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Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Highlights from Celebrating Research 2024

Highlights from Celebrating Research 2024

November 20th, 2024

Celebrating Research aims to highlight the work, innovation, and dedication of Libraries faculty by providing an opportunity to share their research with colleagues. This year, over 30 Libraries faculty members—and one undergraduate student alongside their Libraries faculty mentor—participated and showcased their work throughout the year. From projects in their beginning stages to those that are completed, faculty members shared what they have been working on and what we have to look forward to in the future.

Those who presented and the topic of their projects include:

  • Zoe Mayhook, Doug Pruim, Rachel Scallatine: Perceived Transferability of Data Visualization Skills: A thematic analysis of Rachel Scalliatine graduate student discourse in a ‘Storytelling with Data’ course.
  • Jing Lu: Transforming K12 World Language Education: Using AI to Foster Effective World Language Teaching
  • Samantha LeGrand, Jing Lu, Zoe Mayhook: Co-creating AI Learning Solutions: ​A qualitative Analysis of Student and Faculty Deliverables in an Algorithmic Literacy Learning Community
  • Annette Bochenek: Primary Sources Mini Case Development for the Undergraduate Business Classroom
  • Thom Gerrish, Rachel Fundator, Clarence Maybee: Information Literacy at the Field Station: Cultivating Environmental Researchers and Citizens
  • Bethany McGowan: Building Epistemic Communities through Service-Learning: Advancing Information Diplomacy to Tackle Information Manipulation
  • Jason Reed, Chelsea M. Baker, Becky Mahan, Trista Bailey, Tim Bloom: End-of-Life Education in Colleges of Pharmacy
  • Dave Zwicky, Margaret Phillips, Heather Howard: University to Workplace Information Strategies, Part Two 
  • Zoe Mayhook, Christopher Ghita (student): The Impact of Finance Case Competitions on Undergraduate Learning and Professional Skill Building
  • Pete Pascuzzi, Jason Reed: Analysis of library faculty publishing trends with Web of Science bibliometric data.
  • Chao Cai, Jane Yatcilla, Justyna Czader: Evaluating the reporting quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in agricultural publications
  • Kevin Wiggins: Overlap Analysis in Scopus and Web of Science
  • Jean-Pierre V. M. Hérubel, Stanislav Pejša, Dr. Pierre Verschueren: Mapping French Doctoral Dissertations
  • Kristin Leaman: Medieval Mis- and Disinformation: Filling  a Gap in Medieval Studies
  • Bert Chapman: Government Information on Semiconductors & Space Strategy and Military Doctrine: Policy Documents of NATO Allies
  • Jo Otremba: Barron Hilton Flight and Space Archives: Where We Are,Where We’re Going
  • Spencer Stewart: History in the Age of YouTube: How Online Platforms are Transforming the Practice and Creation of Historical Knowledge
  • Jerilyn Tinio: Threshold Concepts: A Framework for Teaching Data Science Ethics
  • Reid Boehm, Jerry Kuang: PURR + ORCiD: Adding PURR data to researchers’ ORCiD profile
  • Kelly Burns, Reid Boehm: Deconstructing the DMP: Research Models, Results, and Practical Applications
  • Shirley Li, Nicole Kong: Advancing data integration and utility in the Alien Forest Pest Explorer
  • Ben Parnin, Reid Boehm: Finding the Path Home: Visualizing connections and characteristics across the PLN ecosystem
  • Stanislav Pejša: The Perplexity of Humanities Datare-Use
  • Wei Zakharov, Donna Ferullo, Emily Little, Clarence Maybee: The Journey of PoRTAL (2017–2024): Purdue Repository for online Teaching and Learning

One of the highlights from the event included professor Zoe Mayhook and her mentee Christopher Ghita, a Purdue senior majoring in finance, presenting his research. With Mayhook’s guidance and expertise, Ghita worked to research the impact of finance case competitions on undergraduate learning and professional skill building. 

