Scott Nicholson

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Full) at Wilfrid Laurier University

New ways to engage students in learning can be most meaningful if we provide opportunities for them to engage with each other and forge an understanding of the narrative behind the lessons.

The term “gamification” is relatively new, but its exact origins are not known. The first recorded use was in the digital media industry in 2008 and it has become popular in the last couple of years (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011). A search performed in October 2012 on Google Scholar using the term “gamification” turned up over 1,000 publ...

Meaningful gamification is the use of gameful and playful layers to help a user find personal connections that motivate engagement with a specific context for long-term change. While reward-based gamification can be useful for short-term goals and situations where the participants have no personal connections or intrinsic motivation to engage in a...

Games and other forms of play are used in today’s libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through ches...

A variety of gamification techniques from the literature are used in two college courses. Some techniques, such as an experience point-based system and leaderboards, proved confusing or frustrating, while other techniques, such as adding a meaningful narrative layer and allowing students to create their own learning paths, engaged students more dee...

Three school library staff members explore how they have used tabletop games in different school library settings. Teresa Copeland (Tesseract School, Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA) explores how tabletop and role-playing games have been integrated into the curriculum across a wide variety of grade levels. Brenda Henderson (Trinity High School Learni...

The goal of the technology brief is to familiarize library decision-makers with the opportunities and challenges of participatory networks. In order to accomplish this goal the brief is divided into four sections (excluding an overview and a detailed statement of goal): • a conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating participatory network...

Meaningful gamification is the use of game design elements to help users find meaning in a non-game context. Rather than focus on external rewards and a scoring system, meaningful gamification focuses on play to engage participants in a ludic learning space. In this article, concepts of transformative play and learning are combined with principles...

There is a growing level of interest in games in the iSchools. Some schools are teaching courses focused on the creation of games, while others schools have researchers exploring game topics. In order to engage with game programs and researchers from outside the iSchools, it is important to understand the different areas of game education and resea...

This article discusses an online graduate-level course that was taught primarily using videos posted publicly to YouTube and the Internet Archive. Videos were created specifically for this course by the instructor and by library professionals and posted each day for a 30-day period. All videos were posted publicly, and the American Library Associat...

For decades, the corporate sector has exploited technological advances to better market and deliver products and services to customers via the techniques of data mining. The technique was not widely used in libraries. However, with the current emphasis on evidence-based decision making, libraries are beginning to utilize their system- and user- gen...

The author would like to acknowledge Gaylord Brothers for their funding of the Library Game Lab of Syracuse and the support of this research. Also, to acknowledge Syracuse University MSLIS students Valerie Sallis and Charles Bush in their assistance with the phone survey and Katharine Posner for her assistance in the Web‐based survey. Finally, the...

Ambiguities in Web search tool (more commonly known as “search engine”) terminology are problematic when conducting precise, replicable research or when teaching others to use search tools. Standardized terminology would enable Web searchers to be aware of subtle differences between Web search tools and the implications of these for searching. A ca...

Most people think of a library as the little brick building in the heart of their community or the big brick building in the center of a college campus. However, these notions greatly oversimplify the world of libraries. Most large commercial organizations have dedicated in-house library operations, as do schools; nongovernmental organizations; and...

Library and information services in corporations, schools, universities and communities capture information about their users, circulation history, resources in the collection and search patterns (Koenig, 1985). Unfortunately, few libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve customer service, manage acquisition budgets or influe...

While libraries have employed policies to protect the data about use of their services, these policies are rarely specific or standardized. Since 1996 the U.S. healthcare system has been grappling with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is designed to provide those handling personal health information with standa...

One of the valuable offerings of librarians in the digital age is the human intermediation of information needs. In physical libraries, these reference questions are answered, and few artifacts remain from the transaction; therefore, the knowledge created through the work of the librarian leaves with the patron. Due to the medium of communication,...

One of the valuable offerings of librarians in the digital age is the human intermediation of information needs. In physical libraries, these reference questions are answered, and few artifacts remain from the transaction; therefore, the knowledge created through the work of the librarian leaves with the patron. Due to the medium of communication,...

Purpose – The purpose of this work is to present an alternative way of considering evidence‐based librarianship (EBL) through an examination of the data that makes up studies used for EBL. Design/methodology/approach – This piece starts with the standard evidence‐based librarianship definition and deconstructs it down to the level of the individua...

