U.S. public libraries provide free public internet services to the communities that they serve, but require robust, high-speed broadband internet connections to continue meeting public demands. The 2008-2009 "Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study" ("PLFTAS") illustrates challenges that public libraries encounter in achieving broadband…

Twitter. Facebook. These names stir up feelings, opinions, and experiences in just about everyone. As these services rise in popularity, libraries have begun to use them to reach out to patrons. Some libraries use Twitter but not Facebook. Some use Facebook but not Twitter. Some use both Facebook and Twitter, while others use neither. Yes, the…

As libraries face a veritable explosion of electronic resources and as the interconnectedness of print and online resources becomes increasingly complicated, many librarians are challenged to find efficient and cost-friendly ways to manage these resources. In this article, the authors describe how a team of people from various library departments…

We seek to simplify the creation of intelligent tutors by using student data acquired from standard computer aided instruction (CAI) in conjunction with educational data mining methods to automatically generate adaptive hints. In our previous work, we have automatically generated hints for logic tutoring by constructing a Markov Decision Process…

Students in introductory programming classes often articulate their questions and information needs incompletely. Consequently, the automatic classification of student questions to provide automated tutorial responses is a challenging problem. This paper analyzes 411 questions from an introductory Java programming course by reducing the natural…

Specifying the criteria of a rubric to assess an activity, establishing the different quality levels of proficiency of development and defining weights for every criterion is not as easy as one a priori might think. Besides, the complexity of these tasks increases when they involve more than one lecturer. Reaching an agreement about the criteria…

Automated storage/retrieval systems (ASRSs) are playing an integral part in today's library operations and collections management. Eastern Michigan University installed an ASRS as part of the new Halle Library, which opened in May 1998, to provide "storage" for up to 800,000 items. Over the past 10 years our policies and procedures have…

Much recent psychometric literature has focused on cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs), a promising class of instruments used to measure the strengths and weaknesses of examinees. This article introduces a genetic algorithm to perform automated test assembly alongside CDMs. The algorithm is flexible in that it can be applied whether the goal is to…

Today many library resources are accessible 24/7. Students can be in the classroom, home, or at their favorite fast food place and do what once required a visit to the library. Electronic access to information has become a major part of the culture. No longer are students just watching a 16mm projected film in class; now they can access online…

This paper explores the perceptions of Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates about their learning outcomes in the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) programme at the University of the Punjab and their employment outcomes in the marketplace. Why do LIS graduates choose librarianship as a profession in Pakistan? What is their…

Automated assessment is an emerging innovation in educational praxis, however its pedagogical potential is not fully utilised in Australia, particularly regarding automated essay grading. The rationale for this research is that the usage of automated assessment currently lags behind the capacity that the technology provides, thus restricting the…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to develop a system for automatic extraction of metadata from scientific papers in PDF format for the information system for monitoring the scientific research activity of the University of Novi Sad (CRIS UNS). Design/methodology/approach: The system is based on machine learning and performs automatic extraction…

Academic libraries are turning to automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) as a long-term cost effective means of gaining additional space in their open stacks areas by removing lesser used books and other materials for storage and placement into ASRS bins. The new library building under construction at the University of Nevada-Reno will…

According to "Library Journal's" latest annual book-buying survey of public libraries, e-service is at the heart of current efforts to maximize library use through more, and more direct communication with patrons. Nearly four out of five respondents report offering some sort of e-service to facilitate these conversations. This article presents…

Human Resources (HR) administrators are finding that as software modules are installed to automate various processes, they have more time to focus on strategic objectives. And as compliance with affirmative action and other employment regulations comes under increasing scrutiny, HR staffers are finding that software can deliver and track data with…