scholarly journals Exploring Topics and Genres in Storytime Books: A Text Mining Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Soohyung Joo ◽  
Erin Ingram ◽  
Maria Cahill
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Text Analysis ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Informational Texts ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Bibliographic Data

Objective – While storytime programs for preschool children are offered in nearly all public libraries in the United States, little is known about the books librarians use in these programs. This study employed text analysis to explore topics and genres of books recommended for public library storytime programs. Methods – In the study, the researchers randomly selected 429 children books recommended for preschool storytime programs. Two corpuses of text were extracted from the titles, abstracts, and subject terms from bibliographic data. Multiple text mining methods were employed to investigate the content of the selected books, including term frequency, bi-gram analysis, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis. Results – The findings revealed popular topics in storytime books, including animals/creatures, color, alphabet, nature, movements, families, friends, and others. The analysis of bibliographic data described various genres and formats of storytime books, such as juvenile fiction, rhymes, board books, pictorial work, poetry, folklore, and nonfiction. Sentiment analysis results reveal that storytime books included a variety of words representing various dimensions of sentiment. Conclusion – The findings suggested that books recommended for storytime programs are centered around topics of interest to children that also support school readiness. In addition to selecting fictionalized stories that will support children in developing the academic concepts and socio-emotional skills necessary for later success, librarians should also be mindful of integrating informational texts into storytime programs.

A Survey on Sentiment Analysis Techniques for Twitter

2022 ◽  
pp. 57-90
Author(s):  
Surabhi Verma ◽  
Ankit Kumar Jain
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Text Mining ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Text Analysis ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Text Document ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Over Time

People regularly use social media to express their opinions about a wide variety of topics, goods, and services which make it rich in text mining and sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis is a form of text analysis determining polarity (positive, negative, or neutral) in text, document, paragraph, or clause. This chapter offers an overview of the subject by examining the proposed algorithms for sentiment analysis on Twitter and briefly explaining them. In addition, the authors also address fields related to monitoring sentiments over time, regional view of views, neutral tweet analysis, sarcasm detection, and various other tasks in this area that have drawn the researchers ' attention to this subject nearby. Within this chapter, all the services used are briefly summarized. The key contribution of this survey is the taxonomy based on the methods suggested and the debate on the theme's recent research developments and related fields.

How Do Public Libraries Assist Small Businesses in Rural Communities? An Exploratory Qualitative Study in Tennessee

Libri ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Mehra ◽  
Bradley Wade Bishop ◽  
Robert P. Partee II
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Information Poverty ◽  
Low Degrees

AbstractThe purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how public libraries assist small businesses in rural communities in the state of Tennessee in the United States. Tennessee’s rural residents, especially in its Appalachian counties, face debilitating economic and social challenges such as inadequate financial prospects, information poverty, unemployment and low degrees of information literacy and educational attainment. The article presents findings from interviews and focus groups with 25 public library small business liaison representatives gathering input about their needs, expectations and experiences with rural public libraries. The foci are the existing and proposed ways rural public libraries provide small business assistance and identify components of a

scholarly journals Public Library in the United States: Sanctuary of Sciences or Social Shelter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Y. Neshcheret
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Home Visiting ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Permanent Home ◽  
The Unemployed

Based on local normative acts regulating the rules of conduct in public libraries in the United States, the author analyses the most acute problems associated with non-observance of public order and violation of legal norms by people without definite occupation and permanent home visiting reading rooms. Personnel of the American libraries is concerned with the problem of relationship with the specified category of users representing a quite significant part of the total number of visitors. Of particular concern are the incidents of drug use. Libraries are very vulnerable, as open to everyone, and users can spend there as much time as they would wish. In order to solve the problems associated with stay in library of the unemployed and homeless visitors, libraries actively cooperate with the city’s social institutions and with local police departments. Libraries have always been the guardians of humanistic values; however, today they are vulnerable to the challenges of time; they are trying to find a compromise between their duty to serve all users (regardless of their social status) and the need to maintain public order. There is required serious and responsible work on the rules governing user behaviour for solving this challenging problem. Introduction of rules for readers is dictated primarily by the objective to provide the ability for libraries to fully fulfil their mission. Created to ensure the protection of rights, interests and safety of users and library staff, the rules should be based on the current legislation to avoid ambiguity and, at the same time, to be humane, “flexible” and focused on contemporary realities.

