Digital Commons Network^™

Library Marketing: From Passion To Practice, Jill S. Heinze

Charleston Library Conference

As discussed in the Charleston Briefing entitled Library Marketing: From Passion to Practice, successfully marketing libraries requires more than a sound communication strategy. Marketing is, in fact, all of an organization’s activities that deliver a product or service to its intended customers. This distinction means that library organizations need to expand their views about what it means to “market” themselves to encompass all of the touchpoints users have with their services. In the process, librarians are challenged to reconcile marketing practices from the business world with their public service ethos, as well as ensure their missions are well defined and …

Professional Development In Libraries: One Size Does Not Fit All, Patricia D. Sobczak, Kathy Bradshaw

Charleston Library Conference

With the constantly changing landscape in 21st-century libraries, it would seem that professional development would be more important than ever. However, research indicates that few libraries have formal professional development programs, and there are mixed messages from library leaders regarding the necessity and importance of professional development. It is no secret that libraries always seem to be facing budget cuts, and funding for professional development is often seen as a low priority. We were curious to understand how professional development is viewed and executed in other academic libraries.

Professional development means different things to different people. To some, professional development …

Landing The Job: Tips And Tricks To Prepare Students For The Job Hunt, Nora B. Wood, Heather A. Howard, Lauren Reiter

Charleston Library Conference

With universities, parents, and politicians paying close attention to student success after college, academic libraries are making efforts to support career readiness and preparation through collections and licensed resources as well as related instruction sessions and reference services. This paper presents examples from business librarians at three universities, covering a wide range of practical opportunities for libraries to support career preparation across campus, including partnering with Career Services for database cost sharing and career readiness workshops, teaching students to conduct company and industry research for interview preparation and salary negotiation, and out-of-the-box opportunities at career fairs and Alumni Association events.

Critical Business Collections: Examining Key Issues Using A Social Justice Lens, Heather A. Howard, Katharine V. Macy, Corey Seeman, Alyson S. Vaaler

Charleston Library Conference

Academic librarians perform a balancing act between the needs of patrons, licensing restrictions, and the missions of our libraries. As part of the work to develop our campus collections, academic business librarians work with both schools and commercial vendors to provide resources that our business students and faculty require. Business publishers charge academic customers pennies on the dollar for access, but are likely to seek protections for their intellectual content by placing usage restrictions that run counter to what librarians would prefer. This can cause difficulties for librarians in serving their unique populations. This also can run counter to the …

One Root, Many Trees: Reviving Collections Practices, Kevin Farley, Emily Davis Winthrop, Ibironke Lawal, Patricia Sobczak

Charleston Library Conference

Collections are undergoing intense change and pressure from technology, budgetary uncertainties, and emerging perspectives on future approaches. Our case study—drawn from our experiences as collections librarians—examines these complex issues facing academic collections, large or small, across the profession. Through the development of “collections of distinction” within the local collection, collaborations and scholarly partnerships with colleagues and faculty, and advocacy for the importance of dedicated oversight to ensure that collections investments fulfill the academic mission, we explore possible solutions to the complicated issues defining contemporary collections practices.

Statistical Analysis, Data Visualization, And Business Intelligence Tools For Electronic Resources In Academic Libraries, Cheng Cheng, Tracy J. Gilmore, Colleen Lougen, Connie Stovall

Charleston Library Conference

Analytics, business intelligence, and data visualization have an increasingly important space in the changing assessment landscape of academic libraries. Today, most academic libraries are spending a significant amount of their total expenditure budget on electronic resources. While they are high-value assets for modern libraries, the expensive annual subscription cost and continuing price increases of e-resources also make them a substantial budgeting burden. It is therefore essential to have a clear statistical view of the trends and patterns in price changes for e-resources and vendors. This paper focuses on three major topics vital for developing such a view: first, the e-resources …