Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Connecting With Alumni As An Academic Library, Ruth A. Monnier, Katy Kelly

Collaborative Librarianship

Existing literature about alumni and academic libraries describes fundraising or projects with Special Collections. This paper explores two different institutions' collaborations with alumni-focused departments in “friendraising” and building affinity for the library. The authors share their approaches to collaboration with various alumni projects.

Challenging The Glass Ceiling: Collaboration As The Key To Increasing The Number Of Librarians Of Color In Academic Libraries, Janet M. Reid, Patricia D. Sobczak

Collaborative Librarianship

Currently, libraries are engaged in creating environments that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This includes having candidates for hire submit statements regarding their approach to DEI and internal committees to look at policies and procedures regarding DEI. Also there is a lot of both internal and external training designed to help organizations and their members become more adept at creating environments with DEI in mind. What is often missed in all of this activity is how individual librarians, through mentorship and collaboration, can come together to foster DEI and support each other in success. This field report shows how …

Ethical And Anti-Oppressive Metadata: A Collaboration Between Catalogers And Archivists At George Mason University Libraries, Liz Beckman, Lynn Eaton, Yoko Ferguson, David Heilbrun, Rachel Lavender, Tricia Mackenzie, Dorothee Schubel

Collaborative Librarianship

Systems of library and archival resource description have historically reinforced the societal power structures of white supremacy, patriarchy, and cis-heteronormativity. Following the framework of critical librarianship and acknowledging our positionality as predominately white departments, George Mason University Libraries’ Metadata Services (MS) and Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) have been engaging in a variety of projects of reparative resource description. To discuss points of collaboration between the two departments, the Task Force for Ethical and Anti-Oppressive Metadata (TEAM) was formed, consisting of staff and faculty members from both groups who work with resource description. Although the departments have a history of …

Driving Change: A Model For Collaborative Librarianship In Prince George’S County, Maryland, Nicholas A. Brown, Kyla Hanington

Collaborative Librarianship

The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) has a long-standing partnership with the county’s human rights education and enforcement agency, the Office of Human Rights (PGCOHR), formerly the Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission (PGCHRC). The two agencies serve over 967,000 Prince Georgians, a majority-Black (64.4%) and Latin or Hispanic (19.5%) population with a sizable immigrant community (22.7%). The civil rights issues of 2020 hit close to home in Prince George’s County and the agencies have sustained a multi-year effort to provide residents with opportunities to learn how to engage with social justice topics for personal and collective advancement. …

A Quiet Celebration Of Whitman’S 200th Birthday: A Collaborative Opportunity To Discover, Grow, And Share A Collection, Blythe E. Roveland-Brenton, Bern Mulligan

Collaborative Librarianship

Over the past several years, special collections libraries and archives have been more proactive in engaging in educational outreach and promoting forward-facing programs. Additionally, subject and special collections librarians have sought ways to expand their collaboration to maximize their reach and impact. The occasion of the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth was the perfect opportunity for two librarians at Binghamton University to collaborate, promote a jewel from the Libraries’ holdings, build a stronger collection, and interact with local audiences through an exhibit and events.

Creating The Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference 2020: A Collaboration Of Public, Special, And Academic Librarians, Vendors, And Economic Development Stakeholders, Morgan Ritchie-Baum, Sara M. Thynne, Steven M. Cramer

Collaborative Librarianship

Despite the increasing importance to libraries of supporting entrepreneurship and economic development, professional development opportunities on those topics have been rare. Also rare are opportunities for public, special, and academic librarians plus other types of professionals to collaborate on major professional development events like a multi-day conference. The authors and a diverse planning group worked to challenge that status quo by creating the Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference (ELC) 2020. After making a COVID-19-mandated pivot to an online format, this conference featured speakers, networking hours, a discussion room hour, and a pitch competition with cash prizes for libraries proposing economic development …

Collaborative Coordination In A Crisis: Electronic Theses And Dissertations Services During Covid-19 At The University Of Pittsburgh, John Fudrow, Jonah Mcallister-Erickson, Lauren B. Collister

Collaborative Librarianship

In this article, we share a report from the field about the collaborative model of the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) program at the University of Pittsburgh, and how the program’s cross-departmental committee and distributed approvers model built a strong foundation that enabled success in the transition to remote operations during COVID-19. We review some of the ways that libraries are situated in the configuration of ETDs at different institutions, present a case study of the ETD process and support services at the University of Pittsburgh, and discuss how the configuration of ETD support and processing helped the University and …

