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Google Scholar and academic library discovery systems are both popular resources among academic users for finding scholarly information. By conducting an online survey with 975 users from more than 20 public research universities across the United States, this study comparatively investigates how and why academic users use these two resources. Results show that the ways participants used both resources were similar, and both were perceived as highly accessible and useful. Academic library discovery systems' perceived comprehensiveness, subjective norm, loyalty, and intended use were higher than Google Scholar, while Google Scholar's perceived ease of use, system quality, and satisfaction were higher than that of academic library discovery systems.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to look at organizational stories shared among academic librarians who work at the reference desk, and create a typology of the stories based on the knowledge transferred in these. Previous research suggests that stories are the main way in which organizations communicate common values, organizational rules and promote organizational learning. The main question researched here will be: what kind of knowledge is transferred through the stories shared among librarians? This is an important consideration since the meaning carried through the story can shape the employee’s perception of the organization. Design/methodology/approach – This research employed long interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the works of Yiannis Gabriel (2000) as a guide. A total of 20 reference librarians working at four different academic institutions in the southern USA participated in this study. Findings – The analysis of the data reveals a typology of organizational stories shared. The main topics covered by the stories all deal with cultural knowledge exchanges, while also serve as coping mechanisms and present important organizational culture aspects. The stories shared also reflect negative aspects related to the lack of proper communication within the organizations, with the presence of rumors among the narratives shared. Originality/value – These findings can serve as a first step for the development of healthier organizational cultures in libraries and may have implications for training and development, change management, motivation and collective memory.

This study focuses on the roles of organizational stories among librarians who work at the reference desk. Twenty librarians employed in four academic institutions were interviewed. Most of the organizational stories shared among the participants and their colleagues were rich in tacit knowledge and can be classified according to four main roles: explaining work conditions, warning systems, preparing others, and finding comfort. The results of the study also suggest that the librarians recount the stories to different groups according to the role of the stories.

PurposeThe main purpose of this work is to uncover and identify the issues that academic librarians consider important in the attainment of work–life balance. This work will focus on exploring their experiences with different dimensions of burnout.Design/methodology/approachThe topic of burnout is explored by analyzing the results of a survey based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which was distributed among librarians at a group academic institutions that are members of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL).FindingsThe findings of this study do not demonstrate evidence of burnout among the sample population. However, the results do present plenty of opportunities for further exploration such as the relationship between burnout and personal factors, including LGBTQA + status and race or ethnic minority status.Research limitations/implicationsFurther exploration of the topic of burnout should be followed up with more qualitative studies, especially those employing interviews.Practical implicationsImprovement of human resource practices, which reduces the incidence of burnout among academic librarians, is something that can only be accomplished at the organizational level. Human resource practices can create a work environment that enhances productivity by improving the quality of life of employees.Originality/valueThis work explores and assesses academic librarian burnout, among those working in academic institutions in the southeastern United States. To date, no study has been undertaken that looks at burnout across broad types of work performed by academic librarians and librarians at different institutions.

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On its surface the library and information science (LIS) profession is open and supportive of efforts to bring about social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values into the professional practice. This is evidenced by statements such as the American Library Association’s (ALA) Code of Ethics which specifically mention “…to recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases, to confront inequality and oppression...” Although statements like this represent a good start, all too often they remain at an abstract level without the corresponding practical application or strategic management elements which are necessary to enact them in day-to-day professional practice. This enactment is an essential component, if the profession has intentions to bring about social justice applications into practice. Social justice seeks to find ways in which societies can eliminate the systems and barriers that create unearned privilege and marginalization, while upholding human rights (Cooke et al., 2016). One way to seek social justice in Library and Information Science (LIS) is to incorporate the principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT, which originated in critical legal studies, and has been adapted to many social science fields, is a movement which seeks to explore the role of racism and its effects on society. It is an intellectual framework aimed at explaining the real situations that affect the lives of members of minoritized groups and helps bring about revised social and systemic structures which can ameliorate the detrimental effects of racism and racist systems for these groups. CRT is rooted in certain principles which frame explorations of racism in modern day societies. These principles include notions such as that racism is ordinary and not aberrational, that race is a purely social phenomenon, and that due to differences in their experiences with oppression, members of marginalized groups are better equipped to communicate their experiences than their white counterparts (Delgado and Stefancic, 2017). Despite of the soundness of its arguments, CRT has been the target of many attacks which have moved to the political arena with at least 16 states reporting legislation intent on banning the teaching of CRT in public institutions of higher learning. This presentation will focus on the potential role of CRT in enriching the move towards a pedagogy focused on social justice. This session will present two panels. The first panel will discuss the principles of critical race theory in LIS and present valuable educational resources on the topic (Presenters: Dr. Nicole Cooke, Dr. Mónica Colón-Aguirre, Ms. Cearra Harris). The second panel will discuss specific practices taken on by members of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) recent work to center Blackness and social justice in LIS education in their organization’s efforts to occupy space and explore how U.S. librarians are taught, trained, and understood (Presenters: Dr. Ana Ndumu, BCALA Breaking Barriers Project co-PI, Dr. Shaundra Walker, BCALA Breaking Barriers Project co-PI, Shauntee Burns-Simpson, 2020-2022 BCALA President, Nichelle M. Hayes, 2022-2024 BCALA President).

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