scholarly journals Pathways to Wellbeing: Public Library Service in Rural Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Elizabeth Gustina ◽  
Eli Guinnee ◽  
Hope Decker ◽  
Rick Bonney
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Social Wellbeing ◽  
Positive Impacts

To answer the question ”If public libraries are a component of social wellbeing in rural communities, how are they successful?” we conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed interviews at eight field research sites in isolated rural communities distributed throughout the United States. If positive impacts on wellbeing are happening—as many assume—and if success is to be measured by those positive impacts—as many wish it could—it follows that a deeper investigation into the mechanisms involved will yield beneficial approaches that can be intentionally designed and implemented. Through this deeper investigation, we established how rural residents defined social wellbeing for themselves and how they describe the library’s role in that context. We found that rural residents forego access to standard amenities for access to deep social connections, natural resources, and community cultures of freedom and mutual support. We found long term multi-step supports, which we call pathways, through which libraries support wellbeing.

scholarly journals The Long-Run Effect of Public Libraries on Children: Evidence from the Early 1900s

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezra Karger
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Compulsory Schooling ◽  
Library Construction ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Wage Income

Between 1890 and 1921, Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of 1,618 public libraries in cities and towns across the United States. I link these library construction grants to census data and measure the effect of childhood public library access on adult outcomes. Library construction grants increased children's educational attainment by 0.10 years, did not affect wage income, and increased non-wage income by 4%. These income effects are driven by occupational choice. Access to a public library caused children to shift away from occupations like manual labor, factory-work, and mining into safer and more prestigious occupations like farm-ownership, clerical, and technical jobs. I show that compulsory schooling laws had parallel effects on children, increasing educational attainment, non-wage income and occupational prestige without affecting wage income. Economists often rely solely on wage income to measure the returns to education. But public libraries and compulsory schooling laws in the early 1900s increased educational attainment and had positive effects on children's adult labor market outcomes without affecting wage income.

IT and Collaborative Community Services

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Greene Taylor ◽  
Ursula Gorham ◽  
Paul T. Jaeger ◽  
John Carlo Bertot
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Collaborative Community

The role that the Internet has played in redefining the activities of public sector organizations is well-documented. What has yet to be fully explored, however, are recent collaborations among community-oriented entities (local government agencies, public libraries, and non-profit organizations) to provide enhanced services through innovative uses of information technology. These collaborative community services are enhanced by information technology, but also framed within the context of the organizations supporting the services. Using data from the 2011-2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey (PLFTAS), and drawing upon ongoing research into e-government partnerships between libraries, government agencies, and community organizations as well as community-based civic engagement initiatives, this paper will frame this issue within the contexts of local e-government in the United States; the relationship between public libraries, e-government, and the Internet; and innovative partnerships between public libraries, local government, and nonprofit entities. The article discusses both best practices and common challenges among these partnerships as a guide to future projects.

Public Libraries

2018 ◽  
pp. 1040-1070
Author(s):  
Laura Karbach
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Library Use ◽  
Master Thesis ◽  
The Impact

The author, as part of a Master Thesis study, analyzes the impact public library services and programs have in the lives of local Mexican mothers with children attending school in the United States and provides suggestions on ways to improve outreach of services and support. Results related to library use, parental involvement, service and programs, challenges including funding, Spanish-speaking staff, pre-conceived ideas, and awareness issues, as well as the largest issue of outreach are all discussed. In addition, outreach solutions are offered and the overall benefits of the study are assessed.

Characteristics, uniqueness and overlap of information sources linked from North American public library Web sites

First Monday ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Prabha ◽  
Raymond Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Community ◽  
Specific Search

This article reports on the availability, domain distribution, percentage of Web sites versus Web pages, perceived value, and category of 31,400 Web–based resources selected by 50 public libraries in the United States and Canada. Eighty–seven percent of these resources were available, 60 percent were Web pages, and resources selected by 20 percent of the sampled libraries were finding tools such as general or subject specific search engines. Ninety–three percent of the resources were selected by just one of the 50 libraries; only 17 percent of the resources appeared to be primarily of local interest. The public may be unaware of these unique resources. The public library community must develop programs to increase the awareness and sharing of these evaluated resources.

