Browsing by Author "Young, Scott W. H."

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A/B Testing Web Analytics Data [dataset]
(2014-07) Young, Scott W. H.
This dataset is associated with the following article: Young, Scott WH (2014) Improving Library User Experience with A/B Testing: Principles and Process. Weave: Journal of Library User Experience. University of Michigan Library. doi:10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.101
All Aboard! The Party's Starting: Setting a Course for Social Media Success
(2013-08) Hansen, Mary Anne; Rossmann, Doralyn; Tate, Angela; Young, Scott W. H.
Social media is more than a way to inform users; social media is a powerful way to build community online. In this webinar hosted by the Library and Information Technology Association, presenters from Montana State University Library will go beyond the basics by demonstrating how to create a social media guide for developing communities on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. We will explore data tracking and assessment tools such as ThinkUp, HootSuite, Google Analytics, focus group data, and survey methods. We will also discuss strategies for integrating social media efforts into your organization’s strategic plan and educating peer organizations about best practices.
Applying Attributes of Contemplative Technopedagogy to a Social Media Assignment
(2019-06) Shanks, Justin D.; Young, Scott W. H.
With widespread prevalence of digital technology in contemporary higher education, researchers have been keen to identify best practices and understand impacts. Social media present opportunities to cultivate interactive, creative teaching-learning communities. However, inclusion of social media in a course does not necessarily equal deep or creative student engagement. Faculty play an important role in helping students critically and creatively engage with content, colleagues, and context. Utilizing a mixed-methods case study approach, this research explores how contemplative technopedagogy can aid in the development of social media assignments and positively influence student learning. While blogging has been studied as a pedagogical tool, Tumblr has not yet been studied as an educational technology. This research demonstrates how the integration of contemplative technopedagogical attributes can aid faculty in developing social media assignments with contextual awareness that enhance teaching and learning in contemporary higher education.
Assessing and Improving Library Technology with Service Blueprinting
(2018-07) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Rossmann, Doralyn; Swedman, David; Shanks, Justin D.
Objective: The objective of this article is to illustrate the application of service blueprinting—a design tool that comes from the service design tradition—for assessing and improving library technology services. Setting: A mid-sized library at a public university in the western United States. Methods: A service blueprint was co-created by library and IT staff in a design workshop in order to map the operational flow of a data visualization display wall. Results: Guided by the service blueprint, the project team identified points of improvement for the service of the data visualization display wall, and developed recommendations to aid further applications of service blueprinting. Conclusions: Ultimately, service blueprinting was found to be a useful tool that can be applied to assess and improve library technology services.
Building Library Community Through Social Media
(Library & Information Technology Association, American Library Association, 2015-03) Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
In this article academic librarians present and analyze a model for community building through social media. Findings demonstrate the importance of strategy and interactivity via social media for generating new connections with library users. Details of this research include successful guidelines for building community and developing engagement online with social media. By applying intentional social media practices, the researchers’ Twitter user community grew 100 percent in one year, with a corresponding 275 percent increase in user interactions. Using a community analysis approach, this research demonstrates that the principles of personality and interactivity can lead to community formation for targeted user groups. Discussion includes the strategies and research approaches that were employed to build, study, and understand user community, including user type analysis and action-object mapping. From this research a picture of the library as a member of an active academic community comes into focus.
Demonstrating library value at network scale: leveraging the Semantic Web with new knowledge work
(Routledge, 2014-08) Arlitsch, Kenning; OBrien, Patrick; Clark, Jason A.; Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
Librarians may enjoy new roles as trusted facilitators who can develop effective and replicable optimization services by delivering measurable value based on metrics that matter to each organization’s leadership. The Montana State University (MSU) Library is engaged in Semantic Web research on several fronts, which we will describe in this article. Our concept of “new knowledge work” encompasses the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of content and services in the Semantic Web. In this article, we survey the following new services that libraries can offer their users and campus partners to aid discovery and understanding of resources at the network scale: 1. Establishing semantic identity for content and entities. 2. Structuring metadata for machine ingest and leveraging external search mechanisms. 3. Centralizing management of faculty activity data for efficient population of Institutional Repository (IR) and other reporting outlets. 4. Developing programmatic social media strategies to connect communities and content. 5. Advancing the role of the library as publisher to include the creation of open extensible book softw
Digital Library User Research Data [dataset]
(Montana State University ScholarWorks, 2017-03) Young, Scott W. H.
