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As mobile technology becomes integral to everyday life, libraries rework their services to meet the needs of their users. Advancing library services for mobile users requires seamless, intuitive experiences that support research, learning, and engagement. From mobile-friendly catalogs and e-book pla...
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This study examines digitization practices in U.S. urban libraries, focusing on tools, technologies, and metadata standards used to preserve local cultural heritage. Using qualitative content analysis, data was collected from 175 Urban Library Council member libraries, of which 60% are actively digitizing collections. Findings show widespread use of JPEG, PDF, and Dublin Core, with most libraries digitizing photographs and documents related to regional history. However, only 16% of libraries have formal digitization policies, highlighting gaps in strategic planning. These findings underscore urban libraries’ critical role in preserving cultural heritage while navigating challenges related to resources, collaboration, and technology.
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To increase patrons’ ability to find resources, it is imperative to investigate barriers and biases in thedescriptive catalog data for inclusive collection management and development standards. This studyused a specially designed descriptive approach to gather quantitative data from 101 public librariansin Connecticut via a Qualtrics survey to identify the key variables that influence the successfulenhancement of online public access catalog (OPAC) metadata after a diversity audit of the librarymaterials. The results revealed factors that promote or impede the integration of inclusive catalogingthat reflects the diversity of the community: (1) appreciating the benefits of audit methods that arefocused on bibliographic records, (2) recognizing the need for buy-in and participation from theentire organization, and (3) stressing the useful integration of institutional and community feedbackto improve the collection’s accessibility and representation. The findings provide practical adviceto public libraries that want to satisfy the diverse demands of their user base by integrating criticalcataloging frameworks into their diversity and inclusion objectives.
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The appearance of “large cutting tools” in the early Acheulean is widely regarded as the first evidence for the imposition of intended forms on artifacts, with major implications for hominin cognitive and cultural capacities. However, the nature and extent of explicit design documented by these forms remains open to debate. To address this issue, we analyzed the complete collection of early Acheulean (ca. 1.7–1.2 Ma) flaked pieces from four sites (BSN17, DAN5, OGS12, and OGS5) in the Gona Project Area and compared these with all of the flaked pieces from two published Oldowan (> 2.5 Ma) sites at Gona. By comparing shape variation to measures of flaking intensity and coverage, we sought to identify technological patterns indicative of intent. Current results provide little evidence for the presence of discrete tool types or imposed morphological norms in our sample. We do, however, observe systematic patterns of raw material selection and core surface modification aimed at the production and maintenance of useful cutting edges on relatively large supports (cobbles and large flake blanks). This is consistent with prior characterizations of Acheulean tool form as arising from functional and ergonomic design imperatives for large hand-held cutting tools. Although the generalizability of these results to other sites remains to be seen, we propose that distinctive early Acheulean artifact forms may have arisen as secondary accommodations to the primary goal of increasing tool size to meet the novel demands (e.g., extended use-life, enhanced transportability, utility for heavy-duty cutting) of a more general shift in hominin behavioral ecology at this time. Our results provide support for the presence of Acheulean design at Gona, not necessarily in the sense of shared morphological norms, but certainly in the broader sense of deliberate technological choices made in view of behavioral goals and material constraints. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.