A Political Theory of Public Library Development

Libri ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Widdersheim
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Library System ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
High Responsiveness ◽  
Library Development

Abstract Public library development is explained differently by various theories, but existing theories are problematic. A new theory is needed to explain public library development, one that foregrounds political processes. To produce this new theory, a historical case study was conducted of a regional public library system in the United States from 1924 to 2016. Multiple data sources and mixed methods were used to identify the causes of library development in nine periods of the case. Findings indicate that public libraries develop in a cyclical way. Within each decision cycle, high responsiveness is a necessary condition for a change in development. A responsive library system adapts to and acts upon discursively-legitimated issues. High responsiveness, together with either high civil support, high legitimacy or low resistance, are causal configurations sufficient for change. This theory is significant because it is testable, it uses a new research framework and new methods, and it provides new insight into public library development.

scholarly journals Access of Digitized Print Originals in U.S. and U.K. Higher Education Libraries Combined with Print Circulation Indicates Increased Usage of Traditional Forms of Reading Materials

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Kurt Blythe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Endowment ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
The U.S

A Review of: Joint, Nicholas. “Is Digitisation the New Circulation?: Borrowing Trends, Digitisation and the nature of reading in US and UK Libraries.” Library Review 57.2 (2008): 87-95. Objective – To discern the statistical accuracy of reports that print circulation is in decline in libraries, particularly higher education libraries in the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.), and to determine if circulation patterns reflect a changing dynamic in patron reading habits. Design – Comparative statistical analysis. Setting – Library circulation statistics from as early as 1982 to as recent as 2006, culled from various sources with specific references to statistics gathered by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Subjects – Higher education institutions in the United States and United Kingdom, along with public libraries to a lesser extent. Methods – This study consists of an analysis of print circulation statistics in public and higher education libraries in the U.S. and U.K., combined with data on multimedia circulation in public libraries and instances of digital access in university libraries. Specifically, NEA statistics provided data on print readership levels in the U.S. from 1982 to 2002; LISU statistics were analyzed for circulation figures and gate counts in U.K. public libraries; ARL statistics from 1996 to 2006 provided circulation data for large North American research libraries; NCES statistics from 1990 to 2004 contributed data on circulation in “tertiary level” U.S. higher education libraries; and ACRL statistics were analyzed for more circulation numbers for U.S. post-secondary education libraries. The study further includes data on U.K. trends in print readership and circulation in U.K. higher education libraries, and trends in U.S. public library circulation of non-print materials. Main Results – Analysis of the data indicates that print circulation is down in U.S. and U.K. public libraries and in ARL-member libraries, while it is up in the non-ARL higher education libraries represented and in UK higher education libraries. However, audio book circulation in U.S. public libraries supplements print circulation to the point where overall circulation of book materials is increasing, and the access of digital literature supplements print circulation in ARL-member libraries (although the statistics are difficult to measure and meld with print circulation statistics). Essentially, the circulation of book material is increasing in most institutions when all formats are considered. According to the author, library patrons are reading more than ever; the materials patrons are accessing are traditional in content regardless of the means by which the materials are accessed. Conclusion – The author contends that print circulation is in decline only where digitization efforts are extensive, such as in ARL-member libraries; when digital content is factored into the equation the access of book-type materials is up in most libraries. The author speculates that whether library patrons use print or digital materials, the content of those materials is largely traditional in nature, thereby resulting in the act of “literary” reading remaining a focal point of library usage. Modes of reading and learning have not changed, at least insofar as these things may be inferred from studying circulation statistics. The author asserts that digital access is favourable to patrons and that libraries should attempt to follow the ARL model of engaging in large-scale digitization projects in order to provide better service to their patrons; the author goes on to argue that U.K. institutions with comparable funding to ARLs will have greater success in this endeavour if U.K. copyright laws are relaxed.

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