Christopher Cyr

Bio: Christopher Cyr is an academic researcher from OCLC. The author has contributed to research in topics: Higher education & Sustainable development. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 9 publications receiving 6 citations. Previous affiliations of Christopher Cyr include Eastern Kentucky University.

Libraries and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: The past, present, and future

Abstract: This paper presents initial research from a broader project about the impact of libraries on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2015, the UN launched the SDGs, a set of 17 goals for global development by the year 2030. Librarians helped shape the inclusion of access to information in these goals and are involved in furthering them through providing access to information. The OCLC Global Council has selected the SDGs as its area of focus for 2020 and is formulating a research program that will identify and advocate for the ways that libraries can help further the SDGs. This paper details the history of the SDGs and the role that librarians played in shaping them. It shows examples of ways that librarians and library initiatives have helped further them through providing access to information and information literacy skills. Finally, it offers suggestions for ways that library leaders could structure their information activates around the SDGs, based on data from a survey of OCLC Global Council delegates.

Authority, Context and Containers: Student Perceptions and Judgments When Using Google for School Work

Abstract: What really happens when student researchers meet a Google results page? How do students determine the authority behind each result? News, blogs, journals, Wikipedia, websites, e-books--with the vast array of online content available, how do students differentiate between them? Better still, do they differentiate between them or are these format agnostic students stymied by container collapse? The Researching Students’ Information Choices (RSIC) project is answering these questions. The Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education aims to guide educators in their work to develop today’s students into critical thinking denizens of the digital world. The work of RSIC can directly inform the first frame, “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual.” This Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded study, examines and compares the judgments and perceptions of students (from late primary, secondary, community college/vocational school, undergraduate, to graduate school/postgraduate) as they select resources for science-related school inquiry projects. Our project team includes academic science librarians, pre-service LIS educators, school librarians, and research scientists. We enlisted K-12, community college, four-year college, and university librarians and faculty as members of our Advisory Panel. The analyses identify students’ perceptions and judgments related to the source and author/creator of three resources common to all participants included in Google search results, and the role the container plays in determining whether the resource is credible and citable for a school/academic project. Students used cues from the web search results screen in their judgements and educational stage influenced their behavior in some instances. These findings can be used by librarians to design scalable instructional models to support critical student inquiry skills. The research results also will contribute to and support evidence-based decision making for the implementation of information literacy instruction grounded in frameworks, guidelines, and standards.

Science and News: A Study of Students' Judgments of Online Scientific News Information

Abstract: This paper explores how students judge scientific news resources, as they might find through a Google search. The data were collected as part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project. Students used a simulated search engine that ensured study participants found the same search results while seeking information for a science-related school project. The 116 students from high school, community college, undergraduate, and graduate communities evaluated three online news resources for their helpfulness, citability, credibility, and container. Analysis of quantitative data from the study indicated that students may find news resources helpful for a science project, but do not always consider them citable. Students appeared to focus on the organization that produced the news resource (i.e., source) when judging its credibility. Not all students identified the resources’ containers as news, even when the source was widely known. The researchers note differences in judgment between educational stages. Differences were especially pronounced between high school and higher education students, with high school students more likely to find news sources worthy of citing for school projects.

Mixed methods data collection using simulated Google results: reflections on the methods of a point-of-selection behaviour study

Abstract: Introduction. A multi-institutional, grant-funded project employed mixed methods to study 175 fourth-grade through graduate school students’ point-of-selection behaviour. The method features the use of simulated search engine results pages to facilitate data collection. Method. Student participants used simulated Google results pages to select resources for a hypothetical school project. Quantitative data on participants’ selection behaviour and qualitative data from their think-aloud protocols were collected. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data on participants’ backgrounds and online research experiences. Analysis. This paper reflects on the data collection methods and highlights opportunities for data analysis. The ability to analyse data both qualitatively and quantitatively increases the rigor and depth of findings. Results. The simulation created a realistic yet controlled environment that ensures the comparability of data within and across a wide range of educational stages. Combining data on participants’ behaviour, thoughts and characteristics provides a more complete picture of factors influencing online resource selection. Conclusions. Using simulated results pages in combination with multiple data collection methods enables analyses that create deeper knowledge of participants' information behaviour. Such a complicated research design requires extensive time, expertise and coordination to execute.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Abstract: On behalf of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this international scientific conference. Drylands are often considered fragile ecosystems, yet they have a remarkable resilience to stress. They are home to unique and well-adapted plant and animal species that we need to conserve. Some of the world’s greatest cultures and belief systems have originated in drylands. On the other hand, desertification and land degradation in drylands often result in poverty and cause environmental refugees to abandon their homes. These problems can only be addressed in a holistic manner, based on sound scientific research and findings. Solutions to the problems of dryland degradation need to be communicated as widely as possible through education at all levels. These are many reasons why UNESCO – within its mandate of science, education, culture and communication – took the intiative to organize this conference. And we are glad that so many partners have responded to our call. UNESCO considers this conference as its main contribution to the observance of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. We have deliberately chosen the title ‘The Future of Drylands’ as we feel it is time to redefine our priorities for science, education and governance in the drylands based on 50 years of scientific research in arid and semi-arid zones. In fact UNESCO has one of the longest traditions, within the UN system, of addressing dryland problems from an interdisciplinary, scientific point of view. In 1955, the ‘International Arid Land Meetings’ were held in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). They were organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by UNESCO and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. One important output of the International Arid Land Meetings was a book entitled The Future of Drylands, edited by Gilbert F. White and published in