When reflecting on his experience working with Mayhook, Ghita said “Zoe is the best mentor I could have had. I’ve never done a lot of research, and her understanding of the literature review side and the analyzing data side has been nothing but valuable to me. It’s been a fantastic experience, and I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.”

Celebrating Research was an excellent opportunity to catch up with faculty and learn about their research endeavors. We are proud of our faculty for their commitment and dedication to research and contributing to their fields of expertise, and look forward to seeing how their work will shape the future of their disciplines.


Highlights from Purdue GIS Day 2024: Exploring GeoAI

November 8th, 2024

Purdue GIS Day 2024, with the theme of “Exploring GeoAI,” was a success and brought together over 180 students, academics, and industry professionals in a day filled with insightful talks, poster presentations, and networking opportunities. The event, hosted by Gang Shao, showcased the latest advancements in geospatial analysis and its applications across many disciplines. 

The conference featured two keynote speakers—Gregory Brunner, an experienced scientist, award-winning professor, and principal data scientist at Esri, a global market leader in GIS software; and Michael Johns, a lead geospatial product specialist at Databricks, a global data, analytics, and artificial intelligence company. Brunner spoke about the rapid growth of the AI model ecosystem and the potential impact it has and will have on GIS, and Johns discussed how to use Databricks to perform scaled spatial analysis while retaining full visibility and control over all of the underlying processes, code, models, and data lineage. Both Brunner and Johns enjoyed getting the opportunity to connect with students throughout the day and share their insights and professional experience with GIS. 

After his talk and having an opportunity to connect with students, Brunner said, “I think they are making the connections between the trends that I’m seeing, the direction Esri is going with GeoAI generative AI and what they’re doing with their own work. I hope that work continues and that they continue to make these observations and connections between what they see going on in the broadview spatial community and how it impacts their research, their work, and their interests.”

The schedule also included 14 five-minute lightning talks, presented by undergraduate and graduate students, demonstrating the depth of our student body’s research and innovation in geospatial fields. Additionally, 21 undergraduate and graduate students presented posters at the event, tying in their respective disciplines to the field of GIS. 

“I was really impressed with the quality of the posters and presentations. It feels like there’s a lot of grounding around real-world problems that speaks well of how students are being set up here through the program and I think there’s a lot of good questions that are being asked about how students take what they learned at the university and apply it at the level they aim to achieve,” said Johns, reflecting on his experience viewing the student poster presentations and lightning talks. 

We were also honored to hear from industry partners during four research and industry presentations and a career panel discussion that connected the practical applications of geospatial technologies between academia and industry. From learning about how to build an open geospatial data ecosystem to finding and accessing statewide GIS data, the speakers highlighted the relevance of these tools in real-world scenarios.

A special thanks to the following individuals for their involvement, participation, and professional insights shared with attendees during the panel discussion and/or their research and industry presentation:

  • Gregory Brunner, principal data scientist at Esri
  • Michael Johns,  lead geospatial product specialist
  • Ryan Bowe, aviation project manager at Woolpert and president of Indiana Geographic Information Council
  • Joan Keene, GIS director at Hamilton County, IN
  • Phil Worrall, geospatial consultant at Philip Worrall LLC
  • Brian DeKemper, enterprise account executive at Amazon Web Services
  • Jinhin Cai, Ph. D. candidate
  • Jinha Jung, associate professor of civil engineering
  • Minyoung Jung, postdoctoral researcher in civil engineering
  • Benjamin Hancock, senior web developer in agricultural and biological engineering
  • Shaun Schooler, GIS program director
  • Daniel Council, geographic information outreach coordinator

The day concluded by recognizing the best graduate and undergraduate student who had an outstanding lightning talk or poster presentation. Each winner was presented with a certificate and a $100 reward for their unique contributions to the field of GIS. 

