Browsing by Author "Vaska, Marcus"
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Item Open Access Audit DRAMBORA for Trustworthy Repositories: A Study Dealing with the Digital Repository of Grey Literature(TextRelease, 2012) Vaska, Marcus; Pejsova, PetraThe credibility of a grey literature digital repository can be supported by a specialized audit. An audit of credibility declares that the digital repository is not only a safe place for storage, providing access and migrating to new versions of document formats, it also asserts the care components required of a digital repository environment, including the mandate, typology, policy, team, etc. This audit is very important in showcasing to participants and users the quality and safety of the data process. This paper will present DRAMBORA (Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment), a methodology and tool for auditing a trustworthy digital repository of grey literature. DRAMBORA is an online instrument which helps organizations develop documentation and identify the risks of a digital repository. DRAMBORA is accessible from http://www.repositoryaudit.eu. The paper will also summarize prevailing advantages and disadvantages of DRAMBORA. The second part of this paper will describe the audit of the National Repository of Grey Literature (NRGL) as a trustworthy digital repository using DRAMBORA as part of creating a digital repository of grey literature in the National Technical Library (NTK). The most important outcome of the audit was represented by the identified risks connected to the repository and potentially endangering its operation, quality, image, and other features. The main principle of the DRAMBORA audit and, at the same time, its main contribution, is its iteration (i.e. its repetition after a certain time period in new conditions when the original risks are reassessed; the measurements adopted for solution are assessed and new risks are identified). Introduction: Audit for TrustworthyItem Open Access Creating and Assessing a Subject-Based Blog for Current Awareness within a Cancer Care Environment(2013-04-14) Vaska, Marcus; Lin, YongtaoIntroduction The Health Information Network Calgary (HINC) is comprised of a group of libraries providing information services and resources to urban and rural sites in the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services. Establishing a current awareness service is a necessity in any discipline, especially in health care. Web 2.0 and social networks have transformed how health care professionals and researchers create knowledge, access information, collaborate, and disseminate research. One of the earliest forms of social media, blogging has taken the world by storm (1) . Although there is a wealth of literature on the use of blogs in providing current awareness services for libraries, there is a pronounced gap on how blogs are assessed or evaluated, especially for information alert purposes (2) . Background Clients within the HINC subscribe to e-mail alerts and RSS feeds, a trend particularly evident within the Cancer Care environment where a number of researchers have already implemented feed readers to remain aware of current 2 literature. However, they often comment on challenges associated not only with maintaining alerts and managing RSS feeds, but also in selecting and creating alerts for unpublished materials. The need for a librarian-facilitated current awareness strategy became more and more apparent. The literature reviewed addressed the value of an alert, namely to indicate a gap in the participant‘s knowledge, rather than to deliver content the librarians may have perceived as useful (3). The authors saw the creation of a subject-based blog as an opportunity to disseminate current awareness “grey” information to this specific research community. Method/Anticipated Results The Grey Horizon Blog was created in April 2012 using Blogger. The selection and re-aggregation of information involves ongoing assessment of user needs and continuous work on the Blog. A weekly global email-digest listing of the postings will be distributed two months after the launch. Several metrics will be employed in October 2012 to evaluate the Blog. Blogger itself tracks the number of pageviews over time. Google Analytics was set up as it tracks additional information on access and use of the Blog. As clients may be using feed readers to read Blog entries and may thus not visit the Blog at all, Feedburner has also been incorporated to track the number of times that the Blog RSS is accessed, as well as calculating the number of subscribers. A post-survey will be conducted in six months to complement the web statistics data. The additional feedback and comments will help us determine whether the Blog has successfully created an easy platform for users to keep current with unpublished literature, the type of resources found most important, and whether the amount of time spent maintaining the Blog met expectations. Discussion It is anticipated that this case study will portray how to successfully plan a subject-based blog to meet users’ current awareness information needs in grey literature. Further efforts will focus on targeting