Scholarly Works, University Libraries

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/25336

Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship

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Forming a Pod: A Naval Architecture, Marine and Ocean Engineering Librarian Community of Practice
Barbrow, Sarah; Durkin Ruth, Kelly; Janssen, Amber; Mayberry, Christina; Over, Sarah; Parker, Sarah (American Society for Engineering Education, 2025-06-22)
Naval Architecture, Marine, and Ocean Engineering (NAMOE) programs are unique in that they are specialized, interdisciplinary, and uncommon at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a result, librarians or subject specialists who liaise with these areas can encounter a lack of resources and knowledge to support the students and faculty in these programs. A group of librarians who have NAMOE programs as part of their institutions recently started a dedicated group, combining elements of communities of practice and peer group mentoring to discuss how best to support these programs and each other as professionals with varying experience in this subject area. Plans include the development of a resource similar to chapters in Osif’s Using the Engineering Literature, a crucial source for librarians supporting engineering disciplines that lists a comprehensive, discipline-specific suite of key resources, and enhancing discovery of OER in NAMOE. In this work-in-progress article, in addition to sketching out some of the resources we plan to create and share, we will discuss the formation of this group and reflect on how it has impacted our work. By combining our efforts, we will enhance teaching and research for NAMOE programs, deepen our expertise in NAMOE library services, and present a framework for other specialized librarian communities to follow.
Collaborations Beyond the Library: Bibliometric Analyses to Support Engineering Research, Innovation and Diversity
Over, Sarah; Stovall, Connie (American Society for Engineering Education, 2023-06-25)
A new library department was formed to focus on growing university research impact and delivering data-driven research intelligence. The department collaborates with multiple units across campus, including with the College of Engineering via the department’s Engineering Collections and Research Analyst. All collaborations stem from the need for data-driven decisions for determining inter- and intra-institutional strengths and for discovering potential and existing research partnerships. This paper focuses on key collaborations with campus partners relevant to engineering research, innovation, and diversity efforts at Virginia Tech, providing processes and examples in each area. Examples include: an analysis of institutional degree data to determine competency related to the CHIPS and Science Act; prospective aerospace company collaborations; and research alignment analysis with HBCUs and other minority serving institutions. Each example covers tools, alternatives, and processes used to generate these analyses with end products presented to collaborators. Overall, the collaborations have been successful and are growing, which prompted the need for a new department, with wide support within the library and across campus.
Libraries’ Role in Enabling New Engineering Research Investments: Working with Campus Research Administration Units
Over, Sarah; Comer, C. Cozette; Stovall, Connie; Wang, Jiren; Hoch, Jackson; Mazure, Emily S.; Miles, Rachel A. (2025-06)
The role of libraries in academia is ever evolving with opportunities to influence research decisions at the highest level. University Libraries at Virginia Tech for multiple years now has been asked to support cutting-edge research investments with the goal of helping to galvanize complex, cross-disciplinary, and highly impactful research for years to come. With access to a variety of databases, software, and specialized experts, libraries can support and inform these research investments via discovery and analysis of: future and/or retrospective funding, research gaps and/or trends, market and industry trends, graduate programs, and more. At Virginia Tech, these research investments (Destination Areas) from the Office of Research involve engineering each year, covering areas such as AI, medical materials, and quantum navigation. This publication will present case studies (analyses and processes) for other librarians and/or research units to consider, leveraging the expertise of information sciences and academic libraries. The University Libraries, Virginia Tech have not only succeeded in this work, but enabled greater discovery of our talents and skills as research partners for the whole institution.
Developing a Network for Non-credit, Non-classroom Credentialing at Virginia Tech
MacDonald, Amanda B.; Zaldivar, Marc (2025-03-03)
Where Are We Now? Digitizing the Onsite Map Collection at Virginia Tech's Newman Library
Westblade, Julia (2025-05-03)
A Scoping Review: Literature on Undergraduate Research and Career Readiness
MacDonald, Amanda B.; Mekolichick, Jeanne; Hall, Eric E.; Picardo, Kristin; Richards, Rosalie (2025-11-04)
Undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry (URSCI) experiences are found to enhance student growth in skill development. Previous research has not established what literature exists on intentionally preparing students for work through URSCI experiences in the United States. A scoping review was conducted to systematically map what the literature reveals that faculty, programs, and institutions are intentionally providing with URSCI experiences. Five databases and Google Scholar were searched. Data were charted by characteristics tied to the research question. The results demonstrated a need for research on URSCI to intentionally and directly assess how undergraduate research can be used as a tool for career readiness. The current reliance on the implicit aspects of the URSCI experience to develop career readiness competencies is not a sufficient approach.