Undergraduate award winners:

  • Lightning talk: Shrithik Sekar, Environmental and Ecological Engineering | “Nonpoint Source Pollution Analysis Using ArcGIS Pro”
  • Poster presentation: Andrew Thompson, Computer Science | “Evaluating the Use of LiDAR Traffic Data for Assessing Infrastructure”

Graduate award winners:

  • Lightning talk: Margaret Deahn, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences | “How to (safely) land a robot on another planet: Mapping planetary missions from Venus to Mars”
  • Poster presentation: Adebola Esther Adeniji, Forestry and Natural Resources | “Modeling suitable habitat for the Near Threatened Cerulean Warbler in the contiguous United States using ArcGIS and MaxENT”

Congratulations to our winners for their outstanding achievements, and to all of our GIS Day 2024 participants for their commendable successes and contributions to the field of Geographic Informations Systems. As we look forward to another inspiring event, please mark your calendars for next year’s conference, which will be held on November 6, 2025.


Purdue Libraries participating in First-Generation Celebration Week

October 29th, 2024

In honor of First-Generation Celebration Week held November 4–8, 2024, Purdue Libraries will showcase valuable insights and advice from faculty and staff on our social media channels, many of whom are first-generation graduates themselves. This annual event is dedicated to raising awareness about the experiences of first-generation college students and promoting a positive narrative about their journeys and achievements. 

Each year, Purdue proudly welcomes thousands of first-generation college students to campus, who are typically defined as students whose parents or guardians did not earn a four-year college degree. In 2022, approximately 16% of Purdue undergraduate students self-identified as first-generation. First-gen students bring unique perspectives and insights, and an ever-changing skill set. 

Visit the First-Generation at Purdue website for additional information and to learn more about first-generation services, and be sure to follow our social media channels throughout the week to discover inspiring advice and tips tailored specifically to first-generation college students from our dedicated faculty and staff. 


Banned Books Week events were successes

October 3rd, 2024

Libraries celebrated Banned Books Week this year by hosting three events—a Banned Books Buffet on September 25, and a community workshop at the West Lafayette Public Library and campus seminar in Stewart Center on September 26. 

The buffet featured selections of Purdue Libraries’ collection of banned and challenged books on display for visitors to explore as they stopped by.

Shannon Oltmann, associate professor in the School of Information Science at The University of Kentucky, spoke at both the community workshop and campus seminar. She wrote the book “Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries” and edited “The Fight Against Book Bans: Perspectives from the Field.” Her work has been funded by the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum & Library Services. Oltmann has presented her research at numerous academic and professional conferences and webinars and has published widely.

Attendees enjoyed listening to and gaining valuable insight from Oltmann as she focused her discussion on school, public, and academic librarians, and library workers. She discussed topics such as intellectual freedom, book challenges, creating library politics and training for library workers, censorship, and ways to overcome censorship in society at the community seminar.

At the campus seminar, Oltmann touched on similar topics—intellectual freedom, censorship, and ways to overcome censorship in society—from a student, faculty, and staff perspective.

A special thanks to Shannon Oltmann for sharing her knowledge and insights at both talks, and Melissa Chomintra, Jessie Scott, and Jason Filer for planning and organizing these events. 

Watch the community workshop.


Purdue University Research Repository obtains CoreTrustSeal approval

September 24th, 2024

On August 8, 2024, Purdue University Research Repository (PURR) became an approved CoreTrustSeal data repository.

CoreTrustSeal approval reflects PURR’s commitment to being a high-quality, trustworthy, and reliable data repository for Purdue researchers and their collaborators. Obtaining this approval is a significant milestone as it provides additional, formal validation of PURR’s compliance with federal funding agencies’ required data repository characteristics. It will be beneficial to the over 5,500 registered PURR users and Purdue researchers submitting data management plans with grant proposals who plan to use PURR for data sharing and preservation.

The certification process involved a thorough written report and subsequent review of PURR’s procedures and documentation by external independent reviewers. To provide transparency, all documentation is available for public consumption. 

