Library and Information Science Commons^™

Digitalcommons@Usu: Opening Usu Scholarship To All, Cheryl D. Walters

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Presentation introducing USU Library's new Institutional Repository

Flex And Balance: Exercising Reform In Twenty-First Century Library Work Environments, Jennifer Duncan

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

I am an assistant librarian on the tenure-track and responsible for all aspects of the electronic collections at a large research university. I am also the mother of a two-and-a-half year old little girl. Those two identifying characteristics make me one of at least 26.2 million U.S. working-women with children at home. According to my favorite reference source, The Statistical Abstract of the United States, I am also one of 229,000 civilian librarians, of whom 84% are women. I couldn’t find a statistic for how many women librarians have children at home, but, by extrapolation, you can see that there …

The Role Of Information Architecture In Designing A Third-Generation Library Website, Jennifer Duncan, Wendy Holliday

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Library web sites have evolved over the past decade, from simple pages with a few links to complex sites that provide direct access to hundreds of different resources. In many cases, this evolution occurs with little overall planning, often resulting in web sites that are hard to manage and difficult for users to navigate. This article outlines the process of using Information Architecture (IA) to re-design a third-generation library web site from the ground up. The result was a much more usable and cohesive library web site that meets the needs of a broad range of users.

Vital Business Educators Perceptions About The Usefulness Of Business Education Periodicals, James C. Scott, Carol Blaszczynski, Diana J. Green, Britt A. Fagerheim

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Problem: The business education literature isn’t accessible.

Research Questions: Which business education periodicals do vital business educators perceive to be more useful? In which databases and/or indices are they found? How much literature is fugitive? What strategies might increase literature accessibility?

Research Method: Delphi technique.

Data Collection Procedures:A survey was distributed to 25 vital business educators.

Results: The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal and the NABTE Review were rated as essential to the profession; nine periodicals were rated as very useful; and six periodicals were rated as useful. Eleven databases and indices were identified as potentially useful.

Conclusions: Approximately 37% of …

Working From Afar: A New Trend For Librarianship, Jennifer Duncan

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Telecommuting, which once seemed impractical for librarians, is swiftly becoming a viable option for employees in both technical services and public services. Societal changes such as increased commuting time, rising numbers of dual working-parents, and an explosion of technology that facilitates remote work have fueled both the desirability and the feasibility of alternative work arrangements. Traditionally, librarians have been tethered to a facility either because their public service role demands face-to-face interaction or because they work with materials housed in the building. As collection formats and service mechanisms change, however, librarians may be poised to take advantage of more flexible …

Just Add Water: Reclamation Projects And Development Fantasies In The Upper Basin Of The Colorado River, Stephen C. Strugeon

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

The history of the development of the American West is full of countless examples of promoters seeking to encourage outside investors to buy land, invest in mines, and build railroads. The history of water projects in the region is no different. Residents of communities such as Grand Junction, Colorado, recognized early on the two-fold dilemma that they faced: irrigation and reclamation projects would be critical to the economic growth of the area, and the funding for these projects would have to be obtained from sources outside the region. The promoters of such projects relied upon booster literature in order to …