistic Options for People Everywhere (HOPE) organization and its goals to assist people who have spiritually transformative experiences and to educate the broader community about assisting expereiencers.

Abstract: Trauma and dissociation play a decisive role in initiating spiritual experience. This article explores transformational crises and spiritually transformative experiences (STEs) that occur within the context of trauma, physical illness, and mental disorders. Such growth or transformation may be a natural evolutionary process, in which the defense mechanism of dissociation plays a part. Consciousness is challenged to transform when one's ego identity and defenses are threatened. Ultimately, one may arrive at a radically re-ordered conceptual framework and higher-order functioning. Acknowledgement of this evolutionary dynamic may serve as a bridge between two fields: clinical psychology, with its expertise regarding the effects of trauma, notably dissociative states, and transpersonal psychology, with its expertise regarding transformational processes. Research from both fields is explored, as well as case examples from the author's biography, her clinical practice, and the collective. The concept of functional dissociation is introduced, and clinical considerations are addressed.

Abstract: This article provides a distilled sketch of my observations of three general phases in a process of integrating spiritually transformative experiences (STEs). The process may be thought of as both marking development over time as well as being microgenetic, spiraling through phases in brief moments. In addition, three forces activated in an STE -- transcendence, communion, and destruction -- as well as challenges frequently associated with these types of experiences are described with brief case examples as they manifest across the three phases. Awareness of these phases, along with their overriding questions and challenges, provides an open-ended framework for helpers to use in assisting the spiritual experiencer toward integration.

Article describing the methods and results of research to explore spontaneous mediumship experiences (SMEs) that occurred during and after near-death experiences (NDEs).

Article on the evolution of publishing agreements at the University of Michigan Library. Taking as an example an open-access journal with a single editor, this article discusses the various configurations of rights agreements used by the University of Michigan Library throughout the evolution of its publishing operation, the advantages of the various models, and the reasons for moving from one to another.

In this article, the author presents a bibliography of reference sources recommended by culinary indexers.

Article discussing how we pay for scholarly publishing. Since at least the late 1970s, when stresses in the market for scholarly literature began to show, there have been calls to redistribute how the production and dissemination of scholarly literature are paid for. The motivations are addressing the "free rider problem" of institutions without presses and, more recently, increasing overall access to the literature. In particular, the last few years have seen schemes such as SCOAP3 and Knowledge Unlatched and proposals from K | N Consultants and a joint task force of the Association of Research Libraries and the American Association of Universities. These plans to establish new business models are summarized.

This article discusses technological changes and the evolution of the library.

Article on keeping human resources happy and improving hiring processes through the use of rubrics.

This article uses inductive content analysis to assess fieldwork evaluations in library school coursework.

Article describing research to explore the near-death experiences (NDEs) of Iranian Shiite Muslim experiencers. It outlines the methods and results of the study and explains how the experiences compare to those of Western experiencers.

Abstract: Most of what is currently known about near-death experiences (NDEs) has come from published case studies and larger scale research projects conducted in Western Anglo-European cultures. This article presents findings from the first large-scale retrospective, quantitative study of NDEs conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand over a two-year period, between August 2010 and December 2012. We investigated the occurrence and phenomenology of NDEs in 220 participants. Results revealed the characteristics and occurrence of NDEs in this sample were similar to those reported in other Western samples. Results of a multivariate regression analysis showed belief in the survival of a soul after physical death and being of Māori ethnicity contributed a significant amount of unique variance to NDE Scale scores in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our study represents an important contribution to understanding NDEs in Aotearoa New Zealand, although more research is required to further elucidate and advance the findings.

Article discussing index characteristics considered important by reviewers of art books.

Article discussing MYB5 and MYB14 playing pivotal roles in seed coat polymer biosynthesis in Medicago truncatula.

Article discussing putting the world in perspective with free government resources.

Article discussing a case study at the University of North Texas (UNT) on an analysis of URL references in electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).

Article on introducing name authority into a large electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) collection.

Article discussing a study concerning administrative support provided to encourage the research and publishing activities of academic librarians.

Abstract: Decades of studies on near-death experiences (NDEs) have reveals both cross-cultural and culture-specific features (Kellehear, 2009) and that it is important to determine which aspects are attributed to the physiological, biological, or psychological mechanisms shared by all humans and which aspects are of cultural origin. In this article, we examine Japanese NDEs and compare their features with generalizations based on observations of Western NDEs. The main differences between Japanese and Western NDEs are the interpretation of the light and the concomitant lack of interaction with it, the image of heaven, and the absence of the life review. We suggest that these characteristics are accounted for in terms of cultural differences.

Article comparing near-death experiences (NDEs) to the philosophy described in the spiritual text A Course in Miracles (1976). It provides an overview of the text's philosophy, previous literature comparing the text to NDEs, and an analysis of how the philosophies are similar and different, with references to specific cases.

Article discussing interviews with the Special Interest Group/International Information Issues (SIG/III) co-founders Toni Carbo and Michel Menou.

Article introducing a special section of the Bulletin of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) featuring interviews, discussions of ASIS&T chapters and SIGs roles, networking activities, and past and current organizational initiatives.

Article discussing a project by the UNT Libraries to purchase e-book readers for students purchasing digital textbooks.