Article presenting a curriculum mapping study of noncore course offerings in political science curricula by an early-career librarian. It combines syllabi study and curriculum mapping methods to analyze the language of student learning objectives (SLOs) from course syllabi and to integrate SLOs with threshold concepts from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the AAC&U Information Literacy VALUE Rubric. The methods produce two sample sets: one of core concept representation and the other of additional observances for syllabi improvements. Results analyze the frequency and percentage distributions of threshold concepts in SLOs. The author outlines strategies for engaging faculty in information literacy and suggests how librarians and faculty might inform information literacy teaching in the department.

This article examines how archives were forced to rethink their modes of providing access to physical collections because of the coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19). Whereas difficult copyright questions raised by reproducing items could previously be skirted by requiring researchers to work with materials in person, the long-term closure of reading rooms and decrease in long-distance travel mean that archives need a workflow for handling user digitization requests that is scalable and requires consulting only easily identifiable information and, assuming full reproduction is off the table, reproducing items in a collection under 17 U.S.C. § 108 or through a strategy of rapid risk assessment. There is a challenge in creating a policy that will work across different formats and genres of archival materials, so this article offers some suggestions for how to think about these parameters according to US copyright law and calls for a committee of experts to work out a model policy that could serve remote users of archival collections even after the COVID-19 crisis has passed.

This article adds to the growing body of research in meeting science, explored from a library perspective. The authors investigate the predictors of success for productive meetings, librarian perceptions of effective meeting leadership, and best practices for meeting leadership.

This article looks at the role of the UNT Libraries as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-at-home declaration in Denton County, Tx in the Spring of 2020.

This article discusses how the UNT Media Library developed a video game collection to support student retention, student recreation, and classroom instruction. The article also will explain how the Library successfully met challenges involved in collection development, related technology, space needs, and the challenges it sees ahead.

Article shares the leadership lessons learned by a librarian who once served as a faculty member but then became an Associate Dean. Transitioning from a faculty role to an administrative one creates a landscape of learning that promotes growth and exposes challenges. This is the submitted/accepted manuscript version of the article.

Article reporting on a selection of presentations from the 2020 Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference.

Article comparing records of persons who reported near-death experiences (i.e., experienced by a person close to death) with shared death experiences (i.e., experienced by someone other than the person close to death). It discusses similarities and differences in features and aftereffects based on these reports.

Article discussing an analysis of literature and interview data with implications for clinical practice related to therapists working with clients who report experiencing deathbed visions, deathbed coincidences, or after-death communication.

Article from a panel held at the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) 2021 conference held on October 23-November 3, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The panel was meant to stimulate future north-south collaborations by increasing awareness of both funded opportunities and low budget initiatives for scholarly exchanges and collaborations, benefits for scholars and their institutions in developed and developing countries, and best practices with respect to north-south collaborations and scholarly exchanges. This panel was sponsored by the Africa Chapter and SIG-III.

Article from a panel held at the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) 2021 conference held on October 23-November 3, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The panel's goals were: (1) to engage researchers and educators in an interactive discussion on the contributing factors and ways in which information science can remain a diverse and interdisciplinary field, realize its full potential, and build a strong identity as well as identify potential barriers it needs to overcome; and (2) to delineate the roles its stakeholders and allies need to play to achieve that goal of a field with “Unity in diversity”.

This article reviewed twelve years of circulation data related to loss and damage of video game equipment, specifically consoles, game controllers, and gaming peripherals such as steering wheels, virtual reality headsets, and joysticks in an academic library collection.

This article highlights the application of GitLab in ingesting material into an institutional repository and the folder-based deposit system that is used to move deposited resources through the ingestion process.

This article explains the immediate and long-term benefits of service to new librarians. It also covers finding and selecting service opportunities, serving effectively in those roles, and documenting service activities. This is the accepted manuscript version of the article.

This article reports on a four-year study done at the University of North Texas to compare variables of student success (GPA, pass or fail status in course, and retention) in students that attended library instruction sessions and students who did not. It finds a positive correlation between attending library instruction and student success.

Article on collaborating on scholarship. Collaborating on scholarship has the potential to provide many advantages, including benefiting from others’ expertise, reinforcing accountability, and providing motivation. However, working with others is tricky—consider compatible work habits, receptivity to criticism, and commitment to fulfill responsibilities. Decisions to be made include where to publish, in what order authors’ names will appear, and how the manuscripts will be written. Who will coordinate? Who will write what? Who will revise? Also, consider how to address problems—missed deadlines, less-than-stellar quality, how to say “no” in the future, and more. This version is the authors' manuscript.

This article explores the post-pandemic landscape and how increasing Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Access (OA), and removing access barriers could increase equity by establishing the ability for teaching/learning to continue for all, regardless of the ability to attend a brick-and-mortar building and regardless of socio-economic status. The authors examine the consequences of current iniquities through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT).

Article documenting the findings of research that employed web-scraping of personal narratives to analyze the level of positive or negative sentiment expressed by experiencers regarding their near-death experiences.

Abstract: Despite their different etiologies, three types of spiritually transformative experiences (STEs)--near-death experiences, psilocybin experiences, and meditative experiences of cosmic consciousness--appear to have attributes that are common to a broad range of mystical experiences, including an experience of expanded awareness. In addition, all three appear to be associated with profound and lasting transformations in the lives of experiencers. Finally, these three experiences appear to share some common neural correlates. In this article, we discuss similarities in case studies of these STEs, in data from controlled clinical research studies on their transformative effects, as well as from neurophysiological data correlated with the occurrence of STEs themselves. In all three STEs, research shows a reduction in neural activity in the major centers of the brain, including the Default Mode Network, the foundation of egoic stories involving the narrative related to oneself and the world in which one lives. It is proposed that during these STEs, reduced neural activity in areas of the brain that normally act as a filter or reducing valve mechanism opens the capacity to expanded awareness, which is associated with lasting transformation in the lives of experiencers.

Abstract: Findings from several studies suggest near-death experiences (NDEs) may influence sleep quality. In this study, we examined self-reported duration, latency, and quality of sleep in those who had experienced a life-threatening event and who had and had not reported an associated NDE. Participants were 154 members of the general New Zealand population who completed an online quantitative questionnaire that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Near-Death Experience Scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and Life Changes Inventory-Revised. Both the NDE and non-NDE groups indicated sleep habits had changed after their close encounter with death. Participants slept less, took longer to fall asleep, and experienced more sleep disturbances. However, we found no differences between the groups, suggesting sleep alterations occurred in response to the near-death event rather than specifically to the NDE.

Article explores dynamic fusion models to find, on the fly, the model or combination of models that performs best on a variety of document types. The experimental results show that the approach that fuses different models outperforms individual models and other ensemble methods on three datasets.

Article arguing against the naturalist theory put forth by John Martin Fisher and Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin that near-death experiences (NDEs) could be metaphorical, compared to the supernaturalist theory that NDEs are real experiences.

This paper focuses on how the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries was able to develop a successful partnership with the UNT Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) and move outside the Libraries’ normal sphere of influence to help create a patent internship program for students. The paper is published in the Texas Library Journal Special Edition for Summer 2020, and it was a contributed paper at the Texas Library Association 2020 Virtual Summer of Learning conference.

Article examining the changes to physical circulation of the University of North Texas Libraries' physical materials collection.