What We Talk About When We Talk About Quality: A Librarian And Instructor Compare How They Assess Students' Sources, Elizabeth Pickard, Sarah Sterling

Collaborative Librarianship

This case study explores and compares how a librarian and an instructor evaluated the quality of bibliographies students produced for the instructor’s class. The ethnographic study attempted to unearth nuances in the respective practical approaches librarian and instructor took to assess a source’s quality as well as differences in what librarian and instructor might mean by “quality.” Themes emerged as indicators of quality that librarian and instructor applied differently in terms of frequency and weight. Findings also included that librarian and instructor looked to different aspects of citations to demonstrate common values, such as thoroughness, and to reflect the quality …

Collaborating Across Consortial Boundaries, Jill Morris, Kirsten Leonard

Collaborative Librarianship

It is nearly a given that most academic library directors feel the need to collaborate with other libraries to contain costs, develop new programs, and accomplish their missions; and historically, many have done so by participating in a library consortium, and sometimes in multiple consortia. In this article, the executive directors of The Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI) and the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI), two long-standing academic library consortia, share their insights and experiences as they have observed the necessity for broadening consortial collaboration through cross-consortial partnerships, moving from coordinated efforts toward deeper collaboration across consortium …

Best Practices For The Collection Of Feedback From Campus Constituents Utilizing Campus And Community Partners, Maggie Mason Smith, Jessica L. Serrao, C. Lili Klar, Deanna Mcentire, Anne Grant, Gabriel Israel

Collaborative Librarianship

The Clemson Libraries Campus Feedback Task Force was created to collect feedback from a broad sample of campus constituents. This article outlines the Task Force’s approach and how the group effectively succeeded at the given charge. Seven Libraries employees, each with diverse expertise and a collaborative and supportive mentality, worked together to break down tasks and assign responsibilities based on members’ strengths, identifying and relying on outside partners as needed. This article will discuss the importance of collaboration within a library Task Force on a project that required skills in online and face-to-face campus interactions by examining the composition of …

Love Data @ Uh: Collaborating With Campus Partners To Promote Data Services, Wenli Gao, Andrea Malone, Alexandra Simons

Collaborative Librarianship

In this paper, the authors discuss their academic library’s role in promoting collaboration and visibility among various data service providers on campus, including those provided by the library. Bringing together these data providers for a one-day event at the library, Love Data @ UH, speakers and audience members were able to meet and talk about data management, data visualization, and other data-related services provided at University of Houston campus. The authors also discuss how the event was planned, with recommendations for others considering holding a similar event.

Seeking An Intentional Crossroads: Working Towards An Understanding Of Community Building In Hawai’I Public Libraries, Vanessa Irvin, Nicholas Cho, Sarah Nakashima

Collaborative Librarianship

Public libraries in Hawai’i serve one of the most diverse populations in the United States. With 51 branch locations across six islands, Hawaii's public libraries are central hubs for citizens, where community building can take place. This paper seeks to explore ways in which community building takes place at public libraries in Hawai’i. Through on-site visits at public libraries, observations of training sessions of participants of a Hawai’i-based public library professional development program (Hui ‘Ekolu), and informal interviews with local public library patrons, key themes, reflections and analysis convey a common question across all groups: “What is a Native Hawaiian …

Collaborative Information Literacy Practices To Connect Theory To Practice In Rehabilitation Counseling Students, Donna Witek, Rebecca Spirito Dalgin

Collaborative Librarianship

The authors offer this case study of collaborating to scaffold information literacy learning into a semester-long research assignment within an undergraduate rehabilitation services course. The goal of the partnership was to teach students to research a rehabilitation theory/intervention in the professional literature and connect the evidence to rehabilitation services available locally for individuals with disabilities. Specific collaborative practices are identified as essential to the success of this pedagogical project, specifically the giving of time, the scaffolding of learning, and the continual return to reflection in the teaching and learning process, which are all enabled by the sharing of expertise …

The Interpersonal Collaboration, Jill Emery, Michael Levine-Clark

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.

