Digital Commons Network^™

Assess, Improve, And Share: Using Libqual+Tm To Provide A Quick And Easy Assessment For Accreditors, Administrators, And Users, Eric Forte

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assessment in academic libraries is more important than ever as we strive to satisfy users, administrators and accreditation agencies, and present data to inform ongoing and future strategic directions. LibQUAL+TM yields a substantive set of quantitative and qualitative data that is relatively fast and easy to analyze, and is especially useful when significant skills and time to conduct meaningful assessment may not be present, such as in smaller academic libraries. Communicating the results and responses of assessment to stakeholders is a vital aspect of assessment and may in itself be indicative of the likelihood to enact positive change based on …

Atg Interviews Steve Bosch, Dennis Brunning

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

If Rumors Were Horses, Katina Strauch

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Sailing Off The Map: Managing Organizational Change In The Library Instruction Movement, Kristen Bullard, Wendy Holliday

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2007

The theme of this conference, uncharted waters, can evoke the disconcerting nature of uncertainty. As instruction librarians face challenges in a landscape of change, how can we navigate our institution’s organizational culture to be a strategic asset rather than a barrier to change?

This session will present case studies on organizational change from two instruction programs, Utah State University (USU) and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK). In our case studies, we analyze artifacts of culture, including program goals and planning documents, and interviews with stakeholders to determine the organization’s dominant culture and its views and expectations about change. We then …

Initiatives And Experiences Of The Liber Division On Library Management And Administration, Jolanta Stepniak

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

No abstract provided.

The Innovation Challenge: Transformational Leadership In Technological University Libraries, Charles Townley

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

No abstract provided.

Anthropological Study Of Shain Library: Uses, Perceptions, And Recommendations, Ingrid Brudvig, Casey Corn, Reed Harris, Brendan Kempf, Sophie Marx, Nick Mercer, Lauren Moran, Erich Roberts

Anthropology Department Student Projects

In the spring of 2009 professor Benoit’s Applied Anthropology class conducted a comprehensive study on Connecticut College’s Shain Library. The class met with the library staff multiple times before deciding how to tackle the project. The research question posed was, how do students use and perceive the library? Does the library satisfy student’s needs, and if not what changes could be implemented to better the student body?

The class began by submitting a proposal of our project to the Institutional Review Board, and then proceeded with the investigation. Though the topic as a whole is an examination of Shain Library …

Learning 2.0: A Tool For Staff Training At The University Of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library, Ilana Kingsley, Karen Jensen

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This paper describes a Learning 2.0 library staff training project completed in September 2007 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library. The project planning process, curriculum creation, implementation, incentives, and outcomes are included, along with a summary of survey results from program participants. Recommendations for implementing this free and useful staff training tool by other academic libraries are included, as well as a link to the Library’s Learning 2.0 blog.

Collaborative Design: An Ssm-Enabled Organizational Learning Approach, Anita Mirijamdotter, Mary M. Somerville

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Articles and Papers

Within the context of a three year applied research project conducted from 2003-2006 in a North American university library, staff were encouraged to reconsider organizational assumptions and design processes. The project involved an organizational leader and an external consultant who introduced and collaboratively applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) practice. Project results suggest the efficacy of using ‘soft’ systems thinking to guide interaction (re)design of technology-enabled environments, systems, and tools. In addition, participants attained insights into their new roles and responsibilities within a dynamically changing higher education environment. Project participants also applied SSM to redesign ‘in house’ information systems. The process …

Improvisational Theater As A Tool For Enhancing Cooperation In Academic Libraries, Anthony Stamatoplos

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Library Technology Center Debuts At North Georgia College, Shawn C. Tonner

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article reports on the opening of the Library Technology Center at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega to crowds of students, faculty, staff and community members on August 19, 2008. A brief overview is given on the history, graduate programs, and student population of the university. The college library needed more and better seating and public computing, library instruction spaces and collection space. These factors, combined with limited Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility and inadequate electrical, lighting and life-safety systems, created a compelling case for a library building project.

Georgia Library Quarterly, Winter 2009, Susan Cooley

Georgia Library Quarterly

Complete issue of Georgia Library Quarterly, Winter 2009, vol. 46, no. 1.

Positioning Libraries To Support The Goals Of Higher Education Institutions: The Peabody Academic Library Leadership Institute, Sharon A. Weiner, Patricia Senn Breivik, Timothy Caboni, Dennis Clark

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This article describes the genesis of Vanderbilt University's Peabody Academic Library Leadership Institute as an outcome of a particular philosophy. That philosophy is based on the concept that to fulfill their potential contributions, academic libraries need to direct their planning, resources, and services to support the priorities of their parent institutions. This article addresses the need for campus-focused leadership training; higher education leadership training for academic librarians; and the higher education context for libraries. It describes why Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development initiated a professional development institute for librarians. It describes the institute's history, curriculum, and assessment …

Exploring Knowledge Loss In The Contact Center: Key Loss Areas, Contributing Factors, And Performance Metric Implications, Elizabeth M. Herman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge loss, or organizational forgetting, is often overlooked in knowledge management frameworks, yet it costs organizations money, personnel, efficiency, and customer service. The purpose of this mixed model case study was to understand, using a model of forgetting as the conceptual framework, where and why loss occurred and to examine performance implications. An inbound telephone contact center was studied because of prolific changes in that industry regarding knowledge complexity and performance. The researcher interviewed 20 participants, observed 63 calls, and reviewed 3 months of performance data including average handle time, first call resolution percentages, and time spent on after call …

Better, Faster, Stronger: Integrating Archives Processing And Technical Services, Gregory C. Colati, Katherine M. Crowe, Elizabeth S. Meagher