Hex UX is an integrated method for generating, analyzing, and reporting user experience research data.
Final Performance Report Narrative: Getting Found
(2014-11) Arlitsch, Kenning; OBrien, Patrick; Godby, Jean; Mixter, Jeff; Clark, Jason A.; Young, Scott W. H.; Smith, Devon; Rossmann, Doralyn; Sterman, Leila B.; Tate, Angela; Hansen, Mary Anne
The research we proposed to IMLS in 2011 was prompted by a realization that the digital library at the University of Utah was suffering from low visitation and use. We knew that we had a problem with low visibility on the Web because search engines such as Google were not harvesting and indexing our digitized objects, but we had only a limited understanding of the reasons. We had also done enough quantitative surveys of other digital libraries to know that many libraries were suffering from this problem. IMLS funding helped us understand the reasons why library digital repositories weren’t being harvested and indexed. Thanks to IMLS funding of considerable research and application of better practices we were able to dramatically improve the indexing ratios of Utah’s digital objects in Google, and consequently the numbers of visitors to the digital collections increased. In presentations and publications we shared the practices that led to our accomplishments at Utah. The first year of the grant focused on what the research team has come to call “traditional search engine optimization,” and most of this work was carried out at the University of Utah. The final two years of the grant were conducted at Montana State University after the PI was appointed as dean of the library there. These latter two years moved more toward “Semantic Web optimization,” which includes areas of research in semantic identity, data modeling, analytics and social media optimization
Improving Services — At What Cost? Examining the Ethics of Twitter Research at the Montana State University Library
(Council for Big Data, Ethics, and Society, 2016-10) Mannheimer, Sara; Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
As social media use has become widespread, academic and corporate researchers have identified social networking services as sources of detailed information about people’s viewpoints and behaviors. Social media users share thoughts, have conversations, and build communities in open, online spaces, and researchers analyze social media data for a variety of purposes—from tracking the spread of disease (Lampos & Cristianini, 2010) to conducting market research (Patino, Pitta, & Quinones, 2012; Hornikx & Hendriks, 2015) to forecasting elections (Tumasjan et al., 2010). Twitter in particular has emerged as a leading platform for social media research, partly because user data from non-private Twitter accounts is openly accessible via an application programming interface (API). This case study describes research conducted by Montana State University (MSU) librarians to analyze the MSU Library’s Twitter community, and the ethical questions that we encountered over the course of the research. The case study will walk through our Twitter research at the MSU Library, and then suggest discussion questions to frame an ethical conversation surrounding social media research. We offer a number of areas of ethical inquiry that we recommend be engaged with as a cohesive whole.
Library Web Performance Data [dataset]
(2016-01) Young, Scott W. H.
