Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Critical Phenomenology Of Whiteness In Academic Libraries, Emily Crist, Kelly Clark/Keefe

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This exploratory qualitative study examines how whiteness functions in the field of library and information science (LIS) within higher education institutions. Utilizing a critical phenomenological approach, three questions guided the inquiry: (1) How is whiteness embodied by academic librarians, (2) What perceptions do academic librarians hold that contribute to the maintenance or disruption of habits of whiteness in libraries, and (3) How and where is whiteness embedded within academic library settings and the field of LIS?

The aim was to begin understanding whiteness in libraries as an experientially-grounded and systemically reproduced phenomena. Four academic librarians participated in semi-structured interviews that …

Economics Of Cataloging: How Serials Holdings Management Can Affect Interlibrary Loan, Daniel Saulean

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Two cataloging decisions regarding the representation in OCLC WorldCat of the local holdings for print and online serials had a major impact on inter-lending activity at a large academic library, while opening the door to further organizational change.

Challenging The ‘Good Fit’ Narrative: Creating Inclusive Recruitment Practices In Academic Libraries, Sojourna J. Cunningham, Samantha Guss, Jennifer Stout

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Academic libraries operate under the assumption that there is one “right candidate” for a multi-layered position and that a search committee, a group of individuals formed with the purpose of assisting a responsible administrator in the recruiting and screening of candidates for a posted academic position, is the fairest and most equitable approach to hiring academic librarians. That assumption is running up against the fact that libraries and academic libraries in particular have an acknowledged a problem with recruiting and retaining librarians of color. According to the latest edition of the American Library Association Diversity Counts report, librarianship remains an …

Small Brown Faces In Large White Spaces, Rosalinda Hernandez Linares, Sojourna J. Cunningham

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In this chapter we will explore how multiculturalism in the field of academic librarianship is mobilized and what the shape of that mobilization can tell us about issues of identity and the body. As former resident librarians of color, we the authors felt unmoored by the expectations put upon us as diversity resident librarians for a multitude of reasons. We had to learn quickly, but not ask too many questions or else we would seem unprofessional; we had to be ambitious, but not be intimidating to our coworkers. Above all, we had to be successful, which allowed little room for …

Starting From Where We Are: Adapting Microsoft Sharepoint As An Erms, Lynda M. Howell, Alana Verminski

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

The challenge of finding an affordable, effective electronic resources management system remains unsolved for many libraries. University of Vermont Libraries is using Microsoft SharePoint to address a range of information needs. This presentation outlines the Libraries' collaborative design approach and the features which make this ERMS work particularly well.

What Does It Take To Make Discovery A Success?: A Survey Of Discovery Tool Adoption, Instruction, And Evaluation Among Academic Libraries, Aaron Nichols, Emily A. Crist, Graham Sherriff, Megan Allison

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Discovery tools have been widely adopted by academic libraries, yet little information exists that connects common practices regarding discovery tool implementation, maintenance, assessment, and staffing with conventions for research and instruction. The authors surveyed heads of reference and instruction departments in research and land-grant university libraries. The survey results revealed common practices with discovery tools among academic libraries. This study also draws connections between operational, instructional, and assessment practices and perceptions that participants have of the success of their discovery tool. Participants who indicated successful implementation of their discovery tool hailed from institutions that made significant commitments to the operations, …

Understanding Academic Patrons’ Data Needs Through Virtual Reference Transcripts: Preliminary Findings From New York University Libraries, Margaret Smith, Jill Conte, Samantha Guss

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

New York University (NYU) Libraries has an extremely high-volume chat reference service. This popularity presents a unique opportunity for gaining insight into library patrons’ conceptualizations of their data reference needs and how these needs are changing. Through analysis of three years’ worth of chat transcripts, we began to explore user needs and familiarity related to locating secondary data and statistics, performing data analysis, and using existing data services. Ultimately, we focused our analysis on requests for census data. This article discusses, in detail, the methods, preliminary results, limitations, and proposed next steps of our investigation. Our final goal is to …

A Studio Model For Academic Data Services, Samantha Guss

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This book serves as proof that there are plenty of effective ways to provide data services in an academic environment and that there can never be a one-size-fits-all approach. It is still valuable, however, to look closely at other's service models--to learn from successes, to borrow concepts and metaphors from other realms, and to think about one's own services through new lenses. A service model is a framework used to describe and understand the "who, what, where, when, and how" of a service from different stakeholders' perspectives; it can serve as a useful tool for developing and improving data services …

