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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s (UNCG) Library and Information Studies Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE) Scholars Program has had on promoting diversity and adding value to the library and information studies profession.

This paper is presented as a case study in which three iterations of the ACE Scholars Program are discussed, including program design and suggested impact the program has had on educating and engaging diverse individuals for careers in the library and information studies professions.

Nearly 50 ACE Scholars program participants, representing ethnically, racially and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, have graduated from UNCG with their Master of Library and Information Studies degrees since 2011. In the five years since the first ACE cohort graduated, Scholar alums continue to impact the Library and Information Studies (LIS) profession through their professional roles as well as through their community engagement, professional association memberships and leadership roles, professional presentations and numerous publications.

This paper presents a model that has helped to promote diversity in the LIS field in way that can be adapted by other graduate programs that are preparing individuals for successful and engaged careers as library and information studies professionals.

The purpose of this study is to investigate user reaction to pop-up chat widgets for possible use as a promoter of online reference services in libraries.

Librarians at three different campuses of the Pennsylvania State University interviewed ten students at each campus. Librarians used a script to ask students to respond to various library websites and the potential utility of a pop-up widget. Students also responded to a sample chat widget and were asked to evaluate the timing of its appearance on the page.

All participants indicated on a timeline their preferred time for a pop-up to appear on a web page. Only 16 per cent of study participants had used the “Ask a Librarian” reference service from its current access point as a linked button on the libraries’ web pages. However, 83 per cent indicated that they would be more likely to use the Ask service if the widget appeared on the screen.

This research is unique, as there are no other studies in the library literature that explore pop-up chat widgets.

By the time these pages appear Christmas will have become but a memory; even the indigestion provoked in many of us by our zealous participation in the Christmas spirit will, it is hoped, have become a thing of the past. But as we write this spirit is abroad, and presents are still depleting our surplus finances. Every year more and more of these seasonable gifts take the form of books, and a very large percentage of children, particularly, will surely receive some reading matter from one or other of their friends or relations. Not so many years ago in most instances this Christmas book would be the only volume those children would see that year! Fortunately, we librarians can say, with Sganarelle, that “we have changed all that.” Our children's libraries throughout the country are sufficiently adequate to ensure that no child in a library area is unable to read to his or her heart's content—the days when three or four books must needs satisfy a child's thirst for reading have now been put definitely behind us.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Big Data analytics, data security and service supply chain innovation capabilities on services supply chain performance.

The paper draws on the relational view of resource-based theory to propose a theoretical model. The data were collected through survey of 145 service firms.

The results of this study found that the Big Data analytics has a positive and significant relationship with a firm’s ability to manage data security and a positive impact on service supply chain innovation capabilities and service supply chain performance. This study also found that most service firms participating in this study used Big Data analytics to execute existing algorithms faster with larger data sets.

A main recommendation of this study is that service firms empower a chief data officer to establish the data needed and design the governance of data in the company to eliminate any security issues. Data security was a concern if a firm did not have ample data governance and protection as the information was shared among members of service supply chain networks.

Big Data analytics are a useful technology tool to forecast market preference based on open source, structured and unstructured data.

The purpose of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework for improving the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks following a critical literature review.

A critical review of 91 scholarly journal articles published between 2000 and 2018 supports the development of an integrated conceptual framework.

The findings emphasize that supply chain integration (SCI) can have both a positive and negative impact on the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. It is possible to have a positive effect when SCI can be used to develop competencies in joint risk planning within the organization and with wider supply network members and, in turn, to develop collaborative risk management capabilities. Supply network characteristics can influence whether and the extent to which SCI has a positive or negative impact on risk management effectiveness.

The conceptual framework can be used to empirically assess the role of SCI for effective risk management. Dynamic evaluation of the effectiveness of risk management and potential redesign of the supply network by considering other contingent factors are some future research avenues.

There is a need for developing specific competencies in risk planning within organizations and joint risk planning with supply network members which, in turn, can help develop collaborative risk management capabilities to improve the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. Network characteristics will influence whether and the extent to which SCI results in the effectiveness of risk management.

Moving beyond recent (systematic) reviews on supply chain risk management, this study develops a novel conceptual framework interlinking SCI and the effectiveness of risk management while considering network characteristics.