This dataset is associated with the following article: Young, SWH (2016) Speed Matters: Performance Enhancements for Library Websites. Weave UX 1(4). http://doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.401
Measuring Up: Assessing Accuracy of Reported Use and Impact of Digital Repositories
(2014-02) Arlitsch, Kenning; OBrien, Patrick; Kyrillidou, Martha; Clark, Jason A.; Young, Scott W. H.; Mixter, Jeff; Chao, Zoe; Freels-Stendel, Brian; Stewart, Cameron
We propose a research and outreach partnership that will address two issues related to more accurate assessment of digital collections and institutional repositories (IR). 1. Improve the accuracy and privacy of web analytics reporting on digital library use 2. Recommend an assessment framework and web metrics that will help evaluate digital library performance to eventually enable impact studies of IR on author citation rates and university rankings. Libraries routinely collect and report website and digital collection use statistics as part of their assessment and evaluation efforts. The numbers they collect are reported to the libraries’ own institutions, professional organizations, and/or funding agencies. Initial research by the proposed research team suggests the statistics in these reports can be grossly inaccurate, leading to a variance in numbers across the profession that makes it difficult to draw conclusions, build business cases, or engender trust. The inaccuracy runs in both directions, with under reporting numbers as much a problem as over reporting. The team is also concerned with the privacy issues inherent in the use of web analytics software and will recommend best practices to assure that user privacy is protected as much as possible while libraries gather data about use of digital repositories. Institutional Repositories have been in development for well over a decade, and many have accumulated significant mass. The business case for institutional repositories (IR) is built in part on the number of downloads of publications sustained by any individual IR. Yet, preliminary evidence demonstrates that PDF and other non-HTML file downloads in IR are often not counted because search engines like Google Scholar bypass the web analytics code that is supposed to record the download transaction. It has been theorized that Open Access IR can help increase author citation rates, which in turn may affect university rankings. However, no comprehensive studies currently exist to prove or disprove this theory. This may be due to the fact that such a study could take years to produce results due to the publication citation lifecycle and because few libraries have an assessment model in place that will help them to gather data over the long term. We plan to recommend an assessment framework that will help libraries collect data and understand root causes of unexplained errors in their web metrics. The recommendations will provide a foundation for reporting metrics relevant to outcomes based analysis and performance evaluation of digital collections and IR.
Montana State University (MSU) Library Social Media Survey
(2015-12) Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn; Shanks, Justin D.
This survey is designed to produce demographic and usage data for a community of social media users.
A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics: Action Handbook
(Montana State University, May 2019) Young, Scott W. H.; Clark, Jason A.; Mannheimer, Sara; Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke
This is a practice-oriented action handbook that provides background, resources, and good practices to guide libraries in ethically implementing web analytics with a view towards privacy.This guide contains two main parts, followed by a references section. In Part 1, we detail technical strategies for implementing privacy-aware web analytics. In Part 2, we focus on communication strategies for building support for privacy-aware analytics practices.
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Google Analytics and User Privacy
(2016) Young, Scott W. H.; OBrien, Patrick; Benedict, Karl
Patron privacy is sometimes the price we pay for free services. This trade-off is part of Google Analytics, the free web tracking tool. This session shares research into analytics implementations of DLF institutions, discusses relevant privacy issues, and offers recommendations for enhancing users' web traffic privacy through configuration and education.
On Ethical Assessment: Locating and Applying the Core Values of Library and Information Science
(Association of Research Libraries, 2021) Young, Scott W. H.
In this paper, I provide a brief history of the development of values within Library and Information Studies (LIS), drawing on the literature of LIS, sociology, professionalism, value studies, and practical ethics. I begin by tracing the outlines of professional identity as a way of staking out a claim to values. I then turn to the definition and purpose of values, before enumerating the main values present in the LIS literature. Finally, I present an overview of the contemporary conversation and practical applications related to values, focusing on the American Library Association (ALA) Core Values of Librarianship.
On the Ethics of Social Network Research in Libraries
(2016-05) Mannheimer, Sara; Young, Scott W. H.; Rossmann, Doralyn
Purpose: In this paper, faculty librarians at Montana State University explore the ethical dimensions of conducting research with user-generated social networking service (SNS) data. In an effort to guide Librarian-Researchers, this paper first offers a background discussion of privacy ethics across disciplines, then proposes a library-specific ethical framework for conducting SNS research. Design: By surveying the literature in other disciplines, three key considerations are identified that can inform ethical practice in the field of Library Science: context, expectation, and value analysis. For each of these considerations, the framework is tailored to consider ethical issues as they relate to libraries and our practice as Librarian-Researchers. Findings: The unique role of the Librarian-Researcher demands an ethical framework specific to that practice. The findings of this paper propose such a framework. [Practical Implications] Librarian-Researchers are at a unique point in our history. In exploring SNSs as a source of data to conduct research and improve services, we become challenged by conflicting and equally cherished values of patron privacy and information access. By evaluating research according to context, expectations, and value, this framework provides an ethical path forward for research using SNS data. Originality/Value: As of this article’s publication, there is no existing ethical framework for conducting SNS research in libraries. The proposed framework is informed both by library values and by broader research values, and therefore provides unique guidelines for the Librarian-Researcher.