Are We Really Preparing Students to Be Career Ready? A Conversation on the Current State of the Literature on Undergraduate Research and Career Readiness
Mekolichick, Jeanne; MacDonald, Amanda B.; Hall, Eric E. (2024-06-25)
A substantial body of evidence demonstrates the value of undergraduate research experiences (UREs). Indeed, the skills, knowledge and dispositions gained often appear as employer priorities in hiring decisions. We see this demonstrated in AAC&U's 2021 Hart employer study; employers are 85% more likely or somewhat more likely to hire a student who had a mentored research experience. However, little is known about the activities institutions of higher education are offering to help students translate their UREs in ways that talent recruiters will understand and value. We offer results from a scoping review of available literature on UREs as a tool in preparing students to be career ready in the United States. We offer preliminary findings from a literature review on how institutions prepare UR students for their next steps, focusing also on gaps, and opportunities to better help our students articulate the value of UREs as career readiness competencies.
Closing the Articulation Gap: Undergraduate Research & Career Readiness
Mekolichick, Jeanne; MacDonald, Amanda B. (2024-06-25)
Built on a desire to close the articulation gap between the benefits of undergraduate research, scholarship and creative inquiry and the skills, knowledge and dispositions employers are seeking in new hires, this poster will present information and examples drawing from, and expanding on, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Position Paper, "Recognizing Undergraduate Research, Scholarship & Creative Inquiry as a Career-Readiness Tool". The goal is to assist faculty in leveraging this powerful inclusive pedagogical practice to best position all of our students for successful next steps.
Micro-Programming: A Dynamic and Flexible Approach to Student Engagement
Feerrar, Julia; Hammer, Kelsey (2025-06-06)
Academic library outreach and engagement often works at the nexus of multiple challenges. Librarians must meet the needs and interests of patron communities, make the most of limited staff time and resources, and navigate competing priorities for time and attention across campus. Over the last several years, our team of teaching librarians at Virginia Tech has sought out multiple opportunities to rethink and restrategize some of our approaches to these challenges. One approach, which we refer to as “micro-programming,” combines active learning techniques from the classroom with the flexibility and direct-to-student delivery method of outreach work such as tabling or events. In this paper, we will identify the principles our team has developed in experimenting with micro-programming and factors to consider for implementing this practice at other institutions.
Digital Preservation Landscape: Updates & Observations
Kinnaman, Alex (2025-05-30)
A high-level overview of the digital preservation landscape investigating vendor service providers competing with community service providers, recent and upcoming sunsets of community-based digital preservation organizations, and evaluation of how APTrust compares to recent shifts in the landscape.
Environmental bodies of water as reservoirs for Salmonella: A Scoping Review
Chowdhury, Bhaswati; Ehsan, Rakib; Weller, Daniel; Kummer, Amber; Nguyen, Han; Comer, C. Cozette; Hoch, Jackson; Cheng, Rachel (2025-05)
Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Emerging evidence suggests that surface water may act as an environmental reservoir, contributing to its persistence and transmission. However, no comprehensive synthesis of the available literature exists to evaluate the strength of this evidence or to identify patterns in Salmonella occurrence in surface water sources from different regions in the United States. To address this gap, this protocol describes the methodology for conducting a scoping review, developed in accordance with PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines by trained reviewers in collaboration with evidence synthesis librarians, to assess the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in surface water in the US and evaluate its potential role in transmission, including links to agricultural runoff and wildlife activity. In brief, the descriptor terms for the pathogen of interest, i.e., “Salmonella” and surface water bodies (e.g., river, stream, wetland) were identified. These terms were then tailored to the syntax requirements of nine selected databases, based on scope and topical fit, and used to develop search strategies incorporating Boolean and proximity operators to enhance the retrieval of relevant records. Controlled vocabularies, such as MeSH and CAB Thesaurus terms, were also incorporated, and the search was restricted to studies conducted within the United States. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined a priori to guide the screening of retrieved records through title, abstract, and full-text review. Finally, data extraction items were identified to (i) synthesize evidence on risks associated with surface water used for irrigation in small and large produce operations and (ii) identify key knowledge gaps to inform future research on surface water as an environmental reservoir for Salmonella.