Improving The Enhanced Journal Access Through An Academic Library And Publisher Collaboration, Laura I. Spears, Robert V. Phillips, Letitia Mukherjee, Judith C. Russell

Collaborative Librarianship

In May 2017, the George A. Smathers Libraries (Libraries) at the University of Florida (UF) andElsevier delivered the Phase I findings of a pilot project that aimed to maximize visibility, impact and dissemination of articles by UF researchers who have published in Elsevier journals. Beginning April 2016, the collaboration provided metadata with article links automatically delivered toUF’s Institutional Repository, the IR@UF, in theIR@UF-Elsevier Collection. As of December 31, 2018, links to over 42,000 articles by UF authors published between 1949 and 2018 are available through integration of the IR@UF with theScienceDirect application programming interfaces (APIs) …

Public Libraries Respond To The Opioid Crisis In Collaboration With Their Communities: An Introduction, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway

Collaborative Librarianship

The nation is experiencing an opioid epidemic. As communities across the country feel the epidemic’s impact, public health and human service organizations are implementing responses that include healthcare, education, law enforcement and the judicial system, emergency services, drug and addiction counseling, and community services. Public libraries around the country are choosing to be part of this response.

With funding from a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, OCLC and the Public Library Association will identify, synthesize, and share knowledge and resources that will help public libraries and their community partners develop effective strategies and community-driven coalitions that …

What Collaboration Means To Me: Training The Public On New Technologies, Carol Frost

Collaborative Librarianship

This article explores collaborative technology training in public libraries. The Pew Research report on public libraries finds that libraries should ‘definitely’ offer training on new technology. Although it can be difficult to transform our spaces and programs into hands-on technology learning environments, this article explores several San Francisco Bay Area libraries which are responding to their communities’ needs and developing unique technology programming.

Electronic Theses And Dissertations Workflows: Interdepartmental Collaboration At The University Of Arkansas Libraries, Rachel Paul, Cedar C. Middleton

Collaborative Librarianship

Creating workflows that involve the work of multiple departments within a large organization can be challenging, especially when the procedures are complex and involve a number of stakeholders. This paper describes and evaluates the redesign of an interdepartmental workflow for the dissemination of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) at a mid-sized academic library. The paper outlines the collaborative planning process within the library as well as the eventual outreach to additional stakeholders on campus, addressing the challenges of tackling such communication between the library and other ETD stakeholders. It then presents a detailed examination of the newly revised, semi-automated workflow, …

A-Z List Migration: Employing Collaborative Project Management At The University Of Guelph Mclaughlin Library, Kailey Brisbin, Melanie S. Parlette-Stewart, Randy Oldham

Collaborative Librarianship

From 2003 – 2016, the University of Guelph McLaughlin Library maintained a custom ColdFusion database of databases. Motivated by a myriad of issues, a project working group set the goal of decommissioning the ColdFusion A-Z list and migrating to SpringShare LibGuides platform A-Z list feature. This article focuses on our A-Z list migration, highlighting the collaborative approach we took to curating our list of journal databases and operationalizing and distributing this shared task across several teams within our library. This article describes our project and approach, lessons learned, recommendations and best practices, as well as future directions.

About Collaboration, Jill Emery, Michael Levine-Clark

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.

What Collaboration Means To Me: Library Collaboration Is Hard; Effective Collaboration Is Harder, Lorcan Dempsey

Collaborative Librarianship

In this short piece I argue that library collaboration is very important, so important that it needs to be a more deliberate strategic focus for libraries and the organizations that support them. This is especially so in a network environment, where scale is important in creating efficiencies and impact. Despite this importance, effective collaboration is hard and current arrangements are suboptimal. I discuss various reasons why this is so, and offer some suggestions for how matters might be improved.

Working Together To Achieve Safe And Timely Reunification: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Interprofessional Collaboration In The Child Welfare System, Jon D. Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various professionals play a role in ensuring that foster children achieve safe and timely reunification, including child protective services caseworkers, guardians ad litem, mental health therapists and substance abuse counselors. Guided by ecological systems and relational coordination theories, this mixed methods dissertation explored how communication and joint decision-making between these professionals - two key components of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) - affects the safe and timely reunification of foster children

The quantitative phase involved analysis of administrative data collected from one urban county in a mountain region state. Logistic regressions were run to test if caseworker communication and joint decision-making with …

