Purpose This article examines how “neutrality” has been challenged in the research literature on libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) over the past ca. 25 years. The concept of neutrality shapes our expectations of LAMs as crucial institutions in modern liberal Western democracies, which have played a key role in shaping both our identities and our options for agency as individuals and as a society. Design/methodology/approach The analysis involves 20–30 articles in each domain (libraries, archives and museums). The articles have been examined using both AI and close readings. The primary empirical material consists of Anglo-American LAM research. The chosen timespan covers a period of significant change driven by increased digitalization, the climate crisis, rising migration and the emergence of new radical political movements. Findings Although some in the library research associate neutrality with intellectual freedom, the prevailing view, including among archive and museum scholars, dismisses neutrality as a myth that conceals underlying power dynamics. The rejection of neutrality has accompanied new professional ideals such as activism, community engagement and social justice. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive study to show that neutrality is a debated idea in recent research. While the critique of neutrality is a common concern across the LAM literature, responses to it – especially from the perspectives of social justice and activism – vary in both focus and approach.

Purpose This article documents and explores the efficacy of hopecore, a social media trend in which users share positive information that is meant to inspire hope. Understanding this phenomenon offers lessons for online platform design as well as evidence contributing to further theory-building in positive information phenomena. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a qualitative content analysis of hopecore posts and user comments on Instagram to understand the nature of this social media trend and to evaluate its effectiveness at inspiring hope. Findings We show how hopecore content makes use of human, nature and animal depictions to offer messages that help users build hope, such as appreciating the world despite its flaws, sharing feel-good stories of human kindness and communicating the value of self-knowledge. We also report on the themes found in how users respond to hopecore content. We find clear evidence of growing hope through user engagement, offering an example of prosocial and emotionally constructive information sharing on social media. Practical implications Based on these findings, we offer implications for the design of online platforms regarding strategies for better surfacing positive content and facilitating self-reflection and community. Originality/value This study documents the emerging social media phenomenon of hopecore, which is significant in today's climate for its positive and sincere orientation. The study uses theories of hope from psychology and philosophy as a lens to understand this positive information phenomenon and discern its practical implications. Future work can take a similar approach with other concepts and phenomena, contributing toward a deeper theoretical understanding of positive information.

Purpose The purpose of this case study is to understand the worldviews of Drag Queen Story Time (DQST) challengers and supporters as they relate to public libraries. The findings are used to theorize the underlying motivations of the two groups and provide insight into issues of library practice. Design/methodology/approach This case study employed qualitative thematic analysis to analyze 406 publicly available letters written by community members in support or opposition of DQST programming offered at the Okanagan Regional Library in Canada in 2019. Findings Dominant themes emerged on the public library's nature, function and neutrality. Supporters believed that public libraries value democracy, foster development of individuals, and advance human rights. Challengers believed that public libraries had a role as a protector and should be unaligned, passive, moral and not educate on certain topics. Both groups recognized neutrality as a foundational element in libraries, though its role in upholding democracy was viewed critically by supporters and positively by challengers. Originality/value The value of this study comes first from the unique dataset, a large corpus of text that offers a close look at the worldviews of both DQST challengers and supporters. Examining this case reveals detailed interpretations of library issues directly by public library patrons, such as neutrality. The analysis makes novel theorizations on how humanism, Christian integralism and Bourdieu's symbolic power can be used to understand the nature of the discourse from the opposing user groups, thereby informing library professionals on differing perspectives. In light of the arguments found, a new context is added to the professional issue of neutrality and social responsibility and suggestions are offered as a path forward.

