Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Wikis: The Perfect Platform For Library Policies And Procedures, Melanie J. Dunn

The Southeastern Librarian

The term wiki, derived from the Hawaiian adjective “wiki wiki” meaning quick or fast, was coined by Ward Cunningham who created the original WikiWikiWeb for the Portland Pattern Repository (Leuf, 2001, 15). Touted by Cunningham as “the simplest online database that could possibly work” (Cunningham, 2002, June 27) “ wiki” is alternately used to refer to both a wiki website and the software used to create and maintain it and was designed to allow multiple users to collaborate in its development (Klobas 2006, 3). Wikipedia is perhaps one of the best examples, as well as the most recognized, of wikis. …

Best Practices For Hiring Academic Librarians With Faculty Status And Rank, Christopher Shaffer

The Southeastern Librarian

When library school students graduate, their primary goal frequently is to find a job; they may have a preference for a position as a public librarian, academic librarian, or school media specialist, but most important is finding gainful employment in order to put food on the table. The person responsible for hiring academic librarians must attempt to discern, based on a résumé and a relatively brief personal interview whether a candidate is capable of performing the basic tasks of being a librarian, interacting with faculty, guiding students, and performing their duties as a member of the academy. To make the …

Job Seeking In An Academic Environment: A Dual Perspective, Claudene Sproles, Robert Detmering

The Southeastern Librarian

Libraries, unfortunately, are not immune to the current economic climate, which translates not only into budget cuts, but also into fewer vacant positions being posted and filled. Library school graduates entering the profession not only are forced to compete for fewer jobs, but face stiff competition from other applicants with previous professional experience. In the current economy, many applicants in various stages of their careers are competing for the few entry-level positions available. Furthermore, applicants seeking tenure-track positions in college and university libraries often confront challenges that are unique to the academic environment.

In this essay, the Chair of the …

Successful Liaison Marketing Strategies For Library Instruction: The Proof Is In The Pudding, Jamie M. Graham

The Southeastern Librarian

There are many tried and true forms of marketing libraries today. Networking, emailing, calling, and requesting an audience with a department are all common practices. The key to successfully utilizing these practices in your liaison areas is persistence.

Live Virtual Reference And The Database Dilemma, Jennifer Mcclure

The Southeastern Librarian

Live virtual reference programs in the university setting have blossomed in recent years as librarians have aspired to become as “virtual” as the resources they offer. While some libraries have chosen to limit their service to affiliated members, many have preferred to open their programs to the wider community. The motivation to do so is perhaps particularly strong among public university librarians, who often feel a dual responsibility to their own affiliates and to the citizens of their state. However, the decision to offer a chat reference service to the public raises a number of legal, ethical, and practical questions …

Perceptions Of The Library: A Key To Planning Effective Services, Sue Alexander, William Black, Virginia Vesper

The Southeastern Librarian

such as questions answered, books cataloged, and dollars spent. Now we are called upon to measure the impact of those services on our clients. Stakeholder demand for accountability, changing accreditation standards, and state and federal concerns over student outcomes have driven a real concern for measurement from the client’s perspective. This will become increasingly important as demands for accountability and competition from other sectors increase. “Assessment and evaluation are intended as means to demonstrate institutional effectiveness, foster institutional improvement, and demonstrate accountability.” Programs such as the New Measures Initiative, from the Association of Research Libraries, have been developed to strengthen …

Strategies For Managing An Aging Workforce, Marie F. Jones

The Southeastern Librarian

Demographic trends show that the population of librarians in the U.S. is rapidly aging. This paper examines the ways that library managers can make workplaces more attractive to older librarians in order to encourage them to remain in the workforce beyond retirement age. The article dispels some negative stereotypes of "the older worker" and shows the advantages of retaining individuals with experience and maturity. It also addresses organizational climate, management, and training issues related to older workers.

The Great Leveler: Free Business Resources On The World Wide Web, Jason Martin

The Southeastern Librarian

The Internet is full of reliable sources that are filled with a wealth of business information. Some of these sites are fee-based with subscription prices that are much lower than those of the large commercial databases. Unfortunately, only a single subscriber may use most of those fee-based sites. That means the librarian must turn to sites that are free to the general public. Many of these free sites rival fee-based services for quality and quantity of information.