abstract: This article explores inclusive approaches to data literacy in academic libraries through a case study of Python Camp, a four-day introductory programming workshop offered by George Washington University Libraries and Academic Innovation. We position computational literacy as a dimension of data literacy, emphasizing the ability to engage with data through code, modeling, and algorithmic reasoning. Unlike traditional boot camps that prioritize technical skill acquisition, Python Camp fosters collaborative learning, frames computation as a communicative and exploratory act, and embeds coding within interdisciplinary, context-rich problems. Drawing on facilitator reflections and semistructured interviews with participants, we argue that academic libraries are uniquely positioned to challenge exclusionary norms in data education. Our pedagogical approach centers relevance, learner agency, and ethical engagement with data, aligning with broader library trends toward inclusive, user-centered instruction. We describe how our team-based model supports a growth mindset and inclusive learning culture through varied lesson structures, reduced educator bias, and peer communication. We conclude by framing computational literacy as a social, situated practice. More than acquiring syntax, it is a process of building fluency, confidence, and relevance. Library-based data literacy programs that foreground ethical, critical, and user-centered approaches can broaden access to computational tools while modeling inclusive pedagogy. Reflection by both participants and facilitators is essential, not only for assessing program effectiveness but as a core practice of inclusion itself.

Abstract: A dominant cultural norm among Black Americans living with dementia and their caregiving families is that the condition is a natural part of aging and best dealt with by the family and within the family. The flow of knowledge and understanding through family networks alone can be a significant barrier to raising dementia awareness and improving quality of life. To address this issue, we describe a multifaceted community-engaged approach with the goal of building connections for a dementia-friendly community inclusive of the family, persons living with dementia in the community, and key community organizations. Adopting a socio-ecological model of health approach, groundbreaking work began with members of community faith-based organizations caring for persons living with dementia. Further partnership with local service providers led to the creation of a multistakeholder collaborative advisory board. Members included a community-based library, faith-based organizations in the community, an Alzheimer's Association chapter serving the community, university research centers researching dementia, the American Heart Association, and city departments directing Library and Family and Support Services providers. Work completed enabled the successful denomination of the neighborhood of Washington Heights as Dementia Friendly.

Abstract: Genre is an important facet in bibliographic classification schemes. Yet the nature of musical genre as a type of information, especially its close but indistinct connections to the related ideas of form and type, has received little deep analysis in knowledge organization discourse. This article uses classification scheme and superfacet analysis, alongside music domain analysis, to contemplate musical genre as a classificatory unit. The bibliographic and domain analysis of genre illuminates the synonymous nature of genre and form as terms and the porous genre/form boundary of categories, as well as highlighting the dependency between genre and medium/function facets. The analysis of forms reveals interesting questions about the it-ness versus about-ness question in music and explores the relative dominance of genre versus form and how this compares with the music domain. The analysis of types introduces the novel idea of types of music as supergenres, as well as discussing the connection between types of music and the (de)centralization of Western art music. The article concludes with a model of the classification of musical genre, showing the complexity of the classificatory unit of genre and how it occupies a shared space between genre, form, type, and other music information.

Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence has become a prevalent topic in our everyday lives, including academic research. This paper explores the use of these tools in scientific research and writing, introducing the concept of generative artificial intelligence and its essential characteristics and assessing the potential and limitations of these tools in academic research. To explore their potential, a categorization of their use into six domains based on the works of Khalifa and Albadawy is provided. Two perspectives will be considered when evaluating their limitations: those related to their algorithmic construction and those related to the results they produce. In the final stage of this paper, the authors conclude that the use of these tools in research should be guided by critical information literacy principles. The work proposes a framework for utilizing generative artificial intelligence tools based on the critical information literacy perspective in seven levels proposed by Schneider, comprising Concentration, Instrumental, Taste, Relevance, Credibility, Ethics, and Critique.

Abstract: Researchers at the University of New Mexico used ChatGPT 4 to replicate the coding and analysis process of a qualitative research study investigating the lived experiences of graduate students. The study’s purpose was to explore the trustworthiness and credibility of generative AI for the coding process in qualitative research. The researchers compared the first- and second-level codes and the thematic framework produced by a human research team with the first- and second-level codes and thematic framework produced by ChatGPT 4. They conclude that ChatGPT was effective for first-level open and descriptive coding and that researchers who use ChatGPT for their first-level coding will save a substantial amount of time and can devote more attention to second-level coding. A compressed timeline could not only benefit researchers but also speed up the adoption of data-informed improvements, yielding palpable benefits for the communities that libraries serve. The researchers also conclude that ChatGPT’s inherent limitations mean that it cannot serve as the primary second-level coder. They recommend using ChatGPT as a nonhuman collaborator, with options to use it in the capacity of researcher triangulation, intercoder reliability, peer debriefing, or reduction of bias. If researchers use ChatGPT for second-level coding, they will still need to allocate sufficient time to gaining intimate knowledge of the transcripts in order to produce more trustworthy and credible results.