Assessment Committees: Good Practices From Arl Libraries, Michelle H. Brannen, Sojourna J. Cunningham, Regina Mays

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose – Assessment activities in academic libraries continue to grow as libraries explore assessment endeavors. Ranging from basic stats gathering and reporting to surveys, focus groups, and usability studies and beyond. Many practitioners are finding it necessary to create new processes and programs, with little guidance. The purpose of this paper is to paint a broad picture of assessment activities in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) university libraries with the goal of creating a resource for libraries developing or improving their assessment programs.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey was developed that asked questions about assessment personnel, activities, mission, and website. A …

Forging New Library Connections Between Vermont And Peru, Fred C. Pond, Laurie Kutner, Mara Saule

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Researchers at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont (UVM) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima, Peru (PUCP) have built extended collaborative relationships based on an umbrella affiliation agreement between the two institutions. Originally centered on health technology and instrumentation, the relationship soon expanded to include partnerships in science and engineering, public administration and, most recently, in library collaboration. In September 2015, three of us from the UVM Libraries travelled to PUCP for a week to strengthen library connections between our universities. In order to understand the PUCP research context and the role of librarians at the …

Experience Mandatory: Assessing The Impact Of Previous Career And Educational Experience On Lis Education And The Academic Library Job Hunt, Sojourna J. Cunningham, Ingrid J. Ruffin

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Since 2002, 97% of librarian jobs posted in American Libraries have required an American Library Association (ALA) accredited master’s degree (2004). The ALA Committee on Accreditation provides a general framework for library master’s program curriculum, “through a variety of educational experiences, for the study of theory, principles, practice, and values necessary for the provision of service in libraries and information agencies and in other contexts.” (Accreditation, 2014). ALA curriculum requirements are broad, however, so courses and requirements within ALA degree granting institutions vary immensely from program to program.

What Role Can Peer Benchmarking Play In Planning For The Future Of Research And Teaching Technologies?, Samantha Guss, Jenn Stringer, Lynn Rohrs

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Institutional leaders are asking libraries and IT units, as service providers, to provide data about service use, service quality and return on investment as they make decisions about resource allocation. In 2012, New York University developed a Peer Benchmarking Methodology for prioritizing research support needs by benchmarking themselves with more than a dozen peer institutions. The University of California at Berkeley borrowed and adapted NYU’s methodology as the starting point and used it to benchmark teaching and learning services along with research services for a planning and community building initiative across the campus. Here we present the methodology and discuss …

Digital Curation Education In Practice: Catching Up With Two Former Fellows, Samantha Guss, Lisa Gregory

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

From 2008-2010, as part of the grant: ‘DigCCurr I: Preserving Access to Our Digital Future: Building an International Digital Curation Curriculum’ (DigCCurr I) funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a number of fellows at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) were comprehensively trained by library and archive professionals in digital curation theory and practice. This paper examines the curriculum skill areas matrix of the DigCCurr I program from the perspective of two former fellows, now employed in professional positions that utilize digital curation principles. Each …

Think Locally, Act Globally: Understanding Home Institution Library Engagement Among Study-Abroad Students, Laurie Kutner

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This study focuses on developing an understanding of U.S. study-abroad students’ knowledge and confidence levels in using their home institution libraries from abroad. Data from a questionnaire survey administered to students at the time of active engagement in ten different study-abroad programs in Costa Rica are presented; the data reveal relative uncertainty by the students about the possibilities of interfacing with their home institution libraries while abroad. Further consideration of this distinct user group is warranted, and the article includes data-driven recommendations for better serving our study-abroad students.

A Model For College Library Visits, Lucretia Mcculley, Christine Campbell

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Describes how classroom teachers and librarians at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County, Va. worked together with librarians at the Boatwright Memorial Library of the University of Richmond to make a research project beneficial to the students.

Public Use Of Academic Libraries In Virginia, Lucretia Mcculley, Dan Ream

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Although often thought of as the domain of public libraries, providing access and services to the general public has long been an important, and sometimes controversial, issue for academic libraries. State and national policies have been suggested, but none have yet provided any definitive guidance to academic libraries in Virginia, leaving each institution free to find its own way of dealing with access and services to anyone outside its primary clientele of students, faculty, and staff. As the Association of College and Research Libraries' 1975 Access Policy Guidelines states,

Institutional goals and circumstances are highly variable, making it both unworkable …