This series of questions and answers is designed to help you take the first steps toward the successful production of a scholarly article in librarianship. You may find yourself in a library position that requires writing or you may have just decided that you are ready to share your findings, experiences, and knowledge with the current and future g...

Over the past few years, data mining has moved from corporations to other organizations. This paper looks at the integration of data mining in digital library services. First, bibliomining, or the combination of bibliometrics and data mining techniques to understand library services, is defined and the concept explored. Second, the conceptual frame...

Most Web search tools integrate sponsored results with results from their internal editorial database in providing results to users. The goal of this research is to get a better idea of how much of the screen real estate displays “real ” editorial results as compared to sponsored results. The overall average results are that 40 % of all results pre...

Archeologists have used material artifacts found in a physical space to gain an understanding about the people who occupied that space. Likewise, as users wander through a digital library, they leave behind data-based artifacts of their activity in the virtual space. Digital library archeologists can gather these artifacts and employ inductive tech...

Bibliomining is the combination of data mining, bibliometrics, statistics, and reporting tools used to extract patterns of behavior-based artifacts and item-based metadata from library systems. The bibliomining process involves the identification of problem areas, the collecting and anonymizing of data into a data warehouse, the exploration of the...

Librarianship, as a profession, relies upon a strong network of colleagues outside the institution for collaboration. The seeds for this collaborative cul-ture are planted in library school; however, in an online environment the challenges are greater when creating that sense of community. By supporting more ways to allow students, faculty, staff,...

The Digital Reference Electronic Warehouse (DREW) project is a collection of digital reference transactions from different services and different communication channels that live in a single space. Reference services work with DREW to submit transactions using the DREW schema, which is conceptually similar to the MARC record format for bibliographi...

Archeologists use artifacts to make statements about occupants of a physical space. Users of information resources leave behind data-based artifacts when they interact with a digital library or other Web-based information space. One process for examining these patterns is bibliomining, or the combination of data warehousing, data mining and bibliom...

While a growing number of the digital reference services in libraries have become part of collaborative reference networks, other entities that serve similar information-seeking needs such as special collections and museums have not joined these networks, even though they are answering an increasing number of questions from off-site patrons via the...

The paper explores the current state of generalist search education in library schools and considers that foundation in respect to the Medical Library Association's statement on expert searching. Syllabi from courses with significant searching components were examined from ten of the top library schools, as determined by the U.S. News & World Repor...

Apresenta uma metodologia operacional integrada, utilizando técnicas de repositórios de dados (data warehousing) e mineração de dados (data mining), e combinando ferramentas estatísticas com reconhecimento de padrões. Tendo em vista a utilização de recursos, o objetivo principal é chegar a um entendimento melhor do comportamento de comunidades de u...

Theorists have suggested that organizational culture is a strategic resource that has value in ensuring the continuing existence and success of organizations (Michalisin, Smith, & Kline, 1997; Barney, 1986, 1991; Hult, Ketchen, & Nichols, 2002; Gordon, 1985). This assertion is supported by various studies that have linked organizational culture to...

This conceptual piece presents a framework to aid libraries in gaining a more thorough and holistic understanding of their users and services. Through a presentation of the history of library evaluation, a measurement matrix is developed that demonstrates the relationship between the topics and perspectives of measurement. These measurements are th...

Library and information services in corporations, schools, universities, and communities capture information about their users, circulation history, resources in the collection, and search patterns (Koenig, 1985). Unfortunately, few libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve customer service, manage acquisition budgets, or inf...

This paper describes a study conducted to determine the paths digital reference services take through a general process model of asynchronous digital reference. A survey based on the general process model was conducted; each decision point in this model provided the basis for at least one question. Common, uncommon, and wished-for practices are ide...

Library and information services in corporations, schools, universities and communities capture information about their users, circulation history, resources in the collection and search patterns (Koenig, 1985). Unfortunately, few libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve customer service, manage acquisition budgets or influe...

Library and information services in corporations, schools, universities and communities capture information about their users, circulation history, resources in the collection and search patterns (Koenig, 1985). Unfortunately, few libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve customer service, manage acquisition budgets or influe...

Bibliomining, or data mining for libraries, is the application of data mining and bibliometric tools to data produced from library services. This article outlines the bibliomining process with emphasis on data warehousing issues. Methods for cleaning and anonymizing library data are presented with examples.