Abstract: The release of OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022 launched a reckoning with the potential consequences of this new technology for librarianship. In this discourse, there is a clear desire among librarians to take agency over the predicted destiny of the library and information science field, which has a long history of adapting to new technologies, yet may be seen as reactive when these technologies are introduced. The question of agency has become more urgent as the harmful impacts of algorithms and AI become increasingly visible. This community-centered study focuses on the perceptions and concerns of practitioners and scholars in library and information science regarding AI, technological innovation, and the ways in which they position their own and others’ agency when discussing their consequences. We utilize a critical narrative and discourse-based analytic framework to consider how they may reflect both the deterministic discourses perpetuated by “technological elites” and the socially constructivist discourses common in library and information science. We highlight librarian perceptions of AI’s impact through the lens of agency to consider how these two seemingly opposing viewpoints may be reconstructed through their discursive constructions of technology and what we can learn from them about the directions of agency among librarians, their communities, and technology.

Abstract: In Western countries, the philosophy of information has emerged in the last two decades and influenced the core ideas of library and information science (LIS). Chinese information philosophy, which Kun Wu proposed in the 1980s, has been largely ignored in LIS. Chinese information philosophy is a unique academic school in the international information philosophy community and has great potential to update foundations in LIS. This paper investigates the value and implications of Chinese information philosophy for metatheoretical research in LIS. It draws out theories of this philosophy in the digital age to discuss insights LIS can gain, including in information ontology and epistemology, information thinking theory, information evolution theory, holographic theory, social information theory, and information production theory. Introducing Chinese information philosophy to LIS will change the metatheoretical landscape of the discipline and bridge Chinese and Western LIS to a large degree.

Abstract: This study emphasizes the role of librarians in bridging the digital divide in Nigerian communities. It explores how librarians are providing services to their community in order to drive growth and development. The study is a survey of library personnel from library systems across southwest Nigeria ( N = 98). A structure was adopted as an instrument for data collection. The study found that public libraries in southwest Nigeria offer programs that can equip their patrons with moderate digital skills. However, several challenges abound, most of which centered around lack of adequate digital facilities and minimal skills among librarians. The study concluded that the presence of digital competence programs in the public libraries is a positive signal showing the awareness of public libraries about the importance of helping their patrons acquire digital competencies. It was therefore recommended that libraries increase awareness among the patrons about the importance of digital competencies. Libraries are also urged to seek additional sources of funding to acquire all relevant equipment for digital competence training.

Abstract: Participatory practices in libraries seem to be well established in the library landscape yet remain a new practice for many librarians. The fact is, conducting participatory projects calls for the mobilization of a number of skills. Some of these competencies fall within the scope of normal professional experience such as library techniques or ethics. However, it is important to learn how to share and pass on these skills. Others are specific to participation and facilitation, requiring attention, listening, and empathy. The latter are more political and reflect recognition of the sociocultural issues raised by participatory practices. They commit librarians to responsibilities linked to the inclusion of citizens as a collective, on the one hand, and of individuals in their diversity, on the other. With this dual commitment, these transmissions of knowledge, this attention to participants, the library commits itself, in these participative practices, to a true exercise of democracy.

Abstract: Mary Niles Maack began her research in library history at a critical time in American feminist studies. Earlier scholars laid the groundwork for feminist research by identifying the contributions of women, gathering sources about them, and writing histories that corrected predominantly male perspectives on the role of women in American history. Maack addressed the problem of premature generalization in library history research in her 1982 article "Toward a History of Women in Librarianship: A Critical Analysis with Suggestions for Further Research." One focus of her scrutiny was Dee Garrison's work. When Maack's article was published, the first women's studies programs were just being established in American universities; her research was an important contribution to a nascent field. This essay considers that evolution. As women's studies grew to embrace gender studies, Maack's work evolved as well. This article considers "Toward a History of Women" and her unpublished 1998 paper "Book Women: Writing Feminist Biography" to understand the evolution of Maack's work in an evolving field.