Protecting privacy on the web: A study of HTTPS and Google Analytics
(Emerald, 2018-09) OBrien, Patrick; Young, Scott W. H.; Arlitsch, Kenning; Benedict, Karl
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which HTTPS encryption and Google Analytics services have been implemented on academic library websites and to discuss the privacy implications of free services that introduce web tracking of users. The home pages of 279 academic libraries were analyzed for the presence of HTTPS, Google Analytics services and privacy-protection features. Results indicate that HTTPS implementation on library websites is not widespread, and many libraries continue to offer non-secured connections without an automatically enforced redirect to a secure connection. Furthermore, a large majority of library websites included in the study have implemented Google Analytics and/or Google Tag Manager, yet only very few connect securely to Google via HTTPS or have implemented Google Analytics IP anonymization. Librarians are encouraged to increase awareness of this issue and take concerted and coherent action across five interrelated areas: implementing secure web protocols (HTTPS), user education, privacy policies, informed consent and risk/benefit analyses.
A Roadmap for Achieving Privacy in the Age of Analytics: A White Paper from A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics
(Montana State University, May 2019) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Clark, Jason A.; Hinchliffe, Lisa Janicke
A National Forum on Web Privacy and Web Analytics is an IMLS-funded, community-fueled effort to shape a better analytics practice that protects our users’ privacy from unwanted third-party tracking and targeting. The main Forum event was held September 2018 in Bozeman, Montana, where 40 librarians, technologists, and privacy researchers collaborated in producing a practical roadmap for enhancing our analytics practice in support of privacy. Forum participants co-created eight Pathways to Action for enhancing web privacy. Forum activities also informed the development of an Action Handbook that contains practical skills and strategies for implementing privacy-oriented, ethical web analytics in libraries. This white paper provides an overview of the project, with a summary of the Pathways to Action and the Action Handbook. We present these resources to the wider community to remix, reuse, and apply towards action.
ScholarWorks and Open Access Scholarship at Montana State University
(2013-02) Young, Scott W. H.
This presentation addresses the contemporary issues of scholarly publishing, open access and Montana State University's Institutional Repository, ScholarWorks. As research dissemination has moved from print to digital over the last three decades, the existing access model of journal subscriptions is proving unsustainable due to exorbitantly increasing costs. In the face of subsequently reduced access, which affects researchers, students, and the public alike, ScholarWorks and other open access institutional repositories serves as an alternative model providing greater access and visibility of research, increased opportunities for collaboration, faster dissemination of research, long-term stable archiving, and the possibilities of increased impact and rates of citation. In essence, ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery enabling MSU scholarship to be citable, shareable, and findable through the web.
Service Blueprinting: A Method for Assessing Library Technologies within an Interconnected Service Ecosystem
(Taylor & Francis, 2019-06) Young, Scott W. H.; Mannheimer, Sara; Rossmann, Doralyn; Swedman, David; Shanks, Justin D.
Service blueprinting is a method for designing, assessing, and improving services. This article provides a practical overview of the service blueprinting process for library technology services. We begin by outlining the recent conversation around library technologies, service design, and service blueprinting. We then detail an iterative case study for the creation process of a service blueprint, followed by a discussion of the service insights and improvements that resulted from this activity. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations for creating and analyzing service blueprints. Ultimately, the service blueprint is a useful tool for understanding the operation of a service, and for situating that service within a broader and interconnected library ecosystem.