the Blog to the topic areas in grey literature where users feel more information is needed. The findings from this assessment will direct us to potential marketing opportunities and changing technology that haven’t been fully utilized in our Grey Horizon Blog.Item Open Access Determining User Needs for an Academic Health Sciences Library Renovation(2011) Powelson, Susan; Vaska, MarcusItem Open Access Developing a Provincial Centralized Intake Process for a Knowledge Resource Service part 1: Literature Search Requests(Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA), 2014) Vaska, Marcus; Aitken, Elizabeth; Varney, Janice; Stevens, SpencerItem Open Access Emily's Book Den: "Helping Children Learn While They Heal" Planning and Designing a Children's Library at the New Alberta Children's Hospital(School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta, 2007-03) Vaska, MarcusThis planning project discusses the layout of a proposed children's library at the new Alberta Children's Hospital, focusing on a number of issues and requirements appropriate to such a library design within an existing building, and justifying these planning decisions based on recommendations from a number of experienced children's facility planners. Case studies documenting hospitals that have successfully designed and implemented libraries for children will also be mentioned. Books and reading have long been considered a form of healing; this notion has emphasized the author's desire to create a library facility for children in a hospital environment.Item Open Access Free Licenses and Creative Commons: A Powerful Tool for Open Access Publishing in Grey Literature(TextRelease, 2014) Vaska, Marcus; Pejsova, PetraIntroduction/Goal: In today’s increasingly technologically savvy information society, “using remote access and free content to open doors for science students”, a statement made by NANSLO lab director Daniel Branan (http://www.scoop.it/t/avaopeneducation), is yet another example of ongoing efforts to make information more openly and freely available and accessible. Although Branan focused his remarks on the scientific community, this applies to more than one specific subject field. Rather, scientists, teachers, artists, sociologists, programmers, as well as professionals from the arts industry and economics are increasingly becoming involved in sharing and reusing their work. Open content provides an opportunity to shorten the time for research to become available, not repeat research already conducted, have data to compare, collect background information for a project, and numerous other possibilities. Despite the well-intentioned mandate of a Creative Commons license, the free distribution of an author’s work is still “governed by applicable copyright law.” (Wikipedia, n.d.) Jack Andraka, an advocate for the Open Access Movement, laments the disappointment that can occur due to publication and distribution restrictions: “I’ve seen so many great ideas get killed in the lab when my peers are stopped by closed access [to research articles]” (http://teamopen.cc/jack). Open licensing is a strong instrument ensuring open access to research data. Research Method/Procedure: This project will uncover open licenses and describe how they are used, focusing on Creative Commons free licenses, the most widely known worldwide. The Open Access movement has begun gaining greater acceptance, with numerous institutions either strongly encouraging and/or requiring their faculty, students, and staff to deposit their scholarly work in the institutional repository. As a case in point, the University of Liege in Belgium established a mandate in 2008 whereby all publications must be deposited, including the full text of articles “as soon as the article is accepted by the editor” (http://www.openacessmap.org/list) . Despite the well-intentioned means of encouraging authors to deposit their works in the public domain via open-content licenses, controversy still remains that this act can alter the original author’s ownership, particularly since “all transfers or licenses of copyright interests by a work’s author are revocable” (Armstrong, 2010, p. 360). The University of Liege has countered this argument with their ORBi (Open Repository and Bibliography) open access repository; a clause has been added stating that access to an author’s full text articles “will only be granted with the author’s consent and according to the rules applicable to author’s rights and copyrights” (http://www.openacessmap.org/list). This increased visibility in publications and access to research has resulted in ORBi currently holding a ranking of 34 out of 1746 repositories worldwide, recording more than 2 million downloads since its inception (http://orbi.ulg.ac). Via a survey, international, national, subject, and institutional repositories will be selected, in order to determine if Creative Commons licenses are being used at these facilities and if so, how and in what way (i.e. which type of documents are being deposited?, what is the degree of usage? etc). The survey will focus on the different Creative Commons licenses available, and how these affect open access and copyright