This article describes a Delphi study conducted to determine factors that affect the process of routing and assigning reference questions received electronically by digital reference services, both to experts within the service and between services. Fifteen factors were determined, by expert consensus, to be important at the conclusion of this stud...

This paper describes a study conducted to determine the paths digital reference services take through a general process model of asynchronous digital reference. A survey based on the general process model was conducted; each decision point in this model provided the basis for at least one question. Common, uncommon, and wished-for practices are ide...

This research creates an intelligent agent for automated collection development in a digital library setting. It uses a predictive model based on facets of each Web page to select scholarly works. The criteria came from the academic library selection literature, and a Delphi study was used to refine the list to 41 criteria. A Perl program was desig...

The digital library is a user-based library service that seamlessly connects users to the information they need electronically, regardless of source. The new technologies and higher costs cause management new difficulties in five areas: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The purpose of this report is to collect these proble...

Because the World Wide Web is a dynamic collection of information, the Web search tools (or "search engines") that index the Web are dynamic. Traditional information retrieval evaluation techniques may not provide reliable results when applied to the Web search tools. This study is the result of ten replications of the classic 1996 Ding and Marchio...

Web databases, commonly known as search engines or web directories, are currently the most useful way to search the Internet. In this article, the author draws from library literature to develop a series of questions that can be used to analyze these web searching tools. Six popular web databases are analyzed using this method. Using this analysis,...

This article describes a Delphi study conducted to determine factors that affect the process of routing and assigning reference questions received electronically by digital reference services, both to experts within the service and between services. Fifteen factors were determined, by expert consensus, to be important at the conclusion of this stud...

Research on the use of mathematical, logical, and formal methods, has been central to Information Retrieval research for a long time. Research in this area is important not only because it helps enhancing retrieval effectiveness, but also because it ...

In the final chapter, Nicholson uses the scenario planning method to explore several possible futures for digital reference services. Using two dimensions - funding sources and automation - four different scenarios are developed. Common needs across all four scenarios drive a discussion of both current and future research needs, and are used to pos...

This research reports the findings from a survey that examined the differences in communication between students who used instant messenger (IM) services and those who did not in the same asynchronous distance education Web-based course. It was found that students who used IM services found it easier to communicate, felt a stronger sense of communi...

This article describes a Delphi study conducted to determine factors that affect the process of routing and assigning reference questions received electronically by digital reference services, both to experts within the service and between services. Fifteen factors were determined, by expert consensus, to be important at the conclusion of this stud...

This research reports the findings from a survey that examined the differences in communication between students who used instant messenger (IM) services and those who did not in the same asynchronous distance education Web-based course. It was found that students who used IM services found it easier to communicate, felt a stronger sense of communi...

Because the World Wide Web is a dynamic collection of information, the Web search tools (or “search engines”) that index the Web are dynamic. Traditional information retrieval evaluation techniques may not provide reliable results when applied to the Web search tools. This study is the result of ten replications of the classic 1996 Ding and Marchio...

The digital library is a user-based library service that seamlessly connects users to the information they need electronically, regardless of source. The new technologies and higher costs cause management new difficulties in five areas: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The purpose of this report is to collect these proble...

Mode of access: Internet, via World Wide Web. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Title from title page display. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2000. Includes bibliographical references.

Gaming is a rapidly growing new medium with sales surpassing box office and music revenues. Gaming provides a method of interacting with information in ways that static, non-participatory information containers cannot provide. Libraries are supporting gaming activities and educators are integrating gaming in new ways. Most of the younger generation...

The goal of this roundtable is to attract iSchool researchers who are exploring gaming research projects. This will be a sharing roundtable, with the hope of allowing researchers to make connections between schools and across disciplines. Those looking to get involved in gaming research are also welcome to attend and discover potential partnerships...

This is the first session for the Games in Libraries class taught by Dr. Scott Nicholson, associate professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. This project is funded by the Enitiative project from the Kauffman foundation.

Professor Scott Nicholson of the Library Game Lab of Syracuse gives a presentation to Bird Library at Syracuse University about Gaming in Libraries.

Library and information services in corporations, schools, universities, and communities capture information about their users, circulation history, resources in the collection, and search patterns (Koenig, 1985). Unfortunately, few libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve customer service, manage acquisition budgets, or inf...