The most recent issue of San José State University’s fully student-run Student Research Journal was published in May 2024. The 27^th issue focuses on artificial intelligence and women’s involvement in print in 20th-century America and features an editorial by Marc Hoffeditz, a contribution from Souvick Ghosh and Denise McCoy, and a book review by Madelaine Russell.

Student Research Journal Volume 14, Issue 1 Preview

Into the Unknown: Developing AI Policies for the Student Research Journal

In light of the artificial intelligence boom in late 2022, policies governing the use and disclosure of artificial intelligence in scholarly journals have occupied editorial boards of all disciplines. The Student Research Journal sought to tackle this issue with an inclusive process to better serve our authors and editorial team in uncertain times. This editorial will discuss the work of the SRJ’s AI Policy Working Group in completing a comprehensive review of literature surrounding the topics of AI and scholarly publishing, detail the journal’s first AI disclosure policy in depth, and identify next steps for the SRJ to take in advancing the responsible use of AI in research development. The goal of this policy is not only to guide potential authors and our editorial staff, but to also provide a blueprint for other editorial boards and scholarly journals to consider adopting comprehensive and adaptable policies to address the unpredictable growth of artificial intelligence technologies.

Marc Hoffeditz (he/him) is a librarian and information professional based in Western Massachusetts. He currently serves as the resource sharing program manager for the Boston Library Consortium, supporting the organization’s interlibrary loan communities and strategizing about the future of resource sharing for libraries and consortia. He is a co-author of the soon to be released E-Book ILL Roadmaps, a major report from the BLC’s E-Book Sharing Working Group, to demystify e-book interlibrary loan and promote broader adoption of the practice. Other projects include the development of a controlled digital lending toolkit to support libraries and consortia in implementing the practice, graciously supported by an Institute of Museum and Library Sciences grant. Hoffeditz is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at San José State University, where he serves as the managing editor of the university’s Student Research Journal.

Looking Ahead: Incorporating AI in MLIS Competencies

Libraries have long been essential for democratizing knowledge and providing reliable information, extending their services to meet diverse community needs, including educational programs and internet access (Pawley, 2022; Freudenberger, 2022). Librarians, as custodians of information and culture, possess core competencies in information organization, digital literacy, and research skills. The San José State University School of Information aims to educate professionals who significantly impact global communities through high-quality education, research, and technology innovation. This article examines the Master of Library and Information Science degree program at SJSU School of Information, focusing on the evolution of its 14 core competencies to incorporate advancements in artificial intelligence. As AI transforms educational curricula and administrative processes, updates are needed to include digital literacy, AI ethics, and data privacy, ensuring MLIS graduates are equipped to lead in an AI-integrated future. By aligning these competencies with the SJSU School of Information’s strategic vision, the article provides suggestions for integrating AI into existing competencies and identifies potential new competencies to address emerging workplace needs effectively.

Souvick ‘Vic’ Ghosh is a tenure-track assistant professor at the San José State University School of Information. His scholarship involves the development of research models and methods that extend the traditional view of information seeking into voice-based and interactive environments. His research involves extensive use of techniques and approaches in machine learning, natural language processing, deep neural networks, and human-computer interaction.

Denise McCoy (she/her/hers or they/them/theirs) is the technical services supervisor for Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries and graduated from the Master of Library and Information Science program at San José State University in 2024. Her areas of research interest currently include information retrieval, information access for marginalized populations, and ethics of data and emerging technologies.

Book Review: Organizing Women: Home, Work, and the Institutional Infrastructure of Print in Twentieth-Century America, Christine Pawley

In carefully selected case studies of white and Black middle-class American women, Christine Pawley, a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Information School, provides a detailed exploration of the “largely untold history” of women who used their involvement in print-centered organizations to reshape their lives beyond the unpaid domestic sphere (1). The first three chapters of the book trace the histories of primarily domestic women who held active roles in institutions of print culture such as journalism and radio broadcasting while the last three focus on the lives of women whose full-time employment helped to shape the developing public library system. While Pawley’s main argument is that involvement in print-centered organizations provided these women with opportunities to gain agency, she simultaneously delineates the racial and gender inequality embedded in and replicated by these structures. Through a meticulous examination of institutional records and official documents, Pawley’s book is a valuable addition to the historiography of print culture and library and information studies.

Madelaine Russell (madelaine.russell@mail.utoronto.ca) is a Master of Information candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science (Honours) from Lakehead University in Interdisciplinary Studies, as well as a Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University. Russell has worked as a teacher and teacher librarian at the elementary and secondary levels and as a public library children’s programmer. Her areas of research include gendered information behaviour and equitable access to information.

About the SRJ

The Student Research Journal promotes graduate and professional research in the library and information science field and asks crucial questions on current and emerging professional issues from a local, national and global perspective. By advocating for the value of research to further intellectual inquiry and innovation in our field, SRJ contributes critical insights to inform everyday professional practice in the field and specifically cultivates robust graduate student research through a rigorous peer review process. As San José State University’s only fully student-run, double-blind peer-reviewed, open access research journal, SRJ leads the way for the university; the College of Information, Data and Society; the School of Information; and library and information science graduate research.

Call for Submissions

SRJ invites original research, book reviews, and evidence summaries from graduate students at any university on topics in the fields of librarianship and information science and archives and records management and related theory, policy, ethics, application, case studies and professional practice. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and undergo rigorous peer review.

Questions about the submission process can be emailed to the editor-in-chief at sjsu.ischool.srj@gmail.com. Students interested in applying to join the editorial team are encouraged to visit the official SRJ website. SRJ is also on Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and LinkedIn.