restrictions. Results: We believe that results obtained from the survey will not only provide us with a comparative environmental scan of the existence of Creative Commons licenses at various institutions, but will also reveal insufficiencies and recommend approaches on how to increase the use of these licenses in grey literature repositories. It is anticipated that this venture will generate renewed interest and awareness in creating a more seamless link between open access publishing and grey literature. It is in this research context that the technology and innovation triangles combine, “extending the scope beyond R & D [research and development]” (Pant and Hambly- Odame, 2010), to the grey literature community as a whole. While certain document types may never be deposited into an institutional repository, and some authors may voice concerns about feeling obligated to adhere to such a mandate, the benefits clearly outweigh any potential harms. Open Access publishing in the grey literature domain via the use of Creative Commons licenses creates the multiplier effect, “permitting the creation of new works which may never have come into existence” (Armstrong, 2010, p. 368).Item Open Access From Bach to Baseball Cards-Caring for America's Library: Visit to the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate/Preservation Lab(2010-01-23T18:08:27Z) Vaska, MarcusThis presentation discusses experiences encountered while touring the Preservation Directorate and Preservation Lab at the Library of CongressItem Open Access Fundamentals of Finding Information: Literature Searching Clinic(2013-05-15) Lemieux, Michelle; Vaska, MarcusThis literature searching clinic will discuss the literature search process, including the reference interview and search strategy tips and tricks. An interactive demonstration of 3 commonly used medical databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL) will be interspersed throughout the session.Item Open Access Fundamentals of Reference (Book Review)(2013-04-14) Vaska, MarcusItem Open Access Going Mobile: Developing Apps for your Library using Basic HTML Programming [book review](Canadian Library Association, 2012) Vaska, MarcusItem Open Access Guiding the Grey: The Implementation and Evaluation of a Journal Club amongst a Librarian and Clinical Practice Guideline Developers - a Cancer Care Case Study(TextRelease, 2014-03) Vaska, Marcus; Kostaras, Xanthoula; MacLeod, Emily; Meek, Elysa; Shea-Budgell, Melissa; Watson, LaurissaIntroduction/Goal: As a research-intensive facility located within a cancer care environment, library services provided at the Holy Cross Site closely adhere to an embedded librarian mandate, one where the librarian “actively engages in activities, possesses extensive knowledge of the researcher’s work, and offers assistance above and beyond common library service expectations” (Strain, 2011). The Guideline Utilization Resource Unit (GURU) is composed of knowledge management specialists (KMS) and nurse facilitators (NF) who support multidisciplinary teams in developing, implementing, and evaluating provincial clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis, staging, treatment and follow-up of cancer. These CPGs are evidence-based documents with consensus recommendations; they are freely available on a public website for access by practitioners and patients, and are a form of grey literature. Team members at GURU consult regularly with the librarian to ensure that the most accurate and comprehensive search strategy is used to develop CPGs. The goal of this paper is to describe the process of organizing and evaluating a journal club involving a unique collaboration between guideline developers and a librarian. Procedure: The journal club is comprised of three KMSs, two NFs, the GURU Manager and an embedded librarian. The group has been meeting once per month since April 2012. Each member takes turns selecting two articles related to CPG development or implementation, and is responsible for leading an informal discussion. To evaluate the usefulness of the journal club and the impact of grey literature on CPG development in Alberta, all members of the journal club (n=7) were interviewed in a focus group setting or a semi-structured interview. Transcripts of audio-recorded interviews will be qualitatively analyzed for repeated themes related to knowledge gained from, and perceived benefits of journal club meetings. Results: First, we hypothesize that monthly participation in the journal club will increase members’ knowledge of development, evaluation, and implementation of guidelines. Second, we believe that participants will have acquired a better understanding of the research process and how to critique current guideline research. Finally, we expect that members will report that the journal club provided the opportunity to facilitate discussions around topics that are less familiar to them. It is anticipated that this collaborative venture will further enhance the importance of grey literature and its usefulness for cancer care clinical practice guidelines.Item Open Access Health and well-being literacy initiatives focusing on immigrant communities: an environmental scan protocol to