Purpose This paper aims to explore how different forms of unknown are produced, negotiated and recorded within a mental health newsletter and develop a methodological instrument for curating unknowns in qualitative material collections. Design/methodology/approach The study is an interpretive qualitative case study of a long-running newsletter that publishes lived experience narratives, editorial commentary and contextual texts. Data comprise sampled issues, associated internal documents, digital editorial diaries and online co-produced workshops. Reflexive thematic analysis is used to trace how contributors and editors handle what cannot be fully specified, understood or disclosed, leading to an annotation based framework for documenting unknowns. Findings The analysis shows that unknowns are patterned features of the newsletter ecology rather than incidental gaps. Contributors and editors work with three recurring forms of unknown, protective, experiential and systemic, which are differently distributed across stories, paratexts and organisational rules. An annotation layer that records where and how these unknowns are produced reconfigures how the collection can be read and reused as a research resource. Originality/value The paper reconceptualises unknowns as curatable elements of documentary practice and offers a transferable instrument for recording non knowledge in sensitive qualitative collections, linking document theory, ignorance studies and mental health narrative research.

Purpose This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI), understood as a form of cognitive automation, may reshape the labour structures and social functions of contemporary libraries. It seeks to explain how AI can complement, rather than displace, the library's communal role by supporting its capacity to act as a Third Place. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a sociotechnical, conceptual approach, synthesizing research from library automation, social infrastructure and science and technology studies. It develops a theoretical model – the bifunctional institution – to analyse the interaction between algorithmic systems and the social–material dimensions of library work. Findings The study finds that AI may reduce routine interpretive labour and create organisational capacity for librarians to engage in relational, pedagogical and community-oriented activities. However, these benefits are contingent on robust governance, institutional autonomy and professional agency. AI can strengthen the library's social mission when integrated responsibly but may exacerbate inequalities or undermine transparency if adopted uncritically. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual paper, the work does not include empirical data. It highlights the need for future qualitative and organisational studies examining how AI tools are adopted in practice, how labour is redistributed within specific institutions and how governance structures mediate the relationship between automation and community-oriented work. Practical implications The model highlights conditions necessary for responsible AI adoption, including ethical governance, staff training and alignment of AI systems with public values and professional norms. Social implications By enabling a renewed focus on community engagement and shared learning, AI may reinforce libraries as crucial forms of social infrastructure in increasingly digitised and fragmented societies. Originality/value The paper offers one of the first theoretical integrations of automation studies and Third Place scholarship. It advances the concept of functional complementarity and provides a new framework for understanding libraries as bifunctional institutions composed of interdependent algorithmic and social layers.

Purpose This study explores the health and harm reduction information needs and seeking behavior of people who use opioids, focusing on how internalized stigma affects their willingness to seek information that could help them. It also examines how Chatman's insider outsider theory can be applied to this population. Design/methodology/approach A field-based survey was conducted in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, a neighborhood with an open-air drug market. Responses were collected from 106 participants who admitted to using opioids recreationally. The survey addressed the relationship between participants' health information-seeking behaviors, feelings of self-stigma and their likelihood to overdose. Findings Participants who reported higher levels of internalized stigma were significantly less likely to seek harm reduction information and more likely to overdose. These patterns suggest that stigma functions as a barrier to health information access and harm reduction engagement. Responses also clearly aligned with principles of Chatman's insider-outsider theory. Originality/value This study is one of the few to directly connect internalized stigma to overdose vulnerability through the lens of information behavior. It highlights the urgent need for stigma-reducing, community-based public health initiatives. Findings suggest that participatory, peer-led approaches may be more effective in bridging information gaps and fostering trust among people who use drugs.

Purpose As cultural heritage governance increasingly shifts toward digitalization and institutional collaboration, integrating resources across organizations has become a key pathway for enhancing the public value and transmission effectiveness of cultural heritage. This study investigates the primary drivers and critical challenges of silk resource integration facilitated by libraries, archives and museums (LAMs) convergence mechanisms in China's Yangtze River Delta and proposes empirical insights and region-specific strategies tailored to the distinctive attributes of silk heritage. Design/methodology/approach Using an exploratory qualitative approach, six representative LAM institutions were selected as case studies. Data were collected through investigation and semi-structured interviews with 13 practitioners and analyzed to identify the distribution patterns, institutional roles and integration practices of silk-related cultural resources, as well as the enabling drivers and governance challenges within the convergence framework. Findings The region demonstrates diverse integration models, including acquisition, preservation, research, dissemination and symbiosis convergence, supported by differentiated institutional roles and varied silk-related resource profiles. The integration process is driven by complementary resource endowments, sustainability imperatives and a commitment to enhancing service value, yet it faces persistent challenges such as governance fragmentation, technical inconsistencies, shortages of skilled personnel and constraints in collaboration capacity and funding. Originality/value This study addresses a critical gap in research on the collaborative governance of complex cultural heritage, with a particular focus on silk within the context of LAMs convergence. It elucidates the motivational dynamics and collaborative barriers encountered by diverse LAM actors in the resource integration process, providing both empirical grounding and actionable strategies to advance regional integration and the sustainable transmission of cultural heritage.

