July/August 2020 357 C&RL News The preponderance of the articles in July issue of College & Research Libraries deal with topics related to technology. I note this with some irony as, due to social distancing and working from home, much of our work is happening through technology. Heck, it seems like our entire lived experience right now is computer-mediated! There has been a translation of the analog work experience into digital with Zoom meetings and email/chat consultations, not to men- tion the changes with the day-to-day minutiae with everything from ordering food, clothing, or other necessities (toilet paper?) online to binge-watching and gaming in order to keep from going crazy with shelter-in-place orders to watching YouTube videos to stay in shape (my youngest daughter is now talk- ing about bringing back Jazzercise?!). Technology, too, has been the lifesaver for those institutions that have the resources and ex- pertise to move online quickly. A recent column in Inside Higher Ed takes a closer look at how organizations transitioned to an online environ- ment: “Their tireless work reminds us that tech- nology can no longer be seen as a utility working quietly in the background. Now more than ever, technology is a strategic asset that is vital to the success of every institution.” 1 That said, there are also many barriers to technology as well as barri- ers created by technology. EDUCAUSE reported results of a student poll that indicated a number of difficulties in remote learning and support. 2 Either way, technology is playing a primary role in higher education’s response to the pandemic. Viewing the articles in this issue through the lens of what COVID-19 has brought us to, the focus on technology in librarianship and library services has a more prominent meaning and the implica- tions of the questions asked in these articles, and the issues they raise, are more profound. “Without that detail, I’m not coming: The perspectives of students with disabilities on accessibility information on academic library websites” by Amelia Brunskill. Although most academic library websites include a webpage of information intended for users with disabilities, no research was located that solicited feedback about users’ needs or preferences for these pages. To ad- dress this discrepancy, 12 university students with disabilities were interviewed about their perspec- tives on navigation, search terms, organization, desired content, and the overall look and feel for such a webpage. These interviews revealed numer- ous important considerations around accessibility and inclusivity, and a list of recommendations was compiled. “What Do You Want from Us? Evaluating Student Interest in Technology-Based Services in Academic Libraries” by Susan Elkins, Soo-yeon Hwang, Dianna Kim, Tyler Manolvitz, Kat Landry Mueller, Erin Owens. Following two previous stud- ies in 2010 and 2013, this study intends to identify current trends of Sam Houston State University students’ technology and communication needs and preferences regarding library services and resources. Drawing comparisons to two previous local studies and national data sets, such as those from Pew Internet Research and the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research, the findings revealed, among other things, a decline in tablet usage and interest, continued need for library com- puters, and a complex relationship between social media usage and engagement with the library. The results of this survey will inform and guide the library and the profession to most efficiently and effectively offer desired library services and engage students on appropriate social media platforms. “3D Data Repository Features, Best Practices, and Implications for Preservation Models: Find- ings from a National Forum” by Juliet L. Hardesty, Jennifer Johnson, Jamie Wittenberg, Nathan Hall, Matt Cook, Zack Lischer-Katz, Andrea L. Ogier, Zhiwu Xie, Robert McDonald. This study identifies challenges and directions for 3-D/VR repository standards and practices. As 3-D technologies be- come more affordable and accessible, academic libraries need to implement workflows, standards, and practices that support the full lifecycle of 3-D data. This study invited experts across several dis- ciplines to analyze current national repository C&RL S p o t l i g h tWendi Kasper Wendi Kaspar is C&RL editor and policy sciences librarian at the Texas A&M University Policy Sciences and Economics Library, email: warant@tamu.edu mailto:warant@tamu.edu C&RL News July/August 2020 358 and preservation efforts. Outlined models pro- vide frameworks to identify features, examine workflows, and determine implications of 3-D data on current preservation models. Partici- pants identified challenges for supporting 3-D data, including intellectual property and fair use; providing repository system management beyond academic libraries; seeking guidance outside of academia for workflows to model. “Perceptions towards Artificial Intelligence among Academic Library Employees and Align- ment with the Diffusion of Innovations’ Adopter Categories” by Brady D. Lund, Isaiah Omame, Solomon Tijani, Daniel Agbaji. Artificial intel- ligence (AI) has emerged as a topic of interest among information technology innovators. As AI is refined, practical uses of the technology to improve the transfer of information are increas- ingly investigated, developed, and adopted in a variety of public environments, including in libraries. Given the relatively recent emergence of AI in this respect, it presents an opportunity to investigate the emergence of public perceptions toward the innovation and the relationship this holds with the adoption of emerging technolo- gies, as envisioned in Roger’s Diffusion of Inno- vations model. This study describes the results of a survey of practicing librarians regarding the adopter category (innovator, early adopter, early majority, late majority, laggard) with which they identify and the relationship of this identification with perceived knowledge and perceptions of AI technology within and outside the library environment. The findings of this survey have both theoretical implications for the Diffusion model within the library technology context as well as practical implications for supporting the process of diffusion of emerging technologies among academic library employees. “Copyright and Digital Collections: A Data Driven Roadmap for Rights Statement Success” by Sara Rachel Benson, Hannah Stitzlein. This article summarizes the results of interviews with Digital Public Library of America service hub participants to determine whether and how standardized rights metadata is included in their digital collections. Providing accurate standard- ized rights metadata is crucial to communicating with patrons regarding how they can use objects in digital collections. Results from the interviews reveal key findings on effective rights statement implementation techniques as well as common tools used by librarians when applying rights statements to digital collections. The final two articles address technology, albeit less directly. They present studies on student behavior regarding reading and their perceptions of news credibility, both topics that have been greatly influenced by technology, electronic formats, and the Internet. “Beyond the surveys: Qualitative analysis from the Academic Reading Format Inter- national Study (ARFIS)” by Diane Mizrachi, Alicia M. Salaz. ARFIS collected data from more than 21,000 university students in 33 countries regarding their reading format (print or electronic) preferences and behaviors when engaging with academic texts during a three- year period. Quantitative analysis shows a consistent preference for print reading among most students worldwide. This paper presents new findings from our qualitative analysis of students’ survey comments, addressing the questions: Why do students prefer to read in print or electronically? What factors affect their decisions to read a text in their less preferred format? Are there behavioral patterns that will assist librarians and educators when deciding upon format policies? “News Credibility: Adapting and Testing a Source Evaluation Assessment in Journalism” by Piotr Szymon Bobkowski, Karna Lorraine Younger. This paper discusses the development of a source evaluation assessment and presents the results of using this instrument in a one-semester informa- tion literacy course for journalism students. The assessment was developed using the threshold concept perspective, the “authority is constructed and contextual” frame, and an established source evaluation rubric. As formative assessment, the in- strument showed that students’ source evaluations lacked evidence and included ritualized language. As summative assessment, it showed that students used a greater range of indicators of authority than they used initially and used evidence more frequently. The assessment can measure students’ source evaluations across the disciplines.