This approval would not have been possible without efforts from the PURR team—Reid Boehm, research data systems manager; Standa Pejša, data curator and project lead; Jerry Kuang, senior software developer; and Kelly Burns, research data management specialist.

About the CoreTrustSeal

CoreTrustSeal is an international, community-based, non-governmental, and non-profit organization promoting sustainable and trustworthy data infrastructures. It is an industry-standard certification, recognized internationally, and offers any interested data repository a core-level certification based on the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories Requirements that reflect the essential characteristics of trustworthy data repositories.


Celebrate Banned Books Week with Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies

September 20th, 2024

Banned Books Week is this week!

This is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It spotlights attempts to censor books in libraries and schools and brings together the entire book community—librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types—in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

Celebrate with us next week by attending these community and campus-wide events:

Banned Books Buffet on Wednesday, September 25, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM in the STEW lobby. Stop by to explore Purdue Libraries’ diverse collection of challenged and banned books, take a selfie with your favorite banned book, and have the chance to win Libraries swag.

Community workshop on Thursday, September 26, 11:00 AM at the West Lafayette Public Library. Join Shannon Oltmann, associate professor in the School of Information Science at The University of Kentucky, as she discusses the basic elements of intellectual freedom, with emphasis on how to implement it into public and school libraries. This workshop is great for school, public, or academic librarians, any library workers, and community members; register now at https://hubs.la/Q02PTvr10

Campus seminar on Thursday, September 26, 4:00 PM in STEW 202. Join us for a Banned Books seminar with Shannon Oltmann. Shannon will be discussing topics such as intellectual freedom, widespread issues of censorship, and ways to overcome censorship in society.


Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies hosting Faculty Orientation+

September 4th, 2024

Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies will be hosting Faculty Orientation+ on Thursday, September 26, 11:00 AM–1:30 PM on the third floor of the HSSE Library in Stewart Center.

New and returning faculty members are encouraged to stop by and learn about the services and support methods Libraries has and offers. This is an open house-style event with a light lunch offering. Please register today for this informal and informative event. 

Discover more about:

  • Purdue University Press: Discover the best course of action for your book or journal publishing goals
  • Research Analytics: Establish your academic identity and increase the visibility of your scholarship
  • Research Data Management/PURR: Publish your data, get a DOI and track your impact
  • Library Liaisons/Subject Matter Specialists: Learn how our faculty librarians can partner with you on learning and research projects, and how to use library research guides in your courses
  • Copyright: How to use copyrighted works for teaching and research
  • Information Studies Minor: How a minor in Information Studies will prepare your students for the workforce
  • Certificate Programs: Introduce your students to innovative computational methods in Digital Humanities and Geographic Information Systems
  • Affordable Education/Course Reserves: Library resources reduce student expenses through no-cost or low-cost course materials
  • Archives and Special Collections: Incorporating primary archival sources into research, learning, and course assignments
  • Information Literacy: Create educational experiences that enable students to use information in creative, ethical, and contextual ways
  • Open Access/ePubs: Learn about the various ways to publish your works as Open Access, leading to greater visibility, more downloads, and higher citation rates of your research

Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies launches new minor

August 30th, 2024

woman with long dark hair sitting facing a laptop screen doing research; credit: Jacob Wackerhausen

Enhance your Purdue experience with a minor in Information Studies offered through Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies. It is more than just a supplementary credential; rather, it is designed to provide students with invaluable insights on how to navigate our increasingly complex information landscape. 

Students throughout all academic disciplines can take advantage of and benefit from this new opportunity. Courses for the minor touch on historical, cultural, and ethical dimensions of information—key contexts to consider in all fields of study when learning how to disseminate information. 

Students who complete the Information Studies minor will be equipped to:

  • Navigate the information environment to make evidence-based decisions in professional and academic contexts. 
  • Examine the role of information in ethical, societal, historical, and cultural contexts to address real-world situations. 
  • Determine the significance of information-focused opportunities and challenges such as intellectual property, misinformation and disinformation, artificial intelligence, security, and privacy. 
  • Apply various approaches to research using data, including techniques from data management, data science, digital humanities, and other methods.
  • Reflect in an informed and critical manner on information infrastructures and practices. 