A learning path recommendation model based on a multidimensional knowledge graph framework for e-learning

Abstract: E-learners face a large amount of fragmented learning content during e-learning. How to extract and organize this learning content is the key to achieving the established learning target, especially for non-experts. Reasonably arranging the order of the learning objects to generate a well-defined learning path can help the e-learner complete the learning target efficiently and systematically. Currently, knowledge-graph-based learning path recommendation algorithms are attracting the attention of researchers in this field. However, these methods only connect learning objects using single relationships, which cannot generate diverse learning paths to satisfy different learning needs in practice. To overcome this challenge, this paper proposes a learning path recommendation model based on a multidimensional knowledge graph framework. The main contributions of this paper are as follows. Firstly, we have designed a multidimensional knowledge graph framework that separately stores learning objects organized in several classes. Then, we have proposed six main semantic relationships between learning objects in the knowledge graph. Secondly, a learning path recommendation model is designed for satisfying different learning needs based on the multidimensional knowledge graph framework, which can generate and recommend customized learning paths according to the e-learner’s target learning object. The experiment results indicate that the proposed model can generate and recommend qualified personalized learning paths to improve the learning experiences of e-learners.

Information-seeking behavior of social sciences scholars: a nigerian case study

Abstract: Information-seeking behavior is one of the most important areas of user studies and a concept affected by many factors. Previous researches in these areas indicate that the information-seeking practices of scholars are dependent on their field of research, and vary from one discipline to another. This paper examines the information-seeking behavior of scholars in the social sciences, based on the premise that information-seeking behavior follows universally applicable stages and patterns worldwide. The study was conducted at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Fifty eight active social sciences scholars were interviewed via a questionnaire about their information sources for research and consultancy purposes, their preference for electronic or printed formats, their use of electronic or Internet resources, and how they meet or satisfy their information needs, among others. Results show that journals and books were the most preferred information sources, and a large majority of scholars “regularly” used electronic information resources for their research and consultancy needs. The findings of the study also demonstrate diverse usage patterns for electronic information resources among users of different academic ranks and age range. Based on the research findings, the author provides suggestions on how current information services and products can be improved to better serve the users. The author also makes recommendations for improving library services and technologies to better meet the information needs of social sciences scholars in general.

Role of academic libraries in the achievement of quality education as a sustainable development goal

Abstract: PurposeThis study explored the role of academic libraries in the achievement of quality education as a Sustainable Development Goal.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative research approach and descriptive case study design. This study focuses on academic libraries from four universities in Ghana. From each university, the researchers purposely selected four respondents, comprising the heads of the libraries, deputies, and two assistant librarians or library assistants. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and document reviews. The results were analyzed and presented in descriptive and interpretive forms.FindingsThe study established that the majority of the library staff were aware of the sustainable development goal, SDG 4. The libraries provided relevant materials to support students’ learning, organize training on information literacy and engage library patrons in periodic information literacy programs to create awareness of the SDG 4. Since the libraries do not have their own internally developed policies on the SDG 4, they depend on the general United Nations (UN) document on the SDG and SDG 4 as a guide in information delivery; and the general policies on information delivery, teaching and quality assurance of the universities in general and the libraries in particular. The study concluded with a framework to guide the successful accomplishment of the SDG 4 in libraries.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on academic libraries in Ghana and adopted the purposive sampling technique which makes it assume a weak power of generalization.Practical implicationsThe study has implications for academic libraries and librarians in Ghana in achieving the SDG 4. It will guide librarians and academic libraries in formulating policies to guide them in their activities. The framework developed as a result of the findings will equally guide the librarians in their quest to provide information to achieve the SDG 4.Originality/valueThis study's originality lies in its articulation of academic libraries' initiatives in the actualization of the SDG 4 in Ghana with a developed framework to guide librarians and academic libraries. Academic libraries and librarians who are eager to contribute their quota to the achievement of the SDG 4 will find this study useful.