The Kenyan education system, also commonly referred to as the 8-4-4 system, has gradually been transitioning to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) 2-6-3-3-3. However, this transition has not yet been fully embraced across all levels of education in Kenya. This study examines the current state of university libraries in Kenya and the strategies they ought to adopt to effectively support teaching, learning, and research under the CBC framework. The study utilizes a comprehensive literature review approach. The study’s findings reveal various levels of unpreparedness and suggest strategies for transforming university libraries. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on educational reform and emphasizes the critical role of libraries in successfully implementing CBC in universities. The study’s recommendations offer valuable insights and practical guidance for university administrators, librarians, policymakers, and other key stakeholders in Kenya’s higher education.

Traditional models of information literacy instruction often emphasize compliance, neutrality, and academic conventions that can alienate students and reinforce dominant power structures. This article offers a subversive alternative by drawing on the ethos of punk rock to reimagine the librarian’s role as a radical educator. Rooted in critical information literacy and feminist pedagogy, this approach frames information literacy as an act of resistance that encourages students to interrogate authority, confront systemic injustice, and reclaim agency in their research practices. Through reflective analysis and practical examples, this study explores how punk values such as do-it-yourself (DIY) ethics, anti-authoritarianism, authenticity, and community can inform inclusive, liberatory teaching strategies. From zine-making to teaching with Reddit, this article illustrates how librarians can create spaces for vulnerability, experimentation, and transformation in the classroom. Ultimately, it invites educators to embrace imperfection, question neutrality, and cultivate a pedagogy that is as critical and courageous as the students being served.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming library information services by enhancing user interaction, resource management, and academic support. However, fine-grained topic identification and evolution analysis in this field remain underexplored. This study identifies key research topics and tracks their development to uncover AI’s trajectory in library information services. Leveraging deep learning-based topic modeling techniques—BERTopic and Dynamic Topic Modeling (DTM)—we analyzed 2,789 filtered article abstracts retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases published between 2015 and 2024. The modeling process involved several steps: we first generated document embeddings using Sentence-BERT, followed by dimensionality reduction with UMAP to project the high-dimensional vectors into a lower-dimensional space. We then applied HDBSCAN, a density-based clustering algorithm, to group semantically similar documents. Topic representations were constructed using class-based TF-IDF (c-TF-IDF) to identify the most representative keywords for each cluster. Finally, we employed DTM to examine the temporal evolution of these topics over the 2015–2024 period. The study identified 27 topics, including OCR for historical documents, multilingual processing, book recommendation systems, author name disambiguation, and misinformation detection, among others. These were further categorized into ten research directions, such as digital transformation, information retrieval, and scholarly communication. Temporal analysis revealed emerging AI-driven trends alongside steady growth in traditional areas like information literacy education. Findings highlight the growing integration of AI technologies into library information services. This study offers strategic insights for researchers and practitioners to innovate library information services and responsibly adopt AI technologies.

This scientometric study conducts a comprehensive analysis of adaptive learning literature using the OpenAlex database to map the intellectual landscape, research trends, and global collaboration patterns from 2001 to 2025. By analyzing 22,234 publications, the study reveals exponential growth in research output, with a peak of 2234 publications in 2024, driven by advancements in AI and educational technology. The United States dominates in citations (63,782) and collaboration strength (2762), while China leads in document production (2354) but with lower citation impact. Key findings highlight the centrality of institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences (16,248 link strength) and Aalto University (3110 citations) in global networks. Keyword co-occurrence identifies “Computer Science” (11,929 occurrences) and “Artificial Intelligence” (8656) as dominant themes, reflecting the field’s technical focus. The study also uncovers disparities in open-access adoption, with 40% of influential works remaining paywalled despite a shift toward open models in STEM. Visualizations of co-authorship networks (104 countries, 1338 links) demonstrate expanding global collaboration, including emerging contributions from developing nations. The analysis underscores the need for greater interdisciplinary integration, pedagogical exploration, and equitable access to bridge gaps in adaptive learning research. These insights provide a roadmap for future studies, emphasizing the role of international partnerships and emerging technologies in shaping the field.