Holistic approaches to digital literacy: Perspectives from library partners
Dean, Kirsten; Feerrar, Julia; Griffin, Katlyn; Hammer, Kelsey (Wiley, 2024-12-01)
In this chapter, a team of academic librarians offers strategies to address four common challenges instructors face when incorporating digital literacy into their courses.
MetaArchive Across Its Life Cycle: Change and Resilience in the Digital Preservation Ecosystem
Meyerson, Jessica; Huang, Jackson; Becker, Snowden; Kinnaman, Alex; Vowell, Zach (2025-04-08)
This panel discusses how community-owned and -led digital infrastructure can – and should – incorporate contingencies for sunsetting into sustainability planning and how to embody core values and address diverse member needs throughout the sunset process. Through its twenty years of operation, MetaArchive, the first and longest-running Private LOCKSS Network (PLN) has been consistently defining what it entails to be a digital preservation network created and hosted by and for memory organizations. Now, as the first PLN to undergo a deliberative sunset, we have the opportunity to share lessons in how endings can be carried out with as much intention and care as beginnings. In a time of field- and nation-wide change and transition, investments in shared infrastructure and inter-institutional communities of practice are more valuable than ever to building a resilient information ecosystem – only collectively can we guarantee access to our cultural heritage in the long-term. https://www.cni.org/topics/digital-preservation/metaarchive-across-its-life-cycle-change-and-resilience-in-the-digital-preservation-ecosystem
Green Goes with Anything: Balancing Sustainability, Archives, and Outcomes
Kinnaman, Alex; Munshower, Alan (2025-04-09)
The authors were invited to participate in one of a six part panel series titled CLIR Climate Resiliency Action Series to discuss climate resiliency in digital libraries and digital preservation (https://climate-resiliency.clir.org/sessions/big-data-and-the-preservation-problem/). This presentation drew from the authors' paper "Green Goes with Anything: Decreasing Environmental Impact of Digital Libraries at Virginia Tech" at iPRES 2022. The presentation recording can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rY-crsOOII
Librarian Lobbyist? Front Lines of Virginia OER Legislative Advocacy
Walz, Anita R. (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2025-04-25)
Opportunities for librarian legislative involvement are somewhat inevitable. Those on the precipice can be propelled into policy and political engagement for personal and professional reasons. In the United States, employees of public institutions and corporations are typically bound by institutional policies regarding speech, policymaking, and communication with government entities on behalf of their respective institutions. This dual identity of government employee and private citizen can create complexity. Leadership approaches common to librarians emphasize human resources or cultural/symbolic framing rather than political framing (Bolman & Deal, 2017, p179). These can also create complexity. This peer-reviewed book chapter provides a case study of how one bill to encourage open educational resources at state institutions of higher education ("Virginia Bill to Encourage OER" HB454 2018) became Virginia law, though not as originally submitted. It offers insights for similiarly-situated public employees who wish to exercise their rights to engage with legislative processes as private citizens.
AI in Research Libraries: Supporting Research in the Age of AI
Pannabecker, Virginia (2025-04-08)
Group discussion with an opening presentation by AI in Research Operations member host Virginia Pannabecker. Did you know libraries are not just powerhouses for research but also for lately AI? They don’t just store books—they provide AI tools, training, and shape policies, facilitating access to AI solutions that help researchers work smarter and save time. Libraries are leading the way in AI adoption within higher education institutions. That is why this event is not just for librarians interested in AI—it is a must-attend event for everyone working in research, including: academics, researchers, research manager and administrator. What You Will Learn: - How AI is transforming research & how libraries are leading the way - Top AI approaches, applications, tools, and programs supporting research - How libraries help shape AI policies & research strategies - Real examples of libraries driving AI-powered research What We Will Discuss: - How do you currently interact with libraries in your work or institution? - What library-led AI or research support initiatives have been most valuable to research? - What would you like to see from libraries as AI continues to evolve?
JCDL 2024 Workshop: Generative AI for Resource Discovery in Libraries
Chen, Yinlin; Yang, Le; Xie, Zhiwu (ACM, 2024-12-16)
This workshop delves into the transformative role of Generative AI technologies in digital libraries, emphasizing advancements in resource discovery and user engagement. Participants will explore how cutting-edge large language models such as GPT-4 and Llama are leveraged to deliver highly personalized resource recommendations and improve the efficiency and precision of information retrieval processes. Through showcases of capstone projects developed as part of the AI Incubator Program, hands-on sessions, and collaborative discussions, attendees will gain practical insights into deploying AI-driven solutions that streamline library operations and elevate user experience.