identify "what works and what does not"(2020-04-20) Turin, Tanvir C; Chowdhury, Nashit; Ferdous, Mahzabin; Vaska, Marcus; Rumana, Nahid; Dahal, Rudra; Rahman, Nafiza; Chowdhury, Mohammad Z IAbstract Introduction Most of the major cities in the developed western countries are characterized by an increasing multiculturalism brought by the immigrant population. The immigrant communities face challenges in the new environment with their health and wellness related unmet needs. It is imperative to find sustainable ways to empower these diverse communities to champion their health and wellness. Community-based health and wellness literacy initiatives (CBHWLI) focusing on immigrant communities can be an important step towards citizen empowerment in this regard. The aim of the present environmental scan is to identify the key factors that might impact a CBHWLI in immigrant communities in Canada in order to facilitate the process in practice and identify the competencies and training required for its implementation. Methods This study will gather information from existing literature and online sources as well as will capture expert and lay perspectives on the factors that can impact the effectiveness and sustainability of CBHWLIs through conducting a comprehensive environmental scan: (i) a systematic scoping review of published literature and grey literature, (ii) a comprehensive Internet search, (iii) key informant interviews, and (iv) community consultation. Specific methodological and analytical frameworks will guide each step. Ethics and dissemination This study is the first step in establishing a practical base for developing CBHWLI implementation research. Once the initial findings have been generated, the second step will involve inviting experts to provide their input. We first plan to disseminate the results of our scoping review and Internet scan through meetings with key stakeholders, to be followed by journal publications and conference or workshop presentations. Ethical approval is not required for the scoping review or Internet scan; however, approval to conduct interviews with key informants and community consultations in the second stage of the study will be sought from the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board.Item Open Access Incidence of acute lymphocytic leukemia in Calgary, Alberta, Canada: a retrospective cohort study(2018-02-07) Snodgrass, Rayven; Nguyen, Leonard T; Guo, Maggie; Vaska, Marcus; Naugler, Christopher; Rashid-Kolvear, FariborzAbstract Objective Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a rare malignant neoplasm that develops from abnormal lymphoid stem cells. ALL incidence is highest among children and declines towards adolescence. There is limited data on the epidemiology of ALL, especially in Canada. This retrospective cohort study used patient data from the Calgary Laboratory Services Cancer Cytogenetics Laboratory to report the incidence rate of ALL in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. New cases of ALL were identified for the 5-year period of January 1, 2011 until December 31, 2015. Reported incidence rates were categorized by sex and age groups, and age-standardized to the Canadian population. Results There were an average of 11.4 new cases of ALL diagnosed per year between 2011 and 2015. The total incidence rate per 100,000 person-years was 0.84. Incidence rates peaked in children aged 0–4 with 7.55 and 3.32 cases per 100,000 person-years for males and females, respectively. The median age of diagnosis was 8 years. Incidence rates were generally lowest for adults aged 20 and over. The ratio of males to females diagnosed with ALL was 1.59. Overall, the recent incidence of ALL in Calgary is comparatively low with a preference for males and children below 5 years of age.Item Open Access Item Open Access Open Access & Shades of Grey(2009-12-18T19:42:29Z) Vaska, Marcus; Lin, Yongtao; Waller, Andrew; Reaume, ReneeOpen Access (OA) is a trend that is undoubtedly on the rise. This poster presentation showcases the role that Open Access publishing plays in the realm of grey literature (GL). OA increases access, awareness, and visibility of previously hidden material, thereby acting as an essential complement to peer-reviewed findings. This poster also highlights how Open Access is supported in Libraries and Cultural Resources (LCR) at the University of Calgary (U of C). There is a $100,000 Open Access Authors Fund, which helps authors pay OA article processing fees. The University of Calgary institutional repository is over six years old and is the second largest university repository in Canada. The University of Calgary Press has a few OA journals and is investigating Open Monographs. LCR has digitized a large number of resources ranging from by-laws to historical photographs and made them freely available. LCR is a node in the Synergies project which is designed to bring Canadian humanities and social sciences journals more securely into the online environment; some of these journals will be Open Access initially and other journals may opt for OA in the future. Lastly, archivists, curators, and librarians in Libraries and Cultural Resources have established a