Research methodology knowledge helps postgraduate students to address societal issues skillfully. This study reviewed 338 PhD and master’s theses and dissertations in library and information science from the institutional repositories of two universities in Tanzania and South Africa. Through a bibliometric research design, the study identified the research methods employed by a cohort of postgraduate students from 2012 to 2022, aiming to understand the problems they addressed and the research methods they chose to investigate their research objectives. The findings revealed that students did not fully understand the philosophical assumptions that underpin the selected research approach. Postgraduate studies from South Africa were predominantly qualitative, whereas Tanzanian studies preferred a mixed methods approach. Case studies and surveys were the common research designs at both institutions. Training in research methodology, particularly in research paradigms, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, required further improvement. This would help students justify their research strategies more thoroughly. The study further recommends collaborative research methodology training for students and supervisors to strengthen library and information science research outputs in this region. These recommendations, if implemented, hold the potential to significantly enhance the quality and impact of future research in library and information science.

This study aims to determine whether, in the Education field, subscription-based journals accumulate a higher number of citations than open access (OA) journals in the upper classification strata (Q1 and Q2) of Scopus and compares their performance across key metrics. The study employed a quantitative approach and analyzed 1470 Education journals indexed in Scopus from 2020 to 2023. Journals were categorized into subscription-based and open access models and stratified into quartiles (Q1–Q4) and the top 10%. Key metrics assessed included CiteScore, total citations, publication volume, and the percentage of cited articles. Statistical analyses—such as t -tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests—were applied to compare the performance of models across these classification strata. Subscription journals dominate Q1/Q2 and the “top 10%” in overall quantity and cumulative citations, exhibiting higher CiteScores and a higher percentage of cited articles in these strata. The results provide relevant insights into the broader scholarly publishing landscape, highlighting general implications for editorial policies, global visibility of research outputs, and equitable access to academic knowledge, thus offering valuable perspectives for librarians, information professionals, and information scientists.

The system for disseminating and publishing bachelor’s and master’s degree theses in Library & Information Science (LIS) at 14 Spanish universities is explored through analysis of the documents regulating open access at universities, the documents regulating thesis preparation, and thesis course syllabi. The dissemination criteria include the grade the student earns at the thesis defence and permission from several of the participants in thesis advising and grading. University repositories hold a small number of theses compared to the total number of graduates from their undergraduate and master’s degree programmes, and in some cases, the few theses that are on file are not easy to retrieve. In the light of the findings, it is recommended to establish a policy to address thesis publication and dissemination issues.

Due to contact restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities around the world had to adapt their teaching to online formats. The adoption of online teaching during the COVID-19 crisis caused numerous changes in higher education. The circumstances given in particular regions led to diverse forms of modifications. In this process, according to digital divide theory, greater inequalities may occur among students with different socioeconomic circumstances. This article presents insights into how students in Latin America perceived the occurring changes. By applying a qualitative methodology in four countries, we were able to show how the scarcity of resources affected the learning experience. Amongst others, the results show disparities among students due to difficulties with Internet connectivity and lack of access to digital devices. Different levels of technical and psychological requirements for online teaching were found among students from Chile, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala. Especially between students from urban and rural regions, differences in access to the Internet can be identified for Latin America.

Virtual simulation is a system that integrates multi-source information, interactive three-dimensional dynamic visualization, and entity behavior. It has introduced innovations in educational concepts and revolutionized teaching methods, technology, content, as well as spatial and temporal dynamics. This research presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the literature on virtual simulation in education. The primary aim is to provide a detailed overview of the current state and future prospects of this field. To achieve this, the study examines existing research trends and anticipates future directions using a bibliometric approach. A dataset comprising 982 journal articles was extracted from the Web of Science database for analysis. Through co-citation and keyword co-occurrence analyses, the study identifies influential publications, outlines the knowledge structure, and forecasts future trends. The co-citation analysis revealed five distinct clusters, while the keyword co-occurrence analysis identified four clusters. Despite the increasing importance of virtual simulation research, further scholarly efforts are required to comprehensively understand the research landscape in education. This article offers significant insights into the burgeoning field of virtual simulation in education and provides a thorough exploration of its potential for continued development in educational contexts.