Specific course requirements cover trending topics ranging from data ethics, misinformation dynamics, online culture, intellectual property, and the transformative effects of technological innovation, which are all trending points of discussion in today’s interconnected, technology-driven world. 

Required courses for the minor include:

Required foundation course (3 credits)

ILS 100 Introduction to Information Studies

Choose one of the following courses (3 credits)

ILS 300 Information, Culture, and Society

ILS 301 Data Foundations, Tools, and Applications

Choose courses 10000 level or higher (6 credits)

Any ILS 10000–59999 OR

MGMT 110, MGMT 175, IDIS 201

Choose course(s) 30000 level or higher (3 credits)

Any ILS 30000–59999 OR

BCHM 421 OR CHM 513

View the list of ILS courses here: https://infostudies.purdue.edu/course-listing/ 

Whether pursuing careers in industry, non-profits, entrepreneurship, government agencies, cultural organizations, or furthering studies in graduate programs, the skills garnered from this minor will serve as a cornerstone for lifelong success.

Visit infostudies.purdue.edu/minor-in-information-studies for additional information, email infostudies@purdue.edu for minor-related questions, and contact your academic advisor to officially enroll in the Information Studies minor.


How to Get Your Book Published: Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices in Publishing

August 22nd, 2024

Thursday, September 5 | 2:00–3:00 PM | STEW 311

This event is free and open to the campus community. Please register today.

First-time authors often describe academic publishing as a “black box.” Join us for an engaging session with Justin Race, director of Purdue University Press that will empower you on your academic publishing journey. This session aims to demystify the academic publishing process and provide valuable insights for faculty and graduate students looking to publish their work.

You will learn about:

  • Choosing the Right Publisher
  • Crafting a Compelling Book Proposal
  • Preparing for Peer Review
  • Successful Book Promotion
  • Interactive Q&A: Get your burning questions answered

Why Attend:
Learn from an expert with a wealth of experience in academic publishing. Gain insights to enhance your academic publishing journey, and build a successful author-editor relationship.

About the Speaker:
Justin Race is the director of Purdue University Press, and oversees a publishing program of 25 new books and 16 journals each year in addition to heading the scholarly publishing services division. Prior to joining Purdue, he was director of the University of Nevada Press. He got his start in 2010 as an acquisitions editor with Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group. In his 14-year career he has acquired books in a multitude of fields, from fiction and memoir to engineering and astronautics. Learn more about the press.

If you have any questions about this event, please email Mandi Gramelspacher, Libraries and School of Information Studies. For additional information about book publishing, please visit the publishing opportunities page.


Featured Database: IBISWorld

January 16th, 2024

Parrish Library’s Featured Database will give you a very brief introduction to the basic features of one of our specialized subscription databases. This time we’re featuring IBISWorld, brought to you by a company of the same name.

Focus

IBISWorld provides data-drive reports on over 700 U.S. industries, 200 Chinese industries, and 70 global industries. Each report is approximately 30-40 pages in length.

Access

The List of Business Databases is the alphabetical list of the databases specially selected for those in a business program of study. Access the databases off-campus with your Purdue Career Account.

Tutorial

Click Getting Started with IBISWorld to watch the basics of using this database.

Related Resources

Some other resources you might want to explore are:

  • BizMiner contains detailed industry analysis for small and large businesses and entrepreneurs.
  • D&B Hoovers is an aggregate database of company, business news, and industry information.
  • Plunkett Research offers detailed industry reports, company profiles, and numerous statistics.

 


Featured Database comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact parrlib@purdue.edu. Also let us know if you know of a colleague who would benefit from this, or future Featured Databases.

Since usage statistics are an important barometer when databases are up for renewal, tell us your favorite database, and we will gladly promote it. Send an email to parrlib@purdue.edu.