mandate to deposit the results of their scholarly activities (e.g. articles, presentations, book chapters, etc.) in the U of C institutional repository. During the First International Open Access Week, which ran from October 19-23, 2009, LCR carried out a number of activities. For instance, there was a large staffed display on OA in the main (MacKimmie) library and smaller displays in the branch libraries. The campus media reported on LCR Open Access programs daily. The week culminated with a presentation by Bioline International founder Leslie Chan to a full house. The poster presentation is also an opportunity to broaden awareness and understanding of GL and OA to research and teaching as well as to raise questions for future discussions on how to facilitate better and more responsive access to digitally-created content.Item Open Access Personal Reflections from the Inaugural Bachelor of Health Sciences Librarian(University of Alberta: Library and Information Studies Alumni Association, 2008-05) Vaska, MarcusThis article discusses personal reflections from the inaugural Bachelor of Health Sciences Librarian at the University of CalgaryItem Open Access Raising Awareness of Grey Literature in an Academic Community Using the Cognitive Behavioral Theory(TextRelease, 2009-12-14) Vaska, Marcus; Lin, YongtaoCognitive skill training, part of cognitive behavior management, is based on the cognitive behavioral theory. The principle that thinking controls behavior has been widely used by educators to develop methods to improve the performance of students, while clinicians provide multifaceted health promotion and psychological counseling programs. The plan of our educational project is to raise awareness among students, faculty members, and researchers of material not produced via standard commercial publishing channels, emphasizing the role that grey literature plays in teaching and research in our academic community. Pre-test surveys conducted prior to these ventures indicate that while both researchers, students, and faculty members may have used grey literature resources at some point during their research pursuits, more than one-third (36.7%) believe they haven't done so, a significant number expressing uncertainty in not knowing how to find, effectively use, and evaluate grey literature. In terms of specific grey literature resources, the majority (85.7%) of users have had rich experiences with association and government websites, but lack familiarity with other useful resources such as subject-based directories, databases, or well-established grey literature repositories. "When opportunity knocks, you should probably open the door!" (Schwann, Petermann, and Petz, 2008). This statement indicates the value and importance of theories in promoting new practices in health services. A theory can lay the foundation of a teaching or learning goal by describing the purpose, intervention, and assumed outcome of a proposed endeavor (Wayne State University). As health sciences librarians, the need to promote grey literature in terms of visibility and accessibility, thus raising awareness, forms the basis of our teaching goals and is thereby the focus of this paper. Undoubtedly, as the barrier between black and grey literature becomes narrower with the advent of technology that seeks to uncover the unrecoverable, challenges will inevitably arise, especially when deciding what exactly about grey literature needs to be promoted. The cognitive-behavioral theory helps describe various factors regarding lack of awareness and misguided conceptions about searching for elusive material, while also guiding the selection of sources of grey literature and the methodologies we have adopted in our promotion project. Three such educational initiatives that we have developed, based on the principle that change will occur only as you think differently, include the creation of a Grey Literature Speaker Series (http://glspeakers.wetpaint.com), where subject specialists/liaison librarians at the University of Calgary discuss their experiences and challenges with uncovering and using grey literature in their subject areas; a joint presentation to faculty members and students at the University of Calgary Faculty Technology Days showcasing the impact and role that technology, such as mobile computing, has played and continues to play when it comes to the grey literature; and library information sessions to cancer researchers based on user experiences, expectations, and needs when it comes to seeking non-traditional material. The One-Minute-Paper, distributed after a session to assess participant learning outcomes, reveals that knowledge of different sources and current trends in grey literature has significantly increased. We therefore advocate the use of the cognitive behavioral theory as a channel for developing education programs and promoting grey literature in our academic community.Item Open Access RefWorks Refresher(2013-04-30) Vaska, Marcus; Aitken, ElizabethItem Open Access RefWorks Search, Save, Store, and Share: A Key Features Resource Guide(2013-04) Vaska, Marcus; Aitken, ElizabethItem Open Access Researcher's Handbook of Library Services(2013-06) Vaska, Marcus