Trust at Your Own Peril: A Mixed Methods Exploration of the Ability of Large Language Models to Generate Expert-Like Systems Engineering Artifacts and a Characterization of Failure Modes
Topcu, Taylan G.; Husain, Mohammed; Ofsa, Max; Wach, Paul (Wiley, 2025-02-21)
Multi-purpose large language models (LLMs), a subset of generative artificial intelligence (AI), have recently made significant progress. While expectations for LLMs to assist systems engineering (SE) tasks are paramount; the interdisciplinary and complex nature of systems, along with the need to synthesize deep-domain knowledge and operational context, raise questions regarding the efficacy of LLMs to generate SE artifacts, particularly given that they are trained using data that is broadly available on the internet. To that end, we present results from an empirical exploration, where a human expert-generated SE artifact was taken as a benchmark, parsed, and fed into various LLMs through prompt engineering to generate segments of typical SE artifacts. This procedure was applied without any fine-tuning or calibration to document baseline LLM performance. We then adopted a two-fold mixed-methods approach to compare AI generated artifacts against the benchmark. First, we quantitatively compare the artifacts using natural language processing algorithms and find that when prompted carefully, the state-of-the-art algorithms cannot differentiate AI-generated artifacts from the human-expert benchmark. Second, we conduct a qualitative deep dive to investigate how they differ in terms of quality. We document that while the two-material appear very similar, AI generated artifacts exhibit serious failure modes that could be difficult to detect. We characterize these as: premature requirements definition, unsubstantiated numerical estimates, and propensity to overspecify. We contend that this study tells a cautionary tale about why the SE community must be more cautious adopting AI suggested feedback, at least when generated by multi-purpose LLMs.
Evolution at Spike protein position 519 in SARS-CoV-2 facilitated adaptation to humans
Cereghino, C.; Michalak, K.; DiGiuseppe, S.; Yu, D.; Faraji, A.; Sharp, A.K.; Brown, Anne M.; Kang, L.; Weger-Lucarelli, James; Michalak, P. (Springer Nature, 2024)
As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its fourth year, the pursuit of identifying a progenitor virus to SARSCoV- 2 and understanding the mechanism of its emergence persists, albeit against the backdrop of intensified efforts to monitor the ongoing evolution of the virus and the influx of new mutations. Surprisingly, few residues hypothesized to be essential forSARS-CoV-2 emergence and adaptation to humans have been validated experimentally, despite the importance that these mutations could contribute to the development of effective antivirals. To remedy this,we searched for genomic regions in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that show evidence of past selection around residues unique to SARSCoV- 2 compared with closely related coronaviruses. In doing so, we identified a residue at position 519 in Spike within the receptor binding domain that holds a static histidine in human-derived SARSCoV- 2 sequences but an asparagine in SARS-related coronaviruses from bats and pangolins. In experimental validation, the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein mutant carrying the putatively ancestral H519N substitution showed reduced replication in human lung cells, suggesting that the histidine residue contributes to viral fitness in the human host. Structural analyses revealed a potential role of Spike residue 519 in mediating conformational transitions necessary for Spike prior to binding with ACE2. Pseudotyped viruses bearing the putatively ancestral N519 also demonstrated significantly reduced infectivity in cells expressing the human ACE2 receptor compared to H519. ELISA data corroborated that H519 enhances Spike binding affinity to the human ACE2 receptor compared to the putatively ancestral N519. Collectively, these findings suggest that the evolutionary transition at position 519 of the Spike protein played a critical role inSARS-CoV-2 emergence and adaptation to the human host. Additionally, this residue presents as a potential drug target for designing small molecule inhibitors tailored to this site.
Curating Your Box of Chaos: Digitizing Collections of SWVA Community History
Kinnaman, Alex; Nehrt, Jennifer; Shortt, Ann-Margaret; Huffman, Sherri (2025-03-17)
Whether it’s your grandmother’s attic or the archival storage room of your favorite historical society, we’ve all encountered that “box of chaos” with documents, photos, and that one floppy disk no one can open. As time passes, though, the risk of losing material to degradation, obsolescence, and institutional memory increases. The Greater Southwest Virginia Digital Collective is a new community-owned, community-designed collaboration between regional cultural heritage organizations and Virginia Tech University Libraries to provide resources for organizing, digitizing, and preserving the SWVA historical record. Join our Roundtable to learn about GSDC, our resources, and ways to collaborate to preserve your box of chaos.

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