University Libraries: Faculty Scholarship

The University of Denver’s Penrose Library implemented a consolidated cataloging and archives processing unit for all materials, taking advantage of the structure, workflow design, and staff resources that were already in place for library-wide materials processing: acquisitions, cataloging, binding, and stacks maintenance. The objective of Penrose Library’s integrated approach was to efficiently create metadata that allow searches based on subject relevance rather than on collection provenance. The library streamlined archives processing by integrating digital content creation and management into the materials processing workflow. The result is a flexible, sustainable, and scalable model for archives processing that utilizes existing staff by …

A User-Centered And Evidence-Based Approach For Digital Library Projects, Mary M. Somerville, Navjit Brar

Library Scholarship

Purpose–Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) processes fortified by collaborative evidence-based librarianship (EBL) principles can guide end-user involvement in digital library project design and development. User-generated research examples reveal the efficacy of this inclusive human-focused approach for building systems.

Design/Methodology/Approach– From 2003 to 2006, user-centered interaction design guided increasingly complex human-computer interaction (HCI) projects at California Polytechnic State University. Toward that end, project planners invited polytechnic students, supervised by computer science professors, to assess peers’ information seeking needs. This student-generated evidence informed creation of paper prototypes and implementation of usability tests. Sustained relationships between planners and beneficiaries permitted iterative evaluation …

Library Annual Report

Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Made To Stick : The Book By Chip And Dan Heath, Adapted To A Library Audience, Samantha Hines

Mansfield Library Faculty Publications

Presentation of ideas from the book "Made to Stick" outlining the five steps to SUCCES which include Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories.

Continuing Assessment Of Library Instruction To Undergraduates : A General Education Course Survey Research Project, Kate Zoellner, Sue Samson, Samantha Hines

Mansfield Library Faculty Publications

An assessment project was conducted by the Mansfield Library to evaluate the teaching and content of a research module embedded into a popular undergraduate course, Introduction to Public Speaking, part of the University of Montana’s General Education Requirement. The project aimed to develop internal benchmarks and improve the curricula, as needed. Pre- and post-surveys were developed to assess student research confidence, perceptions of information tools, Web evaluation abilities, and assistance-seeking attitudes. Data from 426 student responses were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The process, results, and analysis of the project are discussed.

Transforming The Library: The Case For Libraries To End Incremental Measures And Solve Problems For Their Campuses Now, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Georgie Donovan, Laura Bender

Library Faculty Research and Publications

In an article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, University of Texas System Chancellor Mark Yudof wrote, "Mark Twain would recognize the situation. Everyone talks about the governance and financing of higher education, although, as in the case of the weather, few feel that they can do anything about it"' Much agony has been expressed over higher education's immediate future in the United States and elsewhere, given the movement to regulate academic and financial management from the outside. Many colleges and universities respond to societal pressures by pursuing change in small, incremental steps. Yet those same pressures for accountability, …

Back To Basics: Reviving Ethical Practice In Library Management, Suzanne Milton

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This paper examines the last twenty years of literature on the subject of organizational ethics. It reflects on the cultural tide and reasserts the need for establishing core values as a basis for management practice. It concludes with steps towards achieving a viable organization.

And They Were There: Reports Of Meetings -- 27th Annual Charleston Conference, Ramune K. Kubilius

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

2008 Author Recognition Bibliography, Grand Valley State University Libraries

Author Recognition

No abstract provided.

Growing Adult Readers: Promoting Leisure Reading In Academic Libraries, Renée Bosman, John Glover, Monique Prince

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This article provides an introduction to the recreational reading promotion tools at VCU Libraries, including a book review blog, book swap, and bulletin board, as well as the libraries’ involvement with VCU’s summer reading program and Richmond’s citywide “One Community One Book” initiative. Policies and operating procedures will be examined, and these services will be discussed in the context of other libraries’ offerings. We will also discuss why there is a need for these services–which have traditionally been the purview of the public library–on a college campus. Reading among American adults is in dramatic decline, and the academic library is …

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.

Research In Academic Library Collection Management, Mary F. Casserly

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This chapter describes the empirical quantitative and qualitative research and case studies pertaining to collection management practice in academic libraries published between 1990 and 2007. The topics covered include collection size and growth, material cost, library expenditures, budgets and budgeting, collection development policies, collection composition, organization and staffing for collection management, selection, and the evaluation of the collection development process and the collection itself. The chapter identifies the most influential and useful studies and the most active areas of research. The collection management research literature was limited in the methodologies employed (surveys and case studies), statistical analyses applied (basic and …

Review Of Beyond Survival: Managing Academic Libraries In Transition, Glenda A. Thornton

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Review of Beyond Survival: Managing Academic Libraries in Transition

Volume 27, Number 4, December 2007 Olac Newsletter, Jain Fletcher, Jay Weitz, Barbara Vaughan, Amy K. Weiss

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized December 2007 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

Fall 2007, John M. Pfau Library

Peacock – John M. Pfau Library Newsletter

Contents:

• Message from the Dean by Cesar Caballero
• Hail Cesar! Pfau Library Welcomes New Dean by Lisa Bartle
• Database Developments by Stacy Magedanz
• Library Goings On
• Home Page Face Lift by Brent Singleton

Implementing An Embedded Information Literacy Program At The University Level: Best Practices, Ann Agee

Faculty and Staff Publications

Information literacy is the ability of individuals "to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (American Library Association, 1989, para. 3). At San Jose State University (SJSU), information literacy has been traditionally taught through one-shot, 50-minute lectures delivered by university librarians to students enrolled in a select few undergraduate courses. This method of instruction has proven to be neither sustainable nor effective. The lectures are not tailored by discipline and students might receive the same lecture several times while completing their lower-division coursework. SJSU wants to replace this format …