Museum To Museum Collaboration: Exploring The Relationships Between Museums And Cultural Organizations In Denver, Colorado, Leah Zavaleta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaboration has become a cornerstone of contemporary museum practice. In the United States, the anthropological literature on collaboration and museums has tended to be dominated by discussions on collaboration between museums and Indigenous communities in the course of implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. To date, little has been written on how collaboration is enacted among museums. This thesis explores the relationships among four museums in Denver, Colorado. By exploring how collaboration is defined, what a collaboration between museums looks like, and identifying the benefits and challenges of inter-museum collaboration, this study attempts to provide …

A Problem None Can Solve Alone: Ra21 As Collaborative Effort, Jill O'Neill

Collaborative Librarianship

Stakeholders in the information community recognize the challenges surrounding user authentication in the context of licensed information resources. Resource Access in the 21st Century (RA21) is one cross-sector initiative that is intended to reduce those challenges for both academic libraries as well as content and technology providers. Further collaboration by stakeholders may assuage some of the hesitations regarding RA21.

Creating Community: Drawing On Staff Expertise To Break Down Silos In Academic Libraries, Lori Birrell, Marcy A. Strong

Collaborative Librarianship

A discussion of the strategies and outcomes behind a special collections and metadata collaboration effort at the University of Rochester, River Campus Libraries, to make finding aids more discoverable and interoperable. Through the use of a project charter and specific goals, the project managers sought to create buy-in and build a culture of teamwork amongst the participants, resulting in both improved finding aids and a model for collaborative work across departments.

Cultural Memory In Danger: Sustainable Information, Preservation, And Technology In The Humanities: A Theoretical Approach, Casey D. Hoeve

Collaborative Librarianship

Abstract

Management of library collections is an inherently collaborative process. Spanning multiple generations, materials are selected that support user communities, striving for the optimization of storage and access at the lowest cost.[i] While established partnerships are crucial for the survival of libraries, within any cooperative network, there exist opportunities for divergent practices. Alternative initiatives may have progressive intentions, but competing systems and groups have the potential to disrupt recognized standards and infrastructure, some of which can prove detrimental to information organizations.

Abrupt format changes and technological advancements have altered the way in which materials are currently acquired, accessed, and …

Librarians’ Roles In Establishing A Multidisciplinary Research Institute, Elizabeth Christian, Kathryn Balek, Sandy Hudock, Rhonda Gonzales

Collaborative Librarianship

This article describes how four librarians contributed to the founding and first-year activities of a multidisciplinary research institute at a regional comprehensive university. The Institute of Cannabis Research (ICR) is the first multidisciplinary research institute on cannabis, an emerging and often controversial field. As faculty representatives on the institute’s steering committee and working groups, librarians were able to leverage interdisciplinary expertise to assist in organizing and disseminating cannabis research. Examples of the reciprocal benefit to both the institution and the library are shared.

What Collaboration Means To Us, Jill Emery, Michael Levine-Clark

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.

History In The Making: Outreach And Collaboration Between Special Collections And Makerspaces, Erin Passehl-Stoddart, Ashlyn Velte, Kristin J. Henrich, Annie M. Gaines Mlis

Collaborative Librarianship

Makerspaces present unique possibilities for creative partnerships within libraries, including the opportunity for interdisciplinary use of emerging technologies with archival objects and primary sources. One example of this type of interdisciplinary collaboration is the fabrication of cultural heritage replicas via 3D scanning and printing of historical university objects in academic libraries. Two departments in the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives (SPEC) and the Making, Innovating, and Learning Laboratory (MILL), partnered on such a project as a way to broaden maker competencies across library departments, leverage interdisciplinary connections between emerging technologies and historic archives, and create innovative outreach …

Yours, Mine, Ours: A Study Of A Successful Academic & Public Library Collaboration, Sierra Laddusaw, Jennifer Wilhelm

Collaborative Librarianship

This article studies the development of a collaboration between the Bryan + College Station Public Library System (BCSPLS) and Texas A&M University Libraries. Desiring to increase program attendance and add greater value to the local community, the BCSPLS approached the University Libraries to propose collaboration on a variety of events. The successes of the collaborative programs have met the goals of the public library while also increasing Texas A&M’s collection visibility and strengthening A&M’s ties to the public. The study argues that academic/public library collaborations benefit the participating institutions and add value to the local community.