Purpose This article aims to explore how intrinsic and extrinsic motivations interact to shape scholars’ Q&A behaviour on an academic social networking site (ASNS). It seeks to understand the motivational dynamics underlying academic engagement in digitally mediated environments, with a particular focus on ResearchGate. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a qualitative methodology combining semi-structured interviews with non-participant observation. About 32 active ResearchGate users across diverse disciplines were interviewed during a three-month data collection period, supplemented by longitudinal observation of Q&A threads. Data analysis was guided by self-determination theory and motivation crowding theory, which were employed as interpretive frameworks to sensitively explore how intrinsic and extrinsic motivations were shaped, reinforced or undermined by contextual features of academic social networking sites. Findings The authors identified academic knowledge self-efficacy and altruistic orientation as key intrinsic motivations, whereas peer influence, domain knowledge visibility, status recognition and platform feedback function as extrinsic motivators. Importantly, the findings showed how extrinsic cues might either reinforce or undermine intrinsic motivations through crowding-in and crowding-out mechanisms. These effects were shaped by perceived alignment with academic norms, disciplinary cultures and platform affordances. Originality/value This article advances the theoretical understanding of motivations in digital scholarly practices by integrating motivation crowding theory with the logic of academic identity and content production. It provides a conceptual framework for understanding motivational interplay on ASNSs. The findings contribute novel empirical insights into the nuanced motivational dynamics of ASNS use through a qualitative lens.

Purpose The aim of the paper is to holistically explore ideation as a part of visual artists' creative processes. The study focuses on how various sources of information are integrated into visual artists' ideation for their future artworks. Design/methodology/approach Our research is based on 15 qualitative interviews with visual artists. Data was analysed with content-driven thematic analysis. Findings We identified four primary sources of ideation from our dataset: (1) observation, (2) self-created, (3) experimenting, and (4) self. We examined the sources of ideation and their relations within four dimensions: the external and internal worlds, intentionality, and serendipity. Originality/value This study represents the use of various types of information sources for artistic ideation and defines a previously underexplored category “Self” that relates to using personal experiences, visual ideas and imagination as source of ideation.

Purpose This paper examines the role of documentation in the development, adoption, and stabilization of the FORTRAN programming language. It investigates how different types of documents collectively shaped FORTRAN as a sociotechnical system, enabling it to become the first widely adopted high-level programming language. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a historical case study approach, focusing on documents produced between 1953 and 1966. Using diachronic genre analysis, it identifies and analyzes seven key genres of documentation – proposal, technical report, manual, scholarly article, primer, textbook, and standard – based on their form, content, and function. The analysis is informed by the concept of documentality and draws on actor-network theory to conceptualize the agency of documents within a network of technical and social actors. Findings This study finds that documentation was central to FORTRAN's emergence as the first widely adopted high-level programming language. Each genre addressed distinct audiences and fulfilled specific communicative functions. These documents exercised collective document agency by enabling three interrelated patterns: (1) recruitment of users, (2) control of variation, and (3) articulation of technical design. Originality/value This study contributes to studies of documentation by extending the concept of documentality from individual texts to interrelated sets of documents. It introduces the concept of collective documentality to describe how genres operate in concert to shape sociotechnical systems. This paper also offers a diachronic perspective on documentation in software development by demonstrating how genre systems evolve alongside the technologies they support.