Digital Commons Network^™

Retooling The Profession: Librarianship In An Era Of Accountability And Competition, Gregory A. Smith

Gregory A. Smith

Librarianship has changed substantially in recent years. We who work in libraries must continually acquire new knowledge and skills. We must adapt to the reality that academic libraries, along with their parent institutions, face increased accountability. The functions that many of us have thought to be at the core of our profession are slipping from our grasp and will leave behind a mere managerial role. Nevertheless, many academic libraries will find a viable future by adopting and taking seriously the role of supporting learning. As we look at disruptive innovators in the information and learning scene, we should consider carefully …

A Survey Of Religious Book Publishing With Implications For Collection Development In Christian College Libraries, Gregory A. Smith

Gregory A. Smith

Discusses five sources of religious books. Profiles the religious book publishing industry. Describes a delicate balance between ministry and industry. Situates religious book publishing in its cultural context. Discusses implications for collection development in libraries at evangelical Christian colleges.

Extending Liaison Collaboration: Partnering With Faculty In Support Of A Student Learning Community, Onda Bennett, Karen Gilbert

Karen Gilbert

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to describe the successful collaboration between faculty in Eastern Kentucky University Libraries and the University's Occupational Therapy Department in supporting a graduate student learning community, and the benefits of stepping outside of typical liaison activities to play an active role in this new educational paradigm.

Design/methodology/approach – In 2006, graduate students and faculty in Occupational Therapy at Eastern Kentucky University, with a librarian and with the support of a national professional organization, facilitated the completion of a graduate thesis through the use of a topic-based learning community. This team completed an in-depth, …

Supporting Name Authority Control In Xml Metadata: A Practical Approach At The University Of Tennessee, Marielle Veve

Marielle Veve

While many different endeavors to support name authority control in Extensible Markup Language (XML) metadata have been explored, none have been accepted as a best practice. For this reason, libraries continue to experiment with the schema, tool, or process that best suits their local authority control needs in XML. This paper discusses current endeavors to support name authority control in XML for digitized collections and demonstrates an innovative manual solution developed and implemented by the University of Tennessee Libraries to achieve this goal. Even though this method for authority control in XML metadata still relies on manual efforts, it effectively …

Yes, We're Open: Library Hours And What Patrons Really Want, Jennifer Link Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

The Georgia State University Student Government Association (SGA) announced a plan to petition the University Library to extend its hours. Specifically, SGA wanted the library to remain open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The library kicked into assessment mode and gathered data to determine whether longer library hours were appropriate, especially during a time of budget cuts. The library used the data to advise SGA, as well as to inform staffing and hours of operation decisions. Do patrons really want libraries to be open 24x7? Georgia State’s Training & Assessment Librarian will present her findings during this …

Assessing An Institution-Wide Information Fluency Program: Commitment, Plan, And Purposes, Penny Beile

Penny Beile

The Case For Chick Lit In Academic Libraries, Stephanie Davis-Kahl

Stephanie Davis-Kahl

The purpose of this article is to prove that chick lit is a legitimate and important area of collection for academic libraries. This article presents a definition of chick lit with an overview of the origin and significance of the term itself, discusses chick lit’s impact on publishing, and its relationship to academia and women’s writing. The article concludes with guidelines on building a chick lit collection.

Academic Librarians, Professional Literature, And New Technologies: A Survey, Skye Hardesty, Tammy Sugarman

Tammy Sugarman

Keeping abreast of professional literature and the latest trends is critical for academic librarians to be successful, but in a time of information glut, are librarians achieving this? Over seven hundred academic librarians responded to this survey and inform us about their use of both traditional methods and new technologies to stay current.

Information-Seeking Behavior Of Faculty In One School Of Public Health, Lisa C. Wallis

Lisa C. Wallis, MSPH, MS

Working With Generation-D: Adopting And Adapting To Cultural Learning And Change, Win Shih, Martha Allen

Win Shih

Purpose – The paper aims to discuss the expectations and needs of Generation Y students for higher education specifically targeting issues relating to libraries and library management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a brief overview of Generation Y personality traits and characteristics. This is followed by a discussion of organizational culture, explaining how to effectively adapt to meet the expectations of the Generation Y students. Two academic libraries’ programs designed to meet the needs of the new learners are discussed. Findings – The paper recognizes the need to address the challenges of the new learners from all levels of library …

Opportunities For Real-Time Digital Reference Service, Matthew Marsteller, Jackie Schmitt-Marsteller

Matthew Marsteller

This article explores the opportunities that real-time digital reference service can offer to a variety of library settings from the independent public library to the large multi-campus university or the multi-national corporation. There are many occasions when a real-time digital reference service will be the optimal solution for a portion of a library’s reference service. The authors’ goal is to offer our original ideas, and examples from the literature, that will stimulate thought about real-time digital reference services that could be offered by your libraries. The numerous ideas and examples should provide the reader with workable methods for extending the …

Other Duties As Assigned: Emerging Trends In The Academic Library Job Market, Penny Beile, Megan Adams

Penny Beile

"Gender Gaps, Information Technology, And Academic Libraries: A Feminist Evaluation, Kelly Barrick Hovendick

Kelly M. Barrick

Linear Goal Programming For Academic Library Acquisitions Allocations, Ken Wise, D. E. Perushek

Ken Wise

The allocation of an academic library's acquisitions funds should contribute to the achievement of the library's goals and objectives. The availability of diverse materials and the varying demands of user needs in a variety of subject disciplines may represent a set of conflicting, incommensurate goals. Lexicographic linear goal programming offers an appropriate allocation methodology for determining an optimal solution with conflicting goals. This article applies this methodology to 90 funds representing books and periodicals in 45 subject disciplines at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT). The model's goals incorporate several categories of budget constraints and user needs. The application of …